Disney Princess Article: Misconceptions of the Princesses

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posted by JNTA1234

Basically I'm going to address what people tend to think about the princesses, when it is indeed not true, or at least not entirely.

Snow White
Can't really say anything about Snow White. People are really dead on about her. She sweet, caring, joyful, old fashioned and kinda stupid. I wish I could defend her but I can't. All the negative stuff people say about Snow are completely true, as well as the positive. The only misconception I can come up with, is that everyone thinks she's happy all the time. But there's one scene where she's crying but she almost immediately bounces back. So, Snow White isn't happy all the time, she's just generally happy.

Cinderella-Weak
Because she's a Classic Princess everybody thinks Cinderella's a weak and helpless damsel in distress but she's not. In what way is she weak? Is it because she can't open a locked door and how is she a distressed damsel, her life has never been in any real danger. Granted it does piss me off that Cindy doesn't beat up her ugly stepfamily but the fact she doesn't is a sign of patience, not weakness. If anything Sinderella represents, the exact opposite, strength, emotional strength. Alot of people would commit suicide if they were living her life, but she finds the strength to sing and smile through it all. So to sum it up Sinderella is patient, not weak.

Aurora-Bland
There's no denying that Aurora is the most boring princess, but I think people are alittle too hard on her. The way people talk about her you'd think she's a robot or a lifeless dummy. She doesn't have the strongest personality but it's not like she doesn't have a personaltiy at all. Aurora is girly, romantic, dreamy, obedient and loyal. With the liitle screentime she has, we do get a good sense of her character. Sure her personality falls flat in comparison to say Ariel and hasmin or even Sinderella and Snow. But Aurora is interesting enough and she deserves abit madami credit.

Ariel-Stupid
Everybody says Ariel was stupid for making the deal with Ursula, but she had no choice. She wanted to be human so badly she was willing to do whatever it takes. Determination does not equal stupidity. I agree that Ariel is selfish and superficial but not dumb. When you think about it she's actually very eager to gain knowledge and learn about the human world. I also think people are abit too hard on Ariel for her bad decisions. She was a teenager in love, can you really blame her. pag-ibig makes people do crazy things, even it is a superficial love. Ariel may be naive but she's not an idiot.

Belle-Smart
I think everyone can agree that this is the biggest misconception of all the princesses. The DP franchise heavily markets Belle as the smartest princess. When you watch the movie you'll see isn't all that smart. In fact Belle is the most overrated princess in terms of intelligence. Everyone brings up the fact that Belle reads but it's not like she reads Shakespeare or history books. All she ever reads is fairytales, that makes her just about as smart as a 6 taon old. She also does some rather dumb things, like going into the west wing and ipinapakita the Beast to the townspeople. I'm not saying Belle's dumb but she isn't the smartest princess.

Jasmine-Strong
The misconception of hasmin is basically the opposite of Cinderella's. She isn't weak or anything when, she stands up for what she believes in and doesn't let people walk all over her but she's not very good at taking care of herself. People say she's independent and she is in certain parts, but other parts hasmin is the exact opposite. She's very dependent on Aladdin, if wasn't for him, her right arm would be missing and an hourglass would be her grave. She could have easily used the crown on her head to break out of the hourglass and what happened at the marketplace was just plain stupidity on her part. hasmin is cunning, not strong.

Pocahontas-Wise
Pocahontas is (arguably) the oldest princess, everyone wants to think that she's this wise and mature young lady but she's really not. She's actually immature and very irreponsible, and not that much different from Ariel in terms of those traits. Pocahontas is defiant, rebellious and runs away from tahanan like all the other princesses sa pamamagitan ng birth. Now her wisdom, her intelligence is almost as overrated as Belle's. How is she wise? She stalked a potientally dangerous man with a gun and when he pointed it at her, she just stood there posing dramatically. Pocahontas is independent and understanding but not wise.

Mulan-Tomboyish
Now this misconception is sa pamamagitan ng far the easiest to understand but here's the problem, Mulan is not a tomboy. When the movie starts we are introduced to her as someone who's clumsy, lazy, tardy and loves her family very much. How does any of this relate to tomboyish behaviour? To be fair Mulan does do some manly things but that's when she's well, pretending to be a man. She's pretending to be someone else and had no choice so it doesn't count. If she were a tomboy she wouldn't have a hard time keeping up with the men. Mulan is not a tomboy, she was just trying to save her father and her country.

Tiana-Boring
People think that this word is accurate when describing Tiana, but it's not. How is she boring? I mean have you seen "Almost There". Is it because she works so hard or because she's trying to achieve her dream? How does that translate into boring? When she turns into a frog Tiana does lose some of her best traits but she's still not boring. Her personality does pale in comparison to Charlotte's wackiness, now that, I can agree on. But she doesn't have to be wild and crazy, in fact that's what makes her so likable, she acts like a normal person. Tiana's not boring, she's just normal.

Rapunzel
There's nothing can really say about Rapunzel. People are pretty much spot on about her. She's basically Ariel just with all the bad traits removed. I can't really say anything negative about her. Come to think of it, she's a really blend of all the princesses. I guess one misconception of Rapunzel is that she's perfect but for the most part, she is. I got nothing.

Thanks for reading!

Edulf, PrincessLD and 1 other like this

Swanpride Uhm...no, I don't agree about Belle at all. She is smart, and that I consider her as such is only partly related to her reading habits, and a lot with her outSMARTING Gastong, Lumiere and Cogsworth for example. And, btw, the book she reads in the extended version of BatB actually IS Shakespear, Romeo and Juliet to be concrete. I never got the impression that she only reads fairy tales - just because her favourite books are about them? I like to read them too, but I also read a lot of other stuff, and Belle seems to read whatever she gets her finger on. Ariel and Snow White- I think it's always interesting that people give her a pass for making a very dangerous deal with Ursula, knowing fully well of her reputation, but at the same time call Snow White dumb for taking a wishing apple from an old woman she just helped, after the wishing well worked out so well for her (no pun intended). I think they both are on the same level of naivity/stupidity. Where this level is, decide for yourself. But to Snow White's credit: People tend to think of her as some sort of doormat, because she cooks for the dwarves, but she very much has the control over the little household. Tiana is less boring but a spoil-sport. She is just not fun to watch. But I wouldn't call her boring, narrowminded is the word which descripes her the best, and I don't like narrow-minded people. Rapunzel isn't like Ariel at all! He motivations are very different, her relationship to Gothel is different. While Ariel was pampered all her life, Rapunzel grew up in an abusive enviroment. Just because there are two elements of those two movies, which are similier (Discovering the world/town and a romantic boat scene), those characters are not the same. You could just as well say that Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora are all the same because they do household chores, talk with animals and sing with their prince. I agree though that Rapunzel is a blend of all the princesses before her, with a modern touch added - which is a good thing in my opnion. Otherwise, I agree. Another common misconception about Mulan is that she is rebellious - she isn't, not really. She acts for her father, not against a role she doesn't like. In fact, she initially doesn't really like the role as a soldier either, but she sees it through. Which is the reason I like her so much, even though she isn't my favourite.

dobbyssocks I like this article. Very well written. Though I don't agree with everything I like how you showed the positive sides of the princesses instead of just the negative. When I was little and watching these movies, I was not thinking "She does not have a very developed character", I was thinking along the lines of, "She kind and pretty and sings will." Many forget that little kids are not going to analyze every detail of a princess, they are going to only see good things about them, which is how they should be seen.

irmafan I disagree with you about Belle The only really dumb act that Belle has done was entering the West Wing You said that Belle doesn't read books written by Shakespeare which is totally false.In one scene from the Beauty and The Beast movie Belle was reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the beast.Just because she likes to read fantasy books doesn't mean that she is stupid.I consider Belle to be intelligent because she knows how to read.Belle lived in a period of time when most of the people didn't know how to read. I also consider Belle to be smart because she doesn't fall in love with guy just because he is good looking(unlike most of the disney princesses)but because of his inner qualities. Just because Belle showed the Beast to the people of the town doesn't mean that she is dumb.Sure Belle put the life of the Beast on danger by showing him to the people but she had no other choice.Showing him to the people was the only way in which she could prove that her father wasn't insane and that he didn't need to go to the Insane asylum.Sure people could say that Belle had the choice to marry Gaston in order to save her father from going to the insane asylum but she just couldn't marry him because she just couldn't imagine a life with that arrogant idiot I also disagree with you about Ariel Ariel is actually really stupid.Ariel was in ''love''with a boy that she doesn't know and had never met just because he was hot.Ariel made a dangerous deal with Ursula even though she knew about the consequences that would happen if Eric wouldn't fall in love with her.Ariel also thinks that there is no chance that humans could be evil just because they create so beautiful things.

JNTA1234 Oh don't get me wrong. I actually think Belle is extremely intelligent, she's just not as intelligent as people make her seem. I consider Belle the third smartest, after Jasmine and Mulan but for some reason people always call her the smartest princess. Sorry about the Shakespeare thing, I can't believe I let that scene slip my mind. I think I need to rewatch all their movies and analayze them properly.

JNTA1234 Funny thing is, I used to have the exact same misconceptions, if you look at my favourite princess list I'm straight up calling Mulan a tomboy and Aurora bland but then I realized I was wrong.

IsaacKuo Mulan was a tomboy, though. We see some of her normal personality in the early part of the movie. Most obviously, she speaks her mind, which is normal for boys in that culture but not girls. She doesn't just speak her mind, though--she also acts independently and assertively like a boy would, when she's not self-conscious under the critical eyes of her family members. Mulan's natural personality is actually exactly like Ping's when Ping wasn't self-consciously trying to do disgusting guy things. She already had a strong opinionated personality with the guts and assertiveness to act on them (like defending someone from bullying). It's just that Mulan didn't realize it yet.

Jessikaroo I agree that Mulan isn't a tomboy. She acts a lot like most girls of today do, clumsy and outspoken, trying to find their place with a lot of loyalty to their family. Does that make her tomboy? No. The only thing Mulan isn't is that she is not the perfect bride for her society, not a porcelain doll. I agree Belle is not the smartest. She is very smart, but she is not THE smartest. Jasmine's biggest misconception would more likely be she's a bitch. She reacted the same way most girls would. Screaming about it was the only way her opinion would be heard, so she did it. Being outspoken and wanting to wait for love are things most of us have today, so imagine ow you would react in her situation. Being dutiful and marrying someone you don't like just keep your dad happy? Well, I wouldn't. I don't know about the rest of fanpoppers.

IsaacKuo Mulan was completely out of place in her society. It went far beyond merely not being the perfect bride. She was an embarrassing disgrace to her family. Belle and Mulan seem normal to [b]us[/b], but they're out of place in their societies. In Belle's case, she's merely seen as odd. Belle's provincial town isn't really so different from a lot of rural hick towns today, and there were at least a couple people who didn't think Belle was so strange. But Mulan's society is far more alien to us. She does things which are simply unacceptable for girls in her society (but not for boys). Her entire attitude is unacceptable for girls in her society (but not for boys). Unlike Belle, there wasn't a single person who accepted the way she was.

pretty_angel92 "ll the negative stuff people say about Snow are completely true"- i'm sorry but no they're not. and she's not stupid, she's 14 YEARS OLD Cinderella-i don't consider her actions weak, but they're not brave AT ALL. she couldn't face the stepmother and step sisters, simple as that. she's not brave for handle all of that, she's just AFRAID, period. "Everybody says Ariel was stupid for making the deal with Ursula, but she had no choice. She wanted to be human so badly she was willing to do whatever it takes. Determination does not equal stupidity"- WHAT? i'm sorry, but you're completely wrong. you call that determination, i call that stupidity, selfishness and ignorance. and it's obvious why. Ariel did all of this because she's impulsive, she didn't even thought about the consequences also, i've NEVER met a teenager like her. "She could have easily used the crown her head to break out of the hourglass"- i don't even think that's possible. LOL "She stalked a potientally dangerous man with a gun and when he pointed it at her, she just stood there posing dramatically"- Pocahontas doesn't know what a gun is. and yes, she may not be wise, but that's because she comes from a different "world", where the culture is different. Rapunzel isn't perfect, she clearly has flaws and her own personality. she's NOTHING like Ariel agree about Belle, Mulan, Tiana and Aurora

Jessikaroo @pretty_angel92 I fully agree. @IsaacKuo The base of her problem IS that Mulan isn't what her society wants her to be, summed up as the perfect bride. It's the simplified reason about why she doesn't fit.

IsaacKuo @Jessikaroo: Oh! Okay, I see what you're saying now.

PrincessLD Great article! I agree with the misconceptions of the Disney Princesses. The only one that I don't agree is about Jasmine. I agree that she show no strong about the merchant try to cut her arm, But she is, almost all the time, strong. What about when Jafar ask her to beg, and she say no. or what about when he ask her to be his queen, and she trow him the vine, and say no. That's strong. I will never do that. Jasmine couldn't break the hourglass. It really look hard to break. I don't saying that she is the strongest princess, but she shows been strong almost everytime. Rapunzel, is not like Ariel. As Swanpride says, Rapunzel did that for different reasons. She shows more determination that Ariel. I agree about Belle. She is not the smartest princess only for reading books, that almost all the time were fairytales

gossym @pretty_angel92 Thats so not true. Cinderella is brave , i can clearly see that u didnt see the third movie of cinderella, she didnt give up at all, u could see that she stand up in front of her step mother and her step sister. if cinderella was afraid she would never go to the ball knowing that her step mother was there. If cinderella was afraid she would have never follow her heart on the third movie, to take her prince and never let her steph mother ruin her life like she did during all these years, Cinderella had limits. She is a really brave princess, on the thirs we could clearly see that another personnality of cinderella that we didnt see on the first. She even sacrifeice her life to save Anastais from Lady tremain Spells. So Yes CInderella is freakin brave, strong and patient, she had those qualities that just few others princess have. Cinderella give us a lesson that at a certain moment u have to follow ur heart and stop worrying about what other order u to do. Sorry but saying cinderella cant handle things its freakin false. if it was the case, cinderella would have commite a suicide already so easy to judge when u have never been treated like this......... .

pretty_angel92 ^EXACTLY, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A SEQUEL. which is made by different directors. Cinderella has a completely different personality, so i don't know why you're even bringing that. i never talk about sequels when it comes to my DP lists. i always look at the original movie yeah, she was only brave about going to the ball, but she decided to return to the house, later... " so easy to judge when u have never been treated like this........."---i'm sorry, but do you know anything about my personal life? yeah, i don't think so -___-

gossym She has not a different personnality, she grow up thats it, she realize that she cant let her step mother destroy her hope and her happiness thats it. Yah u are right i dont know anything about ur personal life, i apologize for what i said, but thing is cinderella wasnt in sitaution in the first movie where she could stand up enough.... In the 3rd, she her character grow up cuz she realize that if u want something u have to fight for it not just dream and hope about it...... sorry again i should have never say that :S, i was a little pissed this day ;S. Her personnality didnt change at all..... anyways its just another face of her personnality that viewers didnt see in the original movie

maryksand Very good article. Apploading your points about Cinderella. First and foremost, the very fact of her having to endure that kind of treatment from her family and still not stepping down to their level and not turning into a bitter, angry person represents her emotional strength. I really dislike the mindset that if you're being rude and bitchy it makes you strong and independent and kick ass. Cinderella was not like that and she didn't let her abusive family turn her into that whioch is the greatest representation of her strength. Also agreed about Ariel. She indeed made reckless and somewhat selfish decisions, but she wasn't stupid. She explored the human world for years, collecting things and not judging it like her father or other mermaids, because she was determined to get to know it before forming an opinion on it, which I consider to be very mature and smart. Her going to Ursula and making a deal with her was an act of despair, it happened after her father destroyed her collection she had been working on for her entire life and made it clear he was not going to listen to her side of things nor was he going to at least respect her opinion that was not based on prejudices like his. Rapunzel used a wanted thief whom she knew nothing about to guide her to the lanterns when she was desperate yet she doesn't get much hate for that (although I have to point at the fact that because of the way Rapunzel was raised, she couldn't judge or even know about what sort of threat Flynn could be for her, because other than the rubbish things Gothel was telling her about the world, trying to make her always stay in the tower, Rapunzel did not know anything about it. Plus Flynn never tried to do anything that she could consider a threat for her life. But the fact of her doing something pretty reckless without much caring about what the consequences could have been had Flynn turned out to be less of a noble, great guy at heart still remains). Absolutely agreed with Mulan. She was not a tomboy by any means, in fact, she was very "girly" despite not being entirely dolled up in daily life before going to meet a match maker. When she had to cut her hair it seemed like she felt a lot of emotional pain doing it and in the sequel she dresses like every woman in China does and lets her hair grow back so she obviously never wanted to look like a boy other than doing it when it was necessary to save her father. I kinda agree and disagree with you about Pocahontas. On one hand, I agree that she made decisions much more reckless than Ariel, going for a guy who came to her land with a gun and a defined purpose of taking it away from her people, but it doesn't take away the fact that she had wisdom. She wasn't very smart, yeah, but being wise is different. She had a connection to nature, to spirits, she knew the true meaning and beauty of everything and was ready to stand by it and I think it counts as being wise. I can't say Jasmine depended on Aladdin, because she clearly could function on her own and she didn't go completely desperate or helpless when she thought he was executed. Yes, he helped her on the market, but she helped him just as much when she kisses Jafar distracting him. Agreed about Snow White. She doesn't have much of a personality if at all and she shows no development throughout the movie, in either good or bad side. She remains the same all the time. Rapunzel's main flaw is the fact that she couldn't overcome an abusive treatment up untill she was 18. She was raised locked up in the tower with a woman who used her for selfish purposes and whom Rapunzel considered a mother, a woman who filled her head with lies and scary things about the world to make sure Rapunzel always stays in the tower and never attempts to get a life or experience she had every right to have, cutting her off all the possibilities for her to make friends or communicate with everyone but her and constantly put her down making Rapunzel believe she was not good enough and not smart enough to handle herself if she ever decides to go outside and face the world. This sort of emotional pressure and verbal abuse damaged her psyche and Rapunzel seemed to kind of "deal" with it, even though she wanted to see the lanterns and dreamt of breaking free one day. Yet she didn't do much about it untill Flynn came. I cannot blame her for that considering her situatuon and psychological condition she was in, but it's not like she was flawless because she often lacked the ability to stand up for herself.

NemainsBrother In a deleted scene in the diamond edition of "Beauty and the Beast" we see Belle reading the following books: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Legend of King Arthur, The Ilias and the Odyssey. Impressed? @JNTA1234: Don't mistake curiosity for idiocy.

TigerRanma I don't think you can break a giant hourglass with a crown. A regular sized hourglass, yes. But not a giant one. But other than that, I agree.

KrisztiTaylor Absolutely don't agree. Belle is very smart and actually has a hersonality. Everyone in her town expected to be normal but she stayed true to herself. She didn't went to the west wing because she was stupid but because she is a true adventurer and very curious. I would have done the same thing. Also it wasn't a mistake to show the beast to the town because she saved her father from going to mental asylum. Plus it doesn't matter if she reads fantasy or science or Geometry or horror because studies show that if you read, doesn't matter what as long as it's a book, then you're intelligence will grow. Also Mulan is very tomboyish. The only reason you'd think she's girly is because she has to get married and has to dress nicely. But never one in the movie have you seen her actually being happy about her getting married and being happy with the "woman belong in the kitchen" role.