What Disney Taught Me- The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

When I was a child I used to watch Disney movies purely for entertainment, maybe learning a few morals here and there (I say as a child, I still do the same thing now at the age of 21). It’s only now that I’ve grown up that I pick up on things in these films that I didn’t notice, or understand, before. I now see Disney in a whole new light and realised that Disney did actually teach me some life lessons. Some of these lessons are valuable and others should be brushed under Aladdin’s magic carpet, and be left there to infinity and beyond!

Let me start off by saying I’m obsessed with anything Disney! Disney was my whole childhood and I have many happy memories watching Disney films, going to Disneyland, etc. I’m in no way slating Disney (I could never do that! I feel like I take negative comments about Disney as a personal offence!) I’m simply saying that watching Disney as an adult, makes you look at scenarios differently!

Let’s start with a classic. 

Cinderella

Probably the first Disney princess everyone thinks of, she’s arguably the most famous and obviously has the prettiest dress! Watching Cinderella when I was a little girl taught me that no matter how much life throws at you, things will get better and eventually you will find your happily ever after. Looking back on it, Cinderella tells me that it’s fine to let people walk over you until you eventually decide to rebel by sneaking out to go to a party and get off with a random lad who throws parties purely to pull girls. It also taught me that it’s fine to do this, as long as you get back home before anyone has even noticed you were gone. Cinderella taught me that it's perfectly acceptable to marry someone you’ve just met, even if he has been through every girl in the land until he decided you were the one he wanted to put a ring (or a glass slipper) on. Cinderella also taught me that there is nothing wrong with letting a stranger who claims she can solve all your problems cast spells on you, instead of solving your own issues.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Cinderella got the wish her heart made. I’d want to marry into royalty and live in a castle if I spent my life mopping floors all day too. But I still feel sorry for the animals that did the housework and wouldn’t recommend sneaking out the house to meet strangers, even if the stranger in question is royalty!

Snow White

I remember feeling so sorry for Snow White when I was younger. She was treated badly by her wicked stepmother and her life got so bad that she eventually had to run away. But then she ended up moving in with seven strangers and basically became their Mum. 

Not only that, but like Cinderella, she also got animals to do the dirty work with her, I’m sure some animal charities will have something to say about that. Also, Snow White’s wicked stepmother taught me that if you’re jealous because someone is prettier than you, trying to murder them by making them eat some fruit you poisoned is absolutely the right way to solve your conflict. If that isn’t enough to make a child not want to consume their five a day, then I don’t know what is. 

Now let’s move on to the prince, is it just me who finds it strange that he saw a girl, who was thought to be near dead, and straight away decides to ‘save her’ (by kidnapping her while she was basically in a full on coma let’s not forget). He also happens to be the most useless Prince ever, he didn’t even save Snow White, he literally just decided she was hot when she was sleeping, kissed her and then took all the credit for saving her! Worst prince ever! 

The Little Mermaid

In all honesty Arial isn’t one of my favourite Disney Princess and I don’t think she sets a particularly positive example for young girls. As a little girl I vividly remember the scene when her Dad tells her she can’t be in love with Prince Eric. Fair play as not only is Eric a human and Arial is a magical creature who is part fish, but she hasn’t even spoken to him in her life. Instead of obeying her Dad like she should have (then maybe she would’ve avoided Ursula and kept her voice throughout the whole film) she protested and says the famous line that get’s me every time. “I’m sixteen years old, I’m not a child anymore”. I remember agreeing with this statement when I was little, now I just look at her and think that’s exactly what you are!

If you think about it, you could say that actually, Arial sends the message that it’s fine to disobey your parents, and it’s acceptable to sell your soul (or voice) to someone who you know is dodgy. You should also completely change yourself so a boy will like you, even if you haven’t even spoken a word to him. Also, what does this say about Prince Eric? Not only does he marry Arial purely on her looks without even without knowing her, but also for half of the film he was grafting Ursula! Where’s the loyalty, Eric? 

I used to think Ursula was the scariest Disney villain and was really mean for trying to ruin Arial’s chances with the Prince. Now, I understand where she’s coming from. She was probably trying to teach Arial a lesson for being so stupid!

Yes, Arial may have the best hair but she is so not my favourite princess! Although, I do think she throws the best tantrums! Throwing herself on a rock because her Dad told her no- iconic. I guess you could say that at least she was dedicated and her perseverance paid off, because she ended up with a nice castle by the sea with her prince.

Aladdin

Again, good film, but not really the best message. Let’s get real, Aladdin is a thief who tricks a girl into thinking he’s rich to make him like her. So not only does it tell us it’s fine for us to lie to trick people into wanting you, but it also tells us that it’s fine to forgive people for being liars, as long as they have money! Also, didn’t Princess Jasmine leave her palace after her Dad specifically told her not to? What is it with Disney princesses disobeying their parents?  

Also, why does everyone have such strange pets? A tiger and a monkey? Really? 

But in all fairness, Aladdin does have some positive messages too! It teaches us about forgiveness and that everyone makes mistakes. It also teaches us that friendship is very important, even if you rely on your friends to solve your problems by using a magic lamp!

Mulan

Possibly the Disney film with one of the if not the best message! Mulan is all about protecting your family, something that I think is hugely important (I’m a massive Mummy’s girl so any heartwarming story to do with family will always go far in my book). I love how this young girl achieved what she sets out to do. 

I feel that a lot of Disney films send out the message that as a girl, your life will not be happy or complete without a Prince. (It’s not just me, I’ve seen a lot of people say the same thing and while I love a good love story, I don’t think saying that a girl needs a prince to come and save her is the best message to send to you girls). And while I’m one of the soppiest people you could possibly meet (I’ve been told how soppy I am countless times!) I think it’s good to have a Disney Princess who not only saves herself, but also saves the Prince. Oh, and the whole of China!

So, because of her bravery and dedication to her country and her family, Mulan taught me that family comes first and if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it. But most importantly, it taught me that you can be your own hero.

Also, I can’t talk about Mulan without mentioning that it has the best Disney song! Man Out of You is a classic! And can we just quickly talk about the scene where Mulan is getting ready to see the matchmaker and her make up artist does the most perfect winged eyeliner in one sweep! Totally unrealistic of course, but so satisfying to watch!

Beauty and the Beast

One of my favourite films ever! One of the reasons I love is so much is because it’s about my favourite princess, Belle. There are so many reasons why out of all the Disney princesses, Belle is my favourite. 

Belle isn’t interested in finding a Prince, she just cares about her family and her education. Belle also doesn’t care about impressing Gaston, no matter how good-looking he is. Ladies, we all know Gaston is the original fuck boy, we were warned from an early age to stay away from guys like him. Instead, Belle sacrifices herself to save her Dad, and falls in love with the Beast because she loves him for who he is. I also like how the Beast and Belle save each other, it’s 50/50 which is how relationships should be!

Also, Belle knows that she’s different; she understands that the villagers think she’s weird because she isn’t the same as everyone else. The best thing about this is that Belle doesn’t care! She knows she’s different but she won’t change for anyone, because she’s happy being herself.  So if Princess Belle isn’t a positive role model for young girls (or women, Disney has no age restrictions), then I don’t know who is.

As I mentioned before, Disney holds a very special place in my heart. I think that actually, films like these usually set a very positive example for the audience. A large majority of their films (The Lion King, Tarzan, Jungle Book, Toy Story and hundreds of others) tell the audience how important friendship and family is, which I think is an important and lovely message to send to young children when they’re growing up. See, I told you I was soppy!

Like I said, I love Disney, just like many other people. It doesn’t matter how old you are many people grew up and learnt from Disney films.  While this post was very tongue in cheek, I do genuinely believe that Disney does send messages to their audience, maybe some just are just better lessons than others!

Belle is still the best though, sorry not sorry!

Until next time,

Becca x






*All gifs in this post were found on https://giphy.com/