Princesses That Rock and Those That Just Don’t

I was getting caught up on my Triond reading and ran across Yovita’s Bad Lesson From Cinderella Story. She talks about the negative messages of what is otherwise a beautiful fairytale. That got me thinking about all the princess stories, which in turn reminded me of a dinner table conversation with my family.

Pic by iliturgitana

You see, my six-year-old niece and I often discuss which of the Disney princesses is the better one. She likes all of them, but tends to favor Ariel and Cinderella. I’m with her on Ariel–head strong, gutsy, proactive–but she loses me with Cinderella. She’s not bad, but agree I with Yovita, she’s a weak willed character.

Of course, when it comes to weak willed, Sleeping Beauty takes the cake. She spends most of the movie on her back… waiting. Granted, she’s under a spell, but really, she’s the central character and does nothing of interest.

Snow White was knocked out for a while, but before that she was industrious, caring, and knew how to lead. The day she finds the dwarfs’ house, she immediately delegates chores to the forest animals that are hanging out with her and works side by side with them. She’s gentle, but not weak. Weak is annoying.

I guess that’s why I like Belle from Beauty and the Beast so much. She’s my favorite of the classic princesses. Belle’s smart, strong willed, curious, brave. And she knows a jerk when she sees one. Others like her include Mulan, Jasmine, and Fiona, but they’re newer. What I like best about Belle is that she–thankfully–reminds me of my niece.