Disney heroines

Getting a Pocahontas result in that FB quiz made me think about what a disney heroine should represent.

Before Pocahontas, Mulan and Hercules was shown, the only Disney princesses I knew were Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Ariel (from Little Mermaid). When I was younger, the scene where Prince Charming would kiss Sleeping Beauty (thereby breaking the evil witch’s spell) made me giddy as hell. Kilig to the bones, talaga! Made me wish for my own Prince Charming too.

But as I grew older, I realized that there was something wrong about how Disney portrayed women. Sure they were beautiful and smart but they still were still damsels in distress!

I wondered why Disney portrayed Ariel as a submissive girl who failed to put up a fight when an evil Octupus-like crazy woman stole her groom on the day of their wedding!!! I mean she gave up her family for that man and yet, she mere merley cries when the wedding barge departs without her. WTF?

Hence, it was such a relief when Disney emancipated women through Mulan, Pochantas and Meg (the heroine in Hercules). I liked the idea of Mulan who decided to save her family and her father by disguising herself as a man. And how Meg epitomized sacrifice and selflessness when she decides to save Hercules by pushing him away from a falling pillar and taking the blow herself.

Cinderalla and Sleeping Beauty can definitely pick up a thing or two from Mulan and Meg.

I hope Disney continues to produce animated films with heroines who are just as witty, brave and strong as Meg and Mulan. Women who know that they are more than just a pretty face with an enviable body.

I also hope that, through Disney films, little girls will embrace the idea that they are heroes in their own right. And that they don’t need a prince’s kiss to free them from bondage.