Of all Disney movies, few hold such a special place in the hearts of fans as the Disney
princess films.
And what's not to love?
There's a princess to suit every personality.
But unless you have kids, it may have been a hot minute since you caught up with your
favorite Disney princesses, and re-watching as an adult leads to some surprising realizations.
Sad backstories
When you think of fairy tales, you probably think of happily ever after, but the Disney
princess movies are actually full of heartbreak.
Belle, Ariel, Pocahontas, and Jasmine all lost their mothers at a young age.
Tiana's dad dies.
Rapunzel was kidnapped from her real parents and grew up living a lie.
Elsa and Anna, Cinderella, and Snow White all lost both parents.
When you're younger, these absences seem secondary, but as an adult, it kind of guts you.
Why can't we have more happy endings for Mom and Dad too?
More trauma
It isn't just the loss of parental figures that makes life hard for the Disney princesses.
There's also all of the other traumatic things that happen to them.
"Were you poisoned?"
"No!"
"Cursed?"
"No!"
"Kidnapped or enslaved?"
"No!
Are you guys OK, should I call the police?"
These young women should be socially awkward at best.
It's likely that some of them would even have disorders or developmental issues from all
the trauma they experienced during their early years of life.
Yet, somehow, the princesses all get thrust into darkness and magically come out on the
other side sparkly and bright.
Easter eggs aplenty
Pixar often gets all the credit for clever Easter eggs, but Disney manages to sneak a
bunch into their princess movies, too.
In the opening scenes of The Little Mermaid when King Triton arrives, Goofy and friends
are in the audience.
When the Sultan in Aladdin stacks his toys, a beast figurine can be seen near the top.
In The Princess and the Frog, Jasmine and Aladdin's magic carpet can be seen near a
New Orleans balcony.
And if you really keep your eyes peeled when Flynn Rider takes Rapunzel to The Snuggly
Duckling, you'll catch a glimpse of Pinocchio tucked into the bar's rafters.
Who knows how many more there might be!
A little dirty
There's a lot of lore surrounding adult themes in Disney movies.
Sure, some of those supposed references are just fans with overactive imaginations reading
too much into things.
But there are actually some intentionally pervy references in the Disney princess movies
as well.
When Frozen's Anna and Kristoff argue over how well she knows Hans, they have an exchange
only adults will fully understand:
"Foot size?"
"Foot size doesn't matter!"
Hello, bedroom humor!
And in Aladdin and the King of Thieves, what feels like an earthquake prompts Genie to
quip:
"I thought the Earth wasn't supposed to move until the honeymoon."
Even if you heard or saw these things when you were younger, you didn't know what they
meant.
Now ya do.
"What can I say except 'You're welcome!'"
Those song lyrics
Not all Disney princess songs are heartfelt and moving.
Have you ever really listened to "Kill the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast?
What about "Savages" from Pocahontas?
"Savages" relies entirely on fear-mongering and hate rhetoric regarding the Native American
people:
Yikes!
And that's not all.
In The Little Mermaid's "Poor Unfortunate Souls," Ursula sings about manipulating lonely,
depressed people into giving up their souls.
In Tangled's "Mother Knows Best," Mother Gothel convinces Rapunzel that she could be trampled
by a rhino, mugged and left for dead, or attacked by men with pointy teeth in the outside world.
That's really dark and twisted.
Oh baby!
Kids like to see other kids onscreen, but have you ever noticed that most of the Disney
princess movies are essentially about teens or adults?
Since the Disney princess movies stretch back as far as the 1930s, many of them follow certain
social mores: The women don't work, they like to bake, they dream of getting married.
But while that pattern of thought has historically also included starting a family, that's where
the Disney princesses mostly buck the trend.
While it's actually kind of nice that the princesses don't rush into parenthood given
how young they all appear to be, it does seem puzzling that only Ariel went on to have a
baby - and we didn't even get to see her daughter Melody until the sequel.
Changing times
Disney princesses seem to be drawn up using the Barbie-body-measurement system.
Tiny waists, absurdly long legs, their figures are someone's idealized version of bodily
perfection.
But there's no such thing as the perfect anything, and females come in far more body shapes than
Disney princesses represent.
The very fact that young girls watching don't notice the lack of body diversity and instead
internalize the notions of perfection and beauty is all the more reason why change is
necessary - and why modern heroines like Moana and Merida are drawn with much more realistic
figures.
Here's to progress!
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