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This and all the other Disney renaissance movies are dangerous crap for little girls...the reasons why

posted 4 years ago by [deleted]
2 replies | jump to latest

Recently, I started revisiting or finally reading the original source material that all the Disney renaissance movies were based on. When I did, I was so stunned on how deliberate the studio was in changing each story.

To explain what I mean, before I'd read the original stories, I knew that Disney had readapted them for a kid audience (since so many were dark). What I didn't know was HOW it readapted the stories. It didn't just kiddify them (as in, take out the sex, death and violence). It actually took out the very important life lessons for little girls that they had originally taught.

The worst offender is The Little Mermaid. The original story had 11 important lessons: 1) The very first guy you crush on is gonna feel like The One, but he may not be 2) Unrequited love exists 3) Don't abandon your friends and family for a guy 4) Don't use love as a tool to get what you want 5) Sometimes the best way to love someone is to set them free, even if it hurts 6) Beware the Faustian bargain 7) Life is not greener on the other side 8) Don't let your emotions get the best of you 9) Impulsiveness is bad 10) It's not worth sacrificing yourself for a man 11) Listen to your elders.

Looking at Disney's version, it was almost as if the writers sneered at these lessons and went, "P'SHAW! Andersen was a MORON! The grass is greener! There's no such thing as unrequited love; all you have to do is be persistent (and really, really cute)! Abandon everyone for a man, even your friends and family! Impulsiveness is great if it all works out in the end!" The list goes on and on...

Disney pulled this crap for every single adaptation, too (especially The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was actually a warning to young women to beware of sexual predators). There's just no way mothers should be showing their daughters this and other Disney princess renaissance movies without a strong talk later countering all the bad messages they send.

[–] Theman (1229) 3 years ago

I agree 100 percent. Girls should be at least eight before watching the film as otherwise they would not understand the plot.

[–] Furienna (3348) 3 years ago

Yikes...
Do you realize that you sound like you want girls to just be passive and never make any decisions of their own?

Also, Ariel saved Eric's life twice and ultimately helped him defeat Ursula.
Why can't people remember that?
So no matter what you think about Ariel being impulsive and naive before that, she did earn her happy ending.
Besides, it is clear that it was Triton's fault that she was manipulated by Ursula in the first place.
He shouldn't have destroyed Ariel's possessions like that and put her in a vulnerable state...

This is hardly ever mentioned either, but it was clear that Eric was a hopeless romantic as well.
He had only gotten a hazy glimpse of Ariel and heard her singing voice, but it was enough for him to fall in love.
But for I don't know what reason, people just complain about her without mentioning him.
And yeah, love at first sight is not seen as realistic or healthy by the cynics of today.
And even at Disney, writers now make fun of that trope many years after any of their movies played it straight.
But in the end, Ariel and Eric made it work by getting to know each other and working together.
Which is yet another important point, that nobody seems to bring up...

Wow, it is not like Ariel even is my favorite Disney princess (Belle is).
But still, I really can't stand it when people misinterpret her character this much.