16. Your favorite Disney Princess movie
I thought this would torment me since I love Disney movies in general, but surprisingly I know which one is my favorite!
Tangled comes very close. I adore that movie. But I found that it’s confusing the children. I’m not suggesting a boycott or any such silly thing, but most of the kids I know who like Tangled did not know the story of Rapunzel before it, and so their idea of the story is the backward version Disney put forth. HE was a prince, SHE was the daughter of peasants, and they wandered TWO YEARS before finding each other again. For me, part of the charm of the movie was seeing the re-interpretation of the story, but sadly, too many think it IS the original. Take my advise – go forth and read unto thy children the original before they watch the Disney. This goes for pretty much all the fairy tales.
Enchanted also bounced around in my head for a few minutes as a possible favorite candidate. I like how there are references to all the classic princess movies throughout. I love how Disney was laughing at itself. I like how she fell in love with a normal, imperfect guy and saw how unrealistic the love-before-first-sight thing is. But it didn’t quite make the cut because frankly, I hate the scene toward the end with the witch turning into a dragon. It’s really painful to watch and listen to. The dialog is painfully cliche and awkward. I feel like a five year old wrote it. I sometimes fast-forward to where she dies and just watch the kiss at the end. 😛
So, the winner iiiiiiiiiiiiis:
Cinderella.
As cheesy as it is, as un-empowering as it is for girls, I love Cinderella. From the first bit of narration while the book is opening, it will give me goosebumps. I wish my voice would split into multiple parts so I can sing all of the harmonies in Sing Sweet Nightingale. Jak-Jak and Gus’s attempts to get the key and climb up that huge flight of stairs makes me break out into a cold sweat. Okay, maybe I’m getting a bit out of hand, but I did beg for the newly released DVD for my 18th birthday, and as a child I did once have a dream that I was Cinderella and Prince Charming gave me a box of chocolates. Yes. And part of it is the beautiful, beautiful artwork. Aaaah, they rarely create animated movies with that quality of artwork any more.
Castle of Blue 