Problems Surrounding The Female Characters In Walt Disney Films
Today, Walt Disney is a household name. You will be hard-pressed to find any person who has not seen, in their life, at least one Disney film. They are well-liked by children and parents alike, and provide a fun escape for the viewer. However, they are not without their problems. This essay will explore in particular some of the problems surrounding the female characters within Walt Disney Animation Studios' shorts and features, concentrating particularly on the Official Disney Princesses. We will also explore how the advances made by Disney’s princesses has reflected the progress of women in the real world.
Early Years: In the early years of Disney, throughout the 1930s, in the days where cartoons of Mickey Mouse and his friends were at …show more content…
In the original tale, Rapunzel can do nothing but sit in her tower waiting for the witch, Gothel (another example of the evil older woman), to return. Rapunzel has no friends and no life outside the tower. She doesn't even know anybody aside from the witch until the Prince happens upon the tower. However, in Tangled, Rapunzel takes her fate into her own hands and decides to leave the tower by herself, behind Mother Gothel's back. This shows that Disney's modernised Rapunzel has a lot of independence that she would not have had in the original tale. Rapunzel has been manipulated by her abuser - Mother Gothel - her entire life and still manages to maintain her cheerful and optimistic outlook on life, which is an important message to portray. Rapunzel is a very strong female character, and this was the intention of the film's directors, Byron Howard and Nathan Greno. They knew that in making a film for a modern audience it would be good to have Rapunzel be a "role model". They wanted the film to be driven by "girl power", and they specifically intended for Rapunzel to be a character who "has these hopes and dreams and she's going to get what she wants out of life."1 This shows that Disney Studios has made leaps and bounds when it comes to the centre of the female lead's story arc, finally recognising that women are strong and independent. They probably also realised that the modern audience had moved on from the 1950s and would prefer a strong female
Early Years: In the early years of Disney, throughout the 1930s, in the days where cartoons of Mickey Mouse and his friends were at …show more content…
In the original tale, Rapunzel can do nothing but sit in her tower waiting for the witch, Gothel (another example of the evil older woman), to return. Rapunzel has no friends and no life outside the tower. She doesn't even know anybody aside from the witch until the Prince happens upon the tower. However, in Tangled, Rapunzel takes her fate into her own hands and decides to leave the tower by herself, behind Mother Gothel's back. This shows that Disney's modernised Rapunzel has a lot of independence that she would not have had in the original tale. Rapunzel has been manipulated by her abuser - Mother Gothel - her entire life and still manages to maintain her cheerful and optimistic outlook on life, which is an important message to portray. Rapunzel is a very strong female character, and this was the intention of the film's directors, Byron Howard and Nathan Greno. They knew that in making a film for a modern audience it would be good to have Rapunzel be a "role model". They wanted the film to be driven by "girl power", and they specifically intended for Rapunzel to be a character who "has these hopes and dreams and she's going to get what she wants out of life."1 This shows that Disney Studios has made leaps and bounds when it comes to the centre of the female lead's story arc, finally recognising that women are strong and independent. They probably also realised that the modern audience had moved on from the 1950s and would prefer a strong female