REVEALING THE MASTER NARRATIVE

Princess Snow White

In the 1937 Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White

has the honor of being the first Princess in the first Disney animated

feature, paving the way for all subsequent princesses. In the film, Snow

White is a young, beautiful girl living with her vain and cruel stepmother,

Queen Grimhilde. The stepmother fears that the princess will become

more beautiful than she is and thus sets out to kill her. Snow White

befriends the seven dwarfs during her stay at their cottage. Her true love

is the Prince, who is able to wake her from her eternal sleep with true

love's kiss. At 14, she is the youngest of the official Disney Princesses.

Princess Cinderella

Cinderella is a tale about a young woman forced to work as a maid by

her mean stepmother (Lady Tremaine) and stepsisters (Drizella and

Anastasia). She keeps herself company by befriending the mice that live

in the house with her. Cinderella is the first Disney Princess to have

siblings (albeit step-siblings) and is 19 years old. Cinderella is the first

Disney Princess who is married into royalty (she marries Prince

Charming).

Princess Aurora

Aurora is the protagonist of the film Sleeping Beauty, based on the classic fairy

tale involving a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome

prince. Aurora has the distinction of being both the Princess with the least

amount of screen time and singing more of her lines than speaking them.

Aurora has the purest pedigree of any Disney Princess, being the first and only

child of a king (King Stefan) who also marries Prince Phillip, the firstborn son

and heir of a king (King Hubert). Aurora is 16 years old.

Princess later Queen Ariel

Ariel is the female protagonist of the films The Little Mermaid, about a

young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea for true love. Ariel

is the first Disney Princess to have not been born human and is also the

first Disney Princess confirmed to have children as she and Eric have a

daughter, Melody, in the sequel. She is sixteen years old in the first film

and is presumably in her late twenties in the sequel. Ariel's title of

Princess comes from her father, King Triton, a title she shares with her

six older sisters. She acquires the title of Princess through her marriage

to Prince Eric.

Princess Belle

Belle is the fifth Disney princess and the main female protagonist of

the film Beauty and the Beast and its two sequels. Her story is about a

beautiful young woman and the cursed beast that falls in love with

her. Belle is the first Disney Princess to have been the antagonist of

her love interest. She is also the first person to have a confirmed

country in the movie (France). She is 17 years old. Belle is the second

Disney Princess to be of common birth. When she marries, she

becomes a Princess.

Princess later Sultana Jasmine

Jasmine is the main female protagonist of Aladdin, its two sequels, and the

television series. Jasmine is the daughter (and only child) of the Sultan of

Agrabah, the traditional title styled "Shahzadi Sultan" (Princess). When she

marries Aladdin, a commoner (the son of the self-styled "King of Thieves"

notwithstanding), he gains the title of Prince. Upon the death or abdication

of her father in favor of Aladdin (as was stated to be the Sultan's wish),

Aladdin would become the Sultan of Agrabah and Jasmine would acquire

the title of Sultana.

Princess Pocahontas

Pocahontas is the main protagonist of the film Pocahontas and is the first

Disney Princess to have been based (loosely) on a real person, instead of a

fairy tale. She is a Powhatan Native American, and she is the first Disney

Princess to have two "princes" (John Smith and John Rolfe). Pocahontas was

born as the only child of Chief Powhatan, thus giving her the title of Chieftain's

Daughter. Her eventual marriage to John Rolfe (a commoner) does not change

her status or his.

Princess Mulan

Fa Mulan is the main protagonist in the Disney film Mulan and its sequel

Mulan II. Mulan is (to date) the only Disney Princess who does not hold

the title of Princess in one form or another. However, she does earn the

non-noble title of Imperial Consul. Her eventual marriage to General Li

Shang (also non-noble) does not grant her any titles either. Mulan and

Shang are the only non-royal Disney couple in the Disney Princess

franchise.

Princess Tiana

Tiana is the main female protagonist in the film The Princess and the

Frog. Tiana made history as the first African-American Disney Princess.

She is the third to be married into the Princess life. Compared to all

the other Princesses, her story is set in a time period that is closest to

modern day (New Orleans in the 1920s). Commoner-born, Tiana

becomes Princess Consort upon her marriage to Prince Naveen, the

eldest son and Heir Apparent of the King of Maldonia.

Princess Rapunzel

Rapunzel is the main female protagonist in the film Tangled and the

short film Tangled Ever After. Like Aurora, she has golden hair, was

born into her title, and was removed from her parent's custody as a

baby, only to be reunited in her teens. Her hair has magical properties.

She is voiced by Mandy Moore. She is strong-willed and her preferred

weapon is a frying pan. Rapunzel was born a princess. As the only child

of the King and Queen of Corona, she eventually marries Eugene "Flynn

Rider" Fitzherbert, giving him the title of Prince Consort. Upon the

death or abdication of her father, Rapunzel will become Queen

Regnant of Corona.

Princess Merida

Merida is the main protagonist of the Disney/Pixar film Brave, making her the

first Pixar Princess. She has long, curly, red hair and blue eyes. Merida lives in

medieval Scotland and is the first Disney Princess without a romantic interest

in her film. Merida is a true Princess; firstborn of King Fergus of DunBroch. Her

lack of a romantic interest makes it unlikely that she will rise to rule the

kingdom, considering the views of gender equality in the era. Official

Princesses-in-Waiting.

Princess Anna

Princess Anna of Arendelle is the main protagonist of the Disney film

Frozen and is the younger daughter of the King and Queen of Arendelle (a

Norwegian Kingdom). She has long, strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes,

and is a free-spirited, fearless, happy-go-lucky, reckless ball of energy who

lives by trusting her own feelings. Presumably, she will eventually marry

Kristoff and, as a result, grant him the title of Prince. As the next-in-line

for the Arendelle throne, she stands to eventually become Queen in her

own right upon the death or abdication of her husband.

Prince Ferdinand

This prince is the secondary protagonist and the main male protagonist of

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. He is the love interest and later husband

of Snow White and is referred to as the Prince as his name is never

mentioned in the film. The Prince just appears at the movie start, when he

sings with Snow White, and at the end, when he saves the princess of her

stepmother's curse.

Prince Charming

Prince Charming (also known as Prince Henry) is the main male

protagonist of Cinderella and its sequels. Prince Charming has brown hair

and is the love interest of Cinderella. He is much more interested in her

than anyone else. He appears to be a loyal husband, prince and future

king. The Prince Charming is at first apparently not interested in

marrying, but changes his opinion when he meets Cinderella. He also

apparently can dance.

Prince Philip

Prince Philip is the main male protagonist of the film Sleeping Beauty.

He is the love interest and later husband of Aurora. He is brave, loyal

and kind. He was the first prince to have a revealed name, and the first

to have a prominent role in his movie, as he appears in most of it, and

he is the first to have known his romantic partner since she was born.

Eric

Prince Eric is the main male protagonist of The Little Mermaid.

The Beast

Prince Adam, also known as The Beast, is the main male protagonist of

Beauty and the Beast. He is the love interest/husband of Belle. He is

mostly seen in his Beast form, including in the franchise. He is at first rude,

impatient, and mean which changes to fierce, territorial, and lonely to

kind, gentle and brave. He has red hair and blue eyes.

Aladdin

Aladdin is the main male protagonist of the movies Aladdin, He has black hair

and brown eyes. He is the love interest and later husband of Princess Jasmine.

He has a pet monkey named Abu and recently acquired a flying rug called

"Carpet," a retired Genie for a friend and Jafar's old parrot, Iago. He is the only

prince who was the main protagonist of his movie, seeing he is more important

than his romantic interest, the princess Jasmine. He is also the first prince that

isn't from the royalty since his birth.

John Smith

John Smith is the main male protagonist of the film Pocahontas. He is the

love interest of Pocahontas. He was more interested in land than gold

until he met Pocahontas and changed his #1 priority to her. After being

shot by Ratcliffe, John had to go back to England. He then was accused of

treason and had to fake his death. He eventually met and helped John

Rolfe and Pocahontas in England. He sailed to explore the world, charting

a different course than Pocahontas, and once again changed his

priorities.

Li Shang

Shang is the main male protagonist of Mulan, though it is unclear at first, and

Mulan II. He is a slight antagonist in Mulan which changes to love interest, and

later fiancé and husband to Mulan in Mulan II. He has black hair and brown

eyes.

Prince Naveen

Naveen is the main male protagonist of The Princess and the Frog. He is

an annoyance to Tiana until they spend more time together as frogs, and

he becomes her love interest and later husband. He has black hair and

brown eyes. He is slightly bratty and hugely spoiled until his "froggy"

adventure.

Eugene Fitzherbert

Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert is the main male protagonist of Tangled. He

is voiced by Zachary Levi. He is the love interest of Rapunzel in Tangled and

her husband in Tangled Ever After. He went from an orphan to a thief to a

prince.

Name: _________________

Exposing the Master Narrative

1) Which Disney Princess and Disney Prince are most physically attractive? Why?

2) Which Disney Prince or Princess is the “hottest”? Which would most “quench your

thirst?”

3) Which prince or princess do you most look like? Why?

4) Which prince or princess can you best relate to?

5) Which Disney Prince or Princess would you most like to be?

6) Which Disney Prince and/or Princess would you most like to be friends with?

7) What do your answers above reveal about your standards of beauty? Discuss as many

physical attributes as you can think of (height; body shape and size; hair length, colour

and texture; eye colour; facial feature sizes; skin colour and shade; etc.

8) What do your answers reveal about your beliefs about gender?

9) What do your answers above reveal about what you value?

10) What do your answers reveal about how you fit into a world shown to you on screen?

Do you fit in? Are you represented? Do you feel you belong to or are alienated by the

groups portrayed in mainstream movies?