Enchanted

The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home

Changes

I have changed my forth film from the Princess and the Frog to Enchanted I decieded to change my film choice as Enchanted can we linked to Snow White to show times havent changed in Disney Films.

In Todays Lesson.

Today I read though some of the articles I found on the internet and I took notes of what I had read and what evidence I could use, I then began to look more on the internet at look at the Disney website and their Disney Princess page.

http://disney.go.com/princess/

Criticism of Disney Princess

On December 24, 2006, Peggy Orenstein published, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” in the New York Times. In her article, Orenstein discussed her concerns about the effects of princess figures on young girls. Orenstein used the Disney Princesses specifically to present many of her points. Orenstein also noted the pervasive nature of Princess merchandise and that every facet of play has its princess equivalent.
Other sources have also voiced concern that the franchise could give young girls the wrong message. However, other parents say that young girls would eventually grow out of this phase.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/magazine/24princess.t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Internet Research

After reading the essay I last posted I decieded to look at two of the articles she mentions in her essay.

http://www.frederica.com/writings/the-women-of-disney.html

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/articles/gender_portrayal/break_mold.cfm

Internet Research

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=122745
Female Disney heroines are traditionally placed in one of three positions: that of an idealised teenage heroine, wicked middle-aged beauty or nurturing post-menopausal woman. These are the main stereotypes. Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel and Belle are examples of teenage heroines. Cruella Deville (101 Dalmatians), Ursula (The little Mermaid) and the wicked Queen (Snow White and the seven dwarfs) are classical examples of middle-aged villains. They have been called Disney's femme fatales (powerful woman defined by their sexuality). Disney's older women are always godmothers, fairies and servants. Their appearance is also common in the fairy tale genre. Because they are post-menopausal, they are not threatened as middle-aged heroines. There are many heroines with a cliché profile. Ariel, the heroine of the Little Mermaid, has a similar character profile (common housewife) except that she is shown wearing a bikini made out of shells (she is shown to be more attractive). However, her role is still male dominated. She will do anything to make the prince fall in love with her; even give up her voice. In the end, she does get her voice back and she also marries the prince (all Disney movies have happy endings). But just for romance, she loses everything else including her underwater home, her father and all her friends. In my opinion, all Disney heroines are in a shell and it takes a handsome young man to free them from the shell and give them a new life.

Sarah Underwood says in her article 'Changing the Way We Feel About Women' that "it is the way women are treated that affects children and adults globally. Women are not only mistreated in the workplace, but on the silver screen as well." I totally agree with Sarah Underwood and I strongly feel that if women are not "mistreated" on silver screen, then they might prove to be stronger role models for young women today.

Susan Riley has written an article in a Canadian magazine 'Media Awareness' telling us that there are few animated women in the Disney 'mould'. She says, "Even though the latest Disney films have toned down the sexism somewhat, they continue to exhibit insulting stereotypes."

Frederica Matthews-Green argues in her article 'The Women of Disney' that if a heroine has big eyes and hair she has to be Jasmine. If she has an attitude, she has to be Ariel. If she has a 'coupla extra pounds' she has to be Snow White and if she has mice she has to be Cinderella. If she has books she has to be Belle. I think that Frederica has brilliantly "sorted" Disney's heroines into classes according to their similarities.

The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog was the first Disney film to have a Black Princess.

The Plot.
In New Orleans, a young girl named Tiana and her mother are visiting the La Bouff family, where Tiana's mother is crafting a dress for the family's daughter named Charlotte. Charlotte is a lover of fairy tales, and Tiana's mother reads the two the story of "The Frog Prince." While Charlotte is enamored with kissing a frog that becomes a prince, Tiana finds the thought disgusting.Upon returning home, Tiana helps her Father prepare gumbo. As the meal is finished, her Father tells of his dream to one day open his own restaurant. When Tiana eagerly chimes in that she wants to help, her Father claims they'll call it Tiana's Place. Upon seeing the North Star outside her window, Tiana makes a wish, to which her Father explains that wishing can only go so far, and that she has to help that wish along.As time passes, holds onto the dream, even after her Father has passed away. Working two different jobs, Tiana spends almost all of her time working and saving for a place, with little time for friends or fun. One morning, she runs into Charlotte and her father. Charlotte's father, 'Big Daddy' La Bouff, has been named King of the Mardi Gras (for the 5th year in a row), but Charlotte is tickled pink that a visiting Prince named Naveen is in New Orleans. As Naveen is single, Charlotte hopes to fulfill her wish of marrying a Prince and living Happily Ever After, and has invited him to attend a social function at the family mansion.Knowing of Tiana's cooking skills, Charlotte pays her friend a large sum of money to cater the event. Tiana is pleased, as the money is just enough to allow her to purchase the place to start her restaurant. Tiana contacts the building's owners and shows the place to her Mother. While her Mother is pleased, she is worried that Tiana seems to have no time for herself, with her one-mindedness regarding the restaurant.At the La Bouff mansion, Tiana shows up to cater the event, and soon, Prince Naveen arrives. Charlotte eagerly goes to him for a dance. However, as Tiana watches her friend, the realtors of the property have also attended the function. Tiana eagerly tells of her wish to sign the papers to the building as soon as possible, but the two men explain that someone else has offered a larger sum, and are planning to deny her the property. Upset and heartbroken, Tiana accidentally makes a mess of her outfit. Charlotte, seeing her friend in need, allows her to change out of the outfit, into a blue gown with tiara. While in Charlotte's room, she sees the star shining in the sky, and wishes for help regarding her restaurant. As she looks down, she finds a frog sitting near her, that suddenly starts to talk!