Evidently the idea of watching Disney movies has come into question as of late. I watched Tangled with my granddaughters and made a mental note of the fact that prince charming had a really checkered past. I watched Frozen with my granddaughters and noted that prince charming was a cad and a potential murderer. I watched Maleficent with my granddaughters and decided that Disney had been taken over by a group of radical feminists who were into special effects. Then I watched Into The Woods with my granddaughters and decided that Disney no longer dealt with moral lessons. At that point I gave up watching Disney movies with my granddaughters.
I grew up on Disney movies. Somehow I never expected a good-looking, rich man on a white horse to whisk me off to his castle where I would live happily ever after. After all, castles are drafty and generally don’t have central heating or air conditioning. I like my creature comforts. Well, evidently not all of today’s parents feel that common sense will overcome the lure of a handsome, rich man on a white horse with a castle.
Yesterday Hot Air posted an article that included the following:
This week there have been stories about two different Hollywood actresses who both find Disney Princess movies to be problematic in some way. Once celebrities are talking about it, it’s sure to become a trend if it wasn’t one already. First up is actress Keira Knightley who told Ellen Degeneres that she doesn’t allow her daughters to watch Cinderella or the Little Mermaid. From the BBC:
Knightley told Ellen DeGeneres that 1950’s Cinderella “waits around for a rich guy to rescue her. Don’t! Rescue yourself. Obviously!”
She said of Little Mermaid: “I mean, the songs are great, but do not give your voice up for a man. Hello!”
The actress added: “And this is the one that I’m quite annoyed about because I really like the film. I love The Little Mermaid! That one’s a little tricky – but I’m keeping to it.”
The insanity continues:
Actress Kristen Bell, who starred in Disney’s megahit Frozen, also has problems with at least one of Disney’s princess films. During a recent interview with Parents magazine, she said she talks to her kids about elements of Snow White that bother her, including the kiss:
“Every time we close Snow White I look at my girls and ask, ‘Don’t you think it’s weird that Snow White didn’t ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple? Or where she got that apple?’ I say, ‘I would never take food from a stranger, would you?’ And my kids are like, ‘No!’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m doing something right.’”
The apple question is not the only one that Bell—a Disney Princess herself as the voice of Anna in Frozen—has after reading the tale. “Don’t you think that it’s weird that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission?” Bell says she has asked her daughters. “Because you can not kiss someone if they’re sleeping!”
I just hope that these statements don’t discourage parents from letting their children enjoy Disney movies. The ones made in the early days of Disney were really fun.
From my friends at Power Line Blog:
