Federica Meghnagi

Cms 314
24/04/2014
Prof. A. Grego

3
rd
Home Paper
Prompt A. Cinderella, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog and Brave all focus on the myth
of the Princess. What kind of development of that myth can you trace from one movie to the next?
Discuss how each successive film is including and updating previous representations of the
Princess, trying to make this stereotypical female figure engaging for a contemporary audience, but
also connected to a past tradition.

Cinderella represents the archetype of the mid-20
th
Century white young girl, defined by the
social standards of her middle class bourgeoisie status. Cinderella embodies the characteristics of
ultimate kindness, purity and beauty, which all contribute to the recognition of her as the symbol of
goodness. However, such characteristics do not render the princess specifically exceptional, for she
is limited by the morality and innocence that her figure purposely represents. The narrative frames
Cinderella as an unhappy servant, whose time is mostly spent within the domestic sphere, being
forced to take care of the household and being in charge of the chores. Such a depiction,
automatically links Cinderella to the traditional stereotype of the female, being bound to the maid-
like activities which are expected to be fulfilled by the standards of the females conventional
figure. Since the princesss attitude is presented as completely opposed to the negativity of the step-
mother and step-daughters, she is mostly depicted as a lonely character, who finds shelter in the
deeply-rooted concept in her mind that relates to the Dream. Cinderellas loneliness is slightly
counterbalanced by the presence of the animals, specifically the mice, with which she establishes a
friendly relationship, where affect and willingness to help are involved. A theme that the narrative
of Cinderella pushes forward, relates to the concept of the Dream: there is no specific dream that is
developed within the narrative, however, it is the value of the potentiality of the dream itself that
keeps Cinderellas hope alive and manages to have her be rewarded with the final marriage with the
prince.
The character of Tangled sets a clear-cut distinction with the 1950s Princess classical traits.
Unlike Cinderella, Tangled represents an extremely realistic character, who embodies the typical
elements of a teenager, being rebellious and wanting to go against the rules. However, such a
revolutionary component is still extremely tight to the innocence and naivety that are deeply related
to her character. Such naivety does not prevent Tangled to be aware of the unhappy condition
within which she is trapped, while the character of Cinderella does not present the awareness
component, for she is not active into her will of changing her condition. In relation to this matter,
since Tangled proposes the realistic portrayal of a teenager, she is dynamic, curious, energetic and
always willing to improve herself and her knowledge through literary and artistic activities. As
opposed to the un-exceptionality of Cinderella, the additional intrinsic quality that renders Tangled
special, relates to the actual healing powers dwelled in her hair: the magic ability and talent consist
of the essential quality that, in the end, are discovered to belong to herself and her personality. The
princess is framed as a lonely character (expect for the affective friendship that she has with the
chameleon), for she is in need to be saved and her condition needs to be improved just like
Cinderella. On the contrary, while Cinderellas dream of a better life encounters the Prince, Tangled
adventurous fascination and dream of seeing the floating lights, consist of the primary interest. As a
matter of fact, the concept of love does not exists purely in itself, but it is presented as a
disinterested one that develops as a consequence of a series of specific events, being the result of a
pure choice.
The animated feature film of The Princess and the Frog has specific distinctive
characteristics that allow its narrative to be insert into the contemporary western perspective of the
construction of Princesses patterns. As a matter of fact, the Princess Tiana has African American
features and is not limited by the scheme of any stereotypical model. Unlike Cinderella and
Tangled, the Princess is not found in an unhappy condition of her life, even if she works as a
waitress in a restaurant. However, Tiana expresses a wish for improvement, for her unique attention
and ultimate dream consists in the ambition of opening her own restaurant. The girls passionate
dream is in contradiction with the stereotypical dream figure related to the girl whose dream is
incarnated in the marriage with the prince. The distinctive update with the previous mythical
conception, lies in the fact that the idea of marrying the prince is portrayed as a stupid ambition, and
framed as an invalidating option that prevents Tianas dream to be fulfilled. The process of
development that the princess encounters only while being transformed into a frog, finds its
achievement in the reflection that she acts upon love and friendship, and finally realizes that giving
up on the restaurant is the right thing to do. Only after having understood the proper value of things,
Tiana is rewarded with both satisfactions, namely the restaurant and the Prince: the principle
narrative in the contemporary western mythology revolves around the idea that the happy ending
exists uniquely if the Prince is involved. For this reason, the film pushes forward an ingrained
concept and dominant narrative in our society, that revolves around love, where love itself is the
solution for being a complete human being, as opposed to an empty shallow one. Lastly, through
the narrative of the cycle, the Princess and the Frog presents an additional developed element that
definitely marks the films update with narratives contemporary perspective: the process of Tianas
growing up and the passage from being a young girl to her transformation into a mature woman.
Brave incarnates all the qualities that modern western princesses have within the realistic
portrayal of the young generation: she is brave, has masculine tendency and also she goes against
the status quo of the ordinary teenagers traditional fashion. The emotion of hatred consists of the
principal element which is framed through the relationship existing between Merida and her mother
Elinor, seen as the evil one: such an encounter provokes moral criticism charge and active
judgment, for the Elinor is Meridas actual natural mother, who forces her faith and wants her
daughter to get married. On the contrary, no moral criticism involves Cinderella, since the audience
is automatically led to dislike the step-mother due to her innate evil tendency. This system of moral
judgment and clear-cut distinction between good and bad related respectively to Brave and
Cinderella, marks the distinction between the traditional and modern concept of femininitys
attitudes. Furthermore, unlike Cinderella, Tangled and Cinderella, Merida is not found in an
unhappy condition, hence she does not wishes for a particular dream and spends her own time
practicing sports that she likes. On the other hand, just like Tangled and Tiana, Brave is
characterized by a unique active quality, which pushes forward her curiosity and adventurous
fascination towards the outside world. The reason why Braves narrative presents its
unconventionality as opposed to Disneys classic narratives, is because it frames the dual vision of
what women want and what women should be: not only such a strong pattern is presented, but it
also sides with Meridas rights not to follow pre-existing traditional concepts. As a matter of fact,
following the steps of Tiana, Merida rejects the pre-existing narrative of the Princess who gets
married with the Prince and lives happily ever after; on the contrary, she promotes her value of
being a woman, entitled of making decisions for herself, setting an innovation and revolutionary
encounter in order to change her condition, based on the knowledge of tradition. This whole
concept of overcoming traditions, is totally opposed to the perspective of Cinderellas character,
who does not develop, being already morally, ethically and physically perfect.
In conclusion, the comparison of the different mythical patterns perpetuated by the different
narratives presented, has shed light onto the enormously distinctive characteristics that set apart the
traditional conventions of the Old Princess, as opposed to the New Princess unconventional
active standards: as a matter of fact, the paper has largely analyzed the developing process that has
seen Cinderella, the archetype of the Old Princess being exquisitely perfect and beautiful, passive
and patient in her domestic sphere, dreaming of marrying the Prince as the ultimate achievement for
a lifes happy ending. On the contrary, the New Princess traits have been analyzed through the
common field of the characteristics shared by Tangled, Tiara and Brave, being unconventionally
beautiful, being active and wanting to discover the world and change their unhappy condition,
where happiness is ultimately achieved through the idea of being ones own ruler and deciding for
ones own faith.