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Moved blogs that is. My new blog is over here at: www.eruditevolatility.wordpress.com

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Writer's Oath

I promise,
never to preach to you,
never to shove my beliefs down your throat,
never to say you are less a person for believing something different than me.

I promise,
to always address issues that matter,
to always be thoughtful,
to always make you think.

I promise,
you will never be bored with me,
you will never regret me,
you will always be surprised by me.

I do not promise,
to agree with you,
to love you,
to cater to you.

I do not promise,
to go back on what I believe,
to lie about what I believe,
to tell you what you believe.

This is my oath to my readers and to myself. 

The Disturbing Lack of Talking Animals

I have a confession to make: I still love to watch Disney Princess movies.

If you now think I'm a horrible person who has never grown past the age of five, I don't care. You can think whatever you want, but I still love to watch them.

But, since I'm no longer five, I have to wonder why I love to watch
Disney Princess movies. The aren't the best told tales in the world (although Tangled is an excellent movie) and cute does only get you so far in the world. Matter of fact, some of them are pretty bad. Snow White may have been the first feature length animated movie, but she can't sing. Neither can Cinderella. And some of the messages are horrible except for a few stellar examples, most of the princesses have to rely on men to take them away from whatever "in distress" scenario they are in. And the men themselves aren't even important. Some of them don't have have speaking roles! How many princes can you name?

If you look at the list I include below, you'll notice that the first two princes don't even have a name. Who they are isn't important, its what they are. Not all the princesses are royalty, but all the princes are royalty (or hold some esteemed position).

So why, even though I understand the Disney Princess movies really don't convey the best messages, do I still enjoy watching them?

Well, for starters, I have to think about the princess movies I like: Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tangled, Mulan and Hercules (although Aladdin and Hercules are stretching it a little for the "princess movie" qualification). And what are those princesses? The majority are very independent girls. Mulan specifically stands out in this category. Even though she is dissatisfied with life as the rich man's daughter, she sacrifices a life of comfort and calm by breaking the law and joining the army to protect her aging father from war.


Belle, Rapunzel and Megara all show the same sort of spunk and independence. So, in reality, I enjoy watching Disney princesses who get their way and don't rely on other people to get what they want.

But, even though I don't particularly like Cinderella or Snow White, I do enjoy most of the Princess movies. So what is it about the princess movies which draws me in?

I think it is probably the fairy tale aspect. The romance and unbelievability. Where you love a guy and he's perfect, where girls have perfect hair all the time and look beautiful, where you can wear big dresses and no one thinks you are strange, where you can find love eternally and there is nothing to stand in your way - at least nothing a little magic and faith can't destroy.

And I think, in the end, that's why lots of women and teenage girls love Disney Princess movies. It is the ultimate fantasy. Chick flicks are all well and good but there is too much reality. When you just want to solve problems with songs and take advice from talking mice, you need a Disney movie.

So let little girls indulge in Disney princess movie, let me indulge in Disney princess movies. Reality is out there with all its problems (and lack of cute, talking animals). Let Disney movies, be Disney movies, complete with cheesy songs and cliche endings

The "official" list of princesses is as follows:

• Snow White
• Cinderella
• Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
• Ariel
• Belle
• Jasmine
• Pocahontas
• Tiana
• Rapunzel

The "unofficial" list adds: 

• Tinker Bell
• Alice (from Alice in Wonderland)
• Giselle (from Enchanted - not an animated movie) 
• Maid Marian
• Nala (from The Lion King)
• Megara (from Hercules)
• Princesses Mei, Ting-Ting and Su (from Mulan II)
• Princess Melody (from The Little Mermaid)
• Jane (from Tarzan)

The "official" princes: 

• The Prince - Snow White
• Prince Charming - Cinderella
• Prince Phillip - Sleeping Beauty
• Prince Eric - The Little Mermaid
• The Beast - Beauty and the Beast
• Aladdin - Aladdin
• John Smith and Kocum - Pocahontas
• Shang - Mulan
• Prince Naveen - The Princess and the Frog
• Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert - Tangled

The "unofficial" princes: 

• Peter Pan - Peter Pan
• Robert Phillip and Prince Edward - Enchanted
• Robin Hood - Robin Hood
• Simbaa - The Lion King
• Hercules - Hercules
• Tarzan - Tarzan