Disney: Is It Really "That" Bad?

My Glamorous Mom Life

Disney seems to get a lot of flak for their movies, especially princess movies. It is said they give too high expectations for men to live up to and little girls dreams they can’t achieve. I would like to discuss why I think they are wrong and why I will allow my kids to watch Disney movies. Don’t get me wrong Disney doesn’t always get everything right but there are some great movies that you can turn into some deep (as deep as you can with a kid) conversations. There are lessons to be learned, and discussed which I think is awesome. Obviously these will be my opinions and you may think differently. You also may notice that certain movies aren’t mentioned, that’s either because I don’t see that much to learn from it, I don’t like it, I haven’t seen it in a while to remember it well or I just haven’t watched it.

 

Jasmine and Aladdin. Jasmine is a beautiful princess not wanting to marry for benefit but for love. Okay isn’t that most of us? Aladdin is a homeless thief who eventually lies to Jasmine for her to love him. What Aladdin doesn’t know is she cared for him before she “thought” he was a prince. She loved him for who he was, not his circumstances. He was far from perfect yet she loved him anyway. Usually you see this the other way around right? The perfect prince loves the princess for who she is, I happen to like the reverse roles in this one. I think Disney does a wonderful job of showing how you can love an imperfect person just as they are which can actually lead to a discussion of how Jesus loves us even though we are imperfect. I know that probably wasn’t Disney’s goal but you can definitely have some deep discussions with your kids if you really try.

 

 Mulan and Shang. Personally one of my favorite Disney movies is Mulan. (Probably because I have similar characteristics as her like opening my mouth when I should probably keep quiet lol) Mulan is what a woman wasn’t supposed to be in those times in her culture, she was a strong woman who was not afraid to stand up to any man and speak her mind. Not wanting her Father to die in war she disguises herself as a man and takes his place. (Okay can we just get an applaud here? She is so stinking awesome) She meets Shang because he is her captain. So, obviously she is lying to him, and being a dishonor because females were not supposed to go into battle. Women would be killed for such actions she took. She was brave and strong, but not what she was “supposed” to be. Shang only wanted to please his Father, he could be a bit angry sometimes but I would be to with a bunch of soldiers not doing their job right and acting out. He finds Mulan’s true identity and leaves her on a snowy mountain alone. (With the exception of her little dragon Mushu and a horse). Basically she probably would have died if she wasn’t so bomb. Then when she warns him of the bad guys he doesn’t believe her. So yeah in this case the guy is super handsome and really awesome except for a few anger issues and distrust. But, even though Mulan was everything she wasn’t “supposed” to be and she lied, he forgave her and loved her anyway. It’s all about loving someone for who they are, even though they make mistakes because we are ALL going to make mistakes.

 

Belle and the Beast. Okay so I do really like this movie but am I the only one who thinks Belle is a freak for falling in love with an actual “beast”? Um yeah I’m pretty sure that’s wrong. But anyway he was a man so I can get over the weirdness. This movie basically screams “I love you for who are, no matter what.” Belle is the town nerd and considered weird yet very beautiful. Beast is a man turned beast by curse, who is angry and mean. We do see his soft side come out though when he starts falling for Belle. He loved her, just as she was nerdy and all. He even gave her his library. Belle (for some reason) loved him just as he was, angry and all, furry and all. But it shows the point that under someone’s anger is a person with a heart and sometimes you just need to show them love to break that wall down.

 

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider aka Eugene. We all know Rapunzel is a beautiful princess with a great heart, wonderful personality, and many talents. She is obviously very ignorant because of her overly sheltered life, but that’s not really that huge of a fault. Flynn Rider on the other hand is a thief who has seen the bad and ugly in the world and lived it. He tries to flirt his way out of her hair and trick her so he doesn’t have to bother with helping her. He soon starts to care, and then love her. He puts his thievery days behind him and sets to make a life with her. He also saves her life and returns her to her true parents. Even though they are complete opposites she loves him and he loves her. She doesn’t hold his past over his head; she just loves the man he is now. I think we can all take something away from that. And I really don’t see how this is setting too high of expectations for men? I mean I don’t know about you but I’d rather not be with a thief, of course I’d forgive him for it but that’s not the point here is it?

 

Cinderella and Prince charming. Prince charming is just what his name is, yes he’s a prince, and yes he’s charming, but that doesn’t mean he is perfect. He has his own battles he’s facing with wanting to please his father and wanting to do right by the kingdom, and also wanting to follow his heart. He doesn’t care that Cinderella is not rich or a princess, he just loves her. Cinderella of course is a beautiful young lady forced into basically being her stepmother’s slave after her father dies. But she is kind and soft spoken, forgiving. Even though both here seem perfect and no one can live up to them, if you really look into it, they are just two people going through battles and pain and coming out even stronger and kinder. I see this as a great lesson. Loving someone for who they are, forgiving those who hurt you. This is not high expectations at all; it is exactly what we should be doing. Loving and forgiving.

 

Maleficent. There’s not a guy’s name there because well, this movie basically made all men useless.(okay not exactly for that part lol) This one doesn’t tie in with giving men high expectations but it does show forgiveness and redemption and I just love this movie. Maleficent holds on to bitterness and anger after her “true love” cut off her wings and hurt her. She then curses his daughter. Yet, she starts to love the girl and then regrets her curse. She tries and tries to stop it but she can’t. She is sorry for her actions and wants to be free of it. Her tears and kiss on Aurora ends up being “true loves kiss” and breaks the curse. No man was even needed lol so that’s a bummer but it shows just how we can repent, we can end our bitterness and ask for forgiveness. We can turn from the anger. I know I’m probably one of few who really saw this in this movie but I thought it was awesome how it showed we can turn from our wrong ways and we don’t have to continue in them. Once again not Disney’s target but you can have some really deep discussions with your kids after watching this movie.

 

Pocahontas and John Smith. I really like this movie and love Pocahontas. She is beautiful and has a heart for adventure. Her and John Smith are so different and come from completely different places and background. Actually they are supposed to be enemies. But, they don’t hold the hate for each other as everyone else does. They love each other and want to help the Indians and whites to reconcile, not to fight. I also love how it puts the point out there that the whites were being savages not just Indians because they were acting so wrongly. That’s another topic all together though and this isn’t history class lol. They both wanted different things than their “tribes” wanted. Of course, John Smith is handsome, strong, kind, a soldier, brave, and just great. But of course he was sneaking away and putting everyone in danger just as Pocahontas so even though they seem perfect they really aren’t. They are reckless and adventurous. Sadly they don’t get married because he ends up dying later on, but I still think it’s a great movie. I don’t think your little girls will expect every man they meet to be “John Smith” I think they will want someone to protect them, and love them for who they are though, just like he did. Isn’t that what we want for our kids anyway?

 

 So maybe I went a little deep here, but I just don’t think little girls and boys will take from these movies that they need to be “perfect” for someone to love them. These characters are far from perfect yet they are loved anyway. There’s so much you could talk to your kids about after watching these movies, so much you could teach them. Also, if you’re taking the time to talk to them about the movies won’t you be able to help them understand what is really happening? These are just my thoughts on the matter and I wanted to share them with you. Hope you enjoyed reading how my brain thinks about such matters because I truly enjoyed writing it. Always remember that YOU are the parent and YOU need to decide what to let your kids watch, pray about it if you are unsure. 

Keep being glamorous and always remember Proverbs 31,

Carlee, The Glamorous Mom.

 

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