| In recent years, the Walt Disney Company has marketed nine Disney heroines together as part of the "Princess Collection" including Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Esmerelda and Megara. Each heroine is based upon a formula, created with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which is remodeled and reused over time. Walt simplified the definition when stating, "My formula--people always like to root for Cinderella and the prince."; In the Classic Period (1934-1966), the Disney studio was dominated by men who actively discriminated against women. At the same time, the studio was capitaling on stories about a teenage girl's coming of age. After the death of Walt, the studio's culture underwent significant changes all of which contributed to altering the heroine's construction. In ever increasing numbers, women joined the Disney ranks, filling traditionally male positions. Animated feature production increased significantly. However, to, this date, a woman has yet to be cast as lead animator, the artist that breathes life into a character, for a heroine. And, while Megara is significantly different from Show White, elements of the original model still surface.; It is essential, when criticizing the heroines and Disney animation, to examine production history. In Animating Culture, Eric Smoodin presents the popular discourse surrounding animated shorts in an historical framework. Similarly, Jack Zipes discusses the historical roots of the fairy tales from which Disney films were adapted in "Breaking the Disney Spell". However, no critical studies of the Disney heroines have adapted this historical methodology. In doing so, I seek to understand how the formula was developed, how it was reconfigured and why it has endured. Within an historical context, I examine the specifics of the princess "formula" and how it was, and still is, married to the studio's patriarchal vision. This historical study will lead to an improved ability to both criticize and celebrate Disney animation and, more specifically, its portrayal of the heroic feminine. |
