“Tangled” gives audiences their last princess movie for a while




According to Disney, it’s time to stop living in a fairy tale.

“Tangled” was the 50th animated picture produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Although it won’t be the last animated movie, it is supposedly the last princess movie for a while. Though Disney pins this shift on a perceived change in the feminine ideal, most of the movies they plan to produce are more boy-centric either way. Recent ventures, including “Toy Story 3”and “Tron: Legacy” better reflect the direction in which they plan to take future films.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Pixar Animation Studios chief Ed Catmull said that they will be discontinuing princess movies in order to “push creative boundaries” and appeal to a larger audience—namely, boys.

While it is true that fluffy fairy tales tend to be more fun for females, Disney made “Tangled” more boy-friendly by focusing the marketing toward the male protagonist, Flynn Rider, and changing the name from the more traditional “Rapunzel”.

“They do have to make sure they’re including males, or they’ll lose half the population,” said senior Andrew Erickson, “but they are straying away from the loots. I mean, the princess movies are what made Disney famous.” He has recently watched “Tron: Legacy” and agrees that it appeals to boys more than “Tangled” despite Disney’s efforts to make “Tangled” boy-friendly.

Whether they will continue making princess movies, of course, depends on one’s definition of a princess movie.

“Well, a princess movie has to have a damsel in distress, a hero, and a scary moment where kids go, ‘Oh no!’ But in the end everything’s okay,” junior Medha Asthana said. “I think, most importantly, a princess movie has to have a girl that everyone can relate to. It doesn’t have to be a royal princess, but a girl has to wind up [standing] out.”

According to Asthana’s definition, “Mulan”, the tale of a girl that kicked some serious behind, or even the rollicking action comedy “Shrek” would count as princess movies.

As a kid, she saw her fair share of princess movies, but admits that someday she will have to put her Disney collection of over a hundred movies away…until they become popular again.

“Everything has to come to an end,” Asthana said. “I just wish they’d make up more.”

Someday, just like slouch boots and bandanas, princess movies will make a comeback. Hopefully, when the tide of a new generation calls for a damsel in distress, a dragon and a big castle, Disney will be there to save the day. All it needs is time, trust, and a little pixie dust.

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