The time has finally come for Disney to realize that children of the 21st century will not be fooled anymore by corny love-at-the-first-sight stories. See, Disney movies have shaped the perception of love of a number of little girls and has, among other things, reinforced (if not created) the image of the charming prince on a white horse.
When you reach your twenties, you realize that there are no prince charming, no white horse, and most importantly… no love at the first sight. Also, you feel a little bit dumb to have ever believed that, like a Disney princess, you would meet a guy who will love you instantly (and that you will love back) and will protect you from the evils of this world and most probably wake you up with a true love’s kiss (Yes, because although you met him three minutes ago, it is indeed true love).
It might look like I am ranting…Well, I am not. I will forever ever after remain a fan of Disney movies, old and new, regardless of the unreachable ideals it presents. I can’t help it, it is stronger than me: I will always be crying when Prince Philip kisses Aurora, when Snow White wakes up or when Mufaza dies. However, although I love the classics, I am particularly delighted by the fresh wind blowing on the newest Disney movies.
Besides the fact that it is of exceptional quality ( narrative, colors, designs, songs…), Maleficent and Frozen hold one fundamental element not to be missed: the traditional true love’s kiss (between the princess and the guy she met three minutes ago) is turned upside down.
I remember the first time I watched Frozen, my first reaction when Anna wants to get married to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was “Wait, they just met! Disney is doing it again”. But they didn’t. Anna realizes that she cannot marry a man about whom she knows nothing, just because “her heart” tells her he is the one and that it is therefore true love. Instead, she goes on a journey with Kristoff to find her sister. The true love’s kiss that is going to put an end to her curse is neither from Prince Hans nor from Kristoff, it comes from her sister, who throughout the whole movie shows how much she loves her by trying to protect her. How she does it is debatable but that is not the point. She loves her sister and the emphasis is put on this movie of love between flesh and blood.
Similarly, Maleficent is the story of a fairy who is compromised by the evil of this world. She switches to the dark side when she is disappointed by the greed of man and decides to curse the daughter of King Stephen. Throughout the years, she will get closer to Aurora to better hurt her, but she will realize how much she loves and cares for the young girl. The curse still hits the princess and she will be engaged into a deep sleep that can only be canceled by a “true love’s kiss”. Maleficent cursed her that way because she thinks “there are no such thing as true love”. Surprisingly, she will be the one to awaken the princess with a true love’s kiss. Prince Philip didn’t succeed in awakening the princess because obviously, they were not in love. Yes, both are good-looking people but that is not enough to create the love that is going to reverse the curse (at the opposite of the classic Sleeping Beauty story).
The new generation of Disney movies are far from being pessimistic about love. At the opposite, it focuses on a more realistic and attainable kind of love relationships which are based on respect, trust, affinity (unlike the previous movies where pre-requisite for love was being a pretty princess and a handsome prince). Moreover, it also puts emphasis on friendship and family love, something that was never done before. Disney therefore presents true love in different kind of relationships: between two sister, between a godmother and her goddaughter… simply because love, through all its forms, matters.
Z Wonderland 