Disney Princesses Latest News, Photos and Videos

Matilda Ledger: Disney Needs Affirmative Action For Princes

OK, the 5-year-old daughter of Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger did not say that per se, but she did ask a Disney employee one pointed question during a trip to Disney World.

by Colleen Barrett

OK, the 5-year-old daughter of Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger did not say that per se, but she did ask a Disney employee one pointed question during a trip to Disney World. In the February issue of Marie Claire, Michelle tells a sweet story about her daughter, an avid consumer of the controversial princess culture like all little girls.

"I took Matilda to Disney World recently and we saw all the princesses, and then she turned around and said, 'OK, now I'd like to see where all the princes are.' The Disney person said, 'Nobody has ever asked me that before. There aren't any princes here, honey.'"

I never thought of that, yet it seems so obvious. And when you think about it — don't all Disney princes kind of seem like the same generic guy? Disney clearly knows its audience. Next time, Matilda, to really shake things up, ask Disney where the overweight princesses are!

Disney Shelves Fairy Tale Movies — Good News For Girls?

Based on the interest in Prince William and Kate Middleton's engagement last week, I'd say royalty is having a moment.

by Annie Scudder

Based on the interest in Prince William and Kate Middleton's engagement last week, I'd say royalty is having a moment. But Disney, the peddler of princess dreams, thinks fairy tale movies are no longer relevant and it's shelving them for the foreseeable future. Explaining that films and genres run their course, Disney's animation group has killed two fairy tale movies in development and says Tangled will be its last.

It's no longer financially feasible for studios to market some movies to girls and some movies to boys, which is bad news for narrow gender roles. The hope of appealing to a larger audience motivated Disney to give Tangled a gender-neutral name and we can expect more movies like Toy Story, which will have broad themes that appeal to boys or girls (and men or women) alike. But a shift in what little girls want might have prompted the decision, too. The LA Times explains:

Among girls, princesses and the romanticized ideal they represent — revolving around finding the man of your dreams — have a limited shelf life. With the advent of "tween" TV, the tiara-wearing ideal of femininity has been supplanted by new adolescent role models such as the Disney Channel's Selena Gomez and Nickelodeon's Miranda Cosgrove.

Before you rejoice about today's enlightened children, note that princesses might be too innocent for savvy tweens. One expert on media and children's values says that by the time they're 5 or 6, girls are "interested in being hot, in being cool."

Update: According to a Disney's Facebook page, fairy tales are alive and well at the studio.

Who's the Princess?

So many parents have told me that when their daughter turned two or three or four, they had a sudden obsession with princesses.

by POPSUGAR Moms

So many parents have told me that when their daughter turned two or three or four, they had a sudden obsession with princesses. Whether the lil darling had seen the Disney stars on the big screen or in the happiest place on earth, they knew the difference between the main characters in Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Do you? Take this quiz and test your knowledge.

Take the Quiz