ONE PLACE WE SEE A REFLECTION OF THESE CHANGING ROLES IS ON THE SILVER SCREEN.
FOR INSTANCE, DISNEY PRINCESSES ARE TRADING IN THEIR BALL GOWNS AND CROWNS FOR STURDY BOOTS, TEACHING MILLIONS OF GIRLS AND BOYS AROUND THE GLOBE THAT BEING A POWERFUL, STRONG AND COURAGEOUS GIRL IS THE NEW VERSION OF A MODERN-DAY DISNEY PRINCESS. MAGGIE LAKE HAS MORE.
"SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME..."
SNOW WHITE PINED FOR HER ELUSIVE PRINCE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF DISNEY.
"LET THEM GO! THAT'S MY GIRL!"
TODAY-THERE'S A NEW BREED OF HEROINE-
"HOW DO PEOPLE WALK IN THESE THINGS?"
-OUT TO OVERTURN ALL THE STEREOTYPES.
"FOR EVERY GIRL THAT DREAMS BIG, THERE IS A PRINCESS TO SHOW HER ITS POSSIBLE."
PRINCESSES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CELLULOID ROYALTY AT DISNEY- WINNING THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS FOR DECADES.
TODAY, THEY ARE HELPING TO BOTH EMPOWER AND INSPIRE.
Chloe Melas, CNNMoney Entertainment Reporter: "These Disney princesses are not just wearing ballgowns - they're getting down and dirty and they're fighting. And they're speaking their minds and its incredibly powerful specially for this young audiences to see that."
"THE FEARS THAT ONCE CONTROLLED ME, CAN'T GET TO ME AT ALL!"
DISNEY HAS EVERY INCENTIVE TO KEEP THEIR PRINCESS FRANCHISE HUMMING.
FROZEN, FEATURING 2 STRONG HEROINES, IS THE BEST PERFORMING ANIMATED MOVIE IN DISNEY HISTORY, TAKING IN OVER 1 AND A QUARTER BILLION DOLLARS WORLDWIDE.
AND WITH JUST A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ALREADY HAS EARNINGS OF MORE THAN 700 MILLION DOLLARS.
Brian Lowery: CNN Movie Critic: "I think they've been smart enough to recognize that they needed to evolve to suit the times and they couldn't be mired in the sort of someday my prince will come mentality."
"COME INTO THE LIGHT."
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IS JUST THE LATEST FILM THAT HAS CHANGED WITH THE TIMES.
EMMA WATSON, WHO PLAYS BELLE IN THE LATEST REMAKE KNEW IMMEDIATELY THAT HER CHARACTER NEEDED A REBOOT.
Emma Watson, "Belle": "In Autumm she is actually an activist within her own community. She is teaching other young girls to read."
"WHO SAID THAT?"
AND DISNEY'S EFFORT TO FRESHEN UP ITS CATALOG IS JUST BEGINNING, WITH ITS NEW FILMS BLENDING LIVE ACTION AND CUTTING EDGE ANIMATION.
Chloe Melas, CNNMoney Entertainment Reporter: "When you look at their 22 live actions that are in the works, we have several that will feature strong women like Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Mulan."
PRINCESSES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN DISNEY'S DNA. AND THE STUDIO WANTS TO PRESERVE ITS BELOVED STORIES FOR THE GENERATIONS OF PRINCESSES YET TO COME. MAGGIE LAKE, CNN MONEY, NEW YORK.
Instructional Links
Interactive Quiz: Fact Monster, Disney Princesses Quiz
Website Article: Oh My Disney, 16 Women Who Are Absolute Bosses
Play: EBSCOhost, Junior Scholastic, Did Pocahontas Save Jamestown, September 4, 2006 | May need password.