Disney will no longer make fairy tale movies
By Lindsay CutlerNovember 21st, 2010, 2:04 pmComments (48)
Disney has announced that their classic princess-in-peril formula is no longer working and that they won't make any more movies based on fairy tales. Disney may keep the swarthy-male-hero thing, but chaste royal ladies are definitely out.
According to the LA Times, the Rapunzel-based animation Tangled is the last of its kind, and even that got a serious makeover where the princess's name was dropped from the title and its marketing focus shifted from the blonde princess trapped in a castle to — what else — her swarthy male hero.
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.
"By the time they're 5 or 6, they're not interested in being princesses," said Dafna Lemish, chairwoman of the radio and TV department at Southern Illinois University and an expert in the role of media in children's lives. "They're interested in being hot, in being cool. Clearly, they see this is what society values."
While replacing one outdated female role with another less-dated but more creepy one isn't necessarily ideal, it's exciting to see that the Grey Lady of princess movies is moving on to bigger and better things — even if their impetus is floundering ticket sales for movies like The Princess and the Frog and not, say, crumbling the barriers of gender roles.
In the age of mega-franchises when movies need to appeal to a broad audience to justify a sizable investment, Disney discovered too late that "Princess and the Frog" appealed to too narrow an audience: little girls.
"If you say to somebody, 'You should be doing fairy tales,' it's like saying, 'Don't be risky,'" Catmull said. "We're saying, 'Tell us what's driving you.'"
I'm sad to hear that movies like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin won't be made anymore (unless its a revisionist fairy tale where the princess is actually a pre-op prince, and also it's a western), there's a good chance another great, box-office-shattering princess movie wouldn't happen again. Maybe that's an arrogant millenial thing to say — that all the best children's entertainment is behind us — but come on, Aladdin. Aladdin.
Commentarium (48 Comments)
i don't consider alladin a princess movie...
I dont eather i love The Little Mermaid And im really up set to hear that little mermaid isnt going to make anymore im 11 going to be 12 and i still love it i watch it like every day i have everyone of the little mermaids movies tape and dvdand i could cry when i was a little girl my room was done im little mermaid and i still have stuff
I'm 53 years old and have grown up with Disney movies. I take my grandaughters to see all of the movies that ever come out. I've enjoyed their movies for all these years and have always looked forward to the next ones that they do. I can't believe that they would not make any more. There are many people out there that see their movies all the time and buy them when ever they become available for purchase. This is very disheartening news!!!!!! I agree wsith many of the comments given prior to mine that there are many movies that weren't dealing with princesses that are great to watch. Sometimes after seeing one of their movies my husband and I try to come up with another one that they could do. With all of the imagination that Disney emplys there shouldn't be a problem coming up with some that would be blockbuster hits. Parents are always looking for wholesome movies to take their children too and there aren't too many of those around anymore. They always have add some ugly words or phrases that aren't appropriate for the children. Disney hasn't ever had to worry about that and they have kept things suitable for all ages. Walt Disney would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what was going on.
or aladdin. (whoops)
aladdin is part of the disney princess franchise
this is definitely a sad day for kids, the disney princess franchise was one of the last bastions of big-budget 2D american animation. although Tangled looks fairly dreadful.
It's not all about the princess idea. Don't forget about The Lion King...
oh i love the lion king too!!!!!
Well they've stopped making their princesses strong characters. Princess Jasmine seems almost like a mistake, she is the only truly progressive princess in the Disney canon. She didn't want to marry right away, in fact she made Aladdin wait until the third movie, and that was between the second movie and a whole television series. And then she just wanted the right to chose who she married. And she was a really clever, she tricks Aladdin into admitting who he is and then she uses her sexuality to distract Jafar to help save Aladdin. No Disney princess ever again will be allowed to be equally parts sexual and smart. It just won't happen again and that's the reason why the new movies from Disney don't work, they don't allow their princess characters to be anything more than the non-sexual idiots they've always been.
Come to think of it, Aladdin was one of the better princess movies insofar as Jasmine was relatively bad-ass and rebellious (though trapped in her own facticity) and Aladdin was on the humbler side because of poverty, and everybody learned to be themselves by the end of the movie, instead of being what other people wanted them to be. Good movie.
I don't really care if they kill new princess movies. We'll always have the old ones, which I think are less harmful now because they're so old and everybody knows they're out-dated. Like the racism in Fantasia. It's obviously archaic.
yea but i think they should keep up with alladin and and The little mermaid it really breaks my heart cuz i know alot of kids that still watch the little mermaid and alladin and i mean even cinderella
No matter how far feminism advances, there will always be princess movies. Disney is not all of the movie world. There are other studios; they may well move to fill the void left by Disney's new direction.
I'm not sure how well Mulan fits into the classic Disney Princess category but Mulan was fairly badass herself
Heartening. I like that it seems more a response to people (i.e. little girls) losing interest in the princess paradigm rather than the filmmakers trying to further create influence.
Walt Disney must be rolling in his grave.
Modern day Disney princesses are not waiting for Prince Charming. They are strong, independent, free thinking woman that make good role models for our little girls. This decision is very sad to me.
yea its not a very good choose it really hurts me my siters kid cry when the little mermaid is over
and imagine what its going to be like when they stop all together disney princess are very good role models for kids unlike miley cyrus like they all said and then look how she turned to drugs
Comes a moment in every person's life (and every company's life) when it's time to move on to something different. I for one think this is good.
It's not the formula that's bad. I agree with MooVee, someone will make princess movies. Hopefully they'll have good ideas. Maybe Disney can't make money b/c they've ran out of all their good ideas. Again, it's not the trope that's to blame, it's how they utilize the trope that needs to change. I do feel that they've lost their way and that probably means it's a good time to start down a new path.
I hope Disney continues to make Princess movies. I don't think I've liked any other makers.I can't help but to shudder as I remember Thumbelina. What a disaster of a princess! Always lifting her skirts and just worrying about who wants to marry her...
My daughter & friends (all now 6) love princess films, dressing up as princesses, loved going to Disneyland Paris dressed up as Ariel and meeting "the real one". And as parents my wife and I have loved and relived Disney through it. Whilst I understand there is a commercial need to move away there is always a place in the heart for a romantic Princess story. Or am I being too idealistic? As Sean Connery said "Never say Never"
I don't know where they're getting this "formula" idea from, but really only the VERY old classics fit that bill like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. All the others movies that made Disney and icon it's about the story and the heart of it all. The little Mermaid featured a rambunctious and rebellious teen who's trying to find her place in the world. Aladdin we see a street rat boy dreaming of a better future and and an awesome spunky princess who refuses to accept the norm. In Beauty and the Beast we see a strong independent woman who refuses to marry and idiot and sacrifices her whole life for her father's well-being. The Lion King we see a son who suffers a terrible loss and deals with it badly until he's forced to go back and face his problems. Mulan we have similar to Beauty and the Beast a woman who sacrifices her life to save her family and find her place in the world that seems to think of her as an outcast. And the Hunchback of Notre Dam wasn't a princess story at all. It all goes back to great story telling. THAT is what has been missing in animated childrens movies - Disney and otherwise. Of course there are the few like Finding Nemo, Toy Story and I dare say even Wall-E and the first Shrek that do this as well. But instead, we will now get shows like iCarly and the 5000th squeakle of a story that's been beat like a dead horse.
ICarly's not a Disn show it's Nick. Nick needs to learn a thing or two also.
I think that they should keep making them, but not so girly... i agree with melissa because it needs a story... some action or something! the movies now are just the same thing... damsel in destress meets charming lowlife, they go on a huge adventure and end up falling in love... to all you disney writers out there do something eelse
well i think that The Little Mermaid needs too keep going
What's wrong with girly? I think the problem is they have made some hot mess animated movies in 2d and their 3d movies have done well. Then they say that 2d is out etc. The reason their latest 2d animated movies have done well (they botched The Princess and the Frog) is because they've sucked or weren't up to past films with story or heart. Disney don't blame the formula blame yourselves. Another thing Disney is going 3D crazy as many folks are and many of those films are just as bad.
Thank god for that. If I ever see another Disney princess again it'll 50 million years too soon.
I can't believe the female role models are still these vapid idiots in peril. Criminy.
(Also I am female.)
and i'm a male and i love those movies .... what's your point?
I am very sad! I have two kids a daughter and a son. Both of which LOVE to watch the princess movies and any other disney movies. What I dont get is why they think that they need to completely get rid of the princess tales. I my slef learned alot from the disney princesses, Cinderell learns that she is stronger than she ever dreamed she could be, Snow White runs from an evil step mother and makes some wonderful friends, and teaches us not to trust just anyone. I think that these types of movies are needed...I am very sad to have read this!!! When there are so many strong princesses why would you stop making them?
Aladdin isn't a princess movie because it's a prince movie. But it still shows the lesson that no matter the social class, you shall find love. :)
About the last of princess movies... it makes me so sad. Girls shouldn't be worrying about how hot or skinny they are. My favorite princess is Ariel. She's so GREAT! Makes me sad they're not making anymore.
i know ariel is GREAT,AMAZING,and i think there is a good lesson in little mermaid
I think its all stupid. These movies are made for little children to enjoy, but now they have to be polically correct for people who have nothing else to do but complain. My children love the Disney movies and my son even watches the princess movies. My five year old doesnt like Hannah Montana or any of those other shows. And I believe that Disney is going to shoot itself in the foot by trying to cater to the older crowd. Why stop doing what has made you millions for years? What your fans love? I have an idea... how about you stop making 600 sequels to every movie you put out?
Fell out of bed feeling down. This has brgitheend my day!
this is Horrible i cant stand this it just breaks my heart lot oh kids dont like disney channal or nick or anything i know kids that only watch disney princess"scuz tvs getting so bad now and it just really huts me
Well, this is a little sad. I happen to like fairy tales and their renditions on the princess stories. And just fairy tales in general. What wrong with mythical creatures? Magic? What genre are they planning on going into now, realism? Like the Disney Channel (which has gotten very disappointing).
If anything, I'll just be looking forward to Pixar's first princess movie called Brave. I imagine it will be wonderful :)
Sorry, just continuing on. But Disney has kind of done this to themselves. The only reason why the whole princess franchise has died out is out of their own doing. The whole thing became so popular, not only from the movies but from the shows that used to be on the Disney channel. But they now replaced all those classic cartoon disney shows with teen shows with said Selena Gomez.
I know! What happened to all those classic cartoons that were only on Disney channel? My siblings would always wake up early on the weekends to watch them. And now they have those new "comedy" shows for some of the older audience.
Its a shame that they won't be making anymore princess movies. I grew up watching them and loved every single one of them! Every different movie taught me a lesson in life. *Sigh I hope they regret their decision and just go back to the way things were before.
What's funny is that the majority of those shows are watched by kids 8-12 etc. This goes with both Nick and Disney. Most of the shows are not watched by teens and I don't blame them. Boy I miss EncoreWam when they had shows like The Tribe, Thunderstone etc. Old Disney Ocean Girl, Avonlea, Spellbinder, Girl From Tomorrow etc. The N with 24-7 or the Degrassi (before it went to crap)
WHAT THE HELL?! When I was little, I was watching 90s shows and the Lion King and Disney movies. Now, little kids are f***ing crying over breakups and wearing more makeup in a day than I have in a year. I was hoping Disney would make movies like the old ones to help shape up more little kids personality. But no, they freaking come up with stupid Hannah Montana and iCarly.I feel sorry for the kids that grow up in this generation because they'll never had movies as cool as the 90s (with the exception of The Princess and The Frog, Tangled, Toy Story 3, and Up). Whenever I pick up my little sister (she's 9) from school, I see some of her classmates dressed up in Justin Bieber shirts, booty shorts, covered in makeup, texting Elmo on their cell phones, and flirting with guys in their class. This one time when I has to pick up my sister AGAIN at this preppy girl's party, they were all in short ass bikinis, sitting by the pool, gossiping on their cell phones. Good thing my little sister only watches the stupid shows now every once in awhile and would rather watch the classics on my VHS tapes or on the computer. If Disney/Nick made the classics during this generation instead of WOWP or Victorious than this wouldn't have happened and now there is no way to change them without new FAIRYTALE movies. What the f***, Disney. Just when you were getting good, you decide to ruin it.
ICarly is not Disney
I'm 17 years old, and the way from Denmark, and every day i'm searching after a fourth Lion King movie, and now i find this site, and it wont be made now.. Because of Kiara is a Princess... Sad... Unless she dies.. Maybe.. Naah.. But since the title is The Lion King, i still got a hope on there will be a fourth movie. :D
This is sort of good news to me as i've always enjoyed the disney films that werent about princesses and princes. For example Dumbo is one of my favourates, quite short but very thought provoking and moving. I think the princess genre has been a little worn out now, films like Shrek have taken it to a different direction subverting it. I think movies are better when the characters are more relatable, obviously children will dream of becoming something magical but theres so many more types of movies.
If this happens they'll regret it. I think that 5-6 yr olds who want to be "hot" need to think again. And, they're the ones that have created this monster! I love Disney, hate the Disney Channel- it's crap. Little girls shouldn't be worrying about their weight, or how attractive they are... they need to be happy and enjoy their childhood as much as possible. Believe me, there will be time for all that worrying late in life.
I'm 15 turning 16 soon, and I still love the older Disney movies. I remember watching them with my cousins and just having a good time. I never worried obsessively about my weight or what was "hot" or "cool" when I was a little kid. Disney has a huge responsibility and amount of influence in today's society, people like said Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus have quite a bit of impact on the people watching them. We need to understand that if we start having little kids dealing with insecurities and fussing over how they look like the people my age do we're going to have a problem. The time for makeup and dating does come eventually there's no need to be worrying about it when you're six. I'm not even sure if I'm ready for the whole dating part myself. I miss a lot of the things from when I was younger, and I do understand that times are changing. But are they changing for better or worse?
I love the little mermaid why did they stop making it they could now do it when ARIEL as a human
What would Walt say? I'm sure he planned to have more fairy tale based movies. My sisters loved it when Princess and the Frog came out they also loved Tangled. I've had many ideas for Disney Princess movies, using Princess and the Pea, and the fact that there are no princesses with glasses. I thought they were awesome and so did my sisters. I just wish they could wait until I was old enough to give them my ideas.
Kill me now. What will I do??? I know it probably isn't what Disney was thinking but how other people will take it is how boys are better and Disney is now focusing on male heroes more.. Disney princesses made me feel like I could do whatever I wanted. I just found out about this and I can LITERALLY feel my heart sinking to my stomach :( Hopefully in the future Disney will have some kind of take on Disney Princesses. I will always love and watch the Princess movies. But it doesn't just say Princesses either it says fairy tales in other articles.... Sad day :( I just hope that Disney won't turn to Disney Channel because I will be ashamed the day that Disney turns to Miley Cyrus as a classic move actress....
I grew up watching classic Disney movies. This is a shocking revelation and I hope they change their mind, even better I hope this whole thing is a sham. If anything I hope the movies they do continue to make are good...
It's like they're just fixing the wrong thing, changing from one vapid ideal to another vapid ideal for girls. People want strong women who can do some of the saving themselves. They want to see women and men who are equals and help eachother, not one who is always clearly in power and one who is always clearly needing saving. I don't think switching from princess movies to "cool" tween crap is going to do Disney too much good because it's still just the same shit and people are over it. How about showing actual innovative and engrossing stories? It's not that people are over fairy tales and princesses, it's that people are over Disney's outmodded storytelling techniques and narrow ethnocentric and sexist overtones.
Now you say something