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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWTF. SF Gate criticizes Disney's Snow White ride.
If Prince Charming kisses Snow White while she is asleep, she did not consent - I mean really?
Disneyland's new Snow White ride adds magic, but also a new problem
Let's get this out of the way first: Snow White's Enchanted Wish, the revamped ride that replaced Snow White's Scary Adventures in Disneyland, is really good. The attraction preserves much of the charm of what originally opened in 1955 at the park's debut, but ...
... The new grand finale of Snow White's Enchanted Wish is the moment when the Prince finds Snow White asleep under the Evil Queen's spell and gives her "true love's kiss" to release her from the enchantment. A kiss he gives to her without her consent, while she's asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it's happening.
Haven't we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue? That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn't been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK? It's hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman, especially given the company's current emphasis on removing problematic scenes from rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain. Why not re-imagine an ending in keeping with the spirit of the movie and Snow White's place in the Disney canon, but that avoids this problem?
https://www.sfgate.com/disneyland/article/2021-04-snow-whites-enchanted-wish-changes-witch-16144353.php
Brain dead.
SunSeeker
(51,557 posts)Yes there are some exceptions, like in Frozen, but for the most part, the Disney Princess stories teach girls helplessness and tells kids only beautiful girls deserve happiness, and that women need men to rescue them.and make them happy.
The kiss by the prince was the least of the issues with Snow White, particularly since Snow White famously sang that "someday my prince will come," so it wasn't exactly univited/unwanted:
Demovictory9
(32,456 posts)Takket
(21,570 posts)The helpless princess trope basically surrounds the original big three of snow white, Cinderella, and sleeping beauty. Which BTW were all fairy tales adapted by Disney to family friendly versions for the big screen.
The last of those movies came out in 1959 and society and Disney have kind of changed since then. I mean honestly, in the last 6 decades since sleeping beauty can you cite another movie featuring the helpless princess trope?
nattyice
(331 posts)I saw the 1979 Superman film. I was shocked to see how much people smoked in the office news room.
However, I think the 2021 Snow White exhibit should have had a little more thought out into it to reflect TODAYs society, and whats right and whats wrong.
JHB
(37,160 posts)SunSeeker
(51,557 posts)Cinderella's castle is still the symbol of Disneyland.
Ariel, in The Little Mermaid, is a recent, very popular princess, and she gives up her fishtail to be with her "prince."
And of course all the princesses are still made to look unrealistically beautiful.