Wait -- Disney Is *Actually* Doing A Live-Action Snow White?!

This girl right here? She's an icon:


via GIPHY

She is not just the OG Disney Princess -- she's the OG Disney Character.

Without her, there would probably not be a "Disney." There (probably) would not be a billion-dollar multi-media conglomerate. We (probably) wouldn't be watching cartoons as adults. We might not even have theme parks, of which Disney ones represent the Gold Star. And who else knows what the trickle-down-effect would be. 

Because back in 1937, pretty much everyone expected an 80-minute feature-length animated film to flop. Which is extra problematic considering Disney sunk everything he had into this film -- I think the estimated budget eventually ballooned up to $1.5 million (in the middle of the Great Depression, remember). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was known as Disney's Folly. 

But maybe it was precisely that historical context -- the Depression -- that made people flock to the theater. For escape, for nostalgia, for air conditioning -- whatever it was, people loved it. If I'm remembering correctly, I believe the film made $80 million during its first year: at a time when an adult movie ticket cost a quarter and a child movie ticket a nickel. 

And thus, Disney was saved and an empire was born. 

Now, she's not perfect. She's gotten a lot of criticism. She certainly makes some questionable life-choices: 

via GIPHY

But remember: She was born in 1937. I'm not saying that excuses everything, but face it: things were a helluva lot different then. 

And it's not all bad: sure, she's only 14 and marries a man she basically just met, but at least that man didn't stumble across the seemingly-dead-body of an 8 year old girl in the middle of a forest and attempt to buy her from some dwarves. (Which is what happens in the original story by the Grimm Brothers.) Unlike her successors, her eyes are proportionate and normal-sized. Also unlike her successors, she's got a healthy body type with a realistic waist and some actual curves. And, when she stumbles upon the dwarf's cottage, she doesn't ask for a hand-out: she uses the skills she has (yes, they are limited and domestic) to compensate for a roof over her head. 

So, yes. I'm defending her. And not just because she was my favorite when I was very little. (We also didn't have a lot of options pre-1989):

(My dad would kill me if he saw this photo. Also, remember when Disney characters just wandered the parks?)

ANYWAY. All of this is to say that, as the OG Character, she holds a special place in the realm of Movies-You-Just-Don't-Remake. How could you remake The Wizard of Oz without Judy Garland? Or Gone With The Wind without Clark Gable or Vivien Leigh? Or Breakfast at Tiffany's without Audrey Hepburn? 

I thought, for the longest time, that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was off-limits. Of course her story has been retold -- I actually even enjoyed Snow White and the Huntsman, mainly due to Charlize Theron's Wicked Queen, and Gregory's Maguire's Italian take with Lucrezia Borgia as the villainess -- and Disney went so far as make Snow the heroine of its fairy-tale-version-of-Lost, Once Upon A Time. 

But now it seems like the iconic 1937 film has been added to the list of Disney's Remake Machine, having just found a director in Marc Webb. (Yes, the film was announced in 2016, but films are announced all the time--it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to get made. We've been waiting on that Wicked film for years now.)

Things That Make Me Cautiously Optimistic:

• Marc Webb was a director/producer on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend which, largely thanks to Rachel Bloom, did exceptional things with its portrayal of mental illness, female friendships, and romantic relationships. 
• Pasek and Paul have been brought on to write new songs for the film -- and if "Speechless" is any indication, this bodes extremely well. 

Things That Might Be Tricky:

• Adriana Caselotti -- Disney's original voice actress -- had an incredibly high voice. And while it may have worked in the 1930s, it's one of the things my students comment on the most when asked about things they disliked about the film. (A quibble, I know, but her voice is iconic.)
• There's not a whole lot of story there, and the source material isn't exactly great by 2019 standards. Most adaptations maintain the element of female jealousy and conflict -- based on appearance/beauty -- and I would love to see Disney change and update this for 2019. 
• I'd also hope that this Snow White will have a spine and won't be quite so passive. While Disney's 2015 version of Cinderella was a beautiful film, and did update some elements of the story, Ella was still "as meek and as mild as a mouse" for  most of the film. 

Finally, while there aren't even whispers of a rumor about the plot, several of the articles I read mention that Disney is also considering a "spin-off" featuring Snow White's "sister," Rose Red. Which....

via GIPHY

...is not entirely true. I mean, yes. I used to think this as a kid because "Snow White and Rose Red" was one of my favorite stories. But...just because they have the same name doesn't mean they're the same character. So...yeah. Not sisters. 

Hopefully, this is just lazy reporting and not actual information coming from Disney. Because that would not bode well. 

Snow White & Castles in the Air

Today we discussed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in class, so last night, I had to re-watch it. (Sometimes, I really love my job.)

I also watched it with my family -- my husband and both my kids -- which made my heart all kinds of happy. My daughter is just about 2.5 and, amidst all the fun of the terrible 2s, she's starting to become her own little person with a clear personality. It's also a lot...less quiet. 😂 There are so. many. questions!

But it's fascinating to see what she picks up on. Critics, especially the academic ones, like to make a big fuss over Disney movies -- especially the princess ones -- especially the early princess ones. They like to say that kids take this harmful message away or that watching princess movies will make them grow up into weak, passive women. Which...I've always been skeptical of. After all, how can you determine what a child takes away from a film? Won't every viewer take away something different? And even if you could definitively conclude what a child takes away from watching a movie, can you lay the blame entirely at Disney's feet? Isn't this one part of a larger conversation?

So, yeah. My daughter didn't bat an eye at the dark, scary parts -- not when Snow White ran into the woods, not when the Queen went down into her dungeon and used dark magic, not when the Dwarfs chased the Queen at the end.
She was more concerned with where characters were -- so when Snow White was cleaning the house, she didn't seem to focus on what Snow White was doing, she wanted to know where the rabbit was.
And her biggest concern was that she didn't understand where the Queen went when she transformed into the hag -- and after answering that question about a dozen times and trying to explain magic, she wanted to know what happened to her crown. 😳 Write about that, academics.

Anyway. I noticed something at the end of the movie that I hadn't noticed before and, TBH, I found it a little odd. Yes, things wrap up pretty quickly. Yes, the Prince randomly stumbles upon Snow White and kisses her (without knowing that Love's First Kiss is what breaks the spell). Yes, Snow White wakes up and is like, "O hai. Sure I'll ride off with you to who knows where." Yes, Snow White just abandons the Dwarfs after all they did for her.

But it was the castle at the end that I noticed.

Here's a screenshot near the end, with Snow White and the Prince riding off, literally, into the sunset.

Then, here's a screenshot of a few second later:

I remembered the Prince's castle differently...I assumed/remembered it as a castle on a hill off in the distance (maybe like the castle in Cinderella?), but this castle appears to (1) have magically appeared in the middle of the sky and (2) be floating on a cloud. Which...intrigued me and sparked a connection to "castles in the air." 

I remembered the phrase from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women -- there's an entire chapter titled "Castles in the Air." The March sisters are telling Laurie about how they used to play Pilgrim's Progress and try to make it to the Celestial City. Beth tells Laurie:

If people really want to go, and really try all their lives, I think they will get in, for I don't believe there are any locks on the door or any guards at the gate. I always imagine it as it is in the picture where the shining ones stretch out their hands to welcome poor Christian as he comes up from the river.

And Jo replies:

Wouldn't it be fun if all the castles in the air which we make could come true, and we could live in them? 

The castles are, I think, meant to represent the girls' (and Laurie's) daydreams, their aspirations, what they want most in this world. (Jo's dreams and castles were the ones I related to the most, TBH.) The idea, though, is that they have to live their lives first -- to deal with their weaknesses, to face their troubles, to endure the hardships. There's also the Christian undertones, given the reference to Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress (which I'll admit I'm not familiar with, except to know that it's about how to get to Heaven) which are quite prominent in Snow White.

There's also the connection to Thoreau (who I'm pretty sure was close with Alcotts -- or at least moved in the same circle as them), who wrote in Walden,

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary...In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. "

Later, in the same chapter, Thoreau writes,

However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is....

These are still unformed thoughts but I think the connection to Snow White is there: if Thoreau viewed "castles in the air" as a person's dreams, their heart's desires, the life which they have imagined, then the "foundation" is to love your life, as poor as it. 

Doesn't this hold true for Snow White? However "mean" her life was, she "met" it and "lived" it. She met adversity with "a smile and a song" and never stopped wishing "for the one she loved to find her." She built her castle in the air in her heart and dreams, and lived her life as poor as it was. And in the end? Her castle literally appeared in the air in front of her, as her reward for her good life and faith and hope. 

I have no idea if Disney read Walden or Little Women, or was familiar with Thoreau's or Alcott's ideas, but he was a smarter man than people sometimes give him credit for. At the very least, I think it's plausible. 

Wreck-It Ralph 2: The Disney Princesses Unite!

A few days ago, this post popped up on my feed:

A couple of important things to note:

(1) Alan Tudyk is back! Given that his original character, King Candy/Turbo, was the villain and (spoiler!) got his just desserts, and also given that Alan Tudyk has become Disney Animation Studios' good-luck charm -- I was worried that he wouldn't be in this film. Worries no more. 

(2) Taraji P. Henson's character looks awesome.

(3) Perhaps, most importantly, our first look at the Disney Princesses all together is here!

Here's a bigger look at the picture:

📷: Purewow via Disney

Again, there are a couple of things to note here:

(1) This is awesome. And you will never get me to say otherwise. I imagine this to be some sort of super-cool Princess secret society. Or, resort/spa where they can relax and get away from princessy-duties.

(2) Excluding Vanellope, there are 11 princesses present:

• (2a) Interestingly, Anna, Elsa and Moana are all here -- even though they haven't been officially inducted into the princess court.
• (2b) All the First Wave princesses are present -- Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora -- even though their voice actors are no longer with us. (I always assumed they'd have different actors, so it'll be fun/interesting to see who they cast.)
  Also--Aurora is in her pink dress. Don't get me started.
• (2c) 3/5 of the Second Wave princesses are present: Belle, Jasmine, & Pocahontas are there, but Ariel and Mulan aren't. More on this in a second.
• (2d) 2/3 of the Third Wave princesses are present -- Tiana and Rapunzel, but Merida isn't. (I'm not counting Moana yet.)

Given the panorama-type view of the shot, it's possible that the three of them are just off-screen (and maybe we'll see them in the trailer tomorrow). 

Shockingly, (she said sarcastically), the internet is a little upset about Mulan not being included -- thanks, Buzzfeed!

Which, I know they ask about Ariel in the sub-title, but still. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to count the princesses and figure out that not *every* Disney princess is there -- I counted 3.  But there's a lot of ignorance misinformation in this post. 

WHERE’S MY BITCH FA MULAN https://t.co/B2c6JUAtbx

— josh (@bernaldont) May 31, 2018

Like that whole jibber-jabber about how Mulan isn't *technically* a princess. Yes. We talk about this a lot in my class -- i.e., how do we determine a Disney princess? Do you have to be born one? Can you marry into royalty? And what about different cultures? After all, princesses are primarily (not exculsively!) a Western concept, especially in the way Disney portrays them. Is Jasmine a princess, as the daughter of a sultan? Is Pocahontas a princess, as the daughter of a chief? (Maui would clear this up.)  But I digress. -- The point is: when Andy Mooney created the princess franchise in the early 2000s, they had to come up with some criteria. After all, Tinker Bell was included at one point -- but then they went and did the whole Fairies franchise ($$$), so she was out. Any female character who is included in the Royal Court, is an official princess, regardless of birth, marriage, or any other factors. See below:

📷: WDWThemeParks

All 11 princesses are there -- and yes, this is before Frozen and Moana, but there hasn't been another "induction" since.

So then they point to these cast photos that were taken at the 2017 D23 Expo (which I thought I blogged about, but I can't find it. Which makes sense. I was so. very. pregnant. in July of 2017 and also running around after a 1-year-old.)

What these images tell us is that, from left to right in the second picture, Paige O'Hara (Belle), Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), Mandy Moore (Rapunzel), Auli'i Cravalho (Moana), Sarah Silverman (Vanellope), Kristen Bell (Anna), Kelly MacDonald (Merida), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Linda Larkin (Jasmine) and Jodi Benson (Ariel) are all there. When I first read this story, I assumed Ming-Na Wen (Mulan) wasn't there because of Agents of Shield commitments.

I'm just going to ignore this comment from the Buzzfeed post -- But interestingly the voice actors of Snow White, Cinderella, Elsa, and Aurora were not present, even though they are in the shot from the movie. -- because, you know, LOGIC. (Snow White came out in 1937, guys. It's a safe bet that Adriana Caselotti isn't still alive -- she passed in 1997 -- and even if she were, she'd be pretty old.)

So, yeah. Merida and Ariel will be there -- although no one seemed particularly worried about here in the Buzzfeed post  😢 -- and it's a safe bet that Mulan will be too.

So, let's just enjoy the awesomeness of all the princesses together and hope that we see them all in the trailer tomorrow.

Disney Princesses As: Career Women!

May, 2018: We're still re-imagining Disney Princesses in inventive ways. #somethingsneverchange

The latest one imagines Disney Princesses as modern-day career women:

via ScaryMommy

The collection is by Matt Burt and he's put a lot of thought into the careers for each character.

Chronologically, here they are:

Snow White -- Leading Psychologist

Cinderella -- Animal Rights Activist

Aurora -- CEO of Spinning Wheel Coffee 

Ariel -- Pop Star & Record Producer 

Belle -- University Chancellor

Jasmine -- UN Ambassador

Pocahontas -- Environmental Activist (I mean, duh)

Mulan -- Title IX Lawyer

Tiana -- Award Winning Chef (I mean, duh)

Rapunzel -- Neurologist

Merida -- Two Time Olympian (Archery & Equestrian)

Elsa & Anna* -- Climate Change Scientists

Moana -- Officer in the Navy

*Not official princesses, but, a common mistake.

Okay, one, it's clear that Burt put a lot of thought and rationale into each of these career choices.
Two--I love that each of them is an empowering career for the character -- you've got chancellors and ambassadors and scientists. (Yay for Women in STEM!)

But.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't have nit-picky thoughts.

1. Most obvious -- Tiana & Pocahontas: really, any other career options for these two wouldn't work.

2. My favorite "new career" -- Aurora: I love that she's the CEO of a coffee company. Tongue-in-cheek, but oddly appropriate.

3. No...just no -- Snow White as a "Leading Psychologist" and Rapunzel as a "Neurologist": Nope. Not buying it. While I appreciate that Burt made Snow a "leading" psychologist who cares for her clients but also presents at conferences, I...would not put my faith in her as a psychologist. If anything, I think she'd made a great preschool/kindergarten/elementary school teacher. Her cheerful disposition plus her ability to make people actually wash their hands? Textbook.

And Rapunzel? Yeah, cool. Neurologist, doctor, med school, blah blah blah. But the thing I love about the end of Tangled is that Flynn tells us that she learned to rule and govern her people and was a great princess/queen. So, yeah. I would have liked to see her be a senator or even a female president. 

    

4. Miscellaneous thoughts, from someone who has clearly spent too much time thinking about this:

• I guess I see Cinderella as an Animal Rights Activist -- but maybe she and Ariel join forces together. I don't love Ariel as a Pop Star -- because she's my favorite, and it seems a shallow career -- but...I suppose Ariel is kind of shallow, so it fits. :/ 
• Again, I love that Belle is the chancellor of a university, but again, it kinda doesn't fit her personality. I don't see her as an authoritative decision-maker -- something I think Once Upon A Time captures nicely with Belle as a librarian -- maybe an English professor at best. 
• Mulan & Moana -- For some reason, I'm just "meh" about these. I think it's because they seem too rebellious for such straight-laced careers. I'm pretty sure Mulan would do something -- with the best of intentions, of course -- that would end up getting her disbarred. And Moana? She relies too much on emotion and instinct to be a good naval officer -- I can't see her taking orders well. 

Like I said, I've clearly spent too much time thinking about this! 

Disney Princess Toms

Today, my first pairs of Toms arrived in the mail. I know they've been popular for awhile, and people swear they're super comfy, but...I'm always a little reluctant to join the bandwagon. But these had strawberries and oranges and carrots on them -- and they just seemed so summery.

Plus, I wanted to see if their sizing was accurate (it is) since I came across this news the other day:

I blogged about them a while ago -- and the big news was that they'd be featuring rarely seen concept art from the Disney Archives. 

Now we've got some close ups of the art -- and I have to say, the Snow White ones are my favorite, which is a surprise to me.

The Cinderella ones are actually pretty cool -- I have a friend who is probably eyeing the ones with the mice, since Gus is her favorite character -- and I really like the concept art of Cinderella's mom's dress that the mice fix for her. There's also a nice simplicity to the Glass Slipper ones, but I'm not sure they'll warrant the (inflated) price tag.

The Sleeping Beauty ones were the ones I was actually most excited for. Not because of Aurora (because let's face it -- the movie's named after her, but she's not the protagonist) but because of the Good Fairies, particularly Merrywether, who's always been a favorite of mine. But...meh.

On the plus side, at least Aurora's wearing the blue dress. The prevalence of her in the pink dress in the merchandise seriously annoys me. (I get that when Disney made Cinderella's dress blue instead of silver, they decided they couldn't have two princesses in blue dresses, but still.)

But the Snow White ones? I really like them! 

Maybe because she's the OG princess, or maybe because they're blue, but these are my favorite. Aaaand I'll probably be ordering a pair when they start selling them. 

And a Little Mermaid pair? I'll take those next please, Disney. 

Disney + Toms: Break Glass Ceilings, Not Glass Slippers

Confession: I'm not a "shoe girl."

As a swimmer, I basically spent my entire adolescence barefoot, and I was the girl who wore flip-flops unless there was snow on the ground. I've worn the same pairs of work shoes/heels for years because they're comfy and I dread the thought of breaking in a new pair of shoes and/or finding a new pair that fits. (Shout out to Man Mur Shoe Shop for saving my shoes and giving them new heels and soles.)

So I've never owned or even tried on a pair of Toms, even though I have several friends who swear by them.

Welp. That might change. Good little Disney consumer that I am, nothing tempts me to buy a new product more than a collaboration with Disney.

Apparently, the collection will feature the OG princesses -- Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora -- and will feature "rarely seen original artwork from the Disney archives." 

WHAT?!? I am all in. If the artwork above is any indication, these will be beautiful. And while the OG Princesses aren't my favorite, I'm more on board with Cinderella these days and the three fairies (especially Merrywether) have always been my favorites. 

*sigh*

Take all my moneys, Disney. 

New Disney Dooney & Burke Bags

When we were in Disneyland for our honeymoon, my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday and if there was anything Disney-related I might like. (Our anniversary and my birthday are 15 days apart and he admitted that he'd been so focused on the wedding, that he hadn't had time to give it a lot of thought.)

Now, I've never been an "expensive handbag" kind of girl: I can appreciate them, but when it comes down to it, as long as it holds all my stuff, I don't mind if it comes from Target or a designer store. But when my husband asked if I'd like a Dooney & Burke bag, I didn't hesitate. Yes, I said. I love the one you picked out.

They have a color version of this design, but part of the reason I love this bag so much is that the Disney is really subtle. Unless you're looking really closely, you can't tell. And the people who *do* notice often ask me, in hushed but excited tones, if that's a Disney bag. I nod, and we share a little conspiratorial smile and recognize each other as Disney nerds. It's great.

My current bag is currently showing a little wear, so my husband's been on the lookout for another print  that he thought I might like, but most of the recent prints have either been too cartoonish or just not my thing. 

But. 

Today I saw this: 

And I may have texted it to my husband reminding him that our anniversary/my birthday/Christmas were all coming up. I love it. I love that it's Peter Pan, and that Tink is prominently featured, and I love that it's not in color -- the black-and-white color scheme make the Disney aspect a lot more subtle than most of the Disney Dooney & Burkes. 

For a comparison, here's the new Snow White collection -- I think in honor of the 80th anniversary:

There's also a new Christmas print coming out, which, I have to admit, did set my Disney-consumer-heart aflutter. Fall/Halloween is my favorite time to visit, but Disney-at-Christmas is...magical. But this print just doesn't seem practical. I would feel weird using the purse in, say, May, so it's an expensive purchase to just it for a few weeks. But still pretty. 😊

Disney Princesses As...Living in 2017

I haven't done a "Disney Princesses As" post in a while, so it was nice to stumble across these images: according to BoredPanda, the artist is Chilean digital artist Fernanda Suarez, and his current project is to imagine what Disney Princesses would look like if they were living in 2017. Check out his Instagram here.

Setting aside the fact that he is ridiculously talented in a way that I could never even dream of aspiring to, his vision is interesting...most of them look edgier to me, maybe even a little sinister?

For one thing, Jasmine and Pocahontas don't actually look that different, IMHO:

Is there a commentary on exorcized beauty here? Several critics have pointed out that the non-white princesses are more sexualized than their white counterparts, so maybe it's not surprising? (Although, I don't know what it says about 2017 that being "modern" is "sultry"...although maybe it's just the discrepancy from the softer, more innocent animated versions?)

Snow White and Cinderella kinda have this whole zombie/supernatural/paranormal vibe going on...I think it's the eyes. They both have this sultry, come hither vibe, but the coloring gives them that supernatural edge. Plus, nothing says temptation like an apple.

I think Mulan is my favorite though. Maybe it's because she looks so different from the traditional animated version, and maybe because Suarez didn't seem to make her hyper-feminine and fit her into a "delicate" princess mold.

Disney Princesses Singing In Their "Native" Language

This fun video popped up in my Facebook feed tonight:

I don't think it's *entirely* accurate to say that they're singing in their "native languages" -- at least not all of them. Mulan for sure, because the film is clearly set in ancient China, even if it's not historically accurate; Meg in Hercules is pretty accurate as well, since the film explicitly mentions the Greek gods; and there are a few super subtle references to Germany in Snow White (namely the beer steins in dwarves' cottage). But Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Frozen -- they're all set in kingdoms once upon a time in a faraway land. Sure, the original "Sleeping Beauty" is of French origin; and Hans Christian Andersen was Danish, but that doesn't mean The Little Mermaid is set in Denmark; and Arendelle is a fictional country inspired by Norway. I'm not even going to touch on the Aladdin one, because that's a hot mess that I've discussed before. 

But a fun video nevertheless. :) 

Disney Princesses As....Hogwarts Students

This week in "Disney Princesses As...": they're Hogwarts students! Or, at the very least, they've been sorted into Hogwarts Houses.

While this warms my nerdy heart, it isn't exactly something new....Disney Princess Reimaginer Extraordinaire Isaiah Stevens has done it, and so has a Deviant Artist named Annabella (hers might be my favorite).

My point is: it's been done before, so why do it again unless you disagree with the Sorting Results? And there are definitely some different results here.

Some of them make total sense (a.k.a. I totally agree with them). Like, for instance:

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

This makes total sense: Snow White and Cinderella with their unrelenting optimism and kindness? Total Hufflepuff. And they are clearly unafraid of toil (as all good Hufflepuffs are) because they not only clean for the baddies in their lives, but they do it with a smile and a song.

Also making total sense?

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

Yah. Mulan and Merida are both clearly Gryffindors. I mean...the name of Merida's movie is Brave, so I totally get that one.

Also one I like, but hadn't really thought of before:

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

Ariel is totally the Luna Lovegood of Disney Princesses. And, she's my favorite princess, so it makes sense I'd love that she's sorted into my house.

Speaking of my favorites....

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

I'm sorry. Elsa is NOT a Slytherin. No. Just no. She is 100% a Ravenclaw. I'm not sure how being "grounded in reality" disqualifies you from being a Ravenclaw -- not all Ravenclaws are like Luna. (Cho Chang was a Ravenclaw, after all. Not that that really helps my case.) The thing that bugs me here is that Elsa is NOT ambitious -- a very Slytherin quality, and not necessarily in a negative way. But "an ambitious leader" wouldn't retreat from a position to power to a place of solitude as Elsa does: a Slytherin would not go build and rule an ice power in isolation. A Slytherin would most definitely stay and rule, regardless of how people thought of him/her. 

Hans, for example, is absolutely a Slytherin -- but he's not a princess. Which I think is the flaw here: Disney princesses are all inherently good; not too many of them are going to belong in Slytherin, even if you read the Slytherin qualities positively. There's going to be a lot of Hufflepuff (First Wave) and a lot of Gryffindor. 

But, if you just look at the princesses, somebody's got to be in Slytherin. Which is why this happens:

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

Again, I say: NO. JUST NO. I get the ambition part -- which is why I see Slytherin, but Tiana ultimately gives up her dream of a restaurant when Facilier offers it to her: she chooses love/Naveen over the restaurant, which again, I'm not sure a Slytherin would do. (Hence why she's a Disney princess.) But more than that -- Tiana's defined by her work ethic -- she is as unafraid of toil as Snow White and Cinderella are, probably even more so. (I've argued that Tiana is basically an updated version of Cinderella; very similar rags-to-riches story, just with more modern complexity.) The Sorting Hat tells us that "Those patient Hufflepuffs are true / And unafraid of toil." Yeah. Tiana saved for her restaurant penny by penny for years: that is textbook Hufflepuff, right there.

I know I take this all way too seriously, but Disney and Harry Potter are two of my favorite things so I love when they collide. 

Disney Artwork -- Anoosha Sayed

For some reason, I love those social media posts where Disney Princesses are envisioned as "something." And pretty much whatever you can imagine Disney Princesses as, some graphic artist out there has done it. (Even hot dogs.)

The latest to pop up on my newsfeed was "Disney Princesses as Millenials" by Anoosha Sayed. According to Sayed, the project is "a series of digital illustrations of what I imagine these girls would be like as 21st century teens/young adults." She also " tried to be accurate to their personalities, writing little backstories for each character. I also put [in] little homages to their movies."

While not my favorite reimagining -- mainly because I don't see a whole lot of re-imagining going on, but that's just me -- they are pretty to look at. And they do get you thinking about what each princess might be like in the 21st century. (If you think about things like that. I do.)

My favorite, and probably the most unique re-imagining, is probably Snow White, the Social Media Queen:

I love that Sayed made her full-figured and curvy -- as the 1930s Princess, she's definitely a different body type than the more willowy (and more criticized) princesses.

Runner-up for me goes to Belle, the Fangirl:

 

Belle would be the fangirl. I don't know if she'd be into anime, but okay. She'd definitely be a Harry Potter fangirl though -- a Ravenclaw all the way. Although, she'd probably be a Twihard too...I can see that really being a story she identified with.

And then there's Esmeralda. Who I love is included, but I'm not sure she'd be a ballet dancer...given her gypsy roots, I can see her being more of a burlesque dancer, even jazz, but not really ballet.