Disney Princess Club
Join
Fanpop
New Post
Explore Fanpop
Hi everyone! I recently learned about the Bechdel Test from a friend and have been wanting to write this article ever since. This test is, at its core, an analysis of how women are portrayed in popular culture. It reveals how much women tend to revolve around men in films, books, etc. To pass the test, a film (or any other work of fiction) must meet three requirements: the film must (1) have at least two named female characters (2) who talk to each other (3) about something other than a man. It seems so simple, right? Unfortunately a surprising number of films fail in at least one of these aspects. Well now it's time to see how our beloved Disney Princess movies stack up when put to the test!

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to bash any of the films or say that they are "anti-feminist," nor do I necessarily think that this test is the best way to determine if a film is "feminist" or not. I simply thought it would be fun to see which movies pass the test. You can find a lot of info on the Bechdel Test online, including different versions and criticisms of it. I am using a slightly more strict version which requires the two female characters to be named.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1. Does the film have at least two named female characters?
Unfortunately not, so Walt's first full length animated feature fails right off the bat. While there are two female characters, Snow White and the Evil Queen, the latter is not given a name in the film. It is important to note that many fans refer to the queen as Queen Grimhilde, so she may in fact have a name. However, since her name is never mentioned in the film, it fails the test.

Fail.
Fail.


Cinderella

1. Two named female characters?
You betcha. In fact Cinderella sports four, not just two, named females: Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella. If only the Fairy Godmother had a name this movie would have five! Still, this film passes the first part of the test with flying colors.
2. Do the women speak to each other? We wouldn't have a movie if they didn't. There's quite a bit of dialogue between the four of them, so Cinderella passes the second part of the test.
3. Do their conversations revolve around something other than men? Several of them do! While there is quite a bit of talk of the Prince and the Grand Duke, they also converse about the ball itself and Cinderella's duties. Thus Cinderella is the first Disney Princess film to pass the Bechdel Test!

Pass.
Pass.


Sleeping Beauty

1. Two named females?
Sleeping Beauty does even better than Cinderella in this regard with five named women: Aurora, Flora, Fauna, Merriweather, and the unforgettable Maleficent.
2. Do they talk to each other? Again, there would be no movie if they didn't. Most of the film is the fairies' antics, and there's quite a bit of conversation sprinkled in there.
3. Do they only talk about men? While there's a good bit of conversation concerning Phillip, the majority of what the fairies talk about is Aurora herself and how to protect her from Maleficent. With that, Sleeping Beauty passes the Bechdel Test!

Pass.
Pass.


The Little Mermaid

1. Two named females?
The Little Mermaid sports a plethora of female characters, the most prominent being Ariel and Ursula, but when you add Ariel's sisters to the list you get a grand total of eight named women! That's almost as many as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty combined, so The Little Mermaid definitely passes the first part of the test.
2. Do they talk to each other? Ariel and Ursula have quite the conversation in Ursula's lair, so The Little Mermaid passes the second part of the test.
3. Do they only talk about men? Here is where the film that ushered in the Disney Renaissance falls short. Ariel and Ursula's conversation revolves entirely around Ariel turning human in order to woo Eric and hopefully win him so that she can remain human forever. While some might argue that the film should still pass since technically not the entire conversation is specifically about Eric, I believe that he plays such a prominent role in the conversation that the film fails.

Fail - but this could be debated.
Fail - but this could be debated.


Beauty and the Beast

1. Two named females?
Beauty and the Beast just barely passes this portion of the test with exactly two named women: Mrs. Potts and Belle herself (unless of course you want to count Marie who needs to hurry up and get those baguettes).
2. Do they talk to each other? Again the movie just scrapes by with one conversation between Belle and Mrs. Potts immediately after Belle arrives at the castle and is shown to her room.
3. Do they only talk about men? Like The Little Mermaid, whether Beauty and the Beast passes in this regard could probably be argued one way or the other. Since the Beast is never specifically brought up in their conversation I'm going to allow it to pass, albeit somewhat dubiously since they are talking about how Belle has lost her freedom thanks to him.

Pass - but this could be debated.
Pass - but this could be debated.


Aladdin

1. Two named females?
As the only Disney Princess film whose princess isn't the main character, it's no surprise that Aladdin fails right off the bat. Jasmine is the only major female character in the movie, let alone the only named one.

Fail.
Fail.


Pocahontas

1. Two named females?
This film has not two but three named women: Pocahontas, Nakoma, and Grandmother Willow. While this isn't quite as many as some of the earlier Disney Princess films, it's still enough for it to pass the first portion of the test.
2. Do they talk to each other? Though Nakoma and Grandmother Willow never speak to each other, Pocahontas has a few conversations with each of them.
3. Do they only talk about men? John Smith and the settlers are a prominent topic, but Nakoma and Pocahontas have a conversation about the title character's dream. This conversation is later continued with Grandmother Willow where the topic of Pocahontas's mother is also introduced. Pocahontas decidedly passes the Bechdel Test.

Pass.
Pass.


Mulan

1. Two named females?
Like Pocahontas, Mulan passes this portion of the test with three named women - Fa Mulan, Fa Li, and Grandmother Fa.
2. Do they talk to each other? While their conversations are minimal since the majority of the movie takes place amongst an army of men, they do converse during the scene where Mulan is being prepared to see the Matchmaker.
3. Do they only talk about men? Most of their conversation is about Mulan striking up a match with a good man, but since they mostly focus on Mulan herself and less on the men she needs to impress I will allow this film to pass. There is a short exchange between Mulan and Li about how Mulan is late which can also be taken into consideration. Like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast it could be easily argued that Mulan should not pass this portion of the test, however I personally think it makes the cut.

Pass - but this could be debated.
Pass - but this could be debated.


The Princess and the Frog

1. Two named females?
The last 2D animated princess film boasts a number of female characters including Tiana, Charlotte, Eudora, Mama Odie, and the elusive Evangeline, thus easily passing the first part of the test.
2. Do they talk to each other? Yes they do! Tiana and Charlotte have a number of conversations, and Eudora does her share of talking as well. And of course who could forget the memorable conversation with Mama Odie?
3. Do they only talk about men? Charlotte talks a lot about Naveen and Eudora pushes Tiana to find a man, but Tiana evens the score with all the talk of her restaurant. Tiana also speaks with Mama Odie about needing to be human again. It could be argued that since Tiana is building her restaurant in memory of her father all of her conversations about it are about a man. Personally, I think that's a little far-fetched, thus The Princess and the Frog passes the Bechdel Test!

Pass - but this could be debated.
Pass - but this could be debated.


Tangled

1. Two named females?
This movie just barely passes the first part of the test with exactly two named women: Rapunzel and Mother Gothel.
2. Do they talk to each other? They do quite a bit of talking, some of which is even set to music. It's mostly Mother Gothel giving backhanded compliments to Rapunzel, but it still counts.
3. Do they only talk about men? Nope, Mother Gothel spends a lot of time steering Rapunzel away from the outside world, and of course there's their exchange when Rapunzel realizes that she is the lost princess. Therefore, Tangled passes the Bechdel Test.

Pass.
Pass.


Brave

1. Two named females?
Though you'd expect a movie that's all about female empowerment to have more female characters, Brave still makes it through this part of the test with three - Merida, Elinor, and Maudie. The Witch doesn't count since she isn't named.
2. Do they talk to each other? The majority of the movie is Merida's interactions with Elinor which includes a lot of talking, although not a lot of listening in the beginning.
3. Do they only talk about men? They do talk a lot about the suitors and Elinor's desire for Merida to choose a husband, and if you were testing the film using only the spoken conversations it might not pass. However, I will include their communication while Elinor is a bear, which is hardly about men at all. And so the most recent Disney Princess film passes the Bechdel Test!

Pass - but this could be debated.
Pass - but this could be debated.


Overall

Of these eleven films only three couldn't pass the test: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. This is pretty good considering the fact that about half of all films ever made don't pass the test. (Surprising statistic, I know. Don't believe me? Look it up!) From this, I'd say that the Disney Princesses do a pretty good job of being their own characters instead of being defined by the men present in their films. What do you think? Is the Bechdel Test even a good measurement of such a thing? Let me know in the comments!
Typical Merida photo.
Typical Merida photo.
This is my personal list of the prettiest Disney princesses. Again, this is just an opinion and their is no right or wrong.I will also be rating the princesses in a mark I find fair (out of 10)

11) Merida (Brave)
I think her round face is what bothers me the most. It looks just like a big,fat circle, although her freckles fit her quite well. Her hair looks like she hasn't brushed it in year. And no, I'm not saying curls are ugly, but I think hers has too many volume.Don't get me wrong, she is pretty but she can't compare to other princesses.
Rate: 4

10) Mulan (Mulan)
I think Mulan is pretty too,...
continue reading...
posted by JNTA1234
Okay, so here are the actresses for Belle, it was pretty easy. Let's get started. This is the first list that doesn't have any "Teen Stars".

5.Leighton Meester
She probably looks the most like Belle out of all the actresses. The facial structure, the hair, everything is exact. So why is Leighton only #5? Well the next 4 actresses have to proven to be much more talented and can do twice as good of a job.

4.Christy Carlson Romano
Some of you may not know her or just don't remember her. She played Ren on Even Stevens, voiced Kim on Kim Possible. And she actually played Belle on broadway,...
continue reading...
Beyonce Knowles is pretty much the biggest female artist in the world right now and she has ton a songs. So much I can barely keep track of them and I'm just talking about the ones that have music videos to them. Obviously, most if not all of her songs are about women. So I figured I could find a song to fit each Disney Princess. I already made a video/slideshow for it link So let's take a look at the songs I picked.
Snow White-Crazy In Love
This song probably matches the princess the least. It doesn't really fit her personaltiy and neither does the music video. In fact, none of her songs...
continue reading...
I've already written articles on my favorite princesses and action scenes, and now the countdow is about the "I want" songs. That's one of my favorite moments in all DP movies. Jasmine doesn't have any solo song, so I didn't include her in the countdown.

Please notice I considered the scenes as a whole, not only the song.

9. Snow White - "Someday my prince will come"
This song is short, and it doesn't help that it's showed in the middle in the movie - It doesn't add nothing about Snow White's personality. It also doesn't help that she sang it sitting on a chair, that forbidded the animation...
continue reading...
Hi! I´m on fire today! Hehe I´ve just finished writting my favorite outfits article and now I decided to write my favorite hair article. Well maybe I call it being on fire and some other fans call it a Wendsay afternoon but whatever. So as I am a little tired and I´m going out to celebrate (oh yeah, today it´s Mexico´s independence day, ¡Viva México!) I will make this article a little shorter. Here it is, enjoy!

10.Tiana
First of all I must say I´m not one of those Tiana´s hair haters but since I am judging hair I have to admit Tiana´s hair is very simple compared to the other princesses....
continue reading...
posted by alexon31
"Love her dress. Hate her" -A Cinderella Story
"Love her dress. Hate her" -A Cinderella Story
I´ve already written an article for my favoirte DP Wardrobes, you can read it here if you want to: link :D, so now I decided to write an article for my favorite outfits. I have to say this one was more difficult because I couldn´t decide between so many outfits (no sequels included).

I also couldn´t decide whether or not to include Ariel as a mermaid. You see, since I am judging outfits and technically her tail is part of her I couldn´t really count that as an outfit, and a pair of purple seashells is not much of an outfit either so as much as I love how she looks I decided not to include...
continue reading...
I would just like to say, I think it would be a good idea to have this countdown every 6 months. Then we can notice patterns in favorites and such.



9. Snow White
First Countdown: 9th Place
Second Countdown: 9th Place
Change: None.

-_____________________________-
Well, I don't want to write a description about poor Snow White, so I'll let another user explain:

"My issue with Snow White is the rumor that she is 13 years old, which isn't a big deal in and of itself, but she's singing and pining for true love. Even though, once upon a time, girls did marry that young, that concept has always...
continue reading...
Disclaimer: I don’t find any of the princesses stupid, sure, some of them may be naive and reckless, but not stupid and you know this is true, because I always tell the true, in like all 30% percent of the cases.

Also, I am going to estimate their IQ, in case you don’t know

Below 90 is under average, but I doubt that any of the princesses has that low IQ
90-110 average
110-130 above average
130- considered incredibly smart
150 and more- genius


9.Aurora
Now, it’s unfair to judge about her because we never really got to see what Aurora really is, but from the few things she did in her 18...
continue reading...
10.The Beginning of Ariel's Beginning
I found the very first few minutes of this movie to be magical. It was great to dive back into Atlantica and see where it all began.

9.Ariel Listens to Music Again for the First Time
After Queen Athena's death, Triton banned all music in the city of Atlantica. With all the gloominess that has settled upon Atlantica, it was amazing to see music thrive once again (even if it was a secret).

8.Queen Athena Sings
This is the first time we see Queen Athena. It's so magical because I think we all wondered what Ariel's mother would be like. I don't know...
continue reading...
A lot of fans have already written their articles about their favourites princesses, and I thought that I could write too! Why not?
The only one problem is my English, but I'm sure you will be kind to me, don't judge me too strictly.
Oh yes, please don't be rude if your opinion is not the same, because I'm going to be very polite, I hope we'll understand each other.

Well, my list from the least favourite Disney Princess to the most:

Ariel
And then there is the youngest in her musical debut
Our seventh little sister, we're presenting her to you
To sing a song Sebastian wrote, her voice is like...
continue reading...
added by jessowey
Source: disneywallpapers.info
added by PrincessFairy
Source: Disney
The Little Mermaid Early Original Script


It is a bright, sunny morning. Scuttle is excitedly flying toward the palace.


INT. ARIEL'S BEDROOM


Ariel is asleep in her bed with a happy smile on her face. She is dreaming of romance with Eric. Sebastian is also asleep, on the stand beside the bed, SNORING loudly. Scuttle swoops through the window and enters the bedroom.


SCUTTLE
(shouting)
Ariel! WAKE UP!!!


Sebastian wakes up with a jolt in reaction to Scuttle's screaming. Scuttle flies over to Ariel and frantically pulls at her clothes and her hair. She wakes up groggily.


SCUTTLE (cont.)
I just heard the news!...
continue reading...
added by PrincessFairy
Source: http://silentmermaid21.deviantart.com
Okay, so I've been watching our Disney princess movies and I noticed some mistakes. You may or may not have noticed them, and I do not mean any offence to these films. It's just kind of fun to watch. Let's start with Aladdin... Enjoy!_________________________________________________________________________________________________


So, as I said, there are few mistakes I've noticed here. Let's start with Jasmine's golden arm band; the mistake here is that it switches places on her right arm, to her left arm. When Jasmine has just kissed Jafar, it is on her right arm.


But when Jafar pushes...
continue reading...
added by mhs1025
Source: can't remember
The group referred to as The Princesses doesn't refer to the group of 10 heroines we know on this site. This group refers to the women who were literally born into royalty, and in some studies, Kida from "Atlantis" is in this group as well, since she is technically royalty. In order to keep the flow of things pretty even, I have relegated her to the "Tough Girls" group, which will have their own article later on. For now, we'll focus on The Princesses: Ariel, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Rapunzel.


There may be no Disney character more polarizing than Ariel among feminist scholars (as well...
continue reading...
added by Safira-09
Source: me and disney
I'm trying to use a different approach with this article and I'm going to include user comments!

"It's like the reverse of the Queen's transformation- ugly hag into beautiful girl." (princesslullaby)
"It's like the reverse of the Queen's transformation- ugly hag into beautiful girl." (princesslullaby)

10.Ursula's transformation into Vanessa

Unfortunately, there were no user comments for this one. I love this transformation, because even though it's short, it's interesting and reveals a lot about Ursula's character. She remains relatively calm throughout the story (until the end), but has random spurts of anger and psychoness, which is blatantly evident in this transformation. And...
continue reading...
added by RionaFury
Source: Disney, Riona Fury