REVEALING THE MASTER NARRATIVE

Princess Snow White In the 1937 Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White has the honor of being the first Princess in the first Disney animated feature, paving the way for all subsequent princesses. In the film, Snow White is a young, beautiful girl living with her vain and cruel stepmother, Queen Grimhilde. The stepmother fears that the princess will become more beautiful than she is and thus sets out to kill her. Snow White befriends the seven dwarfs during her stay at their cottage. Her true love is the Prince, who is able to wake her from her eternal sleep with true love's kiss. At 14, she is the youngest of the official Disney Princesses.

Princess Cinderella Cinderella is a tale about a young woman forced to work as a maid by her mean stepmother (Lady Tremaine) and stepsisters (Drizella and Anastasia). She keeps herself company by befriending the mice that live in the house with her. Cinderella is the first Disney Princess to have siblings (albeit step-siblings) and is 19 years old. Cinderella is the first Disney Princess who is married into royalty (she marries Prince Charming).

Princess Aurora Aurora is the protagonist of the film Sleeping Beauty, based on the classic fairy tale involving a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. Aurora has the distinction of being both the Princess with the least amount of screen time and singing more of her lines than speaking them. Aurora has the purest pedigree of any Disney Princess, being the first and only child of a king (King Stefan) who also marries Prince Phillip, the firstborn son and heir of a king (King Hubert). Aurora is 16 years old.

Princess later Queen Ariel Ariel is the female protagonist of the films The Little Mermaid, about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea for true love. Ariel is the first Disney Princess to have not been born human and is also the first Disney Princess confirmed to have children as she and Eric have a daughter, Melody, in the sequel. She is sixteen years old in the first film and is presumably in her late twenties in the sequel. Ariel's title of Princess comes from her father, King Triton, a title she shares with her six older sisters. She acquires the title of Princess through her marriage to Prince Eric.

Princess Belle Belle is the fifth Disney princess and the main female protagonist of the film Beauty and the Beast and its two sequels. Her story is about a beautiful young woman and the cursed beast that falls in love with her. Belle is the first Disney Princess to have been the antagonist of her love interest. She is also the first person to have a confirmed country in the movie (France). She is 17 years old. Belle is the second Disney Princess to be of common birth. When she marries, she becomes a Princess.

Princess later Sultana Jasmine Jasmine is the main female protagonist of Aladdin, its two sequels, and the television series. Jasmine is the daughter (and only child) of the Sultan of Agrabah, the traditional title styled "Shahzadi Sultan" (Princess). When she marries Aladdin, a commoner (the son of the self-styled "King of Thieves" notwithstanding), he gains the title of Prince. Upon the death or abdication of her father in favor of Aladdin (as was stated to be the Sultan's wish), Aladdin would become the Sultan of Agrabah and Jasmine would acquire the title of Sultana.

Princess Pocahontas Pocahontas is the main protagonist of the film Pocahontas and is the first Disney Princess to have been based (loosely) on a real person, instead of a fairy tale. She is a Powhatan Native American, and she is the first Disney Princess to have two "princes" (John Smith and John Rolfe). Pocahontas was born as the only child of Chief Powhatan, thus giving her the title of Chieftain's Daughter. Her eventual marriage to John Rolfe (a commoner) does not change her status or his.

Princess Mulan Fa Mulan is the main protagonist in the Disney film Mulan and its sequel Mulan II. Mulan is (to date) the only Disney Princess who does not hold the title of Princess in one form or another. However, she does earn the non-noble title of Imperial Consul. Her eventual marriage to General Li Shang (also non-noble) does not grant her any titles either. Mulan and Shang are the only non-royal Disney couple in the Disney Princess franchise.

Princess Tiana Tiana is the main female protagonist in the film The Princess and the Frog. Tiana made history as the first African-American Disney Princess. She is the third to be married into the Princess life. Compared to all the other Princesses, her story is set in a time period that is closest to modern day (New Orleans in the 1920s). Commoner-born, Tiana becomes Princess Consort upon her marriage to Prince Naveen, the eldest son and Heir Apparent of the King of Maldonia.

Princess Rapunzel Rapunzel is the main female protagonist in the film Tangled and the short film Tangled Ever After. Like Aurora, she has golden hair, was born into her title, and was removed from her parent's custody as a baby, only to be reunited in her teens. Her hair has magical properties. She is voiced by Mandy Moore. She is strong-willed and her preferred weapon is a frying pan. Rapunzel was born a princess. As the only child of the King and Queen of Corona, she eventually marries Eugene "Flynn Rider" Fitzherbert, giving him the title of Prince Consort. Upon the death or abdication of her father, Rapunzel will become Queen Regnant of Corona.

Princess Merida Merida is the main protagonist of the Disney/Pixar film Brave, making her the first Pixar Princess. She has long, curly, red hair and blue eyes. Merida lives in medieval Scotland and is the first Disney Princess without a romantic interest in her film. Merida is a true Princess; firstborn of King Fergus of DunBroch. Her lack of a romantic interest makes it unlikely that she will rise to rule the kingdom, considering the views of gender equality in the era. Official Princesses-in-Waiting.

Princess Anna Princess Anna of Arendelle is the main protagonist of the Disney film Frozen and is the younger daughter of the King and Queen of Arendelle (a Norwegian Kingdom). She has long, strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes, and is a free-spirited, fearless, happy-go-lucky, reckless ball of energy who lives by trusting her own feelings. Presumably, she will eventually marry Kristoff and, as a result, grant him the title of Prince. As the next-in-line for the Arendelle throne, she stands to eventually become Queen in her own right upon the death or abdication of her husband.

Prince Ferdinand This prince is the secondary protagonist and the main male protagonist of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. He is the love interest and later husband of Snow White and is referred to as the Prince as his name is never mentioned in the film. The Prince just appears at the movie start, when he sings with Snow White, and at the end, when he saves the princess of her stepmother's curse.

Prince Charming Prince Charming (also known as Prince Henry) is the main male protagonist of Cinderella and its sequels. Prince Charming has brown hair and is the love interest of Cinderella. He is much more interested in her than anyone else. He appears to be a loyal husband, prince and future king. The Prince Charming is at first apparently not interested in marrying, but changes his opinion when he meets Cinderella. He also apparently can dance.

Prince Philip Prince Philip is the main male protagonist of the film Sleeping Beauty. He is the love interest and later husband of Aurora. He is brave, loyal and kind. He was the first prince to have a revealed name, and the first to have a prominent role in his movie, as he appears in most of it, and he is the first to have known his romantic partner since she was born.

Eric Prince Eric is the main male protagonist of The Little Mermaid.

The Beast Prince Adam, also known as The Beast, is the main male protagonist of Beauty and the Beast. He is the love interest/husband of Belle. He is mostly seen in his Beast form, including in the franchise. He is at first rude, impatient, and mean which changes to fierce, territorial, and lonely to kind, gentle and brave. He has red hair and blue eyes.

Aladdin Aladdin is the main male protagonist of the movies Aladdin, He has black hair and brown eyes. He is the love interest and later husband of Princess Jasmine. He has a pet monkey named Abu and recently acquired a flying rug called "Carpet," a retired Genie for a friend and Jafar's old parrot, Iago. He is the only prince who was the main protagonist of his movie, seeing he is more important than his romantic interest, the princess Jasmine. He is also the first prince that isn't from the royalty since his birth.

John Smith John Smith is the main male protagonist of the film Pocahontas. He is the love interest of Pocahontas. He was more interested in land than gold until he met Pocahontas and changed his #1 priority to her. After being shot by Ratcliffe, John had to go back to England. He then was accused of treason and had to fake his death. He eventually met and helped John Rolfe and Pocahontas in England. He sailed to explore the world, charting a different course than Pocahontas, and once again changed his priorities.

Li Shang Shang is the main male protagonist of Mulan, though it is unclear at first, and Mulan II. He is a slight antagonist in Mulan which changes to love interest, and later fiancé and husband to Mulan in Mulan II. He has black hair and brown eyes.

Prince Naveen Naveen is the main male protagonist of The Princess and the Frog. He is an annoyance to Tiana until they spend more time together as frogs, and he becomes her love interest and later husband. He has black hair and brown eyes. He is slightly bratty and hugely spoiled until his "froggy" adventure.

Eugene Fitzherbert Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert is the main male protagonist of Tangled. He is voiced by Zachary Levi. He is the love interest of Rapunzel in Tangled and her husband in Tangled Ever After. He went from an orphan to a thief to a prince.

Name: _________________

Exposing the Master Narrative 1) Which Disney Princess and Disney Prince are most physically attractive? Why?

2) Which Disney Prince or Princess is the “hottest”? Which would most “quench your thirst?”

3) Which prince or princess do you most look like? Why?

4) Which prince or princess can you best relate to?

5) Which Disney Prince or Princess would you most like to be?

6) Which Disney Prince and/or Princess would you most like to be friends with?

7) What do your answers above reveal about your standards of beauty? Discuss as many physical attributes as you can think of (height; body shape and size; hair length, colour and texture; eye colour; facial feature sizes; skin colour and shade; etc. 8) What do your answers reveal about your beliefs about gender? 9) What do your answers above reveal about what you value? 10) What do your answers reveal about how you fit into a world shown to you on screen? Do you fit in? Are you represented? Do you feel you belong to or are alienated by the groups portrayed in mainstream movies?