Pocahontas (1995) – Saves a man’s life with her two assets, her beauty and her animal companions.
Mulan (1998) – Saves a county from a racist caricature with her two assets, her intelligence and her animal companions. Picks up a boyfriend along the way.
Giselle (2007) – Taken care of by strangers because of her only asset, her beauty. Saved by a kiss from a man. Saves a man with help from her animal companions.
And if this just isn’t enough for you, you can always watch Sarah Haskins’ take on Disney princesses – it’s old, but excellent. And for goodness’ sake, can somebody tell me why Disney is so obsessed with the animal companions?
But if you thought this was a problem just for female characters, think again – Disney princes are equally vapid. Another great cartoon (thanks to Flora for the tip, via BuzzFeed):
Because women never derive benefit from their sexuality in real life.
I have one comment and one question
1. The cartoon's simplistic take on Belle cheapens and vulgarizes what is—for a Disney movie, at least—a genuinely rich and complex love story. Otherwise it's pretty much right on target.
2. This post failed to mention two notable female Disney characters from two of the best Disney movies ever: Nala from *The Lion King* and Eva from *WALL-E*. They not human but still inarguably female, and both are not nearly so fatally problematic as the classic Disney princesses. Do they do anything to complicate this post's blanket condemnation of Disney's gender politics?
*If you don't think Pixar movies count as Disney movies, fair enough; the question of Nala remains.