The Princess Blog

I signed up for an ARC of The Secret World of Briar Rose  by Cindy Pham on NetGalley because it looked like an interesting take on "Sleeping Beauty."  The book was more or less what I expected. It was a unique and creative take on the fairy tale, but like most modern books from traditional publishers, it lacked the heart that makes that tale such a beloved classic. I saw it described in some spaces as a  queer  story, which is debatable. While there were descriptions of queer feelings in certain characters, there is little to no actual romance, giving the book an overall feeling of loneliness and melancholy. Going in, it's important to know that this book is primarly an allegory for depression, and the fairy tale aspects are secondary. The "Sleeping Beauty" elements, while present, are not the primary focus of the book. The story alternates between two different timelines. The "future" timeline focuses on the dystopian kingdom that resulted from the ...

I've always loved PattyCake Productions'   high quality princess content . Today, they surprised me with a new video to pay some respect to classic Disney princes . Animated princes have regressed over the years due to a rise in feminism and have returned to their roles as mere accessories to the princesses. There was a period of time during the Disney Renaissance in which the male leads in Disney movies expanded their roles to fully developed characters equivalent to the princesses themselves. However, in the live-action remake era , Disney has been pushing the trope of princesses saving themselves, causing them to even outshine the male leads in their own movies  on occasion. This shift has taken us back to the classic Disney Princess era , in which the princes played very small roles. The music video, which was released today, is called "Charming,"  not to be confused with a subpar 2018 animated film of the same name . It focuses on the three golden age princes: T...

With the Hope Ever After series  about to retire its two-year run, I decided to check out one of the books I haven't read yet. A Charming Hope  by Ashley Evercott is a cozy retelling of "The Frog Prince" with a fun twist. The book reimagines the prince, Devon, and his princess, Annelise, as childhood friends who had a falling out. Instead of agreeing to kiss the cursed frog right off the bat, Annelise asks Devon to be her wingman to win over another potential suitor and offers to kiss him as payment. The book has a light romcom feel that matches the hopeful vibes of the series. Prince Devon is devastated to learn that his brother is marrying the woman he loves instead of him. In a fit of jealousy, he performs a disrespectful act at a sacred ceremony and is punished in the body of a frog. The only way to break the spell is a kiss from a woman who can understand him. However, Princess Annelise is unwilling to comply so easily after he had already broken her heart. When h...

This is it. As of this post, The Princess Blog now has 1,000 reviews, stories, and guides about all things princess! I never could have gotten this far without the support of my readers, so I've prepared something extra special for this milestone: a PSA about how crows should have more respect for princess animatronics . Just kidding. But isn't it crazy what happened to Rapunzel in Tokyo ? The truth is, I'm hosting my very first giveaway! I've produced so much creative work this year outside of just my blog that I wanted to share some of it with the people who have been there for me since the beginning. On National Fairy Tale Day , I revealed the cover for my upcoming book, Hope and Love's Legacy . This book is such a huge deal to me because it's the reason I decided to become a writer when I was 16. I conceived it as an animated series inspired by all of my favorite things and chased my dreams of producing it all the way to Hollywood. Now I can finally share it...

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie  is a direct sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie  and the first cinematic introduction of Princess Rosalina, a lesser iconic character than Princess Peach , but just as beloved by fans. This movie inspired many cosplayers  to create their own versions of Rosalina's famous blue dress, and all the ones I've seen so far are stunning! Though the cosmic princess is absent for much of the film due to her capture early on, not a second of her screen time is wasted. She delivers a beautiful maternal presence that exudes both power and femininity, and her personality shines through her story. Although I have not played Super Mario Galaxy, I found this movie to be a thoroughly enjoyable and fantastically whimsical experience that follows the spirit of its predecessor without feeling like a carbon copy. It mirrors the original by having a character rescue a sibling from an evil spiky turtle. Although Mario and Luigi are still present in this fil...

In case you missed it, there was a huge info drop today on social media about the upcoming sequel series, Sofia the First: Royal Magic . Over a month after the initial trailer dropped, Disney has provided some crucial details about the show, including the release date, platforms, theme song, and princess guest stars. We also got an official poster and several cute promo animations. Let's dive back into the world of Enchancia  and explore! The new series poster features Sofia up front and center with her new friends, Layla, Zane, and Camila in the background, as well as her old animal sidekick, Clover, and her new pet, Pepper the puppycorn. Though many of these faces are new, it has been confirmed through the teaser and the new theme song that Sofia's family will be returning for the new show, including King Roland, Queen Miranda, Prince James, and Princess Amber, along with her reformed nemesis, Cedric. The theme song is a remix of the show's original theme with a few upda...