The Princess Blog

World Princess Week  is almost over, and Disney decided to go out in a big way. In honor of the 70th anniversary of Disneyland Park , a star-studded princess concert was held in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, complete with princess character performers  and several of the original Disney Princess voice actresse,s  including Jodi Benson , Paige O'Hara , Anika Noni Rose , and Auli'i Cravalho . The event was hosted by the incredibly talented Susan Egan , of Broadway and Hercules  fame, and Ginnifer Goodwin , Once Upon a Time's Snow White . I've heard many of these sirens of the stage and screen  perform live at several events , and it was nothing short of magical. For last year's World Princess Week, Disneyland hosted a performance from a brand new girl group  introducing the new Disney Princess anthem , "Create Your World." Although the slogan stuck, the anthem itself was never heard again, despite this concert being a perfect opportunity to perform ...

Today marks Disney's third annual World Princess Week , and it kicked off with a surprise special on Disney+  featuring four of the original voices called LEGO Disney Princess: The Castle Quest . The special featured LEGO versions of Snow White, Ariel, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Moana embarking on a quest to rescue King Triton from Gaston, who used Snow White's Magic Mirror to help him take over an abandoned castle. While his unexpected combination may seem a little reminiscent of Wreck-It Ralph 2 , in which Vanellope got together with a group of all the Disney Princesses, this special takes things to the next level. Since the characters and backgrounds are made of LEGO bricks, it doesn't take itself seriously and goes all out with Easter eggs and references. For instance, Ariel and Moana's quest brings them to a pirate ship where they encounter Smee from Peter Pan , Iago, and the Magic Carpet from Aladdin . The special may have contained an unapologetic amount of fan servic...

I thought I already knew everything there was to know about Jodi Benson , the iconic voice of my favorite Disney character, Ariel, from The Little Mermaid . When I found out she was releasing an autobiography, I expected it to contain the same stories I'd already heard in interviews, live performances , and word of mouth. As it turns out, I was wrong. Part of My World: What I've learned from The Little Mermaid about love, faith, and finding my voice  is an intimate and revealing account of everything that went on behind the scenes of Jodi's life, and not all of it is pretty. This book humanizes this smiling upbeat role model for princess fans and musical theater ingenues and shows us that she is a real person with real problems just like everyone else. Reading Part of My World  made me feel closer to Jodi Benson than I ever have, even after meeting her in person. I highly recommend this book to all fans of musical theater and animation. Part of My World  was like catching...

Disney has been very kind to my favorite fairy tale  over the past few years. It had an impressive 30th anniversary reception at the D23 Expo , a live televised concert , and an upcoming live-action movie that has unfortunately struggled with a few unexpected setbacks. Now fans of the redheaded Disney Princess have even more treats to look forward to. The Disney Wish , the newest Disney cruise ship setting sail this summer, will feature an all-new Little Mermaid stage show. Details  for the show have just been revealed along with an exciting new collection of Little Mermaid-printed merchandise from Vera Bradley . On top of that, Jodi Benson , the voice of Ariel, recently announced she will release her autobiography, Part of My World: What I've Learned from The Little Mermaid about Love, Faith, and Finding My Voice , this September! Sometimes it's hard to please a superfan, and I found myself sorely disappointed with the 2007 Broadway production of Disney's The Little Merma...

Yesterday was a big day for Give Kids the World Village , a vacation resort in central Florida for children with critical illnesses. Due to the recent world crisis , the village is temporarily closed, so they have found other ways to support sick children by holding fundraiser events online. Yesterday's event was a virtual Q&A with four famous actresses who played Disney Princesses during the Disney Renaissance era. They include Jodi Benson , who did the voice of Ariel, Paige O'Hara , who did the voice of Belle, Linda Larkin , who did the voice of Jasmine, and Irene Bedard , who did the voice of Pocahontas. You can make a donation under any one of their names by clicking on them above. It was a pleasure to be present for this magical princess reunion on Zoom as these talented actresses discussed their experiences with Give Kids the World Village, Disney theme parks, and working as voice artists . The event, entitled "A Royal Evening for Give Kids the World,...

I can't believe this day finally came! My favorite movie was broadcast on television in front of a studio audience with live-action performers and Broadway-style sets and costumes. The Little Mermaid Live!  special was a long time coming. It was supposed to happen in 2017 , but it got postponed, leaving only my memories of seeing it performed  at the Hollywood Bowl  without the fancy costumes or sets. Now that the television production finally happened for real, I am pleased to say that they did it right. The transitions between the animated film and the live-action performances were on point, the songs were entertaining, and the spectacle was pure Disney magic. Of course, nothing is completely perfect, not even The Little Mermaid Live! The special was introduced by the one and only Jodi Benson , who hosted the movie's 30th-anniversary panel at the D23 Expo earlier this year. It seems like every time there's a Little Mermaid  event, Jodi is there to celebrate...

It has been a long and fruitful day at the D23 Expo in Anaheim . This weekend was the sixth biennial expo where Disney showcases all of their movies and merchandise that they have planned for the next two years. I skipped the previous expo in 2017, but I decided to stop by on the final day for this one to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my favorite movie, The Little Mermaid . I was fortunate enough to get a seat at this morning's anniversary celebration panel hosted by the voice of Ariel herself, Jodi Benson . The panel kicked off with a group of adorable little girls in Ariel costumes singing "Part of Your World" on faux rocks that lined the beautifully lit coral stage. Jodi Benson made a dramatic entrance in the middle of the song and accompanied the tiny Ariels. Then she interacted with a puppet version of Sebastian before introducing several of the people behind the film, including direct Ron Clements and animator Mark Henn, to share their stories. The pane...

Back in 2006 when Disney released  The Little Mermaid  on Platinum Edition DVD, I wrote my concerns to their marketing department about the dim colors during certain pivotal scenes of the film's restoration as well as the lack of behind-the-scenes footage in their bonus features. A few years later, the film was restored again and released on Blu-ray for the Diamond Edition. That version cleaned up the colors and contained a few behind-the-scenes bonus features. However, I did not own a Blu-ray player at that time. Today, my ship has arrived because the PlayStation 4 I purchased to play Kingdom Hearts III  on also works as a Blu-ray player, allowing me to thoroughly enjoy the latest Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of The Little Mermaid . With Disney's marketing department on overdrive this year , there are three versions available of this release. The Target edition features exclusive cover art and a gorgeous booklet containing concept art, trivia about the film, and...

I had barely woken up this morning when I discovered that nearly all the fan blogs I follow  had already posted an update about the trailer for the highly anticipated Frozen 2  before the sun had even come out. Either Disney is really good at building hype  or most bloggers don't sleep. This movie has been teased since the last D23 Expo back in 2017, but the details were shrouded in mystery until today. A few images of Anna and Elsa's new look got leaked early, but today we were finally able to see where these leaked images came from. Wreck-It Ralph 2  played fun with the way Disney had been keeping this project under warps by teasing a preview of it after the credits and  rickrolling the audience. The real teaser trailer pulls Frozen  fans further down the rabbit hole of Arendelle by making us ask more questions than it actually answers. With its adrenaline-fueled score and lack of dialogue, it poses the question "What is Frozen 2  about?" See if ...

We all have songs from our favorite princess movies on our playlists, but did you know that there are many obscure princess albums don't come from a movie or show? Princesses are known for their beautiful voices , so songs performed by them are calming and lovely. They have a style of music that's somewhere between classical,  Broadway , and romance. Many princess performers have also released solo albums where they hand-pick their own songs, giving it a personal touch. Here are a few of my favorite princess albums that you've probably never heard. "The Little Mermaid: Songs from the Sea"  was released in 1992 and is available in physical and digital form on Amazon. It contains original songs performed by the actors from the 1989 movie . Jodi Benson dominates the CD, as expected, with her iconic mermaid voice, but there also new songs from Sebastian, Scuttle, and Ariel's sisters that allow you to get to know those characters a little better. If you liste...

Before we begin, I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to Jodi Benson , the voice of my favorite princess . Jodi is a regular attendee of the D23 Expo , and I was fortunate enough to see her perform there during the Disney Legend Awards ceremony. I've been talking about princess-themed events lately, and there's no bigger Disney Princess fan event out there than D23. It is the official convention for Disney fans that takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center every other year. The expo is the one chance that fans get to interact with the people who worked on their favorite movies and preview ones that are still in production. I have been to three of the five expos that have taken place since 2009. They also have a huge interactive exhibit floor where they sell new merchandise, display artwork, costumes, and props from movies, and hold autograph signings. It is the ultimate experience for any Disney fan. D23 is the name of the official Disney fan club that the comp...