The Princess Blog

Over the past several years , I have reviewed various princess media . The majority of the shows, books, and movies I've discussed have been rooted in fantasy with a few exceptions . Historically, princesses were the daughters of real-life monarchs and other leaders , but most of their appeal is rooted in legends, myths, and fairy tales . Sometimes, the lines between fantasy and reality can become blurred when using real historical figures as protagonists. In the case of media like Anastasia , Reign , or Six , audiences understand that the primary function of these presentations is to entertain them while throwing in some historical nuggets to do their own research on later if they so choose. It has recently come to my attention that there is a stigma revolving around Disney's Pocahontas , a movie I greatly enjoyed as a child, due to its numerous historical inaccuracies. Is it inherently immoral to enjoy a piece of historical fiction that colors the character's lives in a ...

Believe it or not, History was one of my least favorite classes in school. I hated learning about wars and conquerors and men who made boring tax laws. Yet, without history, we wouldn't have princesses to weave into the fairy tales we tell today. Due to being home a lot lately, I spent the last few weeks binging historical dramas that focused on important female figures. I found that they were far more interesting than the things I learned about in school. These shows have gorgeous eye candy. The character dress in extravagant gowns that you would never see in modern culture . As a companion piece to my "Princess Shows to Binge in Your Tower" post , I thought it would be interesting to put all the historical dramas I've watched into chronological order to create a clearer picture of how women in power have evolved over time. Some of these are a bit of a stretch since the educational value doesn't always trump the entertainment value. Time travel shows are a lot...

A few weeks ago, I received a comment on my YouTube channel  to check out a '90s cartoon called Princess Sissi . I was never one to pass up the opportunity to discover a new princess show, so I did a quick YouTube search and commenced binging. The animation and acting were nothing to write home about, though Sissi's American voice is notably dubbed by Terri Hawkes , who is known for playing the most famous Magical Girl princess  of the '90s, Sailor Moon . I found that her voice was far more suited to a mature duchess than an immature middle school student. What stood out to me about Princess Sissi was the overarching theme of romance. While princess movies often focus on true love , princess cartoons rarely incorporate it into their episodic storylines. For that reason, I was reminded of Saban's Adventures of The Little Mermaid , another '90s cartoon about the trials and tribulations of a blonde princess struggling to be with the man she loves. I did a little resea...

I've made some posts in the past about how more often than not, princesses are portrayed as good and queens as evil . Since this is so often the case, does that mean that the storybook princesses we love are not willing to fulfill their royal destiny as the hope for their kingdom's future ? While it's true that princesses often seek freedom from the confines of palace life, they don't necessarily want to run away from their responsibilities either. The problem is that princess stories usually reveal only a brief period from their heroine's life that takes place before the biggest trials and tribulations of reaching full adulthood. I expanded upon this briefly in my "Confessions of a Grown-Up Princess Fan" post, where I discussed how even though I still relate to certain aspects of being a princess, I have developed a sense of cynicism that I did not have the first time I watched their movies. Seeing the world through the eyes of a princess now feels mor...

Last summer, the CW Network  aired the final episode of their historical drama, Reign . Not being a fan of history, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the show due to its constantly dancing on the line between fantasy and reality, not to mention the gorgeous costumes. Right after the series ended, I wrote a long Facebook post summarizing my thoughts on the show as a whole. Unfortunately, due to Facebook placing long posts behind a cut and the show's general lack of popularity, very few people actually read it. It was recently suggested that I repost my review here in case any fans of the 2013 drama were interested in hearing my thoughts. Below the image is my unedited review from June 16, 2017. I hope you enjoy it! The evolution of Reign was very interesting because each season had a different overall tone. By the end, it was a very different show than what it started out as. The first episode showed a queen being brought up in a convent, completely cut off from the rest of...

The official season 7 posters for ABC's Once Upon a Time were dropped recently, and I would like to share some of my initial reactions with you. Granted, these reactions are sure to change when I see the season premiere next week, but I'll work with what I have for now. To be honest, the season is not shaping out very well so far with its alternate realities and its identity crisis after half the cast left  at the end of the last season. Initially, Once Upon a Time was a refreshing new take on  princess offspring , with the daughter of Snow White growing up in the real world and not believing in fairy tales. It would have been a decent show if ABC's parent company, Disney, didn't get greedy by renewing the show for far more seasons than it needed in an attempt to subtly market their products. Since the Charming family is leaving the show, season 7 will be introducing us to a new cast of lead characters, featuring an adult version of Henry married to an ...

In  my "Animal Princesses" post , I mentioned that Lauren Faust was coerced by Hasbro to change Queen Celestia into Princess Celestia because little girls see queens as evil and princesses as good. Why is that? Surely, there were many benevolent queens throughout history and mythology. Have the  Disney Princesses  taken over the world so much that people believe that princesses ran the monarchy? I think it's more complicated than that. Wicked queens are usually stepmothers who seduce the king to gain power. Most princesses don't have mothers, and the few that do are very loving. What is the root of the problem behind all the queen hate? The Evil Queen from the  ever evolving tale of "Snow White"  strikes fear into children's hearts at the mere mention of her name, if she has one, of course. Since  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs  was the first animated feature film ever, it had the side effect of setting the groundwork for certain archetypes in a...

Let's say a princess asked you to be her best friend. Would you jump at the chance? That was precisely the role that a lady-in-waiting was hired to fill. You would have to be of noble birth, of course, but let's imagine that luck was in your favor. Considering how many stories, films, and shows are about princesses, it's surprising how few of them acknowledge their esteemed companions. If a princess is a superhero, her lady-in-waiting would be her sidekick. Is being a sidekick so bad? You would still get to be part of the all action at court. Only in recent years has the lady-in-waiting role made a comeback in the media. There are  many benefits of being a lady-in-waiting . Though it was an unpaid position, ladies got free room and board in the castle and beautiful gowns to match their status. Let's face it. Those are two of the best perks of being a princess. The position comes with esteem and honor for yourself and your family, and you get a royal best friend who co...