io9.gizmodo.com: It all began at the D23 Expo last year. That was where Disney first played a scene from the Wreck-It Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, in which Vanellope von Schweetz meets 14 iconic Disney princesses at once. The clip crushed the audience of Disney super fans and has since been glimpsed here and there as moviegoers wait for the final film in November. However, at a recent press event, Disney pulled back the curtain to reveal how the scene came to be.
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What I love about this is the demonstration of an open and relaxed creative process. Messing with Disney’s branding is not an easily forgivable thing, one that Ribon is not unaware of as evidenced by her panic attack once the idea occurred to her. However, Rich Moore was one of the creators of my favorite films, Zootopia, and if his Twitter presence is anything to go by, he’s a lovely person, and I’m sure a joy to work with. If he wasn’t, I don’t think Ribon would’ve had the guts to bring easily one of the most anticipated moments in Disney’s entire history to the writers’ room. I am so glad it got all the Disney Greenlights required to let it happen, and also that they took the time to get the original voice actresses in. This article uses some of the promo art that has been released, but I know that recently a group raised concerns about Princess Tiana. She’s white-washed in these scenes, and the group asked the animators to fix their mistakes, take the time to really find out how POC hair works, and restore her facial features away from the “every white princess has the same face because that one animator said women’s faces are hard like an idiot” model, and more to the more appropriate and original design of her movie (fuller nose is the most obvious example). This is clearly a creative team that is here to listen, learn, and make their work the best it can be.
I love that they have reimagined Disney princesses Wreck it Ralph style. It’s so important that they are able to tell the real story in a modern tale that doesn’t have anything to do with boys saving helpless girls from their miserable lives. It’s also brilliant that they were able to redesign the princesses to give them a fresh look that matched the 3D appearance of Vanellope. From the snippets that they released to the public, I think they did a great job redesigning and giving each princess a modern personality. Also, huge respect for whoever decided to bring the original voice actresses back. I’m definitely a nostalgic and sentimental person, and I think that by keeping the original voices and adding a modern narrative, Disney made a hugely respectful and poignant move. Take the old traditional and well-loved stories with a huge audience and following, and change the narrative to something relevant and well needed, without shoving change down people’s throats.
I am really glad this is a thing, not because I necessarily care about the princess stereotype, its a good thing but parents should not let movies raise their children so they should not be worried about the examples portrayed in movies. I like this because it shows Disney has a sense of humor, they almost never take a jab at themselves. While Disney is certainly a proud company, they take themselves just a little to seriously most of the time. Also this will certainly feed into the conspiracy theories about the worlds of Frozen Tangled and the Little Mermaid being intertwined. Crossovers a huge fan pulls because we like to see such iconic characters interact or more importantly how they would interact because they have such interesting takes on the world. Lastly however, my two favorite female Disney characters apparently are not considered princesses, Alice and Esmerelda. I would much rather have a conversation with them than with Rapunzel or Ariel, they seem like airheads. See, that is how strong the Disney princess brand is they have me rationalizing and analyzing their personalities. While I might not be as excited for this as for Mary Poppins Returns, I nevertheless will give this a shot.
The dream of Disney fans everywhere; the ultimate crossover event. All of the disney princesses in one spot. The self critique of the “princess” is a true mark of change in an unchanging image of a tall, skinny, “perfect” princess. Except with a crossover of this size Disney has opened itself up to some major plot holes. Are they all now existing in the same time era? How to they address each other given their varied diplomatic status in their home countries? How will Disney address this Disney Princess friendship in future movies? It was such a big deal when one Tangled's Rapunzel showed up in Frozen. Does this change now numb the Disney audience to accept all the princesses to know each other in their seemingly individual worlds? Overall, I recognize these issues don’t really matter in the larger scheme of things. The plot holes of the Disney Princess franchise have nothing on global warming or even the future of the children’s movie industry, but it does make me wonder how will Disney address these changes in their future movies. In the next moana movie will she be inviting Vanellope Von Schweetz to the island?
The princess scene in the Wreck-it-Ralph trailer was what truly broke the internet. It was a fandom’s dream, and a great marketing move. For years, ever since the 90’s when normal households were able to access the internet, I’ve roamed fan fiction pages, and seen ‘modern takes on the princesses’ art created by fans. I love who the studio absorbed this idea, portraying the very much-loved princesses in a style that is more accurate when representing the modern woman. In addition to that, I also loved the “Are you a princess “joke! When I first saw it with a group of friends, we collectively laughed and played it countless times, because of how good it was. In can see how it was a huge deal for the production, and the writer. I love how it shows the princesses aware of how their stories are not really female empowering stories. It’s a truly refreshing take on old classics.
I'm VERY excited for this sequel to Wreck it Ralph. I really loved the first movie, and never thought they would come out with a second one, but I'm very excited for the ideas and concept they came up with for Ralph Breaks the Internet. I've gotten annoyed with Disney recently for constantly making remakes of their classic movies, instead of just coming up with new material... but the fact that they are producing a new movie that still recognizes all of their other characters is something that I think is really special. Not only are they making a new movie, but they're making one that is much more relatable to the kids of this generation, while still bringing in classic Disney characters, so they don't lose the long time love for them. I also think it's an exciting concept to all of the older generations who grew up with all of the original DIsney princesses. I know that I have always wanted to see a movie where all of the DIsney princesses were interacting together. I appreciate the character of Penelope, that DIsney created, because she's spunky, honest, and actually YOUNG princess that little girls can really relate to.
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