FROM: Why Did Disney DO That?!? Published As Necessary

Where have all the good men gone?

Lee questions why we see tons of Disney Princess meet-n-greets, but the guys are getting the short end of the stick.

- Lee Beatens, September 5, 2011

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Where Have All The Princes Gone?

The camera pans to a large leather-bound book. It has gold leaf edges complete with a hand-painted scene on the cover. It depicts a beautiful maiden in the arms of a handsome Prince. The music swells as the cover of the book is opened to reveal the immortal fairy tale words: ‘Once upon a time, in a Kingdom far, far, away, lived…’

You know the rest. Snow White; Sleeping Beauty; Cinderella; they all got their start this way. Along with just about every other cartoon soon-to-be Princess! But this storybook opening isn’t the only constant to be found in feature-length animated fairy tales.

The other constant is the minimal role of the Prince himself. Usually he is a handsome young man (unmarried, this is very important) who just wants to find true love. He happens upon a peasant girl who just happens to sing beautifully, talks to animals, and is drop-dead gorgeous!

Next comes the duet, the loss, the chase, the harm/death sequence, all concluding with a kiss. Oh, and a marriage with the obligatory Happily-ever-after tagline! But this entire plot manages to take place with the Prince getting about 10 minutes or less of screen time. When all is said and done, the Princess is in our hearts and the Prince is all but forgotten.

Until Disney decides to include the Princess in a parade or stage show in the Parks. Then she needs some eye-candy on her arm and our Prince is resurrected for a brief cameo. When a new Princess appears, the Prince fairs a little better. He gets to stick around for the Meet-and-Greet, but only for the first few months. Then he is ‘fired’ and sent back to the pages of the storybook he came from.

Ouch!

Why does Disney DO this?!?

I bring this up because of the recent ‘firing’ of Flinn from the Rapunzel meet-and-greet. When that happened it got me thinking that there really isn’t ANY Prince meet-and-greets. None. Nada. Zip. Not even ONE.

Well, Aladdin manages to hang on over at EPCOT, but only on the arm of Jasmine. So we’ll call him Mr. Exception for now (but that’s still Prince Ali A Bu Bu whatever whatever to you).

With the popularity of the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique and it’s propensity for pumping out little Princesses by the carriage-load, am I the only one who sees the marketing and photo-op potential of a Prince meet-and-greet right next to the exit?

Come on Disney! Give the old Princes a new lease on life. Let them have their day in the sun. After all, some of them had to fight long and hard to get their lady fair, so the least you could do is give them some face time!

And I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to believe that a few of the little Princesses’ moms would get a kick out of snuggling up to Prince Eric or Prince Charming themselves.

Hey, hey! Am I right, or am I right?

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