Disney Princesses Are Over Rated-Why Villains Are Better

As young children, most of us are familiar with and were raised on the tales of our favorite Disney heroines. I remember spending hours watching cartoons on TV about Disney stories and fairy tales. I would look forward to going home from school in the afternoon because the Disney fairy tales were on air. I would imagine myself as the beautiful Aurora waiting for her Prince Charming to kiss me and wake me up from my deep sleep or I was Ariel and followed my heart and was brave enough to leave my home to follow the love of my life and become human. I guess most of us, girls especially, had those fantasies and dreamt of our very own 'happily ever after'.

But transitioning into adulthood comes with many harsh realities and realizations as well as shattered illusions. What we once thought as good and actually end up as just a facade. The movies we watched, the songs we heard. stories we came to know of---all take on a new identity, a whole new perspective and meaning once we've seen them with mature minds. One of those shattering illusions I should say that came with age and maturity is the emptiness or feebleness of some of our (my favorite) Disney princesses and why their villain counterparts actually made sense and taught us some actually important lessons in real life.

The princesses we grew up to love were the most beautiful, charming and well-bred women we'd ever meet and we convince ourselves that they were the kind of women we looked up to. They were our first taste of envy. Our first real desire to live the lives of someone else better.

However, if you look at it with a more mature perceptive, , Disney princesses were all a bunch of helpless yet entitled socialites obsessed with marrying the first guy that popped the question.

They had no real motivation or ambition or work ethic (except Cinderella who worked so hard in the cedars and deserved her real happy ending) Ariel, on the other hand left her family to go after a guy she had not spoken a word to. Aurora was a blonde who didn't do anything with her life but wait around for a guy to come and rescue her. What can we really learn from these women? Can we really be inspired and motivated by their characters and how they handled their lives and relationships?

Now, why don't we talk about the villains? Maybe I just grew older. Maybe I just learned some truths in life that my views about Disney princesses and their villain counterparts have totally changed my mindset. I can't help but wonder, maybe those evil villains we always hated didn't get a good enough rep. Maybe they weren't evil after all. Maybe they were just regular women who got hurt like the rest of us and trying to make it in this world?

I think that it's the villains who are more of a representation of the women we are now. They are the women who we grew up to become. I'm not saying the plotting evil queen who tried to kill Snow White with a poison apple (because that would be evil and just outright bad). Let's consider one of the most menacing villains we know.

Maleficent. She's a multifaceted character. Her name alone suggests a combination of malevolence and magnificent. She has motivation and was the sworn protector of the Moors and guards her lands from human invaders. She however suffers a ruthless betrayal that turned her pure heart into stone. Her bitterness also stemmed out from being rejected and not being invited to Aurora's christening. Like many women, her evil side was created because of isolation and betrayal.

Cruella de Vil was a motivated career woman. Without a man in her life, it is the only thing that she has in her life and if you break it down, she really is just a career-driven successful woman who was on top of her game and hustled her way through a male-dominated industry. Though her actions were questionable, she was motivated by her desire to succeed. She had to deal with the idea of whether or not ends justify the means which is a matter of fact, i decision every modern woman at this day and age face on a regular basis.

What about Ursula? Ursula was a real woman. She was curvy and she was an expert in her field. No one else can make magic through potions and sorcery like she did. She was feared and respected. In the business world, she would have been a force to be reckoned with.

Queen Grimhilde on the other hand is a reflection of all women in today's society. She was obsessed with age, youth and beauty that she will do just about everything to stay young and beautiful. Her fears were similar with most women's fears (although she may have gone too far with the poison apple).

Lady Tremaine who was also known as Cinderella's evil step mother was just a mother who wanted the best for her daughters. She did everything, anything and beyond to ensure that her daughters had the best of everything. Yes, she cold and cruel and bitterly jealous of Cinderella's charm (Which strongly don't approve of. Cruelty is never an excuse). But she strongly maintains grace and self-control and her actions were motivated by her desire to protect and give her awkward daughters all the best things in the world and she expected her daughters to be utterly obedient. Like I said, her actions are not an example to be followed but we can tell that she could be your average next-door mom who just wants the best for her children.

What I'm trying to say is, these villains are a perfect reflection of women in our society. They are the everyday women, single or in a relationship, moms, career women, business owners, entrepreneurs, politicians or the regular women who want to make it in this world. These women have one thing in common. The desire to be recognized and treated as equals. Unlike the princesses, we grew up admiring, it's the villains who have flaws and character. They are filled with real emotions- emotions that the rest are just are still trying to figure out. They are smart women, extremely motivated by their own ambitions and are highly adept.

If you look at yourself in the mirror, which Disney villain can you relate to?

XOXO,

Karen