Five Things Disney Films Taught Me About Beauty

Disney gets criticised from time to time for it's views and portrayals of 'beauty'. Teenage princesses, swept off their feet by handsome Princes who fall in love with them for their good looks and youth, and treat them to a 'happily ever after' in a castle far away somewhere...
Critics have often claimed that little girls who watch Frozen on repeat and queue for hours to see Cinderella will grow up believing that they have to look a certain way, or that their lives will never be as good as a those pretty, perfect princesses. But as a fully fledged Disnerd and self confessed princess admirer, I never saw beauty that way as a child. In fact, I thought that Disney movies taught me some valuable lessons that were mostly the exact opposite of what the haters like to suggest! So without further adue, here are five things Disney films taught me about beauty.

1. There is No One Standard of Beauty | It Has No Race, Creed or Culture

With princesses of all different skin colours, ethic backgrounds, hair colours and cultural origins, how on Earth can anyone claim that Disney princesses all look the same? I just don't see it. Even as a child, I knew that attractiveness didn't come from having this hair colour or that skin tone, because all the princesses I grew up watching were so equally admirable but so different from one another. Big Hero 6 had two female leads with entirely different body types, and I still can't decide which figure I preferred! How can you compare Cinderella's blonde hair and fair skin to Jasmine's almond eyes and thick, dark pony tail? Or Elsa's tall, slim figure to Tinkerbelle's petite curves? You can't. They're both equally stunning in their own right, and if Mulan and Tiana and Aurora can all be beautiful, than so can any real girl. Because no individual eye colour, hair colour or skin tone is better than anyone else's.

2. There is More to Life Than Beauty Alone | Beauty Doesn't Define You

If you think Disney princess only have beauty for an asset, you're wrong. Or at least, I certainly never saw it that way. These girls are talented and skilful, they have dreams and aspirations far beyond just looking nice. Tiana worked tirelessly and had a strong work ethic, she wasn't afraid of hard work because she wanted a better life for herself. Rapunzel was incredibly talented and could paint for hours. Elsa had an eye for design and could sculpt beautiful creations from snow and ice. Cinderella was a master at sewing and Belle was a huge book worm, reading and learning was so important to her. Ariel had a mesmerising singing voice and a burning passion for the human world. Mulan was literally masquerading as a man and was brave above all else. Disney don't teach us that beauty is everything, because it's not. They also teach us the value of hard work, creativity and passion.

3. Beauty is Not Youth | Any Age Can Be Beautiful

Mother Gothel thought that beauty belonged only to the young, but she was wrong, and it was her obsession with staying youthful and ageless that eventually lead to her demise. Disney gets criticized sometimes because most of it's princesses are young girls, usually in their teens, but people forget the amazing wealth of older female characters who are just as beautiful. Mrs Incredible (Helen Parr) is smokin' hot, in fact even my Dad admits to finding her attractive. Rapunzels mum, Anna and Elsa's mum, in fact any time a Disney character has a mum (rare in the Disney universe) they've always been animated in a very beautiful way. Aunt Cass from Big Hero six was gorgeous, and how could we forget Ellie from UP? What a stunning older lady she was. Did her wrinkles or grey hair get in the way of that? Not at all. Woman can be graceful, glamorous and elegant no matter what age they are.

4. Beauty is Found Inside | It Shows Through No Matter What You Look Like

Furries. Yeah I said it. This is going to be a weird one but stay with me... Some people say that Disney teaches little girls to want to look a certain way, because the characters who portray beauty are always drawn in a certain way. Well I think that's totally false. I'm going use the example of Nala here. I don't think I, or any other little girl for that matter, ever thought "wow, I wish I looked like that lioness instead because then I'd be attractive". Talk about unreachable standard of beauty... But we knew that Nala was a beautiful character didn't we? Because she was kind, and loyal, and stood by her friend in order to fight for the right thing. So no, I never grew up wishing I could look like Nala, but I wanted to be like her because I looked up to her character. This can be said for many Disney characters, Belle saw the love and kindness in the Beast, and was able to fall in love with him. Duchess and Purdy were both so lady-like that we knew they were oh so glamorous darling, but we're talking about cats and dogs! Disney characters are beautiful from the inside out, and that's the lesson I took away from the films as a kid.

5. No One Is Perfect | Flaws Are Okay!

So you think that the princesses are perfect girls trapped in imperfect lives? Well perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough at some of them, because I see women with flaws, just like the rest of us, especially in the modern princesses. Cinderella and Anna don't look like morning people at all, (nice drool there, Anna) and can we talk about Meg for a second? She had no idea how to let anyone get close to her emotionally and developed a pretty sassy attitude to mask all that insecurity. Frozen was literally a film about Elsa overcoming her 'flaw' and learning to see it in a positive way. Imperfections happen, everyone has them and it's okay. People that look perfect from the outside are likely to be battling their own insecurities, and whatever 'flaws' you think you have, you look perfect to someone too. I mean, Alladin didn't love Jasmine because she was a 'perfect princess' - he fell for her when he thought she was just a street rat. Plus, Belle got past that whole Beast thing so... you really don't have much to worry about!



I hope you enjoyed this post, I realise it's a little different from my usual gig. If you did like it then please share it so others can see it and feel free to disagree or write your own "Disney beauty lesson" down in the comments. I have a feeling this could spark a really interesting conversation.

P.S. - Friday's post will either be my blonde eyebrow routine and threading experience, Collection Eyes Uncovered Pallet vs Naked Basics 2, or a review of the new Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. Let me know if you have a preference!