So, I watched The Princess and the Frog tonight and I must give credit where credit was due…it was really good. I was however disappointed somewhat. I thought for once they were gonna create a princess that didn’t end up depending on a prince.

The girl, Tiana, is not a real princess in the beginning. As a matter of fact, she’s a girl working very hard in a “low” job to fulfill her very big dreams. She’s not some starstruck girl living on fantasies of meeting her prince charming and falling in love. She does not wish on stars. She is independent and hardworking. And then the stupid frog comes along.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Disney movies. I spent the first decade of my life wearing disney princess dresses everywhere I went..even when it snowed. Ariel is my favorite princess. She is an adventurous, sneaky, slightly reckless girl who resents being held back by her father’s strict hand (but her heart is in the right place;). Mulan is freakin awesome too. Talk about brave and strong. She may struggle to be the perfect daughter according to her culture’s standards, but she went to war and got shot to save her father’s life. And yeah, Belle sees the inner beauty and Cinderella goes from rags to riches and Snow White is apparantly the fairest of them all and Sleeping Beauty….well, Sleeping Beauty didn’t really do much of anything. But the thing that gets me about these princesses is that they all have such strong characteristics and unlimited potential…but their stories never work out until the prince comes along and rescues them. What is that about?

Who’s to say that Ariel couldn’t be daring enough to create her own life without the motivation of Prince Eric, and why does it take Prince Charming falling in love with her at the ball and searching for her to break Cinderella out of slavery and doesn’t Mulan deserve some respect and mercy without Captain Shang stepping in (because she first saved his)?

It’s about time Disney makes a movie about a girl who can believe she’s a princess even when there is no prince. A girl who can fulfill her dreams and reach her goals without the help of a man. Or maybe even a movie about the boy-crazy girl who does get the handsome prince and then perhaps realizes that it’s not quite a fairytale afterall and then learns how to find her own way.

They came close with this one. Maybe in the next one, the frog will stay a frog. Or maybe in the next one, the prince will be the one that has to kiss the frog..it’s only fair.

“Sleeping Beauty’s in a foul mood for shame, she says ‘none for you, dear prince, I’m tired today. I’d rather sleep my whole life away than have you keep me from dreaming..“