Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 54

Review: Fairest of All

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino came out a little over a decade again. It would eventually kick off a long series of official Disney villain fanfiction that, to the best of my knowledge, is still going to this day. I was aware of this book when it came out but was not quite motivated enough to pick up a copy for myself. It looked like an experiment by Disney to see if they could cash in on the success of Gregory Maguire's Wicked. Five years later, the book was made into a series, and Disney's Maleficent was released in theaters. Therefore, it would appear that the experiment was a success. I have read the first three books in this series and found that Fairest of All about the Evil Queen from Snow White is by far the best, most likely due to being the only one that was not written solely to continue chugging out more money for the mouse.

Fairest of All covers the backstory of the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , who becomes bent on killing her stepdaughter to become the fairest of them all. It starts as a lovely rags to riches story about the daughter of a mirror maker who is chosen to be the new bride of the king. The Queen, who is never given a name (though some sources claim it to be Grimhilde), is pleased to gain a new husband, daughter, and lady-in-waiting named Verona, who she thinks of as a sister. Everything seemed to end up happily ever after for her until the king died in battle and his three cousins paid a visit to the castle. The "odd sisters" are three wicked witches who become the trigger for every villain's turning point in the book series. In this story, they are integrated organically as visiting family of the king, but future books place so much focus on them that they lose the twisted fairy tale retelling lore that this book incorporates so well.
The odd sisters bring the Queen a magic mirror that haunts her with the face of her dead father. Instead of the Queen being vain with jealousy like in the original fairy tale and Disney movie, Serena Valentino add some depth to her character by making her specifically want to hear her abusive father compliment her. When he tells her that Lady Verona and later Snow White are fairer than her, she goes on a jealous rampage to gain back her father's love. There are many factors in this book that make the Queen a sympathetic character, similar to that of Regina from Once Upon a Time. She grew up without a mother, was hated by her father, and eventually lost her husband. She had a close relationship with Verona and Snow White until she was corrupted by the mirror.
I thought this book did a good job of covering the events from the 1937 movie without feeling like a line-for-line rehash. Snow White and the Prince encounter each other a few times before the famous "I'm Wishing/One Song" scene and he requested permission from the Queen to marry Snow White prior to when she stayed with the dwarfs. That makes it less creepy when he gives her the wake up kiss at the end of the story. It also explains that the potions and incantations the Queen uses to make herself look old and poison the apple she gives to Snow White were gifts from the odd sisters. Though this is a bit of a cop out that removes any guilt from the Queen herself, it makes her character more forgivable. At the end of the book, we learn that the Queen intentionally chose to run from the dwarfs down the path that led to a dead end that would lead to her demise because she knew that she was beyond redemption.
The other two books I have read from this series are The Beast Within , which tells the backstory of the Beast, and Poor Unfortunate Soul , which is supposed to be about Ursula, but devotes far more pages to the original characters of the series. It seems that each book in this series progressively loses the heart that inspired Serena Valentino to tell the Queen's story in Fairest of All. By the time she wrote Poor Unfortunate Soul, it became clear that she was only continuing the series because Disney told her to and not because she wanted to. That's why even though Fairest of All is not a perfect book, I think it's a good read because it shows what the series could have been if it was written for the sake of exploring the nuanced backstories of lesser known characters instead of cheap cash grabs.

Why the Cinderella Trope Doesn't Work in Modern Settings

After I shared my post about Hallmark princesses, I went ahead and watched every Hallmark movie I could find that involved royalty. Let me tell you; there are a lot. Sitting through one low-budget romcom after another, I found that the overwhelming majority of them have the exact same plot. A quirky American career woman falls in love with a mysterious stranger who turns out to be a prince from some obscure nation. She goes to live with him at the castle, finds that she doesn't fit in, runs away, and eventually, the prince comes back to her and proposes. At first glance, these movies appear to be attempts at modernized versions of "Cinderella," but upon closer inspection, they are vastly different. The protagonists in these romcoms are not being oppressed by abusive family members, nor are they living in a time period where the only way for a woman to get ahead in the world is by marriage. In fact, most of these women are doing just fine long before the dashing love interest even shows up. This faux "modern Cinderella" trope began around 2004 with the theatrical release of The Prince and Me.

Princess culture dictates to us that every girl can be a modern princess as long as she embraces the values of compassion and diplomacy and works hard to be her best self every day. We live in a world where most people have the freedom to do as they please without fear of persecution from a tyrannical monarchy. Being a modern princess has nothing to do with marrying a prince. In fact, these days, such a lifestyle could be more constricting than freeing. Just look at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who chose to step down from the royal family due to its restrictive lifestyle. Finding true love is a classic theme of fairy tales, but princesses often feel tied down in this respect rather than uplifted. For instance, Princess Jasmine felt torn between her love for Aladdin and her duty to marry a prince. Princess Aurora was devastated when she learned she would have to marry Prince Phillip until she realized he was the same man she danced with in the forest. The 1934 movie Thirty-Day Princess heavily asserts this theme when the main character switches places with a princess for a month and realizes that being a princess means she can't marry the man she loves.
Referring to modern-day "Cinderella" stories as fairy tales denotes a lack of understanding for what makes the groundwork of a fairy tale. Fairy tale usually begin with characters who are sad because there is something missing from their life and are either rewarded or punished based on their subsequent behavior toward others and faith in their beliefs. The same year that The Prince and Me was released, Hilary Duff's A Cinderella Story came out in theaters. As bland and uninspired as this movie was, it actually conveyed a better understanding of the "Cinderella" trope than all these movies about marrying a prince. Hilary's character had an awful family that made her high school life miserable until the popular boy at her school fell in love with her, forcing those around her to give her more respect. He wasn't the prince of a foreign nation, but he was the equivalent to that just as her high school was a metaphor for a tiny kingdom. The women in Hallmark Channel's movies usually come from loving families and lead budding careers. It would in no way benefit them to upend their lives and learn a new set of customs from another country.

Where do all of these obscure monarchies come from anyway? How many tiny European countries are there with princes who aren't already in arranged marriages and need to find a bride immediately? The trope is so outlandish that it barely makes sense most of the time. Even though cinematic romcoms are becoming outdated, it makes more sense to tell a "boy meets girl" story where both love interests were brought up in the same culture and neither one requires the other to give up everything they've ever known and worked for. Is it about the fantasy of living in a castle? There are some movies where this trope works better than others, such as The Princess Diaries. Mia never knew her father and ended up being heir to the throne of Genovia by birthright, which meant that it was her duty to give up her modern American life, not her choice. This is a more believable story about an unexpected shift from being a modern woman to a royal. Plus, she was bullied in school, so her life prior to becoming a princess wasn't that great. Her story contained romance as well, but sequel aside (which also come out in 2004, the same year as The Prince and Me and A Cinderella Story), it wasn't because he was a prince.

What Hallmark Channel doesn't seem to realize is that marrying a literal prince isn't a fantasy for modern women anymore, even those who see themselves as modern-day princesses. In fact, it is especially true for women who already have enough privilege to make a difference in the world without being tied down by a throne. Every princess wants the freedom to marry the man she loves, whether he is royalty or not. Being a modern princess does not mean living in a castle or owning a diamond tiara. It means using your freedom and power to make the world a better place and uplifting the lives of those around you by being charming and pleasant. In Cinderella's time, the only way to gain such power and status was by marrying into it, but today, that is far from the case. Today, every girl has the power to be a modern princess through technology and opportunity.

Review: A Royal Wedding (The Swan Princess 10)

Like them or not, the endless CGI sequels to The Swan Princess are here to stay. The only thing we can hope for at this point is that the movie's creators are capable of continuing to add fresh new stories to the franchise and improving their skills in what was once a brand new style of animation for Princess Odette and her friends. After seeing the last two installments, I believe that they have. A Royal Wedding is the tenth movie in the Swan Princess series and a direct sequel to the previous film, Kingdom of Music. I found both of these sequels more enjoyable than the older CGI sequels that began in 2012 with The Swan Princess Christmas, which was so bad that there was really nowhere to go but up. The improvements to the latest sequels were accomplished by introducing original new mythology that was inspired by "Swan Lake" and allowing Odette and Derek to step into the background for supporting roles, something that was well deserved after eight movies that revolved around them and their bland adoptive daughter, Alise.

A Royal Wedding takes place in the Chinese kingdom of Cathay, which was introduced in A Kingdom of Music. What I really loved about this particular sequel is that it was actually a stealth remake of The Swan Princess in a new setting with new characters. While this trope doesn't always work well for sequels such as The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, it worked here thanks to the fresh Chinese cultural music and art as well as the new story elements that made the similarities to "Swan Lake" more subtle. I absolutely loved the opening frames of the movie that recreated the look of Chinese ink paintings to tell the story of Mei Li and Chen. Even though it still seemed silly that Princess Mei Li could not be with Chen just because he was a dragon sometimes, the music, art, and storytelling made these shortcomings more forgivable. I loved the way Odette's voice artist recited the poem she wrote about Mei Li for the emperor of Cathay with symbolic imagery of all the characters represented as various types of birds.

The villain in A Royal Wedding is an evil sorceress named Fang who takes on the roles of both Rothbart and his henchwoman who he disguised to look like Odette at Derek's engagement ball. Just like Rothbart wanted to force Odette to marry him instead of Derek, Fang wants to marry Chen in Mei Li's place. Instead of a swan, Fang transforms the beautiful princess into an old woman, making her unrecognizable to anyone who knew her before. This gives Fang the opportunity to become an Odile-like double of Mei Li and trick Chen into marrying her instead. Like the foolish Prince Derek, Chen falls right into her trap, and that would have been the end of Mei Li if it were not for Odette and Derek's interference. The similarities between Mei Li and Odette were the reason that Mei Li sought out Odette in the previous movie, Kingdom of Music. I would love to see future sequels introduce other princesses from different cultures who befriend Odette to seek her help with magical curses. It would be great for Odette to grow into a fairy godmother-type character after so many years have passed since her original ordeal.

Because of the similarities to The Swan Princess, this sequel also suffers from many of the same flaws. In the original movie, Odette managed to escape Rothbart's prison thanks to the friends she made as a swan, namely Jean-Bob, Speed, and Puffin. Derek, who was supposed to be her one true love, never knew the difference between her and the woman impersonating her until it was too late. Similarly, Mei Li receives help from Odette and some other kind people in her village as an old woman, but Chen never pays her any mind until Odette tells him her true identity. In some ways, this downplays both movies' themes of true love, but that wasn't something I ever thought about when I watched The Swan Princess as a kid. A Royal Wedding also appears to have been written in a shorter time because there are quite a few things in the story that are never fully explained. For instance, Odette and Derek learn that Fang is impersonating Mei Li because of Fan's tendency to talk to herself out loud, a very lazy trope used in old movies where the villain captures the hero in a room and tells them their entire evil plan. There was also little explanation as to why the Mei Li's tear freed Odette and Derek from the painting Fang had trapped them in or why Odette believing Mei Li's true identity was enough to break her curse.

Despite its flaws, I think A Royal Wedding is one of the best CGI sequels that the Swan Princess franchise has produced thus far. Instead of rehashing another tired trial of Odette and Derek's love, it retells the story of "Swan Lake" in a new way that embraces other mythology and cultures. The art and music behind the movie made its shortcomings forgivable, especially after we've seen just how bad it could have been. I must admit that I didn't miss the character of Alise at all even though we never saw her in this sequel. She felt so forced in the earlier sequels when Odette and Derek adopted her just because Uberta was pressuring them for an heir. I never thought she was a particularly interesting character and found Mei Li much easier to relate to. My hope after seeing this movie is that the creators have found a new way of continuing the Swan Princess franchise without wearing it out by rehashing stories for the same tired old characters. I'm eager to meet more cursed princesses from other cultures in future sequels.

Celebrating Three Years with The Stolen Trilogy!

Three years ago today, I decided to create a safe space on the internet for people who love princesses and fairy tales as much as I do. My social media feed had become too political, and the people I could discuss the latest princess shows with were few and far between. I had just gotten married and celebrated my birthday, so I was in a great place to do something just for me. Thus, The Princess Blog was born. In the beginning, I made a new post everyday, starting with an analysis of Disney Princesses. Now, I share roughly two updates a week, but my level of passion has not shifted as I continue to pursue new princess content to enjoy and review. I've also worked on other writing projects over the years. The biggest of these is The Stolen Trilogy. I wanted to create a world similar to my favorite show, Princess Gwenevere, and the Jewel Riders, by exploring the lives three royal ladies who lived together in a castle and went on their own magical adventures. This week, the trilogy is complete, and as those of you who are subscribed to my mailing list are aware, I am offering you a special one-two-free deal to celebrate!

Today only, the first book in The Stolen Trilogy, The Stolen Jewel, is available for free on Amazon to kick off The Princess Blog's three-year anniversary celebration! This book began as a screenplay for the UCLA Professional Program. It tells the story of how Princess Charlotte restored her self-worth after losing everything she had ever worked for. Charlotte's tale is based on personal events that happened in my own life, but with a whole lot more magic and fantasy mixed in. The next book in the series is The Stolen Queen, which is available today for just $0.99 in honor of this prestigious occasion. I launched this book two months ago after a heavy rewrite with my editor, Claerie Kavanaugh. It is the story Charlotte's best friend, Lily, who gets turned into a mermaid when she sneaks off to search for some missing mages in her kingdom. I had been meaning to write another mermaid story for years after Of Land and Sea: The Untold Story of The Little Mermaid, but nothing seemed to stick until I came up with the world of Klingland and decided to expand upon it.

The Stolen Slipper is the third and final book in The Stolen Trilogy. Inspired by the popular fairy tale of "Cinderella," this book solidifies Krystal's redemption arc by allowing her to take on the role of the fairy godmother. Krystal is a very different heroine from the others I have written. She doesn't always say or do the right thing and has many enemies. At first, I thought it would be a challenge to write from the perspective of such a femme fatale, but I quickly realized that I'm not so innocent anymore, myself. In some ways, I can relate to her even better than the ingenue characters who are barely ready to become queen. I wrote some of this book backwards with a clear picture of how it would end but less of an idea what would happen in the middle. Without realizing it, Krystal's romance arc turned into a gender-bent "Beauty and the Beast," so I suppose this book reimagines two fairy tales instead of one. I am extremely pleased with the way it turned out and hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Stolen Trilogy may be complete, but The Princess Blog will always be a work in progress as long as there is new princess content to review and analyze. I am so grateful to those of you who shared your recommendations with me and urge you to keep them coming. You comments make all the hard work I put into this blog worthwhile. Thanks to you, I learned about the visual novel Cinders and the amazing Hulu series Find Me in Paris, which will be concluding in two weeks. Over the course of the next month, I will share my final thoughts on Find Me in Paris, a review of the latest Swan Princess sequel, and a good-bye post for Elena of Avalor when she is crowned queen on August 23rd. September will bring us a new Barbie movie and the long-awaited releases of Mulan and Secret Society for Second-Born Royals. Suffice to say, I have plenty of content to keep me busy well into my blog's fourth year.

As far as other writing projects go, I'd like to take a break now that I've completed The Stolen Trilogy, but who knows when I'll be inspired to work on another big project next? I would like to release a digital box set containing all three books sometime in the near future, so please share your thoughts if that is something that would interest you. Remember to subscribe to my mailing list to learn about future releases. If you don't already follow me on social media, keep in mind that The Princess Blog has pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to make it easier to follow new posts. Keep those recommendations and suggestions coming! Also, if you do take advantage of any of today's bargains on The Stolen Trilogy, it would mean a lot if you could leave an honest review on Amazon for any of the books you read. Here's to three more magical years of princessy goodness!

Princess Adventures in Evermore

For my birthday this year, I wanted to go on a fairy tale princess adventure. There's no better place to do that right now than Evermore Park in Utah. While most of the Disney Parks are either closed or under heavy restrictions, Evermore remains open with visually no restrictions. Because of that, I wouldn't recommend visiting at this time if you are immunocompromised. For anyone else looking to escape from the world's problems for a while, it is a wonderful getaway in a secluded area. I learned about Evermore last year from a YouTube review. It was described as a DnD theme park where you become part of the story. I was drawn to it instantly. This weekend, I finally had the opportunity to experience it for myself. It was everything I imagined it would be and more.

As soon as we reached the front gate, we were greeted by several "residents" of Evermore who were ready and willing to answer any questions we had about what we were about to experience. I knew that the first thing I wanted to do was quest to join a guild, but I didn't know which guild to join or what the requirements were to get in. Right after our tickets were scanned, a lady knight came to our aid with no time to waste. She asked me what I was hoping to accomplish during my visit to the Evermore realm, so I told her I wanted to go on a magical adventure. She directed me to a witch named Belladonna and said to tell her I was interested in joining the coven. I did so and was given three tasks. First, I needed to discover three different types of magic in Evermore. Next, I needed to learn the three virtues of another guild and decide how I would apply them to my magic. Third, I needed to perform a good deed for someone in the park. These tasks gave me plenty of excuses to explore other guilds and interact with the rest of the Evermore residents so I could learn about their stories and magic. Thus, I was off on my magical adventure!

Cosplay is in encouraged in Evermore, which sometimes makes it difficult to tell the visiting "world walkers" apart from the park residents. Therefore, most of the residents wear special amulets to help identify themselves to world walkers. The park itself is quite small with one side still under construction. It's only about two years old, but they seem to have a great vibe going for such a novel concept. The vast majority of the park is outdoors, and even the indoor areas have wide open doors on both sides to let the fresh air in. On my quest to become a seeker for the coven, I encountered fairies, mermaids, and skilled songstresses from the bard guild. I wore my tiara and introduced myself to everyone as a princess, which made the experience a lot more fun. The fairies I spoke to said that they knew two princesses from their homeland of Mythos, which is a seasonal event that Evermore usually holds in the spring or summer. I was hoping to attend for Mythos this year, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus. When I attended, they were doing a new seasonal event called Pyrra, which represents the portals to all the worlds opening up for a blend of all fantasy cultures. The other two seasonal events in Evermore are Aurora, which takes place during Christmastime, and Lore, which is when they bring out their horror mythology for Halloween.

I particularly enjoyed meeting the mermaids of Evermore. I didn't recognize them as mermaids at first because they looked liked like pirate girls wearing seashell tops, but the bard I spoke to informed me about the magical singing powers of the mermaids, so I sought them out. They were very excited about my jewels and tiara and seem to love everything that sparkles. They even started dancing around me and fanning me to keep me cool when I told them I was a princess! I asked how they got their legs, and they told me about their transmutation magic that they used to walk on land and become good pirates. They rescue and recruit damsels in distress to fight off evil pirates to help keep Evermore safe. They asked me if I was interested in joining their crew. I said I didn't want to be a pirate, but I would love to be an honorary mermaid. So they sent me on a quest to find all five of them throughout the park and learn how to sing their names and which generation of mermaid they are. My final task was to either fight in a tournament or learn a story about a good deed someone in the park performed for a world walker. I chose the latter and spoke to a man selling light-up pendants who told me about a free shell necklace that he gave to a little girl who sang a song from The Little Mermaid. Before I went back to the mermaids, I found the coven again in the ruins, told them I had completed my tasks, and got inducted as a seeker. Then I found the mermaid Anya, recounted the tale about the little girl, and was given a mermaid name! It was a magical evening.
   
There are a few things at Evermore that require an additional ticket, but everything is extremely affordable. We paid a small fee to ride the train around the park, which was fun and relaxing. Several people waved to us as we went around, including one of the mermaids who remembered me by name. We also got tickets for an Epic Story Quest, which they do a few times throughout the night.  The ticket grants access to watch the next chapter in an ongoing story that concludes at the end of each seasonal event at Evermore. That was the one thing that was a little disappointing. The event more interactivity with the story and characters of the park. They let in a large crowd of people who gathered in front of each other, which made it difficult to see what was going on. The people who interacted the most with the story appeared to be paid actors from the park who were pretending to be world walkers like the rest of us. The chapter that we saw was about a hostage situation in which a few of the evil pirates were holding a innocent person for ransom inside a cathedral. The pirates demanded a dragon egg and safe passage out of Evermore in exchange for their captive's life, and it was sto be our job to negotiate with them. Things got a little violent, which is why the event is rated PG-13, but most of it took place outside of our vantage point and left the details to the imagination.

Evermore Park is a wonderful escape for anyone who wants to get away from reality for a while. It's a mix between a Renaissance Faire and a theme park with heavy focus on character interactions. Meeting characters is my favorite thing to do at the Disney Parks, so this experience was perfect for me. I especially loved being part of the story by joining the coven and becoming an honorary mermaid. There were plenty of options for people who are more interested in being an action hero as well. Such warriors could join the knights guild or the rangers guild, which one of my companions joined. Their initiation requires you to sneak around and "assassinate" people by removing clothespins from their backs without getting caught. They also have archery and other interactive competitions. I'd love to go back again for another season when more of the park is completed.

Barbie Goes on a Princess Adventure in September!

After months of speculation about whether the next Barbie movie was undergoing the same virus-related delays as other upcoming princess titles, a new preview went up on YouTube this past Sunday revealing that Barbie Princess Adventure will drop on Netflix on September 1st. The teaser also revealed a first look at some footage from the movie, which is set in the world of Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures and features Barbie and her friends Nikki, Daisy, Renee, and Teresa getting in on all the princess action. It is a rather odd setting for a  Princess and the Pauper  remake since there aren't that many princesses around today, but I suppose that's where the fantasy elements come into play. What disappointed me the most about the teaser was the complete lack of "new music" they teased in it. However, there have been some leaks of the original soundtrack, which I would describe as poppy and generic.

Barbie Princess Adventure is being promoted as a movie and not a multi-part Dreamhouse Adventures special, which some fans had speculated. The plot looks like a watered down modernization of one of the most popular Barbie movies, The Princess and the Pauper from 2004. This would mark the second remake of that film since 2012 when Barbie also starred in The Princess and the Popstar. Let's not forget Netflix's take on the story in 2018 with The Princess Switch either, showing that the concept has endless versatility. It looks like when Hollywood ran out of ideas a few years ago, Barbie decided to hop on the Disney remake train by recreating their former classics with better technology. Although the animation in Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures is a more fluid than the earlier Barbie movies, I loved the way Princess Anneliese and Erika danced around in their gorgeous gowns in The Princess and the Pauper. The modern princess-inspired knee-length skirts and patterned tees featured in Barbie Princess Adventure simply can't compare to the beautiful fabrics and ribbons decorating the protagonists in its predecessor.
There are other notable differences between Barbie Princess Adventure and its prior remakes as well. It is the first Barbie movie with this plot where Barbie is playing herself, and not an original character that was made up purely for one film. Unlike her lookalikes in the previous two films, Barbie's princess twin in Barbie Princess Adventure has blonde hair, so there is no need for a wig or magic hair-altering jewelry like the girls from The Princess and the Popstar had. The switch seems to take place out of a genuine desire to live each other's lives for a day like Tori and Keira from The Princess and the Popstar and not because of an impending threat to throne like Preminger in The Princess and the Pauper. It appears to have an upbeat overall tone and may not even have a villain. If I had to guess, the biggest obstacle at the end of the movie will probably be some sort of important event that either Barbie or the princess must attend as herself but are placed in a situation where they may not be able to switch back in time.

"Try It On" is our first preview the music from Barbie Princess Adventure. It has a very similar bubblegum pop feel to the Dreamhouse Adventures theme song, "You Can Be Anything," and doesn't sound specific to the plot of the film in the way you would expect from a classic musical. The song emphasizes Barbie's slogan, "Be Anything," by encouraging girls to try out every type of hobby or job they can find. The music video features Barbie with her Dreamhouse Adventures friends and family trying on different uniforms that include everything from a sous chef to a mermaid. The lyrics to the song are so nonspecific that it could just as easily replace the current series theme song. I would worry that the placement of this song might bring the entire movie to a halt just so the main characters can have an excuse to jump around in goofy poses and outfits. "Try It On" is the polar opposite of "I Am a Girl Like You" from The Princess and the Pauper, which contains lyrics that are extremely specific to the story to the point where it blends seamlessly into dialogue on multiple occasions.
I am so glad that the release date of this movie is no longer a giant question mark for fans. We now know for certain that September 1st will be the day we will be able to watch the first new Barbie movie since Dolphin Magic , which premiered almost three years ago. Most fans my age are disappointed that this movie does not feature an original story, but we need to take into consideration that most modern children have not had the pleasure of experiencing Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper or any of the other wonderful fairy tale Barbie movies we grew up with. Since Dreamhouse Adventures is the image that Mattel wants to present for Barbie to the newest generation of girls, it is nice that they will be able to experience the same story we all know and love on September 1st with a few modern-day twists.

Review: The Great

There's one more month before the third season of Find Me in Paris drops on Hulu. While you're waiting, a good alternative for your royal escapist needs is the Hulu original series The Great. This new historical drama follows in the footsteps of the CW's Reign by presenting a vaguely fictionalized account of a real-life female monarch, Catherine the Great. Since it was created exclusively for Hulu, the show contains some mature content that could not have aired on network television and is therefore not appropriate for children. Though some of this content can be mildly disturbing or violent, the series treats itself primarily as a light-hearted comedy, which is something we can all use after the hardships that this year has brought us.

You may want to study up a little on Catherine the Great before streaming this show, but it's not required reading. The Great was created more for the purposes of entertainment than education, so those of us who are not well versed in Russian monarchies should take everything with a grain of salt. People who are familiar with the life of Catherine the Great may have a better understanding and appreciation of which details the series were portrayed accurately while getting annoyed by the details that were made up. Personally, I have limited knowledge of history and was pleased to find that this show had plenty of sharp writing and witty dialogue without feeling like a history lesson. The characters' personalities were so exaggerated that they were almost cartoonish in nature. The quick cuts between scenes and accelerated pacing that the show makes it easy viewing for modern audiences with low attention spans.
Catherine begins as a traditional Disney Princess who wishes to find true love in her arranged marriage to Peter III, the emperor of Russia, and to carry her new kingdom into a peaceful age of enlightenment. Her naive fantasies are crushed when she learns that her new husband is quite possibly the most repulsive person who ever lived. She decides that Russia would be better off with a new leader, so she teams up with her companions at court to stage a coup against her husband. The only problem is that Catherine spent most of her life as a naive idealistic princess in Germany and knows nothing about being sneaky and underhanded, so most of her attempts to overthrow him go hilariously wrong. Her stubbornly optimistic nature won't let a little thing like that get in her way, though. The line that stuck with me the most from this show was Catherine's response whenever someone asks her how she will overthrow the emperor with her limited experience and allies. "Cleverly," she says, which is an excellent way to exude confidence while avoiding the tricky part of coming up with an actual plan.
The Great follows up all of its dark humor with a bit of a sour note. It only has one season available so far, but the finale sets the stage for a second season. After Catherine finally discovers the love she had been longing for, she is ultimately forced to choose between the good of her heart and the good of her kingdom, a seemingly impossible decision. I was genuinely impressed by how deep and thought-provoking the finale was after so many episodes that made light of common issues from the Renaissance era and went to great lengths to tease us with whatever ridiculously stupid idea Peter III was going to come up with next. The dichotomy between Catherine's idealism and the dark twisted world around her served as both a constant source of humor and a constant foreboding that she would need to suffer some sort of great loss in order to become strong and "clever" enough to wield the power that she wishes to claim.
Overall, The Great is a sharp-witted and entertaining historical drama with a colorful cast of characters. It taught me some things about history that I didn't know, but there is a footnote at the beginning of every episode that the show is only "vaguely" based on historical events. A particular treat for Disney Princess fans is that Catherine is played by Elle Fanning, who recently started as a grown-up Princess Aurora in Maleficent 2 . In some ways, this series continues her journey from princess to queen by forcing her to lose what little remains of her stubborn ideals in order to become a competent leader. As a historical drama, it has little to offer in terms of fantasy, but the clever writing and witty dialogue make it worth the ten-hour binge.

Review: Tangled The Musical

There are many things that we are missing out on these days thanks to the extended lockdown order. For instance, Disney's remake of Mulan has been postponed indefinitely from its last August 21st release date. However, there are other things that the virus in Corona has brought to our towers that we may have never been able to experience otherwise. One of the most exciting is the professional recordings of Broadway shows that we can watch from the comfort of our own home. Disney joined in on this excitement earlier in the month when they released a professional recording of Hamilton on their Disney+ streaming service. They intend to follow up this new trend later in the year with a professional recording of their 2014 Aladdin Broadway musical. Three months ago, Disney shared an abridged "virtual viewing" of the Beauty and the Beast musical they produced for their cruise lines. Disney Cruise Line shows are roughly half the length of their Broadway productions but every bit as entertaining and spectacular. Today, they are allowing everyone with internet access to enjoy the Tangled musical from their cruise lines in its entirety.

I am incredibly excited that Disney is sharing this lovely show with audiences all over the world free of charge. As a big fan of the 2010 animated film, it is a pleasure to see it brought to life on stage. Created exclusively for Disney Cruise Lines, Tangled: The Musical is a one-hour retelling of the movie with a few additional songs from creative genius Alan Menken. The sets, costumes, and performances are a lovely tribute to the classic movie. I especially liked that they went in a new direction with Rapunzel's costume. Instead of recreating the purple dress from the film like they do at the Disney Parks, they gave her a more period-accurate pink dress that fades to purple at the bottom of the skirt with pink swirling patterns. This new direction on the character's design made the show feel more like a timeless retelling of the "Rapunzel" fairy tale instead of a carbon copy of the Disney movie.
The musical contains all of the songs from the film as well as a few extra ones. The original song that stuck with me the most was "Wanted Man" because it perfectly encapsulates Flynn Rider's personality. In the film, Flynn's only two solos were a romantic duet and a forced verse tacked onto the end of "I Have a Dream" after being held at swordpoint in the Snuggy Duckling. Neither of these songs successfully represented the image that his character conveyed for most of the film. "Wanted Man" is a catchy spectacle that accentuates Flynn's flair for showmanship and faux arrogance. I also liked when Rapunzel sang her epiphany as a reprise of several other songs from the film upon discovering that she was the lost princess.
At a time when Disney places an unseemly amount of dependence on projected images for their live shows, I fondly appreciated the practical sets that were used in the Tangled musical. Yes, there are some projections for parts that cannot be accurately portrayed otherwise, like Rapunzel's long plunge out of her tower, but most key scenes used physical props and backdrops. The inside of Rapunzel's tower was just as lovely and creative as it looked in the movie. It consisted of three heavily decorated walls draped all over in swirls of Rapunzel's long braid. This same aesthetic was used at Disneyland when Rapunzel came out for meet'n'greets while the movie was still in theaters. It's nice to see that the imagineered concept continues to delight audiences now that her original meet'n'greet area has been taken down.

As far as the specific performance used for the recording, I have to admit that it lacked the exuberance and energy of the voice actors from the original film. That is something I have come to expect from live shows because they can't do multiple takes like in film. The actors are fine for the roles they were given, but no one particularly stood out to me aside from perhaps Mother Gother. I still recommend watching this show at least once if you're a fan of Tangled. Why wouldn't you? It's free and only takes an hour! The show includes just enough of the main story elements for people to enjoy whether they have seen the film or not, and the shorter length eliminates the pacing issues that Disney on Broadway shows tend to have. All in all, I'm excited that this is now available to the public because it's a lot of fun and brings back some of the classical magic of live theater.

Elena Begins Her Final Journey

After months of hiatus, Elena of Avalor finally came back today to kick off a steady march toward the series finale on August 23rd. The long periods of time between episodes made it appear as though Elena's arm has been in a cast for nearly six months due to a minor injury that took place in the February episode "Giant Steps." It was a relief to see that cast finally removed at the end of "The Lightning Warrior" today. Our Avaloran princess can now be at her peak physical strength for the final confrontation with the evil sorceress Ash. Despite some scheduling complications, "The Lightning Warrior" was a good pick to bring the show back from its hiatus. It was originally scheduled to air after the Mothers Day episode, "Dia de las Madres," which was delayed due to coronavirus complications. That episode will now air next week, with the rest to follow every consecutive Sunday until the finale.

Elena's arm wasn't the only that healed in "The Lightning Warrior." Following the latest princess trend of forgiveness, Elena learned to heal her torrid relationship with Victor and Carla Delgado for their prior grievances against her and her kingdom. Elena's forgiveness of these two foes follows in the footsteps of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, two series that concluded this year with princess protagonists forgiving their arch enemies. This role reversal had been a long time coming after all three characters had been betrayed by Ash, the wife of Victor, mother of Carla, and Elena's new enemy since defeating Shuriki. Pitting a daughter against her biological mother is a new twist for Disney that works in congruence with the darker themes that Elena of Avalor has in comparison to other Disney Princess stories.
This episode also accentuated another trait that sets Elena apart from other Disney Princesses, which is her ability to lead a team. It is questionable whether or not the loyalty of the father-daughter duo was earned after Elena's reluctance to listen to them throughout today's episode, but they decided to fight for her anyway, if only for their resolve to defeat the woman who ripped their family apart. Another new member of Elena's team was the titular Lightning Warrior herself, Ixian. Ixian was reluctant to follow Elena at first but changed her mind upon seeing how many loyal followers she had. We didn't get a taste of the fabled warrior's true powers until the end of the episode, when Quita Moz presented her with a pair of gloves that grant her power over lightning. The final hero shot of Elena's new team-up could not be complete without her long-time companions Gabe, Naomi, and Mateo, who have been there for her since the beginning.
Four more regular episodes remain before the "Coronation Day" series finale special, which will air on August 23rd. Now that Elena is on the final legs of her journey, she will need to master her scepter and crystal powers and strengthen her bonds with her companions for the final fight against Ash. Something that sets Elena apart from her predecessor, Sofia the First, is that Elena is more dependent on her teammates than her powers when it comes to strategizing attacks. Sofia could single-handedly defeat practically any foe thanks to the enhanced powers she gained after Elena was freed from her amulet, but even after three seasons, Elena still struggles with her scepter's powers. In order to successfully protect her kingdom, she must have as many people on her side as possible with a variety of abilities to account for her own shortcomings. This is a wonderful lesson to teach children in real life, but it also diminishes some of the fun mystical elements of the show in comparison to the more imaginative Sofia the First.
Elena of Avalor follows Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power this as the third animated princess series to come to a finite end this year. We have been spoiled over the past decade with loads of wonderful princess cartoons to enjoy, and I cannot say whether or not that trend will continue throughout the '20s, especially with the state of the world being what it is. For now, I am grateful to see another princess show complete a successful run and look forward to the next five weeks as we follow Elena on the last legs of her journey to becoming queen of Avalor.

Hallmark Princesses

I've made some posts in this blog about live-action princess movies, but I failed to mention a newer collection of princess-themed films that has grown exponentially within the past decade. Owned by everyone's favorite greeting card company, the Hallmark Channel is famous for fluffy feel-good low-budget films that usually take place around Christmastime. Hallmark has released a dozen or so princess movies over the past decade, most of which are Christmas or winter-themed. The two I have seen are  A Princess for Christmas  in 2011 and  A Winter Princess , which came out in early 2019. Both of these movies were similar in tone and plot to the 2017 Netflix original, A Christmas Prince . Aside from the lack of creativity when it comes to titles, all of these movies are have predictable storylines and are not terribly memorable, but don't worry. If you forget one, there are plenty more to take its place.

A Princess for Christmas stars Hallmark was lucky to get someone as lovely and talented as Katie to take on the role of Jules because she is an entirely unlikeable character otherwise. In the opening scene, she gets fired from her job due to her inability to balance her career with her role as caretaker, and she is rude to the representative who offers her family a stay at the castle. When Jules arrives at the castle, she panics and tells the kids not to break anything. A few minutes later, she breaks a sconce and shows no remorse for it when she encounters with her brother-in-law, who happens to be a prince. Despite the actors' best efforts to create chemistry, I could not figure out why they were interested in each other romantically aside from their ties over their siblings' marriage. The movie tries to make up for this by giving Jules a foil in a greedy gold-digger who only wants to marry Ashton because he's a prince, but the fact that Jules isn't only interested in him for his crown does not automatically make her the perfect match for him.

Eight years later, Hallmark followed up their holiday princess tradition with A Winter Princess, starring A Winter Princess is by no means a bad movie. It's a charming and pleasant escape from the harshness of reality, but it's also stereotypical rom-com fare. What else would you expect from the Hallmark Channel? My biggest complaint is that it had no villain. The only thing separating Carly from her goal to be free from palace life was her own reluctance to tell her father how she really felt, which turned out to be mostly in her own head. Similar to Netflix's The Princess Switch, it will make you feel good, but won't make you think, which is probably the same as all of the other princess movies on Hallmark Channel that I have yet to see.
If you're looking for some lighthearted romantic princess fluff, Hallmark Channel is the place for you. Theatrical princess films have moved on from cheeseball romances to action/adventure stories where the princess takes on the role of the hero. Hallmark continues to provide throwbacks to the romantic comedy era of the '90s with big names and predictably sappy stories. Do you have a favorite Hallmark Channel princess movie? Let me know your recommendations in the comments!