Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 70

Review: Till Midnight

Since I was completely enamored with Aya Ling's Unfinished Fairy Tales books, I was thrilled to learn that she would be launching a new series of fairy tale adaptations. She has quickly raised in the ranks to become one of my favorite authors. Her new Reversed Retellings books portray gender-swapped versions of classic fairy tales, presenting brand new perspectives and challenging outdated gender stereotypes. The first book in the series is Till Midnight , based on the story of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." However, this version has twelve handsome princes who are forced to sneak away at night due to a curse with a female cobbler who must solve the mystery of where they go. I absolutely loved this adaptation and cannot wait for her to release more gender-swapped fairy tales.


Till Midnight tells the story of Alix, a talented young lady working as a dressmaker's apprentice in an attempt to further her career beyond the family trade of cobbling shoes. Even though it is set in medieval times, Alix is an independent modern-day woman with strong ambitions and a kind heart. She is very focused on improving her value as an employee so that she can make more money to care for her sickly aunt. The book references a lot of real-life problems you don't normally see in princess stories, such as struggling to make rent and aspiring toward job promotions. Fortunately, there's plenty of fantasy to balance out the reality. Since this book challenges common gender stereotypes, it's only fitting that Alix has a gay best friend. Fabio works with her at the dressmaker shop and is pressured by his parents to marry a woman when he is only interested in men. Therefore, it's a dream come true when he and Alix are recruited to work at the castle with twelve strapping princes. Though his portrayal as a gay man in fashion is somewhat stereotypical, his exuberant nature is the perfect balance to Alix's seriousness toward her work and responsibilities.

Every novel adaptation I've read of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" turns the secret late night dancing sessions into a curse that the twelve young royals cannot escape. This version was no different. As much I would love to read an adaptation where the princesses actually want to escape to their magical land of silver trees like in the Barbie movie and the original fairy tale, I still have to commend Aya Ling on her creative interpretation for Till Midnight. For most of the novel, it is just as much of a mystery to the reader as it is to Alix why the twelve princes disappear at night and return with gruesome injuries and torn up boots. When she finally does discover the cause, it is far more fitting for the gender reversal than dancing in ballgowns would have been. Just as other adaptations portray the princesses being forced do something against their will that women are stereotypically expected to enjoy, this portrays the princes being forced to do something that men are stereotypically expected to enjoy, which I found to be a clever twist.

The biggest challenge with this fairy tale is assigning distinctive enough personalities to all twelve princesses to make it possible to keep track of all of them. Shelley Duval's Faerie Tale Theatre series from the 1980s took a shortcut with this by changing their number for twelve to six. In Till Midnight, there are indeed twelve princes, but only about five of them are distinctive enough to be memorable. Theo, the oldest prince, has a reputation for being cold and distant, especially toward women, but that changes when Alix manages to worm her way into his heart through her compassion and understanding. The twins, Ethan and Enzo, are the most entertaining characters in the book. It is very funny to see them attempt to flirt with Alix when it is clear that they have no experience talking to women. Alix's confused reactions are equally amusing, as she is very serious by nature and not at all flirtatious. Roland, the youngest prince, is the emotional heart of the story. The danger that the curse wrought upon him is the final straw in motivating all the characters to break it. Gerald, the handsome scholar, is revealed become the "beauty" character in the next Reversed Retelling book, which will be based on "Beauty and the Beast."

There are so many things I loved about Till Midnight. It takes modern princess culture and incorporates it into a classic fairy tale setting. I loved that despite all the changes, Aya Ling didn't stray too far from the original story. It proves that it's completely possible to modernize a fairy tale without ripping it apart at its seams the way Frozen did. Even though I wished Fabio was a bit less of a stereotype, I loved how his flamboyance played off Alix's seriousness. As a Millenial, I found it easy to relate to Alix's struggles of advancing her career and making enough money to pay her aunt's rent. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary fairy tales, and I can't wait to read the next one!

Story Saturday: Jewel Riders Season 3 Concept

It's been a while since I posted anything for Story Saturday. I am pleased to announce that one of my previous stories, "The Dragon and the Runt," was recited recently on a podcast called Fairy Tales for Unwanted Children! Today, I have a different type of short story to share with you. My friends over at the Jewel Riders Archive have posted a writer challenge to come up with a concept for a potential third season of Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders. Jewel Riders is one of my favorite shows of all time, so I had to give this challenge a shot. The concept is inspired by the fantastic art board designs by toy designer Greg Auture for the third wave of Jewel Riders dolls that never got produced due to the show's untimely cancellation after the second season. Just to clarify, this is my own interpretation of a potential third season. I have no affiliation with the creators of the show. If you'd like to catch up with the show leading up to my concept, you can watch both seasons of the original series on YouTube. The writer challenge will continue now through February 10th, so feel free to submit your own if you're feeling creative!


Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders Third Season ConceptThe Jewel Riders are celebrating the one year anniversary of rescuing Merlin from the wild magic and banishing Morgana and the other evil wizards. They are decked out in their finest ballgowns in the Crystal Palace's banquet hall. Drake incessantly asks Gwenevere to spill all the details about her relationship with Ian. Gwen gets angry and refuses to dance with him. Moondance and Fallon try their best to enjoy their time together before Moondance must attend regular training sessions with her mother, Queen Sierra, to become the future queen of the unicorns. Tamara and the babies perform a special song for the celebration, but the performance is cut short when Tamara gets a call from her Heart Stone.
The call is from Shadowsong, Tamara's bonded unicorn from afar. She learns that Shadowsong's homeland, revealed to be known as Shangri-La, is being attacked by powerful wild magic, and he needs the Jewel Rider's help immediately. The celebration is called off. Merlin uses his One Jewel to level up the Sun Stone, Heart Stone, and Moon Stone. The appearance of the Jewel Riders' armor has changed for the second time. They each now have a new special ability in addition to the power of their enchanted jewels. Fallon has winged boots that allow her to run at inhuman speeds and leap tall buildings. Gwenevere has pleated shoulder plates that give her super strength. Tamara has a flower-like shield that protects her and others from powerful blasts of magic.
Gwenevere jumps on Sunstar and Fallon jumps on Moondance. Tamara's baby animals, Cleo, Sugar, and Spike, try to convince her to let them join the Jewel Riders on their mission, but she insists that they're not ready for such a dangerous adventure yet and leaves them in Merlin and Archie's care. As the Jewel Riders ask the Travel Trees to help them navigate to Shangri-La, the Wild Magic Gliders appear and tell them that they can give them even more powerful wings to glide through the wild magic and get them there even faster. The wings match their new jewel armor. The next thing they know, they are soaring through the wild magic at top speed.
When they arrive, they find that the entire landscape is falling apart. Leaves are missing from trees, water is missing from lakes, and everything shines with an eerie purple glow. Shadowsong finds Tamara and invites her to climb on his back. He takes her and the other Jewel Riders throughout the area, showing them the full range of destruction. Gwenevere casts a spell with her Sun Stone to locate the source of the problem, which takes her high up in the sky. It's a good thing Sunstar knows how to fly! She finds Morgana floating around in a levitating throne and sucking up the magic of the land. She explains to Gwenevere that after the Jewel Riders took away her Dark Stone and the other Wizard Jewels, she taught herself how to manipulate the wild magic to travel to other realms and absorb the magic within the lands themselves. To make matters worse, she has her sights set on Avalon next. To Princess Gwenevere's horror, Morgana releases a purple lightning bolt that unlocks a portal. Gwenevere can already see seen the Crystal Palace shimmering on the other side.

With no time to waste, Gwen and Sunstar fly back to the other Jewel Riders and tell them about Morgana's plan. They use their enchanted jewels to communicate with their friends back in Avalon through the power of Merlin's staff. Together, they come to the difficult decision to seal Avalon off from the wild magic until Morgana could be stopped. Unfortunately, the seal can only work if it's done from both sides of the portal, meaning the Jewel Riders will not be able to go home for a while. Gwenevere, Tamara, Fallon, Sunstar, Moondance, and Shadowsong form a friendship circle under the portal to Avalon that Morgana opened in the sky while Merlin, the Pack, Queen Anya, King Jared, and Tamara's baby animals form a circle in the Friendship Ring back in Avalon.

The power of friendship seals the portal from both sides before Morgana gets a chance to invade Avalon. Thanks to their newly powered up Enchanted Jewels, the Jewel Riders are also able to restore Shangri-La to its original beauty, releasing it from Morgana's clutches. Shadowsong is grateful to Tamara and the Jewel Riders for their help, but there's still work to be done. Morgana wastes no time in opening another portal to absorb magic from a different land. Shadowsong can't stand the idea of other lands suffering as his did, so he joins Tamara, Gwenevere, Fallon, Sunstar, and Moondance to travel through the wild magic and continue to protect the enchanted realms from Morgana's wrath. Even though they are far from home, the Jewel Riders know that one day, the power of friendship will allow them to return to their loved ones when Avalon is safe. As they chase Morgana through the wild magic to protect the enchanted realms, they are able to continually check in with their friends back home via their enchanted jewels and Merlin's staff.

Review: The Marquise and Her Cat

After reviewing a somewhat mediocre book last week from fantasy author Shari Tapscott, I was pleased to find that I thoroughly enjoyed her retelling of the fairy tale "Puss in Boots". The Marquise and Her Cat  is by far the best book I've read by Shari thus far. It remains faithful to the original fairy tale while offering a gender-reversed protagonist along with several other fun twists. Before reading this book, I never realized how much I wanted a fully fleshed out adaptation of "Puss in Boots." Though Puss appears in Shrek 2 as well as other spin-offs and sequels from the franchise, the fairy tale itself is still pretty obscure. Even though I had read it a long time ago, I forgot most of the details and never realized how entertaining it could be with just a bit more imagination.


The Marquise and her Cat is the story of Etta, a miller's daughter with two brothers. True to the fairy tale, her brothers inherit very nice possessions from a recently deceased relative while Etta is left with the cat. She thinks she got completely screwed over by her eccentric aunt until she learns that Puss can talk, and he begins concocting a convoluted scheme to bring Etta great fortune. Changing the main character from male to female was a clever notion since the "rags to riches" concept tends to be more popular with female leads such as "Cinderella," which is also why most versions of "The Prince and the Pauper" tend to be gender-reversed. Puss's schemes are borrowed directly from the original fairy tale, but it feels fresh and new to read about Etta pretending to be a marquise and wearing fancy clothes that she is not used to because she would never even consider doing anything like that if not for her talking cat. She often finds herself questioning her own sanity, but she goes along with it in spite of everything because she can see that Puss only has the best of intentions for her.

Shari Tapscott also incorporates a love triangle into the story. She does this in a bold way by alternating the perspective of each chapter between Etta and Beau, one of Etta's suitors. This is not the first book I've read that switches perspective between the two main love interests. In fact, I've written a book like that myself. The technique can be hit or miss depending on the author's intentions. In this case, I'm not so sure it was the best idea. Even though there was a love triangle between Beau and Kerrick, we only see Beau's perspective of the romance, which makes it extremely obvious which one Etta will end up with. There are also certain details that get revealed early on in the Beau chapters that would have been more of a fun surprise if we didn't learn about them until later from Etta's perspective. Despite that, the love triangle was a fun twist on the original tale that added some suspense and intrigue.

After reading how well "Puss in Boots" translated to a novel in The Marquise and Her Cat, I'm surprised there aren't any other popular adaptations of the tale. It has everything you could possibly want from a classic fairy tale--fun animal sidekicks, clever schemes, romance, a fearsome ogre, and a noble protagonist achieving happiness and fortune. Shari Tapscott did a wonderful job of fleshing it out into a full-length story that accentuated all of the humor, fun, and fantasy of the fairy tale. This is the first book of her Fairy Tale Kingdoms series, in which she retells classic fairy tales. The second book, The Queen of Gold and Straw , is a retelling of "Rumplestiltskin."

I'm so happy I decided to give Shari Tapscott's writing another chance with The Marquise and Her Cat. This book gave me a new perspective on a classic story and made it more appealing to me by making the protagonist female. It was a fast read that was full of humor and fun. Even though I didn't think Beau's chapters were necessary. it was nice to read about Etta through his eyes instead of only seeing her perspective. Every time Puss said something, I wanted to smile and laugh, especially when the characters reacted to hearing him for the first time. His schemes got so ridiculous that it was amazing that Etta and Beau continued to reluctantly follow along when they secretly wanted to torment the cat for putting them in such embarrassing situations. Of course, it all works out in the end, and a good time is had by all.

Review: Audette of Brookraven

The Entwined Tales book series introduced me to many authors I had been previously unfamiliar with. Of them, Shari Tapscott was far from a favorite of mine. Still, I couldn't resist when her novel Audette of Brookraven, was being offered for free along with several other books from the Entwined Tales authors as a holiday promotion. Since I didn't have very expectations for it, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy of a read this was compared to the sample novellas from her mailing list. This was largely thanks to the quirky antics of the main character, Princess Audette (not to be confused with Princess Odette). The plot, on the other hand, left much to be desired.


Audette of Brookraven is the fourth book in Shari Tapscott's Eldentimber series, which consists of tales about various princesses from various lands. It's difficult to properly summarize this book because the story is all over the place, which is an issue I've had with all of the work I've read from this author. It's a fantasy, but not a complex one. It's a romance, but not a deep one. She gets some props for being one of the few princess authors who writes original stories instead of merely adapting classic fairy tales, but the original stories she comes up with seem only half-realized, with many important details glossed over. Even though each book is set in a different land, this one just feels like a generic fantasy kingdom.

The love story was the most interesting aspect of this book because it was told in such an unconventional manner. At the beginning of the book, Audette is in an arranged marriage to Prince Irving. When she decides to briefly leave the bridal suite and risks being seen in public before the wedding, she switches gowns with her lady-in-waiting, Milly, in order to avoid suspicion. As a result, Prince Irvine wrongly assumes that Milly is the princess he is engaged to and Audette is a noble lady living at the castle. When she plays along with this ruse and finds that Irving hits on her anyway, she loses all interest in marrying him, thinking that he is a scoundrel who would cheat on her with any other noble lady who crosses his path. This opening scene is what drew me into the book. It's a clever and peculiar situation that paints a clear picture of the sort of person that Audette is. Unfortunately, things get a bit muddled from there.

I was excited to learn that this is a story about unicorns, but the way it incorporates them is a lot closer to the movie Legend  than something like The Last Unicorn . Princesses and unicorns often go hand in hand for no other reason than that they both appeal to same type of person. Like in the movie Legend, the unicorns in Brookraven were just there for the sake of being there. Audette is drawn to them and becomes determined to protect them from an unknown threat. The monster she must fend off has the ability to change her hair color, similar to what Elsa's ice powers did to Anna  Frozen , but that alone doesn't feel like much of a threat. In fact, it isn't actually revealed what sort of danger the characters are in until the end of the book. While that does leave more time to focus on mending the relationship between Audette and Irving, it's a little frustrating not to know anything important that's happening in the story.

Overall, Audette of Brookraven is a fun character study, but not so much of a compelling read. Audette has all of the traits you would expect from a modern princess. She is strong, brave, clever, independent, and a secret romantic. Seeing the story through Audette's eyes is the only thing that makes it worth reading. Her interactions with Irving are both humorous and entertaining. The other people in her life such as her brother and her lady-in-waiting are equally compelling characters. I just wish the story had more going for it than throwing together some unicorns and a monster with no real direction.

The New Princess Jasmine

The internet went a little crazy when Entertainment Weekly released Disney's first promo photos of the fully costumed actors from their upcoming Aladdin  remake last week. Many were disappointed with what they saw, which unfortunately tends to be the case for live-action remakes. For instance, Aladdin's signature purple vest was changed to red, making it closer to the Broadway version of the show. He was also given a relatively nice shirt underneath, which is more than a little confusing for those of us who remember how poor he was in the original film.
For me, this regal red gown was far more exciting than the redesign of Princess Jasmine's signature teal pant look. Her gorgeous purple princess dress from the middle of the animated film gets overlooked and forgotten so often that it's practically a crime. While all the other Disney Princesses are featured in their most glamorous ballgowns that they only wore for roughly five minutes of their films, Jasmine usually gets stuck in her casual wear. It looks like Disney decided to step up this time and give us an early opportunity to see
Of course, there was a great deal more concern about what she would be wearing for the majority of the movie. Disney has gone even further with their modest theme park redesign of Jasmine's outfit by incorporating elements of it into her new look. Just like in the theme parks, her midriff is now covered with some flesh-colored fabric and gold accents. Modesty seems to be an ongoing theme with the costume designs for this film since Aladdin also shows a lot less skin than he did in the animated version or even the Broadway play. I'm pretty indifferent to most of these changes, but there were some things that I really liked about the new version of Jasmine's signature teal ensemble. While I could do with out the stiff metallic cardboard-looking crown on her head, I liked it a lot more when I realized it was the top piece for a long sheer veil that matched her outfit. I personally love sheer fabrics, so having a veil draped over her long black hair that flows behind her when she moves is a beautiful touch. In the above image, we can also see her holding the sheer overlay that goes around her pants, which has a metallic peacock pattern on it reminiscent of the "Peacock Princess" song from the long-forgotten Enchanted Tales short.

Also pictured above is our first look at Dalia, Jasmine's best friend and handmaiden, who is a welcome addition to the cast. Disney Princesses rarely have ladies-in-waiting to express their feelings to, and Jasmine was particularly lonely in the palace with only her pet tiger Rajah to talk to. In the Broadway show, she was given three ladies-in-waiting, so this is actually not a first for her. However, having one instead of three should help with giving her more of an opportunity to bond with Jasmine. She is also a good candidate for Jasmine to sing her new song to. Even though Jasmine was given the wonderful song "To Be Free" for the discontinued Disneyland stage show and the slightly less wonderful song "These Palace Walls" for the Broadway show, she is reported to have a third original Alan Menken song written just for this film. I love how Dalia has a circlet and a veil just like Jasmine. Her red and gold dress is also lovely in a modest sort of way.


Of all the looks I've seen for Jasmine, I think this marketplace disguise from when she meets Aladdin for the first time is my favorite. It's also the only promo image released that shows her smiling. Even though it doesn't exactly scream "peasant," the sheer veil that covers her head and drapes around her shoulder looks both cultural and stylish at the same time. The subtle gold trim around the robes hint at her true identity, and I like how her teal pants are still visible underneath. Aladdin, on the other hand, doesn't look very much like a street rate at all with his striped button-down shirt, thick red vest, and plaid pants. I can understand where many of the complaints about these new images are coming from, but I'm grateful that we got to see so many of the costumes so early before the movie's release. Overall, it looks like what I would expect from a modern live-action remake of Aladdin. At the very least, we can take solace in knowing that Jasmine's costumes are far more regal and fitting of a princess than the hideous yellow dress wore as Belle in the remake of Beauty and the Beast.

Review: Goldheart

Kenley Davidson was the author of my favorite book from the Entwined Tales series, so I jumped at the opportunity to read her book Goldheart  for free. Goldheart is the second book from her series of fairy tale adaptations called The Andari Chronicles. It is a reimagining of  "Rumpelstiltskin." While my favorite version of "Rumpelstiltskin" is still The Princess Pact  by Melanie Cellier, this one is a solid runner up. Kenley Davidson excels at writing stories about capable women with traditionally feminine flaws, which is becoming more of a rarity in modern times. Her characters' weaknesses make them easier to relate to than many of the modern movie princess heroines, who often excel at far too many skills for a well-rounded character. This level of realism also accounts for lack of magic and fantasy in her stories, which is the reason I didn't seek out her books as eagerly as most of the other authors from the Entwined Tales series.


Elaine, the leading lady in Goldheart, is not a princess by title, but much like Johanna from Sweeney Todd, she fits the classical archetype in every other way possible. She is a sheltered young woman with a kind heart who is loved by all who know her. Like Disney's Rapunzel, Elaine is artist who locks herself away from the rest of the world to escape into her own imagination of beauty and paint. When she learns that her estate is heavily in debt after the untimely passing of her father, she attempts to raise money for her servants by selling her art. Unfortunately for her, this draws the attention of the selfish Torbert Melling, who metaphorically asks her to spin straw into gold by demanding a painting of his dying wife not as she appears now, but as he remembers her. Since he holds the claim over most of Elaine's debt, she feels obligated to take on the task, even if it means being locked up in Torbert's rat-infested attic with very little food or heat.

What I love about Elaine is that she doesn't pretend to be something she's not. She is aware that her servants kept the burden of her father's debt a secret in order to protect her, but she harbors no blame toward them. Elaine makes it very clear that that the painting Torbert asks of her is impossible, but she attempts to do it anyway because she feels obligated to complete her task and pay off her debts. As someone who works for an overbearing boss, I could relate to Elaine's struggles all too well. I love how passionately she embraces her identity as a painter. Painting is the only thing in the world that brings her joy, and she feels that she can only truly express herself if she has a paintbrush in her hand. She has no desire to seek out some unforeseen adventure or dream because she already knows what she loves does it to the best of her ability.

When she is discovered by Will, a servant for Torbert's son, he is horrified to find her locked up in such an unpleasant state. He offers to help her escape, but she assures him that she truly wants to paint and pay off her debt. Will introduces Elaine to Torbert's son, Blaise. Together, they make sure that she is comfortable and well-fed until the deadline for the painting is complete. Will is the "Rumpelstiltskin" character of the story. He is an extremely honorable man and a worthy love interest for Elaine. He always takes the time to listen and consider her feelings before every decision he makes. He is also the only person Blaise has to call a friend. Like Elaine, Torbert keeps Blaise locked away from the world in his room because he is ashamed to let people see his albino son. Fortunately, Blaise is not affected by his father's eccentricities and proves to be a much better man than the one who raised him.

If you are looking for a story about a sheltered young woman who struggles to pursue her passions, Goldheart is the book for you. Elaine may seem a little old-fashioned, but the prospects of working hard and being kind will never go out of style. It doesn't have much to provide for people who love the fantasy aspects of fairy tales, but it does contain a beautiful love story and characters who feel as though they are real. Kenley Davidson is master of weaving words in a way that provokes you to think about the nuances of society and the way people are treated. Even though this book had no actual princesses and only vague whispers of the original "Rumpelstiltskin" fairy tale, I found it to be a very enjoyable read.

Princess Animatronics

There are many ways to find immersive princess experiences at the Disney Parks. The most common way is through meet'n'greets. They let you interact with the princess in real life, allowing you to ask them any question you can think of and learn how they might respond, not to mention the terrific photo ops. Another way is through dark rides, which is the official term for the slower rides at the parks that allow you to travel through movie scenes that are recreated by animatronics, a revolutionary technology that bring sculptures to live with mechanical movement and programming. All of the dark rides at the Disney Parks use animatronics for their constantly moving characters. Until a few years ago, the only Disney Princess dark ride that could be experienced in this way was Snow White's Scary Adventures. This ride was overseen by Walt Disney himself and is one of the few remaining rides that opened with Disneyland's launch in 1955. Even though it feels a little dated now, it's still a classic that brings many of the most famous scenes from the movie to life.


In 2010, Disneyland added another princess dark ride to their roster, which I was all too excited to be among the very first to ride. Ariel's Undersea Adventure is still my favorite ride out of all the Disney Parks, possibly because it features my favorite Disney Princess. This ride was created over 50 years after Snow White's Scary Adventures, and the technological advancements are very noticeable. Ariel's Undersea Adventure brings Ariel and her friends to life in ways that Walt Disney never could have dreamed. It using smaller mechanical pieces to accommodate her petite frame and has extra little touches such as easter eggs and seamless projections of animated sequences in between the animatronic rooms.

One of my favorite parts of the ride is watching Sebastian pop up in three different places in Ariel's grotto while she sings "Part of Your World." It's like an interactive game of hide-and-seek. A popular fan favorite is the hidden fish sculpture from the film  The Incredible Mr. Limpet , which you can only see if you turn around in your ride vehicle at the end of the "Under the Sea" room. The ride made several updates over the years, including replacing Ariel's hot pink "ice cream swirl" hair from the "Under the Sea" section with something more realistic-looking and giving all of the characters realistic-looking doll hair during the second half instead of the sculpted hair they used initially. They also replaced the CGI projections of Ariel looking for human treasures and turning into a human with more traditional-looking animation. One of the great things about Disney rides is that they are always finding new and innovative ways to make them even better.


It's no secret that Tokyo contains my favorite Disney parks in the world. Earlier this year, they announced that they are adding worlds inspired by Tangled and Frozen to their DisneySea park, but the biggest announcement of all came just last week. Using even bigger and better technology than ever, Tokyo Disneyland is building a dark ride for Beauty and the Beast! I was absolutely blown away by the preview footage that they released of Belle's new animatronic figures. She looks so incredibly lifelike that it's as though they took her right out of the animated film. What's even more amazing is that the ride is reported to have no track, meaning that when guests enter their ride vehicles, they will have no idea what is going to happen next. The vehicles look like giant cups and saucers with the same pattern on them as Mrs. Potts and Chip. They are programmed to move in sync with the events of the animatronic rooms on the ride, creating an even more interactive and immersive experience than ever. Tokyo really does get all the best stuff! See for yourself below.


The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast ride is slated to open in Tokyo Disneyland in the spring of 2020. It's incredible how many small and subtle movements the Belle and Beast animatronics make throughout the video. They blink, form realistic facial expressions, and appear to be breathing and fidgeting just like a real person would. It's unbelievable how far animatronic technology has come since Walt's fascination with it in the '50s. I hope that this ride is successful enough to be brought to the American parks in a few more years. It recreates so many classic scenes from the film, such as "Be Our Guest," "Something There," and of course, the famous ballroom dance. Thanks to modern technology, it is now easier than ever to live out our fairy tale princess fantasies.

No, "Kiss the Girl" Is Not Misogynistic

If you haven't heard the news yet, there was a recent controversy about an all-male a capella group from Princeton University called the Tigertones, who were pressured into removing the song "Kiss the Girl" from Disney's The Little Mermaid  from their set list. This comes right on the heels of another controversy regarding the holiday classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside" getting banned from various radio stations for similar reasons. Supposedly, both songs counteract the #MeToo movement because they are about women being coerced into situations that they have not consented to. The jury may be out on "Baby, It's Cold Outside," but as far as my favorite redheaded Disney heroine is concerned, this preconception is straight-up wrong.


"Kiss the Girl" takes place after Ariel has given her voice up to Ursula in exchange for legs under the terms that Prince Eric must give her the kiss of true love to prevent her from turning into one of Ursula's sea worms and becoming her slave forever. The stakes are high for Ariel. Without the ability to explain herself to Eric, she is at a big disadvantage. That is where her friends come in. Sebastian, the most loyal and musically-inclined crab in all of Atlantica, reluctantly agrees to help Ariel try to win Eric over so she can get her voice back. He does so with a catchy musical number to set the mood for Eric to give Ariel the spell-breaking kiss. He would have succeeded, too, if Ursula's fledglings, Flotsam and Jetsam, didn't interfere. By performing this song, Sebastian acts as Ariel's voice when she has none. It is an incredibly selfless act of friendship. He supports Ariel's desires even though he neither understands nor agrees with them. Therefore, the song "Kiss the Girl" actually encourages helping and supporting women, not coercing them into uncomfortable situations.

Ariel is my favorite Disney Princess. As such, I end up having to defend her a lot. Of all the Disney Princesses, she suffers the most hate from people who misunderstand her story. That's why this recent revelation is troublesome. It proves that people still don't get it. As beautiful as the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale is, it can be seen as problematic in ways that Disney tried to fix in their version. I've also written my own version of the story. Unlike the mermaid from the fairy tale who wanted to marry the prince for a chance at gaining a Christian soul, Disney's Ariel is an explorer who is obsessed with human culture. She collects as many human gadgets and gizmos as she can find from shipwrecks and clumsy sailors. She sings "Part of Your World," a beautiful song about her desire to live among humans, before even laying eyes on Prince Eric. Ariel encourages girls to study other cultures and to look beyond the lifestyles they're already familiar with. In the animated series, she meets lots of outcasts who don't feel like they belong anywhere until they met her. Her desire to become human is far more beautiful and layered than just wanting to find true love.

If looked at from a completely objective standpoint, I can admit that the song might be misconstrued when taken out of context. With lyrics like "Yes, you want her / Look at her, you know you do" and repeating "Go on and kiss the girl" several times might be interpreted as someone encouraging a man to force himself on a woman without consent. However, Disney has the benefit of being incredibly mainstream. Their princess movies have stayed in the public eye for over 80 years. It would be very surprising indeed to find someone listening to this song who has never seen the movie and is not already aware of the context. The same cannot be said for something like "Baby, It's Cold Outside," which I only recently learned is from a 1949 musical called Neptune's Daughter . If "Kiss the Girl" had been a new song that came on the radio with absolutely no other context, perhaps I would be more open to some skepticism about it. However, the events of the story place it in a different light that neutralizes all of these arguments.

In short, I am sick of hearing criticism about The Little Mermaid. The song "Kiss the Girl" is anything but misogynistic when listened to in the context of the film. Ariel is incredibly misunderstood by the general public. In some ways, that makes me love her all the more. She stands up for people who are different and feel as though nobody likes them and bravely goes head to head with her father, the all-mighty King Triton. The fact that she has a friend as wonderful as Sebastian who would get all the birds and fish in the lagoon to try to help her break the spell on her and save her life shows just how deserving she is of friendship and love.

Is Hollywood Out of Ideas?

I was thinking about writing a review of Netflix's sequel to A Christmas Prince, but it really speaks for itself. It's a cheap sequel to an already low-budget movie that isn't worth anyone's time. A better thing to discuss is why Netflix bothered making a sequel to A Christmas Prince  at all, especially after they already contributed a low-budget movie to the princess-filled month of November, which, while not exactly original, was at least not a sequel. Netflix produces a ton of content. Even Disney Legend Glen Keane is working for them now! Even though everything they produce is not guaranteed to be a high-quality blockbuster, this unwanted and unnecessary sequel is just the tip of the iceberg. A bigger problem lies below the surface. The best new princess show Netflix has made is actually a reimagining of something from the '80s, and almost every Disney movie in production right now is either a sequel or a live-action remake. Are there truly no more original ideas?


I realize I'm far from the first person to notice this growing trend of Hollywood rehashes, but it seems to be getting progressively worse. The Swan Princess  now has eight movies under its belt, each one more terrible than the last. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms , the first Disney movie in a while that was neither a remake nor a sequel, ended up following the same tired story format that they used for Frozen , Big Hero 6 , The Incredibles 2, Wreck-It Ralph, and  Coco , among others. Of course, fairy tale adaptations can never be completely original because they are based on pre-existing stories, but they can be updated and revised in original ways. In fact, that became a big trend in the early 2000s that began with Shrek and The Tenth Kingdom . These clever films added humor and modern charm without taking away the emotional core of the stories they played on.  Charming  recently attempted to revive this trend, but the reason it failed is that it felt like a low-budget remake of Shrek.

Even though Disney is famous for adapting old stories, they still feel original because they do it in a way that no one has ever done before. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs  was revolutionary in 1937 because it was the first full-length feature film to be entirely drawn by hand. Fast forward to today, and Disney just released a trailer for The Lion King that is a shot-for-shot replica of their 1994 classic with the exception that it's animated by computers. What's really sad about this is that people are going to buy tickets for it regardless of the fact that they've seen this movie already. Nowadays, Disney can't lose, so why should they bother trying?. They have Star Wars, Marvel, and their upcoming streaming service created to compete with Netflix that's sure to be a big hit. Many people have criticized the incorporation of the Disney Princesses in Wreck-It Ralph 2 as self-serving. While the scenes were pretty funny, it was still an attempt to continue selling characters that they already created without needing to rely on new ones, right up to the tongue-in-cheek climax that attempted to counteract the "Damsel in Distress" stigma.

There is a common theory that there are only seven stories in the world. Even if that's true, these seven basic premises are just the framework for a bigger picture, much like the old fairy tales that writers and filmmakers have adapted to tell their own stories. While it is possible to make stylistic comparisons between movies that came out in the '50s or the '90s, or pretty much any other given decade, they still stand on their own due to their unique characters and settings. Most modern films have characters and settings that the audience is already familiar with. Sadly, that sense of familiarity might be the reason that they sell so many tickets. People have so much on their minds these days as they constantly refresh apps on their smartphones that they might have trouble staying focused an entirely new universe and set of characters over a period of two hours. They prefer instead to follow the journey of someone who they already know. That might be part of the reason that Disney sadly canceled Gigantic , their fresh and unique-looking take on "Jack and the Beanstalk."

With the innovation of streaming services, we have never had more access to content than before, and yet, we have also never had less original content. As much as it pains me to say, corporate greed might be preventing us from seeing more original princess stories to add to the ever-growing roster. Hollywood doesn't want to give us new princesses who are unique enough to defy the modern stereotype of not needing to be rescued, nor do they want to place new twists on old stories like Disney did with Maleficent . The wonderland of imagination and whimsy is closed off to creative people working on independent endeavors that they don't have the budget to produce. The rest of us are trapped in a little town full of little people where every day is like the one before.

PattyCake Productions Launched a Disney Princess Web Series!

Princess Month is still going strong with movie anniversaries galore. Did you know that November 18th was National Princess Day? Creative fans have been getting in on the action this month as well. To that effect, PattyCake Productions, the team that brought us the Unexpected Musicals and Villains Lair series, introduced Princess Academy, their newest web series, last week. Not to be confused with an unproduced Fantasia short of the same name, Princess Academy is a live-action web series featuring original songs and stories about our favorite Disney Princesses. PattyCake Production had previously impressed me with their gorgeous Little Mermaid video, "The Grande Mermaid," so I was excited about their latest endeavor.


The premiere episode, "Happily Ever After," was launched on the release date of Wreck-It Ralph 2 , though subscribers to their Patreon page gained early access to it. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The main character is a modern-day nerd who doesn't believe in fairy tales or true love, appropriately named Ted Pessiminsky. When he gets hit on the head with his own book about how fairy tales have a negative impact on children, called Happily Never After, he wakes up in an academy run by the Disney Princesses who wish to teach him about true love. They do this with a catchy but mostly uninspired song that sounds like it could have been a deleted track from the Disney Princess Tea Party album in the early 2000s. When he understandably tells them that the song isn't very convincing, they assume that they failed on their mission. Merida throws the book at him again, which sends him back to the real world where he immediately meets the girl of his dreams.

With such a simple concept, this video lacked the "wow" factor that their Unexpected Musicals series had with its impressive array of CGI, costumes, and sets. I thought the princesses could have given a much stronger argument against their negative stereotypes than by singing a fun but mostly meaningless song about how "Happily Ever After" is "not always a disaster." Moana, Elsa, and Merida even claimed that they were against trying to convince Ted to find love because they're happy on their own, but they were outnumbered by the other Disney Princesses whose happy endings included romantic relationships. I hate to be a pessiminskyst, but I was a lot more impressed with the story and song from the premiere episode of Villains Lair than Princess Academy. I know the group behind PattyCake Productions is extremely talented, so I'm anticipating stronger episodes of this series in the future. They've also teased a potential crossover between the two series, which would be pretty epic.

I don't want to be like Ted and ruin everyone's fun, so here are some things I liked about this episode. For one, the jokes were absolutely on point. When Ted sees a bunch of real-life women cosplaying as the Disney Princesses, he makes a rational assumption that he somehow ended up at the D23 Expo. It makes perfect sense to assume that upon seeing a bunch of Disney cosplayers, so it was fun to hear it referenced in something outside of Disney's own promotions for it. Another great joke occurred when the princesses began singing and Ted referenced Taylor Swift. Snow White asks if she's a princess, and he can't muster an answer. Taylor is a perfect example of a modern princess, but she isn't actually a princess. Many people have compared her early image to the Disney Princesses, so it was a great throwaway line. I also enjoyed the meet-cute at the end when Ted unexpectedly finds his dream girl after claiming that true love is a lie. Even though it was a rather unrealistic scenario, it was fun to see what a fairy tale romance would look like between two modern-day adults.

Overall, the first episode of Princess Academy was not quite as dazzling as the Unexpected Musicals series, but it was a lot of fun. It featured every Disney Princess from Snow White to Moana with some cutesy imagery, like Merida begrudgingly letting the other princesses put flowers in her hair and Belle giving Ted's book a negative review. The creators of the series claimed that they wanted to deconstruct the negative stereotypes about princesses with this short. I don't think they were quite successful in that respect, but since this is a series, they will have many more opportunities to do just that. I'm especially looking forward to an epic crossover with Villains Lair, where the princesses will have to go head to head with their mortal enemies!