Disney Princesses: Similar, But Different Essay, Research Paper

ROUGH DRAFT- Compare/Contrast Essay#910711

February 14, 2000

Advanced Comp- block 2

Disney Princesses: similar, but different

It would cause some people to laugh if I were to say that all leading characters in Disney movies were the same. To anyone who has seen at least a few, that notion is absurd. Even in tales of Walt Disney, not every hero wins the war, nor every princess her prince. In the classic Disney love stories of “Cinderella” and “A Little Mermaid”, the story lines are extremely similar. Love stricken teenagers, with parental boundries, and responsibilites they long to escape are the main characters in both of these cartoons. However different these young women seem to be, there are numerous uncanny similarities between them.

Both beautiful young ladies are fatigued and distressed by their home lives, but each chooses to deal with it in a different way. As Ariel escapes the reality of her family by swimming around by the shore all day, Cinderella works tirelessly to please her wicked stepmother. The Little Mermaid has chosen to take an agressive role with her controlling and overly protective father, whereas Cinderella’s Stepmother and both wicked sisters force her into an emotional stupor. Cinderella is passive towards the authority in life, she accepts her situation for what it is, never a shred of hope that she could change her fate. Ariel, with a bit of selfishness, chooses to act out against her father’s orders. Despite her deep longing for freedom, Cinderella remains a slave to her own family day after day. Each girl hopes for a different, more promising life in the future, but they approach their daily lives in different ways.

True love is desired by both Ariel and Cinderella. They each concoct elaborate daydreams of being with a handsome prince, experiencing the deep emotions of love. Although Ariel is grounded briefly by her common sense, when she sees Prince Eric, her feelings of lust and emotion take her over. From that moment on, Ariel is determined to be with him, to make him fall for her, and to go to any measure to win her prince over. Cinderella, after dancing with the prince at the ball, grounds herself, faced with reality, shortly after her realization of love. She is discouraged, and lets herself fall back into daily routine with little hope of a future with this prince charming. As Ariel plots a way to transform from a mermaid to having a human body, Cinderella cries into her mop-bucket, with no hope of happiness. Both faced with the issue of true love at last, each character reacts differently when faced with difficulty.

After a wide range of emotions are felt within each storyline, the characters are faced with many struggles, some challenges seem as though no one, not even a princess could overcome. Although Ariel is independent and often defiant of her father, and Cinderella conforms to her family’s ways and stepmother’s orders, both girls undergo a similar change. There is a moment of realization in each girl’s mind, they know that the love they have been searching for is closer to their graso than ever before, and they cannot live their lives knowing that they let it slip away. Shortly after this realization comes the action. As Ariel obtains her human legs and steps out of the water, Cinderella peers out from the doorway, and slips her foot into the glass slipper. Each young woman steps triumphantly out of their comfort zone, into a world of unknown. The uncertainties are abundant now, and although they came about it in different ways, each has become closer to their prince.

As the search for true happiness seems to be coming to an end, the ladies are swept away by their charming princes. Both appreciative of the handsome men that they will soon marry, the princesses have different reasons to thank them. Although Ariel did not have a horrible home life, she felt repressed and unhappy under the sea. Her prince fought relentlessly to free her from the oppression her fins seemed to cause her. Prince Charming rescued Cinderella from wasting her life away and being taken advantage of by her family. And the words “Happily ever after” sum up both of the princesses’ stories as they have overcome the difficulties that had faced them.

Happy endings and charming men are visible in each Disney tale, however, it is the similarities within the leading ladies that is striking. Ariel, the Little Mermaid, and Cinderella both face similar challenges while on the quest for happiness. However, the two princesses face problems with different outlooks, as well as problem-solving techniques. After thwarting big problems, the girls and their princes are destined to live a life of happiness in love. They each had to make sacrifices and take risks in order to reap the benefits. As Princesses, Ariel and Cinderella have many similarities, focusing on their acqusition of the princes, and each does also face different challenges in different ways.