The Pumpkin Prince

      Our second Prince Charming of the bunch, made his appearance in Disney's Cinderella.  He also makes appearances in the sequels Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.  If you would like a short summary of the movie, check out my post titled "Slippers Made of Glass."

Pros:
- Determined: He searched every inch of his kingdom to find his princess.  He made sure every maiden tried on the slipper.  That's what I call determination.
- Kind:  We don't see much of him in the original, but in the sequel and prequel he is a very kind and generous guy.
Cons:
- Stupid: You would think he would recognize the woman of his dreams and realize she isn't all of the women that tried on the shoe before her. 
- Slow: When Cinderella was running out of the ball, she was running in heels and through a crowded castle, and lost a shoe on the way out.  How was he not able to catch her.  Maybe run a few laps there prince.  If she can outrun you in glass slippers, we have a problem.
- Shallow: He fell in love with Cinderella after their first meeting and they knew nothing about each other.  He simply fell for her beauty.

In Disney's earlier films, the prince's were not very important and were often not developed as characters.  This is unfortunate because they could be really great people, but we would never know it.  This Prince Charming was more developed than the original, but I would personally like to know more!

The Original Prince Charming

      The original Prince Charming was featured in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  He is the first Disney prince and is the first of two "Prince Charming's."  If you would like a short summary of the movie, check out my post titled "An Apple a Day."

Pros:
- Sings: He can sing, so he's got that going for him.
- Strong: He is also capable of lifting Snow White out of a coffin and lift her onto a horse, that could come in handy.
Cons:
- Pedophile: He kisses a 14 year old, unconscious girl in the woods.  It's a romantic gesture, but also slightly creepy.  FYI - he is supposed to be 21 years old.
- Stalker: She has never met this man before and he shows up on her doorstep, climbs over a stone wall and serenades her.  How did he know where she lived?  This feels a bit skeptical to me.
- Does absolutely nothing: Besides true love's kiss, the prince does absolutely nothing in the plot of this story.  Where was he when she was almost killed?  When she ran away and ate a poisoned apple?  He must not have cared that much.

We don't learn much about Prince Charming as a character in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  So even though it may seem like he doesn't have much going for him, let's give him the benefit of the doubt and bet he has a nice personality.

 

Let it Go

 

Note: The summary is the same as last week, considering they are from the same movie.

Frozen was released by the Walt Disney Company in 2013 (IMBD). Two sisters, Anna and Elsa are princesses of the kingdom of Arandelle.  The oldest sister Elsa has magic powers of ice and snow, and accidently harms her sister Anna while they were playing together.  Elsa must learn to hide herself and her powers for the well being of herself and the kingdom.  After their parents die in a shipwreck, Elsa and Anna are alone in their castle.  Elsa becomes queen of Arandelle and must conceal her powers until coronation is over.  Meanwhile Anna is taking advantage of her first time out of the castle by exploring, and ends up falling for a handsome prince named Hans, whom she has just met and claims she has fallen in love with.  Elsa succeeds at her task  of concealing her powers until her and her sister get into an argument about Anna wanting to marry Hans after knowing each other for one day.  Elsa becomes angry and accidently reveals her powers to the entire kingdom, putting Arandelle into an eternal ice and snow.  Everyone is in shock, and she runs away in fear.  Her sister Anna runs after her and is determined to find her sister and have her unfreeze the land.  She asks a young man named Kristoff, his reindeer Sphen, and a cute snowman named Olaf to help her find her sister, and they set off on an adventure.  Anna eventually finds Elsa and tries to talk her into coming home but Elsa refuses and accidently hits Anna in the heart with ice.  Anna begins to feel weak and Kristoff brings her to a healing troll who says Anna will die and the only way to save her is by an act of true love. Meanwhile the people of Arandelle have captured Elsa and locked her in the dungeon of the castle.  Kristoff brings Anna back to Arandelle in a hurry.  When they get there, Kristoff asks the people to bring her to Prince Hans as soon as possible.  The people bring Anna to Hans to receive her true loves kiss, when suddenly Hans reveals he was only after the crown and he didn’t really love her.  He then locks the door leaving Anna alone to die.  Olaf unlocks the door and tries to find a way to save Anna.  Meanwhile Kristoff sees ice and snow erupting from the castle, and he races back to save Anna.  Elsa breaks out of the dungeon and tries to run back to her castle on the mountain, but Hans finds her and tells her that her sister is dead.  Elsa is devastated and falls to the ground in grief.  Meanwhile Olaf sees Kristoff running back to save Anna and Anna uses all of her strength to run outside to meet him in hopes he can save her.  Anna is running to Kristoff and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Hans about to kill her grieving sister.  She looks back and forth debating which way to go, and she than decides to run towards her sister.  Kristoff is watching just as Hans is about to swing his sword, Anna jumps in front of him to save her sister and turns into a solid ice statue and breaks the sword.  Elsa looks up and sees her frozen sister and drapes herself over her and weeps.  After a few moments, Anna and the entire city of Arandelle melt and become the summer it once was.  This was the act of true love.  Elsa and Anna embrace and Elsa begins to control and enjoy the powers she possesses.  Hans is band from the kingdom, Kristoff and Anna share a kiss and it’s once again happily ever after.

The featured Princess this week is Elsa!

Pros:
- Ice Powers: Who doesn't want ice powers!  They are wicked cool (no puns intended).
- Strong:  Elsa has to have some major strength for maintaining her powers, dealing with their parents death alone and composing herself long enough to become queen of Arandelle.
- Caring:  She is willing to run away and isolate herself for her entire life to keep Anna, her family and her kingdom safe.  Even though this may not be the best option, its the thought that counts.
- Let it Go: Need I say more?
- Idina Menzel = Queen

Cons:
- Sheltered:  She literally hides away and doesn't speak to her sister for most of her life.  She doesn't open up and learn to embrace her powers and feelings.
- Deals with her powers in an unhealthy way: She thinks that the way to control her powers is to not feel, which is absolutely insane and impossible to do as a human.  Part of this view of her powers was due to her parent's ideas, but she should embrace them and find their beauty!
- Runs away from her problems: When the whole kingdom found out about her powers she ran away without explanation and when her parents died, she left Anna to grieve alone.  That is so NOT cool Elsa.

As a huge advocate for Mental Health, I think Frozen has a lot of statements to say towards Depression.  Elsa shows many signs of a depressed person and shows the negative outcomes of keeping those feelings locked up.  Be an Anna and support those Elsa's around you.

Let me know what you think!  Comment Below!

The Heart is Not So Easily Changed

Frozen was released by the Walt Disney Company in 2013 (IMBD). Two sisters, Anna and Elsa are princesses of the kingdom of Arandelle.  The oldest sister Elsa has magic powers of ice and snow, and accidently harms her sister Anna while they were playing together.  Elsa must learn to hide herself and her powers for the well being of herself and the kingdom.  After their parents die in a shipwreck, Elsa and Anna are alone in their castle.  Elsa becomes queen of Arandelle and must conceal her powers until coronation is over.  Meanwhile Anna is taking advantage of her first time out of the castle by exploring, and ends up falling for a handsome prince named Hans, whom she has just met and claims she has fallen in love with.  Elsa succeeds at her task  of concealing her powers until her and her sister get into an argument about Anna wanting to marry Hans after knowing each other for one day.  Elsa becomes angry and accidently reveals her powers to the entire kingdom, putting Arandelle into an eternal ice and snow.  Everyone is in shock, and she runs away in fear.  Her sister Anna runs after her and is determined to find her sister and have her unfreeze the land.  She asks a young man named Kristoff, his reindeer Sphen, and a cute snowman named Olaf to help her find her sister, and they set off on an adventure.  Anna eventually finds Elsa and tries to talk her into coming home but Elsa refuses and accidently hits Anna in the heart with ice.  Anna begins to feel weak and Kristoff brings her to a healing troll who says Anna will die and the only way to save her is by an act of true love. Meanwhile the people of Arandelle have captured Elsa and locked her in the dungeon of the castle.  Kristoff brings Anna back to Arandelle in a hurry.  When they get there, Kristoff asks the people to bring her to Prince Hans as soon as possible.  The people bring Anna to Hans to receive her true loves kiss, when suddenly Hans reveals he was only after the crown and he didn’t really love her.  He then locks the door leaving Anna alone to die.  Olaf unlocks the door and tries to find a way to save Anna.  Meanwhile Kristoff sees ice and snow erupting from the castle, and he races back to save Anna.  Elsa breaks out of the dungeon and tries to run back to her castle on the mountain, but Hans finds her and tells her that her sister is dead.  Elsa is devastated and falls to the ground in grief.  Meanwhile Olaf sees Kristoff running back to save Anna and Anna uses all of her strength to run outside to meet him in hopes he can save her.  Anna is running to Kristoff and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Hans about to kill her grieving sister.  She looks back and forth debating which way to go, and she than decides to run towards her sister.  Kristoff is watching just as Hans is about to swing his sword, Anna jumps in front of him to save her sister and turns into a solid ice statue and breaks the sword.  Elsa looks up and sees her frozen sister and drapes herself over her and weeps.  After a few moments, Anna and the entire city of Arandelle melt and become the summer it once was.  This was the act of true love.  Elsa and Anna embrace and Elsa begins to control and enjoy the powers she possesses.  Hans is band from the kingdom, Kristoff and Anna share a kiss and it’s once again happily ever after.

The featured Princess this week is Anna!

Pros:
- Brave:  She is willing to go save her kingdom and help her sister without hesitation.  She is willing to go through every obstacle for Elsa.
- Optimistic:  Anna has an optimistic view on life and sees the good in everything and everybody,  though sometimes she can be a little too optimistic.
- Selfless/Loving:  She is willing to sacrifice her life and her true love to save her sister, even after her sister shut her out.  This is the ultimate sacrifice.  

Cons:
- Naïve/Too trusting:  She not only "falls in love" with Hans after one day, she also wants to marry him and trusts him to manage her kingdom while she's gone.  This was not one of her brightest moments.
- Doesn't let things go: If she would have obeyed her sister and let it go when Elsa didn't give her blessing to her and Hans they never would have gotten into such a mess.  She also wouldn't have been struck in the heart with ice if she would have let Elsa be.  Let it go Anna! ;)
- Clumsy: Let's face it, Anna is a bit of klutz.  She trips over things, runs into people (*cough* Hans *cough*) and falls off of mountains.

Despite her flaws, Anna has a heart of gold and we admire her for that.

Let me know what you think!  Comment Below!