Disney Princesses

[mimitchi33]

I have faith in that Sofia the First spinoff with Disney's first Hispanic princess. That demographic of preschoolers deserve better than Dora or Handy Manny, and I'm sure the producers know what they're doing with the characters and culture (which would probably cover a broad spectrum of Latin American cultures, including Spain).

That series was able to get a spin-off because it was a preschool series that didn't speak down to it's viewers and was more story-centric. It even has a fanbase rivaling the Gravity Falls and Phineas and Ferb ones in size, mostly comprised of teenagers and college students, who call themselves "Sofia the Fandom". And I'm not ashamed to say I'm part of it. It even got Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cancelled (however, Mickey's getting a racing show on Disney Junior in two years from now, so this may be like Dora being cancelled for Dora and Friends: Into The City!) because it's ratings were higher. I'm looking forward to Elena, and can't wait to watch the special that introduces her!

 

[Drtooth]

You got to hand it to Disney. They did two things really right with Sofia. They were able to make up their own princess of not White Euro stock, and they managed to make an engaging, entertaining preschool series without cloning awful 00's era formula. Meanwhile Dora still does the blank faced sitting around for her to answer her own questions schtick. What was the point of aging her up if they were going to just give her the same exact show? Oh yeah. Merchandising. Duh.

I also give huge props to Star vs. the Forces of Evil for taking a freaking hatchet to princess tropes and magic girl ones as well. I'm glad to see that we can have goofy, clumsy, but well meaning female characters to go with the male counterparts. We need more wacky female characters in cartoons. There's nothing wrong with wacky. Also, gotta love the threat of the "Wayward Princesses" home. That gives the series the right amount of dark.

 

[Harleena]

We need more wacky female characters in cartoons. There's nothing wrong with wacky.

OMG, I totally agree! The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Mabel (and her friends) from Gravity Falls and Pinkie Pie, but Pinkie exists in a mostly-female cast anyway.

 

[Drtooth]

That's why Pinkie Pie is beloved, even by guys. She's like the kid friendly, non-murderous, female version of Deadpool.

I'm tired of the all men are Homer Simpson, all women are Wonder Woman thing. Being goofy, wacky, or extremely light hearted isn't a sign of weakness or a horrible personality flaw. Look at Ariel from the Little Mermaid. She was a little goofy and quirky and had an adorable personality. Now look at Belle. She's pretty much stuck up and feels she's better than everyone else. That's a personality flaw. And worse, Gaston, the "villain" of the piece is just as stuck up. And we're rooting for someone with the same egotistical personality flaws as the villain. She wasn't strong, she was one of the biggest jerks in a movie full of Jerks. Heck, the father and LeFou were the only likable characters in the movie.

 

[mr3urious]

I also give huge props to Star vs. the Forces of Evil for taking a freaking hatchet to princess tropes and magic girl ones as well. I'm glad to see that we can have goofy, clumsy, but well meaning female characters to go with the male counterparts. We need more wacky female characters in cartoons. There's nothing wrong with wacky. Also, gotta love the threat of the "Wayward Princesses" home. That gives the series the right amount of dark.

I also love how Star can easily hold her own in a fight despite being wacky and a bit ditzy. Even Mabel Pines can throw a mean punch when she gets the chance.

 

[mr3urious]

Also, I can't believe we've gone all this way without mentioning Princess Calla from The Gummi Bears. She was real ahead of her time in that she was very adamant at avoiding princess-y things and even got her chance to shine in episodes like "You Snooze You Lose", and "Girl's Knight Out". Sunni Gummi, on the other hand, was the one who really desired to be a classic princess.

 

[mr3urious]

I am very happy with how Elena of Avalor is turning out. Seems like it's going to be a show for girls who just graduated from Sofia the First, seeing as how the protagonist is a teenager and will be more about her learning good leadership skills rather than solving more fantastical problems. We also have a solid cast full of enough Hispanic actors, including George Lopez's TV father-in-law as Elena and Isabel's grandfather, and even Carlos Alazraqui as one of the talking flying cats called Jaquins.

 

[snichols1973]

I'm glad to see that we can have goofy, clumsy, but well meaning female characters to go with the male counterparts. We need more wacky female characters in cartoons. There's nothing wrong with wacky.

And how could we ever forget Anna, the heroine of Frozen....?

Even though she has more light-hearted moments around Kristoff, she still cares very deeply for her sister Elsa.....

 

[Drtooth]

I am very happy with how Elena of Avalor is turning out. Seems like it's going to be a show for girls who just graduated from Sofia the First, seeing as how the protagonist is a teenager and will be more about her learning good leadership skills rather than solving more fantastical problems. We also have a solid cast full of enough Hispanic actors, including George Lopez's TV father-in-law as Elena and Isabel's grandfather, and even Carlos Alazraqui as one of the talking flying cats called Jaquins.

I still need to catch that one.

I really like that Disney found a way to ad ethnicity into the line up without trying to shoehorn it into an existing fairy tale like they did with Princess and the Frog. I really hope this has bearing on the Princess line up, as it's a TV show and they end to not be kind to that sort of thing (otherwise, totally Mira Nova and Star Butterfly should be on the list).