The continuing story of my life staring at, and taking pictures of, Target packages of Disney Princesses.
THHHHHHWOOOOOOOP.
You could hear Tiana's shoulder hit the cardboard end of the box.
Somebody put Baby in the corner.
There is a new girl in town.....
Look y'alls! Rapunzel is here! And she has her nice flowing magically blonde hair that doesn't frizz! And here is another strange thing- she is one of the 3 new princesses to have.....moms!
Moms?
Moms are ALIVE?!?!?!?!?
Yes they are. And correct me if I am wrong, another princess to have a mom..STILLLLLLLL not in the box......is Mulan.
I am liking this trend. Not of Mulan being outboxed, but of moms being present (read: ALIVE!!!) and the daughters that the moms have are some of the most daring of princesses, aiming their attentions towards a true life goal.
Well.....OK. Rapunzel's true goal was to go out and see the pretty, but I can totally translate that into grabbing life by the horns after being trapped for years and years by fake mom. She defends herself in that tower from a male intruder (wonder if they will end up together? I won't ruin it for yooooou! Bet you can't guess.) She leaves the tower and goes on an adventure. She helps to fight off the dastardly people after them and gets in enough tight squeezes to make her loveable sidekick stroke out. But I don't know, not really, if she is in my powerpack. But I am all for her giving Sleeping Beauty an exit card.
This box, of course, doesn't have Merida in it. It was a weird cut off time between the 2 newest princesses. However, my princess powerpack box (PPP) does have Merida in it. And you know who is plastic strapped right there next to her? Her mother.
(Dimming lights. Sliding kleenex box into center of coffee table. Fresh pot of Taster's Choice on the stove. Gathering a lovely throw blanket for us.)
Let me take a minute to talk to you about Merida and her mom from Brave.
They made me sob. They were so very real... until they turned into bears and such. Mom was trying to mold her daughter to best take on her role in life. And you can remove the princess from it. I see myself in this making sure my child knows how to behave when outside my home. That she represents herself and her family correctly. That she makes wise choices and has the back up responses for the times she doesn't make the wisest choice. The mom wants to secure her daughter's future in a marriage so she can know she is taken care of and because it is her role as queen to create such marriages between families in their land. And I know the mom HATES that she has to try and reign in her daughter. She loves the spirit and independence in her, truly. I know as a mom that one thing I fear most and love most in my children is the part of them I see in myself that I have never let myself indulge in. And the other thing I fear most is seeing their weaknesses that match my own, and I want to berate it out of them. BEARate.
And there is Merida. Not wanting to be molded. Not fitting her parent's picture for her. She is not interested in marriage. She is not interested in a role she should play. She wants to find her own path that includes activities and clothes and desires that don't fit a proper princess. And she wants to choose herself. Not please and fulfill a spouse chosen for her. But fulfill herself. (sob!) Can't you see it? A modern day young woman wrapped up in a Disney story. You do know where she totally would have gone to college, right? I won't say it for fear of eye damage from my readers....but you KNOW.
(You do. I know you do.)
What makes Brave the bravest of all is her sheer dedication to hair care (hollah to all my curlies out there in curvy land).
So while we are at it, sign this petition HERE to stop the vamping of Merida!
So we have Mulan, Belle, Tiana, Rapunzel (for filler and fun hair play) and Merida with Mom in my powerpack now. The question has come up about Pocahontas. It came up a few months ago when I posted the above picture on FB. It came up again after last week's post. I am just not sold on Pocahontas. I am open to those who wish to speak on her behalf. One friend put it to me this way:
She put up with the lame brain John Smith and even placed her head over his to inhibit his murder by her father....and this pacifist princess can paint with all the colors of the wind. ~Siobhan.
Yes, like you, this began to sway me. So I did some research and found that her placing her head upon his as a child was probably part of a ritual to spare and then welcome a stranger. She was captured-ish and then rescued-ish but decided she was "fine" staying with her nappers. I found the movie....fine. Then I yawned. She is gorgeous and could easily go into the PPP for looks alone. I DON'T CARE IF THAT IS SUPERFICIAL RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I SAID IT! She represents her People and looks awesome doing so. Isn't that Kate Middleton for Pete's sake?? Anyhoo, I could trade out Pocahontas for Sacagawea. Not a princess, I know. But was Pocahontas? Wait, should I have been debating her at all?
Go ahead and argue who is in your PPP. I would love to hear (read). You must say WHY! And I am accepting it in short anwer or essay form.
Or perhaps you want to give thought to who would be in your Real Life Women Power Pack? (RLWPP) I know I have. I have asked friends, too. The answer to who is in my RLWPP will wrap up this trilogy next week...
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