Ariel

Under the sea. Under the sea! It's Ariel!

Another princess from the early '90's.. well 1989 but still! Oh childhood! And much like other Disney Princesses, she has a dark original story by Hans Christian Andersen.

There was once a young mermaid who lived with her father King Triton, her grandmother and her five sisters. When a mermaid was able to turn 15 they were able to swim to the surface to observe humans. The humans were fascinating creatures with life spans shorter than a merperson's but had an eternal soul. The little mermaid (Ariel) was fascinated by the human world and on her trip to the surface witness a storm and saved a young prince's life. She saved the young prince's life by bringing him to a temple but the prince never saw her face.

Part of Your World

The little mermaid, now in love with the prince goes to the sea witch in exchange for legs and a human life which the sea witch gladly gives her a potion, in exchange for her tongue and that she can never come home. The little mermaid makes the deal and drinks the potion which makes her feel like she is being cut in half.  She then lives on land and the prince is attracted to her beauty.  His father however, orders him to marry a princess in a neighboring country. The prince refuses to marry the other princess claiming he will only love the woman who saved him. It is then revealed that the princess was staying in the temple that the little mermaid brought him to and the prince, believing it was her who saved him, marries her.

The little mermaid, now heartbroken, wishes to return to the sea so her sisters give their hair to the sea witch in exchange for a knife. The little mermaid is instructed to kill the prince and let his blood drip on her feet thus returning her to mermaid form. The little mermaid cannot complete the task however and throws herself into the ocean where she dies and becomes a spirit and must wait 300 years before entering heaven.

No one lives happily ever after except for the delusional prince and foreign princess. The end.

Needless to say, I am glad Disney changed the ending to be a happy one.

Fun Facts before you get too depressed:
There are many adaptations of The Little Mermaid including the Disney version, a musical, a ballet, and many, many books and spinoffs (many with happy endings).

There is a Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.


There is slight controversy with the original cover of the VSH, with statements that a part of the castle looked like a male's member. There is also a scene later in the movie that shows a small bulge (like an erection) on a clergy member and a woman filed a lawsuit against the corporation, only to drop it two months later.

Jodi Benson also did the voice for Vanessa (Ursula's human voice) and 'Tour Guide Barbie' in Toy Story 2.

Happy Ending.

Julie Andrews and The Colbert Report

Julie Andrews on The Colbert Report to talk about Princess Week and her new books.

Julie Andrews also sings with Stephen Colbert.



This is fantastic. Thank you Meghan Lima.

Cinderella

Now for the popular favorite... the second official Disney Princess... Cinderella! 

Where do I even begin with this girl?

Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper was first published in France in 1697 by Charles Perrault but is known throughout many different countries with small twists to each of them. Cinderella continues to influence many modern stories such as A Cinderella Story. Because there are so many different versions, I'm going to stick with the Brothers Grimm version (like I have done for the other princesses).

When Cinderella's mother was dying, she called her to her death bed and asked Cinderella to always remain kind and generous and God would protect her. Cinderella's father after some time, married another woman that had two daughters of her own, like the classic Disney tale, they were all wicked and cruel (...This never ceases to amaze me how dumb the father was to marry into this mess). Cinderella plants a hazel tree at her mothers grave and goes to it three times a day to pray.

One day the King decides to throw a ball for the land, wanting his son to choose a girl to marry. All eligible women are asked to attend. Cinderella begs her stepmother for permission to go and the stepmother threw lentils into the fireplace ashes stating that Cinderella could only attend if she picked them all out within an hour. With help from two white doves, Cinderella accomplishes the task the stepmother quickly rushes out with her two stepdaughters leaving Cinderella weeping. When Cinderella returns to her mothers grave wishing to go, the birds drop a sliver gown and gold shoes (pimped out) down from the tree and assists Cinderella but she must leave before midnight. She goes to the ball and falls in love with the prince.

Cinderella loses track of time and runs out losing a shoe in the process.  The Prince goes on a quest to find her and tries the shoe on her stepsisters feet first. In order for the shoe to fit, one stepsister cuts off her heel and the other cuts off her toe. The prince was only alerted to the trickery by the birds. The prince comes back a third time and Cinderella tries on the shoe and the prince instantly recognizes her (really dude?).  They are soon married and the stepsisters try to gain favor with the prince and new princess but the doves swoop down and peck out their eyes. And they lived Happily Ever After.

Into the Woods (a musical) follows this plot (intertwined with others of course) pretty well in terms of Cinderella.

The Disney version seems to follow Perrault's version (it has a fairy Godmother and such).

Fun Facts:
In the Disney movie: Cinderella's bed sheet has patches, but when the birds fold it, the patches are gone.

Ilene Woods, voice of Cinderella, got her show biz start at age 2 and quit at age 17 when she married and became a mother!

Facts from IMDB and story help from Wikipedia.