Lesson 2: Pretty Princesses
Welcome dear students! In this second lesson of Disney Studies, we are going to meet some of the most beloved characters of Disney. They are strong, they are pretty, they have beautiful voices, and their dreams always come true. You guessed it right! This class is time for the princesses to come out of the castle and have fun! Let’s start!
SNOW WHITE from the movie SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS: Snow White is a nice princess whose only fault was to be born beautiful and with a pure heart. These characteristics made the Evil Queen to be extremely jealous of her, to the point of attempting to kill her! Fortunately for Snow White, the compassionate heart of Humbert the Huntsman (who was instructed by the Queen to rip Snow White’s heart out of her) cannot bear to kill her, and instead frees her and tells her to run away and hide. After a difficult and scary night in the forest, Snow White finds a little log cabin that is the perfect home for her! When she finished cleaning the house she went to sleep and rest for a while, but she was woken up by the true inhabitants of the cabin: seven dwarfs. Snow White soon befriends them and they let her stay with them. After some happy days, the Evil Queen returns, this time disguised as an old woman that sells apples, and ready to finish Snow White once and for all. While Snow White was busy making an apple pie for his dwarf friends, the old witch comes and gives her a poisoned apple that instantly puts Snow White into a deep slumber. Believing that Snow White was dead, the seven dwarfs start hunting the old witch, but a mistake committed by her ends up with her life. While the dwarfs were mourning Snow White, the Prince she had met appears, gives her a true love kiss and Snow White wakes up to finally start living her happy ending!
Important characters include: Snow White, the Evil Queen, the Prince, the Magic Mirror, Humbert the Huntsman, and the Seven Dwarfs: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy and Dopey.
Important characters include: Snow White, the Evil Queen, the Prince, the Magic Mirror, Humbert the Huntsman, and the Seven Dwarfs: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy and Dopey.
MUSICAL MAGIC:
Some Snow White’s songs include:
Some Snow White’s songs include:
- “I’m Wishing”
- “With A Smile And A Song”
- “Whistle While You Work”
- “Heigh-Ho”
- “Some Day My Prince Will Come”
FUN FACTS:
- Disney’s first animated feature. It was based on the German fairy tale, written by the Brothers Grimm.
- Some animators were opposed to the name Dopey, claiming that it was too modern a word to use in a timeless fairy tale. How did Walt Disney convinced? He told everyone that Shakespeare had already used that word in one of his plays! They believed him and accepted, however, such word is yet to be found in Shakespeare’s texts!
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was one of Adolf Hitler’s favorite films.
- All the dwarfs were modeled after real people.
- The Prince was supposed to be a more important character, however, due to the difficulties it caused animating him, his parts on the film were reduced considerably.
- Fifty ideas for the dwarfs' names and personalities were listed in the film's proposal, some of them include: Awful, Biggy-Wiggy, Blabby, Deefy, Dirty, Gloomy, Jumpy, Nifty, and Shifty, to name a few.
- Mel Blanc was called to voice Dopey but the character went mute. Funny thing is, that years later Mel Blanc wast again called to voice Gideon the cat from Pinocchio, but...you guessed it right! The cat also went mute!
- Some planned scenes but never animated include: The Evil Queen locking the Prince in a dungeon and enchanting some skeletons to dance for his amusement, and Snow White imagining, while singing “Some Day my Prince will come”, that she is dancing in the clouds with her beloved prince!
- Disney wanted Snow White’s voice to be very exclusive, so Adriana Caselotti’s contract was very strict and she could never get another real singing part in any other movie, although she was a classical trained singer.
CINDERELLA from the movie CINDERELLA (1950)
THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS: The story of Cinderella is one of the most common ones. A girl who is left orphan but under the care of an evil stepmother and two stepsisters. From owner, Cinderella soon became the maid in her own home. Despite being mistreated, Cinderella’s spirit never dies, and she tries to continue living life in a happy way and dreaming of the day when all of her dreams come true. When the Prince organizes a ball to which all of the ladies of the kingdom are invited, Cinderella gets very excited and asks her stepmother, Lady Tremaine, for permission. She agrees only if Cinderella finishes with all of the housework, a task that Cinderella completes thanks to the help of her mice and bird friends! Unfortunately, Lady Tremaine doesn’t keep her word and destroys Cinderella’s dress instead. Just when Cinderella thought that everything was over, her Fairy Godmother appears to save the day (or the night!). She gives her a beautiful ball gown, accompanied by a gorgeous pair of glass slippers, and the only condition was for Cinderella to be back before midnight. In the ball, Cinderella meets the Prince and dances with him…they fall in love! When the clock struck twelve, Cinderella ran away and the only track she left was one of her slippers. The next day, the Prince starts to search all over the Kingdom, looking for the girl whose foot can fit into the slipper and marry her. Lady Tremaine’s witty mind realizes that Cinderella is the girl the Prince is looking for and locks her in her room, but Cinderella’s mice, Jaq and Gu,s help her and Cinderella arrives just before the Grand Duke was leaving her house. The slipper fits perfectly and Cinderella marries the prince, making the dream her heart made a real one!
Important characters include: Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella, Prince Charming, Jac, Gus, and Lucifer.
Important characters include: Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella, Prince Charming, Jac, Gus, and Lucifer.
MUSICAL MAGIC:
Some Cinderella’s songs include:
Some Cinderella’s songs include:
- “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”
- “Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale”
- “The Work Song”
- “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”
- “So This Is Love”
FUN FACTS:
- Disney’s 12th classic animated feature. It was based on the story “Cendrillon” written by Charles Perrault.
- The transformation of Cinderella's torn dress to that of the white ball gown was considered to be Walt Disney's favorite piece of animation.
- Cinderella was voiced by Ilene Woods, however, Woods never really auditioned for the part! Some friends sent her singing recordings to Disney (without her knowing), he loved them, contacted her, and the rest…the rest is history!
- After World War II, and when Disney was capable of producing full-length animations again, he wasn’t sure about which movie to launch first: Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland. Two animation teams competed, and the one that won and finished first was Cinderella’s team. Alice in Wonderland was released one year later.
- Gus’ full name is Octavius.
- All the animal characters in Cinderella were written to speak. Major had a song entitled "Horse-Sense" which he sang with Bruno after being scolded for growling at Lucifer.
- Walt Disney had not had a huge hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney insiders claim that if Cinderella had failed at the box office, it would have been the end of the Disney studio. Fortunately, the movie was a big hit and allowed us to live much more of Disney’s magic!
AURORA from the movie SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959)
THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS: Aurora is a princess that was condemned since she was just a little baby. When she was born three good fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, arrived to bring her gifts. Flora gave her the gift of beauty, Fauna the gift of song, and just when Merryweather was about to give her gift, Maleficent, the evil fairy, appeared and cursed the little princesss, telling her parents and the whole kingdom that Aurora was going to die when she turned 16 and after pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. Merryweather was able to reverse the curse, and instead of dying, Aurora would sleep until she is awakened by the true love’s first kiss. Unsatisfied with that, King Stefan orders all of the kingdom spinning wheels to be burn, but the fairies believed that wouldn’t stop Maleficent so they decided to hide Aurora in the woods and bring her back to her family after she had turned 16. On the day of her 16th birthday, Aurora meets Prince Phillip when she was picking berries in the forest. They instantly fall in love and decide to meet again later that evening. When Aurora arrives, the good fairies tell her of her royal nature and warn her that she won’t be able to date the boy she met in the forest because she was already engaged. Desperate and sad, Aurora returns to the castle to meet her parents, but Maleficent manages to lure Aurora away from the fairies. She falls in Maleficent’s trap and pricks her finger with a spindle, so the sleeping curse started to take action. The fairies decide to put the whole kingdom to sleep until Aurora wakes up, and after they learn that the guy Aurora met in the forest was actually Prince Phillip, they see a good chance for the curse to be broken. They rescue the Prince and he battles and defeats Maleficent. After that, Aurora receives her true love’s kiss, wakes up, and lives happily ever after!
Important characters include: Aurora, Maleficent, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Prince Phillip, King Stefan, King Hubert, and Queen Leah.
Important characters include: Aurora, Maleficent, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Prince Phillip, King Stefan, King Hubert, and Queen Leah.
MUSICAL MAGIC
Some Sleeping Beauty songs include:
Some Sleeping Beauty songs include:
- “Hail To The Princess Aurora”
- “The Gifts Of Beauty And Song”
- “I Wonder”
- “Once Upon A Dream”
- “Skumps (Drinking Song)”
FUN FACTS
- Disney’s 16th classic animated feature. Based on the stories The Sleeping Beauty by the Charles Perrault and Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm.
- Princess Aurora's long, thin, willowy body shape was inspired by that of Audrey Hepburn.
- Aurora means “dawn”. The name comes from the original Perrault story (although it wasn’t the princess’ name but her daughter’s name), and Briar Rose (the name Aurora uses when she was hiding in the forest) comes from Brothers Grimm story.
- The famous scene in which Flora and Merryweather argue because of Aurora’s dress color, actually happened! That scene was inspired because the animators couldn’t decide to make Aurora’s dress pink or blue.
- Aurora is one of the mutest characters in Disney’s films! She has around 18 dialogues and only appears in the film for about 18 minutes! With that, we can say that the main protagonists of the film are the three good fairies.
- The last fairy tale produced by the studio, up until The Little Mermaid, which came 30 years later!
- Several story points for this film came from discarded ideas from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They include Maleficent's capture of the Prince and the Prince's daring escape from her castle.
- Before the song “Skumps”, King Stefan and King Hubert originally had an argument at the beginning of the film. It was a song called “It happens I have a picture”, and they proudly presented portraits of their children to each other.
ARIEL from the movie THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989)
THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS: Ariel is the only Disney princess with a rare particularity: she is a mermaid! Ariel is a playful girl who loves adventures and has a special interest in the human world. Her sidekick, a fish named Flounder, always accompanies her in all of her trips without getting into major troubles, but things start to get complicated when one night Ariel comes out to the surface and falls in love with Prince Eric. When the boat where Prince Eric was travelling starts to sink, Ariel goes to the rescue and saves his life. She sings to him while he was regaining his conscience, but before he truly wakes up, Ariel runs away. Our little mermaid hadn’t been happier in all of her life, but when his father, King Triton, learns that she is in love with a human, he gets really mad and destroys her secret grotto where she kept all of her human treasures. Upset with her father’s reaction, Ariel goes to Ursula, the sea witch, seeking for advice. Ursula tells her that she can give her a pair of feet in exchange for her voice. There was one catch though: if in three days Ariel hasn’t received a true love’s kiss from Prince Eric, Ariel would become Ursula’s property. Without thinking about the consequences, Ariel accepts. Flounder, Sebastian the crab, and Scuttle the seagull, help her while she was on the surface, however, when Ursula sees that it is really possible that Ariel succeeds, she transforms into Vanessa, and using Ariel’s voice hypnotizes Prince Eric and they plan to get married the very next day. Ariel is heartbroken, but when Scuttle finds out Vanessa’s true identity, many of the sea animals come to the rescue. Ursula reveals herself and Prince Eric finally recognizes Ariel as the girl who saved him one day (the girl he truly loves). Just when the happy ending was about to happen, Ursula kidnaps Ariel. This time, Prince Eric rescues her and kills Ursula. Amazed by Prince Eric’s courage and aware of the real feelings of her daughter, King Triton transforms Ariel into a human, allowing her to live her happy ending!
Important characters include: Ariel, Prince Eric, Ursula, Sebastian, Flounder, King Triton, Scuttle, Grimsby, Flotsam and Jetsam, Chef Louis, Carlotta the maid.
Important characters include: Ariel, Prince Eric, Ursula, Sebastian, Flounder, King Triton, Scuttle, Grimsby, Flotsam and Jetsam, Chef Louis, Carlotta the maid.
MUSICAL MAGIC:
Some Little Mermaid songs include:
Some Little Mermaid songs include:
- “Part Of Your World”
- “Under The Sea”
- “Poor Unfortunate Souls”
- “Kiss The Girl”
- “Les Poissons”
FUN FACTS:
- Disney’s 28th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classic series. Based on the story The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen.
- Did you know that the song “Part of your World” was almost cut from the film? When it was tested with an audience of school children with little success they were about to cut it, however some musicians and animators fought for it, and during a second screening the result was great, so the song stayed!
- Jodi Benson sang 'Part of Your World' in the dark to get that 'under the sea' feeling.
- Originally, Sebastian was to have an English accent. It was lyricist/producer Howard Ashman who suggested him to be Jamaican. Thanks to this, “Under the Sea” had a totally different feeling, which landed on an Academy Award.
- This was the last Disney animated feature to use hand-painted cels and analog camera and film work.
- Ariel and her sisters' tails consist of the colors of the rainbow. Attina orange, Alana violet, Aquata blue, Arista red, Adella yellow, Andrina indigo, and Ariel green.
- The dress Ariel wears during her dinner with Eric is actually a combination of different dresses worn by every Disney princess prior to her
- The Little Mermaid is the movie that brought Disney into its renaissance era in 1989, after repeated defeats at the box office.
BELLE from the movie BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)
THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS: Belle is considered one of the bravest princesses. Living in a boring little town in France, Belle dreams of “adventure in the great wide somewhere”. She is a bookworm and that doesn’t seem to fit in her village, where girl’s ultimate goal is to get married. Constantly courted by Gaston, Belle wants something more for her life. When her father Maurice gets trapped in the Beast’s castle, Belle rescues him and offers to stay instead. The Beast accepts because he has a secret: he is an enchanted prince, and in order to break the curse he must fall in love and make the other person love him back before the last petal of a rose falls. In the Beast’s castle, Belle is accompanied by Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth, who welcome her and try to make her feel like home. When Belle enters the West Wing, disobeying Beast’s orders, he gets extremely mad. Poor frightened Belle runs away and leaves the castle, only to be attacked by wolves. Beast comes to the rescue, and when Belle heals his wounds, a new relation starts between them. Beast realizes that he has strong feelings for Belle, and a change in his attitude along with an amazing gift (Belle’s own library!) do the trick! Belle is also starting to fall in love with Beast however she is sad because she hasn’t seen her father. Beast gives her a mirror that shows you whatever you want to see and lets her go when he sees that Maurice is sick. Back in her village, Belle has to deal with Gaston’s plot, who threatened to put Maurice in an asylum if she didn’t marry him. Belle’s refusal angers Gaston, and when he realizes that Belle is in love with Beast, he goes to hunt him. After a battle between them, Gaston is defeated, but not before mortally wounding Beast. When Belle arrives she confesses her feelings to the dying Beast and the curse finally breaks just before the last petal of the rose falls!
Important characters include: Belle, Beast, Gaston, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Maurice, Lefou, Wardrobe, and Monsieur D’Arque.
Important characters include: Belle, Beast, Gaston, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Maurice, Lefou, Wardrobe, and Monsieur D’Arque.
MUSICAL MAGIC:
Some Beauty and the Beast songs include:
Some Beauty and the Beast songs include:
- “Belle”
- “Gaston”
- “Be Our Guest”
- “Something There”
- “Beauty And The Beast”
FUN FACTS:
And with this, we have wrapped up our second lesson! I know it was a little bit long but I hope you have enjoyed it! See you next time with a darker lesson!
- Disney’s 30th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classic series. Based on the French fairy tale of the same name.
- Art director Brian McEntee color-keyed Belle so that she is the only person in her town who wears blue. This is symbolic of how different she is from everyone else around.
- Lyricist Howard Ashman died eight months prior to the release of the film. At the end of the credits you can read: "To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we will be forever grateful."
- The majority of the sculptures seen in the castle are different earlier versions of the Beast.
- Did you know that Chip originally had only one line? but then, the producers liked Bradley Pierce's voice so much that extra dialogue and action was written for the character. The original "cute" character of the movie was a music box, which later was cut from the film.
- Julie Andrews was considered for the role of Mrs. Potts.
- The song 'Be Our Guest' was originally supposed to be sung to Maurice instead of Belle. They changed it because Maurice is not the focus of the story and they didn’t want to waste a great song on a secondary character.
- The dance between Belle and her Prince in the finale is actually reused animation of the dance between Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty.
- David Ogden Stiers (the voice of Cogsworth) originally auditioned for Lumiere.
- An original draft for Gaston's demise was supposed to be that the wolves would kill him after surviving his fall from the Beast's castle with a broken leg.
And with this, we have wrapped up our second lesson! I know it was a little bit long but I hope you have enjoyed it! See you next time with a darker lesson!
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty_(1959_film)
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053285/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid_(1989_film)
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097757/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film)
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101414/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2