Rapunzel is apparently a helpless and useless supporting character in her own movie. She gets maybe three lines of dialogue in the 150 second trailer, with the bulk of screentime going to her dashing and adventurous suitor. At least Rapunzel is uber-pretty, because that's all girls are good for in the post-Princess and the Frog Disney regime, right? I concede that this may not be the movie as it is, but rather what they are selling in a panic over the alleged under-performance of The Princess and the Frog (Oh no! Only $267 million worldwide and the hundreds of millions over the next decade in Princess Tiana merchandise!). But the sour aftertaste that this marketing campaign has left in its wake will be tough to shake. Because even if the movie is more evenhanded (and better) than the marketing, a major opening weekend based off of this campaign will signal to Disney that this kind of gender-blackballing works, and that they shouldn't actually chase the female audience with any vigor.
Scott Mendelson
Scott Mendelson
it also doesn't help little girls that Rapunzel is blonde, thin and has blue eyes, either.
ReplyDeleteI wish Disney would focus on creating more positive female characters in female-centric stories instead of recycling stupid Euro-centric fairy tales.
Rapunzel's eyes are actually green, not blue.
ReplyDelete