Please, please, you guys, Iām begging you to actually WATCH the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
WATCH.
THE.
MOVIE.
Because the Prince kissing Snow White is, to me, one of the most heartbreaking scenes in Disney history.
And hereās why.
First of all, the Prince is clearly close to Snow Whiteās age. He is both drawn and voiced as very youthful. He looks and sounds about 16 or 17, at the oldest. He is NOT a āpredatorā. Heās a boy who loves a girl, like in any good fairy tale.
Secondly, the Prince meets Snow White early in the movie. Sheās NOT a complete stranger to him at the end. And their first meeting is significant. The Evil Queen makes a big deal out of Snow Whiteās looks, being āthe fairest of allā, etc. But the Prince is first drawn to Snow Whiteās VOICE. Heās captivated by her singing and her kindness to the birds. He sees beyond her looks. He sees past the rags she wears and recognizes that this is a good person, a beautiful person on the inside. Then when sheās startled by him, heās very polite and soft-spoken, apologizing for frightening her. Heās a total gentleman. Then he serenades her, letting her know how much he admires her. (Words that she has NEVER heard from ANYONE else in her life, by the way.) Then he even smiles at and is kissed by a dove that lands on his finger, hinting he has a connection with animals somewhat like hers.
And then thereās a fade to black. So we actually donāt know if she came out again, if they talked for a while. Maybe they didnāt, but maybe they did. The film doesnāt clearly tell us one way or another. But there is a possibility that they did get to know each other a little there. And if they didnāt, something is still beginning between them. They share warm smiles and affectionate looks. They both feel it, and they both hope to pursue it.
Then Snow White finds out her stepmom wants her dead and has to run away. Which means the Prince noticed her absence.
And the narrative text later tells us that he āsearched far and wideā for her after she disappeared. (This guy walked so Fiyero could run, letās be real.) Imagine the person youāve been thinking about, hoping to get to know, wondering if they may be the one, suddenly vanished without a trace. And sheās the Princess of your neighboring kingdom. And then the Queen of the same kingdom also suddenly disappears. Wouldnāt you be alarmed? Thereās a chance the huntsman may have gone to the Princeās kingdom for help, and warned him of the Queenās horrible actions. Thereās also a chance that the Queen already had a bad reputation in the area, and the disappearances were a confirmation of what was already suspected. So the Prince nobly tries to find out what happened to his newfound love, worried about her safety. Snow White sings about her hope that she will see him again and tells the dwarfs about him ā¦ but the full truth of the situation is that heās been thinking about her too. Itās a mutual young first love, pure and innocent.
Then the Prince FINALLY finds his belovedā¦ in a coffin. After a āfar and wideā search, there she is, apparently DEAD! All his hopes and wishes for a possible relationship with her are dashed. A 17-year-old who once dreamed of reuniting with his first love has just found her dead. He knows absolutely nothing about the poisoned appleās spell or its cure. He doesnāt know a kiss will save her. He thinks sheās gone. Forever. All he knows is that he has found the girl he loves too late, and he couldnāt help her, despite all his searching. So, he kisses her goodbye. He kisses her as an apology, a sign of regret for lost dreams, a chance that he seems to have been denied. A 2-second touch of her lips to show his devotion. Then he bows his head and grieves.
This moment demonstrates than in him, Snow White has found the genuine love sheās been yearning for. While her stepmother tried multiple times to murder her, now she has someone who genuinely values her, so much so that he searched everywhere to find her when she went missing. Who was so heartbroken and crushed at the notion that she was gone forever that he gave her what he thought was a goodbye kiss, his one and only way of showing what she meant to him before he became haunted by the ghost of her memory, of his failure, of his lost chance at love.
This is a deeply and tragically romantic moment that has sadly been widely misunderstood. Do not slander Prince Florian! He doesnāt deserve it!
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Beyond the Pedestal and the Pyre: How Disney's Darkest "Love Square" Teaches Us True Autonomy
Let's talk about the absolute exhaustion of the modern shipping wars. We have all seen itāwhether itās the boundary-crossing whiplash of Miraculous Ladybug or the painful, persistent tracking in TMNT 2012, modern television loves to reduce romance to a chaotic arena where characters fight like wild animals over a love interest. It strips away character agency, breeds toxic entitlement, and quite frankly, makes me want to turn off the screen entirely.
But once in a generation, a narrative comes along that completely subverts our expectations. It uses a tangled web of desire not for cheap romantic drama, but to deliver a profound, masterfully written commentary on human nature. We saw glimpses of this maturity when The Legend of Korra subverted early love triangles to forge deep, foundational partnerships. But the undisputed blueprint for this storytelling device remains 1996ās dark Disney masterpiece: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Through what can only be described as a thematic "Love Square," this film dissects the stark, terrifying boundaries between Infatuation, Lust, and Genuine Love.
At the absolute center of this narrative web stands Esmeraldaāthe film's brilliant deuteragonist and a fierce Romani dancer. In lesser hands, a character described as universally desirable would be reduced to mere fanservice, a bland prize to be won, or a tool for the male gaze. But Disney gave us a powerhouse. Esmeralda drives the moral compass of the entire film through her razor-sharp wit, bottomless compassion, and absolute selflessness. She isn't wandering around waiting to be saved; she is actively fighting a system of corrupt authority to secure justice and freedom for her marginalized community.
To understand how her presence dismantles traditional romantic tropes, we have to look at the three radically different vectors of desire surrounding her.
1. Quasimodo: The Trap of Holy Infatuation
Quasimodo's attraction to Esmeralda is completely natural, but it comes from a place of deep psychological scarcity. Sheltered, isolated, and continuously abused by a tyrannical father figure who told him he was a monster, Esmeralda is the very first person to look at his face with genuine kindness, patience, and respect.
Naturally, he falls fast. But in his beautiful ballad "Heaven's Light," we see the hidden trap of his affection: he completely deifies her. He views her as a flawless, untouchable angel. While it is completely normal to develop a crush when someone shows you warmth, putting women on a holy pedestal is inherently unhealthy. It denies them their humanity, their flaws, and their reality.
Quasimodo has a heart of pure gold, but he isnāt emotionally ready for a romantic partnershipāhe needs to discover his own identity outside of his stone tower first. The beauty of his character is that when he discovers Esmeralda loves someone else, he completely subverts the toxic "Nice Guy" trope. He doesn't get bitter. He doesn't get possessive. He chooses radical, platonic allyship, remaining her protector and celebrating her happiness with the man she chose.
2. Claude Frollo: The Incel Logic of Holy Lust
On the absolute opposite end of the spectrum sits Judge Claude Frolloāthe definition of a predatory, narcissistic abuser. Frolloās obsession with Esmeralda is a toxic cocktail of systemic racism and violent sexual projection. He spent decades trying to ethnically cleanse her people, but the moment he sees her command the stage at the Festival of Fools, his rigid, self-righteous worldview shatters.
Because he cannot handle his own lack of discipline, he projects his sin onto her body. To Frollo, she isnāt a human being; she is a witch, a temptress, and a sexual object that must be conquered, dominated, and put in her place. The sheer visceral horror of him sneaking up behind her to sniff her hair and grope her neck remains one of the most chilling depictions of sexual harassment in animation history.
Frollo's entire psychology is built on modern incel logic: he blames the victim for his own desire. In his mind, itās not his fault that heās a predator. Itās not his fault heās a stalker. It is always "Esmeralda's fault" for just existing and breathing. His legendary villain anthem "Hellfire" is a terrifying manifesto of patriarchal entitlement. When she escapes, his bruised ego burns down half of Paris, leading to the unlawful imprisonment and off-screen murder of countless innocent citizens. His ultimatum at the pyreā"choose me or burn"āproves that predatory lust would rather destroy a woman completely than allow her to possess her own bodily autonomy. Her spitting in his face is the ultimate rejection of his entire oppressive system.
3. Phoebus: The Clarity of Genuine Love
Finally, we have Captain Phoebusāthe green flag that anchors the narrative. What sets Phoebus apart from both Quasimodo's deification and Frollo's objectification is that Phoebus sees Esmeralda as an equal.
He doesn't look at her and see an angel or a witch; he sees a brave, sharp-witted, soulful, and brilliantly confident woman. He respects her combat skills, listens to her political ideals, and is willing to throw away his entire military career and risk execution to protect her people. His love isn't built on what Esmeralda can do for his ego; it's built on a mutual, grounded respect for who she fundamentally is as a person.
The Ultimate Takeaway
Disney's "Love Square" is a timeless blueprint for media literacy. It teaches us the profound difference between loving an idea of a person and loving a real person. It reminds us that true love can expand far beyond romanceāmanifesting as the beautiful, platonic, chosen family that Quasimodo, Phoebus, and Esmeralda build together at the film's conclusion.
Most importantly, it delivers an uncompromising message on consent and autonomy: You are never, under any circumstances, entitled to someone else's body just because you are attracted to them. You don't get to manipulate, harass, or burn down the world because your feelings aren't reciprocated. True love values the safety, choice, and freedom of the other person above all else.
A Deep Dive Into Disneyās Most Underperforming Princess
Princess Aurora canāt even be described as controversial. To most, sheās simply boring, too passive, and a continuation of the bland cycle of white princesses who wait around for magic or a prince to save them. Although no one hates her, they find her irritating at the worst, uninteresting at best. In the fifties, they must have thought the same thing. Sleeping Beauty was a commercial failure, and led to company wide annual loss. Sleeping Beauty had followed several other financial flops, such as Bambi and Alice in Wonderland, the latter costing Disney around half a million dollars. Due to her lack of popularity, Aurora may be one of the most neglected Princesses. Many cling to her out of nostalgia, or because she has a nice design, and they find it hard to defend their love for the movie. But the movieās turbulent history and the amount of detail that went into Aurora herself is what really makes her so incredibly fascinating.
Starting with her design, Disney hired Marc Davis as the supervising animator for Aurora. He also animated Maleficent. The intention was for them to be realistic enough to be placed against the heavily detailed backgrounds of the movie. Davis had embraced this artistic direction, while many of the animators found it, and especially Aurora, laborious and tiring to work on. Both Maleficent and Aurora had to be refined and dynamic. Davis was Disneyās go-to animator for āpretty girlsā, examples being Tinkerbell and Alice. His knowledge of anatomy and the human body brought both Aurora and Cinderella to life, two of Disneyās most visually iconic characters. Davis had also incorporated Art Nouveau and Art Deco into Auroraās design, while the tapestry-like art style of the movie was chosen by Eyvind Earle, who was inspired by pre-Renaissance European art. The score and songs were based on Tchaikovskyās ballet.
Aurora alone required more effort and attention to detail than any princess before her. It took Walt Disney and his team three years to choose a voice actress. They nearly scrapped the project until they discovered Mary Costa, but Disney himself avoided interacting with her in person early on in the project, fearing that sheād influence his vision of the movie.
Aurora was loosely based on her voice actress. Her appearance and her habits (such as gesturing when speaking and singing) were both incorporated into Auroraās animation. She was also drawn to resemble both her live action model, the same one as Cinderellaās, Helene Stanley, and actress Audrey Hepburn. Davis took inspiration from Audrey Hepburnās slender physique and elegant demeanour.
In the book Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment, author Douglas Brode referred to Aurora as āa model of modern (50ās) female glamourā and compared her to Brigitte Bardot. He also compared her gown to the work of Christian Dior.
As a character, she was described by Nerve as being āthe apex of women who made no choices for themselves.ā Aurora is a member of the āGolden Eraā of Disney heroines, the original Princess trifecta. Her dreams are the same as those before her. But itās possible that Auroraās dreams of true love derived from the need for companionship outside of her three fairy godmothers.
On their website, Disney describes her as, āgraceful and kind. She knows that a wonderful future awaits, if you just have the courage to dream it. Aurora enjoys using her imagination and sharing stories with her forest friends. She is also loyal in her relationships -- to her animal friends, her fairies, and her kingdom. Aurora believes in a wish and remains hopeful that she will find the adventure she is looking for.ā
Walt Disney himself described Aurora as being āa very layered character/different. Sheās calm, yet playful. She has a sense of humour, and she has an imagination.ā We can not argue that she was considered layered through the lens of the fifties, because many critics disliked all three of the original princesses for their passive personality, or lack thereof. But from the perspective of the team working on the show, they saw much more to her.
This was the film that Walt Disney worked his hardest on, it took ten years to complete. It was also the very last Princess film he was involved in. Her ālayersā were very much intentional. Disney tried to do the same thing with Cinderella.
With Cinderella, they attempted to make her less passive than Snow White, and they showed this through her rebelling against her abusive stepfamily. Maurice Rapf said, "My thinking was you can't have somebody who comes in and changes everything for you. It can't be delivered for you on a platter. You've got to earn it. So in my version, the Fairy Godmother said, 'It's okay till midnight but from then on it's up to you.' I made her earn it, and what she had to do to achieve it was to rebel against her stepmother and stepsisters, to stop being a slave in her own home. So I had a scene where they're ordering her around and she throws the stuff back at them. She revolts, so they lock her up in the attic. I don't think anyone took (my idea) very seriously."
The toned down version of Cinderella, although rebellious in her own way, is still toned down. That part of her character was written out. In comparison to what she would have been, she is passive. Aurora and Cinderella are both less passive than their predecessors, but passive nonetheless. All three of them are the staple damsels in distress.
However, Mary Costa described Aurora as āvery strongā, citing her urge to defy her guardians as a display of independence and an example of her strength. Aurora was raised by three women, and had never met a man in her life. Costa believed that because of this, she was āinnately romanticā as opposed to lonely or depressed with her sheltered life. To quote, āthere was a certain part of her that maybe she didnāt realise, that was just so romantic and maybe expecting something thatāshe didnāt even know what.ā
She believed that her being raised by three older women rather than her parents made her āa little bit older, and yet, sheā¦had this young, outreaching spirit.ā Author Douglas Brode points out that the fairiesā independent raising of Aurora mirrors āprecisely that sort of womenās commune numerous feminists experimented with throughout the seventies.ā Aurora living in an isolated, female-only space, with female authority, is reminiscent of the bold and liberating radical feminist movement. In her own way, as a peasant, she was independent. And that independence and autonomy was taken from her upon discovering that she was royalty and betrothed to a prince. She was leaving her home and the presumed man of her dreams behind, and not of her own free will.
Aurora had enjoyed her simple life, it had fulfilled her, even if she desired more. She had dreams of finding romantic love, which she talks about in the movieās song āI Wonderā. Additionally, her close relationship with animals demonstrates her loving and kind personality. She has a whimsical imagination, and itās scenes like the ones from Disneyās Enchanted Tales series and āOnce Upon a Dreamā, that would support Costaās claim of her being a romantic. Where sheās changing in and out of pretty gowns with a magical wand, and giggling to herself. Or dancing happily with the forest animals, thinking about her imaginary prince. In āKeys to the Kingdomā, she proudly sings about wishing to make decisions with her heart.
Her independence is demonstrated on multiple occasions in Disneyās discontinued Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams. Aurora graciously accepts responsibility of her kingdom while both her and Philipās parents travel away for a business trip. All on her own, she is determined to get all of her Princess duties finished on time, the hard way. She refuses to take the easy way out, time and time again, even when she doubts herself. She works harder than even her father, who would take the easy way out by signing royal documents without reading them. Even when Meriwether gives her a magic wand to help her out, she reads and fills out every royal form diligently, and helps out all of her subjects. She manages to complete her tasks on time and throw a banquet for her family and Philip by the time they return. The lesson here is to āstick to itā and to āpersevereā. But her insistence on doing everything on her own is shown once again in A Kingdom of Kindness, where she must plan a surprise party for Philip. The three fairies attempt to help her, but she continues to tell them that she wants to do it on her own. This series was cancelled, and it is difficult to find any clips of it online. But this short-series gives us some insight into Auroraās character.
She is assumed to be the protagonist by most, but many consider the three fairies to be the protagonists. They help move the story along, they protect Aurora, and they have distinct, in-your-face personalities. Many consider Aurora authentic, or the title character, but whether she is the protagonist or not has never been agreed upon. Her lack of role in the story has been criticized by many. But some take it as an allegory for the lack of control
The most lengthy debate surrounding Aurora has to do with how feminist her character is. She may have been an improvement from the previous princesses, but she is not regarded as a particularly feminist character.
The three original princesses, all being pale-skinned European princesses with a naive and endlessly forgiving (an unrealistic standard), sends a message to their viewers that this is what princesses should look like, how they should behave. All three classic princesses are deeply intertwined with Disneyās long history of racism and bigotry. In an attempt to amend this, Disney has released back to back live action remakes of their movies, all receiving mixed reviews. Maleficent was Sleeping Beautyās remake, focused on a maternal relationship between Maleficent and Aurora. Many people interpreted the scene where Maleficentās wings get cut off in her sleep as sexual assault. This inclusion made many survivors of sexual assault feel represented by the character.
From my perspective, the original Sleeping Beauty is technically a movie centred around women. A teenage girl lives with her three surrogate mothers, who end up saving her in the end from the female antagonist. Although Prince Philipās role in the story is still a large part of what moves the plot along. It is Philip who is captured, as Maleficent knew that he would go looking for her. He courted Aurora, defeated Maleficent with the help of the three fairies, and kissed the princess awake. But he still doesnāt get as large of a role, or nearly as much screen time, as the three fairies.
In short, both the movie and the princess fascinate me. And although there is depth if you squint, a character does not need to be fleshed out to be lovable, or at least endearing. Aurora is my favourite Disney Princess, and I find the history behind her and the film to be more interesting than what meets the eye.
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I love the comments and defense of the original Snow White but some people are not taking the defensive position that I would take, all things considered.
I mean, asking the question āsince when is it bad to wish for love?ā is one thing, but then sometimes people follow it up with, āand thatās not all she wanted! Thatās not her main goal!ā
Okay I appreciate you but yes it was. Letās just call it like it is. And then donāt back down. Hear me out.
The first thing you learn about Snow-White is from that pretty opening-fairy-tale-book page, where it points out two characters: the wicked and vain stepmother who is afraid of Snow White and dresses her in rags to cover up her beauty, and uses her as a scullery maidāand Snow White herself, who isā¦well, used as a scullery maid.
Treated as a servant, and actively hated by the only family she has. And sheās a child. She hasnāt been alive very long to experience anything other than hatred and jealousy toward herself.
Sheās even talking to birds, and the fact that theyāre clustered around her from beginning to end of that opening scene indicates that theyāre very comfortable with her and she talks to them all the timeābecause theyāre the only positive interaction she gets to have.
Thatās the situation that Snow White is in. But the first thing you learn about who she is and what she wants comes when she wishes in the well. And whatās she wishing for?
Love. The one she loves. A specific, male figure, who will say nice things to her and find her. She wants him to come quick. Why?
How silly. How vapid and shallow of her. How weak and one-dimensional. Please, goodness, canāt someone update her to have some depth?
NO.
She is a young woman who is not given any love and is treated like a horrible nuisance who must be covered up in dirt and rags. She has no friends except birds, who canāt talk back. She is actively hated by the closest person to her.
Itās a miracle she even knows the word āloveā and has the strength of character to believe in it after the situation sheās grown up in.
The song very specifically says āIām wishingā¦for the one I loveā¦to find meā¦today. Iām hopingā¦and Iām dreaming ofā¦the nice thingsā¦heāll say.ā
She wants to be loved because she isnāt loved. Geez, she wants someone to say nice things to her. She wants to give her own love because she doesnāt have anything but courtyard doves to befriend. Of course itās her goal. Of course itās her wish. What wish or goal could be higher? And what wish or goal could be more natural for a character in her situation?
And even more than that, what could be stronger than believing that it will happen? This character whoās been unloved and mistreated by everyone takes a Prince at his word when he says heāll give her that love. He promises it, and she believes him.
She has every opportunity and right to be bitter, hardened, anti-social, self-absorbed (pre-Huntsman and Dwarfs, she could very easily believe that nobody else is going to watch out for her except herself) and jaded. But instead she has this pure faith, which it takes a lot to maintain when everything has been ripped away from you. She couldāve been totally swamped by doubt and bitterness.
I mean, she could worry that the Prince wonāt be able to convince her Stepmother to let him marry her.
Then when she gets chased into the woods for her life, she could fret that the Prince wouldnāt know how to find her.
Heck, she could just forget about him, give up, and say, āthis is my life now, Iām living with these seven dwarfs and weāll take care of each other, I guess thatās the most I can hope for.ā
But no. She has faith in his promise, and hangs on to her dream, and sings, with total assurance, āSomeday My Prince Will Come.ā I mean, she wonāt even let a moment of panic in the woods go by without reprimanding herself for losing that faith, for a second.
Can any of you say the same? Can any of you imagine being that kind of person: the kind of person who unashamedly wants to love and be loved in return, and when everything is stripped away and every chance at that taken from you, you hang on and believe anyway? You stay positive and even joyful anyway? For love?
Come on. Defend that. Yes, her goal was ājustā to be loved. And to love in return. The fear of having her life taken from her, the necessity (not the desire for) freedoms from that, was just an obstacle in the way of being loved. And this isnāt a movie about Snow Whiteās natural reaction to abuse. Itās about her strength of faith in love in SPITE of that abuse. The spotlight is on her strength, not her weakness, but itās strength of faith in love.
Anyway.
If you believe that itās good and fine for a girlās whole goal and fondest dream is to be loved, then donāt stand with one foot in that camp and another in the camp that says āgirls want more than just love.ā No, what? Love is the best thing a girl can want. Iām not talking about āromance.ā Iām not talking about sex. Iām talking about pure, self-sacrificial, kind love. Itās the best thing they can want, and Snow White is one of the only characters who does want it unashamedly, uncomplicated.
Just defend that. Donāt try to argue that the āSomeday My Prince Will Comeā Princess isnāt wholeheartedly after love. Makes it look like you donāt believe thatās as wonderful as it is.
For anyone still in the Aurora did not have any personality phase. I advise you to watch the movie again. Because the more I watch it, the more I start noticing her personality and the higher she goes on my favorite Disney princess list.
Like how she smiles knowingly when the three fairies try to get her out of the house so they can secretly prepare her birthday. They tell her to go pick berryās but she mostly uses the time to wander off and be with her friends.
Or this scene where she actively defies her āauntsā who raised her, by wanting to meet someone. And she tricks the animals into thinking she has actually met someone until revealing she only did this in her dream.
Or how she plays along when the animals dress up as a prince. It so cute and if this does not show personality then I donāt know what will.
When she first meets Philip she is a little shocked because he just joined her in her song. And from her perspective kinda came out of nowhere.
She does two ohās in a row and the first āoh!ā Is surprise but the second is more āoh!ā Heās cute!ā
And she pretty quickly lets him in and can I just say their romance is so believable? I mean for a fairytale you have to believe in love at first sight and there has te be chemistry for that. And Philip and Aurora really make you believe love at first sight is truly a thing.
This scene is so sad. Because she just fell in love and now thinks she will never see him again. And very suddenly everything in her live has changed, she is not who she thinks she is and she had to move and has new sudden responsibilities and is betrothed to a to her knowledge stranger. Yet she goed with the fairies and only starts crying when they get there. Having been holding it all in the whole way there. Sheās not screaming and denying she accepts her faith and caries it. Sheās just so strong. And I really admire her.
I couldnāt find a very good picture of this specific moment. But she holds her finger back just a second before pricking herself. Itās really short. But she is able to defy a powerful spell cast by the mistress of evil herself.
In conclusion, I really love Aurora with her grace, playfulness, and how strong minded she is. She is not the main character but the screen time she does get she uses to the fullest and she is an amazing character to watch and learn from.
