‘Sexy glitter:’ Disney princesses receive revitalization

Disney is kind of my life. I’m fully aware that as a 21-year-old woman this should not be true anymore, but hey. I worked there for nine months, so I think I’m allowed.
I follow Disney news pretty religiously, and because of that, I saw that the princesses were getting a redesign (or an update on their original looks) late last year.
When I first read the news, I was ecstatic. Walt would have loved that! Keep moving forward! Most of them need a bit of a sprucing up anyway! And then I saw the art that would be put on merchandise and how the costumes in the park would be updated.
I can sum up the new looks in two words - sexy glitter. The princesses all look like they just got out of a Ke$ha concert and for some reason, they all lead with their hips. These are not princesses that little girls should want to emulate.
We’ll go in chronological order, so Snow White is first. Besides the fact that her dress is ridiculously sparkly, there’s not much to disagree with. Her bow is now pink instead of red and on the side of her head, but that kind of makes sense. No one wears a bow on the top of their head anymore, so it is easier for little kids to rock Snow’s look. I’m okay with this one.
Now Cinderella I have a few issues with. Not only were her costume and hair completely redesigned, but also her face. She looks nothing like her movie counterpart. And her dress only reinforces the fact that it has been blue in marketing since the dawn of time, even though in the movie it is clearly a silvery white. Cindy is the only princess that has had a costume redesign at Disney World so far, and I don’t hate it in person. In fact, her shoes are fabulous (which I promptly told her. Don’t judge).
Aurora is a travesty. While her dress makes sense now, and looks way less weird where the sleeves and collar meet, these silly new marketing people MESSED WITH HER HAIR. Aurora’s hair is her best attribute! Yeah, she had weird bangs, but the most beautiful blonde curls in the world. Now she just looks silly.
Ariel. I have issues with Ariel. When her grotto was torn down a few years ago, and she had to be a human instead of a mermaid in the parks, they gave her a dress that was never featured in the movie. Even though we see her in about six outfits in the movie, Imagineers just keep creating new looks for her. It seems unfair. Other than that, her new look isn’t terrible, she just looks like a soccer mom. A really pretty soccer mom, but all the same.
Belle’s new look just appeared at Disneyland this month, and while it is way better than the last look, I still hate it. They’ve made her hair curly and sexy for some weird reason and completely changed the color of her dress. Plus, the way the new bodice is made is going to make her look bigger than she really is, which I assure you, is going to cause a big stir in the costuming department. As for the “merchandise” looks, Belle looks awfully coquettish for the princess in a movie about how appearances don’t define a person. She also has weird “come hither” eyes and her hair is all tousled...let’s just say it looks like Prince Adam is an awfully happy guy.
Jasmine’s new design really isn’t that bad. They’ve bejeweled her outfit, which isn’t terrible and changed her earrings, which just seems a little weird to me, but her hair. HER HAIR. At first I thought that was the exact same Jasmine we all know and love, with the full ponytail, but it isn’t! It’s just one ponytail! Normal! Like she’s going to the mall! There are no little pillows of hair that we all know and love, and for some reason, there is one piece of hair that sticks out of it now. Ummm...what?
Poor, poor Pocahontas. Her redesign is one of my two least favorites. Besides the fact that Disney gave her way too much blush, they’ve also given her ugly earrings, glitterized her dress (which is also some weird high/low dress that she wears with weird fringe boots) and changed her mother’s necklace. Poca runs through the forest all day, painting with the colors of the wind. She has no time for ugly feather earrings that get caught in Grandmother Willow’s branches or glittery dresses. Moving on, her mother’s necklace is kind of an important plot point. It’s her most prized possession. Why would you change that, Disney? Also, they whitened her skin. I have a big problem with that as a person, and they’ve moved around her features on her face, as well as lightened her eyes and hair. They’re trying to make her look white, and guess what Disney, she isn’t. She’s Native American and proud of it.
Mulan is my other least favorite. She looks incredibly feminine, with long hair and a gold dress. First of all, Mulan always felt most like herself when she was dressed like a man. She cut off all of her hair with a sword. Even in the terrible sequel she has short hair. Makes no sense. But my main problem with Mulan is how much they’ve changed her face. Her eyes are blue (really?) and her lips are much fuller - but the bigger problem is how much Disney has white-washed her and changed her face to be much more oval shaped. You can argue that she’s just wearing powder, but she hated that in the Matchmaker scene. Why make her wear it all of the time?
Tiana and Rapunzel both basically look the same. Good for you guys. Only complaint there is that Rapunzel’s hair should be chopped off. Come on, Disney, we all saw the movie. We know how it ends. Her long blonde hair is kind of symbol you made for her oppression. No need to make her wear it forever.
So Disney, I get it. You need to update. I don’t disagree with you. But this is not the way to do it. Let’s go back to the drawing board.