Once upon a time right now : a critical analysis of the representation of the female lead characters in Disney’s feature length animated films

Abstract

The aim of this research is to find out whether the representation of Disney female lead characters in feature-length animated films has evolved throughout the years. This was done by looking at and comparing the three different eras of Disney princesses: First Era (1937 – 1959), Second Era (1989 – 1998), Third Era (2009 – Ongoing). In order to collect the required data, I chose to analyse four Disney princess films by conducting a thematic analysis. The chosen films are: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Aladdin (1992), Moana (2016), and Encanto (2021). Moreover, four main themes emerged from the analysis: personality, appearance, relationships which is further divided into: love, hate, and saving, and aspirations. It was evident that while in the First Era and in certain themes of the Second Era, female characters were rather stereotypical, nonetheless, in the Third Era female characters became androgynous.