Favorite Singing Voice

My favourite Disney Princess singing voice is Ariel from The Little Mermaid!

Canonically, Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty is supposed to be the best singer? But considering she has, like, seventeen lines in her whole film, I’m ignoring her. After all, Ariel’s voice is a major plot point!

Where would be in, both in Disney and in musical theatre, if it weren’t for the first film of the Disney Renaissance styling itself on a Broadway musical?

And then becoming a Broadway musical?

Favorite Romantic Moment

My favourite romantic moment in any Disney Princess film is the moment when the Beast changes into Prince Adam because Belle says “I love you” just before the final rose petal falls in Beauty and the Beast.

They’re outside the tower in the rain and the Beast is wounded and dying from his battle with Gaston, and Belle’s exhausted from her wild ride back to the castle, and all she wants is for him to live because she realises she doesn’t want to be without him.

That’s love.

And then the rain changes colour and the music swells and some magical force raises the Beast up like he’s Jesus rising from the tomb and then BAM he’s this ridiculously good-looking HUMAN man.

Literally the power of her love transforms him.

 

Which, unfortunately, as romantic as that is, is a terrible trope that no one is real life should ever expect to happen.

Favorite Villain

I nominate Jafar the Royal Vizier from Aladdin as my favourite Disney Princess villain.

Quite simply, because he wins. He gets what he wants. He starts out as just a small-time hypnotist, and grows in power.  He outsmarts everyone, climbs to the height of power, and it’s only because of his love of ultimate power, his narcissism, and a quick-thinking street rat that he is defeated.

I love that his sidekick Iago the parrot is named after Shakespeare’s greatest villain, I love how dry his wit is. I love how he doesn’t even want to marry Princess Jasmine to begin with – it’s really just a means to an end. I even love how the voice of the movie Jafar, Jonathon Freeman, went on to play Jafar in the Broadway show. That voice!

 

Favourite Outfit

There is no two ways about it, Belle’s ballgown is my absolute favourite outfit ever worn by any Disney princess ever, even beating out Elsa’s magical shimmery blue dress, Tiana’s insanely gorgeous green wedding gown, Cinderella’s switcheroo, and Aurora’s changing colour gown.

I love Belle’s ballgown so much that I wore a ballgown to my own wedding.

I love the way it swishes and flares and the way it’s animated and everything about it is perfect.

Favorite Non-Animal Sidekick

Olaf from Frozen.

When I first saw Frozen I didn’t really like Olaf. I thought he was annoying and something about him being a snowman annoyed me even more – maybe I had a less neutral reaction because The Snowman cartoon is banned in my family’s house because it makes my brother cry. Doesn’t matter that Walking In The Air is covered by one of my favourite bands.

But on subsequent viewings I found Olaf positively charming. He’s so funny and innocent and quirky.

I grew to adore Josh Gad’s performance, especially his rendition of In Summer.

It was Gad’s performance of Olaf that led me to being more interested in the musical The Book of Mormon, in which he was an original major role.

Olaf has been pretty influential on me. I got married shortly before Frozen became a huge hit, and Olaf said something that really resonated with me.

Shortly after I got married, my husband decided to seek treatment for his mental illness, and that meant I was to become his carer. That meant putting his needs before my own. At first it was a bit of a struggle, but I’ve learned, thanks to the wisdom of a comic relief sidekick snowman.