Getting invited to a Disney Movie Press trip is one of the best validations that a parenting blogger can receive. I was so excited to attend the Christopher Robin Premier. If you’ve read each of my Disney posts then you’ll get a unique understanding of just how happy I was. On the last day of my trip, I had the opportunity to meet three talented and gifted women: Pamela Ribon, Ami Thompson, and Kira Lehtomaki. They took us behind the scenes and explained exactly how the princess scene made it into the Movie.
Pamela Ribon Wrote the Princess Scene
Both Inspirational and brilliantly hilarious, Pamela Ribon wowed me. She is one of the co-writers for the Ralph Breaks the Internet movie and also the voice of Snow White. This scene almost, broke the internet for real and I’m thrilled to tell you more about how it came to be in the movie.
After a conversation with a friend, who was also a huge Disney fan and employee, Pamela took that conversion and was inspired to use the Disney stereotypical princesses and make them relevant to youth today. The scene itself is hilariously memorable, important, and potentially iconic. The star of the sequel is in many ways Vanellope Von Schweetz. When she enters the room full of Disney Princesses she seems grounded in her own skin. She is brave and daring as she faces the other princesses who are startled by her presence. After watching the scene and everyone’s interaction there is no doubt that Vanellope has secured her claim as a princess. The scene itself gives Vanellope a keen sense of belonging and promotes diversity among women. While their movements, mannerisms, and personalities are all different, they still are able to figure out their commonalities.
Creativity Meets Femininity
Furthermore, the princess scene has already made a name for itself. There are already lots of conversations on the internet referencing the Disney princesses. However, when I first saw the “Oh My Disney Dot Com” scene, there were several important lessons that stood out to me. First, having the princesses dress in casual attire and not dressed in formal wear, as usual, is phenomenal. Why? Well, women sometimes face criticism when they are not dressed their best like that is the only time they are truly presentable. For example, as a teenager, I remember an adult female told me that if she ever saw me in public, even if it were at Walmart, she expected me to be dressed well, and with makeup on. That concept troubled me and made me self-conscious whenever I went out. So this scene left me with a positive message, you can be beautiful in whatever you wear. So I loved that they wore hoodies and yoga pants. It was also reassuring to me because I traded-in my business suits to be a stay-at-home mom and entrepreneur and my main outfits of choice are now hoodies and leggings.
Ami Thompson, Art Director, characters told us about the formalities to take the princes from 2 dimensions into 3 dimensions and bring about their color, style, and idiosyncrasies. She also talked about how much time and research that went into planning the princesses shirts. She stated, “the whole crew came up with [several] designs for the princess shirts. Each of the [princess’] shirts have a reference about their own film.
Female Friendships
Next, I loved the comradery of the young princess. This is a huge concept in my world because growing up girls often prided themselves for being friends with boys rather than other females. However, when I became a woman I felt like I needed a group of women that I could relate to and talk with outside of my husband. Frankly, I soon realized that women need each other just like men need each other, and these princesses; although, uniquely different each has a few similarities that encourage them to create inseparable bonds.
Kira Lehtomaki (One of two Heads of Animation)
Told us that the original artist came in and taught the new Disney artist how to recreate the women with their personal unique styles. In fact, there was a full lab of people who worked on the animated characters and created the images that we see within the movie.
Princess Personalities
Lastly, the unique personalities that each of the young women portrays can help young girls and boys appreciate their own quirky sensitivities even more. There was so much detail that went into recreating these beautiful princesses into the fun-loving girls that we see on the screen, it makes me really admire Disney’s movie-making process. Overall, I believe, our message to our kids should be “Be comfortable with you are because you are loved and special.” The Oh My Disney scene embodies this phrase completely.
For the Love of Art
Overall, Disney movies are art and art tells a story. Of course, you have the main story that is obvious, but there are always subtle lessons to learn that may fit the personal experience of the person viewing the artwork. While these are the lessons I learned, when you watch the movie, I am sure you will have other lessons that truly stand out to you. Watch Ralph Breaks the Internet and come back to this post and let me know which lessons stand out to you the most and why.
**Images provided by Disney**