The Princess Blog

The Entwined Tales  book series introduced me to many authors I had been previously unfamiliar with. Of them, Shari Tapscott  was far from a favorite of mine. Still, I couldn't resist when her novel Audette of Brookraven , was being offered for free along with several other books from the Entwined Tales authors as a holiday promotion. Since I didn't have very expectations for it, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy of a read this was compared to the sample novellas from her mailing list. This was largely thanks to the quirky antics of the main character, Princess Audette (not to be confused with Princess Odette ). The plot, on the other hand, left much to be desired. Audette of Brookraven  is the fourth book in Shari Tapscott's Eldentimber series, which consists of tales about various princesses from various lands. It's difficult to properly summarize this book because the story is all over the place, which is an issue I've had with all of the work I've...

The internet went a little crazy when Entertainment Weekly released Disney's first promo photos of the fully costumed actors from their upcoming Aladdin  remake last week. Many were disappointed with what they saw, which unfortunately tends to be the case for live-action remakes . For instance, Aladdin's signature purple vest was changed to red, making it closer to the Broadway version of the show. He was also given a relatively nice shirt underneath, which is more than a little confusing for those of us who remember how poor he was in the original film. Will Smith  as the Genie looked a little too much like a normal human instead of a mystical blue entity, but apparently that's still coming . Princess fans were most excited to see previews of Jasmine's wardrobe. In terms of quantity, the internet did not disappoint. We now have images of three of Jasmine's looks that will be featured in the movie as well as a peek at her new handmaiden. For me, this regal...

Kenley Davidson  was the author of my favorite book  from the Entwined Tales series , so I jumped at the opportunity to read her book Goldheart  for free. Goldheart  is the second book from her series of fairy tale adaptations called The Andari Chronicles. It is a reimagining of  "Rumpelstiltskin."  While my favorite version of "Rumpelstiltskin" is still The Princess Pact  by Melanie Cellier , this one is a solid runner up. Kenley Davidson excels at writing stories about capable women with traditionally feminine flaws, which is becoming more of a rarity in modern times . Her characters' weaknesses make them easier to relate to than many of the modern movie princess heroines , who often excel at far too many skills for a well-rounded character. This level of realism also accounts for lack of magic and fantasy in her stories, which is the reason I didn't seek out her books as eagerly as most of the other authors from the Entwined Tales series. Elain...

There are many ways to find immersive princess experiences at the Disney Parks . The most common way is through meet'n'greets. They let you interact with the princess in real life, allowing you to ask them any question you can think of and learn how they might respond, not to mention the terrific photo ops. Another way is through dark rides, which is the official term for the slower rides at the parks that allow you to travel through movie scenes that are recreated by  animatronics , a revolutionary technology that bring sculptures to live with mechanical movement and programming. All of the dark rides at the Disney Parks use animatronics for their constantly moving characters. Until a few years ago, the only Disney Princess dark ride that could be experienced in this way was Snow White's Scary Adventures . This ride was overseen by Walt Disney himself and is one of the few remaining rides that opened with Disneyland's launch in 1955. Even though it feels a little dat...

If you haven't heard the news yet, there was a recent controversy  about an all-male a capella group from Princeton University called the Tigertones , who were pressured into removing the song "Kiss the Girl" from Disney's The Little Mermaid  from their set list. This comes right on the heels of another controversy regarding the holiday classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside" getting banned from various radio stations for similar reasons. Supposedly, both songs counteract the #MeToo movement because they are about women being coerced into situations that they have not consented to. The jury may be out on "Baby, It's Cold Outside," but as far as my favorite redheaded Disney heroine is concerned, this preconception is straight-up wrong. "Kiss the Girl" takes place after Ariel has given her voice up to Ursula in exchange for legs under the terms that Prince Eric must give her the kiss of true love to prevent her from turning into one...

I was thinking about writing a review of Netflix's sequel to A Christmas Prince , but it really speaks for itself. It's a cheap sequel  to an already low-budget movie that isn't worth anyone's time. A better thing to discuss is why Netflix bothered making a sequel to A Christmas Prince  at all, especially after they already contributed a low-budget movie  to the princess-filled month of November , which, while not exactly original, was at least not a sequel. Netflix produces a ton of content. Even Disney Legend Glen Keane is working for them  now! Even though everything they produce is not guaranteed to be a high-quality blockbuster, this unwanted and unnecessary sequel is just the tip of the iceberg. A bigger problem lies below the surface. The best new princess show Netflix has made is actually a reimagining of something from the '80s , and almost every Disney movie in production right now  is either a sequel or a live-action remake . Are there trul...