The Princess Blog

Once a year, ABC's hit series Dancing with the Stars  has a night where the performers cosplay as Disney characters and dance to strategically chosen Disney songs. I've been following "Disney Night"  ever since I started my blog , and I've been very impressed with the array of talent and artistry that goes into each performance. When I learned that Monday night was this year's big episode, I thought there was no way they could top the incredible dance numbers they already gave us in previous years. I was wrong. Nearly every performance involved a Disney princess costume or song, and each one was more spectacular than the last. I was blown away by the glamorous costumes and array of musical talent among this year's competitors.They covered songs from both old and new Disney classics with unique twists added to the timeless numbers by remixing them to different styles of dance. The evening kicked off with the signature songs from two of my favorite Disney m...

Due to my obsessive personality, I try my hardest to avoid gimmicky smartphone apps that try to suck up all my time and money, but one slips through the cracks every so often. I downloaded Dress Up! Time Princess  on a whim, expecting to get tired of it after a few days and uninstall it, but then, it blew all of my expectations out of the water. This game  is the most perfect combination of visual novels , dress up dolls , and gacha apps that I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It has all of the best types of princess games rolled up into one. I've played other apps that offer individual facets of this one and got tired of them over time, but Dress Up! Time Princess contains so many different activities that it is impossible to get bored. It combines the best of technology with the best of femininity, something that Disney has been rigorously attempting to weed out of their own princess branding. Similar to the Choices and Lovestruck apps, Dress Up! Time Princes...

After an annoying two-month delay , Secret Society of Second-Born Royals  finally dropped on Disney+ today, marking the streaming service's first original princess movie . Secret Society  was teased all the way back in January  with a clip of Andi Mack's Peyton Elizabeth Lee  in a gorgeous ice blue princess gown running for her life on some sort of important mission. That sequence was featured as promised, but the rest of the film had little to offer in terms of princess content. Secret Society  is the first princess/superhero movie since Barbie's  Princess Power  in 2015 and is a far cry from the animated heroine who received her powers from a magic butterfly and went by the alias Super Sparkle. Oddly enough, I found the lack of humor or camp in Secret Society  mildly disappointing. It takes itself too seriously to fall into the "so bad it's good"  category and comes off instead as a high end Disney Channel Original Movie , which makes...

When the first Women's Rights meeting was held in Seneca Falls in 1848 , some people were opposed to the concept of feminism because it was not considered feminine. By today's standards, it seems silly to even consider a world where women wouldn't be allowed to vote. Modern girls are encouraged to grow into powerful women who can do anything they put their minds to, pushing boundaries and breaking stereotypes. However, what happens when the stereotype they are fighting against no longer exists? Through the years,  Disney Princesses  have represented the ultimate ideal for what it means to be a woman. During the Disney Renaissance era of the '90s, that ideal shifted from a damsel in distress  to a rebel fighting to break free  from the restrictions of her society. Today, a Disney Princess represents a young woman who has already reached the strength and potential of a queen  and is simply waiting for her time to rise to power. In the 1998 version of Disney's Mul...

One of my readers informed me about Rolf Kauka's Once Upon a Time , an obscure German animated adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Frau Holle."  After a quick search, I was pleased to discover that someone had uploaded a nostalgic VHS recording of the entire film on YouTube. The animation reminded me of the old Disney knock-off tapes I used to watch when I was a child, but the storytelling and music were several notches higher in quality. Since there are no other famous adaptations of this fairy tale, I can see that the filmmakers worked very hard to do it justice. They did a terrific job for the time period and what I can only assume was a humble budget. The story has a lot of heart and a unique presentation. What sets Once Upon a Time  apart from other animated fairy tales is that it completely excludes the protagonist from the first ten minutes of the movie. "Frau Holle," the story it is based on, is similar to  "Cinderella"  in the regard...

On September 10th, 1995, our televisions were graced with the amazing adventures of Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders . This show has a lot of special meaning to me. It was one of my earliest obsessions, and I loved everything about it--the story, the music, the costumes, the setting, the artwork... Everything! Many of my other favorite princesses  had live celebrations  for their anniversaries over the years that I was fortunate enough to attend. Thanks to my friends at the Jewel Riders Archive , Princess Gwenevere will not be forgotten either. The archive kicked off their year-long anniversary celebration  one year ago today with a podcast that I participated in with them and some of the other founding members of the fandom. Today, in honor of the 25th anniversary, we recorded a brand new podcast for all of you to enjoy filled with our favorite memories of the show. I have to admit that I enjoyed recording this podcast even more than the last one. Ronnie and Chri...

Believe it or not, History was one of my least favorite classes in school. I hated learning about wars and conquerors and men who made boring tax laws. Yet, without history, we wouldn't have princesses to weave into the fairy tales we tell today. Due to being home a lot lately, I spent the last few weeks binging historical dramas that focused on important female figures. I found that they were far more interesting than the things I learned about in school. These shows have gorgeous eye candy. The character dress in extravagant gowns that you would never see in modern culture . As a companion piece to my "Princess Shows to Binge in Your Tower" post , I thought it would be interesting to put all the historical dramas I've watched into chronological order to create a clearer picture of how women in power have evolved over time. Some of these are a bit of a stretch since the educational value doesn't always trump the entertainment value. Time travel shows are a lot...

This is one of four bonus chapters I am including in my digital box set for The Stolen Trilogy  that was released yesterday on Amazon. It takes place around the middle of my book The Stolen Jewel  and is about Princess Charlotte's love interest, Prince Braydon, and Lily's love interest from The Stolen Queen , Lord Henry, having a fencing match. I did the teeniest bit of research for it, so some of the details may be off. If you enjoyed this chapter, you can purchase The Stolen Jewel  on Amazon to read the book it came from or The Stolen Queen  to read the sequel about Lily and Henry. You can also sign up for my mailing list to read about my other books and learn more about future projects. "The Duel"             Growing up surrounded by the women in his family, Henry felt that it was his responsibility to protect them from potential threats. Now that there were two threats living under the same roof as them, he ...

It's been well over a year since  the first live-action Mulan teaser . As of today, the latest Disney remake is now available on Disney+ as their first premier access original. That means that for $29.99, less than what the cost of a day at the theater for the average family, you can add the new Mulan  to your Disney+ library to watch as many times as you want. There have been some complaints about the additional fee to the paid subscription service, but it was something Disney needed to do in order to even come close to making back their budget after the film  got delayed  from its March 27th release  due to COVID-19 complications . If you don't think it's worth paying extra, the movie will be added to the regular Disney+ catalog on December 4th for no additional charge. After watching it myself, I have to admit that it probably is not worth the extra fee to stream it early unless you are a die-hard fan of the Ballad of Hua Mulan or want to help support Dis...