World Princess Week Concludes with a New Disney Princess Anthem!

Yesterday was the last day of World Princess Week. The week itself was mostly uneventful. Instead of celebrating squarely within the rigid August 25th-31st timeline, Disney had pop-up events throughout the month in anticipation of it. However, they topped the week off with a grand finale in mind by drawing attention to a short YouTube series that may have otherwise fallen under the radar. The series, aptly titled after the new Disney Princess brand campaign, is called "Create Your World: Making a Disney Song." As you may have guessed, the title of the new song is "Create Your World." The web series released a 10-minute webisode once a week for six weeks leading up to the final performance in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland on the last day of World Princess Week.

I was not particularly invested in this web series when it started, so I "binged" all six webisodes on the final day. They portray an enthusiastic performer named Riley grouping four talented young girls, Aubrey, Charlee, Claire, and Ardy to perform the newest Disney Princess anthem in front of the castle at Disneyland. Throughout the webisodes, the girls learn about singing, dancing, and creating an image for themselves. I know this is going to make me sound old, but this series had way too much energy for me. It may be exciting to be able to perform a new song, but the level of excitement in these videos was off the charts. Everyone seemed like they were on a permanent sugar rush. Maybe that's what it takes to keep kids engaged these days?

Some touching moments radiated positive princess values like friendship and support. In one webisode, Riley helped to encourage Aubrey, who was feeling nervous, by telling her stories about how her co-stars helped her get through difficult performances by covering for her mistakes. The girls were encouraged to work together through several team-building exercises, and they all seemed to get along great with no drama. There was a lot of strategic Disney Princess product placement, especially when Riley used princess dolls to demonstrate her anecdotes about performing. I enjoyed seeing the girls work together and share their unique tastes with each other in the episode where they formed their image and came up with a band name, 2C2A Dream, based on the first letters of their names.

What really bothered me about this series was how disingenuous it felt. I'm not an expert on autotune, but during the segment where the girls were recording their vocals, it sounded like it was used to make their voices sound better during the recording process and then not used to make one of them sound worse to highlight a part where she was struggling. During the "live" performance, Riley commented about how well she sang her line at Disneyland, but I'm pretty sure they were lip-synching, having worked at similar events at the Disney Parks in the past. Overall, the series reminded me of the scene in The Cheetah Girls where Raven's character realized that the producer who hired them just wanted a group of diverse faces to perform his mass-produced corporate music and wasn't interested in letting them truly express themselves.

As far as the "Create Your World" song itself, is it just me, or do the Disney Princess anthems sound more AI-produced each time? Unlike the original anthem, "If You Can Dream," and the previous one, "Starting Now," this song includes no direct references to Disney Princesses and instead has a bland generic message about being anything you want to be. The opening lyrics, "You can be brave" and "You can be strong," push the message further in the direction of the modern Disney Princess brand, focusing on physical strength and independence over feminine traits like love and kindness that are considered outdated by today's standards. The repetition of the lyrics "We're dreaming" in the chorus makes it sound like even the songwriters are tired of repeating the same message again every year and are just going through the motions to keep the Disney Princess brand up to date.

While the "Create Your World" web series and song may have been a fun and energetic conclusion to World Princess Week, it left me feeling underwhelmed and skeptical. The over-the-top enthusiasm and blatant product placement made it feel more like a corporate marketing ploy than a genuine celebration of Disney Princesses. Additionally, the song's generic message and AI-produced sound were a disappointment. As someone who grew up with the original Disney Princess anthems, it's disheartening to see the brand prioritize modernity and commercialism over the timeless values and authenticity that once made it so beloved. Nevertheless, I'll always cherish the memories and magic of Disney Princesses, even if the latest iterations don't quite live up to my nostalgic expectations.