I grew up loving Disney movies, especially the princesses. I watched "Sleeping Beauty," "The Little Mermaid," "Cinderella,", and "Beauty and the Beast" on repeat. I wanted to be a princess more than anything, dressing up as Aurora for Halloween and always pretending I was Ariel every time I went to the swimming pool. I was so young when I watched these films, I did not even release the types of messages they were injecting into my brain. As I grew up, I realized that the things I thought were inherently true were not what I thought they were at all.

Like everyone else, my perspectives changed as I grew up. Each new lesson and realization changed my perspective on the world. When I was a little girl, my idols were white, wealthy, unrealistic, and beautiful cartoons. By only seeing one type of girl depicted in movies, I assumed that this is what I would look like when I grew up. The older I got, the more I realized that I would never look like a princess, nor would anyone else. I did not even think about other races—I was white and all the characters in my favorite movies were, as well. I think watching Ariel so many times gave me a false perspective on how the world operated. It made me value being loved by a man more than I needed to as all princesses were waiting on a prince to save them. It felt like my whole life would just be waiting for my own prince, which is not how it should be at all. I also felt that physical beauty was the most important thing about me. I have seen countless artists draw Disney princesses with realistic waistlines, eye sizes, and heights. Seeing the two illustrations side by side made me realize how absurd the princesses were drawn; there are no real women who have the bodies or faces of a cartoon princess.

There have been a few movies in the past ten years trying to break these norms and create more relatable princesses. "The Princess and the Frog" displayed the first non-white princess, which was such a long time coming. "Frozen" tried to be about female power, although Anna did have multiple love interests. But I recently saw the newest princess movie, "Moana" and I realized how important this film is for the current generation of young girls. "Moana" is the first kid’s movie that actively and consciously breaks the issues seen in all of the other princess movies.

Moana does not have a love interest; she often is the one coming to the rescue of the male characters. She is also only 14 years old, but young age typically has not stood in the way of Disney's film creators. She will be the first female chief of her tribe and does not need to be married to assume her leadership role. She describes herself as the daughter of the chief, not as a princess. Maui also furthers this theme of gender equality as describing himself as “hero of men” but then adding “and women.” Moana is fiercely independent and is the only Disney princess other than Elsa without any sort of prince. She is also the first Pacific Islander princess, expanding the racial identities of Disney princesses. There is also the fantastic aspect of teaching the audience about a new culture and its histories, which most children’s movies do not often do. Moana is a fresh and relatable girl who does not fit the typical physical or cultural mold of most princesses.

I grew up before any of these modern films were released. I think Moana will show young girls that they do not need to wait around for a man to have an adventure of their own. They can be beautiful with a relatively normal waistline, dark skin and black hair. She is her own hero and these themes will hopefully shift how young kids today view culture, gender, and race.

I still love Disney films, especially the ones I grew up with. They have great songs, adventure, and characters. There is nothing wrong with Disney princesses or their beauty. But, it is important to talk about how only depicting one type of beauty, race, and life aspiration will limit the ideas of young girls. They can be anything they want to be and they should be allowed to love themselves no matter how they are built. "Moana" does all of this and this is why this film is so important.