Recently, Kiera Knightley and Kirsten Bell have both revealed on various talk shows that they don't let their daughters watch certain Disney movies because of the supposedly questionable morals that are in the movies. Quite possibly the biggest question they asked was the question of consent and the message of women simply waiting for a man to save them. They both said they didn't want their daughters to grow up thinking that only a man's true love kiss could save them from any problem they faced.

I, however, do not believe Disney Princess films were trying to portray this message at all. Yes, there's almost always a love interest in these movies, but as a young girl, and even an adult, watching these movies, I never got the message that I needed to wait for a dashing man to save me from my problems, and I certainly never thought of consent when I was five years old. I only saw them for what they actually are, stories that allow people to get lost in a fantasy world for a little while. Just as I never thought it was odd that Princess Aurora danced through the woods and just found her prince through circumstance, I was excited when Mulan saved literally all of China and her prince multiple times. I just knew each story was going to have its own unique characters and teach its own unique lessons.

One glaring example of people criticizing Disney Princess movies for their "questionable" morals is The Little Mermaid, and you can probably guess why that's the case. In fact, it was one of the movies Kiera Knightley said her daughter wasn't allowed to watch. I can understand why people would criticize The Little Mermaid as much as they do, but as someone who grew up on that movie, I don't see the need for people to be so offended by it. Yes, Ariel makes mistakes on her journey, but doesn't every person make mistakes at some point in their life?

When I watch The Little Mermaid, I don't see a stupid girl throwing away everything she has for a guy. I see a girl who loves something so much that she makes sacrifices in order to get what she wants. Does she do this in the best way? Absolutely not, but I always understood Ariel was a fictional character, and that there was a pretty positive chance I was never going to give away my voice to get what I wanted. If we're being honest, the only thing about The Little Mermaid that really bothered me was that Ariel skipped an entire vocal recital! I would have NEVER done that!

I feel like a lot of these thoughts stem from the fact that everyone is so easily offended nowadays and read way too deeply into everything. I have never seen Disney Princess films as films that teach wrong morals. They're all their own wonderful story and a chance for people to forget their troubles for a little while. Maybe kids can learn something from these movies, but I have yet to meet a little girl who honestly thinks that she can't do anything herself and has to wait for a man to save her. It's just best to let them enjoy the stories and have fun in their fantasies. After all, they're only young once.