There are obvious reasons why so many people love Disney movies. For instance, many include princesses, catchy songs, and deeper meanings. But they’re more than just movies—they’re a variety of life lessons. The best part is, we didn’t even realize just how much we were learning while we watched them. Here are six things we learned from Disney.
Equality.
Remember the movie “Mulan?" She was a girl that pretended to be a male in order to save her ill father. This was during the time that females were seen as lesser in war, but Mulan showed them up and proved that girls can fight just like "one of the boys."
Dream big.
“The Little Mermaid” is filled with catchy songs and fun moments, but we also learned to dream big. Ariel, the main character, is a mermaid that dreams of living on the land, becoming a normal person, and who falls in love with a prince named Eric. For obvious reasons, this seems highly unattainable. But if Ariel never tried and let the odds defeat her, she would never have had all of her dreams come true.
Independence.
The older Disney movies showed characters with independence, but when “Frozen” was released in 2013, it was taken even further. Anna must be saved by an act of true love, and this comes from her sister Elsa, not a boy. This demonstrated that you don’t need a boy’s affection—you need family.
Not to judge.
“Beauty and the Beast” is a classic example of why you shouldn’t judge others based on their appearances. Belle makes assumptions about the Beast because of his angry and tough exterior, but learns that there is beauty within him and falls in love with him anyway.
Being a child is awesome.
“Peter Pan” is famous for introducing us to Never Land (which would be awesome). Peter Pan never wants to grow up and he shows Wendy that being a carefree child is fun. It showed us that we wouldn’t be young forever and to embrace the simplicity that is childhood
But growing up is awesome, too.
On the flip side to Peter Pan and his love for Never Land, Wendy showed us that growing up is fun too. She let us know that being mature and moving on is both natural and essential. Peter showed us that we must embrace what we have, but Wendy showed us that the inevitable shift of growing up would be great too.
