This paper examines the creation of female archetypes
in the classic Disney Princess films, with the emphases of villains Vs heroes.
It concludes that Disney’s female body on screen has been in support of
patriarchal stereotypes over a long period, up until the films Brave and
Frozen. Their innovative characters broke such stereotypes and introduced a new
female hero narrative; one that is more ‘female friendly’. The Literature
review is integrated throughout this paper.
Within the Disney animated films, the design of the
on-screen female body and face of the villain female characters uses strategies
that are consistently different from the design of the heroines (i.e. the
princess figures).
The villainous characters in particular use specific design features to directly link their characters evil nature to their physical appearance. There is an implication that their 'otherness' is marked by their ‘failure’ to correspond to specific ideas of what a 'good' female body should be.