Bit of Wisdom from the Emperor in "Mulan"

Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #7: One Person Can Make the Difference – Ray Keating considers and agrees with the Emperor from “Mulan.”

The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.

Disney’s Deserved “Mulan” Mess, Part II

 by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

October 16, 2020

 

Disney, no doubt, wants its Mulan mess to go away. But the issue keeps hanging around.

 

And no, I’m not talking about the decision to serve up the movie on Disney+ for an extra premium price of $29.99. Nor am I referring to the fact that the film has received a mere 50% audience score on RottenTomatos.com, for example.

No, I’m talking about the ongoing mess regarding Disney’s filming the movie in China’s Xinjiang region where prison and indoctrination camps intern Uighur Muslims, while in the movie’s credits, Disney also thanked the government entities guilty of the oppression, along with related propaganda agencies pushing lies. (See the previous DisneyBizJournal column on the topic.)

 

Last week, Disney did get around to answering an inquiry from Iain Duncan Smith, a Conservative MP in the United Kingdom, and Baroness Helena Kennedy, a Labour member of the House of Lords, about this situation. The response, signed by Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture production, was a model of corporate-speak. Bailey managed to serve up a page-and-a-half that didn’t answer any of the issues at hand.

 

For example, Bailey wrote, “Although ‘Mulan’ was filmed almost entirely in New Zealand, in order to accurately depict the unique geography and landscape of China for this period drama, the producers chose to film some scenery in 20 locations throughout the country, including the Kumtag Desert in Xinjiang Province, home to an important passageway along the historic Silk Road. The decision to film in each of these locations was made by the film’s producers in the interest of authenticity, and was in no way dictated or influenced by state or local Chinese officials.”

 

And he later summed up, “It is standard practice across the film industry worldwide to acknowledge in a film’s credits the cooperation, approvals, and assistance provided by various entities and individuals over the course of a film’s production. In this case, the production company Beijing Shadow Times provided our production team with the list of acknowledgements to be included in the credits for Mulan.”

 

To put this in further perspective, Variety reported:

 

The earliest evidence of re-education work in Turpan, the city home to five of the government entities Disney thanked, dates back to 2013. “Mulan” was green-lit in 2015. Early reporting on the camps started to emerge around the summer of 2017. Niki Caro went to Xinjiang in September 2017, posting a photo of sand dunes there to Instagram. The production’s set designer said they spent “months” scouting in the region.

 

During the actual 2018 shoot, China was at the height of its “strike hard” campaign against Xinjiang’s ethnic minority population. Analysts estimate by looking at satellite imagery that there are at least 10 internment camps and five prisons in the other Xinjiang county Disney thanked.

 

How did Iain Duncan Smith respond to the Disney letter? He tweeted: “The reply from @DisneyStudios regarding the filming of #Mulan in #Xinjiang region is very weak and full of platitudes. The reality is that Disney simply does not want to offend China, and have given in to China’s demands and will not stand up to them. Disney's corporate policy does not appear to care about the human rights issues affecting the #Uighurs. It seems human rights come second to the corporate policy of not upsetting China.”

 

That’s hard to argue with, at least in this instance. Variety also noted, “Disney has not issued a formal statement or apology on the matter, and has told creatives involved in ‘Mulan’ to steer clear of the subject.” Yes, Disney apparently is hoping that this would all just go away. I don’t think Walt would be proud.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

Also, get the paperback or Kindle edition of Ray Keating’s new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York.

 

Disney’s Deserved “Mulan” Mess

by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 14, 2020

The release of Mulan on Disney+ was supposed to be a major test case – perhaps a potential gamechanger – for the movie industry. So far, it’s turned out to be a mess for Disney, and deservedly so.

The reported $200-million production budget for Mulan made its release on Disney+, rather than in theaters, a big decision. And then there was the experiment of charging an additional premium price ($29.99) to view it on Disney+, which subscribers already pay for. 

What could be learned from all of this? There’s actually little about the business model for movie releases, and more about the do’s and don’ts when making movies.

The clearest takeaway might be: It’s dangerous for a U.S. business to get into bed with the Chinese communist government.

Also, when filming a movie in China, perhaps don’t do it in the Xinjiang region where prison and indoctrination camps intern Uighur Muslims. For good measure, in the movie’s credits, don’t thank the government entities guilty of the oppression – such as the Turpan Public Security Bureau – and the propaganda agencies pushing lies and covering up.

For good measure, perhaps the movie’s star, Liu Yifei (Mulan), should have refrained from supporting the Hong Kong police for cracking down on pro-democracy protestors last year. And the same goes for another actor in the film, Donnie Yen (Commander Tung), who subsequently did the same thing.

And it’s not a good idea to distort history in order to – intentionally or not? – pander to the Chinese communists’ nationalistic impulses. Writing in Foreign Policy, Jeanette Ng points out:

But the rotten heart of Mulan as a film, rather than its production process, is the accidental regurgitation of China’s current nationalist myths as part of a messy, confused, and boring film. The title card fades into a location said to be the “Silk Road, Northwest China.” This is, of course, Xinjiang—here set up by the narrative frame as an inalienable part of China that Mulan must defend for her father, her family, and her emperor. That’s not the historical reality—or even the reality of the original poem the stories are based on, which depicts Mulan as the servant of a khan of the Northern Wei dynasty, not an all-powerful Chinese emperor.

On September 10, CNBC reported, “Chinese authorities have told major media outlets not to cover Walt Disney’s release of ‘Mulan’, in an order issued after controversy erupted overseas over the film’s links with the Xinjiang region… No reason was given in the notice, but the sources said they believed it was because of the overseas backlash over the film’s links to Xinjiang.” And according to The New York Times, the box office for Mulan in China was underwhelming during its opening weekend, with “a tepid $23 million” that came up short of expectations and other recent major releases, such as Tenet’s $29.6 million opening and The Eight Hundred, a Chinese war epic, registering $75.7 million during its opening weekend.

In the U.S., lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are displeased, and demanding more information from Disney and CEO Bob Chapek. Reuters, for example, reported: 

A group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers urged Walt Disney Co CEO Bob Chapek to explain the company's connection with “security and propaganda” authorities of China's Xinjiang region during the production of live-action war epic “Mulan”. “Disney's apparent cooperation with officials of the People's Republic of China (PRC) who are most responsible for committing atrocities - or for covering up those crimes - is profoundly disturbing,” the Republican senators and representatives wrote in Friday's letter. It urged Disney to make a detailed explanation. The letter was retweeted by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), which monitors human rights and the rule of law and submits an annual report to President Donald Trump and Congress.

The lawmakers’ letter also said: 

Publicly available information prior to the filming of Mulan showed the existence of mass internment camps for the detention of Uyghurs. By July 1, 2018, major news outlets in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong all had reported that Beijing had interned hundreds of thousands, if not more than one million, Uyghurs and minorities in the XUAR. The decision to film parts of Mulan in the XUAR, in cooperation with local security and propaganda elements, offers tacit legitimacy to these perpetrators of crimes that may warrant the designation of genocide…”

The Walt Disney Company’s website states, “We believe social responsibility is a long-term investment that serves to strengthen our operations and competitiveness in the marketplace, enhance risk management, attract and engage talented employees, and maintain our reputation.” We seek to fully understand how you implement this commitment in the activities you undertake in China. 

Hmmm, that last point warrants some added attention. In October of last year, when asked about the Hong Kong protests, then-CEO Bob Iger said, “What we learned in the last week – we’ve learned how complicated this is. The biggest learning from that is that caution is imperative. To take a position that could harm our company in some form would be a big mistake. I just don’t believe it’s something we should engage in in a public manner.” Of course, there have been other issues that Iger and Disney have been more than willing to engage on publicly. And what they miss, or choose to ignore, is that if you go into business with a communist government (as Disney has with its Shanghai and Hong Kong theme parks) - indeed, any government - politics are bound to come into play. And it might get uncomfortable – very uncomfortable.

Finally, according to Vanity Fair, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy told the Bank of America Virtual 2020 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference that the controversy over the credits in Mulan has “generated a lot of issues for us.”

Aw, poor Disney executives. The “issues” they face, though, aren’t nearly as dire as the “issues” faced by pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, nor by the Uighur Muslims imprisoned in the Xinjiang region of China, nor by so many others suffering at the hands of the Chinese government led by President Xi Jinping, who seems intent on becoming the next Chairman Mao.

Perhaps the Disney brass needs to be reminded of a couple of things that Walt Disney himself declared…

“I believe that this spiritual and intellectual freedom which we Americans enjoy is our greatest cultural blessing. Therefore, it seems to me, that the first duty of culture is to defend freedom and resist all tyranny.”

“Tomorrow will be better as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life.”

Listen to Walt – those seem to be some pretty sound guiding principles.

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Also, get the paperback or Kindle edition of Ray Keating’s new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York.

Will You Wait Three Months to See “Mulan” to Save $30?

by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

August 29, 2020

So, can you wait three months to see Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan in order save $29.99?

Disney, of course, made a big splash by announcing early this month that Mulan would be skipping theaters due to COVID-19, and instead, be available to Disney+ subscribers on September 4. But Disney+ subscribers, while already paying their usual monthly subscription price, could only access Mulan for an additional $29.99. 

Disney even came up with a cool name for paying extra, i.e., “Premiere Access.” This strategy generated quite the buzz around the movie industry, as well as generating more than a few complaints among customers.

But according to assorted reports today (such as here and here), Mulan will be available on Disney+ on December 4 absent the additional $29.99.

Well, this would seem to add another layer of question marks and uncertainty about this strategy. After all, how many mega-Mulan fans are out there on Disney+ who simply cannot possibly wait until December 4 to see this film? I guess we’re going to find out.

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Also, get the paperback or Kindle edition of Ray Keating’s new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York.

Updated Disney Movie Schedule

by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 24, 2020

Given the coronavirus pandemic, movie release schedules just keep shifting. Unfortunately, none of us should be surprised. 

A Disney spokesman said, “Over the last few months, it’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis, and today that means pausing our release plans for ‘Mulan’ as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world.”

Here’s a quick update on release date changes for Disney films (updated just from our piece yesterday!).

• Mulan had been moved to August 21, 2020, but now has been delayed indefinitely.

• The Personal History of David Copperfield has been moved from August 7, 2020, to August 28, 2020.

• Death on the Nile will shift from October 9, 2020, to October 23, 2020.

• The Empty Man will debut on December 4, 2020, rather than on August 7.

• The French Dispatch was set for October 16, but now, like Mulan, has been delayed indefinitely.

• Antlers is now slated for February 19, 2021.

• The Last Duel has been moved from December 25, 2020, to October 15, 2021.

• An untitled Disney live-action film will replace Avatar 2 on Dec. 16, 2021, with the second entry in the Avatar series shifting to December 16, 2022.

• An untitled Star Wars will be moved from December 16, 2022, to December 22, 2023.

• Avatar 3 gets pushed back from December 22, 2023, to December 20, 2024.

• An untitled Star Wars movie gets delayed from December 24, 2024, to December 19, 2025.

• Avatar 4 will debut on December 18, 2026, rather than December 19, 2025.

• An untitled Star Wars will move from December 18, 2026, to December 17, 2027.

• Avatar 5 will arrive on December 22, 2028, rather than on December 17, 2027.

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Also, get the paperback or Kindle edition of Ray Keating’s new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York.

AMC Theaters Reopening Still Delayed

by Beth Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 23, 2020

We were driving home past our local movie theater last night, having been to one of the pop-up drive-in movies that have started filling the landscape near us, and started to wonder: Are the regular theaters ever really going to reopen?

Don’t get me wrong. The pop-up drive-ins are a novelty, and a welcome diversion in our neighborhood, where the COVID-19 infection rates have finally declined. After nearly four months of being in lock-down in our own houses, leaving only for groceries or pharmacy, we are easily amused these days, even spending $25 to drive up to a 50-foot screen to watch a movie THAT WE ALREADY OWN AT HOME from our car. Suddenly, the privilege of eating cooled down microwave popcorn and sweating in the front seat of our own vehicle seems like great fun.

So, when is the current projected reopening for local theaters? That all depends. With COVID-19 rates skyrocketing in some areas, theater owners are hesitant to give a projected date to bring up the curtains at their complexes. Opening dates seem to be a bit of a moving target these days, with several chains changing their debuts a number of times already.

One of the theater chains modifying their reopening dates is AMC, which was originally set to begin phased, limited attendance reopenings July 15, then amended to July 30^th. But according to Deadline, AMC has now pushed back their viewings to mid-to-late August. (A third of all AMC cinemas in Europe and the Middle East are already open.) Cineplex, another of the four biggest movie chains in the U.S. and Canada, began reopening some theaters in Canada, while over on the Regal website, they offer “Announcement of New Reopening Date Coming Soon.” On June 30^th, Cinemark updated its phased reopening timeline to July 24, but has already opened four theaters in Texas and one at Universal Citywalk prior to that date.

Much to the frustration of chain owners, the timing of reopening is, in many respects, out of their control. Governors with phased re-openings, studios with changing film release dates, and a wary public that is skeptical of donning masks to sit through a newly released film have made it difficult to justify opening their doors. Profit margins for theater owners are notoriously thin to start out with, with most theaters making their money on packing the house for blockbusters and selling supersized soft drinks and overpriced popcorn. Opening to low capacity crowds might be just as financially devastating as not opening for the time being.

Among the anticipated tentpole movies that were thought to be kicking off cinema’s return were Disney’s live-action Mulan, whose date has been pushed back a handful of times already, and which currently has an anticipated August 21^st date. Black Widow, one of Disney’s Marvel creations and a prequel to Avengers: Endgame, has been moved to November 6 from its original May 2020 release date. Christopher Nolan’s/Warner Brothers Tenet, expected to be a big box office draw, has been pushed back as well, and according to Deadline, will not have a single day release, but rather will open in stages, opening first in theaters already functioning overseas, and then move to theaters in states that are “open” and cleared for guests to attend movies.  

The Personal History of David Copperfield (directed by Armando Iannucci, with Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie), a Disney Searchlight Pictures film, has already opened in the U.K. to great reviews, and was set to open in the U.S. in May 2020, but has been pushed to August 14^th. The New Mutants, an offering in the X-Men franchise, directed by Josh Boone under 20^th Century Studios, was due out in April 2020, but has been set now for August 28^th. Ralph Fiennes’ The King’s Man, also a Disney 20^th Century Studios film and part of the Kingsman franchise, kicks off September 18. And in perhaps the biggest push back, Jungle Cruise, loosely based on the Disney theme park ride and starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson, was moved from Summer 2020 to July 30, 2021 – as in Summer 2021- in the reshuffles. Perchance it can compete with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, originally rumored to release in 2020, but now listed as a “TBD” date.

For now, maybe we should consider all of the grand opening dates tentative at best.

As for us, I believe Raiders of the Lost Ark is up next for pop-up drive-in viewing.

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

Cancellations at Disney Continue; Mulan Opening Pushed Back

by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

June 27, 2020

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise across parts of the United States, including, most notably, Florida, Disney is facing a wave of additional cancellations and changes. That includes another rescheduling for the release of Mulan.

The biggest hit is the delayed reopening of its Disneyland California parks, announced earlier this week after the news that state officials would not be releasing theme park reopening guidelines until after July 4th. That assured that Disneyland would not have the necessary timeframe to be up and running for their originally proposed July 17 reopening.

And despite the fact that some Disney Springs venues only opened in the last few days, they are already shutting their doors under an emergency order yesterday from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. In a ban on alcohol consumption at bars, the Florida Department announced, “Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide.” The ruling stated that any business that derives “more than 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages” must close. It appears that, at this point, the larger restaurants at Disney Springs may continue operating and serving drinks with meals, but small venues, such as Jock Lindsey’s Hanger Bar and Dockside Margaritas, are closed. No end date to the order was given.

On Friday, Disney Vacation Club cancelled their planned Moonlight Magic events for July and August at Typhoon Lagoon Water Park at Disney World.

Disney also extended cancellations of its cruise lines. According to their release, “Disney Cruise Line is cancelling Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy sailings through September 15, 2020. Disney Cruise Line has already suspended Disney Wonder sailings through September 14, 2020 and Disney Magic sailings through October 2, 2020.” Disney Cruise Line/Adventures by Disney has also extended the suspension of departures from Europe through October 2, 2020, and departures from Canada through September 14, 2020. Adventures by Disney has made the decision to suspend departures of its tours through Tuesday, September 15, 2020. 

The United States isn’t the only locale struggling with travel related issues. Yahoo! Finance announced that The TUI travel agency, one of Europe’s largest tourism companies, will be canceling all U.K. vacations to Florida until December.

D23: The Official Disney Fan Club announced that they are postponing their Destination D: Fantastic Worlds event. “Due to the global impact of the COVID-19 virus and protocols necessary to ensure social distancing, we have made the difficult decision to postpone this year's Destination D event until 2021,” reports the D23 website.  “We plan to announce a new date for Destination D later this year and will continue to host exclusive virtual events throughout 2020.” The three day event, scheduled for November 20-22, was due to happen at Disney World in Florida.

And finally, on a potentially brighter note, the live-action version of Mulan has been rescheduled for August 21st. (Rescheduling is better than cancelling, right?) Originally scheduled for a March 27 release date, then bumped to July 24th, COVID-19 cancellations brought down the curtain in most U.S. theaters, which have yet to open. Additionally, movie theaters in China, one of the markets expected to see the biggest ticket sales for Mulan, have remained closed. 

In Friday’s Variety, Walt Disney Studios' co-chairmen Alan Horn and Alan Bergen offered, “While the pandemic has changed our release plans for 'Mulan' and we will continue to be flexible as conditions require, it has not changed our belief in the power of this film and its message of hope and perseverance. Director Niki Caro and our cast and crew have created a beautiful, epic, and moving film that is everything the cinematic experience should be, and that's where we believe it belongs -- on the world stage and the big screen for audiences around the globe to enjoy together.” 

Reading between the thinly veiled lines, it seems as if August 21st might end up as only the most recently scheduled release date for Mulan. Expect more date changes as COVID-19 continues to throw a curve ball at reopening plans. At least Mulan, it appears, will not go the route of Artemis Fowl, with its release directly to Disney+, and will instead head to theaters – whenever that might turn out to be. 

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See related...

“Additional Disney Parks Set to Reopen; Paris and Tokyo Announce Return Dates”

“Disneyland Reopening Delayed Beyond July 17”

“Disney Spreads Out Opening Dates for Additional Resort Hotels”

“Making Reservations for Entry Into the Parks: Our Experience”

 

“Disney Opens New Reservation System for Theme Park Entry”

“Disney Cancels Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and H2O Glow Nights; Makes Changes to Food and Wine Festival; Park Hopping Suspended”

“Dining Reservations Now Available for Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Guests”

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

Celebrate “National Princess Week” With Your Favorite Disney Princess - Official or Not

by Beth Keating

Feature Story 

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 27, 2020

The last week of April is officially “National Princess Week,” a week to celebrate the princesses in your life and “to encourage little princesses to play the part.” Perhaps livening up your quarantine days by throwing a themed princess party is in order. You can decide for yourselves if that happens to require lots of pink frosting, tea cups, seashells, bows and arrows, beignets or snowmen.

Hold on to your tiara, though: Don’t break out the Frozen soundtrack just yet. I have some shocking news for you. Arendelle’s Anna and Elsa are not considered “official” Disney princesses and are not part of the Princess Royal Court (insert screeching brake noises here!). How can that be?  After all, they are both daughters of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna of Arendelle. For good measure, they’ve brought in a boatload of coin to Disney’s realm, as expected of any good Disney princess. 

Why didn’t the Queens of Arendelle make the cut? They have been given formal welcome ceremonies at Disney World, and even host a sing-along at Hollywood Studios, give tours of Arendell at their ride-through in Epcot, and welcome visitors to the hour long meet-and-greet line at their Royal Sommerhus. They are obviously popular. But they have not yet been crowned as part of the official Princess Royal Court. Did you even know there was such a sanctioned list?

Originally, there were eight “official” Disney princesses included in Disney’s Royal Court: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan. There are currently twelve “official” princesses, though.  In order, they are:

1. Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)
2. Cinderella (Cinderella)
3. Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
4. Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
5. Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
6. Jasmine (Aladdin)
7. Pocahontas (Pocahontas)
8. Mulan (Mulan)
9. Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)
10. Rapunzel (Tangled)
11. Merida (Brave)
12. Moana (Moana)

In recent times, Disney even hosted public coronation ceremonies when Tiana (Princess #9), Rapunzel (Princess #10) and Merida (Princess #11) earned membership on the Princess roster (they haven’t held a ceremony for Moana (Princess #12) yet – she “joined” in 2019). Tiana’s 2010 coronation ceremony took place in New York City (why not New Orleans?); Rapunzel’s 2011 ceremony took place at Kensington Palace(!); and Merida’s (2013) happened at Disney World.  Interesting factoid for you, and one which muddies the discussion, is that Tinkerbell, a mere leader of fairies, had a short-lived reign on the list until Tiana bumped her off the scroll.

In contrast to the Queens of Arendelle, two of Disney’s “top tier” heroines who ARE on the official list are Pocahontas and Moana … daughters of chiefs, but not necessarily “princesses” in the strictest sense of the word. Yet, they get the proverbial, if not physical, tiaras. Moana even insists she isn’t a princess, but Maui retorts, “If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, then you’re a princess.”

What about Princess Leia, now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise? Is she disqualified because she isn’t an animated character? Avatar is now a Disney property in the Animal Kingdom – does James Cameron’s Neytiri, princess of the Na’vi, join the royal court?  There’s also Meg from Hercules. Pardon my literature background for a moment, but Meg is technically a princess twice-over, being the daughter of King Creon of Thebes in Greek mythology. She also marries Hercules, son of the king of the Greek gods, so – yikes – double princess pedigree. Princess Kida, the daughter of the king of Atlantis in Atlantis: The Lost Empire rescues her people, just like Moana …. and Merida… and Mulan. Do these ladies get to hang out in the princesses lounge as well?  (There has to be a special princess lounge hidden away at the parks somewhere.  If not, the Imagineers might want to get on that while they are reconstructing half of Epcot.)

What, then, is the criteria for becoming a Disney princess? Do you have to have an invitation to host one of the Disney character meals at Disney World?  If so, then only Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Ariel and Jasmine at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall qualify, though some of those same royalty share meals at Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Rapunzel and Ariel host a Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast with their princes at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk. (Sofia the First sneaks in at the Disney Junior Play ‘n Dine at Hollywood and Vine, so that blows that theory on me.) 

If you go to an official Disney site (https://princess.disney.com/), the princesses to choose from there are the official twelve: Belle, Rapunzel, Ariel, Tiana, Moana, Cinderella, Aurora, Merida, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Mulan and Snow White.  (They have their special crafts and activities there for your own little princess to enjoy.) HOWEVER, if you click the Disney+ link there to the “Disney Princesses collection,” it takes you to a series of movies that include Anna and Elsa in Frozen, and even Elena of Avalor, a new entry to the cannon from the Disney Junior channel. (Perhaps she’s not a full-fledged princess because she only has a TV series and not a full-length movie?)  Then, oddly, the link also includes Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway (Princess Mia of Genovia) in The Princess Diaries, along with Princess Rosalinda of Costa Luna (played by Demi Lovato) with Selena Gomez in the Princess Protection Program.  So, they’ve called them princesses, but they aren’t on the “official” court list.  No animated avatar, perhaps?

Now that Disney owns 21st Century Fox, what becomes of Russia’s Grand Duchess Anastasia, the poor missing Romanov heir.  She’s royalty, but perhaps she’s outside looking in at the official castle because her 1997 animated film Anastasia was directed by Don Bluth, who jumped ship from Disney before starting his own studio. Oops.

Maybe the princesses themselves offer us a glimpse of the resume requirements.  In Ralph Breaks the Internet (Wreck it Ralph II), they quiz Venellope as to her princess qualifications:

Rapunzel: Do you have magic hair?
Vanellope: No.
Elsa: Magic hands?
Vanellope: No.
Cinderella: Do animals talk to you?
Vanellope: No.
Snow White: Were you poisoned?
Vanellope: No!
Aurora, Tiana: Cursed?
Vanellope: No!
Rapunzel, Belle: Kidnapped or enslaved?
Vanellope: No! Are you guys okay? Should I call the police?
Ariel: Then I have to assume you made a deal with an underwater sea witch, where she took your voice in exchange for a pair of human legs?
Vanellope: No! Good Lord, who would do that?
Snow White: Have you ever had True Love’s Kiss?
Vanellope: Ew! Barf!
Jasmine: Do you have daddy issues?
Vanellope: I don’t even have a mom.
Princesses: Neither do we!
Rapunzel: And now for the million dollar question. Do people assume all your problems got solved because a big strong man showed up?
Vanellope: Yes! What is up with that?
Princesses: She is a princess!

Turns out (spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the movie) Vanellope IS actually a princess, though not one of THE princesses, but she had her memory wiped and doesn’t remember her royal status. In the end, she decides she’d rather be called president.

Of course, while we often assume that a princess character should be born of royalty (Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Merida, and Aurora), or married to royalty (Cinderella, Belle, or Tiana), some of the girls reach princess-hood by virtue of an act of heroism (Mulan, Moana, and Pocahontas).  Since there is no official roster of criteria for being one of the “Royal Court” princesses, we’ll leave you to decide what you think the true criteria is.

Now, I’ve probably buried the lead way down here at the bottom, and if you don’t want me to take the glitter off of your princess week celebration, stop reading right here.  The first National Princess Week?  It was started by Disney in partnership with Target, April 22, 2012. Julie Andrews (Queen of Genovia) was there to help kick-off the celebration, and the Princess Diaries DVD promptly went on sale.

I think I’m going to go watch The Little Mermaid now. I’ll look for my tiara later.

Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.