Once upon a time, in February 1938, Walt Disney unleashed aphenomenon when Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the firstfull-length cel-animated feature film, debuted in theaters all over the United States. The movie broke box office records, and sparked an animation empire, anchored primarily onDisney’s signature bevy of princesses. But though Snow White was Disney’s first full-length movie princess, she wasn’t the first Disney princess.
That honor goes to Persephone, the main character of a 1937Silly Symphonies short that served as a sort of test run for Snow White. The film, "The Goddess of Spring," features Disney’s first realistic maiden twirling and flitting through an idyllic spring world, accompanied by dancing, dwarf-like figures, birds and fairies. Things take a scary turn when a singing Pluto (no, notthat Pluto), the god of the underworld, snatches Persephone and drags her to a jazzy, fiery hell. Spoiler alert: The spring maiden worksthings out with Hades andagrees to spend half the year with him.
Alyssa Carnahan, open studio coordinator at the Walt Disney Family Museum, writes that the project was a chance for Disney’s animators to work on bringing a human character to life. The studio had focused primarily on wacky animals, though early silent shorts featured a real-life girl with long curls named Alice. As they worked on Persephone’s princess-like look and action, animators also developed standards like the model sheet, which allows cel animators to keep character attributes consistent throughout the film.
A look at Persephone shows plenty of similarities to Snow White, from her habit of holding her skirt and twirling, to her proclivity for adorable animals and diminutive people. Persephone might be a goddess, but she’s also the daughter of Zeus and thus a princess, as well—one who exhibits the same characteristics of curiosity, peril and redemption thather later sisters will mirror.
"The Goddess of Spring"wasn’t Walt Disney Picture’s last foray into Greek mythology ormyth-inspired animation (hello, Fantasia), but it’s worth noting that animators used thismyth to practice for their famous retellings of European-style fairy tales in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. Given recent research that shows that both types of tales could share common roots, perhaps it's no surprise that the spring maiden who launched an entire genre of movies was notGerman or French, but rather Greek.
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Erin Blakemore is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist. Her work has appeared in publications like The Washington Post, TIME, mental_floss, Popular Science and JSTOR Daily. Learn more at erinblakemore.com.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel animated feature film.
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is often considered the first Disney princess, but Persephone from The Goddess of Spring actually debuted three years earlier. Persephone, based on the Greek goddess, meets the requirements to be a traditional Disney princess and set the standard for Snow White and future leading ladies.
They were given an official number in the franchise line-up based on the chronological order in which their films were released, starting with Snow White as the first and original Disney Princess and Cinderella as the second followed by Aurora and so on.
“Snow White”'s historical credentials are well known: as the Disney studio's first feature-length film, it marked a significant turning point for Walt Disney himself, for the Disney studio, for the art of anima- tion, and to some extent for American films in gen- eral.
While an argument could be made that Pocahontas is still technically a princess since she is a chieftain's daughter, Mulan quite literally is not, but is included in the lineup nonetheless. She also became the first one of Asian descent as well.
Princess Mary, Princess of Orange (b. 1631), the daughter of Charles I of England, Ireland & Scotland and Henrietta Maria of France (aka Queen Mary) became the first Princess Royal in 1642.
Despite being a princess and being directly affiliated with Disney Princesses in her show, Sofia is not part of the official line-up because she is too young and she did not start with a theatrical movie, unlike the other princesses.
Disney settled on the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "Snow White" (1812) in the spring of 1934. He had been familiar with the story since he was a teenager, having seen the 1916 silent film version, which he would later cite as one of the main reasons for choosing "Snow White" for his first feature production.
But though Snow White was Disney's first full-length movie princess, she wasn't the first Disney princess. That honor goes to Persephone, the main character of a 1937 Silly Symphonies short that served as a sort of test run for Snow White.
The highest-rated Disney Princess film is Cinderella, released after Snow White in 1950. Cinderella's story is perhaps the most well-known Walt Disney film (there's a reason her castle is the highlight of the theme parks).
Moana as she appears in Moana (2016). Inspired by Polynesian mythology, Moana is depicted as the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti.
Humans or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus hom*o. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligence.
The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of Disneyland and Walt Disney World was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His father, Elias Disney, was an Irish-Canadian.His mother, Flora Call Disney, was of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.
On 5 November 1981, Diana's pregnancy was announced. In January 1982—12 weeks into the pregnancy—Diana fell down a staircase at Sandringham, suffering some bruising, and the royal gynaecologist George Pinker was summoned from London; the foetus was uninjured.
Grace was an American film actress who, after marrying Prince Rainier III, became Princess of Monaco and has topped a poll of the most beautiful royals of all time.
The most prettiest Disney princess is Aurora of the "Sleeping Beauty" (voiced by Mary Costa). Her classic beauty, graceful demeanor, and the enchanting story that surrounds her enhance her appeal.
The first Disney princess, Snow White was only 14 years old when she had to face off against the Evil Queen. She wasn't even old enough to be put in the position of ruling a country, but the Wicked Queen was determined to end her life because she was jealous of Snow White's beauty.
This period is the foundation of the 'Princess' genre as a whole. In this generation, Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959) were created. This period sets up the franchise as a whole and establishes the importance of “True Love's First Kiss” and “Happily Ever After”.
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