Just Like Me

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     I had been waiting and waiting for Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' to be playing before my eyes. It took a long time. I didn't watch it in theaters. I didn't buy it on DVD. But finally I watched it this week, on Netflix. As I watched the movie dance across my screen, I melted deeper into my couch. I laughed and sighed, with my sister snuggled next to me, dreamy eyed, feeling all the feels one is supposed to feel while watching a Disney princess film of any kind. I then went to sleep with my head still flying somewhere in the clouds. 

     I know you must think I'm about to tell you how beautiful, funny, charming, and enchanting it was. I will not, however, because those are but my own opinions, although I will encourage you to watch it and create your own. I would like to talk about Belle.

     I like Belle because she is a reader (just like me); she is a dreamer (just like me); she would do anything for her family (just like me); she doesn't allow society tell her what is best and good(just like me). When I was anticipating the movie, I was hoping that she would be so much like me that I could fancy myself as her. I could imagine I was the guest of a singing candle. I could be the one in that stunning, golden gown, gliding with a beast around an empty ballroom. 

     Turns out, Belle isn't 'just like me' she is a petite girl who is perfectly fearless, full of compassion, and apparently not at all disturbed by singing silverware. I, on the other hand, I am a full figured girl who is nothing like the one dancing in that golden dress. One could say that I have a sharp temper, it is easy for me to launch myself into arguments. I am quite dramatic (aka I would strait up faint if plates started singing to me!). I'm gonna be real... my hair is never half as tamed as Belles! I didn't really find any fierceness in Belle's temperament, which I had really hoped for in Princess. 

     I know this is silly, but I was kinda disappointed that she was so far from me, who I was ridiculous enough to believe she could be. Through all that, my viewing of the movie was quite tainted. Belle was just so unexpectedly typical. I wish we (we meaning Disney) would come out with a newer kind of heroine. Who that is less sunshine and rainbows. A girl who is just like me. A girl who is just like you. A someone who is grounded in the reality of all that surrounds her, while she longs for something more (like an adventure in the great wide somewhere). Someone who knows how human she is, and knows that humans can't fly, but she really wants to and is willing to work hard for what she wants. A girl with brains and a yarning for knowledge. I wish we had a real princess. A girl who is just like me but lives a completely marvelous life, filled with adventures that are not possible in this world. 

    What is the big point to all my rambles? Well...

1. I wish princesses were real.

2. I wish the Disney Princesses were more like real girls who do fantastic things.

3. I want to be a Disney princess.

     What do you think? Do you like Beauty and the Beast? Do you think Emma Watson was a good casting choice as Belle? Do you think Disney princesses are as they should be? 

Book Club

     There is a lovely retelling of Beauty and the beast in a book written by Robin McKinley. The title of this book, which I highly recommend is (drumroll...)  Beauty. Check it out and tell me what you think! Don't forget to visit me in the comments!