One of the most popular sub-groups within the world of Disney characters
is the Disney princesses. This is a group that includes Snow White,
Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan
(despite not technically being a princess), Tiana and the brand-new
tenth member, Rapunzel, who joins the last three in being a late
addition to the group. The Princesses have an extensive line of
merchandise, including toys, clothes, calendars, books and videos. I
recently watched one of these, Princess Stories Volume Three: Beauty Shines From Within.
Given the title, I was surprised to see that Belle, the protagonist of Beauty and the Beast,
does not appear on this DVD. Instead, it focuses upon Ariel, Cinderella
and Jasmine. Meanwhile, a game in the bonus features involves Ariel,
Jasmine and Mulan. The DVD includes three shorts, each of which can be
accessed separately, though I watched them straight through. Each
includes an introduction by the starring princess in which she directly
addresses the audience while speaking from inside of a magic mirror.
These segments veer toward condescending and moralizing, and the quality
of animation isn’t quite as good. However, I found two of the three
main stories quite enjoyable.
Giggles - In this episode of the Little Mermaid
television show, Ariel’s tendency to get the giggles annoys an ornery
blowfish who speaks in rhyme and uses his magical powers to cast curses.
Consequently, he puts a spell on her that causes avalanches to occur
whenever she laughs. What’s more, if she tells anyone of her affliction,
the effect will be heightened. This is a fun story, and I especially
like the way stodgy Sebastian, who initially also is irritated with
Ariel for giggling during class, tries to get the princess to lighten up
after he notices her somber demeanor. He even sings a fun song about
the joy of laughter. The story builds to a satisfying climax that leads
to deeper understanding between Ariel and her antagonist.
Cinderella Story
- Cinderella is perhaps the most famous of all fairy tales, so even
children who have not seen the Disney movie will probably be familiar
with the story in one form or another. Hence, this segment, which is
simply a recap of the movie, is likely to bore many kids, especially
since it has a stilted quality to it. Cinderella narrates a bit, then a
page turns and we see a few seconds of a scene, then she narrates some
more. The effect is jarring, and I can see a lot of kids wanting to skip
past this one.
Eye of the Beholder - This is an episode of the Aladdin
television series featuring recurring villain Mirage, an
extraterrestrial sorceress with the power to change other people’s
appearances. Somewhat reminiscent of the musical Once On This Island,
this is the story that best fits the theme of the video as Mirage makes
a wager with Phasir, a blind, benevolent magician, that Aladdin will
stop loving Jasmine if she ceases to become beautiful. After Mirage
tricks her into using some magical skin cream, Jasmine begins
transforming into a snake-like creature. Aladdin joins her, Genie, Abu,
Iago and Carpet on a quest to find the mystical antidote that grows on a
faraway tree, demonstrating at every turn how wrong Mirage is about the
frailties of love.
More tales can be found in the Princess
Story Builder Game in the special features. Viewers have the opportunity
to pick one of three stories, one set in Agrabah, one in Atlantica and
one in Ancient China. At several points in the story, kids can use the
remote to indicate which of three choices they would like to have the
character make. This then directs the course of the tale, though I’m not
sure just how much actually changes as I tried each story only once.
The stories also incorporate games that require answering three
questions correctly in order to progress to the conclusion. These are
fun but also rather tedious because there is so much lag time, and it’s
easy to lose patience with it.
While I think that an original story in the place of the Cinderella
recap would have made for a more interesting video, the Ariel and
Jasmine stories are engaging, and apart from the lag time involved at
decision points and game segments, the story builder is a fun game. This
DVD could be better, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to young
Disney Princess enthusiasts.
No comments:
Post a Comment