Being a princess means more than wearing a tiara. Princesses save the day — they scale mountains, they read books, and they never apologize for being awesome. Disney's new princess ad is an empowering reminder of all the female heroes the studio has given children to look up to over the years, alongside young women pursuing their dreams in real life. In a word, it is inspiring, and not just for the under-12 crowd. If you grew up loving Disney princesses, this ad is designed to make you weep.
According to the Disney Parks blog, the "Dream Big, Princess" campaign is designed to make the next year a huge one for real life Disney princesses. Each month, the parks will celebrate a new princess and a theme like adventure or friendship. If you can't make it to a park, you can enjoy the celebration on the Disney Channel too. "Dream Big, Princess" will air during Disney's Night of Big Dreams on Feb. 19, and spotlight amazing girls like a 16-year-old pilot from Canadian, Texas, and a 14-year-old world champion rock climber from New York City.
The year-long celebration is all about reminding young girls there are no limits to what they can achieve. For proof, they have to look no further than a warrior like Mulan, a gender-smashing leader like Merida, or the business savvy Tiana. Disney wants to remind the world that identifying as or with a princess is not limiting, it's emboldening.
After you finish sobbing over how amazing this video is, you might find yourself wondering what the song in the ad is, so you can add it to your workout mix. According to HelloGiggles, the song playing over all the Disney and real-life goodness is a remix of The Script’s "Hall of Fame." If you want to listen to it a thousand times now, you are not alone.
Disney has taken some flack over the years for their princesses, but the truth is their characters have inspired generations of women. I will concede, the latest crop is more progressive than Snow White and Cinderella, but even they were active participants in changing their lives. Girls are growing up in a world where they are beginning to understand limits cannot be imposed on their courageousness or their dreams, and as odd as it may sound to some, the Disney princesses have truly helped many kids come to this realization over the years.
Bravo to Disney for celebrating the indomitable spirit of women and girls onscreen and off. Now excuse me, I need to watch this flawless video at least a dozen more times.
