Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara

Disney princesses have become more prevalent in pop culture since the debut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Their influence has been so great that there is now a book about it. 

Emily Zemler's book on the Disney princesses features sections on their origins, reimaginings, merchandise, fashion, theme parks/resorts, fandom, and impact along with an introduction and an afterward. Before that, there's a foreword section by Ariel's voice actor, Jodi Benson. At the end is a timeline listing all the Disney princess media chronologically by year, from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves onward. 

Besides the well-researched information, the book has pop-out colors and well-arranged visuals. There are places in which the pictures seem out-of-place (such as the unmentioned Frozen II purse alongside the Disney scary moment purses), but most of them support the text. 

It is creative how Zemler named each section of the book after a Disney princess song. The origins section is "Once Upon a Dream" (Sleeping Beauty), the reimaginings section is "A Whole New World" (Aladdin), the merchandise section is "Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid), and so forth. A monochromatic chart repeating images from the titled musical number also precedes each section. 

As informative and insightful as Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara is, there are areas where I still have questions. For instance, in the "Part of Your World" section, Zemler wrote about how, because Walt Disney intended the animated Cinderella for all ages, the merchandise was for both kids and adults. She then wrote about the only merchandise for the Disney Renaissance films being toys. Are these films targeted only to children, then? If not, why don't they sell Disney-themed household products anymore?

There are some areas that discuss adult fans of Disney princesses, mainly the fashion and fandom sections. However, the influence section mainly talks about the films' impact on children. As someone who has only been influenced by some of the animated films as an adult, it feels lonely being a fan because these are widely perceived as being made exclusively for children. 

However, I still got some positive insights from the influence section. I enjoyed reading about how the Cinderella inspired Frozen director Jennifer Lee to stand up to bullying. Such positive influences stood out to me because early Disney princesses often get accused for giving girls "bad role models." 

I also enjoyed reading the fandom section, especially when it talks about fans cosplaying as Disney princesses in different ways. Such cosplays inspire me to reimagine the princesses in my own ways. 

As a fan-oriented book, Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara does not address criticism nor negative influences from the princesses. It also does not answer every question readers might have about them. What the book can do, though, is give fans more insight into every aspect of the Disney princesses in a way that celebrates these iconic characters. 

Have you read Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara? What do you think about it?