Princes Go From Boring to Interesting

I mentioned in a much earlier post that early romance covers showed either a man and woman together or just a woman. Placing just a man on the cover is a recent-ish development and surprisingly popular.

Likewise, princes with personality is a relatively recent-ish development.

Most fairy tales, at least the ones that get picked up by Disney, feature women (Aladdin being an exception--yet with an exceedingly headstrong princess!). The princes, again with the exception of Aladdin, tend to be little more than cardboard cut-outs. 

The princesses are a tad bland themselves--Snow White doesn't do much but sing. But they are the agents of the story, the characters who make choices, react to circumstances, and try to further their goals. They undergo an arc. 

Sometimes, granted, they do little more than bear up. But how they bear up is the point. And there are hints of more: Sleeping Beauty is curious. Cinderella is good-natured and takes hold of an opportunity. Mulan is clever with strong family feeling.

And the princes mostly react to them. Sometimes sternly. Sometimes longingly.

The most notable change came with Beauty, in which the Beast gained a bad temper and a hint of wryness. 

And then everybody was doing it!  

When the relationship got interesting, the characters got more interesting.

Hence the perfection of non-prince Rider, who not only is wry but undergoes his own character arc from drifter who thinks he is happy to guy who wants to settle down and be actually happy.

Nick doesn't grow as much as make a choice--but that choice involves a new way of looking at himself and the world. 

He does have one of the best lines in Disney films.