Movie Analysis: The Swan Princess

The children’s animated film The Swan Princess not only follows the stereotypical romantic script of most G-rated princess-themed movies, but also sets expectations about what roles men and women are “supposed” to fulfill in a romantic relationship and what men and women expect out of romantic relationships. The movie centers around a Prince, Derek, and a Princess, Odette, who were expected to be betrothed at a young age against their own desires, but develop feelings for each other as they grow older. An evil sorcerer who is after Odette’s father’s kingdom casts a spell on her that turns her into a swan during the daytime and allows her to be a human at night, as long as she stays captive within his grasp at his lake. The spell that is put on Odette also requires Derek, her “one true love,” to prove his love to her in order for it to be broken, and if he pledges his love to another, Odette would die. A few scenes in the movie centering around this plot showcase these stereotypical roles, including men as only valuing women’s appearances, men are more dominant and powerful than women, and men are the sexual aggressors and pursue women for their own gains by using certain tactics.

The first scene opens up with Princess Odette and Prince Derek, the main couple, as children. They were arranged to be married by their parents, the King and Queen of two separate kingdoms, in order for their kingdoms to merge. As you can see in this clip of the movie, while Odette is young, Derek has no interest in her, trying to avoid her because she is awkward and gawky. When they are away from each other for a summer while they are adults, Odette becomes beautiful and starts to be more feminine. Before they see each other, Derek says “I can do much better, I am sure” and Odette says “he’s so immature,” showing that they mutually are uninterested in each other. When they see each other again after Odette’s physical transformation, they immediately fall in love because Odette has become beautiful and Derek has started treating her differently. He says “she started out as such an ugly duckling, and somehow suddenly became a swan.”

When Derek announces that he then wants to marry Odette, she asks him why he changed his mind and he says “you’re all I ever wanted: you’re beautiful.” Odette then asks “What else? Is beauty all that matters to you?” and Derek says “what else is there?” When Derek is asked by friends what it is that he does love about Odette other than her beauty, he can't put it into words. He says "she like...and how about...and then..." skating around the question, not able to give one other reason why he loves her.Odette then becomes upset and decides not to marry him and return to her own kingdom. On her way back, she encounters a sorcerer who casts a spell on her to turn her into a swan so he can keep her captive until she agrees to marry him so he can rule her kingdom. What this scene exemplifies is one of the common stereotypes that Kim (2007) lays out in her article “From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television”: that men value women based mainly, if not solely on their appearances. When Derek instantly changes his mind about his feelings for Odette, he does so based upon how she looks, and he instantly falls in love with her. This is reinforced when Derek cannot think of another reason why he would want to marry Odette besides her beauty and when he says that beauty is all he “ever wanted” in a partner.

In a second scene in the movie, the idea of masculinity meaning dominance over women is emphasized. Derek wants to prove his love to Odette by saving her from her captor and breaking the spell she’s under. The spell requires Derek to prove his love to only Odette to the world, and if he happens to prove his love to someone else, Odette dies. When Derek accidentally pledges his love to someone disguised as Odette, she begins to “feel so weak,” and starts to die. The only way for Derek to save her is by killing off the sorcerer who put the spell on her. When Derek kills off the sorcerer, the spell is broken and he tells Odette “I wanted to break the spell to prove my love to you” and Odette comes back to life. This scene exemplifies the commonly used stereotype that, as Holz Ivory, Gibson & Ivory (2009) point out from their findings in their article “Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples,” men assume dominance in a romantic relationship. This is exemplified by the idea that Odette can only live if Derek loves her, assuming that the only thing keeping her alive and of worth is the love of a man. As seen in a still picture from this scene below, Derek is shown in a much more aggressive way, looming over Odette, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth out of frustration, and Odette is in a very submissive and weak position, laying helplessly beneath Derek.

 

Odette also assumes a passive role in the relationship by not only stating the fact that she is weak, but by waiting for Derek to find and rescue her instead of trying to save herself. Male dominance is also asserted in Odette’s relationship with the sorcerer that is keeping her captive. He literally has control over her by making it impossible for her to leave where she is imprisoned. Another stereotype that is found in this scene is that women need relationships. As Kim (2007) also points out in her article, female characters are often portrayed as lost or incomplete without a boyfriend or husband, and Odette fits this portrayal to a tee. Odette literally cannot even be human, because of the fact that she is under a love spell, without the love of Derek to break the spell. This is also exemplified by Odette and Derek’s wedding at the end of the movie. Odette’s “happily ever after” only comes after the couple are married, implying that a monogamous relationship is necessary for Odette’s happiness.

A third scene exemplifies the stereotype associated that men have to be the sexual aggressors and be the one to approach a woman socially. Kim (2007) also lays out this stereotype in her research, saying that this stereotype is often shows men being the ones to initiate relations with women, and often using certain tactics to get the appropriate response from women. With that stereotype, the double-standard of women having to be passive but in charge of controlling sexual virtue is also exemplified (Kim, 2007). The scene that exemplifies these stereotypes involves a frog prince, Jean Bob, who lives where Odette has been held captive. He constantly tries to persuade Odette into kissing him so that he can be turned back into a human prince. He pursues her many times, and attempts many schemes in order for her to relent. In one particular scene, he tries to cross a mote with alligators in it to get her flowers and says “once she sees that I have risked my life for her, the kissing will not stop.” This scene not only shows, in a more subtle way, the stereotype of how men initiate advances towards women, but also shows how men use tactics to get women to accept their advances. Because Jean Bob pursues Odette to no end, he is seen as the initiator and more aggressive. This scene is also showing how men will use tricks to pursue and persuade women into relations with men by showing Jean Bob going through extreme lengths to impress Odette by making himself look brave in order to reach his goal of having her kiss him.

 This scene also shows the stereotype that women are expected to be in control of their sexual virtue (Kim, 2007). When Jean Bob fails to impress Odette, she explains to him that she’s waiting for Derek to save her and “prove his everlasting love” in order for the spell on her to be broken. The fact that Odette is refusing Jean Bob’s advances because she is waiting for Derek is showing how she feels the need to stay monogamous and virtuous because she is already promised to Derek. It is only after Odette and Derek are married at the end of the movie that Odette agrees to kiss Jean Bob. The reason for this might arguably be because the fact that Odette and Derek are now bound in matrimony, her gesture could be seen as completely innocent and void of any other intention besides helping Jean Bob. The still from this scene below shows the moment where Odette, still in her white wedding dress, agrees to help Jean Bob break the spell placed upon him. Although Odette agrees to kiss him, he does not transform back into a human. This could be because Odette was not his "one true love," making her kiss seem even more innocent in intention.

Overall, what this movie seems to be communicating to it’s audience, mainly younger children, goes along with many of the sexual scripts that are also familiar in adult programming. The film is communicating that men are supposed to be dominant in a relationship, that they value women based mainly on physical appearance, that they are the sexual aggressors, and that they use tactics in order to get women to accept their advances. The film is also communicating that women need to be attractive to be loved, that they are the weaker partner in relationships, that they are passive, that they need to be in a relationship to be fulfilled, and that they are they need to be in control of their sexual virtue. Since these stereotypes are deeply embedded in even children's media, it opens this discussion for what types of expectations and ideologies more impressionable audiences are drawing out of these texts.

References

Holz Ivory, A., Gibson R., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communications &        Society, 12(2), 170-192.

Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L.         (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual scripts on   primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157.

Rich, R. (1994). The Swan Princess. Nest Entertainment.