No thanks, Prince Charming: this new multiracial princess can save herself
Traditional princesses (of both the Disney and non-Disney variety) have a reputation as being damsels in distress, who a prince has to swoop in and save at one point or another. There’s definitely no shortage of these classic princesses (think: Snow White was awakened by her Prince and Cinderella being saved from a life of servitude by Mister oh-so-charming), but times are changing! Princesses are totally able to save themselves, and Greg Pak, a filmmaker and writer, wants us to know that.
Pak decided that Princess Gloria Cheng Epstein Takahara de la Garza Champion would break the stereotype and conquer an actual dragon herself in his new picture book, “The Princess Who Saved Herself.” The book is based on a song by Jonathan Coulton, illustrated by artist Takeshi Miyazawa (and awesomely joins the ranks of other artists who envision a new feminist princess).
The good news is that this new Princess didn’t slay the dragon; in fact, she took it upon herself to hunt him down and make him apologize — which we think is much more humane, though no less awesome. The Princess and the dragon ended up friends (aww), which is more than most princes can say for themselves, huh?
The coolest thing about this Princess, beyond her compassion and bravery, is that she’s multiracial and multiethnic, which means more girls can identify with her experiences and background. There’s a real lack of racial and ethnic princess depictions in storybooks, which leaves groups of girls unable to see themselves in their favorite characters. With this Princess, that issue is solved.
The book’s coolness is only heightened when you consider how it all got started. The writer decided to create a Kickstarter campaign to support his brilliant idea, which was totally funded within six hours! They asked for $15,000 and raised more than $73,000! That says a lot about the fact that people want to see more princesses being amazing on their own.
Check it out here.
Images via here.
