I know it was probably supposed to be meant for children, but I really enjoyed this short collection of tales starring the Original Six, Tiana, and Rapunzel. I appreciated how there was usually a real conflict to be solved, even if it didn't involve an evil villain trying to destroy the Princess the way the movies do. Actually, I appreciated how the princesses' unique strengths were usually exactly what was needed to solve the non-villainous problem of the day. And there was something quite heartwarming about pretty much all of these, making for a collection of genuinely good, well-written stories.
Cinderella: The Lost Mice
Cinderella's new housekeeper doesn't realize the mice are the princess's friends, and tries to have them thrown out of the castle into the cold winter.
I really like the insights into the new life Cinderella's mouse friends will have with her at the castle, and the acknowledgement that not everyone is going to look at a mouse and see a friend even if they do live in the world of Cinderella. The story had the right amount of tension in the middle and a heartwarming end – and a heartwarming new character in the very likeable castle gardener. I love how we actually get to see Cinderella interacting with her Prince, too. Out of all the Princesses I find Cinderella to be the one whose relationship is explored the best within the Princess franchise, which is great as we barely get to see it in the movie, although I do wish the others' relationships could also be explored this well! And I really loved Cinderella's new wardrobe she had for this story (any outfit where Cinderella has her hair down is a yes from me! Her curvy nineteen fifties bangs and the matching curvy hair are just adorable.) I did feel the resolution happened a little too much offscreen, with Prince Charming telling Cinderella everything that happened with the mice and the housekeeper and the gardener without ever showing us how he found out. Still, other than that, I thought it was a really nice story and something that could totally happen during Cinderella's happily ever after.
The Little Mermaid: A Special Song
Ariel helps a young mermaid named Coral find her bravery, eventually helping her come into her own as a talented singer in her father's court.
As usual, this story was very sweet and a perfect exploration of Ariel's particular brand of strength. Ariel is the perfect choice for showing another mermaid how to be brave, the way she will boldly go anywhere and do anything she sets her mind to without a thought for possible danger (my favourite thing about Ariel!), and I love how the story explored that. Ariel's friendship with Coral was very nice, although I do question whether Ariel would really trust such a new acquaintance with the secret of her grotto, considering how much trouble she got into in the movie when her father found out about it. And if Ariel did have a friend she could share the grotto with, she might have turned to Coral for advice when no one would support her in her dreams of living in the human world – but then, maybe Ariel didn't think timid Coral would be able to advise her, and maybe as a court singer Coral would have been too close to Sebastian to risk asking for help. I think this story could still fit into the canon – the point where I was really afraid it wouldn't is when Ariel was supposed to be performing in an upcoming concert, when I'm pretty sure the movie established the concert she misses at the beginning was supposed to have been her very first time. But then the ending of the story ends up having Ariel miss the concert, so no contradiction to canon after all, which I appreciate. Although I must point out that the story didn't mention anything about how this concert was supposed to be Ariel's first time, either. Now, you'll notice as you continue reading that this is the only story in the entire collection that takes place before the events of the Princess's movie. Don't think I don't notice how out of all the Disney Princesses, Ariel the mermaid is the only one the writers seem more interested in exploring her “before” life than her happily ever after. I would love to see more Little Mermaid stories that centre on Ariel exploring the human world and finding out new things about them! Am I the only one who thinks that would be more interesting?
Beauty and the Beast: Belle and the Castle Puppy
Belle finds a lost puppy in the woods and takes him in, but Beast's ottoman dog is jealous of all the attention given to the newcomer.
If Ariel's stories tend to focus too much on her before life, Belle's stories tend to focus way, way too much on the middle of her movie, while she's living at Beast's castle but the spell hasn't been broken yet. I swear, anyone who hadn't seen the movie but had seen the Disney Princess stories might think the film ends with Beast and his servants still in their enchanted forms and Belle still living with them that way! The middle of the movie is not a time in which we can just sit back and relax and enjoy new adventures: Maurice is wandering around in the woods trying to rescue his daughter, Lefou is standing outside Belle's house waiting for Maurice's return and slowly freezing, Beast and his servants are feeling the time pressure for Belle and Beast to fall in love before it's too late, and Belle must have an underlying sensation of being trapped and missing her papa no matter how much she's enjoying the enchanted castle otherwise! And a couple of things here do directly contradict the canon: Belle leaves the castle at one point in order to search for the dog, and of course there was no sign of the new dog in the climax of the film where Gaston's mob was invading, even though at the end of this story the two dogs are named castle protectors. But I love this story as something that could happen after the movie, when everyone is in their human forms again and Belle can settle into her new life as the castle's mistress. The ottoman's jealousy and the eventual friendship between the two dogs made for a very sweet plotline. And now I really want to see a scenario where Belle ends up taking in more and more dogs, just like she does in this story, until one night she's noticing all their dogs playing by the fire and realizes she and Beast now have six or seven – just like she thought Gaston was telling her he wanted when he proposed!
The Princess and the Frog: A Surprise Guest
Charlotte's dog Stella gets accidentally left at Tiana's Palace one night, and is frightened of Louis the alligator.
A simple story, but a cute one. I love the bit about Tiana's kitchen staff pampering Stella when they find her there. I say there are two kinds of people when it comes to finding a dog in the restaurant kitchen: those who would think it was adorable and shower the doggy with love, and those who would react like Cinderella's housekeeper in the first story did, and it's nice to see Tiana hires entirely people from the first category. (Though of course any staff of Tiana's would have to already be used to an alligator playing at the restaurant!) And this is more a thing from the movie than from this story itself, but the LaBouffs were in it as their usual warm and welcoming selves, and that reminded me of how much I love the way The Princess and the Frog portrays a rich family as being so kind and such positive characters. We need a lot more representation of rich people as being something other than corrupt and greedy or overworked and unhappy!
Aladdin: The Desert Race
Jasmine wants to compete in the annual Desert Race and help her kingdom finally win back the trophy, even though her father tells her not to. (I mean, look at the movie; when did that ever stop Jasmine from doing anything!)
You probably already know from any of my previous content that Aladdin is my all-time favourite Disney movie. So this story is the one I was looking the most forward to, as well as the one I hold up to the highest standards. The story did not disappoint, and I really love how Jasmine is now the winner of a horse race and is shown to have a competitive side, which is exactly what I would have expected from her based on what we see in the movie. I was a little concerned before I read it that the story would make it out like women compete in these races all the time, which would not have been culturally accurate and might have made Jasmine's victory a little less meaningful, but “tell me women don't compete in this race without telling me they don't compete in this race”. We see a large crowd of racers at the starting point and Jasmine is very clearly the only female, and her disguise could have been meant to hide her feminine face and figure as much as to disguise the fact that she's the Princess. The Sultan is shocked at the idea of Jasmine competing but has no problem at all with Aladdin being in the race, and is that only because Jasmine is his daughter he's raised from a baby, while Aladdin he first met as a grown man who could already save the kingdom? I'm sure that was part of it, but I'm equally convinced their genders played a big role in why the Sultan was far more willing to let Aladdin compete. Oh, and why does it not surprise me that the same Jasmine who owns a pet tiger that chases away all unwanted company would also have a horse who refuses to let anyone ride him but her? It's just perfect for her character! My very favourite thing about this story: so, I already realized that since it's part of a Disney Princess collection, it's going to be Jasmine and not Aladdin who wins the day as the story's protagonist. And I was a little worried about what they would do with Aladdin's role in order to achieve this, especially when Jasmine's horse Midnight kept throwing him off his back. But the story has Jasmine win without falling into the all-too-common trap of making our male lead look stupid or incompetent! (A trope I absolutely abhor.) Aladdin still has a very clever plan of his own in this story, which works as well as Jasmine's does, and comes off looking as intelligent and clever as Aladdin is supposed to be even as Jasmine emerges the victor. Now, I really would have liked to see some past history between Jasmine and Prince Fayiz, three-time champion of the Desert race who hails from their neighbouring kingdom of Zagrabah. (Is there a Bagrabah too, I wonder? Or a Yagrabah? Right on down to Magrabah and Nagrabah?) If Prince Fayiz comes from the very next kingdom and is in Agrabah on a yearly basis anyway, it seems very, very unlikely that he wouldn't have been one of Jasmine's suitors – and judging by what we see of him, he definitely has the right personality to be. The rivalry we see between Jasmine and Fayiz would have been just perfect for fleshing out with a past history in which Fayiz made a very rude and presumptuous play for Jasmine's hand, and Jasmine told him off for daring to think about it. Can you imagine how great it would be, if while they're neck and neck in the race, their dialogue recalled a previous attempted proposal that did not go well?? It would have been amazing! But I can still imagine this happened between them, at least. I can safely say I was very happy with my favourite Princess's story.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Big Surprise
Snow White and her animal friends surprise the Seven Dwarfs by cleaning up their house for them while they're out at work one day.
It's pretty hilarious, in this story, how the Dwarfs honestly can't figure out who made this surprise for them. They literally have a friend who thrives on cooking and cleaning and did this exact surprise for them in the movie, which was how they met her in the first place... and it still occurs to none of them that this surprise has Snow White's name written all over it! Instead the Dwarfs are all suspecting each other (always for reasons involving the same personality traits they always display!) I also wonder why it occurred to none of them how they could have missed one of their friends leaving the mine for the whole day in order to come home and make this surprise? To do a thing like this, though, is so totally in Snow White's character, and I really appreciate how they established that this happened after the movie when Snow White was living at her Prince's castle (because in the movie canon Snow White stayed with the Dwarfs for only a single night and morning before the old hag showed up!) I do think Snow White's relationship with the Dwarfs is explored more than any other part of her life in the Disney Princess franchise, from what I've seen, more than her before life with the Evil Queen or her happily ever after with the Prince. But then I really can't blame the writers for that, because her relationship with the Dwarfs is the only one the movie allows us to see at all!
Sleeping Beauty: Buttercup the Brave
Aurora thinks she's found the perfect horse – until it turns out Buttercup is afraid of everything in the woods.
It's always great to see a Sleeping Beauty story, because they expand Aurora's role and personality way beyond the paltry one scene she's allotted in her movie. Aurora gets to take initiative in such things as deciding she wants her own horse, express opinions in what kind of horse she's looking for, and show power in helping to fend off an attacking mountain lion – and can I just say, renaming a horse from “Brutus” to “Buttercup” is just such a Disney Princess power move? Now, I do have to wonder why Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are still living in that cottage in the woods. In the movie they only moved into it because they didn't think Maleficent would find Aurora there – surely they don't need to be there anymore?? Just a touch of movie continuity to be cleaned up... At least tell me the fairies fell in love with the cottage and decided to keep it, or told Aurora they would make it their special meeting place so that they could always keep in touch – any simple explanation will do. Oh – having Flora and Merryweather actually start fighting and trying to turn Buttercup their personal favourite colours, with Fauna even joining in the fun this time, is absurd and hilarious. You'd think they would have better things to do than carry on such a silly argument.... XD
Beauty and the Beast: A Friend For Phillipe
Belle notices Phillipe is sad and tries to figure out how to cheer him up.
A sweet plotline, in which Belle gets to use her creative thinking and the help of her friends at the castle in order to solve the problem of the day. But the highlight of the story was that it actually went there – it showed Beast and all his servants in their human forms, clearly establishing the story as taking place after the events of the movie!! I was so, so happy to see that! And, I might add, the feel of the story was much the same as most of the Beauty and the Beast stories I've seen where they do just keep everyone in their Beastly or enchanted object forms, so I really don't see why we can't have Belle's happily ever after appear more often. Now, if this is Belle's happily ever after I do wonder why she is still wearing her blue village dress if she's a princess – and where Maurice is, since Phillipe, who belonged to both of them, is living at the castle with Belle and I honestly wouldn't feel safe leaving Maurice back at the village after the way Gaston was able to so easily convince everyone he belonged in an insane asylum. Besides, at the end of the movie it looks very much like he's wearing noble clothes and is going to stay at the castle too. Well, he probably is there and we just don't see him – same as Mrs Potts, who doesn't appear in this story either. But going back to the subject of Belle's outfits, they do give her one new one and it's this absolutely gorgeous golden riding outfit, which is just adorable on her, and there's something kind of fun about seeing Belle wearing pants. Honestly, any time they give the Princesses a new outfit in this collection it's a win from me.
Cinderella: A Royal Friend
Cinderella meets a young girl named Emma who longs to be a princess too, and shows her what being a princess is really all about.
This story is basically what the Disney Princess franchise aims to teach young girls in real life, only with a girl from the Princess's actual kingdom and time period meeting an actual Disney Princess. And who better to guide a new generation of girls into becoming kind, considerate young women who will find their happily ever afters than Cinderella? I think we're beginning to see the next generation of Disney Princesses here, and I am now really rooting for Emma to become a Princess one day, just like her idol Cinderella did. If Cindy can do it, why not Emma??
Tangled: Rapunzel's Story
A short novelization of the story of Tangled.
This is the only story in the collection that just tells the story of the movie rather than something that happens to the Princess before or afterwards, which is probably because at the time of publication Tangled had only just been released and Rapunzel had only just joined the ranks of the Disney Princesses. The summary is pretty accurate, though of course it had to skim over some of the nuance and some of the exciting bits in order to fit everything into only five minutes. I do notice how this novelization does make it sound as though Mother Gothel stole Rapunzel away purely for revenge and only found out about her magical hair afterwards, but other than that everything was very accurate. This wouldn't be a good substitute for seeing the movie (mostly because I just really recommend watching Tangled!), but it is a great way of briefly reimmersing yourself in the movie once you already know it.
Sleeping Beauty: The Helpful Dragon
Aurora and Phillip meet a cute baby dragon, who gets into trouble when he tries to be any animal but a dragon.
It's just so fitting that out of all the characters in this story, Aurora is the only one who isn't alarmed by the sight of a dragon – both because of her affinity with animals, and because she was asleep when Phillip and the fairies battled Maleficent in dragon form, and in fact never met Maleficent at all. If anything Phillip is maybe not quite alarmed enough at the sight of a dragon after what Maleficent did to him! Aurora understands the dragon, Crackle, with an ease that fits in with her canon ability to communicate with animals. I like how casually the story mentions there was a dragon in the woods, establishing this as a place where dragons are known, common creatures – fitting, as the movie clearly established that fairies are a known and accepted part of this world! Crackle the baby dragon is adorable, and his fears that no one will like him because he's a dragon make such a powerful point – as does Aurora's message that Crackle can't change who he is, but he can change how he presents himself to others, and thus how they receive him.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel To the Rescue
Ariel tries to find a way to be able to see her ocean friends while living on land, but the walled lagoon Prince Eric builds for her ends up trapping a baby dolphin who is separated from his mother.
First off – can we just talk about how sweet and supportive Eric is in this story? It's so romantic and beautiful! And I am glad we have at least one Little Mermaid story here that takes place in Ariel's human life – although I notice none of the other Princesses have anything at all from their before lives. I do wish we could have some more Little Mermaid stories that don't have anything to do with the ocean – even when it takes place in Ariel's happily ever after the focus is still on her former ocean home! But taken as an isolated case, the story is such a nice one, and a great addition to Ariel's “after” life, addressing how she solves this problem which inevitably would arise and would have to be solved for her happily ever after to be entirely happy. Of course Ariel wouldn't want to be separated from Sebastian or Flounder or her mer-family forever! But the real highlight of the story for me was Ariel's wardrobe, which I couldn't stop looking at even as very compelling plot things were going on. They gave her three or four all-new dresses which were absolutely gorgeous. And to me, Ariel already has the best wardrobe of any Disney Princess, with three major human dresses so pretty I can hardly pick a favourite. (Although I'll probably have to go with the purple one.) These dresses more than deserved to be part of that stellar wardrobe, and I am going to have to ask whoever illustrated this collection to do some more please. Like I said – any time one of the Princesses got a new outfit in this collection it was a win from me!
So there we have it. The twelve stories in the Five Minute Princess Stories collection. If you're looking to spend some time in the worlds of the Disney Princesses, I recommend giving this book a try. It's very engaging – for your own entertainment as well as for reading to a child.
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