Who’s the Fairest of Them All? Why Some Disney Princesses Rake In More Cash
Walt Disney animation execs have made moves to diversify the princesses who star in their feature films: The duo of pale sisters in 2013’s Frozen was preceded by Tiana, the first black princess, in 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. Don’t forget about Mulan, Jasmine, and Pocahontas—an ethnically diverse cast of heroines for young girls to admire.
But when it comes to dolls, T-shirts, and lunch boxes that depict these beloved characters, consumers still seem to favor the fair-skinned ladies over ethnic beauties.
Designer Jody Sieradzki created a graphic contrasting popular princesses’ hair and skin color with how much money they earned through selling merchandise on eBay. The size of the circle correlates to the dollar amount each princess earned starting in May 2013. The light-skinned princesses have the biggest circles by far.
But the data is a little skewed. For starters, it only tracks back to 2013, and Aladdin showed Jasmine the shining, shimmering, splendid world in 1992. More than 20 years have passed, so let’s hope a few of that movie’s biggest fans have outgrown the need for a Barbie-style set complete with magic carpet.
The context to consider may be that, yes, Anna and Elsa from Frozen were the biggest sellers, but Frozen is the highest-grossing animated film of all time and came out less than a year ago. Also, many parents had to turn to outside sellers, as Disney stores weren’t quite prepared for the film’s success and the figurines were on back order for months.
I can personally testify that trying to buy an Elsa doll for my niece was no easy task. After exhausting trips to three toy stores, I had all but given up when I discovered the lone doll box hiding behind a GI Joe figurine in the depths of the boys’ section at Target.
The next chart toppers, Snow White and Cinderella, are iconic figures. Their films were released in 1937 and 1950, respectively, and these ageless princesses have dominated lunch boxes, bedsheets, and Halloween costumes for decades longer than their counterparts.
What about the numbers Hollywood really cares about—box office numbers? Kids don’t want a toy from a movie they didn’t like or even see. Adjusting for inflation, 2009’s The Princess and the Frog raked in a little over $100 million domestically. It’s no surprise that princesses from more successful films like 1989’s The Little Mermaid or 2010’s Tangled, which both earned just over $200 million, sell better.
So do we really need to call out our youngest consumers for conforming to age-old beauty standards that have light skin reigning supreme?
Maybe not. Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Merida from Brave also sold poorly. Both of these stars are Caucasian but perhaps didn’t do so well because they buck typical princess norms, preferring books and adventure to dancing with princes and true love–oriented quests.
Disney’s next princess film hits theaters in 2016, and it’s moving forward with its plans for diversity. Moana will feature the company’s first Pacific Islander princess.
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Original article from TakePart
