You know, for a company that is so well known for its Princess franchise, we really wound up scraping the bottom of the barrel to complete this Heroine bracket. I mean… three characters from the Cars franchise and three additional fairies from the Tinker Bell movies (which probably shouldn’t be included in the first place)? In hindsight, a few characters got left off that could have been included over them, like Bambi’s boo Faline or Big Mama from Fox and the Hound. Regardless, none of those characters will go far based on these initial matchups. A lot of easy picks in the first round, but the hardest one for me is Nala vs Boo (with Nala getting the edge in my opinion for bringing Simba back to the Pridelands). Belle and Elastigirl is another rough first round draw, but I’ve gotta give it to girl who managed to tame the Beast. At least Elsa and Anna are in the same quadrant so there’s no chance of a purely Frozen Finals.
My family does not feel the love tonight for Nala. The lioness who proves instrumental in bringing Simba back and saving the Pridelands loses out to the overwhelming cuteness of Boo. But this is one “kitty” that probably wouldn’t be charmed by the little girl. Of the 12 official Disney princesses, only Aurora and Pocahontas fail to advance. Aurora lost to another Princess (Merida), but Pocahontas lost to my family’s preference for the Toy Story franchise, even though I personally find Jesse a bit annoying. Did you know Tinker Bell (who lost to Rapunzel), Esmerelda (won over a bug) and Jane Porter (lost to Moana) were once part of the Princess canon? Jane is probably my toughest lose, though I knew she was going to lose. I voted for her to make sure she’ll be in my heart always. Vanelloppe, Judy Hopps, Anna and Megera all unanimously advance. Elsa would have too, but Parker enjoys the movie Bolt so voted for Mittens the cat. Also Robin Hood is really getting the shaft in all these brackets, Maid Marian can’t even beat a character who dies within the first 10 minutes of the movie (though Ellie’s impact is felt throughout the rest of Up, but still)
Ariel will no longer be part of this bracket. Her epic loss to Belle means she just misses out on the Sweet Sixteen. But Ariel did not lose her voice up against her Disney Renaissance counterpart. They were one of three ties in this second round and definitely the biggest matchup so far in these early rounds for the Heroines. Another one of the Disney Princesses falls to another Disney Princess. Merida losses to Moana by one vote as well, partly because in Lannette’s words, Merida was selfish and everything Moana did was for the good of her village. The third tie comes between Alice and Zarina the Pirate Fairy, mainly because 5 of Zarina’s 6 votes all came from the South Riding Bradleys. Princess Anna advances with another anonymous victory (so far no real contests for her), as does Rapunzel over the Blue Fairy. After her surprise win over Nala, Boo skates past Colette from Ratatouille with all 13 votes as well. Snow White, the original Disney Princess, also succumbs to what I can only assume was a sweet candy apple from Venellope.
A dream may be a wish your heart makes, but did you know, a dream is also more powerful than a wish. At least in the case of Rapunzel’s dream and Jasmine’s wishing on a lamp. Even though Jasmine, my overall preferred winner, has the magic carpet pulled out from under here, this match up showed me how similar the two characters are. Both are princesses shut away from the outside world; both get taken on an adventure outside of their normal surroundings by a ruffian/thief type hero; and both have a pet as their best friend. But sadly, only one can advance and there’s no more world left for Jasmine to explore. The closest match up this round came from Joy’s victory over Mulan, even though Liz voted against Joy, a character she loves. Belle and Megara had easy victories, but not nearly as easy as Anna, who sails through with her third consecutive unanimous victory. But now, it’s sister verse sister in a match up to see who makes it to the Final Four.
Moana no longer needs to wonder how far she’ll go as Belle puts an end to her voyage in the Heroine bracket. In the closest matchup, my personal runner-up, Belle, advances to the Final Four but she has some pretty stiff competition in the semifinals. Queen Elsa pulls out the victory in the close battle between the sisters (and might as well just be crowned the winner now, knowing how this family has been voting). The other half of the bracket saw two decisive victories. One for Rapunzel (10-3 over Joy) and a near unanimous victory for Megara over Boo (11-2). Will the Championships be a faceoff of shut-ins (Elsa vs. Rapunzel), a battle of book smarts and street smarts (Belle vs. Megara) or one of the two other options that don’t lend themselves to convenient taglines (a battle of bookish dreamers? a contest of cool customers?).
Elsa shows up, shows out and shows herself as the top Disney Heroine. I’m not upset or surprised by this predictable victory. What bothers me about it though, is it makes the Bradley family look like trendy, bandwagon fans since Frozen has been all the rage for the better half of a decade. However, Belle did put up a good fight in her loss to Elsa, but the Snow Queen trounced Rapunzel in the finals. The more upsetting loss comes out of Megara’s loss to Rapunzel in the semifinals. Rapunzel’s bright-eyed, unbridled joy for life despite being locked in a tower her whole life trumped Megara’s sassy, jaded (and totally acceptable) take on life. But I guess it’s alright if my young, susceptible nieces support that belief.
Categories: Movies
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