Disney princess Kristen Bell has taken aim at Snow White, questioning the iconic fairytale’s messages about consent and the story’s appropriateness in a modern context.
The 38-year-old actress, who stars as Princess Anna in the Disney smash-hit ‘Frozen,’ took the classic cartoon to task in an interview with Parenting magazine.
She told the magazine that she always raises questions about the tale’s topic content (in particular, that kiss) with her and husband Dax Shepard’s two daughters, Lincoln, 5, and Delta, 3.
“Every time we close Snow White I look at my girls and ask, ‘Don’t you think it’s weird that Snow White didn’t ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple? Or where she got that apple?’
“I say, ‘I would never take food from a stranger, would you?’ And my kids are like, ‘No!’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m doing something right,’” the film star told the magazine.
“Don’t you think that it’s weird that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission? Because you cannot kiss someone if they’re sleeping!” Bell said she asks her daughters.
In the Brothers Grimm fairytale, brought to life again in 1937 by Disney, Snow White falls into a deep, death-like slumber after eating a poisoned apple from a witch who is jealous of her beauty. She remains asleep until a prince comes and gives her a true love’s kiss – at which point she awakens and (spoiler alert) they live happily ever after.
Bell’s comments have not gone down well online, with the actress told to 'Let it go' on social media for her approach to fairytales in the #MeToo era.
Netizen negativity was also directed at British actress Keira Knightley, who echoed Bell’s sentiments in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres.
The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star (also a Disney film) told the talk show host that little Edie Knightley Righton is not allowed to watch ‘Cinderella’ or ‘The Little Mermaid.’
Knightley told DeGeneres that Cinderella “waits around for a rich guy to rescue her. Don’t! Rescue yourself. Obviously!”
She weighed in on ‘The Little Mermaid’: “I mean, the songs are great, but do not give your voice up for a man. Hello!”
Some on social media have thrown their support behind Bell and Knightley, praising the two celebs for trying to instill critical thinking about consent in their little ladies from an early age.
Bell wasn’t one to take the criticism of her parenting lying down – the ‘Frozen’ star clapped back, stating that she finds “the outrage annoying and misplaced.”
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