Lessons in Romantics (From Classic Disney)

When I was little I remember watching all of the old classic Disney movies. To this day I still love them even though I'm a college student now. When I think back on these stories or watch them again I see them in a different light. I begin to actually see the stories being told rather than just fun cartoons doing interesting things to my five year-old mind. Every Disney movie has the same basic plot: Love. Every character has a different approach to romance and these are some lessons we could take from them. For example...

The Little Mermaid. Ariel takes a common tactic for trying to gain her happy ending. It's the whole changing yourself in order for a guy to like you. This is one of the few that has me shaking my head. Although I loved that movie (and still do), it's not always a good idea to completely change who you are in order to grab a guy's attention. Eric still loves her when he finds out her secret which shows that you can be loved for simply being yourself.However, if you lie about who you are in the first place then your crush might not like the real you since he fell for the fake you. This is one Disney Princess I wouldn't take notes on for getting a boyfriend.

Sleeping Beauty. I personally like the Sleeping Beauty take on romance. Falling into a deep sleep only to be awoken by a handsome prince. Not a bad way to start the morning. Although the real lesson in romantics in this movie is taught by Prince Phillip. He goes through the long journey just to reach this girl he loves and slays a dragon for her. It shows that love is not always easy and sometimes you have to go through trials in order to prove your yourself and fight for the one you love.

Beauty and the Beast. This is one of my personal favorites. There's so much to love about this movie but what I'm going to take from here is Belle's approach to romance. She looks beyond appearances and into the heart which is almost unheard of today. She doesn't care what other people think and she only does what she knows is right. She doesn't go with the "handsome" yet rude Gaston who tirelessly chases her only for her beauty. She goes with the man who has the kind heart and truly loves her. She sees past his beastlyness and he becomes a handsome prince. I think this could be seen metaphorically. When you meet an average looking guy with an amazing personality he slowly becomes more attractive until he looks like a handsome prince to you.

The Lion King. This is another one of my personal favorites. This one deals with much more than love and romantic love is more of a subplot to this movie yet still important to the story. The character I want to follow here is Nala. She thought Simba was dead for years as she grew up and her feelings for him never faded. It doesn't take long for her to fall in love with him once they have their little reunion.  He doesn't want to go home because Scar messed with his mind but she believes in him, knows he's the true King and urges him to go back and fulfill his destiny. (Although she does it in a pushy way and it takes Raffiki and the ghost of Mufasa to convince him before he actually goes back.) Still, she never gave up on him and helps him in the fight. She teaches us that we also need to believe in the one we love and support them. It's not always all about you. On a side note, a nice romantic walk by a waterfall with a love song playing magically in the background makes quite a nice first date.

 Alladin. Obviously we're taking a few notes from Alladin here. Of course he had the same idea as Ariel: Changing yourself in order to impress your crush. Only I'm not going to talk about that right now. Instead I'm going to talk about what all he did just for Jasmine. I always found the magic carpet ride sweet and incredibly romantic. He does his best to win her heart and goes through so much. The only thing that would have made this better was if he stayed more true to himself and didn't lie about being a prince. Jasmine liked him just the way he was when she found out he was nothing more than a thief. What I like about this approach is that it shows guys to treat girls like, well, princesses. Try to be that Prince Charming for her. Every girl wants her prince and Alladin tried to be that for Jasmine which is extremely sweet.

 Snow White. I never was a huge fan of this one but I do have this to say; she never lost hope. She got stranded in a forest with seven dwarfs and had an evil witch trying to murder her but she still sang along and knew that someday her prince would come. When it seemed all hope was lost and she was in her darkest place dying from the world's cruelness (eating the poison apple) her prince came to the rescue when no one was expecting it. Love comes when you don't expect it but it also comes if you keep your head up. Even though life can give you poison apples and evil witches, it doesn't mean it can't give you sweet princes. You just have to keep your chin up and in the meantime be thankful for the friends in your life and other good things you've been given.

All in all I would say most of these characters know how to treat romance. They may just be silly movies from our childhood but there's some magic in them. Maybe we should all take a little lesson from them.