A young princess lost hold of her ball,

This is really no joke at all,

It fell down deep into a well,

Eternal damnation, in darkness it would dwell.

When at once appeared a slimy thing,

Who hopped on top of that there well,

Told the princess he’d fetch her ball for a “ring”,

The princess screamed out: “that’d be swell!”

She watched as he jumped down that well,

Green and slimy was his coat,

He jumped into the darkness and deeper he fell,

Splashing around in the watery moat.

The frog jumped out with her golden prize,

The princess squealed with glee,

With one quick grab she ran off, which was unwise,

As the frog yelled: “Wait for me!”

It was no use, the princess was gone,

Off and went to her castle to sleep,

The frog would wait until the dawn

To visit her and get the benefits that he must reap.

The very next day the princess awoke,

Climbed downstairs to have a meal,

At once she heard a horrible croak,

And at the sight of the frog she did squeal!

“What a vile creature! So slimy and cold!”

 She thought to herself as she cried,

“You must keep your promises,” her father did scold,

Instructing her to be the frog’s bride.

She cried and she moaned and she groaned,

Trying to get away from the frog’s requests,

It was to the frog the favor was owned,

And her father refused to digress.

The frog kept pinching and prying and asking for more,

Much to the princess’s dismay,

Soon enough the list began so soar,

Sending the poor princess into disarray.

She grabbed that frog will all her might,

Knowing what she must do,

She refused to put up any more of a fight,

Against the wall the frog flew.

I changed the ending of this one because I think it should have just ended with her throwing the frog against the wall and that being the end. I think that’s how the author I’m channeling would have wanted it to be.

Each August, usually a week before school, I sit down and watch Shrek 2 with my sister. We consider it the best of the best and the cream of the crop when it comes to modern cinema. Not only are the song choices impeccable, but the storyline is unmatched. When I was younger, my dad was obsessed with Shrek, which in turn meant that we were obsessed with Shrek. We even had the “Shrek the Halls” Christmas special, which still sits in our living room, scratched and hanging on by a thread.

Every time we make our popcorn and sit down to watch Shrek 2, whether it is on a DVD or a streaming service, I’m always excited. Fiona always drew me in with her unapologetic style of just being which is difficult to find in leading female characters. I also always adored her for her arc of coming to terms with her ogre-self, which makes her happier in the end. Our discussions of female characters in fairy tale stories have helped me think more about these more recent contributions to the whimsical world of fiction. Why is it so difficult for women to find representation in modern fairy tale adaptations? A perfect example is Fiona – when she becomes her true self when she is with Shrek, she seems much happier – but is not technically “conventionally” beautiful. I think that’s what makes her unique and easier to resonate with as an actual character with thoughts and aspirations.

The Disney adaptation of The Little Mermaid lacks one thing… women. This is not a good thing (when would it be?). Ariel, the film’s semi-protagonist and the main character lives “under the sea” with her other sisters and father. She hopes to fulfill her dreams of marrying a prince on shore, but in doing so must strip herself of her voice. There could be an entire two-thousand-word blog post about the symbolism of the threshold of the water and the land being a woman’s subconscious mind and the threshold of being a good and “tame” wife, but this blog post is 200 words maximum, and I will save that for an essay (it is not a bad point). I think that the isolation of Ariel as the only woman (with screen time, if this makes sense) makes viewers feel a sense of sadness towards her plight. We feel prepared to be in her corner in her fight to achieve her goals, whatever they might be. I believe that the reason we feel so strongly for her is that she is isolated in a world of men, even if they are only her goofy sidekicks.