When I read Carrie’s article on Disney/Pixar movies and the great messages that they often carried with them I couldn’t have agreed more.  I have always been a BIG fan of Disney!  I was born not far from Disneyland and from our backyard in Anaheim I remember early childhood memories of watching the fireworks every night.  I have such fond memories of princesses and Prince Charming, fairy godmothers and far away castles and happy endings that I am deathly afraid I may have transformed them into my real life.

Though I know that these movies often carry a great moral story for both children and adults, I have to wonder if they carry a far more sinister downfall for the little girl in all of us.  Can I blame the “mouse” for the relationship failures I have experienced in my adult life…ok, who am I kidding….I don’t think I have had what anyone would consider a healthy relationship since high school!  I fell for the town rebel in high school….four years later I was stood up for my senior prom.  Yep, I spent four years of high school pining away for this boy.  I couldn’t even tell you where he is now, couldn’t care less.  What I can tell you is that I have since then, had continued failure in relationships and an attraction to the obviously not Prince Charming type has been my track record.

Now, I’m not saying that my relationship partners have been “bad people.” That is between them and God.  What I can say is…we were obviously not the right ones for each other.  My friends make fun of me for my ability to sniff out a faux Louis Vuitton, Coach or Prada bag at a minimum of fifty yards.  I can spot a classic Chanel D’Orsey pump at nearly a hundred yards.  Moving into a new area?  Let me sniff out the high end shopping district for you in no time!  There must have been a scent hound somewhere in my family tree!  Why then do I have the uncanny ability to always sniff out Mr. Wrong?  One would think that since I have an affinity (not that I can always afford them!) for the finer things in life (let’s just chalk it up to really good taste!) I would also possess the ability to find the one person God put on this earth for me to spend the rest of my life with.  Obviously not!  I have to wonder if it isn’t the perfect fairy tale storyline that we have been spoon-fed?  Does Disney play a significant part in my (and I am sure there are others) need to have the “fairy tale” relationship?

I know that relationships are hard work.  They are the same as good friendships.  They need to be cultivated, nurtured and cared for.  I would like to think that I have a fairly ok idea of what is normal and that I don’t expect a white horse, a castle and a glass slipper.  I don’t think I have overly high expectations.  I do have some expectations and I don’t think I am asking for too much.  If I give my significant other a card for example…leaving it on their pillow Christmas Eve night…is too much to expect them to open the card when they come to bed?  It would seem logical to me.  Are my expectations too high when it takes over twenty hours for them to open it and then never even make mention of the fact that I gave them a card?  If I am out of line in thinking it falls within normal levels of decency to at least say “Thank You” for a card, let alone read it and acknowledge the gesture then please let me know.

I fear that somehow the fairy tale happy ending that Disney has so perfectly spun for little girls of all ages might just have jaded my ideology of relationship behaviors.  I do try to treat others better than I myself would like to be treated.  Maybe that is my problem.  Who knows?  I seriously have to wonder though, if these magical tales of beautiful (always impossibly thin and pretty) princesses who come from humble beginnings haven’t tainted the real world perspectives of little girls of all ages the world over…this little girl specifically.

Written by

Theresa Jones

Savannah (AKA Never Never Land), GA
Photo Credit © Briana Hunter | Dreamstime.com

Tags: Disney, fairy tales, movies, princess, relationships