Are there any still unaware of the phenomenon that is “Disney Adults”? Similar to “Karens”, media is shared via the internet to usually mock these kinds of people. One may argue that those dubbed with the moniker “Karen” deserve the public shaming. Many agree to this for the grown-ups who expect Disney theme parks to be specifically for them, though others are more lenient. During a time when a set of over-18s are poisoning content made specifically for the minors among us, it is of particular note that Disney seems especially afflicted.
Clearly the source of this issue in general is the recent situation of young adults continuously aging but refusing to mature beyond their teenage years (at best) because they are lacking roots to reality. This topic is one of incredible importance to me, but I do not wish to delve into it much further for this particular article.
Instead I would like to point out that Disney is missing what could be a fantastic extension to their market:
Disney characters who grow up with their offspring being the protagonists the next generation grows with, and a potentially never-ending cycle to market.
Something of this kind has happened in at least one instance already. Millennials were blessed with The Lion King which not only had its movie and Broadway musical, but a direct-to-home sequel, a sidekick based television show, and whatever The Lion King One and a Half was supposed to be. The last of those was released in 2004, and after that there were no major animated airings for the franchise until 2016 with The Lion Guard. This episodic animation featured casts from the original movie and the initial sequel, as well as brand new characters such as the main character, son of Simba and Nala, Kion. The target audience for this show was younger children, and the show writing gives the impression of such. Still, a new generation got to grow up with Simba’s cubs and their friends, similar to how my generation grew up with Simba and Nala! The implications of this are incredible for Disney as a company as well as for fans and families.
I adored the original sequel, Simba’s Pride, as I heavily related to the main character, Simba’s daughter, Kiara. Actually, when I was a little girl there were multiple follow up movies that were perhaps money grabs by the company. These lacked the same quality the movies that were shown in theatres were given, and many still consider these almost-knockoffs as silly and dumb. This is not the place for me to argue my belief that we should have wholesome silly/dumb content to consume, especially with kids, nor that every release does not need to be an artistic masterpiece. Rather, I wish to promote allowing Disney characters to grow up, including and perhaps especially the princesses!
The only Disney Princess with a child to date is Ariel from The Little Mermaid. While the sequel, which was one of many VHS movies I obsessed over back then, is not up to par with the original technically, it is still very good. I would consider arguing that, in ways, it is even better! The movie follows not only Princess Melody, daughter of Eric and Ariel, but her mother as well. What the viewer gets from the experience is not only Melody struggling as a preteen who feels a fish-out-of-water living the life of nobility, but also Ariel’s attempts to do what is best for them as she can. Getting to see them not only interact but also how they each perceive the events of the movie (and each other!) offers plenty for a parent to engage with while watching alongside their children. Ariel comes across as overbearing in a scene, Melody lashes out in upset about it; parent and child can talk about how Ariel is protecting Melody even though Melody does not yet understand. When Ariel realizes she did wrong and apologizes to Melody for the mistake and how it was wrong for Melody and their family entirely the perfect opportunity is placed for parent and child to better understand they must respect each other.
Return to the Sea gives plenty conversation starters for parents and their kids, as well as more! Ariel is portrayed as a more mature version of herself with a healthy relationship with her husband, Eric. Not only do the couple make an incredible team in terms of fun fight scenes, they balance and support each other in other aspects as well. Together they are a unit and it shows. They are what a couple should strive to be! Thankfully this is built off an adult version of the little mermaid herself. In the first movie she is canonically 16 years old. As a mother, a beautiful balance of maturity, parental stressors, and her original personality all exist in the best blend possible. As I can tell, there is no denying that Ariel is still herself as portrayed in her first movie as a teenager who has simply matured into a proper woman. This is how she should have grown, as the audience should have as well!
Disney characters should be allowed to grow so they can continue to be role models and heroes as the original fans age too. Many do not detach from the characters anyway, so it seems logical to then age up the characters and their lore as well. Again, this gives Disney an actual excuse to keep with their established franchises instead of continuously shoving lame reboots and remakes. This expands the worlds the characters live in and the stories behind them too. Would this not be a better alternative to the current multiverse trend that seems to confuse more than complement?
Beyond the movies I already mentioned, there are some other Disney franchises that exist along the premise of the children of preexisting characters. One of these is Disney’s Descendants which has plenty of positive reviews, and it premises itself around the idea of villains’ children attending a school for the offspring of heroes. I am aware there are several series of this type in general, and they tend to be separated from the original world building such as with a fantastical-modern high school setting. That has its own place in media, of course, but it lacks what pieces like Simba’s Pride and Return to the Sea offer by building upon the preexisting narrative. This maintains immersion. After all, the actual world may change but not to the degree that fiction can when it is adjusted to detached settings for plot purposes!
Growing up with too much content, too easily available leaves a mark on impressionable young minds. While all things come with positives and negatives, it seems clear that there are more pros for character-universes that have passage of time similar to real life. A toddler’s animated hero can help guide them through multiple phases of development, including when it comes time to welcome the next generation and seed them with deep roots for our family trees. Characters will no longer need to go through revamps which many often find upsetting, and instead will leave a legacy of their own. Disney could be creating stories that will pass on to the point our great-grandchildren could grow with their fictional figures having history similar to their own.
All sorts of art reflect life back to us, in ways to help us better know ours. As we change, so does the reflection and how it affects us in a potentially never-ending cycle. Current generations have had terrible trouble coming to terms with their adulthood, resulting in retaining childish ways that are bad for all. Perhaps beloved media is a potential aid to this problem. Let characters we age with return to their own childhoods when they become parents as most people are bound to do for themselves. The family unit needs to be seen widely as glorious once again, and what better start than by magical mice granting us examples with characters and worlds already held close in the hearts of many?