So when Shrek opened with the titular ogre tearing a page out of a Disney-style storybook to wipe his butt, giggling children and their parents alike were ready to see the giant taken down a peg. In fact, almost all of Shrek‘s shots landed perfectly, especially its mockery of the well-established Disney princess formula.

Postmodern Princesses

It can be argued that Disney rolled admirably with Shrek‘s punch, producing the wonderful Enchanted in 2007. On the surface, Enchanted seemed to operate with the same cynicism as Shrek, casting Amy Adams as innocent/naive Princess Giselle, James Marsden as a bumbling Prince, and thrusting them into real New York.

To be sure, movie lands plenty of self-aware shots at Disney’s catalog but it still retains and remixes those tropes. Giselle is taken aback when roaches and pigeons answer her call instead of bluebirds and deer, but she takes it in stride and sings “Happy Cleaning Song.” She may be horrified that divorce court exists, but by the end of the movie, she’s convinced the couple represented by her actual true love Robert (Patrick Dempsey) to forgo their separation. She even earns the respect of Robert’s forward-thinking daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey), who eventually places Giselle alongside Ruth Bader Ginsberg and other feminist icons.

Successful as Enchanted is, though, it could not completely shake off Shrek‘s charges. In fact, the princesses who followed Enchanted have more in common with Fiona than Giselle. Tiana from The Princess and the Frog and Rapunzel from Tangled rescue their respective male leads more than the guys rescue them. The most important relationship in Frozen is between co-princesses Elsa and Anna, not with the surprise villain in Prince Hans or the likable oaf Kristoff. Neither Moana nor Mirabel from Encanto are hampered are hampered by the lack of a romantic lead, nor honestly are their movies.

All of these women are outsiders, for whom love takes a distant second place behind self-actualization. Nothing demonstrates this change more than Ralph Breaks the Internet, in which classic princesses such as Cinderella and Jasmine express shock that Vanellope doesn’t get rescued by a prince. And lo and behold, these princesses all participate in the movie’s big climax, helping to rescue Vanellope from the raging, possessive Ralph.

Shrek Forever After

These movies have their postmodern merits, but Snow White doesn’t feel like it needs them, not even in its 2025 version. The best parts of the recent movie all involve Zegler playing the material straight. When she sings and dances, even with this nightmare inducing take on the Dwarfs, Snow White charms.