While watching another movie a few weeks back, I started wondering about one of the actresses whom I didn’t recognize. Based on the billing and the fact that she had an academy award, I knew I was supposed to know who she was, but I didn’t. So, as a good professor, I did some homework and discovered a little bit about this woman ultimately discovering that she is a Disney Princess that you don’t know is one.
Enter “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion”. It’s a campy buddy comedy essentially that highlights the friendship between two girls who really were friends in the context of a high school reunion. In looking into this actress and her filmology, I learned that this film was a product of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution This company is a division of the Walt Disney Company, a division that made apparently many of their non animated films in the 1990s. Essentially, this means that, since 1997, Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino are Disney princesses.
I know that you’re probably not thinking of characters from a Rated R movie as Disney Princesses and that these two particular choices are not what jumps to mind when you think of characters at Disney Land. However, they were chosen and highlighted by the Walt Disney Corporation to headline a story about two girls who have each other’s backs, who overcome obstacles, and who remain true against the villainy of their peers for more than a decade from high school and beyond. That sounds Disneyesque to me.
In a time when Disney has acquired other studios and added other women to their list of princesses, Kudrow and Sorvino are the OG of Disney Princesses. Sure, they lie outside the animated list that usually races to the front of recollection, but they are qualified in every way. It is possible that, owing to the movie’s rating, the executives hid this movie under their other studio umbrella so that those who thought only of the obviously family friendly animation studio would not come at them with pitch forks threatening to "kill the beast".
The movie isn’t terribly great as far as movies go, but the story is relatable and a "tale as old as time". High school is tough for many people. We all appreciate true friends. We think about those who we hope will be with us in thick and thin and help us make a satisfying life. That’s what these two women do in this movie, and that is why I think they count as Disney Princesses. It’s easy to think about Ariel or Belle or Snow White, but if you think about other non animated films, the moral of this story is consistent with the Disney brand. "Be true to your friends. Think well of those you claim to love. Stay true to who you are. Have hope in your future. Don’t change to please the jury." And it turns out happily ever after for everyone except for the prom king and queen who ended up with the worst outcome at the reunion, which is probably something we all were secretly hoping.
I don’t really know a lot about Mira Sorvino. I realized in doing research that I have seen her father in a crapton of movies, and I enjoyed his work. So far, I have only seen Mira in two films. However, I think she’s my new answer to “Who’s your favorite Disney princess?” because people will not expect that answer and I think creative answers to that question that are not “Princess Leia” are what this world needs. Bring back the Disney of the 1990s. Be creative, and make something of your life that you like.
And Mira, if you see this, which I doubt, I hope you have a Romy and Michelle day.
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