Literally like 90% of all Disney Princesses got married at 16 or something.
Disney/Pixar’s Turning Red hit Disney+ this weekend, and it’s an absolute charmer. It’s full of early 2000s nostalgia, it tells an emotional and relatable mother-daughter story, and the animation is beautiful and inventive.
Disney / Pixar / Everett Collection
But apparently there are some detractors out there who think the movie is “too mature” for young audiences…specifically, because it deals with puberty, sexuality, and menstruation.
the criticism around #turningred being “too mature” is so sad. besides the fact a lot of it is clearly ppl being uncomfortable w/diff cultures and disguising those hideous thoughts w/concern “for the children,” why on earth should anyone feel shame around periods or attraction?
Twitter: @kimmythepooh
Let’s set aside for a moment the fact that puberty, teenage crushes, and menstruation are all things that actually happen to 13-year-olds (the age of the movie’s protagonist, Mei) and are therefore things that should be talked about openly in a film with a target audience around that age. Even if you think Turning Red is “inappropriate,” there are so many other Disney movies that are WAY more inappropriate. Here are some examples:
Ariel wants to bang Prince Eric so hard that she gives up her family, her friends, and her frickin’ VOICE. She then marries him at the end of the movie, at the age of 16. Ariel’s horniness makes Mei’s drawings look pretty tame by comparison.
Belle falls in love with her debatably abusive captor, who only really becomes a good person after she “changes” him. Yeah, sure, he gives her a library, but there are so many red flags here.
3.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Disney / Everett Collection
Problematic depictions of dwarfism aside, the prince swoops in at the end and kisses an unconscious — or even presumably dead — Snow White. That’s creepy at best and raises all kinds of consent issues. It’s also worth mentioning that Snow White is supposed to be 14 years old in the movie.
4.
Sleeping Beauty
Walt Disney Co. / Everett Collection
See above. Seriously, stop kissing comatose princesses.
Princess Jasmine — who is 15 in the movie — marries a man who straight-up lied to her in order to “win” her. Also, remember that moment when she seduces Jafar in order to distract him? Again…she’s 15.
A baby elephant gets drunk. I’m just saying it’s kinda weird.
OK, so, Lilo and Nani’s parents die in a car crash, and then as Nani attempts to raise Lilo herself, Lilo is taken away by CPS agents. To me, that’s much more “mature” than showing a box of pads.
The toys literally accept their mortality. They just look at each other and silently hold hands as they inch closer to an imminent — and violently painful — death. I mean…my god.
Scar straight-up murders his own brother and then blames Simba for it, which feels a little more mature than a 13-year-old’s fanfic drawings, IDK.
10.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
This movie deals with lust, murder, and genocide. I mean, Frollo murders a woman and then attempts to drown her baby in like, the first 10 minutes. He tries to burn Esmeralda at the stake because she doesn’t want to have sex with him. Dude is SCARY.
So, there you go. Naturally, all of these Disney and Pixar movies are beloved classics with very mature themes (and varying degrees of horniness), so it’s only fitting that Turning Red joins them!
What did you think of Turning Red? Let us know in the comments!