After Carrie Fisher’s tragic death on December 27, fans of the “Star Wars” saga and her character, Princess/General Leia Organa, mourned her loss by showing their devotion the the beloved sci-fi heroine. Now, a doting father of five girls has started a Change.org petition asking Disney (which bought LucasFilm in 2012 and owns all Star Wars rights) to make Leia an official Disney princess.
“After the tragic lose of Carrie Fisher,” the petition reads, “we feel that it is only fitting for Disney to do away with the rule that an official Disney princess must be animated and make Leia a full-fledged princess. This would be a wonderful way to remember Carrie and a welcoming to one of Disney’s new properties that is beloved by millions. What we are asking is that the Walt Disney Corporation hold a full ceremony inducting Leia as the newest Disney princess as well as a special service in memory of Carrie Fisher.”
The dad, Cody Christensen, told Geek Exchange, “I started the petition because it was something that bugged me since Disney bought the property. Disney had princesses and Leia was a Princess. Then I found out that Disney had set rules for who could and couldn’t be a princess. With Carrie’s death, I think that it’s time to change the rules. I actually have five daughters and there are constantly princess movies playing in the background.” He explained, “We are big fans of the current Princess line-up, but I think that Leia is a really strong, positive, awesome role model for my girls, and she would make a great addition.”
The Disney Princess line includes animated princesses like Snow White, Cinderella, Tiana, and Merida from Pixar’s “Brave.” It’s a hugely lucrative portion of Disney’s product business, with toys, costumes, and tons of merchandise. Including Leia in the official line could give it a bit of a feminist boost, considering how strong, powerful, and witty the character is.
Disney Princess culture has been studied and analyzed for quite a few years now with many psychologists wondering if it helps or hurts young girls to admire a bunch of passive princesses. Or does adding more active, independent princesses like Merida, Mulan, Moana, and even Leia mean that young girls would have more inspiring princess characters to look up to? Christensen has a point that Leia is definitely much more of a role model than Cinderella, but who can say? However, Leia’s role has evolved from Princess to General in the new sequel films, so would making the character an official Princess even be appropriate any more?
There’s still another hitch: Disney might not even be legally able to make Leia an official Disney Princess. The main reason why Giselle from “Enchanted” is not an official Disney princess is because the company would have to pay Amy Adams for the use of her likeness. Since Leia’s likeness also stems from a real actress, it might be a difficult move to make, and require payments to Fisher’s estate or a lot of legal loopholes.
The petition has already hit about 37,000, but Disney has yet to respond to the call.
