MovieChat Forums > Sleeping Beauty (1959) Discussion > Prince Phillip set the Standard

Prince Phillip set the Standard

posted 10 years ago by PreachCaleb
11 replies | jump to latest

Anyone else feel Phillip set the standard for heroes in Disney films. Before him, the Princes were pretty much bland and characterless. All they did was show up at the end and get the girl. Even Cinderella's prince had the Duke do the actual work of finding the girl he loved.

Phillip had a personality. He was goofy and lovable. But he fought a dragon--A Dragon!--for his princess.

After him, we get Eric, Aladdin, The Beast, and others who fight for the people they love and take a proactive approach.

But Phillip started it all.

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] jname96 10 years ago

Everyone swoons for Prince Phillip, and for good reason.

He was sexy. MMMM!

And yes, all the other things you listed only made him cooler :)

[–] cheedo 10 years ago

I wouldn't say bland. The Prince definitely had a personality, we just don't see much of it because he lacks screen time, obviously. No different than the Fantasia characters, who have never gotten this same critcism. The prince is a big romantic, obviously, and like a lot of men he initially does a more aggressive entrance- climbing over her wall, walking right up behind her and joining her in song- then seeing how much he startled her, trying a gentler approach. He's stalwart and isn't a man afraid to show his emotions. He was always one of my favorites. I love the classic prince types as much as I do the classic princess ones.

And Charming, he shouldn't be blamed for having less screen time. I don't see people's logic in criticizing characters for not having as much dialogue like that's their fault or a flaw in their personality (cough Aurora haters). He's also a romantic, impulsive, and doesn't seem to care about parties or marrying for politics.

I would agree Philip is the best though.

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[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 10 years ago

I agree with you.

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[–] first-things-first 10 years ago

Prince Charming captured my heart as a child, and continues to be first for me. Prince Phillip is a good second to me. He did over a lot for love.

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[–] dwellman21 10 years ago

Phillip had a personality.

Thaaaat's a stretch. He's the first Prince that got a decent amount of lines, and that's about it. He was still as bland and "whimsically in wuuuv" as the equally boring Aurora was.

It actually could have been more interesting if he had a similar attitude to the one he had when we first saw him as a kid, a kind of a smarmy lil' smartass spoiled by being raised in royalty for his entire life. Then you could play that off of the whole humble cottage girl Aurora personality. It'd be SOMETHING better than them both practically being the same person from the moment they met.

[–] PreachCaleb 10 years ago

Those are just his scenes with Aurora. We see he's playful and goofy with his horse and even his father.

Then we see his bravery and defiance in the face of Maleficent.

Phillip had decent screen time and used it to show who he was.

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[–] johnsokw 8 years ago

I get the feeling from interviews with people who knew Walt, that there were efforts by some employees to spice up and de-cutify Disney characters and scripts, but I guess he had the last word and wanted clean, family entertainment. I bet the animators got a lot of ribbing from non-Disney friends about the goody-two-shoes characters they helped create. I get the feeling Walt Disney knew very well how real, harsh, sassy, brash, trashy and vulgar Americans could be, he wanted to counter it. He wasn't denying its existence, he wanted to offer an alternative. Thank goodness. Does anyone really think most people in Darfur or Aleppo or shaky families want to see movies set in the squalor they live? That's an extreme example.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Doubting_Mustafa 8 years ago

Prince Phillip is the man. Charming to his woman from the start, and he slayed a dragon for her. He's definitely the best prince.

[–] littlemermaid22 8 years ago

Phillip is a great prince. What do you think of Flynn Rider? I wasn't a big fan.