First off, here is the order, analysis right bellow the list.

1 - Ariel and Eric

2 - Flynn and Rapunzel

3 - mulan and Shang

4 - Phillip and Aurora

5 - jasmim and Aladdin

6 - cinderela and Charming

7 - Belle and Beast

8 - Naveen and Tiana

9 - Snow White and the Prince

10 - Pocahontas and John Smith




Pocahontas and John Smith

Probably Disney's most angsty couple, seeing as the build up of their relationship starts with one of them pointing a loaded gun at the other intending to shoot without a segundo thought and being interrupted por nothing other than the overwhelming mindblowing attractiveness. And that's exactly my primary issue with this couple which fundamentally affects my perception of all the further progression of their relationship that in my opinion doesn't work convincingly. The "love at first sight" trope technically does apply to them therefore it wouldn't be consistent to critique the lack of development regarding their romance, however, couples that are supposed to instantly fall in amor and get married the seguinte dia require an ultimate mutual understanding in order for their relationship to come off as believable in terms of a fairy tale genre - which "Pocahontas" as a movie definitely cannot be classified and characterized as. When a romantic story starts with a conflict development is required and the "love at first sight" concept wouldn't work naturally. John Smith starts out as a possessive individual with racist tendencies who supposedly changes his entire mentality over mere segundo because a gorgeous woman that strikes him as exotic, intriguing and undoubtedly in a desperate need of his superior self teaching her and her people how to live exposes him to a concept of painting with the as cores of the wind. Admittedly, John actually does listen to her and subcounsciously or intentionally learns from her with the movie establishing it quite clearly, however, there is no evidence or indication of the information and wisdom he is consuming while she sings a beautiful song to him being relevant and challenging in regards to his mindset given that the only reason why he decides to deviate from his initial plan of invading her land and her people is his attraction to her rather than an actual reform of his values. Their romantic moments are handled in a visually appealing manner, stunning scenery accompanying each and every interaction of the couple, however, it was pretty clear that they were two people with fundamentally different outlooks and attitudes that were never meant nor had any solid potential to work in a long lasting functional relationship. Pocahontas largely contributed to John's personality development whereas he was merely a milestone in her life and an experience she was supposed to learn from and mover on.



Snow White and the Prince

There isn't much of a storyline constructed for this couple, hence why the most accurate terms to describe them would be sweet and lovely. Snow White was a very young girl without even the most basic experience in regards to life or relationship, much like the majority of other princesses, and her adorable emotional investment in the idea of how amazing and noble and charming her prince presumably is came off as relatable and believable at the very beginning of the movie, however, the inexplicable idolization that followed later on accompanied with the concept of a man she didn't possess virtually any knowledge about and neither got to determine whether they would actually enjoy spending time together being painted as "the only one for her" proceeded to add problematic undertones of immaturity and contrivance to their relationship. Had the movie presented their feelings as a naive teenage attempt at romance it would have worked so much mais consistently contrary to the way it ended up looking due to the story passing their baseless attraction for some sort of an ultimate all consuming amor that is destined to last forever, even though the "love at first sight" trope requires, as mentioned above, an instant establishment of mutual fundamental understanding that is supposed to evidently come off as mature, certain and inevitable which wasn't the case with this particular couple given that the storyline involved badly suited contradictory elements such as teenage naivety and the concept of epic and overwhelming all at once, with no organic devolvation from one to another.




Naveen and Tiana

Couple with objectively the best chemistry had a very little potential to begin with and later on demonstrated an incredibly unnatural, rushed and unconvincing progression of feelings and relationship, despite the premise being presumably about the significance, importance and necessity of reconsideration, change and development. The concept of "I change a bit but only if you change a bit" can work organically only when two characters are total equals. Tiana and Naveen, however, were established beforehand to be far from an equal partnership seeing as either intended on using the other for selfish purposes hence their first kiss being initiated for the sake of a certain profit on both ends (which is ultimately an off putting and unappealing start for couple's development). Where Naveen's self entitled and obnoxiously arrogant attitude is hardly addressed Tiana's supposed need to learn to "have fun" (and the very assumption about her lacking said ability comes off as irrational to say the least considering her intense emotional investment in the idea of entertainment seeing as her primary goal was to own a resturant where people would be able to enjoy music, good comida and no geral, global spend their spare time in a comfortable light hearted atmosphere which surpasses any superficial perceptions of "fun" being inevitably linked to mindless partying), inconsiderately highlighted por Naveen during the systematic and deliberate mockery of not only her working class status (the disturbing "waitress" comments made por him in relation to Tiana on mais than one occasion) but her personality is condoned and upheld por the movie rather than presented as one of numerous examples of Naveen's destructive behaviour - which isn't surprizing since his body shaming tendencies and frequent humiliation of his friend/servant were not pointed out or established as wrong either because said friend ended up being villainized. The ultimate issue I have with their romance is the fact that Tiana did not have to nor was obligated to change whereas Naveen desperately required a convincing, consistent development he never happened to get seeing as his moment of supposed heroism was anything but an epic sacrifice and only highlighted the fact that he learnt nothing from his journey with Tiana and wouldn't hesitate to fulfill his initial goal of taking advantage of woman's naivety and desperate desire to marry a prince intending on using her as a money bag while already being in amor with her best friend, only this time he doesn't do it for himself (still no justification for a fundamental lack of a regard for women, Naveen) and as a bonus feels bad about it because it would mean not getting everything he wants. The entire progression of Tiana and Naveen's relationship was based on them continuously calling each other out on certain weaknesses and flaws rather than demonstrating acceptance which is the essence of an organic compatible match. Tiana unwillingly agreed on fitting herself into Naveen's concepts of having fun despite evidently not being interested in changing anything about her approach to life whereas Naveen devolved from having a spoiled rich boy complex to developing a poor rich boy complex overnight - all because he was fairly certain that Tiana's business is mais important to her than their amor which is also not a basis for functional healthy relationship. With that said, por the very end of the movie they look like a couple that can be genuinly happy together and it's nothing but admirable that Naveen sticks around helping Tiana with her resturant and obtaining new skills as well as fulfilling his potential as a musician - at last. Their decision to stay frogs together earlier on is one of the sweetest and most heartwarming moments ever shared por a disney couple before or since and I give them all the possible credit for that, however, the execution of their romance was too problematic for me to fully embrace it.




Belle and Beast

Much like Tiana and Naveen, the execution of their relationship didn't live up to it's initial concept of an implied subtle build up. Beast's verbal abuse as well as Belle's attempt to contribute to his development por exposing him to some mesa, tabela mannerism and the beauty of a printed word came off as profoundly problematic in the light of the fact that when a relationship starts with drastic misunderstanding further progression requires an emotional journey rather than the story of man's insecurities and struggle with lack of self worth which ultimately drove him into the position of oppressor and a woman he strived to impress por proceeding to behave prim and proper. What's admirable about this couple is Belle's appreciation for Beast's genuine effort to change for the better as well as Beast's sincerety and unwillingess to come back to his old ways. Had Beast realized his destructive choices and treatment of others were fundamentally unsettling and disturbing because they actually WERE rather than because a mesmerizingly beautiful woman wouldn't amor him if he doesn't revaluate his life the story would have ended up being significantly better, although still would have been rushed seeing as amor at first sight concept wasn't implied whereas the build up was ultimately forced and even mais rushed than certain "we shall be married in the morning" disney couples type. Even after Belle and Beast form an emotional connection there is no indication of Belle perceiving Beast as anyone other than a friend, hence her referring to him stricktly that way with no romantic affection in sight, up untill the final scene when Beast is dying and a sudden amor declaration follows.





cinderela and Charming

Not as good as Aurora and Phillip in regards to representing the "love at first sight" trope, but definitely appealing and convincing because either character was an adult exploring their romantic potential and opened to new feelings. Their first encontro, data goes exactly the way a first encontro, data should go: they dance together, maybe talk a little and maybe just sit in comfortable silence, they're enjoying being por each other's side and there isn't anywhere else they would want to be. After years of oppression and mistreatment cinderela felt happy, beautiful and desired possibly for the first time in her life. Charming often gets flack for not going to procurar for her after the ball, but I think people tend to overlook the significance of multiple factors: firstly, he possessed no knowledge regarding Cinderella's family situation or what she had to endure in her daily life therefore couldn't possibly know that there was even a remote chance of her being in any sort of danger she needed to be rescued from and secondly, he was not designed to be the knight in shining armor or a superior and financially reliable male savour fixing a miserable, incapable and unfulfilled lady por providing her with a dull cliched stability for cinderela was initially established as her own knight in shining armor and an admirably strong person who was meant to fight the battle against oppression on her own with the help of her friends and emotional endurance and it wasn't Charming's place to save her from Lady Tremaine.




aladdin and Jasmine

A relationship between two equally flawed people that regardless of any tough circumstances are always struggling to do the right thing even despite making mistakes in a process is what I consider the most appealing about them. Aladdin's struggle with self worth drove him into lying to jasmim and the story clearly presented it as a wrong decision, making a room for his character to get an individual development and mover on from the problematic aspects of his personality as well as his insecurities por acknowleding the destructive nature of them rather than changing completely for the sake of impressing a girl. In fact, as revolutionary as it is for a disney movie and a "prince with a personality" whose ultimate struggle revolved around working through his flaws, Aladdin's attempts to change solely for jasmim backfired immensely and didn't in any way contribute to his success in the end contrary to Beast or Naveen. Aladdin's decision to mover on from his flaws was related to processing and recognizing the necessity of accepting yourself the way you are in order for others to amor you, and only after it happens do him and jasmim get a chance at being together, which is a significantly healthier concept.





Phillip and Aurora

The most accurate representation of what "love at first sight" trope is supposed to be about: an instant attraction, an establishment of ultimate trust, captivating chemistry and maturity. You'll ask why maturity? Because regardless of how passionately and strongly was Aurora commited to Phillip she was willing to put her responsibilities, duties and princess obligations above her amor for him while her coração was aching enormously because of the intensity of her feeling. She doesn't give up on him emotionally, not one bit and not for a second, but also doesn't let her idolization get in a way of acceptance and importance of other things such as meeting her parents. Phillip loves her unconditionally and is willing to risk his life repeatedly in order to save hers, in addition to challenging his father's outdated values and perceptions in regards to marriage, which is also an indication of maturity. Neither acts as an experienced person (in Aurora's case it's obvious seeing as she had spent her entire life in the forest and interacting with no one other than her "aunts" whereas Phillip's dating history remains unspecified, however, considering how awkward and unbalanced his attempts at flirting were during their first meeting it's fair to conclude he didn't have much of an experience himself) but their feeling is fully formed and doesn't come off as half baked compared to Snow White/Prince and to a lesser extent Charming and Cinderella.




mulan and Shang

Possibly the most underrated disney couple ever yet perfect for each other on so many ways and on every level. The contribution of either character to the growth and self fulfillment of the other is immense an enormously admirable. They worked organically as a team, demonstrating an exemplary partnership and even despite the numerous obstacles such as Mulan's lie (for admittedly noble reasons) their bond remained unbroken and their ability to work together so exceptionally well was the key to their ultimate triumph in the end. mulan needed a person who would not only accept her but motivate her seeing as she started out as quite a passive individual and didn't show any signs of enthusiasm or rebelliousness prior to the extreme situation when her father's life was on the line. Shang on the other hand represents an exceptional balance of passion and rationalism, the qualities mulan eventually obtains thanks to him. It's hard to amor in spite of flaws but it's way harder to gradually work through said flaws together por continously exposing one another to new angles and sharing experiences, which is what mulan and Shang were keen on.




Rapunzel and Flynn

Two people on a journey of self discovery that started even prior to their worlds colliding. Either was lost, insecure and deprived of any guidance or actual support which was their most prominent similarity that helped them to relate so well. The vast differences in their behaviour or experiences was merely a matter of environment and circumstances they were unwillingly put in since childhood while being in virtually the same place emotionally. amor at first sight undoubtedly wasn't the case when it comes to the development of their romance, however, neither did their relationship start with an outright hatred or mutual distaste like Tiana/Naveen and Belle/Beast respectively which contributed to a natural and convincing progression of their feelings for one another. Back when Flynn wanted nothing other than finding a way to make Rapunzel turn around, giving up on the idea of her "forbidden road trip", and hand back his sacola, saquinho, mochila his annoyance had nothing to do with her personality or anything other than one obvious fact: he desperately wanted the crown back because it was his key to riches and a carefree existence where he would't have to think about how to make a living anymore. His priorities were superficial because he had nothing else to hold on to or anyone to motivate him, much like Rapunzel who initially intended on seeing the floating lights and then coming back to the abusive household she had been living in for her entire life. Either character was terrified of changes yet subconsciously strived for them. At first completely involuntary and then intentionally and effortfully they contributed to the development of each other's self worth por providing one another with something the other desperately needed - acceptance. There was no single instance when Rapunzel would call Flynn out on his thieving ways or demand changes from him nor was there a single instance when Flynn would point at her overly enthusiastic, eccentric behaviour advicing her to examine it. Flynn's attachment to Rapunzel's energetic personality made a way for him to enjoy being right beside her while she paints or reads or dances even when he didn't want to participate in those activities himself. Making her happy made him content and he was genuinly invested in everything she exposed him to. During the barco scene Rapunzel gives him back the sacola, saquinho, mochila and even encourages him to take the crown, she is ready to accept any decision he makes without being condescending and patronizing, without pointing out his flaws or telling him how unworthy he is for making a handful of wrong choices. And por accepting him the way he is she inspires him to reconsider his perspective and goals. Flynn's part in "I see the Light" defined merely his thoughts rather than being a grandiose direct statement about his sudden realization that he was wrong or that she had an influence on him. He doesn't say any of it, he proves it por his actions continously. In fact, he doesn't even tell her he is going to give the sacola, saquinho, mochila back to his former partners in crime in order to repay this depth and quit. He doesn't do it to impress her, he does it because it's RIGHT. He isn't giving her his admirably reformed self, he is giving her love, tenderness and attention while she gives him hope, acceptance and amor in return. And the purest form of said amor is defined por Rapunzel's willingess to sacrifice her long awaited freedom for Flynn's life as well as Flynn's willingess to lay his life for her freedom.




Ariel and Eric

Before the ridiculously long post I already have prepaired for them since I published it on Tumblr awhile atrás as a commentary, I'd like to point out the originality of a "love at first sight" and "gradual build up" combination regarding their romance. disney undoubtedly took a challenge with this couple after introducing the audience to it's predecessors. Ariel and Eric's first encounter does fall into the "love at first sight" category, however, the movie light heartedly mocks the naivety of the whole situation on numerous occasions, including but not limited when Ariel is plucking the petals of a flor in order do determine whether or not she and Eric are meant to be. Even despite being already mais intensely developed than other "love at first sight" couples seeing as Ariel got to witness Eric committing acts that defined him as a person such as his investment in música and a down to earth attitude despite being a royalty, with an additional distaste for pretentious and official such as the statue presented por Grimsby (traits and qualities she could relate to) or willingess to risk his life in order to save his pet - something Ariel does mere segundos later in order to save Eric himself while staying around the burning ship before and after it's exposion to make sure he makes it out alive - even despite all that the movie doesn't stop on the already established connection they formed when Eric caught a glimpse of her cantar a gorgeous song before drifting back into the waves. Ariel outlines a plan on seeing Eric again - remarkably in her MERMAID form, expecting him to accept her exactly the way she is and not intending to demand from him to marry her off the bat as a reward for saving his life. She wants to get to know him further, to form a stronger bond, to have an actual interaction with him. Her decision to go to Ursula was a moment of despair related to her father's unwillingess to acknowledge her entitlement to having her own outlooks and opinions as well as his ultimate objection to at the very least trying to analyze and take an objective look at the human world rather than discriminating it entirely. Becoming a human was a part of Ariel's self fulfillment and a reform she had been striving for, long before laying her eyes on Eric, as for her feelings for him they remained absolutely in the same condition as prior to selling her voice to Ursula (a voice that entirely belonged to her therefore no one is to instruct her on what to do with it or her own body): she wanted to get to know him and build a relationship with him and she was completely entitled to wanting to explore her feelings, regardless of her father's disapproval and aggressive condemnation of her interests and aspirations, this approach of his being the primary reason for her rebellion and turning to Ursula in the first place.

And now the post specifically written in order to give a mais detailed insight into Eric's motives and analysis of his feelings, given that we have already covered Ariel's.

Eric was a character initially established as a hopeless, dedicated dreamer with a designed and strong ideology of what true amor is supposed to stand for, unwilling to accept any other concepts or inorganically fit into other people’s standards and perceptions of relationships and marriage continuously thrown at and forced on him in enormous proportions. The fact that the movie highlights Eric’s tendency to turn girls’ down when he sincerely believes they are not his one and only amor that is meant to “strike him like a lightning” and that he is yet to find is a clear indication of him sticking to his ideology and being true to his principles for quite a long time - possibly since forever. Similarly to any other dreamer in the world, people doubt his life comprehension skills suggesting him to live in the real world and being fairly certain that one dia he gets his head out of the clouds, obtains rationalism, settles down and acknowledges the delusional, baseless and immature/juvenile nature of his mentality. And then there comes a dia when an event no one could expect, predict or envision happens - the lightening literally strikes and his one and only amor bursts into his life exactly the way a devoted dreamer like Eric would imagine it to happen: unexpectedly, suddenly, with no warnings, falling for him at the very first sight and leaving a glimpse of her feeling with the only gift she had at that point - her voice. That voice is his only link to her and the abstract and incorporeal symbol Eric proceeds to hold on to for it’s the only connection with “the one” that is left for him. Other people react to his platonic commitment as sceptically as they always reacted to anything related to his idea of love, but just as he never took their opinions and perceptions into the account, he doesn’t seem to care this time either - in fact, he cares even less. He has found true love! And there’s absolutely no doubt they are destined to reunite again, because Eric’s irrational mind and attitude of a dreamer cultivates and upholds the concept of amor transcending everything and being essentially inevitable. The sadistically creative and cunning irony backfires shortly after his coração is officially regarded as taken por someone he is determined to find and be unconditionally attached to. But he meets a girl, a girl who lacks the core identity of his idealized dream - her gorgeous voice - a girl he initially believes to be like a dozen of others before her, a girl that he is entirely convinced will NEVER be the one. Eric’s established ideology does not in any way allow the slightest step to the contrary nor implies the consideration of the possibility of a mistake in determining true amor which should never be defined por logic but por an inexplicable intense feeling that comes virtually out of nowhere. And this newfound friend of his, a weird, funny, overly enthusiastic, impressionable and outgoing young lady confronts each and every one of his beliefs, exposing him to other, unexplored, unconsidered and overwhelmingly challenging sides of love: an adventure, a rollercoaster, a build up of emotion, an effort you instinctively put into making the other happy and content, a simplicity of interaction and making the other smile just por the mere fact of your presence (or existence). Involuntarily, subconsciously Eric comes to appreciate those little but valuable details and specifics mais than his designed ideology and the concept of lightning and inevitability of true amor being grandiose, glorious, groundbreaking and all consuming doesn’t seem as much of a realistic perspective to him anymore. In a matter of just two days a devoted dreamer is forced to grow up not por the outside forces or other people but por his own feelings, continuously struggling and being massively conflicted in a process. And there comes his presumably final struggle with himself and his ideals - to either keep holding on to what he essentially believes in or to give himself a chance to be with someone who cares, who reaches out, who breathes, dances, makes stupid things and includes him in every dangerously reckless activity she can think of because of being incredibly excited to share her experiences with him just like he shares his world with her. And in that moment he realizes he cares too and he wants this extraordinary girl to be a part of his life regardless of how strongly he is still commited to “the one”; por confidently and decisively throwing the flute into waves Eric accepts the possibility of his ideology being wrong, misguided, misconcepted and childish. He makes his choice in favour of the “real” girl, embracing his own maturing and coming to terms with the necessity of a change. It’s fair to suggest that for at least a segundo he regretted rejecting and moving on from his established ideals, but he does it for her nonetheless. And he is willing to always do something for her, to always sacrifice for her, to reform for her, to be as good for her as she is for him. The only upsetting and uncomfortable aspect of this kind of reformation/progression is the extent of change, which comes off as too excessive for him to handle without losing himself hence another conflict. Fastforwarding to the point where Ursula/Vanessa’s charm is broken (her presence in this storyline is irrelevant to the emotional side of Eric’s struggle and development given that he was hypnotized por her and forced into marriage without consent) and Ariel turns out to be the “girl with the voice”. The two halves of the novel are finally tied into a one whole piece at last and they make sense. Everything makes sense, starting from Eric’s faith in unconditional, unpredictable, inevitable amor and the profound significance of sacrifice and growth. It all pays off in the end because Eric NEVER for a segundo let himself be passive - something he is being frequently accused of. Because the complexity and simplicity of amor go hand in hand as well as the exaggeration and rationalism, because Eric wasn’t relying on faith anymore but entirely on himself, because Ariel wasn’t a naive lovesick cachorro, filhote de cachorro plucking the petals of a flor to figure out whether a guy of her dreams loves her or not but a fierce woman set out to fight for her happiness, because their amor for each other was never constant, always intensely progressing, obtaining new forms and taking new challenges while remaining everlasting and unshattering. Because under no circumstances are they willing to let go of each other and they succeed and get their happy ending because it’s the essential part of their amor and who they are as individuals.