geekosystem

The spurning of a legacy, or a sign of the times? According to a recent Los Angeles Times report, Disney's soon-to-be-released Tangled, notable for being the company's 50th animated feature film, marks a major shift in the entertainment company's strategy: Away from princesses, and towards more "gender-neutral," male-friendly entertainment. Reportedly miffed that 2009's The Princess and the Frog failed to be the megahit that it had hoped for (despite grossing more than $250 million worldwide on a $104 production million budget) on account of its overfocus on younger girls, Disney is said to be trying to bring "boys, teenagers and adults to the theater," with a "romantic male lead as a wise-cracking thief who mixes it up with bandits and beer-swilling thugs." But it's not just that Disney wants to bring more boys into the fold. What girls want has changed as well, thanks to the likes of, well, The Disney Channel:

There's no shortage of dark!Disney fan material on the internet. It's just something that people do with family-themed favorites from their childhoods: try to make them thematically relevant to their adult sensibilities. Jeffery Thomas' Twisted Princess series stands out from all the Goth!Tinkerbells due to sheer creativity.

After completing six initial drawings, Thomas gave in to the feedback and wound up doing seven more. With the latter seven, he included descriptions of how he saw each character's transformation. Most of these quick, alternate universe stories are of women who, since their rescuers have failed, are fighting for love, revenge or freedom with whatever was on hand, and by whatever means necessary.

My personal favorite is Megara, pictured above, but I'm a sucker for any reference to the Fates. More, below.