by Jordan Di Pirro
“‘Frozen’-mania” has led to a new standard in Disney princesses. Having Anna be saved by her sister’s love rather than a prince’s created a shift in fairy tales. Now, parents prefer not to have Prince Charming save the day with true love’s kiss. Instead they want an independent princess who doesn’t necessarily need a prince to live happily ever after. Jonathan Coulton, a singer/songwriter, wanted to give his daughter a role model. She had just hit the princess phase. He wrote a hit song called “The Princess Who Saved Herself.” The song is about a Rock N’ Roll princess who has an altercation with a dragon. Instead of swinging her electric guitar at him, she invites him to tea. Together they try and convince the evil queen to join their band. She happily accepts when they sweeten the deal with a new dress. Jonathan Coulton, with the help of Greg Pak, created a Kickstarter campaign to bring the song to life. Behold the children’s book: “The Princess Who Saved Herself” was born.
Coulton was shocked when his daughter hit a princess phase. He never pushed princesses on her. She found them on her own. Coulton said in a Kickstarter video: “I wrote the song because I have a daughter. She’s a really kick ass kid and I wanted to create a character as kick-a** as she is.” Greg Pak and Coulton had a working relationship before “The Princess Who Saved Herself.” Pak was a fan of Coulton’s previous work. One day he tweeted at Coulton that his songs from “Portal Games: Still Alive and I Want You Gone,” would make a great comic book. Coulton eagerly replied and they got to work. When Pak heard “The Princess Who Saved Herself” a few years later, he knew it had the potential to be made into something big as well. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pak said: “The song was dying to become a book. The character is so strong, and the song does this amazing job of laying out what she does — what her challenges are and how she meets them.”
The story challenges the stereotypes of princess by having the heroine be quite unusual. Her name is Gloria Cheng Epstein Takahara de la Garza Champion. The name shows her multi-racial roots. She doesn’t have a cute animal sidekick like most princesses. Instead, she has a pet snake. Gloria has no desire to marry a prince. In the song, she actually hangs up on him not once, but twice. She just wants to start a rock n’ roll band. While most princesses are teenagers, Gloria appears to be ten or younger. While the children’s book strays away from the main traditions of fairy tales, it has other elements to keep the magic. One example is Gloria’s parents. Just like Anna, Cinderella and Snow White, Gloria is an orphan. She has an extremely long name reminiscent of certain princes. Who could ever forget his Royal Highness Christopher Rupert Vwindemier Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James from Rodger and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”? “Princess Who Saved Herself” is a musical adventure. After all how could the story be a true princess fairy tale if it didn’t have music?
Despite Gloria having a pet snake, she is relatable to the audience. The main character is the same age as the key demographic for this children’s book: 10 and younger. Unlike Sophia in “Sophia the First” (a popular kid’s show), she dresses like a child instead of a princess. Her everyday style is playing dress up. She doesn’t even wear shoes or socks. She eats cake for breakfast. What kid wouldn’t want that meal?
“The Princess Who Saved Herself” may do more than save herself. She is a beacon for the future of fairy tales. Future fairy tales could involve less marriage proposals from dashing princes and more rock n’ roll music. As Pak said in the Kickstarter video, “I’d like to think of the book as a exploding the princess myth for a new generation of awesome girls.” It’s clear that Jonathan Coulton and Greg Pak have their hands on a phenomenon. “The Princess Who Saved Herself” may have started as a song, but now it’s expanded. Gloria can now be found on stickers, activity books, and even on t-shirts. The possibilities are endless for the girl who saved herself including changing the future for awesome girls.
