I l’amour lire fanfiction. Especially the really stupid ones where some Mary Sue meets Justin Bieber at Starbucks and two minutes later, she's pregnant.
Anyway, Disney fanfiction is usually read-able... usually.

Now, I don't write fanfiction. Frankly, I'm far too lazy to finish a full story, although I am quite imaginative and I do feel that I understand the characters well enough to do an okay job in portraying them. A big problem in Disney fanfiction, and fanfiction in general, is that authors often misunderstand the characters.

In this article, I am going to focus solely on high school AUs, because the concept is very populaire in Disney fanfiction, and all these problems seem to stem from misunderstanding, ou even bias, of the characters. I really hope to help a lot of fanfiction writers in their writing.
Now, let's see...

1) Aurora is the meanest, craziest skank in school and everyone hates her

Aurora is not a very populaire princess, but that doesn't mean she should be used as a plot device in order to make us sympathize with the protagonist. The whole point of écriture fanfiction is to use populaire characters from a montrer ou movie ou whatever, and include them in your own story. Aurora is far too nice to go out of her way to ruin anybody's life, and she's definitely too shy to publicly humiliate somebody. Why use her name and her face and then stick the poor girl with an awful personality that's nothing like her own? Now that's just mean. If toi don't like Aurora, then don't even include her, especially if you're going to completely change her personality.
Note: I will probably write an article listing all the Disney girls who could fill the role of some kind of mean girl in fanfiction. Aurora's not one of them.

2) Belle is a shy, nerdy prude who gets straight As and does nothing but study

Let me start off par saying that Belle is not shy. She's antisocial, yes, but seeing the way she talks to Gaston, the beast, and pretty much everybody in town ranges from feisty to friendly. seconde point, Belle reads, but she's not interested in lire encyclopedias ou anything that might educate her (Shakespeare is so not educational). She reads adventure novels. Belle is smart, but she's not smart because she reads. And she's not nerdy because she reads either. Yeah, she's kind of a know-it-all and acts very condescending towards others at times, but most fanfiction authors stereotype Belle as a nerd. I'm not saying that Belle would be a good student, but the best students aren't quite as easily distracted as Belle as they focus mainly on their schoolwork and work very hard, unlike Belle who would be plus interested in the book she's currently reading. Oh, and Belle is definitely no stick-in-the-mud. She loves adventure, and she likes to have fun. Don't take a special character and turn her into a stereotype. I personality think that Belle has a little rebel inside of her. Just stick her in the right group and you'll see.

3) Aladin is a notorious bad boy who is flunking in school

LOL. This one cracks me up, toi know, because guys who donate their nourriture to homeless kids are totally badass. Aladin is a thief, yes, but he'd mentioned many times that he steals to survive. He does appear to have fun stealing, but I'm sure there are ways to make him mischievous and fun without turning him into a total bad boy. Al lacks that mysterious vibe, the cockiness and the nonchalant attitude that makes a bad boy, and he can't be taken seriously as one. Now, as for the flunking thing? Aladin is very smart. Pretty much every time he helps someone out, including himself, he uses his head plus than his cœur, coeur ou physical attributes. And he doesn't come across as lazy either. When Al needs to do something, he goes ahead and does it, and seems somewhat focused. He appears to have an analytical, mathematical brain, as seen when he saves himself and Abu from being crushed to death in the snow. I think Aladin would be the kid who goofs off in class but surprises everybody with his impressive rapporter card.
Note: This could probably apply to Jim, Flynn and Naveen too, but only to a certain extent. The only character who can really fit into the bad boy mould is the beast.

4) Ariel is a Mary Sue

Disney's most populaire princess is, obviously, a common choice as the protagonist in high school AUs, and I can see why. She's the best pick for anybody who wants to write from the point of view of a typical teenage girl. Now, I'm not a fan of Ariel, but she is so not a Mary Sue. Ariel may be very typical, and rather generic, but she is in no way portrayed as a Mary Sue. However, in fanfiction, Ariel comes across as a totally special, perfect girl who is constantly victimized and has to face countless challenges, none of which are her fault. Here's a écriture tip for you: NOBODY LIKES A GOOD MARY SUE. Seriously, it's annoying and it needs to stop. The only thing worse than taking a normal character and turning them into a Mary Sue is a self-insert Mary Sue.

5) Shang is totally cool around girls

Not a lot of people are bothered par this point because Shang isn't very noticeable in high school fanfictions. One of the coolest things about Shang is that he's so serious and intimidating around guys, but adorably awkward around girls. Writers, this is your chance to write about an interesting and challenging character, without the hard work and strain of coming up with him all par yourself. Why change such a fun quirk in order to make Shang easier to write?

6) John Smith has no idea how to express himself

Another point that not many people would notice, but this seems to happen just as often as Mary Sue-Ariel does. "Pocahontas, look at me. I'd rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you." Remember that? Somehow, in fanfiction, John Smith is portrayed as an emotionless, unromantic robot who keeps all of his feelings bottled up because he's not sure how to montrer Then. And not to mention his aléatoire cheesy outbursts at the most convenient moments. Just.... no.

7) jasmin and Meg are the school sluts

Both of these girls have a sexy and seductive air about them, but they've both got exceptionally high standards in men. Meg had been hurt in the past, and she became guarded in order for that never to happen again. There is no way that Meg would be sleeping around, as she probably knows that she might get attached, and then hurt in the end. As for Jasmine? It's no wonder she's got guys lining up to marry her, but she's so mean and off-putting to most of them. Sure, Jas might be fun for one night, but this girl is a true romantic at heart. There's no way she'll fool around just for fun. Even though she flirted with and kissed Jafar, she only did that to distract him and to help Aladin (although, im sure there was a better way to distract him). Both jasmin and Meg are very sexy, but are still classy. Let's keep it that way.

8) Every girl is boy-crazy

This may work for Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Ariel, but Belle? How about Mulan ou Tiana? ou worse, Merida? To have a crush on a guy is one thing, but to solely focus on him and act like a total fangirl around him is another. Most Disney heroines are very independent, and don't spend time swooning over their men. They handle romance maturely, plus often than not. In almost every high school fanfic, our heroines think only about their crushes, and behave in a needy way. Their main goal is to get the guy to notice them? Look, I'm not against romance, but haven't toi seen most of these movies? It's possible to find l’amour without being totally boy-crazy. Take Tiana for example. She's so independent in her movie. She's not opposed to falling in l’amour but she's not needy, but fanfiction writers don't seem to realize the different between having a crush and being completely boy-crazy.

9) Ariel and Rapunzel are very shy

So you're using a believable (eh, believable enough) shy girl, Aurora, as the role of a narcissistic beeyotch, and now you're in need of a shy girl. Wait a minute... Ariel doesn't speak for half of her movie, Rapunzel was kind of timid when she left the tower, so let's just use them! Yay! Sunshine and roses everywhere!
Sorry, but as a person who grew up shy, this one really bothers me. I think it's because of how easy it easy for Ariel and Rapunzel to be extremely shy one minute, in fanfiction that is, and totally outgoing the next. I know that a lot of people want to find a way to incorporate Ariel's losing of her voice into their stories, but par making her shy, you're turning her into a completely different character. Ariel was somewhat outgoing, and her bubbly personality was portrayed very well in the movie when she Lost her voice. As for Rapunzel? Yes, she was a little jumpy at The Snuggly Duckling, but who wouldn't be? She was surrounded par a bunch of gangsters, plus it was her first jour out of the tower. But Punzie quickly gained confidence and Charmed the thugs, as well as the townsfolk the suivant day. She seems very friendly and confident to me. Yes, she was anxious when she first left the tower, being both nervous and excited, but she was par no means shy.

10) The couples are almost always canon

I like canon couples... well, some of them. But just because a couple is canon, it doesn't mean that they're all with the perfect person for them. The Disney characters (the ones in love) were paired with the person who was best for them in their respective movies, but now that there are plus options to choose from, why should their "choices" stay the same? Pocahontas wants a guy who doesn't take life too seriously? Try pairing her with Naveen. No chemistry? Break them up. These things happen in real life, so why not take a plus realistic approach to these stories?

Unfortunately, that's all I can think of right now, but I do hope I helped (and hopeful,y didn't hurt) fanfiction authors. If toi enjoyed this article, look out for my eventually-to-come Disney Girls Who'd Make a Good Mean Girl in Fanfiction. Have a nice, magical day, friends!