A party princess is a person who entertains children at birthday parties, often dressed as different

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

characters especially those from the

Disney Princess ''Disney Princess'', also called the ''Princess Line'', is a media franchise and toy line owned by the Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney, the franchise features a lineup of female protagonists who h ...

franchise. The most common party princess costumes are

Elsa Elsa may refer to: ELSA (acronym) * ELSA Technology, a manufacturer of computer hardware *English Language Skills Assessment * English Longitudinal Study of Ageing *Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects research * European Law Students' Association *E ...

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of ''Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of ''Persinette ...

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, and

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

. These types of princess character entertainers are usually hired through children's birthday party entertainment planners. Party princesses generally perform at private birthday parties for young girls: they sing, dance, and play with kids as well as mingle with other guests, all the while maintaining a party theme based on the character they are dressed up as.

Legal issues

Party princesses often face issues due to their use of Disney intellectual property, putting their business in a legal gray area. While most of the stories from the ''Disney Princess'' line are adapted from

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

and folk stories, individual portrayals are protected by

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

. This has presented an issue with companies engaged in the use of costumed characters for children's parties due to Disney's

mind share Mind share relates to the development of consumer awareness or popularity, and is one of the main objectives of advertising and promotion. When people think of examples of a product type or category, they usually think of a limited number of ...

especially with children who are more likely to recognize a Disney princess than their original folk tale counterpart, such as with Characters for Hire whom Disney filed a lawsuit due to their unauthorized use of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' characters. The New York federal court did however refuse to grant

summary judgement may refer to: * Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences * Epitome, a summary or miniature form * Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a sho ...

in favor of Disney, as the judge ruled that there was no visible attempt at confusing customers over whether Characters for Hire misrepresented Disney, also noting that the company website has referred to

Princess Leia Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan ...

and

Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and f ...

euphemistically A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes t ...

as "The Princess" and "Big Hairy Guy" respectively.Snow Princess Parties
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References

Entertainment occupations Parties Birthdays Gendered occupations Disney fandom Disney Princess Disney controversies Cosplay Children's entertainers Copyright infringement of fictional characters {{Disney-stub