This week, Disney announced its newest addition to the iconic Disney Princess™ lineup: a pioneer princess. The rumored title, Plains, continues in the one-word-title pattern seen in basically every Disney film from the last decade, with a story that follows a young pioneer girl crossing the great plains. Buzzing from Disney’s development team during our interview with their crew perfectly encapsulated their feelings towards the project: “Yeah I don’t know man, that’s all we have so far.”
The upcoming film will showcase new songs such as: “Do You Wanna Build a Handcart?”; “How Far I’ll Go (To Escape the US Government)”; “I’ll Make a Pioneer Out of You”; “Don’t Kiss the Girl (She Has Dysentery)”; and more. Both the Tabernacle on Temple Square and David Archuleta– better known by hip Latter-Day Saints as the MoTab and could-have-been-a-less-sinful-Justin Bieber– have been confirmed as featured artists for several of the musical numbers.
Naturally, the announcement was met with celebratory cries throughout the entire state of Utah. Excitement didn’t just stop with the Disney fans, however; it has also been called a “massive victory for representation” by social activists throughout the mountain west.
“I’m just so excited to see someone like me on screen for once,” said McKinsleigh Knight, a BYU freshman from Meridian, Idaho. “Representation in the media is like so important! It’s so good that Disney is finally being more inclusive.”
The pioneer princess film will open in theaters on Pioneer Day 2020.