A Woman Explains The Disney Princess “Pink Void” — And Why It Exists

While often lumped together on merchandise and products, Disney princesses like Jasmine, Cinderella, Ariel, and several others are always put together in the artwork, but there is never a specific setting or place that the princesses are drawn in. They are literally always floating in what one TikToker and Disney enthusiast refers to as the Disney “pink void.”

So, what is this pink void she is referring to, and is there any deeper significance when it comes to the history of Disney princesses?

Pink void explained

In her viral TikTok video, @Babbity.Kate explains that once she started noticing Disney princesses always being portrayed floating in a space of pink void, she could not unsee it.

“I refer to the princesses as floating in a pink void, staring off into space, and that's something that's always really intrigued me because it's such familiar imagery that you don't think about it, but once you do think about it, it is so weird,” she begins.

She also clarifies that the “void” is not always pink. There are times when the princesses are floating in blue or sparkly void as well.

“They're not standing on anything. They aren't anywhere. They're just in a void,” she continues.

What is the pink void theory?

Kate also notes that when the princesses are lumped together in the pink void, they are never interacting with one another to the point that it seems Disney made this separation quite intentional.

“Even though you might see multiple princesses on the same object, they aren't together. They aren't sharing the same space ... They're just separately in the void. It's one of those things that once you see it, you can't unsee it, that the princesses are always looking in different directions,” Kate notes.

“But if they're looking in the same direction, if you follow their eye lines, their eye lines never cross, never looking at each other or looking at something together. It's such a specific visual of the princesses stacked against each other and looking in different directions.”

Kate notes that when this kind of Disney merchandise with the princesses plastered on it is shown over and over, a normal shopper wouldn’t really think twice.

She continues, “And when you see it over and over again, you get used to it and it seems to be just the natural positioning for Disney princesses, but when you look at it for more than a minute, it's really weird and unsettling and unnatural.”

Kate even took a trip to Target to literally prove her pink void theory, showing that the Disney princesses are the only Disney characters group together but never in the same “world.”

“I've gotten a lot of comments that characters from every franchise are represented this way and they're just not,” she said.

She notes that the coloring book section displayed the pink void theory perfectly.

“There is like, such a stark difference between the way that they did the covers for the Disney Princess coloring books versus the ones for other Disney properties,” she continued.

She notes that Pixar coloring books have several different Pixar characters (Buzz Lightyear, Mirabel from Encanto, and Dory from Finding Nemo) on the cover of the coloring book together. However, each movie’s character is placed inside their own little bubble helping differentiate the films and the characters. She shows several examples of this.

“They want you to see that these are all the characters that are here but still keep them separate in a way that aligns with what Disney wants for brand integrity... but they're not mixing and mingling as characters,” she said.

“The coloring books that had characters all together, not separated by bubbles, those were where all the characters in the coloring book were from the same franchise, same story, same universe, and in those situations, they were somewhere,” she says while showing a picture of a Marvel superhero coloring book.

According to Kate, the Disney Princess coloring books do not do either of those things. Once again, our beloved Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Tiana, and the like are all floating in a void, not looking at one another, waiting for their prince, I suppose.

Why aren’t Disney Princesses allowed to look at each other?

As Kate mentioned, whenever a slew of Disney princesses are put together on a book cover or a set of kid’s bedsheets, they are never looking at one another, seemingly showing that these princesses do not know each other and will not acknowledge one another. Why is this?

An article published by the New York Times in 2006 gave some insight into the pink void theory.

According to the former chairman of Disney Consumer Products, Andy Mooney — who also played a key role in developing the marketing and product side of the Disney Princess franchise — Disney princesses never make eye contact when grouped in order to “ensure the sanctity” of their individual “mythologies”, as if unaware of the others’ presence.

So, not only are these princesses not allowed to look at each other, they cannot even step foot on the same ground or be in the same place at the same time — ergo the “pink void.”

Are all the Disney princesses in Wreck It Ralph 2?

Kate concludes her video on pink void theory by explaining that eventually, as Disney continues to change and evolve, the princesses floating aimlessly in their pink void may be phased out and in some ways, Disney might already be doing so.

One user commented, “I’m just curious, why do you think they preserve this void if Disney acknowledged the oddity of the branding (Wreck It Ralph)?”

“The void is being phased out in a lot of ways, but I think it’ll never go away because it’s so convenient,” Kate replied.

In the Wreck It Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ralph’s grumpy sidekick, Vanellope finds herself inside the Oh My Disney fan site. While there, she stumbles upon a dressing room filled with every Disney princess you can imagine, including Mulan, Rapunzel, Brave's Merida, and even Frozen's Elsa.

While chatting with the princesses, Disney pokes fun at some of the outrageous (and outdated) plot points of some of their classic animated films like when Ariel, the iconic mermaid princess from The Little Mermaid, says to Vanellope, “I have to assume you made a deal with an underwater sea witch where she took your voice in exchange for a pair of human legs?”

“No! Good lord! Who would do that?!” Vanellope asks.

This infamous scene was the first time in the history of Disney that the princesses had not only been in the same place at the same time, but also acknowledged each other’s existence. This homage to the princesses could be a step toward Disney slowly removing this separation of “mythologies” and allowing for more interaction between characters.

I’m just saying, if there was a Disney princess crossover TV show or movie, my child would bounce off the walls and my bank account would be cleared out. Think about it, Disney!