It's a very interesting point. I wrote an article in my first year of university arguing for and against why Disney could be seen as culturally imperialist, and it's attitude towards gender roles and romance could be seen as promoting the American ideal.
I think it is wrong to judge early Disney films by the same standards that we judge modern ones. Similarly how we can't judge 'To Kill and Mockingbird' of being racist when it was a product of it's time. It is the same with the ideals of womanhood and femininity leading up to the 80's when the changes in attitude really started to occur.
I would consider myself a bit of a feminist, although not a radical one, and you have to take this all with a pinch of salt.