Disney Princess is a media franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney in the late 1990s, the franchise spotlights a line-up of fictional female heroines who have appeared in various Disney animated feature films. The franchise is currently comprised of eleven female protagonists from ten different Walt Disney Animation Studios films and one Pixar film who are either royal by birth, royal by marriage or considered a "princess" due to their significant portrayal of heroism in their film. Most of the unofficial Disney Princesses don't join the line-up either because marketing is not successful, their film's box office gross did not fare well, or they are too young.
The original Disney Princess line-up featured Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan. It later expanded to include Tiana, Rapunzel and Merida after the successes of their respective films. Anna and Elsa from Frozen are expected to join the line-up along with Princess Moana, the star of Disney's upcoming feature Moana, of 2016.
The Disney Princesses are featured in various sing-a-long video series released through The Walt Disney Company. In addition, the franchise includes dolls, miniature castles and other toys. The Princesses are also featured very prominently at the Disney theme parks.
Since 2013, with the exception of those created after the Disney Renaissance, the Princesses are showcased in their enhanced and modified redesigned outfits (excluding Ariel and Mulan) instead of the ones that they wear in their own movies.
History
In early 2000, when Andy Mooney was hired by the Disney consumer-products division to help combat dropping sales, the idea for the Disney Princess franchise was born. Soon after joining Disney, Mooney attended his first "Disney On Ice" show. While waiting in line, he found himself surrounded by young girls dressed as princesses. "They weren't even Disney products. They were generic princess products," he mused. Soon after realizing the demand, the Disney Princess line was formed.
Despite limited advertising and no focus groups, the various Disney Princess items released became a huge success. Sales at Disney Consumer Products rose from $300 million in 2001 to $3 billion in 2006. Today there are over 25,000 products based on the franchise.
The Princesses to be featured in the line were chosen from classic Disney films. The characters were not chosen specifically for their royal titles, but rather for how well they fit into what Disney executives deemed "the Princess mythology". Mulan is an example of this concept; she has no familial ties to royalty, but is still included in the character list. Tinker Bell was once included under the same principle before it was decided that she was not suited for the "mythology".[1] Recently though, Tinker Bell has starred in her own Disney franchise, Disney Fairies. Other fairies were created specifically for the franchise. The line began with a book series by Gail Carson Levine, and has since spawned toys, direct-to-video movies and other products based on the characters. At one point Esmeralda and Jane Porter were both considered to be included in the line-up, but were never realized.
Character Background
The characters themselves, despite appearing in separate films, have distinct similarities. The Princesses show good will towards all creatures, evidenced by the common ability to communicate with animals. The Princesses are known for their inner and outer beauty, as well as having beautiful singing voices, apart from Merida, who only sings a song with her mother when she is little in her film.
Each Princess, excluding Merida and Elsa, has a romance that is resolved by the end of her debut film; the male counterparts known as Disney Princes. These charismatic girls carry a similar personality in their eras, in the beginning with the first three (Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora), their characteristics were well known as classy, graceful and romantic daydreamers, who suffered from the actions caused by others. They held an inner strength through compassion, love, kindness and, particularly with Snow White, a strong sense of resilience.
After the Renaissance Era, these popular heroines became more active than reactive with Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan. Their characteristics were known to be strong-willed, adventurous, feisty, cunning and determined. As well their goals focused more on adventure and freedom than love, and these girls were more fighters for their dreams than the first three. They also existed in worlds which were more self-aware of the traditional and changing role of women; particularly Ariel, with her villainess assuring her that women on land should keep silent, Belle, with her villain assuring her that "it's not right for a woman to read", and Mulan, with her peers extolling masculine traits in addition to those of the ideal wife. The latest ones - Tiana and Rapunzel - are in the modern era; Tiana, an original character, is much more a realist than the others, she doesn't want magic to make a dream come true but with only hard work, whereas Rapunzel is much more like the idealistic ones than Tiana.
Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna and Elsa are born of royal heritage as daughters of kings and queens. Pocahontas can be considered as being of royal heritage, as she is the daughter of a chief and considered Native American royalty by the English. Cinderella, Belle and Tiana become royalty by marriage. Mulan was neither royal by birth or marriage, but is still included in the line-up due to her high status by saving China and receiving grace from the Emperor.
Snow White
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The character of Snow White first originated in 1937 from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Schneewittchen" about a beautiful German princess with a jealous stepmother. Walt Disney turned this classic fairy tale into his very first animated feature film. Her true love is Prince Ferdinand, who breaks her sleeping death 'slumber' (caused by the Evil Queen) with love's first kiss. She befriends the seven dwarfs during her stay at their cottage. At 14, she's the youngest of the Princesses.
Cinderella
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The best-known version of Cinderella is the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault in 1697. In 1950, it was turned into an animated feature-length film by Walt Disney. Cinderella Tremaine is the second eldest of all the Disney Princesses. She is 19 years of age during the events of the film. Her stepmother turned her into the family's sole servant after the death of her father. With magical help from her Fairy Godmother, she attends a royal ball and meets the prince of her kingdom, and eventually marries him, thus freeing her from her life of servitude. Cinderella is often considered the leader of the Princesses; often being put in the center of the group shots.
Aurora
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Best known as the heroine of the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty which is very loosely based on Charles Perrault's "La Belle au Bois Dormant". Although her dress changes from blue to pink thanks to disagreement between two of her guardians, Merryweather and Flora, outside the film she is most commonly seen wearing pink. She was cursed at birth to die before the sun sets on her 16th birthday by the evil fairy Maleficent. One of the three good fairies, Merryweather, was able to weaken the curse by changing death to a deep slumber that could only be awakened by true love's kiss. By falling in love with Prince Phillip, the prince of a neighboring kingdom—and unknown to either of them, her betrothed) she was freed from the curse. Aurora is shown to be one of the taller princesses in the franchise.
Ariel
Template:Infobox Disney Princesses The heroine of the 1989 film, loosely based on the Danish fairy tale "Den Lille Havfrue" by Hans Christian Andersen, and the daughter of King Triton, ruler of the sea. Ariel is a 16-year old mermaid who falls in love with a dashing human prince named Eric, an extension of her fascination with all things from the surface world. Her dream is to live a life on land, but her dreams make her vulnerable to the sea witch, Ursula's offer as her only chance to be with Eric. Ursula persuades her to trade her voice to the sea witch, in order to become a human and to be with him forever. However, Ariel is able to defeat Ursula with Eric's help and thanks to her father, she becomes human permanently and marries Eric at the end of the film.
Hans Christian Andersen's original character dissolves into foam on the sea after the prince marries someone else, but through an act of compassion is transformed into a spirit of the air. Co-director Ron Clements felt the story was too tragic and changed the original character from the tragic but hopeful heroine, to the brave and resourceful Ariel.
Belle
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The French commoner who is the heroine of the 1991 animated classic Beauty and the Beast, is loosely based on the French fairy tale "La Belle et la Bête" abridged from the version by Madame Jeanne-Marie le Prince de Beaumont. The name Belle translates from the French word for "beauty". She selflessly trades her freedom for that of her father in a bargains with the Beast and becomes his prisoner/guest. She soon learns to see the good hidden behind his hideous appearance and rough manner eventually falling in love with him over time. By confessing her love at the end of the movie, she breaks the spell placed on him by an enchantress. The Beast and all his household are restored to their human forms and Belle becomes his princess.
Jasmine
Template:Infobox Disney Princesses The spunky, independent Arabian Princess of Agrabah, who dreams of seeing what's beyond her palace and be freed from her father's constant pestering of arranged royal marriage. She falls in love with the title character in 1992's Aladdin, whom she eventually marries.
She is loosely based on Princess Badroulbadour (Arabic بدر البدور, badru l-budūr, "full moon of full moons") featured in the story of "Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp" from "One Thousand and One Nights" of Scheherazade. Interestingly, the original story took place in China and not the Middle East.
Pocahontas
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Disney's Pocahontas is loosely based on the real-life Native American "princess" of the Powhatan tribe (a name also borne by her father, the chief). Her real name was Matoaka, since Pocahontas was her nickname and meant 'Playful One'. She falls in love with a man named John Smith, who helps her prevent a war from commencing between their people. At the end of the film, John is wounded and sent back to London for treatment.
Mulan
Template:Infobox Disney Princesses Fa Mulan (or Mulan Fa) is a brave Chinese heroine who dresses up like a soldier and goes to war in place of her crippled father, risking death and dishonor. She is a friend of the Emperor and his daughters, however she has no relation to the royal chinese family, therefore she is not a royal princess.
She is loosely based on the heroine from the well-known ancient Chinese poem "The Ballad of Mulan" (木蘭詩). She is the only Disney Princess who is not royal by blood or marriage and is literally not one. However, she has the honor of a princess because she achieved honor from the Emperor himself by saving China. During her stay in the army, she falls in love with the captain, Li Shang, whom she starts dating by the end of the film.
Tiana
Template:Infobox Disney Princesses Partly inspired from E.D Baker's 2002 novel The Frog Princess, and the original fairy tale "The Frog Prince". Tiana is the heroine of the 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog and is the first Princess of African-American descent. She dreams of opening her own restaurant through hard work. By kissing Prince Naveen in frog form, she is turned into a frog because she kissed him for material gain, not love, and the magic can only be broken by a princess, so they are forced to set on a journey to find a way to undo the magic. Eventually, she finds herself falling for the handsome, but spoiled prince and willingly gives up her personal wants to be with him. By marrying the prince, Tiana becomes a real princess and with her love breaks the spell with a kiss. They finally open their own restaurant at the end of the film.
She is the first and currently the only Princess whose story was inspired by an original fairy tale, a novel and a real life person.
Rapunzel
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The heroine from the animated feature Tangled is loosely based on the German title character from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rapunzel". Her long hair, which is said to measure 70 feet in length, not only has magical healing powers, but can be used as a weapon. Given the power by a magic golden flower, Mother Gothel kidnaps her as an infant to use her power to keep herself young. 18 years later, Rapunzel sneaks away from her tower with a thief, Flynn Rider, and sets on her own journey to find the flying lanterns that float into the sky every year on her birthday. To free her from Gothel's clutches, Flynn cuts her hair, thus destroying her power, and she is returned to her family. Rapunzel was "officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court" during a promotional event at Kensington Palace in London on October 2, 2011. Interestingly, even though Rapunzel's long golden hair is cut off in the movie, changing it from blonde to brown, her redesigned image shows it fully restored back to blonde, although somewhat shorter than its original 70-foot length.
Merida
Template:Infobox Disney Princesses Merida is the 16-year old daughter of Queen Elinor, who rules the kingdom alongside her husband, King Fergus. Queen Elinor's expectations and demands of her daughter make Merida see Elinor as being cold, unfeeling and distant causing friction between the two. Despite Elinor's desire to see Merida as a proper royal lady, Merida is an impetuous girl with wild, unruly ginger hair and a passionate desire to take control of her own destiny. Merida has honed her skill with the bow, and is the most skilled archers in her kingdom. She is also well trained in sword-fighting and an expert horsewoman, riding wildly across the countryside on her horse, Angus.
She is the second princess from a Pixar film (the first is Princess Atta from A Bug's Life), the first original princess in the line-up that not inspired by either literature (Snow White, Cinderella, etc.) or real-life (Pocahontas, Tiana) works and the first without a love interest. She also never sings a major song, thus breaking away the traditional line-up, though as a child, she sang a small verse of a song in Gaelic, and Merida's rich Scottish brogue makes her the second Disney Princess with an accent other than Standard American.
Future Disney Princesses
Princesses who are expected to join the Disney Princess line-up or will have to wait to be added.
Anna
Template:Infobox Disney Princesses Anna is the Norwegian heroine and main protagonist of the 2013 animated feature Frozen. Anna is loosely based on Gerda, the heroine from the Danish fairy tale "Snedronningen" or "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen.
She is a member of a royal family and the younger sister of Elsa. While Elsa is known to be beautiful, elegant and loved by the townspeople, Anna remains somewhat of a free spirit. Anna is more daring than graceful and, at times, can act before she thinks. But she's also the most optimistic and caring person you'll ever meet. She has a very close relationship with her older sister until this bond is shattered by an accident when they are children. When trying to reconnect with her, Anna messes things up at Elsa's coronation, leading to Elsa revealing her powers over ice and snow and accidentally cursing the kingdom. Anna then embarks on a dangerous journey to set things right. She longs to reconnect with Elsa, as they were close during their childhood.
Elsa
Template:Infobox Disney Princesses Elsa the Snow Queen is the deuteragonist of the 2013 animated feature Frozen and Anna's older sister. She is loosely based on Kai and The Snow Queen from the fairy tale "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen. She is the first Disney Princess to be considered an anti-heroine.
She was the crown princess of Arendelle and was crowned Queen until her powers over ice were exposed, causing her to flee and become the feared Snow Queen. However, the bond between her and her sister warms her frozen heart, allowing her to use her magic for the greater good. Elsa is the oldest of the Disney Princesses, as she is 21 years of age during the film.
Elsa will be the first official Disney Princess to have become a queen in her feature film. She also will be the second princess without a love interest, after Merida.
Moana
Moana is an upcoming Disney Princess musical film set to be released on November 23, 2016, featuring Moana, a spirited teenager who will also be Disney's first Polynesian princess.
Guest Characters
Other Disney characters have guest starred alongside the eleven above princesses in various Disney Princess products.
- Princess Collection 2: Songs by Maid Marian, Nala and Megara are included.
- Disney Princess Sing Along Songs - Once Upon a Dream: Sing along segments by Princess Minnie Mouse, Megara, and Ting-Ting, Su and Mei are included.
- Disney Princess Sing Along Songs Vol. 2 - Enchanted Tea Party: Sing along segments by Alice, Maid Marian and Melody are included.
- Disney Princess Sing Along Songs Vol. 3 - Perfectly Princess: Sing along segments by Alice and Melody are included.
- Once Upon A Princess: Volume 1: A story book segment by Esmeralda is included.
- Disney Princess: "It's not Just Make Believe" Music Video: Alice and Melody are included.
- Disney Princess Dolls: Esmerelda, Tinker Bell and Megara are included.
- Disney Princess Magazines: Esmeralda, Alice and Jane Porter appeared in magazines, and in the case of Jane, she came to be presented as a new princess for the franchise in one of the magazines.
- My Princess Collection (books collection): Dot, Jessie, Alice and Kida are included.[2]
- Disney Princess: Journey to London: Megara and Esmeralda are included.
Unofficial Princesses
Disney heroines and actual princesses that are not part of the official line-up but are princssess/heroines in their respective films. Some have appeared in some official Disney Princess products.
Animated Shorts and Feature Films
- Minnie Mouse
- Daisy Duck
- Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
- Maid Marian (Robin Hood)
- Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron)
- Ariel's sisters (Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella and Alana)
- Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
- Megara (Hercules)
- Jane Porter (Tarzan)
- Kida (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
Television Shows
Direct-to-video films
- Kiara (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride)
- Melody (The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea)
- Ting-Ting, Su and Mei (Mulan II)
Other Versions
Kingdom Hearts series
In the games, five of the official princesses are part of the Seven Princesses of Heart (セブンプリンセス Sebun Purinsesu), a group of maidens with hearts of pure Light, devoid of Darkness, and were created when the X-blade was split into seven pieces of light and thirteen of darkness. They are referred to this name because they allow access to the Door to Darkness when gathered together, and whoever gathers them will gain the power to rule over the worlds. The members in this incarnation are:
- Kairi
- Alice
- Snow White
- Jasmine
- Belle
- Cinderella
- Aurora
Notably, two other Disney Princesses, Ariel and Mulan, appear as well, but are not Princesses of Heart, instead serving as party members that fight alongside Sora in their journey to save the world.
Mickey's Pirate and Princess Party
Begining on January 22, 2007, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World hosted their newest hard ticket (separate admission) event, "Disney's Pirate and Princess Party", renamed "Mickey's Pirate and Princess Party" in 2008. The event combines the "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction and movie series and the Disney Princess line, and cosplaying as both pirates and royalty is encouraged. Visitors can have meet and greets with characters from both franchises, as well as the other classic characters dressed as buccaneers and royals, and take part in various activities. Other features include the "Disney's Enchanted Adventures Parade" and the "Magic, Music and Mayhem" fireworks spectacular. Because the event has become so popular, Pirate and Princess events has become an annual hard-ticket staple with dates into August and September of 2007 and January through June of 2008.
Designs
Younger versions
Palace Pets
Currently 10 of the 11 Princesses have 2 or more Pets.
Disney.com
Disney.Com.UK
Gallery
Trivia
- As of 2015, there are a total of 11 Princess films featuring 11 Princesses (6 by birth, 3 by marriage), 1 heroine and 1 daughter of a chief, who form together the Official Disney Royal Court.
- Currently, the Disney Princess ages rank as follows:
- 14: Snow White (making her the youngest Disney Princess).
- 16: Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine (although she's 15 for most of her debut film), Mulan and Merida.
- 17: Belle.
- 18: Pocahontas and Rapunzel.
- 19: Cinderella and Tiana.
- Once Anna and Elsa join the line-up, Anna will be 18 like Pocahontas and Rapunzel while Elsa will be 21, thus making her the oldest of the Disney Princesses.
- Disney did not come up with its own definition of "princess" until 1986, explaining why Disney has a limit to how many Princesses that will be in the official line-up.
- Tinker Bell is the only Princess to actually be dropped from the official line-up and was originally considered as an official member during the franchise's early years.
- Kida from Atlantis, is the daughter of the emperor of Atlantis, and Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron are the only Princesses by birth not to be officially part of the Princess line. Megara from Hercules, who married Hercules, prince of the Gods of Olympus, is the only actual princess by marriage not to officially join the line-up. The main reason for this were the box office failures of their respective movies.
- Alternatively, the Princesses may fall into three categories based on their eras:
- Walt Era (Golden Age/Classic Era) (1937-1966): Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora.
- Rennaissance Era (1989-1999): Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan.
- Revival Era (2009-present): Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna and Elsa.
- Roy E. Disney was against the creation of the Disney Princess franchise, as he said, "Cinderella and Snow White could never be seen together because their stories take place in different times and places."
- So far, only four of the Disney Princesses aren't born into royalty: Cinderella, Belle, Mulan and Tiana. Mulan's the only one of the who doesn't become a princess by marriage either, as Cinderella, Belle and Tiana all end up marrying princes.
- Snow White, Aurora and Ariel are princesses both by blood and marriage.
- Jasmine, Pocahontas and Anna all end up with men who weren't born into royalty.
- Pocahontas and Merida are currently the only Princesses to not originate from the traditional fairy tales.
- Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Belle are currently the only Princesses to not be voiced by the respective actresses from their original films.
- Mulan and Tiana are the only Princesses to kill the main antagonist in their films. Mulan has actually killed more people than any other Disney character.
- Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Pocahontas, Mulan and Rapunzel's names are from their original stories.
- Out of the 13 Princesses in the franchise, only 5 don't have full-length sequel films: Snow White, Aurora, Tiana, Merida and Rapunzel. While Anna and Elsa have not had a sequel film yet, the directors of Frozen have announced that Frozen 2 is in early development.
- Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa are the only Princesses to star in a short film (Tangled Ever After and Frozen Fever). Interestingly, both of these short films premiered before another Disney Princess film (Tangled Ever After premiered before Beauty and the Beast 3D, and was later added as a bonus feature to the Diamond Edition of Cinderella. Frozen Fever premiered before the 2015 version of Cinderella).
- Cinderella and Jasmine have both had their Disney Prince's (Aladdin and Charming) memory erased by an antagonist (Lady Tremaine and Sadira) hoping to make them lose their fortune and their love.
- Merida is the only Princess in the franchise to star in a Pixar film.
- Aurora, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Merida and Anna all celebrate their birthdays in their respective films.
- Anna's the first Disney Princess to celebrate her birthday in a sequel.
- The Princesses made their LEGO Duplo debut in 2012 and appear in 2013 sets. In 2014, Cinderella, Ariel, Rapunzel and Merida went into the LEGO System style, with parts coming from the Friends line, another theme aimed at girls.
- Cinderella, Jasmine and Pocahontas are the only Princesses whose antagonists weren't killed in their feature films, although Jafar does die in The Return of Jafar. Anna and Elsa will be the fourth and fifth respectively.
- All of the non-Caucasian Disney Princesses have male villains, while Belle is the only 2D Caucasian Princess to have a male villain (all others are female), and Rapunzel is the only CGI Princess to have a female villain (all others are male).
- The Disney Princesses created after Mulan did not appear in House of Mouse, since the show ended in 2003.
- Only 6 Disney Princesses have danced with their respective love interest, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Tiana and Rapunzel. Anna doesn't count with Hans, because he turned out to be a villain.
- The first eight Princesses were once represented as elements on a periodic table at a candy store at Downtown Disney in Orlando, FL.
- Snow White: S
- Cinderella: C
- Aurora: Au
- Ariel: Ai
- Belle: B
- Jasmine: J
- Pocahontas: P
- Mulan: Ml
- Jasmine and Elsa are the only Disney Princesses to be deuteragonists, as all the others are protagonists.
- Jasmine's the only Disney Princess to have a less significant role than her prince, since her original movie focuses more on Aladdin, who's the protagonist.
- The Disney Princess logo is a sparkly pink oval containing the brand name with a tiara on it. Most non-Princess Disney franchises use a blue oval with the word "Disney" on it.
- The logo of Aladdin, therefore, is a purple oval.
- However, the logo will be redesigned to look more like a pink banner like the Palace Pets logo.
- The book The Art of the Disney Princess features the Princesses being drawn using different art styles.
- Four of the Disney Princesses have run from their respective love interests upon first meeting (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Pocahontas). Rapunzel knocked out her love interest. Ariel fled from the scene of her love interest, but she doesn't count as she had no legs at the time.
- Except for Ariel, Pocahontas, Anna and Elsa, each Princess is seen doing chores or servant work at some point.
- Rapunzel was the first princess in the franchise to be computer animated, rather than traditionally hand-drawn. However, she (as well as the other computer-animated Princesses) has a hand-drawn redesign when appearing with the other Princesses in merchandise or pictures.
- Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Mulan all have an after-story about their adventures after marriage with their love interests.
- Most of the Disney Princesses who had a female villain in their original film never had an experience with a male villain in any of their sequels, the same applies to all the Disney Princesses who only had a male villain in their original film.
- Several of the Disney Princesses are animated by the same person. Marc Davis animated Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora, Glen Keane animated Ariel, Pocahontas and Rapunzel and Mark Henn animated Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, Tiana and Anna.
- The music for five of the Disney Princess films was composed by Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and Tangled respectively).
- The four CGI Princesses' films are all rated PG, while all of the cel-animated Princesses up to Tiana were rated G.
- The Black Cauldron (1985) and Atlantis (2001) were also PG-rated cel-animated films, though both were made after the "PG-13 revision" of 1984.
- All the pre-1999 Disney Princesses' films have been released on VHS. The first film to be released on VHS was Sleeping Beauty (in 1986 from Walt Disney Classics), while the last to be released on VHS is Cinderella (in 2005 from Walt Disney Platinum Editions).
- In 2014, the last film in the franchise (Frozen) has been released on Blu-ray. Sleeping Beauty was released in 2008. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released 2009. Beauty and the Beast and The Princess and the Frog were released in 2010. Tangled was released in 2011. Cinderella, Pocahontas and Brave were released in in 2012. The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Mulan were released in 2013.
- In 2014, the last film in the franchise to make its DVD debut is Frozen. Sleeping Beauty was first released on DVD in 2003 (as Special Edition). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was first released on DVD 2001 (as Platinum Edition). Beauty and the Beast first released on DVD in 2002 (as Platinum Edition). The Princess and the Frog was first released on DVD in 2010. Tangled was first released on DVD in 2011. Cinderella was first released on DVD in 2005 (as Platinum Edition). Pocahontas was first released on DVD in 2000 (as Gold Classic Collection). Brave was first released on DVD in 2012. The Little Mermaid and Mulan were first released on DVD in 1999 (as Limited Issues). Aladdin was first released on DVD in 2004 (as Platinum Edition).
- With the exception of Cinderella, each Princess has had a near-death experience, one of them actually died but was revived.
- The Huntsman almost killed Snow White, but due to his kindness, he spared her life.
- Maleficent placed a death curse upon Aurora, until Merryweather converted it into a deep sleep.
- Ariel almost drowned after she was turned into a human by Ursula's magic, and was later nearly blasted by a giant Ursula wielding the trident.
- Belle almost was killed by wolves, and later nearly drowned in a melted ice ground, until she was saved by the Beast both times.
- Jasmine nearly suffocated to death until she was saved by Aladdin.
- Pocahontas was almost killed by her father's staff when he attempted to execute John Smith because she stepped in the way to try to save him.
- Mulan fell off a cliff, but managed to get herself pulled to safety.
- Rapunzel almost drowned when she and Eugene were trapped in cave.
- Tiana was almost captured and eaten by Cajun swamp-men who thought she and Prince Naveen were actual frogs.
- Merida was almost eaten by Mor'du but was saved by Queen Elinor.
- Anna nearly froze to death due to an overload of Elsa's ice powers.
- Anna is the only Princess to actually die, but was revived by an Act of True Love.
- Elsa was almost murdered by Hans.
- Only 4/13 Princesses were present in row Fairy Tale Princess Collector from Barbie doll, released in the 1990s. They were Snow White (1999), Cinderella (1997), Aurora (1998) and Belle (2000).
- All 11 Disney Princesses have all twirled around in a full circle either during a song, or at a relatively happy moment. The majority of the Princesses' happy moments become sour for they generally receive bad news.
- Aurora spins around and is then told she needs to leave the forest and can never see the man she met again.
- Ariel spins around then her father destroys her entire collection of human objects.
- Jasmine spins around telling her father she is so happy, then he tells her she must wed Jafar.
- Cinderella spins around and then is locked in her room by Lady Tremaine. Cinderella has nine twirls in her movie.
- With the exceptions of Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana, all the Disney Princesses had either uncomfortable adolescent conversations or arguments with their parental authority figures which led to turning points in their lives.
- Triton, whose argument with Ariel and eventual destruction of her collection drove her to Ursula and becoming human.
- Aurora learning about her princesshood and betrothal led her to falling under Maleficent's spell, which led her to the spinning wheel.
- Jasmine's conversation with the Sultan about getting married led her to run away.
- Rapunzel's belittling and orders not to leave the tower by Gothel leading her to leave the tower with Flynn and to her ensuing adventures.
- Merida's and her mother's heated argument resulting in near tragedy.
- Anna and Elsa's argument leading to Elsa's accidental revelation of her powers, causing her to flee and accidentally "curse" Arendelle with an eternal winter.
- Cinderella Tremaine and Fa Mulan are the only Disney Princesses to have a known last name.
- Though not a Princess, Esmeralda is featured in Once upon a Princess Vol. 1.
- All the Disney Princesses are the main characters of at least one book or short story.
- There are no Princesses created during the end of World War II and a while after (1942-1949), Disney's Dark Age (1967-1988) or even the Post-Renaissance (2000-2008) period, excluding Eilonwy or Kida.
- Rapunzel and Merida are the only Princesses to have a change of title in their film from their fairy tale. As for Merida, the original title for her film was The Bear and the Bow and Rapunzel's fairytale is simply called Rapunzel. Anna and Elsa will be the third and fourth as their movie's title was originally supposed to be The Snow Queen.
- In some countries though, the movie titles didn't change to a modern version. In France for example La Reine des Neiges (the Snow Queen) and Raiponce are the official movie titles.
- Disney Princess made a commercial as a tribute to young girls around the world. The video can be seen here.
- The first six Princesses have home releases in the form of "Disney Vault" limited time only editions.
- Except for Ariel, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Merida, Anna and Elsa, each Princess has a movie narration at the beginning book.
- There are currently only four non-Caucasian Disney Princesses: Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana.
- Jasmine is Persian (present day Iranian)
- Pocahontas is Native American.
- Mulan is Chinese.
- Tiana is African-American.
- Tiana is the first Disney Princess to have a public coronation as all of the Princesses up to Mulan were already in the line-up when the franchise first launched in the early 2000s. Elsa also has her coronation for officially becoming queen of Arendalle.
- In November 1999, Jane Porter was announced as part of the franchise for Disney Princess official magazine of the United Kingdom. In February 2000, she made another appearance in the magazine, then was never talked about in the franchise.
- Even outside of the franchise, Tinker Bell is still present in the toy Princesas Magic Light from Yellow Brinquedos, Brazil.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the only film in the franchise which won an honorary Oscar. Brave and Frozen won an Oscar as Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and Frozen won two Oscars (Best Soundtrack, Best Original Song). Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, The Princess and the Frog and Tangled were just nominated for an award.
- To date, Jasmine and Merida are the only Princesses who have not earned a doll dressed as a ballerina. Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas and Mulan were part of the collection "Disney Princess Ballerina". Tiana was part of the collection "Ballerina Princesses", and Rapunzel was part of the line "Disney Princess Bath Magic". However, there was a photo of the popular eight Disney Princesses depicted as ballerinas.
- Only Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Merida, Anna and Elsa were raised as royalty. However Cinderella grew up knowing she was the daughter of a nobleman.
- Pocahontas and Merida are the only Princesses who do not have a playset for their movies with the franchise brand.
- To date, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Brave and Frozen are the only Princess movies that were shown in 3D during their theatrical run. Beauty and the Beast was the only one of the three to have the 3D effects added later upon a re-release. The Little Mermaid was converted to 3D but the theatrical re-release was canceled.
- To date, all the pre-1992 Disney Princesses have their films theatrically re-released (including 3D-rereleases during the 21st century).
- The first three Princesses' films (Snow White's, Cinderella's and Aurora's) were reissued multiple times, albeit Aurora's film was never reissued during Walt Disney's lifetime. Many of their final theatrical reissues were during the 1985-1995 season; Cinderella in 1987, Snow White in 1993, and Aurora in 1995.
- Ariel and Belle are the only two post-Walt era Disney Princesses to have their films theatrically reissued; Ariel's film reissue was in 1997 (in 2D), while Belle's film reissue was in 2012 (in 3D). In 2013, Ariel's film was slated for a 3D theatrical reissue, but was cancelled.
- Merida and Mulan are the only Princesses to wield a real weapon in her merchandising form. Rapunzel's frying pan is also shown in merchandise but doesn't count as a 'real' weapon, though.
- The "My Princess Collection" series of books not only feature stories about the first eight princesses told in first-person narration, as well as, Alice, Princess Dot, Jessie the Cowgirl and Kida as well.
- During events in Disney Parks, the Princesses are voiced by their respective voice actors.
- Starting from Tiana, all the Disney Princesses are shown as a child in the original film.
- With the exception of Pocahontas, all classic Princesses made an appearance in the line of pins Disney Princess Premiere Birthstone of the Disney parks. Tinker Bell, Alice, Esmeralda, Megara and Jane Porter also made appearances, despite not being official Princesses.
- The Princesses received a spin-off franchise in July 2013 called Palace Pets. Currently, Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel are the only Princesses who have the Pets, namely: Berry (rabbit), Sweetie (pony), Pumpkin (dog), Bibiddy (pony), Beauty (cat), Bloom (pony), Treasure (cat), Seashell (pony), Teacup (dog), Petit (pony), Sultan (tiger), Windflower (racoon), Blossom (panda), Lily (cat), Bayou (pony), Blondie (pony), Summer (cat), Meadow (skunk) and Daisy (dog). Merida, Anna and Elsa haven't had a Palace Pet yet.
- There was a parody of Disney Princess by infamous Brazilian animation studio Video Briquendo called Little Princess School, featuring Cindy (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White, "bianca" is Italian for "white"), Hime (hybrid of Ariel and Mulan "hime" is Japanese for "princess"), Iria (Tiana) and Zade (Jasmine).
- Many Disney Princesses have nurtured or cared for children and/or animals.
- Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa are the only Princesses that are playable characters at Disney INFINITY. However, there are townspeople costumes of Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle and Jasmine.
- Recently, Merida and Jasmine have been confirmed to debut in Disney INFINITY 2.0, and will probably be the only Princesses to appear in it.
- Out of the 11 Princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Tiana and Merida all speak/sing the last line in their respective movie.
- 6/11 Disney Princesses had the famous Disney Choir sing reprises of their respective film's theme song at their films conclusion (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle and Jasmine). Actually, the first six Princess films end this way.
- Ariel's the only Disney Princess who isn't born a human, but she eventually becomes a human.
- Belle is the first Disney heroine to teach her love interest how to read.
- All princesses sing their film's theme songs except for Belle and Merida.
- Pocahontas is the only Princess whose official artwork remained unchanged. However, at one point, she was shown wearing her London dress from Journey to a New World.
- Mulan is the last Princess from the Disney Renaissance.
- Merida is the first Disney Princess to have her movie made outside of the Disney animated feature canon (being produced by Pixar).
- Merida and Elsa are the only Disney Princess who don't have love interests.
- Merida is the first Princess in the line-up that hasn't been inspired by either literature or real life.
- Merida is the first Princess whose movie is not a musical.
- Merida and Pocahontas are the only Princesses to not be seen married, or have wedding dresses in the franchise. Belle and a few others were featured in Disney's Beautiful Brides book.
- In the Disney Princess official page, Merida is the only Princess to have her original look from the movie, while every other Princesses are in their new redesigned looks.
- Elsa will be the first official Disney Princess to become a Queen in her primary film, although Kida was the first Princess in a Disney movie to become Queen. Elsa is also the first Princess to have a coronation.
- Disney Princess were designed to have all the Princesses unaware of each other's presence.
- Pocahontas is the first Disney Princess with two love interests with John Smith and John Rolfe. The second will be Princess Anna with Hans and Kristoff.
- However, Anna might not count since Hans never really loved her and her interest in Hans was more like a naïve infatuation than actual love.
- Anna is the first Princess to harm the antagonist besides killing him/her (in her case, punching Hans over the side of the ship and into the water).
- Elsa will be the first Princess to be based on a both a male protagonist and a female antagonist from her film's source material, as well as the first false antagonist in the line-up.
- Of the Disney Princesses with a confirmed real-life time-frame and location, several of them live in the 19th century being Ariel, Cinderella (Due to the cameo of the The King and the Duke at Eric and Vanessa's wedding), Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa all live in this time period as well as Frozen is confirmed to take place in the 19th century and Rapunzel has a cameo appearance in the film. Several other Princesses have real-life confirmed time frames as well; Tiana is the most current as she lives in the 1920's. Belle lives in 18th century France as confirmed by Glen Keane. Pocahontas (15-16th century, due to the first contact between Great Britain and what would become the state of Virginia). Aurora (14th century, as explicitly stated in her film) and Jasmine ("confirmed" to be during the time of the Hellenistic Era in "Hercules and the Arabian Night", though this would be impossible due to the cultural eras involved).
- Since Tiana's coronation in 2010, there has been an official Princess coronation green-lighting a Princess into the line-up every summer.
- Cinderella, Ariel and Mulan are the only Princesses who're shown naked at some point in their movies.
- Seven of the Princesses are Christian (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Pocahontas, Tiana and Rapunzel). Pocahontas, born a Native American, later converted to Christianity when she married John Rolfe and assumed the identity of Rebecca Rolfe. Belle is arguably a Christian, but it is debatable being that she is so well-read.
- Aurora and Mulan are the only Disney Princesses to go by aliases (Aurora as "Briar Rose" and Mulan as "Ping").
- Following the releases of Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, and Super Mario 3D World, there have been similarities between the four CGI Princesses (Rapunzel, Merida, Anna, and especially Elsa) and the four Nintendo Princesses (Peach, Zelda, Daisy, and especially Rosalina).
- Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine and Rapunzel are the only four Princesses (not counting Anna) to sing in a duet with their Princes.
- Lady Tremaine, Governor Ratcliffe and Hans are the only main villains in the Disney Princess films not to die.
- The Evil Queen falls off a cliff and is crushed by a boulder.
- Maleficent is stabbed by Prince Phillip with the Sword of Truth and falls off a cliff.
- Ursula is stabbed by Prince Eric with the bow of a sunken ship.
- Gaston falls to his death from the roof of the castle.
- Jafar is destroyed when Iago kicks his lamp into lava.
- Shan Yu is blown up by Cri-Kee and Mushu with a rocket on the fireworks tower.
- Doctor Facilier is dragged into hell by the voodoo demons.
- Mother Gothel ages into dust when Eugene cuts Rapunzel's hair, and falls out the tower.
- Mor'du is crushed by a falling mehnir.
- Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana are the only Princesses who do not live in castles/palaces.
- A survey of all 13 Disney Princesses and several unofficial members like Alice, Wendy, Eilonwy, Esmeralda, Megara, Jane Porter, Kida, and Giselle was posted online in late 2014 showing different statistics of the Princesses; however there are some errors like Megara being a redhead when her hair is really auburn-colored and Kida being Caucasian when she is really dark-skinned despite her unusual (blue) eye color.
- Giselle from Enchanted was originally going to be included in the official line-up, however these plans were dropped when it was realized Amy Adams would have to be paid royalties for using her likeness on merchandise.
- Not counting Once Upon a Time, Cinderella and Aurora are the only Princesses to appear in animated and live-action forms (in the movies Cinderella and Maleficent respectively). Belle and Mulan are the next princesses to join them. Giselle from Enchanted is also known for this form (and probably the only princess to appear animated and live-action in the same film). However, as she is not an official member of the franchise for the reasons stated above, she is not recognized for this.
- Cinderella, Ariel and Merida are the only members of the official line-up to have siblings, with Merida being the only one to have brothers. Anna and Elsa are sisters and are the only members of the group to come from the same family. Cinderella is the only one to have siblings not related to her by blood, and is the only one to have her siblings included as unofficial members of the Disney Villains.
- Out of the 13 Princesses in the line-up, only 5 are actually seen getting married on screen: Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Tiana and Rapunzel. Jasmine got married in the sequel Aladdin and the King of Thieves, and Rapunzel is the only princess who got married in the short Tangled Ever After.
- Ariel is the only Princess to canonically have a child (Melody). Other Princesses have had children in Once Upon a Time and Descendants, but neither of these are viewed as official Disney canon.
Physical Appearances
- Snow White is the only Princess with naturally short hair. Mulan cut hers and Eugene had cut Rapunzel's hair.
- Hair and eye colors of the Disney Princesses:
- Snow White's the only Caucasian Disney Princess to have black hair and brown eyes, while the others are the non-Caucasian Disney Princesses.
- Snow White, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana all have black hair.
- Belle and Rapunzel have brown hair.
- Ariel and Merida have red hair.
- Cinderella and Anna have strawberry-blonde hair.
- Aurora and Elsa have blonde hair — golden blonde and platinum blonde, respectively.
- With the exception of Elsa, all of the blue-eyed Disney Princesses have red or reddish hair.
- Snow White, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana all have brown eyes.
- Cinderella, Ariel, Merida, Anna and Elsa all have blue eyes.
- Aurora has violet eyes.
- Belle has hazel eyes.
- Rapunzel has green eyes.
- Rapunzel is the first among the Disney Princesses to have green eyes, but she's the second Disney Heroine after Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- Aurora is the only true blonde Princess. Rapunzel's a blonde by way of the sun's magic, but is a natural brunette by genetics, while Cinderella and Anna are strawberry-blondes. The accident with Anna strongly implies that Elsa's hair is platinum blonde due to her ice powers and would have either had brown hair like her mother or possibly strawberry-blonde hair like her father and sister. Yet this theory has never been confirmed by Disney.
- Belle and Rapunzel are the only brunettes and both have a green-related eye color — Belle has hazel eyes and Rapunzel has green eyes.
- Snow White, Belle, Pocahontas, Tiana and Anna all have darker hair than their princes.
- Snow White's the only Caucasian Disney Princess to have black hair and brown eyes, while the others are the non-Caucasian Disney Princesses.
- Tiana and Elsa are the only Princesses whose hair is never seen loose throughout their films (Anna's hair is only seen loose in the "messy bedhead" scene).
- Interestingly, all of the computer animated Disney Princesses (Rapunzel, Merida, Anna and Elsa) have freckles, while all the traditionally-animated Disney Princesses have none.
- Most of the Princesses have received their facial characteristics from their mothers:
- Snow White: Hair (Father), Eyes (Father), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Cinderella: Hair (Neither), Eyes (Father), Facial Structure (Mother & Father).
- Aurora: Hair (The Gift of Beauty), Eyes (The Gift of Beauty), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Ariel: Hair (Mother & Father), Eyes (Father), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Belle: Hair (Father), Eyes (Neither), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Jasmine: Hair (Mother), Eyes (Mother & Father), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Pocahontas: Hair (Mother & Father), Eyes (Mother & Father), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Mulan: Hair (Mother & Father), Eyes (Mother & Father), Facial Structure (Neither).
- Tiana: Hair (Mother & Father), Eyes (Mother & Father), Facial Structure (Mother & Father).
- Rapunzel: Hair (The sun's magic, but naturally Mother & Father), Eyes (Mother), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Merida: Hair (Father), Eyes (Father), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Anna: Hair (Father), Eyes (Mother), Facial Stucture (Mother).
- Elsa: Hair (Neither - presumably caused by her ice powers), Eyes (Mother), Facial Structure (Mother).
- Mulan and Tiana are the only left handed Disney Princesses.
Family
- Out of all 11 Princesses, only Aurora, Mulan, Rapunzel and Merida have both their parents alive.
- Snow White, Cinderella, Anna and Elsa are the only orphaned Princesses.
- However, Anna and Elsa are the only Princesses whose parents died during their teen years, not through early childhood. Snow White and Cinderella are the only Disney Princesses to have stepfamilies.
- Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Pocahontas are the only ones who have their fathers alive.
- Tiana only has her mother alive.
- Six of the fathers of Disney Princesses were widowers: the fathers of Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Pocahontas.
- The parents of Anna and Elsa are the only ones whose death is shown in their movie.
- Ariel, Merida, Anna and Elsa are the only Princesses to have full-blooded siblings (from parents).
- Anna and Elsa will be the first siblings to be Disney Princesses.
- Cinderella is the only Princess to have step-siblings.
- Jasmine and Mulan are the only Princesses to be seen with extended family: Mulan with her grandmother and Jasmine with her cousin.
- Snow White is the only Princess whose father is never shown.
- Ariel is the first Disney Princess to become a mother.
- Out of all the Princess, Pocahontas is the only one not to have her mother seen in any human form, though her spirit manifests as leaves.
- Snow White's mother – rare stories have an image of her.
- Cinderella's mother – in art with Cinderella as a child.
- Aurora's mother – seen in the feature film, short features and a few stories.
- Ariel's mother – seen in the Little Mermaid prequel.
- Belle's mother – seen in Once upon a Princess Vol. 2 and in a painting image that is featured in Maurice's Cottage at the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World.
- Jasmine's mother – seen in Once upon a Princess Vol. 1.
- Mulan's mother – seen in the feature film and the sequel.
- Tiana's mother – seen in the feature film and short stories.
- Rapunzel's mother – seen in the feature film and short.
- Merida's mother – seen in the feature film.
- Anna and Elsa's mother - seen in the feature film.
Companions
- Pocahontas and Tiana are the only two Princesses to have human best friends—Nakoma and Charlotte La Bouff, respectively.
- Anna and Elsa are each other's best friends as well.
- All of the Princesses have at least one animal or non-human sidekick:
- Snow White has various forest animals as well as seven dwarfs.
- Cinderella has various mice (including Jaq and Gus) and birds, as well as Major the horse and Bruno the bloodhound.
- Aurora has the birds, squirrels and other forest animals.
- Ariel has Flounder the fish, Sebastian the crab and Scuttle the seagull.
- Belle has Philippe the horse and the Enchanted Objects (Lumiere, Cogsworth, etc).
- Jasmine has Rajah the tiger (who she said was her only real friend until she met Aladdin).
- Pocahontas has Meeko the raccoon, Flit the hummingbird and eventually Percy the pug (originally owned by Governor Ratcliffe).
- Mulan has Mushu the dragon (who would turn Hayabusa to their side later in the film), Cri-Kee the cricket, Khan the horse and Little Brother the dog.
- Tiana has Louis the alligator and Ray the firefly (in all appearances after the film's events, she now only has the former, as the latter is now dead).
- Rapunzel has Pascal the chameleon and Maximus the horse.
- Merida has her pet horse Angus and her triplet brothers in the form of bear cubs.
- Anna and Elsa both have Olaf the Snowman, while Anna also has Sven the Reindeer.
- Elsa has Marshmallow the Snowman as her protector, but he doesn't really count as a sidekick or animal.
- At least one horse has appeared in each one of their films. But only 9 of them have actually ridden on horses.
- Snow White: She rides The Prince's horse when she is traveling to his castle.
- Cinderella: She rides her horse along with Prince Charming in the third movie, as well as Major.
- Ariel: She asks to ride the carriage with Eric.
- In the book Royal Champions, Ariel has a foal named Beau.
- Belle: Rides her father's horse Phillipe to and from the Beast's castle.
- Jasmine: She rides and tames Sahara, her mother's favorite horse.
- Mulan: She rides her family's horse Khan.
- Rapunzel: She is able to tame Maximus, assuming she also rides him.
- Merida: Rides her horse Angus several times in her film.
- Anna has her horse but its name is unknown that she rides to find Elsa but then throws her off and runs away and returns to Arendelle.
Clothing
- In the franchise: Cinderella, Aurora and Belle wear ball gowns. Ariel wears a bouffant gown. Snow White and Merida wear their court dresses. Jasmine wears casual attire. Tiana is shown in her wedding gown. Rapunzel wears her peasant dress. Pocahontas and Mulan are seen in the ethnic wear of their respective countries.
- Snow White, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna and Elsa wear their iconic dresses for a long time in their film.
- Cinderella wore her light silver-white dress only at the ball.
- Aurora used the pink version of her dress during the dance with Phillip.
- Ariel wore the pink dress for dinner with Eric (Ariel's new sea green dress was designed for the redesign. She never actually wore the dress in a movie).
- Belle wore her golden yellow dress while dancing with the Beast.
- Mulan used her two iconic dresses only at the beginning of the movie.
- Tiana wore her green dress for her first wedding with Naveen.
- Only 7/11 Princesses are actually seen wearing tiaras/royal crowns in their films (Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida and Elsa).
- Although every Princess has worn a hair accessory of some kind.
- Ariel and Jasmine are the only two Princesses to wear midriff-baring outfits (Ariel's case is her seashell bikini, while for Jasmine's case is her iconic cropped off-shoulder top).
- 9/11 Princesses wear outfits with their shoulders visible (Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Tiana, Merida, Anna and Elsa).
- Interestingly, the three Disney Princesses that became royalty by marriage (Cinderella, Belle and Tiana) all wore opera gloves and are the only Princesses to have done so.
- So far Anna and Elsa are the only Princesses who haven't been seen wearing themed clothes for Christmas.
- Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, as Middle Eastern, Native American and Chinese ethnicities respectively, wear clothing and underpinnings appropriate to their time and place.
- Cinderella, Ariel and Merida are shown in their undergarments at one point in their films (Cinderella in the 2002 sequel).
- Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel are the only Princesses to be seen wearing a wedding dress in their films.
- Mulan and Tiana are the only Princesses to not wear usual white wedding dress (Mulan's is red and Tiana's is green).
- Cinderella, Jasmine and Mulan are the only Princesses that seen wear wedding dress in their sequel.
- Cinderelal and Tiana are the only Princesses to have two wedding dresses.
- The Princesses' designs changed over the years. Originally they simply wore their plain outfits, then were redesigned with a new pose, and a tiara. Notably Aurora, Tiana and Rapunzel's tiaras remain the same with the addition of more jewels. Later the crowns were modified to match the dresses with capes and jewels added. As time passed the gowns grew more gaudy, recolored gold (Ariel was sometimes shown with a gold tail), and drawn with sparkles, metallic finishes, and now with more modernized fashions. During holidays, their dresses change into the holiday's theme.
- Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle and Jasmine are the only Princesses to be featured in the Golden Disney Princess franchise.
- All Princesses were featured in the Jeweled Disney Princess franchise, except for Pocahontas, Anna and Elsa.
- Jasmine, Mulan and Tiana are the only Princesses who sleep in two-piece separate pajama tops and pants. All others wear nightgowns to bed.
Redesign
- In their redesigns, they're made to look roughly the same age.
- Pocahontas is the only Disney Princess to have no glitter on her redesign, since it is replaced by jewels.
- Due to controversy, Merida's redesign received a second version without sparkles. She is alternately shown in her version with glitter and without.
- Ariel and Mulan are the only Princesses to have their own dresses in their redesigns. The others wear redesigned versions of the iconic dresses from their respective films.
- Tiana, Rapunzel and Merida are the only Princesses with the least redesign updates, having only sparkles on their gowns.
- In early promotions of the redesigns, Ariel's dress was pink instead of green and Mulan's dress was more reddish with sparkles. Snow White's sleeves were transparent. Cinderella was the only Princess with more than one photo of her in her redesign. Jasmine's top is ripped instead of the redesigned top. Aurora had a long sash on her hips instead of the triangular cutouts.
Relating to Magic
- Out of all the 11 Princesses, seven of them have used magic actively on others or their surroundings.
- Cinderella used the Fairy Godmother's wand.
- Aurora used Merryweather's wand.
- Ariel used her father's trident.
- Belle has used a magical item being the Magic Mirror.
- Jasmine rode the magic carpet.
- Rapunzel whose magic came from her hair before it was cut.
- Merida had used a magic cake.
- Elsa used the snow magic.
- Each of the Princesses have experienced magic in their life:
- Snow White was poisoned by the Queen's dark magic.
- Cinderella was able to go to the ball thanks to her Fairy Godmother.
- Maleficent cast a spell on the spindle to put Aurora to sleep, and Flora, Fauna and Merryweather used magic on her outfit (tiara and ball gown).
- Ariel was changed into a human, both using Ursula's temporary dark magic and King Triton's good magic.
- Belle broke the spell upon the Beast by saying that she loves him, and discovered the enchanted objects and the rose.
- Jasmine has riden the magic carpet and Jafar does a magic spell on her and the Sultan.
- Pocahontas can talk to grandmother Willow and has the power to command the winds.
- Mushu being assigned by Mulan's ghost ancestors as her guardian.
- Tiana being changed into a frog by Doctor Facilier.
- Rapunzel's hair and its ability to heal sicknesses and injuries and bring back youth.
- Merida went to a witch's house to get a potion in order for her to "change her fate" and her mom and three brothers turn into bears.
- Anna accidentally being frozen by Elsa when they were little girls, which ultimately prompts her to go find her when Elsa runs away after accidentally freezing the kingdom on her coronation day and later accidentally being frozen by Elsa again while in her ice castle.
- Elsa discovering that she has had ice powers since childhood and isolating herself from society due to her fearing that she cannot control her powers and hurt anyone near her for this reason due to the above.
- Several Princesses have had their dresses changed using magic:
- Cinderella had her Fairy Godmother create her ball gown.
- Aurora's dress was made with magic, and changed color various times throughout the movie by Flora and Merryweather, due to their disagreement of color.
- Triton gave Ariel a sparkly dress when he turned her into a human.
- Jasmine had her clothes changed into red slave clothing by Jafar.
- Tiana gained a magical green wedding dress upon becoming a princess (and upon becoming human again).
- Elsa changed her own ceremonial dress into her signature ice dress with her own magic.
Personal Signature
- Each of the Princesses have a signature color based on their outfits:
- Snow White: red (due to her blood-red lips and despite her blue-and-yellow dress)
- Cinderella: blue (despite her dress being silvery in the film)
- Aurora: deep pink (although her dress is blue throughout most of the time it is seen)
- Ariel: turquoise or sea green (in the redesign and as a mermaid) (pink in her original human version)
- Belle: yellow
- Jasmine: light blue (or turquoise)
- Pocahontas: orange (although her dress is yellow)
- Mulan: chartreuse (and occasionally baker-miller pink)
- Tiana: green
- Rapunzel: purple
- Merida: teal
- Anna: dark blue and magenta (and occasionally olive)
- Elsa: white and icy blue (or cyan)
- Each of the Princesses' original movies are set in each one season:
- Snow White: Summer.
- Cinderella: Possibly summer.
- Aurora: Spring.
- Ariel: Summer.
- Belle: Winter.
- Jasmine: Dry season (since her kingdom had only 2 seasons)
- Pocahontas: Summer.
- Mulan: Spring (though the movie takes place over 8 months)
- Tiana: Late winter (due to the fact that most of the movie's setting takes place around Mardi Gras)
- Rapunzel: Summer.
- Merida: Summer.
- Anna and Elsa: Summer ("winter" doesn't count because the movie took place in July, and Elsa had accidentally set off an eternal winter until she lifted it)
- The four CGI Princesses all appear to have a seasonal motif: Rapunzel: summer, Merida: autumn, Anna: spring, and Elsa: winter.
- Each Princess is represented by one or more objects:
- Snow White – red apple
- Cinderella – glass slipper, pumpkin
- Aurora – golden tiara, spindle, spinning wheel, pink rose
- Ariel – dinglehopper, seashell, trident
- Belle – book, red rose, mirror
- Jasmine – the magic lamp, flying carpet
- Pocahontas – her mother's necklace, feather, compass
- Mulan – peach blossom, fan, sword
- Tiana – lily pad flower, gumbo pot
- Rapunzel – sun, lantern, paintbrush, the golden flower
- Merida – bow/arrow, will-o-wisp, bear pendant
- Anna - magenta tulip
- Elsa - snowflake
Damsel in Distress
- Nine of the Princesses have at least one scene where they are actually portraying the role of the damsel in distress, while their love interest is their hero, while only seven of them were successfully rescued by their love interest, but the one who was failed to be rescued was saved later on.
- Snow White was put in to a sleeping curse, and The Prince arrived with his horse to break the curse by Love's First Kiss.
- Cinderella was going to be sent out from the kingdom by the ship, while Prince Charming ride his horse to retrieve her.
- Aurora was put into deep slumber, and Prince Phillip ride his horse and stab Maleficent in her dragon form, and break the sleeping curse by True Love's Kiss.
- Ariel was turned into a mermaid again as the sunset, and she was grabbed by Ursula underwater, while Eric jumps to the sea to save her and killed Ursula.
- Belle was cornered by a pack of wolves who were about to attack her until The Beast arrived and fought the wolves and saved her life. Later, she fell into icy water and had to be hauled out by The Beast.
- Jasmine was magically trapped in an hourglass, but was saved from being suffocated to death by the falling sand thanks to Aladdin breaking the glass.
- Rapunzel was going to be taken to an unknown place by Mother Gothel, while Flynn rides Maximus to save Rapunzel, and yelled the original story's famous line "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair."
- Anna with her frozen heart curse was nearly frozen while Kristoff was running towards her, trying to save her by True Love's Kiss, but was too late since Anna decided to sacrifice her own life to save her sister from being assassinated by Hans. However, the sacrifice was of true love, and so revived her.
- Elsa was almost murdered by Hans but was saved by Anna.
From Princess to Queen
- Only some of 13 Princesses will be crowned as Queen in the future: Elsa is already Queen, Rapunzel will become Queen Regnant, Aurora and Snow White will both become Queen Regnant and Queen Consort, Cinderella will only be Queen Consort. (Queen Regnant is a queen ruling by her own right, Queen Consort the wife of a ruling King.)
- Snow White: as the only daughter of the late King, she inherits the throne upon her stepmother's death, becoming Queen Regnant of the Kingdom. Her husband, The Prince, then stays as a prince, until he becomes King of his own land. it is possible that his father is the Sovereign Prince of a Principality (not a King), or that the Prince is not even the firstborn, and might never inherit the throne. If the prince is the heir to the throne and his father dies or abdicates, then Snow White and the prince will become co-rulers.
- Cinderella will only be Queen Consort following the death or abdication of Prince Charming's father, the King.
- Aurora: Upon the death of her father, King Stefan, Aurora will become Queen Regnant of her Kingdom and place Phillip as the Prince Consort, a similar position to modern days HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. Upon the death of King Hubert, Prince Phillip will become King of his Kingdom, while Aurora becomes his Queen Consort. When both King Stefan and King Hubert are dead, Aurora will become Co-Queen, and Phillip will become Co-King, jointly ruling the two realms. Their heir will inherit both crowns upon their deaths, creating a personal union. If Phillip dies before Aurora, then Aurora stays Queen Regnant of her own realm, and will also be Queen Dowager (widow of a king). If her heir is not yet of age, a Queen Regent (acting Queen until the heir's age of majority/coronation). If she chooses to abdicate upon her heir's coronation, the heir will become the King/Queen of a personal union and Aurora will then be a Queen Mother (mother to the reigning Monarch). A personal union is a union of two or more realms that shared the same monarch, like modern day Commonwealth.
- Ariel is the Princess Consort of Eric's Sovreign Principality in her movie's sequel, and since she is 7th in line to the Throne of Atlantica and now lives on land (and will be placed lower in line of succession if her sisters have children of their own), she won't be Queen Regnant of Atlantica.
- Belle will not be Queen since the Beast is only a Sovereign Prince of his Principality, not of a Kingdom.
- Jasmine will only be considered as the Sultan's wife as Aladdin will rise to the Sultan's throne due to the Arabic traditions of male leaders.
- Pocahontas' father, Powhatan, is elected as chief, not crowned through inheritance, and Pocahontas cannot be elected chief due to tribal traditions of male leaders.
- Mulan will not become queen at all since she has no royal ties.
- Tiana won't be Queen Consort since Naveen is cut off from the Maldonian line of succession by his parents.
- Rapunzel will be Queen of Corona when her parents die/abdicate, and Eugene will be her Consort.
- Merida either will be or not be Queen of DunBroch, since she has brothers, in which usually younger brothers surpass their older sisters in line of successions, but it depends on DunBroch's law.
- Anna will only become Queen of Arendelle if Elsa dies or abdicates without an heir of her own to succeed her. If she is married to Kristoff at the time, he takes the title of Lord Consort. If Elsa has children of her own, Anna will be placed lower in Arendelle's line of succession.
- Elsa is Queen of Arendelle.
Once Upon a Time
- Some of the Disney Princesses have appeared in the ABC series Once Upon a Time, with the series centering on Emma Swan, the daughter of Snow White who has to break a curse. The ABC Studios is owned by Disney and therefore, they have rights to the Princesses. Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Mulan, Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa have appeared so far. Jasmine, Pocahontas, Tiana and Merida have yet to be featured. 3 of the Princesses (Snow White, Cinderella and Belle) are all associated with Red Riding Hood in Storybrooke with their Storybrooke counterparts, respectively. and 7 (Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Rapunzel, Elsa and Anna) are associated with the Evil Queen in Storybrooke or in the flashbacks.
- Some of the Princesses meet each other in Once Upon a Time:
- Snow White met Cinderella, Aurora, Mulan, Belle, Ariel, Rapunzel, Elsa and Anna.
- Cinderella met Snow White and Aurora.
- Aurora met Mulan, Snow White, Belle and Cinderella.
- Ariel met Snow White and Belle.
- Belle met Anna, Snow White, Mulan, Ariel, Aurora, Rapunzel and Elsa.
- Mulan met Aurora, Snow White and Belle.
- Rapunzel met Snow White and Belle.
- Anna met Belle and Snow White.
- Elsa met Snow White and Belle.
- Snow White, Belle, Aurora, Mulan, Elsa and Anna are main characters in at least one season, while Cinderella, Ariel and Rapunzel are small, rather unimportant characters in the series, who have appeared in just a couple of episodes.
- Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Anna and Elsa are the only Princesses who appear in Storybrooke.
- Snow White is the only Princess to be a main character in all 4 seasons.
- Under the first Curse, the Princesses had different names in Storybrooke. Snow White was called Mary Margaret Blanchart (which remained her name), Cinderella was known as Ashley Boyd and Belle was named Lacey.
- Anna briefly uses Joan as her alter ego, during her adventure in the Enchanted Forest.
- Snow White and Elsa are the only Princesses to become queens on the show.
- Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora are the only Princesses to become mothers on the show. Interestingly, they are considered the most traditional Disney Princesses.
- Belle and Rapunzel are the only Princesses whom their Prince is a different character (Rumplestiltskin for Belle and Rapunzel doesn't end up with a prince, but nevertheless was saved from her tower by Prince Charming).
- Mulan and Rapunzel are the only Princesses who don't appear in Storybrooke, and are also the only Princesses whom their respective Princes (Li Shang and Flynn Ryder) and antagonists (Shan Yu and Mother Gothel) don't appear on the show.
- Rapunzel is the only Princess who is not associated with Emma Swan.
- Alice, Wendy Darling, Tinker Bell and Maid Marian are the only unofficial Princesses who appear on the show.
- Some of the Princesses meet each other in Once Upon a Time:
Kingdom Hearts
- Five official Princesses appear in Princesses of Heart (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle and Jasmine) in the Kingdom Hearts series.
- Though Ariel and Mulan appear in Kingdom Hearts, they aren't Princesses of Heart, but player's allies.
- In Kingdom Hearts, if players beat Wonderland before getting to Agrabah, there is a cutscene involving the kidnapped Alice being brought to the Disney Villains counsel. However if Wonderland has yet to be beaten by this time, instead of Alice, it will be Snow White that is shown.
- Aurora and Cinderella's dresses in the Kingdom Hearts series use the colors they are shown being in their movies, rather than how they are depicted in the Disney Princess Franchise. Cinderella's dress being silver, instead of light blue, and Aurora's dress being blue, instead of pink.
- However, it is interesting to note that in their stations in Dive to the Heart, Cinderella's dress is depicted as light blue, like her Disney Princess franchise dress, but Aurora's dress is shown being purple, a shade she never wore in the films.
- At the time of the series initial creation, Mulan and Pocahontas were the only Disney Princesses not featured within Kingdom Hearts. Since the release of Kingdom Hearts II, Pocahontas is yet to be featured.
- With the inclusion of the new films released after Kingdom Hearts II, the current list of Disney Princesses who have yet to appear in the series are: Pocahontas, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna and Elsa.
Sofia the First
- Several Princesses appeared in this series so far: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel.
- Ariel and Mulan are the only Princesses to not be shown in their redesign form. Ariel is shown as a mermaid, and Mulan is shown in her army outfit.
- Aurora and Tiana are the only Princesses to wear a winter outfit.
- Snow White and Aurora are the only Princesses who don't sing in the series.
- Jasmine, Mulan and Rapunzel are the only Princesses that Princess Amber met.
- Jasmine and Mulan are the only Princesses that don't disappear in the same way the other Princesses did (by leaving a golden glow trail after disappearing).
Legacy
- Each Princess has her own iconic scene in her respective film:
- Snow White receiving "Love's First Kiss" from the Prince and was later revived from her deep slumber.
- Cinderella's ballgown transformation and the scene where she fit the glass slipper.
- Aurora pricking her finger on the spindle and her gown's change of color due to Flora and Merryweather.
See also
- Disney Prince
- Disney Fairies
- Princesses of Heart
- Palace Pets
External links
- Disney Princess
- Disney Princess Wiki
- Disney Princess Brazilian Wiki
- Disney Princess at Disney Me
- Palace Pets
- Disney Princess UK
- Disney Princess Australian Website
- Disney Prinzessinnen
- Disney Princess on Facebook
References
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/magazine/24princess.t.html?ex=1324616400&en=8e5a1ac1332a802c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss The New York Times
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/My-Princess-Collection-Stories-Adventure/dp/0786845945/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2 Disney's Princess Storybook Collection: Love and Friendship Stories
