The Disney Princesses and why they're timelessly fantastic

I've decided to make some posts about all the animated heroines of Disney, talking about their attributes and why I feel that all these "Elsa and Anna were the only princesses who [insert good trait here]" are unfair, and that every heroine has her good points that are far more than simply good looks. I'm starting off this series with the 13 official Disney Princesses. This will include some non-royals, and some royals will not be included in the term, because it's not about their social status, it's about the fact they're included in the franchise. Don't worry, you'll see all your other favorite heroines in further posts!

*For these posts, I'll be going off of THE DISNEY UNIVERSE. Therefore, correcting me about characters based off of books or reality is not necessary.*

(Pictured: Esmeralda, Aurora, Megara, Jasmine, Ariel, Snow White, Pocahontas, Tinkerbell, Cinderella, Giselle, Lilo, Alice, Mulan, Belle, Wendy, Elizabeth [unmentioned], Jane, Tiana)

Snow White (Snow White - 1937)

Snow White is, in my opinion, the cornerstone of the image of 'weak' princess characters. Her beauty is consistently pointed out as her greatest attribute. She's the very first Disney princess, and at age 14 (b. March 6th), is the youngest as well, and is one of the eight Disney princesses that was born of royal blood. As a youth, she is forced into servitude by her jealous, damn insane, Step-mother. She meets her Prince (Ferdinand, mostly just called the Prince) while dressed in rags, they sing a duet, and become infatuated. 2 days later, they're riding off into the sunset together. As shallow as this may seem, keep in mind she was also a princess who, though naive, was incredibly kind-hearted and even in her dismal situation always stayed bright and didn't fall into despair over her difficult life. Also consider it was (I believe) the 14th century. Damn, you meet a guy/girl who has all their teeth and hasn't been infected by the plague and tell me you don't want some of that.

Cinderella (Cinderella - 1950)

Cinderella is the second Disney Princess and the second eldest, at age 19. As a child, her father died, and her Step-mother ignored all plausible child labor laws, and forced her to do all the work on their estate without break. Much like Snow White, this did not turn her bitter or evil. She stayed bright throughout her horrid experience, often singing and daydreaming- yet she didn't have intricate dreams of escaping, only of being able to have the chance at a night of fun. Cinderella was very handy, and also quite funny, with some good lines, and extremely kind to all creatures. She did go off to a ball to chase a prince, but when she and Prince Charming danced and fell in love, Cinderella didn't even realize who he was. He then searched for her and married her regardless of her status as a peasant. Unfortunately, this was due to her beauty and not her awesome characteristics, which should not have been overlooked.

Aurora/Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty - 1959)

Hail to the Princess Aurora... cursed at birth to die (then changed to fall into a slumber) on her 16th birthday, she is the third youngest princess in the lineup. She only has 18 minutes of screentime throughout her film, and is not actually considered the protagonist of said film- the three fairies who care for her are. She's been placed into hiding, and her alias is Briar Rose. Until Rapunzel, she was the only princess to have no idea that she was a royal for most of her life. To be honest, there's not much to say about her. She's beautiful, like all the princesses, and kind as well. An interesting point to realize is that she never once interacted with her film's antagonist. Prince Phillip, her male counterpart, and her were actually betrothed since her birth, although they did not know it when they fell in love. Which is rad on his part, because like Ferdinand, he fell in love with who he assumed was a peasant girl. Prince Charming was a reverse of this situation- he thought Cinderella was a lady of status, but found she was a peasant. Phillip is the first prince to really have a personality, as shown by his jokes with his father and his sass with his horse, and how he sneakily jumped in to dance with Aurora- also he fought Maleficent, which gives him super cool points. I'd probably fall in love with him right away, too!

Oftentimes these first three princesses are said to represent that all you need for love is beauty... but when you think about it, these princesses were all brought up away from their parents, two were neglected and abused, and yet, even though people treated them awfully... the most important thing to remember, and to point out to the young girls in your lives, is that they all stayed kind throughout everything they went through. She is the last princess of a generation, as Ariel does not follow her until 1989, 30 years later.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid - 1989)

Let me just say, Ariel gets A LOT of flack for her whole 'I'm 16 years old!" line. I find it unfair. Although she did fall in love with Prince Eric at first sight, she has many attributes that should not be overlooked. First and foremost, she's brave. She fought through a storm to save Prince Eric's life and she went to the Sea Witch*, regardless of fear, to follow her dream of becoming a human. This also shows her initiative to get things done. Her relationship with her father was a two-way street- he shouldn't have dismissed her dreams, and she should have shown more respect for his wishes. This movie is also kind of amusing if you look at it from a traditional gender role perspective, where a princess does all the 'work' to marry her man- saving his life, trying to kiss him, etc. A lot of the time she gets put down because she 'changed' for true love- but, keep in mind she was always fascinated with the human world and always wanted to be a part of it. Eric just made her decision to change speed up. Although some people argue that it was Belle, not Ariel, I believe she saw the dawn of more heroic and independent Disney Princesses, breaking out of the save-me roles. She's also the first of three princess to have siblings.

Also, this could make life easier on explaining transgenders to your children:
"Mommy, why is uncle Rick now called Aunt Sue?"
"Well, sweetie, you know how Ariel was unhappy living life as a mermaid? It was the same situation with your Aunt Sue living as a man"
"UNCLE RICK WAS A MERMAID?!"
Okay, maybe not easier.

*Ursula is actually her father's sister, and caused the death of her mother (contrary to what the sequels say, this is from the official Disney play and at this time I consider it the best story).

Belle (Beauty and the Beast - 1991)

Belle is 17 years old and lives in France. She loves to read, she loves her father, and she lives a quaint life but longs for adventure. She's also hella brave, giving up her freedom for her father's life, and witty and clever as well. Funnily enough, considering what many people think is classic beauty, Belle is probably the plainest princess. Also-- she's not a princess. That's right! Our first non-royal. Although it's implied in sequels, we don't know if she never married Prince Adam, AKA the Beast, and became a queen, or they just loved each other forever. Either way, she would never become a princess. Also, to the best of our knowledge, he's not a prince with a kingdom so much a dude with a sweet enchanted castle. How many servants did he have, anyways? But, he is called a prince in the movie so we will consider him as such. She's the first Disney princess to have a male villain in her story, too- and the first princess to be looked down upon- people think she's odd, a funny girl, and that her father is a lunatic. She's also the first one with brunette hair- and the last, except for Rapunzel, whose hair is long and blonde in all the merchandise. Belle is the first Disney Princess to sacrifice herself for a family member, the second one to do this is Mulan who went to war so her father can live, and the third is Anna who gave up her life for Elsa.

Jasmine (Aladdin - 1992)

Jasmine marks one of the most important changes in the Disney princess lineup- she is the first one to not be Caucasian. Isn't that exciting?! She's also the first to marry a pauper (you do you, gurl, you do you), the first to wear PANTS, the first deuteragonist, the first middle eastern princess, and the second youngest princess in the lineup, at age 15! Yowza, that explains dat waist. She's also the only princess to ever kiss her villain- surely, we all remember the scene. She's also the princess with the longest hair, excluding Punzi pre-haircut. She's also the only princess to have a known phobia- of snakes. This gal is a true pioneer of some positive changes in the princess realm. She goes out in a disguise, running away from home, because she's sick of being cooped up and meeting pompous princes who only care that she's beautiful, and propose to her when they know nothing about her. There wasn't exactly love at first sight with Aladdin- true, she was interested in him, and chose to marry him, but they didn't end up marrying for another three films. Way to test your compatibility! She's sassy, screws with people, and cares about the rights of the peasants. She just wants a little freedom to choose her own path, which luckily she gets when her father changes the law and allows her to marry Aladdin.

Pocahontas (Pocahontas - 1995)

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE WOLF CRY, TO THE BLUE CORN MOON... okay, shh shh, I know. Pocahontas! She's the only Disney princess to actually be historically confirmed as a real person. She's also not really a princess- she's daughter of a chief, not exactly palace and handmaids. She still picks the corn to the steady beating drum, just like the rest of her village- which is cool, because that means she's an active member of her society and does things that actually benefit the tribe. She's also the first princess to live in America, the first and so far only to be of Native American/First Nation descent, and the first to not achieve her 'happy ending', as John Smith left for England for medical treatment. She's also the only princess to deal with racism and imperialism as a major source of conflict. She and Mulan, unfortunately, are the least popular princesses in the lineup, with the least amount of merchandise and appearances. She's also the first to have an interracial love story. She's a pioneer for equality, as she tells her father that killing her is the same as killing a white man when she puts her neck over John Smith's. She also shows John, through Colors of the Wind, that they are no different from each other, just human beings. She cares deeply about nature and doing what she believes to be right, regardless of what other people around her might blindly think.

Mulan (Mulan 1998)

Mulan is my favorite Disney Princess, by far. Her movie is beautifully animated, has a fantastic soundtrack and her character is exceedingly different from the average princess stereotype. She is the first Asian princess in the lineup, and the first one added to the lineup who was known to neither be born or married into royalty. She is 16, and born on July 27th. Her male counterpart is Shang, and what I enjoy about their story is that it isn't one of love, but of camaraderie. People can make jokes about Shang being "gay for Ping", but that's stupid. They did not fall in love in this movie, and instead of the usual princess ending of a wedding and a sunset, she asks him to stay for dinner. This movie, if you want to look at the 'love' aspect of it, is strictly familial love. In the sequel, Shang proposes and they marry, and learn of each others differences and similarities in more complexity.
Mulan was the first (of two) of the princesses to be raised by both her family for her whole life. She is also the first (of two) princesses to kill the film's villain herself. The main problem she faces in her movie is that she's oppressed because of her gender. She is expected to be a "perfect porcelain doll", is told not to speak because she is a girl, and is sentenced (though it was not carried out) to beheading for infiltrating the army so her sick father wouldn't go and die. She is very brave, strong, apt, intelligent, clumsy, dedicated, and loving. She strives to always do what she thinks is right, even at risk for her own safety. She's also the last Disney princess of a generation, as Tiana was her follow-up in 2009, 11 years later. She also has the highest body count of any Disney hero, heroine, or villain ever, at 1995 kills. Ain't nobody fucks with Mulan.

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog - 2009)

This is probably the most complained about movie in the franchise. I'm not quite sure why- I think it's extraordinarily well done. I would think it's because it's made 11 years after Mulan and it shocked a lot of people to see the franchise changing, and with such a drastic difference in story to- a black non-princess, who lives in New Orleans? Say whaaa?

Tiana took a lot of hard work to make- her story had to be one that was ethnically and culturally sensitive, while still showing that she was a hard working girl different than the average princess, but still showing princess qualities nonetheless. Her movie was originally called 'The Frog Princess" , but got changed due to it sounding like she was being called a frog for being black. They also changed her name and profession. I applaud the writers and workers for managing to make this movie the way they did. Many black celebrities very desperately wanted the honor of voicing her role.

Tiana was born on December 25th, is the third oldest princess and is a hardworking realist who lives in New Orleans, and probably has the least 'princess' qualities out of any of the other candidates- she's down to earth, isn't a dreamer at all, doesn't believe in wishing, works hard to earn enough money accomplish her ambition of owning her own restaurant, and doesn't mess around with suspicious people or let herself be fooled- until she's broken hearted after the realtors who were selling her the property for her restaurant backed out of the deal, and she kissed a frog who promised her money to pay the building. She's left handed, the first princess to have dimples or come into contact with automobiles, and the first princess to have non-traditional theater music in her movie- mostly jazz and soul music, perfect for New Orleans. Tiana is the third princess to be tempted by her villain, but the first to refuse temptation. She's the second to have a human best friend, Miss Charlotte, after Pocahontas.

Rapunzel (Tangled - 2010)

Rapunzel is an 18 year old girl living in the 1780s, with hair and bodily fluids (harr harr) that grant eternal youth and healing. Interestingly enough, her cameo in Frozen (which takes place in the 1840s) hints at her own eternal youth. She's the first computer animated princess, the first to have visually artistic abilities, the first to be vividly animated as an infant, the first to have green eyes, and the last character the great Glen Keane animated before leaving Disney. She, like Aurora, never wears shoes and has the biggest eye:face ratio of any of the princesses. Her hair is 70 feet long- but Elsa has more individual strands than Rapunzel does. It's argued that Flynn/Eugene and her have the biggest age gap- she is 18, he is 24, but it's unknown for sure depending on the age changes clearly made to the story of Pocahontas. Rapunzel, Tiana and Merida are now the 3 center princesses in most promotions, replacing Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora. She's stubborn, accomplished in the arts and astronomy, desperate for some independence that is being denied to her, was not originally looking for love so much as adventure, and was very much taken advantage of by Mother Gothel's desire to stay young forever.

Merida (Brave - 2011)

Merida is the first and so far only Pixar character to be a part of the Disney Princess lineup. Her movie is the first of any to not be a musical, and she's the first and only princess to have brothers, and one of the only three to have siblings at all. She has about 111,700 total hairs on her head, and if it were straightened, it would be about 4 feet long and reach her mid-calf, which would make her hair technically longer than Jasmine's, and place her as runner up in length after Rapunzel- however, her hair appears shorter due to its curls. Her rebellion towards her lifestyle is much more accomplished than her predecessors, and she works a lot harder to get the rules and expectations of her changed. She's the second princess to wield a real weapon, a bow and arrow, after Mulan who used a sword, although Mulan was also trained in Archery. Also like Mulan, she is the second princess of the two to be raised by their biological parents and not lose them to death in her feature film, and is the second princess to be seen wounded. Interestingly enough, because familial love has been a big topic since Frozen, Brave is the first movie in which the protagonist's parent kills the villain and saves the day. Even though only two of the princesses have been American, she's the first to not have an American accent. She is also the first princess to not have a love interest at all. Pixar is not a princess-heavy company, as the only two Pixar princesses before her were Atta and Dot from A Bug's Life. She is the first and only human Pixar princess. Her main attributes are her... well, bravery, pigheadedness, willingness to change when she learns how to see the bigger picture, determination, athleticism, and sense of humor.

Elsa (Frozen - 2013)

Honorable mentions are Elsa and Anna, who have not yet been initiated into the lineup, although they will be- but we all love 'em anyways.

Want to know something hilarious? People are always bitching about how all the princesses are blonde haired and blue eyed... but actually, Elsa is the first one in the lineup to truly have blonde hair and blue eyes! Cinderella and Anna are not true blondes, Aurora's eyes were purple, and Rapunzel's were green.

At 21, she is to be the oldest in the lineup, the only one to not be a teenager, and the second official queen after Ariel, and depending on how you think Belle's story progressed. She's the first deuteragonist to have a song of her own, and she's the first princess to be confirmed to know another princess in the lineup- her sister, Anna. (Rapunzel doesn't count, even though she was in Frozen, because it doesn't mean they knew each other personally.) This movie took a long time to make because they kept on changing the story- luckily, because originally Elsa was a cold hearted villain-princess who had her heart warmed by a kind man. Yuck. In another version, she was just going to be a straight out villain, but after 'Let it Go' was conceptualized, they realized she didn't seem like a villain by nature, but one my circumstance. She's very regal and sophisticated, and desperate to be able to be herself without worrying about causing harm to others. She shows strong familial love, as shown by the expression on her face (one of the best animated looks I've seen) and icy room when her parents died, her fear to let Anna close to her after she hurt her, and her absolute devastation over Anna giving up her life for her.

Anna (Frozen - 2013)

Anna is 18 years old, 3 years younger than her sister, and a clumsy, awkward young lady who is desperate for someone to love her- not due to just wanting a prince, but because she's terribly lonely. She and Esla are the third princesses to have siblings, but the first to only have one sibling each- Ariel had 6 older sisters, and Merida had triplet brothers. She's a very relatable character because she's quirky and tries her best. There were quite a few deleted songs in Frozen, one called 'More Than Just a Spare" where she struggles with being second in line. She also kisses Kristoff before he kisses her, which is pretty different than the usual mutual lean in for the kiss- although Ariel could give her a run for her money.

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So concludes our first Disney heroines list. I hope you enjoyed the read, and can forgive any typos- it was a lot to write, and i'm not going off of Buzzfeed or anything. My next list will be about other human heroines that aren't in the lineups, and my third will be about the animal heroines. Huzzah, and thanks for reading!

Sources: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_Disney_Wiki
Each individual movie mentioned above
Special features in the various DVDs
My own opinions
Interviews and the such