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Every Disney Princess has been an inspiration to both young and old fans alike. This list has been narrowed down to just 10 total rankings, despite having 13 official Disney Princesses at the time this was written. We must apologize for leaving three magical (and still amazing) Princesses off of this list, as it was no easy feat! Aurora is considered one of the most iconic Disney Princesses known for her grace and beauty, but even more than that, she possesses a great imagination, dreaming of her future and sharing those dreams with her friends — even if they’re woodland animals.
Still, her falling victim to a curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss has been questioned in recent years by critics. Despite seeking the help of a demi-god, Moana is praised for her independence, bravery, and determination to get what she wants — all the traits of an empowered young woman. Her voice actor Auli‘i Cravalho even called Moana a role model for everyone, not just girls.
Critics considered Cinderella too passive and one-dimensional when her movie first came out, but she’s not too helpless. She told her animal friends to rescue her from her confinement instead of relying on a prince to come save her. Her ballroom outfit, glass slippers and all, made her a fashion icon.
Also, did you know? Disney changed the color of her dress from silver to baby blue for girls’ costumes so that little girls don’t look like child brides. A poster child for teenage rebellion, Ariel dreams of being a part of the human world instead of spending the rest of her life under the sea. So much so that she disregards her father King Triton’s strict rules against visiting the surface and rescues Prince Eric from drowning in a shipwreck, falling in love with him in the process.
She went to great lengths to become a human and be with him.In the sequel, The Little Mermaid: Return to the Sea, Ariel gave birth to a daughter named Melody, who dreamed of living life as a mermaid. This made Ariel the first and only Disney Princess to become a mother.
Hailing from Jazz Age-era New Orleans, Tiana is a no-nonsense woman who lives by the virtue of hard work, holding down two jobs to save up enough money to fulfill her promise to her father, who died in World War I, and to turn a rundown sugar mill into a restaurant. She ends up in an unexpected situation with Prince Naveen, who was hoping to reverse the amphibian curse placed on him by a voodoo witch doctor. During their journey to find a spell, Tiana teaches Naveen how to be more responsible instead of expecting everyone to tend to his every whim.
The Princess and the Frog installed Tiana as the first African American Disney Princess. She’s also considered a feminist business tycoon, not backing down from her dreams until she’s achieved them. Belle is an intellectual and independent young woman who wanted more out of life than living in her French provincial village.
She gets her chance when her father, Maurice, gets imprisoned by the Beast in his enchanted castle. Not wanting to see her father suffer, Belle offers the Beast her freedom in exchange for his.Belle is one of the first modern Disney Princesses to break the stereotype of how princesses behave, preferring to read and gain knowledge of the outside world instead of pursuing a man for love and marriage.
Her constant rejection of Gaston’s request to marry her for her beauty alone (which she isn’t aware of) says as much, making her a feminist icon. Rapunzel from Tangled has grown to be one of the most popular Disney Princesses in the last decade because of her ability to fend for herself, find creative pursuits, and use her hair for other purposes aside from healing injuries and reversing aging; like climbing down from high heights, swinging from one place to the other, and lighting up dark places. These traits make her a clever and educated princess, trumping every bad thing Mother Gothel said to her otherwise.
Jasmine is just as much a feminist Disney Princess as Belle, only she has a more progressive idea of marriage than her father, the Sultan of Agrabah: marrying someone based on his character rather than his royal status. Before Aladdin came into her life, she rejected every prince that came to her palace, upset by an age-old law that she has to marry a prince by her next birthday. Her rebellion against getting married off roars through in a famous line to her father, Jafar, and Aladdin (as Prince Ali), “How dare you? All of you, standing around deciding my future? I am not a prize to be won!” Although she serves a supporting role as the love interest in her own film unlike most Disney Princesses before her, Jasmine is a symbol of female empowerment for defying traditions set by the men in her life.
She’s also the first West Asian princess in the franchise, credited with introducing racial diversity to Disney’s princess genre. If Jasmine could marry whoever she wanted, Merida could choose not to marry anyone, period. Throughout Brave, she insists that she doesn’t want to marry the son of one of her father, King Fergus’ allies, wanting instead to take charge of her own destiny.
This puts her in constant conflict with her mother, Queen Elinor, who expects her to take a husband and become a proper lady. The mother-daughter conflict takes Merida down a risky, witchy path to try to change things in her life, resulting in changing her mother in ways she didn't anticipate.Merida is not only the first Disney Princess from a Pixar movie, but she’s also the first Disney Princess to be single, giving female audiences a break from princesses who are damsels in distress needing to be rescued by men.
Plus, she’s a good sword fighter, archer and horseback rider. Mulan was the first Chinese Disney Princess in the lineup whose story is based on a folk tale instead of a fairy tale. Worried about her veteran father’s health and safety after being conscripted to fight the Hun army, she defied her culture’s restrictive gender roles and disguised herself as a young man to enlist in the Imperial Chinese Army on his behalf.
Her quick thinking and fighting skills allowed her to take down over a thousand Hun Army troops. Even after her deception was revealed, she saved the Emperor from getting killed by Shan Yu, bringing honor to her family and all of China.Mulan wasn’t born into royalty nor did she marry a royal (although she married Shang, a high-ranking military officer in the sequel), but Disney crowned her a princess nonetheless.
They did this to teach girls and women — mostly girls — the importance of persistence, family, and honor, and not confining themselves to archaic gender roles of being subservient to men. In other words, Mulan smashed the patriarchy..
