Disney Princess Breakdown

I love Disney Princesses.

It started very young. At the age of three, I would make family members play the films on repeat while I sang and danced around the room.

Over the years, not much has changed. It’s common knowledge in my family that I can imitate the singing voices of at least five different Princesses (which I do…often), and I still ask for a Disney Princess cake on my birthday.

With all that said, it seemed completely natural for me to write an article about Disney Princesses (DP’s). Like statistics on a baseball card, I have provided a total Princess breakdown. I’m also writing this post to show just how much our beloved DP’s have evolved over the years while still maintaining the endearing qualities we have come to know and love.

Oh! And before I forget, check out Erin Foster’s article on everything DP at Walt Disney World here!

Snow White

First Featured: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Age: 14

Princess Status: Royal by blood

Parents: Deceased, evil stepmother

Occupation: Servant, Princess

Physical Characteristics: Short black hair, fair skin, lips as red as the rose, brown eyes

Personality: Kind, cheerful, maternal, innocent and tidy.

Love Interest: The Prince (He has no name). They have a short interaction at the beginning of the film and do not meet again until he wakes her up with True Love’s Kiss.

Claim to Fame: Lived with seven men without pulling her hair out. Poisoned by stepmother with an apple.

Stand-out Factor: Snow White is the original and first Disney Princess. As a sign of times, she is incredibly domestic and would make the perfect housewife.

Cinderella

First Featured: Cinderella (1950)

Age: 19

Princess Status: Married into royalty

Parents: Deceased, evil stepmother

Occupation: Maid, Princess

Physical Characteristics: Shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair (later made blonde), fair skin tone, blue eyes

Personality: Kind, a dreamer, sweet and a bit sarcastic (especially to Lucfier the cat).

Love Interest: Prince Charming. They meet once at the ball and not again until the Prince comes to try the glass slipper on her foot – Although the Duke was the one who actually put the slipper on her foot.

Claim to Fame: Making tiny clothes to fit her mouse friends. Having her own fairy Godmother.

Stand-Out Factor: Cinderella is often considered the leader of the Disney princess pack. She is kind despite her cruel stepmother and stepsisters and has her own castle at TWO Disney parks.

Aurora (aka. Sleeping Beauty or Briar Rose)

First Featured: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Age:16

Princess Status: Royal by blood

Parents: Both alive (a first!)

Occupation: Peasant, Princess

Physical Characteristics: Long golden hair, violet eyes, red lips

Personality: Kind (do I sense a theme here?), shy, sophisticated, a hopeless romantic and graceful.

Love Interest: Prince Phillip. They first meet when Aurora is an infant and again years later in the forest while she is picking berries. They do not meet again until he wakes her up with True Love’s Kiss (Oh hi, Snow White!).

Claim to Fame: Waking up with no bedhead (I’ve yet to master that one). Pricking her finger on a spinning wheel.

Stand-Out Factor: She is bestowed the gifts of song and beauty by the fairies. Like Cinderella, Aurora has a special bond with her animal friends.

Ariel

First Featured: The Little Mermaid (1989)

Age:16

Princess Status: Royal by blood

Parents: Mother deceased. (A common trait for the next few princesses)

Occupation: Princess

Physical Characteristics: Long red hair, blue eyes, green mermaid tale

Personality: Independent, a dreamer, rebellious, curious and adventurous.

Love Interest: Prince Eric. They first meet after Ariel rescues Eric from his shipwreck and continue their romance while Ariel is mute. She is the first Princess thus far who spends more than five minutes with her Prince.

Claim to Fame: Hoarding treasures from the human world, being a MERMAID.

Stand-Out Factor: Ariel is the first princess to have siblings (by blood, not step) featured in a DP film. This is also where the DP personality starts to shift to a more adventurous and independent mindset.

Belle

First Featured: Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Age: 17

Princess Status: Married into royalty

Parents: Mother deceased

Occupation: Peasant, Princess

Physical Characteristics: Long brown hair, hazel eyes

Personality: Brave, patient, independent, intelligent, stubborn and lonely.

Love Interest: The Beast (Prince Adam). They meet under hostile circumstances as the Beast has imprisoned her father. As a first in the DP world, they don’t get alone at all at their initial meeting. Their relationship grows as they spend more time together.

Claim to Fame: Taming a Beast. Sacrificing her freedom for the love of her father.

Stand-Out Factor: Unlike the other Princesses, Belle has no interest in marrying the most handsome bachelor. If that were the case, she would have married Gaston. She wanted to see the world and gain knowledge instead of waiting for her Prince to come.

Jasmine

First Featured: Aladdin (1992)

Age: 15

Princess Status: Royal by blood

Parents: Mother deceased

Occupation: Princess

Physical Characteristics: Long black hair, brown eyes, hour glass figure and of Arabian/Middle Eastern heritage.

Personality: Fierce, bold, confident, and desires independence.

Love Interest: Aladdin. She first meets him in the market place as Aladdin. She is reintroduced to him while he is disguised as Prince Ali.

Claim to Fame: Having a pet tiger. Loving Aladdin despite his low social status.

Stand-Out Factor: Jasmine shys away from palace life. She doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do and wants to marry for love rather than who has the most money and power.

Pocahontas

First Featured: Pocahontas (1995)

Age: 18

Princess Status: Not technically a Princess, but she is the daughter of Chief Powhatan (who is kind of like King of the tribe).

Parents: Mother deceased

Occupation: Peace keeper, corn cultivator

Physical Characteristics: Long and straight black hair, dark brown eyes and of Native American heritage.

Personality: Wise, independent, strong, free-spirited and a nature lover.

Love Interest: She is the first Princess to have two love interests: John Smith and John Rolfe (in the sequel).

Claim to Fame: Has the ability to speak to a tree. Creates peace between the Native Americans and the Settlers.

Stand-Out Factor: The 90’s really marked a turn in the Princess franchise. Gone were the days of the helpless and passive victim. We now had strong, independent and capable women (like Pocahontas) who could hold their own.

Mulan

First Featured: Mulan (1998)

Age: 16

Princess Status: Not a Princess, but she saved China so that counts for something right?

Parents: Both are alive

Occupation: farm girl, soldier

Physical Characteristics: Short and straight black hair, dark brown eyes, and of Chinese heritage.

Personality: Clumsy, outspoken, determined, smart and independent.

Love Interest: Li Shang, Although, they don’t come together until the very end of the film as she is undercover as a male soldier.

Claim to Fame: Not laughing when the Matchmaker accidentally draws a beard on herself. Putting herself at risk to save her father from certain death.

Stand-Out Factor: Everyone, she SAVES CHINA. In a time where women were considered second class citizens and not allowed in the military, she is indeed the heroine of her own story. She stands strong on her own, without needing a man by her side.

Tiana

First Featured: The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Age: 19

Princess Status: Royal through marriage

Parents: Father deceased

Occupation: Waitress, restaurant owner, Princess

Physical Characteristics: Medium length black hair, light brown eyes, and of African-American heritage. As a frog, she is green, small and has a long sticky tongue.

Personality: Ambitious, hardworking, hopeful, down to earth and a go-getter.

Love Interest: Prince Naveen. Like Belle, Tiana did not fall for the handsome eligible bachelor bit. It wasn’t until they were both frogs that she and Naveen began to fall in love.

Claim to Fame: Kissing a frog (gross). Defeating Dr. Facilier.

Stand-Out Factor: She is the first and only princess to turn into an animal, so that’s quite something. Her drive and ambition to become an entrepreneur is inspiring and makes her a great role model.

Rapunzel

First Featured: Tangled (2010)

Age: 18

Princess Status: Royal by blood

Parents: Both alive

Occupation: Princess

Physical Characteristics: Green eyes, fair skin, looooong blonde hair that sometimes glows. Later, her hair is short and brown.

Personality: Witty, lively, quirky, smart, independent, and a go-getter (like Tiana).

Love Interest: Flynn Rider. They are (at best) tolerant of each other but fall in love throughout the film.

Claim to Fame: Possessing hair with healing powers. Never having hair fly-aways.

Stand-Out Factor: What I love about Rapunzel is how real she is. She was created with slight imperfections (such as slightly bucked teeth) and has a goofy and quirky personality that makes her even more beautiful and relatable. Despite her mothers restrictions, she still finds a way to make her dreams come true.

Merida

First Featured: Brave (2012)

Age: 16

Princess Status: Royal by blood

Parents: Both alive, although one turns into a bear.

Occupation: Princess

Physical Characteristics: Curly red hair, blue eyes, fair skin

Personality: Stubborn, an outdoor lover, feisty, a tomboy and very capable.

Love Interest: NONE!

Claim to Fame: Winning her freedom through an archery contest. Turning her mom and brothers into bears.

Stand-Out Factor: Merida neither wants nor needs a man to be happy. She is not a damsel in distress in any way.

Anna

Author’s Note: Anna’s not technically in the Disney Princess franchise (yet), but I had to include her anyway because Frozen.

First Featured: Frozen (2013)

Age: 18

Princess Status: Royal by blood

Parents: Both deceased

Occupation: Princess

Physical Characteristics: Strawberry-blonde hair with a platinum blonde streak, freckles, blue eyes

Personality: Daring, clumsy, optimistic, caring, brave, impulsive, and energetic.

Love Interest: Like Pocahontas, Anna also has two love interests: Prince Hans (boo!) and Kristoff (yay!)

Claim to Fame: Drooling when she sleeps (don’t worry Anna, I do that too sometimes). Having the courage to go out on her own to find her sister.

Stand-Out Factor: Anna shows just how strong the bond is between siblings. She risks her life to save her sister and doesn’t follow the traditional princess stereotype – a quality that makes her even more endearing.

So who is your favorite Disney Princess and why? Who did you grow up with? Let me know in the comments!