The franchise does not include all princess characters from the whole of Disney-owned media, but rather refers to select specific female lead characters from the company's animated films, including only protagonists of animated films from Walt Disney Pictures, with twelve characters from the Walt Disney Animation Studios films and one character from a Pixar film. The thirteen characters in the franchise consist of Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Moana, and Raya.[3]
Standing in line in the arena [of a Disney on Ice show], I was surrounded by little girls dressed head to toe as princesses...They weren't even Disney products. They were generic princess products they'd appended to a Halloween costume. And the light bulb went off. Clearly, there was latent demand here. So the next morning I said to my team, "O.K., let's establish standards and a color palette and talk to licensees and get as much product out there as we possibly can that allows these girls to do what they're doing anyway: projecting themselves into the characters from the classic movies."
The original Disney Princess line-up consisted of Snow White, Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Esmeralda, and Mulan. Tinker Bell was removed soon after; she would go on to headline the sister franchise Disney Fairies. Esmeralda was also removed.[10] This was the first time the characters would be marketed in a separate franchise to their original films. Mooney decided that, when featured on marketing advertisements such as posters, the princesses should never make eye contact with each other in an attempt to keep their individual "mythologies" intact. "[Each] stares off in a slightly different direction as if unaware of the others' presence."[6]
In an unconventional manner, Mooney and his team launched the Disney Princess line without utilizing any focus groups and with minimal marketing. By 2001, Disney Consumer Products (DCP) had generated about $300 million, but by 2012, the division had increased revenue to $3 billion, making it the top seller of consumer entertainment products globally.[11] DCP issued princess product licenses to Hasbro for games, Mattel for dolls, and Fisher-Price for plastic figurines in 2000, allowing the franchise to meet the $1 billion mark in revenue in three years.[5]
In August 2022, it was announced that Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon would be inducted as the thirteenth member in the franchise during World Princess Week at Disneyland Paris.[19][20] In January 2023, she was included in some Disney Princess products and has been later added in August that year among the other princesses on their official website.[21][22]
In 2012, the princesses were given modern redesigns. While some like Tiana and Rapunzel just had added glitter on their outfits, others like Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine received new hairstyles or modified outfits. The most drastic of these was Cinderella, who was given side-swept bangs and an outfit with sheer sleeves.
Mattel added a Barbie princess-themed line in late 2010 and the fairy tale based Ever After High in 2013. With these competing lines and an expiration of the brand license at the end of 2015, Disney offered Hasbro a chance to gain the license given their work on Star Wars, which led to a Descendants license. DCP was also attempting to evolve the brand by marketing them less as damsels and more as heroines. In September 2014, Disney announced that Hasbro would be the licensed doll maker for the Disney Princess line starting on January 1, 2016.[5]
On April 27, 2021, Disney launched the Ultimate Princess Celebration. This year-long event brought back the princesses' classic designs and included many special events, products, and performances. Despite not being official, Anna and Elsa from the Frozen franchise were included in parts of the celebration;[29] they were removed from their temporary inclusion in the collection at the end of August 2022.[3] When the celebration launched in South Africa on April 29, 2021, Sofia from Sofia the First and Elena from Elena of Avalor were also included for its territory, though in a lesser capacity than the other princesses.[30][31]
Currently, all the princesses are available for meet-and-greets at Disneyland Resort in California. Additionally, in 2006, as part of the "Year of Million Dreams" celebration, the Fantasyland Theater began hosting the Disneyland Princess Fantasy Faire, a show featuring Lords and Ladies that taught young boys and girls the proper etiquette to be a Prince or Princess and featured appearances from the Disney Princesses. In 2010, Rapunzel was given a Tangled meet-and-greet location. The Carnation Plaza Gardens bandstand, adjacent to Sleeping Beauty Castle, was closed to be replaced by a new Fantasy Faire area in the Spring of 2013.[48]
The Fantasy Faire area at Disneyland officially opened on March 12, 2013, as the permanent home for the Disney Princesses; consisting of a Royal Hall, a Royal Theatre, Maurice's Treats food cart, and a Fairytale Treasures gift shop.[49][50] The theater features two small shows based on Beauty and the Beast and Tangled. The hall is used for meet and greets with the princesses, which have a rotation schedule with three princesses scheduled to appear at a time.[49]
The TV series Sofia the First premiered on January 11, 2013, on Disney Junior. Cinderella appeared in the first film, Once Upon A Princess. Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Mulan, Tiana, and Merida have appeared on the show, and Ariel and Rapunzel appeared in the TV specials The Floating Palace and The Curse of Princess Ivy, respectively. However, Sofia is a minor princess and not in the royal court. She is voiced by Modern Family star Ariel Winter. In 2017, the TV series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure debuted with the television film Tangled: Before Ever After serving as the pilot. In December 2020, it was announced that Tiana and Moana would have spin-off TV shows, both airing on Disney+, with Moana: The Series debuting in 2024 and Tiana set for a later date. [61]
The first thought that Disney Princesses bring to mind is likely the animated movies from the 1980s and 1990s but they actually go back way further than that. These animated movies span several decades and contain many different heroines that fit almost every idea of what a princess could be. They set the tone for the rest of Disney history.
Her balance of determination, loyalty, and bravery make her an easy addition to the Disney princess roster, despite her lack of an official royal title. Mulan sees many battles and horrors of war in her time disguised as a soldier, and Mulan contains many heavy themes that give the movie a somber tone at times.
Frozen followed the story of sisters Anna and Elsa of the kingdom of Arendelle. Elsa is crowned queen after their parents are killed, making her the first Disney princess to become queen in her first movie. Elsa has the power to control ice and snow, and after an accident when they were children almost costs her sister her life, Elsa vows to control her powers at all costs. When she has an accidental outburst, she flees to the mountains, leaving the kingdom in eternal winter and its citizens believing her to be the monster she was afraid to become.
The latest inductee into Disney's line-up of princesses, Raya of Raya and the Last Dragon was officially added to the line-up during World Princess Week 2022. She more than earns her title as an official Disney princess thanks to her heroic actions and tenacity throughout her film. Raya embarks on a journey to find the legendary "last dragon" Sisu and bring peace to her kingdom of Kumandra by banishing evil spirits. Raya is the first Southeast Asian princess in Disney's roster, bringing more welcome diversity to the line-up.
Disney's princesses aren't confined to animated films only. In fact, several princesses from animated princess movies are also starring in live-action remakes of the same movie. Take a look at some of the live-action princess movies that Disney has to offer below.
I know this movie is historical inaccurate and that it could never be made today, but I like how they went with a story about Native Americans and showcased a bit of their beliefs and language. You never really see movies about Native Americans as the front and center
They're all ok for a 3yr old. DS2 has seen all the princess movies and he's not scared of any of them. I've collected them all on DVD because I like them. His favorite is probably "The Princess and the Frog" cause of the music. He also really enjoyed "Fantasia and Fantasia 2000".
Ditto! My MIL bought DD 3 Tinkerbell movies, and she is obsessed with them. She loves them and they aren't scary at all. DD also loved Little Mermaid, but I agree--the sea witch scenes are a bit scary.
No - it actually depends on the individual child. My daughter closes her eyes during the "scary" parts of "Wonder Pets and doesn't like seeing "scary men" on Curious George. Your generalization was a bit obnoxious and naive in my opinion. I will not be showing my almost 3 year old any Disney movies for quite some time because I know her and what she can handle.
My DD is similar to yours. She started enjoying the Disney movies at age 3 and was a Princess freak since (and still is despite some of her friends movin on to older material). She's watched them all and never been afraid. I think it depends on the child. Mine is not timid or shy. She does not scare easily. I do believe that Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are the scariest. I had forgotted about some parts in Snow White and did get a little concerned but DD didn't seem to mind. She loves the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Cinderella is nice but if your child is sensitive to being treatedly badly-- maybe not. Some of these are hard to get though because of the way the Disney vault works.
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