Generations of girls and boys have grown up on Disney's animated fairy tales, where princesses
are routinely saved from the clutches of evil — and sometimes even manage to save themselves.
While some Disney Princesses have become modern role models, others now seem woefully passive
if not downright regressive.
So how does your favorite Disney princess rate?
Here's a look at every Disney princess ranked from worst to best.
Snow White
What do you do when you're considered too beautiful to survive in your own kingdom and
are forced to roam the woods aimlessly until you find a seemingly abandoned bit of shelter?
Well, according to the 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, you become a housemaid
for a bunch of reclusive bachelors.
Given that the entire plot is about how narcissistic women are, and the fact that Snow White is
basically just a prop for the dwarfs and the prince to save, there doesn't seem to be much
substance to this Princess.
Maybe if she spent just a little less time wishing to be swept off her feet and a little
more time working on making her dreams come true, she'd rank higher on our list.
"I'm wishing."
"For the one I love."
"To find me."
Aurora
While Disney's live-action reboot Maleficent tries to give Princess Aurora a little more
dignity, the original version of the character from 1959's Sleeping Beauty is most definitely
a dud.
Despite her overprotective parents, Aurora still manages to do the one single thing she
was expressly forbidden to do — and ends up in a coma as a result.
Luckily, Prince Phillip is awesome, so she's saved.
The moral of this story is hard to figure out, but if we had to guess, it falls somewhere
in the middle of "don't ever disobey your parents" and "only a white knight can save
you from your own bad decisions," so clearly, Aurora's tale is not the most empowering of
the Disney princess bunch.
Heck, even the fairy godmothers are enforcing gender normative stereotypes!
"*GASP* Blue!"
"Pink!"
Cinderella
Another Disney princess who has recently received a proactive reboot in the world of live action
films, Cinderella is a total sad sack in the 1950 animated version.
Oh, we all feel bad for her, suffering at the hands of all the spiteful, vicious women
in her life.
She also has a pure heart, as proven by the fact that hordes of rodents and birds flock
to her, which is always a sign that you're looking at a true Disney princess.
"Hello.
Oh…"
But though Cinderella does display pluck and determination, she's also a classic damsel
in distress whose main virtue seems to be that she cleans up really well.
"Bippity bop."
Bibbity bobbity bleah!
Rapunzel
There's something biblical about the importance given to Rapunzel's hair in 2010's Tangled.
Much the same way Samson's strength is stored in his mane, the very health of the world
in which this Disney princess lives derives from her locks.
Still, falling in love with literally the first man she's ever seen is taking naivete
to a whole new level, and the fact that she doesn't follow her dreams until she meets
Flynn is a step back for Disney, which made so much progress on its princesses before
and after this film's release.
At least she swings a mean frying pan!
"Alone at last."
Ariel
As much we all might love to sing along with the soundtrack, there is something rather
disturbing about Ariel's arc in 1989's The Little Mermaid.
All the classic helpless princess tropes are here: she throws away her life in order to
chase the hot prince, and can only be saved from the witch's curse with his magic kiss.
The metaphor behind Ariel losing her voice may be unintentional, but it remains significant.
"But they dote and swoon and fawn On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue who gets a man!"
Also, the fact that her so-called independence means becoming a teen bride who is totally
separated from her family seems…sad.
All in all, while we love Ariel's curiosity about the world and willingness to go against
societal norms to follow her heart, this is one princess who sinks in our estimation rather
than rising to the top.
Jasmine
Princess Jasmine's arc in 1992's Aladdin is almost really good.
Faced with the prospect of being wed to a stuck-up suitor at the insistence of her Sultan
father, she flees her massive castle and seeks refuge among the commoners.
However, at the slightest hint of trouble, she throws off that temporary cloak and pulls
a "Do you know who I am?" to get herself and Aladdin out of trouble.
"Unhand him!
By order of the princess!"
"Princess Jasmine!"
Apparently, that's more convenient than actually standing up for herself.
And then she's stuck in an hourglass while she watches two men fight to decide her fate,
like a trophy at a high school wrestling match.
Ultimately, she does manage to overlook Aladdin's criminal history and convince her dear old
dad to bend the rules so she can marry him instead of a foreign prince, but Jasmine is
treated like a prize rather than a person for most of the movie.
Pocahontas
Let's start with the good: in the 1995 film Pocahontas, the titular heroine is a strong
woman who desires her own path in life, despite what has been carved out for her by her father.
She respects the beauty of the natural world, producing some majestic musical pieces that
may bring a chill to eco-conscious listeners.
"Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
Or ask the grinning bobcat why he grins?"
However, the representation that she'll undermine her entire tribe for the sake of some fleeting
romance with a literal gold-digger is hard to reconcile with her free-spirited personality.
Luckily, her value isn't made or broken by John Smith's arrival and departure, but it
is still informed by him in far more ways than it should be.
Belle
There's no doubt that Belle has a lot of redeeming qualities in both the 1991 animated version
of Beauty and the Beast and the recent hit live action remake.
She likes books; she mostly embraces her status as the town weirdo; and she refuses the overt
advances of the local jock, Gaston, despite living in an era when becoming a spinster
was a very real fear for adolescent women.
Plus, she's scrupulous enough to see past Beast's off-putting exterior, making her story
a very literal translation of the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover."
Then again, she's also held prisoner for almost the entire movie until she finally succumbs
to Stockholm Syndrome and begins sympathizing with the dude who kidnapped and imprisoned
her after being emotionally manipulated by talking furniture.
So... that's a really big problem.
"Would you look at that!"
"I knew it would work!"
"What?
What worked?"
"Hmhm.
It's very… encouraging."
Anna and Elsa
Technically, the sisters at the heart of the 2013 hit Frozen haven't yet been named official
Disney Princesses.
But we all know it's coming, so how do Anna and Elsa stack up?
Pretty well, it turns out.
There's something pure about the self-sacrificial nature of Anna's journey, and the love she
has for her sister.
It's really one of the best representations of the sisterly bond in any Disney film.
And for Elsa's part, the message of empowerment and self-acceptance displayed when she finally
decides to "Let It Go" and embrace her true nature is undeniably powerful.
That alone is enough to land this pair of princesses a high spot on our chart.
"Let it go!
Let it go!
You'll never see me cry!"
Hey, you didn't really think we'd let you get away from this without having that song
stuck in your head did you?
Tiana
The fact that Tiana was Disney's first black princess makes her a standout, but it's her
attitude and spirit that really make the star of the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog
truly shine.
Rather than dreaming of some happily ever, Tiana's ambition is much more personal, as
she wants to open her own restaurant as a means of fulfilling her late father's dream
of becoming a restaurateur.
Everything else, including her froggy love story, ranks a distant second to that goal.
Not to mention, she's the kind of girl who can roll up her sleeves and handle two jobs
to make ends meet.
The can-do nature of Tiana is refreshing, to say the least.
Which is a good thing, because we're still totally traumatized by how utterly terrifying
The Shadow Man is.
"I promise I'll pay y'all back!"
And that's how you give kids nightmares.
Merida
"I am Merida, firstborn descendant of Clan Dunbroch!"
"And I'll be shooting for my OWN hand!"
In the 2010 Pixar hit Brave, Merida refuses to be a pawn in someone else's game.
In a contest held to determine who will receive her hand in marriage, Merida enters the competition
to win her own hand and stomps the rest of the contenders.
She also fights a bear, saves her family, and helps reshape the course of history while
proving to the world that she's worthy of making her own decisions, thank you very much.
It's also worth noting that her looks were purposefully made imperfect by the director,
and that Disney was forced to draw back on the glamorized version it tried to sell due
to public outrage over the unnecessary makeover attempt.
A Disney princess affecting real world change?
Now that's worth singing about.
Moana
Like Anna and Elsa, the star of 2016's Moana isn't technically an official Disney Princess
just yet.
"Okay, first, I'm not a princess.
I'm the daughter of the chief."
"Same difference."
"No…"
"If you wear a dress and you have an animal sidekick, you're a princess."
But She's still a great role model for boys and girls.
Charged with saving her island home, she risks her life, rescues a demigod, and heals the
Earth itself.
In the end, she proves that a person's size and gender has nothing to do with one's capacity
to make a big difference in the world.
Mulan
Forget ball gowns and magic kisses from charming princes, because the heroine from the 1998
smash Mulan doesn't have time for any of that nonsense.
No, she's busy leading China's army in a desperate — and ultimately successful — attempt
to save her family and her country from marauding invaders.
Mulan pretty much has everything: guts, glory, and genuineness.
Even the tiny tinge of a love story is based on earned mutual respect, and she doesn't
need some showboat castle and crown to live out her "happily ever after."
Add it all up, and there's no doubt that Mulan is the top Disney princess of all time — for
now, at least!
"When will my reflection show who I am inside?"
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