Disney Princess

The Disney Princesses are characters that feature in the Disney Princess franchise. The character list has varied since the creation of the franchise, but Princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Fa Mulan and Tiana have most consistently been included. A new addition, Princess Rapunzel, makes her debut in Tangled on November 24, 2010.

The Disney Princesses are featured in various sing-a-long video series released through The Walt Disney Company. In addition, the franchise includes dolls, miniature castles, and other toys. The princesses are also featured in the nightly “Fantasmic! Nighttime Show Spectacular” in Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios and begining in 2011 at Tokyo DisneySea in Japan.

History
In early 2000, when Andy Mooney was hired by the Disney consumer-products division to help combat dropping sales, the idea for the Disney Princess franchise was born. Soon after joining Disney, Mooney attended his first “Disney on Ice” show. While waiting in line, he found himself surrounded by young girls dressed as princesses. “They weren’t even Disney products. They were generic princess products,” he mused. Soon after realizing the demand, the Disney Princess line was formed.

Despite limited advertising and no focus groups, the various Disney Princess items released became a huge success. Sales at Disney Consumer Products rose from $300 million in 2001 to $3 billion in 2006. Today there are over 25,000 products based on the franchise.

The princesses to be featured in the line were chosen from classic Disney films. The characters were not chosen specifically for their royal titles, but rather for how well they fit into what Disney executives deemed “the Princess mythology”. Mulan is an example of this concept; she has no familial ties to royalty, but is still included in the character list. Tinker Bell was once included under the same principle before it was decided she was not suited for the "mythology". Recently, Tinker Bell has starred in her own Disney franchise, Disney Fairies. Other fairies were created specifically for the franchise. The line began with a book series by Gail Carson Levine, and has since spawned toys, direct-to-video movies and other products based on the characters.

Character List
The characters themselves, despite originally appearing in separate films, have distinct similarities. The princesses show good will towards all creatures, evidenced by the common ability to commune with animals. The princesses are known for their inner and outer beauty as well as having beautiful singing voices. Each princess has a romance that is resolved by the end of her film. (See: Disney Princes).

Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Rapunzel are born of royal heritage as daughters of kings and queens. Pocahontas can be considered as being of royal heritage, as she is the daughter of a chief and considered Native American royalty by the English. Cinderella, Belle, and Tiana become royalty by marriage.

Snow White
The character of Snow White first originated in a Brothers Grimm fairytale about a beautiful German princess with a jealous step-mother. In 1937, Walt Disney turned this classic fairytale into his very first animated feature film. She is the youngest of the disney princesses, being 14 years old.

Cinderella
The best-known version of Cinderella is the fairytale by Charles Perrault in 1697, which was based on an earlier version by Giambattista Basile in 1634. In 1950, it was turned into an animated feature-length film by Walt Disney. She is one of the oldest disney princesses, being about 16-19 years old.

Aurora
Best known as the heroine of the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty. She is 16 years old. Although her dress changes from blue to pink (thanks to two of her guardians, Merriweather and Flora) she is most commonly seen wearing pink.

Ariel
Daughter of King Triton, ruler of the sea, 16 year old mermaid Ariel falls in love with a dashing human prince named Eric. She trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula (who was supposed to be her aunt in the uncut version of the film) in order to become a human and be with him forever. Ariel was featured in three Disney movies: The Little Mermaid, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and ''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. ''She is the first and only princess to have a child.

Belle
French commoner who is the heroine of the 1991 animated classic Beauty and the Beast, her name is translated from the French word for "beauty".

Jasmine
The spunky, independent Arabian Princess of Agrabah, she falls in love with the title character in 1992's Aladdin. She gets married to him at the end of the third Aladdin movie, Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

Pocahontas
The Disney Pocahontas character is based on the real-life Native American princess.

Mulan
Fa Mulan is a brave Chinese heroine who dresses up like a soldier and goes to war in place of her crippled father, risking death and dishonor. She is the only Disney princess who is not royal by blood or marriage, but she comes close to marrying a prince in her second movie.

Tiana
Tiana is the heroine of the 2009 animated film “The Princess and the Frog” and is the first Princess of African-American decent.

Rapunzel
The heroine of the 2010 animated film Tangled, which was to have been self titled. Mandy Moore will voice the princess. Her long hair, which is said to measure 70 feet in length, not only has magical healing powers, but can be used as a weapon.

Guest Characters
Other Disney characters have guest starred alongside the nine above princesses in various Disney Princess products.
 * Princess Collection 2: Songs by Maid Marian, Nala, and Megara are included.
 * Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Once Upon a Dream: Sing along segments by Princess Minnie Mouse, Megara, and Ting-ting, Su, and Mei are included.
 * Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Enchanted Tea Party: Sing along segments by Alice, Maid Marian, and Melody are included.
 * Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Perfectly Princess: Sing along segments by Alice and Melody are included.

Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party
Begining on January 22, 2007, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World hosted their newest hard ticket (seprate admission) event, “Disney’s Pirate and Princess Party”, renamed “Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party” in 2008. The event combines the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction and movie series and the Disney Princess line, and cosplaying as both pirates and royalty is encouraged. Visitors can have meet and greets with characters from both franchises, as well as the other classic characters dressed as buccaneers and royals, and take part in various activities. Other features include a new parade, the “Disney’s Enchanted Adventures Parade”, and the “Magic, Music and Mayhem” fireworks spectacular. Because the event has become so popular, Pirate and Princess events has become an annual hard-ticket staple with dates into August and September of 2007, January through June of 2008, and returned in 2009. There are no events scheduled for 2010.

External link

 * Official Disney Princess site

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