Prince Charming is the love interest of the title character in the 1950 Disney animated feature film Cinderella, and its two sequels. In the orginally film, he was voiced by William Phipps (speaking) and Mike Douglas (singing).
Background
Development
In earlier drafts of the screenplay, the Prince originally played a larger role and had more character development than what he ultimately received in the final version of the film (the third film would rectify this, however). In one abandoned opening, the Prince was shown hunting a deer, but at the end of the sequence, it was to be revealed that the Prince and the deer were actually friends playing a game. In an abandoned alternate ending, after the Grand Duke discovered Cinderella's identity, she was shown being brought to the castle to be re-introduced to the Prince, who is surprised to learn that the woman he fell in love with was merely a modest servant girl instead of a princess, but the Prince's feelings for her were too strong to be bothered by this, and he embraced her. He also had a solo number at one point, entitled The Face That I See in the Night, in which he sang about how he couldn't stop dreaming of the mysterious girl who stole his heart at the ball.
Personality
Prince Charming was actually, finally given a true personality in the franchise's final installment. He showed himself to be humorous, vital, and enjoys ballroom dances. He was also revealed to be a romantic, once expressing that all he wants is a love as true as the one his parents had shared. His love for Cinderella was so powerful that, little by little, it was able to free him from Lady Tremaine's mind-manipulation spell, and even compel him to jump right out of the castle window to rescue and propose to Cinderella.
Though elegant enough both mentally and appearance wise, he appears to be quite a swashbuckler, as shown when he challenges his father in friendly sword fights, and when he is seen racing on a horse to save Cinderella in a Twist in Time. He's also shown to have a rebellious side, in both the original film and A Twist in Time, having disobeyed his father's wishes or orders on several occasions, mostly as a result of his love for Cinderella. Additionally, in the original film, Charming was shown unamused by his father's attempt at matchmaking when he threw a ball in hopes of having one of the invited, young women catch his son's eye, romantically. As such, he was seen yawning sarcastically, rolling his eyes, and glaring at his frustrated at the start of the iconic evening.
Interestingly, despite his position in power and royal status, Charming is far from shallow and is shown to be rather accepting of those around him, no matter their position or background, and seems to judge people more on their personalities and overall character. As seen in the original film, none of the women gushing over him caught his eyes. It wasn't until he spotted Cinderella, a maiden wandering aimlessly about the palace, paying no attention to the high profile prince, did he become romantically invested in the evening at hand. As seen in Dreams Come True, he supported Cinderella's wishes to abolish peasant discrimination by inviting the village townsfolk to the king's royal banquet, finding her untraditional way of doing things perfect.
Physical Appearance
Prince Charming has a structural and muscular body with broad shoulders. He has fair skin, black hair and brown eyes. In most of his appearances, he is seen in a royal outfit, that is consisted of a cream royal jacket, red pants with a gold stripe, golden belt, black boots and white opera gloves. In Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, he wears other clothing, like one that's dark blue, but is the same design of his royal outfit.
His equitation outfit is a dark brown vest with a creme V-neck with a "french necktie", much popular the male clothes in the 1800s with light brown pants, with long sleeves, going to to the wrist and brown boots. In his normal outfit, he wears a white V-neck collared shirt with a long sleeve, red pants with a yellow strip and the black boots.
Abilities
- Expert Swordsman: Prince Charming has excellent sword and fencing skills.
Appearances
Cinderella
Prince Charming as he appears in the original film.
In the first film, Prince Charming is returning to his home kingdom after a long absence. Meanwhile, his father, the King, is frustrated with his son as he has yet to find a wife. The King misses the sounds of children running around the castle and wishes to see his grandchildren (offsprings of the Prince and his wife, if he ever finds himself one) before he passes away. He then comes up with the idea to throw a welcome ball. The King orders the Grand Duke to invite every eligible maiden in the kingdom, hoping that his son will fall in love with one.
The ball takes place in the King's castle that very night, where Prince Charming makes his first appearance. One by one, the maidens in attendance present themselves to the Prince, who is unimpressed by both the maidens and his father's attempts to match him up. Eventually, he spots a young girl (Cinderella) wandering about the ballroom and is enticed by her sparkling appearance. He walks over to her, courts her to the center of the ballroom, and the two begin to waltz. He and the girl then share a private time together (courtesy of the Grand Duke) during which they fall in love and are about to kiss, but when the clock begins to strike midnight, she suddenly runs off. The Prince desperately tries to stop her, wanting to know her name and where to find her, but other maidens attending the ball surround him and question him about the girl.
However, the Prince learns that the girl whom he has spent the night with has left behind a glass slipper as she disappeared, so he decides to marry the girl who can wear the slipper, and the Grand Duke delivers the news to the King. The King is excited with the idea of his son being in love and, after a brief struggle with the Duke, orders him to go on a non-stop search. After hours, the Duke finds Cinderella and sees that her foot fits the slipper. He quickly takes Cinderella to the castle, where she and the Prince are reunited.
Prince Charming is last seen at the film's finale, walking down the stairs with Cinderella as his bride. The King and the Grand Duke happily celebrate their marriage as the newlyweds ride off in a carriage to go out on their honeymoon. As the carriage pulls away, Cinderella and the Prince share another kiss (with the final words in the book, below the illustration of the couple kissing, reading "and they lived happily ever after").
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True
Prince Charming in Cinderella II: Dreams Come True.
Prince Charming reappeared in the film's sequel. In the first story "Aim to Please" he and Cinderella have just returned from their honeymoon only to find out that he and his father must leave on a trip. While they are gone, Cinderella must learn how to be a princess and set up a ball in honor of their return. When they do, Charming and his father love the new way Cinderella planned the party. She invited guests from the village instead of just aristocrats as well as brightening up the castle.
In the next segment, Charming and Cinderella attend a carnival festival. He is shown at the ball with Cinderella after she helps Anastasia fall in love with the baker in "Uncommon Romance". At the end, Charming is briefly seen reading when Jaq and Gus rush by him with a scrapbook that they plan to show Cinderella.
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
Prince Charming in Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.
In A Twist in Time, the Prince had a larger role and was the deuteragonist for the first time. In this film, Charming and Cinderella are celebrating a year's worth of magic with their love stronger than ever. However, in the mix of the festivities, Fairy Godmother misplaces her wand, and it falls into the hands of Anastasia. The stepsister takes the wand to her mother Lady Tremaine and sister Drizella. The two quickly disregards the power of the wand until Anastasia accidentally turns Lucifer into a goose-cat hybrid. In a scuffle with Fairy Godmother, Anastasia accidentally turns her into stone, and now the wand lies in the hands of Lady Tremaine, who turns back time to when Cinderella fitted the slipper.
Using the magic of the wand, Lady Tremaine altered the size of the glass slipper to fit Anastasia. The Grand Duke escorts the Tremaines to the palace to meet Prince Charming, with Cinderella secretly tagging along to show the Prince that she's the one he waltzed with. When the Tremaines arrive at the palace, Charming notices Anastasia not being the right girl. He apologizes to the Tremaines and orders the Duke to send them home. As he makes way for the door, Lady Tremaine casts a spell on Charming, warping his mind to make him believe it was Anastasia at the ball, and erases all memories of Cinderella. The Prince, now under the spell, welcomes the Tremaines in with open arms. Jaq and Gus, who were around to witness the event, rush to Cinderella.
Meanwhile, Charming and Anastasia begin preparations for the wedding and in during which, Charming begins to feel uncertain about the "love" between Anastasia and himself. According to his father, one feels a spark in the heart when they touch the hand of their true love, but when Charming and Anastasia's hands touched, he felt nothing. Meanwhile, in Lady Tremaine's quarters, Jaq and Gus manage to steal the wand back and hand it over to Cinderella. She tries to break the spell but Tremaine orders the guards to arrest her and banish her from the kingdom. Before she's taken away, Cinderella manages to touch Charming's hand, and the prince feels a connection. Jaq and Gus are able to persuade the Prince that Cinderella is the real girl from the ball, and Charming rushes off to save her from banishment.
The two reunite and return to the palace, where they begin the wedding preparations. However, Lady Tremaine kidnaps Cinderella and morphs Anastasia into a clone of her. At the wedding, Cinderella manages to return, and Anastasia confesses the scheme to Charming. Tremaine attempts to get even by transforming both Cinderella and Anastasia into toads but Charming intervenes and repels the magic beam with his sword, transforming Lady Tremaine and Drizella into toads instead. After the Fairy Godmother is restored to normal, she transforms Cinderella's outfit into her wedding attire and offers to restore their original timeline, but Charming and Cinderella decline, as they are happy and content for what they have accomplished in this new timeline. Charming and Cinderella finally marry, and they live happily ever after...again.
House of Mouse
Prince Charming makes many cameos in House of Mouse, always seen aside Cinderella.
Mickey Mouse
Prince Charming makes a cameo appearance along with Cinderella in "Croissant de Triomphe".
Live-action appearances
Once Upon a Time
In Once Upon a Time, Prince Charming is renamed Prince Thomas (As Prince Charming was the nickname for the Prince). Here, he and his father the King are hosting a ball, where he falls in love with Cinderella. He later defends her from Rumplestiltskin, who Cinderella had promised anything in exchange of going to the ball and is now wanting their firstborn. When she discovers she is pregnant, she tries to run away. But Thomas and Prince James devise a plan to capture Rumplestiltskin. The plan succeeds, but Thomas disappears. Rumplestiltskin vows that she will never see Thomas again until the contract is fulfilled.
In Storybrooke, he is Sean Herman. He is first seen when confronted by Emma about Ashley (Cinderella) and their baby. He explains he left Ashley under forbidance of his father of them being together, but he later decides to disobey him and reconciles with Ashley. A few weeks later, on Valentine's Day, he proposes to Ashley, making her his fiancé. It is unknown if they already married.
Cinderella (2015)
Prince Charming plays a major role in the 2015 live-action remake, portrayed by Richard Madden.
In this version of the original, animated classic, Prince Charming is known as "Kit", and commonly engages in hunting parties and fencing lessons. During one of his hunts, Kit encounters a girl by the name of Ella. Though their meeting is brief, Kit almost immediately falls in love with Ella, forming into a romantic obsession. Later on, he soon finds his father, the King, is nearing death, and as a dying wish, the King asks that Kit finds himself a bride at an upcoming ball. However, the law states that Kit can only marry a princess, which Ella is not. Even so, the charming Prince manages to convince his father to allow every eligible maiden to attend the ball, as opposed to just royalty, which he accepts. At the ball, Ella returns, but before names can be exchanged, the clock strikes twelve, and the beautiful maiden departs.
Following these events, the King gives Kit permission to find his true love, before dying, and a mission is ignited to find Ella, using the glass slipper she left behind. In the mix, however, the Grand Duke plots to sabotage Kit's relationship with Ella, with the assistance of Lady Tremaine. Though the Duke tries to manipulate the Prince, Kit merely becomes even more determined to find his love, and soon manages to do so. Before the Duke and Lady Tremaine can be arrested for conspiracy, they flee the kingdom.
In the end, Kit and Ella are married, becoming king and queen, as well as the kingdom's most beloved monarchs.
Printed media
Kilala Princess
While visiting Cinderella's world Kiala must obtain Cinderella's tiara which has been stolen by the Tremaine's to brainwash Prince Charming.
The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince
Although Prince Charming himself doesn't appear in the book, Gaston mentioned about a prince from a neighboring kingdom who finds success "after the matter of the glass slipper was sorted", hinting that Cinderella takes place in the same world as Beauty and the Beast, along with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Little Mermaid.
Video Games
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Prince Charming is a protagonist featured in the world Castle of Dreams in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He is the future king of the Castle of Dreams who serves as Cinderella's love interest, marrying her and saving her from the evils of Lady Tremaine after the events of the ball.
Prince and heir to the throne of Castle of Dreams, Prince Charming first laid eyes upon Cinderella, his one true love, at his royal ball, which was held by the King in hopes of finding his son a wife. During the ball, they were cornered by a powerful Unversed which was later defeated by Terra, this disruption however did not disturb their romance and they proceeded to dance. Prince Charming later came before the Grand Duke after Cinderella fled the ball, the Fairy Godmother's spell about to break, and was introduced to Aqua. They were both hesitant of each other, the Prince holding a search for the girl he had danced with. Telling the Grand Duke to find whichever maiden fit the lone glass slipper, he found Cinderella at the home of Lady Tremaine, marrying her, and thus saving her from the life of servitude she had lived with the wicked stepmother and her stepsisters.
He is voiced by Matt Nolan (English) and Kenyu Horiuchi (Japanese).
Disney Parks
Prince Charming at one of the Disney Parks.
Prince Charming is a rare Disney meet and greet character. He usually appears in shows and many parades.
Charming is the central character of Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. He can be seen alongside Cinderella in One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On!
Fantasmic!
In the nighttime spectacular Fantasmic!, Prince Charming makes appearances. His first appears dancing with Cinderella and other Disney Prince and Princessses. Prince Charming later appears on top of the mark Twain Riverboat or Steamboat Willie (depending on the park). Prince Charming is also seen during Cinderella's sequence in Tokyo DisneySea's version of the show.
Dream Along With Mickey
Prince Charming appears along with Cinderella in the live castle stage show Dream Along with Mickey in the Magic Kingdom park. When Minnie wishes to be a princess Mickey grants her wish and welcomes Aurora, Phillip, Snow White, Florian, Cinderella and Prince Charming.
Songs
Quotes
Template:Quotelink
Gallery
Trivia
- Not only is the name of the Prince never revealed, he is never actually referred to as "Prince Charming" in the film. His name was mentioned only in merchandise and, more recently, Kingdom Hearts and Prince Charming's Regal Carousel.
- Disney France revealed in a TV spot advertising the Blu-ray/DVD release of Cinderella that Prince Charming's real name is Henry (or "Henri" in French).
- However, in 1971's Disney on Parade, they say that his name is Prince Alto August Ferdinand.
- Prince Charming was the first Disney Prince to participate in a duet with his respective love interest. The second was Prince Phillip with Aurora.
- He is the first prince to be featured in a wedding celebration. The second is Prince Eric with Ariel, and the third is Prince Naveen with Tiana. The fourth would be Flynn Rider with Rapunzel in Tangled Ever After.
- The Prince is also the first to dance with the heroine during the film, with Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty being the second.
- Unlike the prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he is the first to have a bit more dialogue.
- The Prince is also the first to live in a castle which is a feature location in the film, with Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid being the second and Beast (Prince Adam) from Beauty and the Beast being the third.
- The Prince is the first of three other Disney Princes to feature his father. Prince Phillip is the second and Prince Naveen is the third.
- As with Cinderella, the prince's hair color has been altered by being lightened from its original black-brown to a lighter brown shade in merchandise depictions that have him alongside Cinderella.
- In "The House Meets the Mouse - Part 1", Steve plays this character, despite the fact that D.J. swears that it was him.
- There is a homage is made to Prince Charming in The Princess and the Frog as Tiana is seen in Charlotte's room with a prince doll that resembles him wearing his outfit from the second movie. This makes him one of the four Disney characters referenced in the movie, with the Magic Carpet, King Triton and Genie being the other three.
- The Prince is the second prince to be voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes. The first was Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid.
- He is the second Disney Prince to have his love interest run away before he learns her name. The first was The Prince from Snow White, and both of them were followed by Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty.
- Prince Charming is the first Disney Prince to dance with his heroine just after they met, the second one would be Prince Phillip.
- Prince Charming is the second Disney Prince to not interact or deal with his film's antagonist at all in his feature film, the first being the Prince from Snow White and the third being Kristoff from Frozen. However in Cinderella III, he dealt with Lady Tremaine and even helped defeat her.
- Prince Charming inherited his looks from mother but he inherited his coloring from his father.
v - e - d  | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|