Disney! Doesn’t that word just bring you so much joy and happiness? Me too! I grew up watching Disney movies religiously, as I’m sure many of my peers did. “The Lion King”, “Toy Story”, and “Hercules” rank among my top favorites. They’re all my favorites if we’re being honest. From the fun, diverse characters and stories, to the lessons taught, these movies were the quintessential center of my childhood. We can’t forget the amazing songs written by so many greats such as the Sherman brothers (“Mary Poppins”, “Robin Hood”), Alan Menken (“Newsies”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”), and Phil Collins (“Tarzan”, “Brother Bear”).

Now we can’t talk about Disney movies without discussing the icons that are the Disney Princesses. I bet that they are one of the first things to come to mind when you think of Disney. Maybe you don’t think of them as a whole, but you probably think of your favorite princess as least. I may be alone in saying this, but I’ve never really had a favorite princess. They’re all important and strong in their own ways, it’s hard to compare them and pick which one I think is best. I decided to go through the princesses and, instead of picking my favorite one, I’ve chosen my favorite thing about each of them.

There is a lot of discrepancy with some of the other Disney females and whether they should count as official Disney Princesses or not. For the purpose of this I am only counting those who hold or earn the title of “princess” in the end of their stories, or are honorary and official according to Disney like Mulan, they are from the original film and not a sequel, are human (relatively), and their film is fully animated through the whole run. These guidelines exclude some of Disney’s leading ladies such as Meg from “Hercules”, Giselle from “Enchanted,” Elsa from “Frozen,” Melody from “The Little Mermaid 2,” and Nala from “The Lion King,” but it doesn’t mean that these ladies are any less important. On the other end this does include Anna from “Frozen” and Eilonwy from “The Black Cauldron” because they hold the title of “princess” even though they are not a part of Disney’s official list of princesses. I tried to find the best way to order them so it didn’t seem like they were in any order of importance, and determined that chronological order of their premieres would be best.

Snow White from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)

Favorite thing: Her kindness towards all. The animals, dwarfs, and even the creepy old lady.

Cinderella from “Cinderella” (1950)

Favorite thing: She is optimistic. For someone who lost both her parents and was a slave in her own house, she managed to still have a positive outlook on life. She sang these words: “No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”

Aurora from “Sleeping Beauty” (1959)

Favorite thing: When she’s singing and day dreaming in her own little world, it’s wonderful because I find myself doing that often

Eilonwy from “The Black Cauldron” (1985)

Favorite thing: She is not afraid to talk and speak her mind.

Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” (1989)

Favorite thing: Her curiosity and need for learning. She loves finding new gadgets and gismos and bringing them to Scuttle to learn all about them and how they are used in the human world. Her fascination with these everyday objects makes them more interesting.

Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” (1991)

Favorite thing: She doesn’t care what others think of her. She’s smart and loves to read and isn’t afraid to show it even though the people in her village find her to be strange for it. She isn’t scared to be who she is.

Jasmine from “Aladdin” (1992)

Favorite thing: Her no nonsense attitude. She didn’t want an arranged marriage and refused to take no for an answer when it came to that. She wanted to marry for love and stuck to that no matter what she had to do.

Pocahontas from “Pocahontas” (1995)

Favorite thing: I love how much she cares for her home and the earth. It’s really shown in the song “Colors Of The Wind” when she is showing John how important the land and its creatures are, and showing that not everything is about what you own.

Mulan from “Mulan” (1998)

Favorite thing: Family is the most important thing to her. She risked her life to save her father. She sat through a makeover with the matchmaker for her family, even though it was not what she wanted to be doing with her time. She just wanted her family to be safe, happy, and proud.

Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog” (2009)

Favorite thing: This lady is a real go getter and persistent. She knows exactly what she wants, how she’s going to get it, and no one is going to stop her. She has a dream and it’s going to come true no matter what anyone may say, think, or do.

Rapunzel from “Tangled” (2010)

Favorite thing: She literally is amused by and finds joy in everything. This is in part due to being locked up her whole life and everything being new, but it is still an admirable quality.

Merida from “Brave” (2012)

Favorite thing: First I have to say I love her hair because #same. It’s wild and unruly like mine, and it totally goes with her personality to. Second, I love how she doesn’t really seem to be afraid of anything. I mean maybe a giant man eating bear but that’s not unreasonable.

Anna from “Frozen” (2013)

Favorite thing: She is awkward at times which is so refreshing. Most princesses are poised and proper, but Anna isn’t like that always. She says inappropriate things and is so real and relatable.

These women and all of their peers are some of the best role models kids could have. I will always be a Disney kid even when I’m well in to my old age. I think that there is something in these movies for everyone, you just have to have faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust.