5 Disney Princesses Who Are Great Role Models (& 5 Who Aren’t)

As of today, there are twelve official Disney Princesses — Mulan, Aurora, Snow White, Tiana, Ariel, Moana, Cinderella, Jasmine, Belle, Rapunzel, Pocahontas, and Merida (who counts as one, apparently.) Each of them is a phenomenal role model in her own unique way, breaking countless stereotypes about women and femininity since 1937.

However, not all Princesses have the same origins, nor do they exhibit identical dreams, hopes, motives, or ambitions. They do the best they can in the world that is given to them, but some of them do quite a bit more than others. The list below describes ten Princesses, categorized by the weight of the legacy they have left behind.

10 Great: Jasmine

Jasmine has quite a few of her own problems to deal with, and that’s without throwing Jafar and Aladdin into the mix — but she comes out of them stronger and freer than ever.

Her desire to be independent, out from under the yoke of her father/society’s oppression, is quite palpable. More importantly, she doesn’t care about the trappings of royalty or the wealth that’s associated with it, seeing as she rejects Aladdin for pretending to be someone he isn’t (and not for being a “street-rat.”)

9 Not So Great: Ariel

The thing about Ariel is that she can’t seem to imagine a life without love, even if it means having to literally displace herself from her natural environment while pursuing Eric. Granted that her determination to obtain the object of her heart’s desire is all-encompassing, and, in a way, her success is admirable.

Nonetheless, it makes no sense that she has to uproot her entire life for some random hunk she finds passing by. Also, the whole deal with Ursula is quite vexing: a pair of legs and lungs at the peril of losing her eternal soul? What was Ariel thinking?!

8 Great: Mulan

In every possible sense of the word, Fa Mulan is a feminist: she takes up male spaces (war) and doesn’t let anybody distract her from her ultimate mission (which is anything other than getting married.)

In fact, she learns to masculinize her appearance and behavior in line with the acceptable notions of culture and tradition of her time, which some might argue is problematic in itself, but she doesn’t really have much of a choice, does she? Even after being dishonorably discharged, Mulan takes the fight to the royal palace, defeating Shan Yu and obtaining the grace of the Emperor as a result.

7 Not So Great: Belle

OK, so there’s this horrifying human-monster hybrid that has been terrifying the French countryside for a long time (through no fault of his own, to be fair.) But then the Beast abducts poor Maurice for accidentally trespassing, so now Belle is forced to exchange her own time and emotional space for her father’s life?

What gives the Beast the right to demand such an unfair transaction? She accepts the terms, which is an impressive sacrifice on her part, but then grows to love the one who clearly doesn’t understand what boundaries mean or why they exist. Anybody know of Stockholm Syndrome?

6 Great: Rapunzel

The story of Rapunzel is quite inspiring — she manages to thrive under nearly two decades under Mother Gothel’s horrible parenting, but instantly figures out a devious plan to escape (albeit temporarily) by blackmailing Flynn Ryder to be her “tour guide.”

Her strength lies not in the thickness of her frying pan, but in her ability to convert people once thought to be totally irredeemable. If that’s not enough, it turns out that Rapunzel’s tears are bursting with the same healing magic present in her hair, and it is the power of her sorrow that prevents Flynn from dying.

5 Not So Great: Snow White

It’s difficult to assume anything negative about Snow White, whether in terms of her intelligence, empathy, or willingness to live a life of relative poverty as long as her happiness remains intact. Or is it? What about the fact that she runs away rather than face her oppressor?

Sure, she’s only a teenager (14, according to canon) but does that mean she has to keep waiting for that someday when her “prince will come”? Snow White has the full power of the seven Dwarves behind her; she could have taken down the Evil Queen long before the apple fiasco happens. Or, perhaps, run further away?

4 Great: Pocahontas

Pocahontas successfully explains to John Smith the futility in destroying nature, which is more than anyone can say about the environmental policies being instituted today. She also saves him from her father, Powhatan’s wrath, thereby paying him back for his sacrifice (of allowing himself to be captured for the murder of Kocoum.)

Unlike in real life, though, Pocahontas never leaves Virginia nor her tribe: the original version marries a man named John Rolfe, and lives the rest of her life, that is until she’s around 21, in the English county of Kent.

3 Not So Great: Cinderella

One of Cinderella’s best traits is her diligence; she works hard and rarely complains about her lot in life. Well, until the Fair Godmother gives her Princess powers for a single night, during which her royal destiny is all but set in stone.

She exemplifies the proverb, “living well is the best revenge,” as she gets to do exactly what her stepsisters desperately want, but this doesn’t seem like sufficient retribution against the family that essentially enslaved her for most of her childhood. In the Grimm version of the story, her stepsisters actually cut their toes off in order to fit the glass slipper, a more suitable form of justice even if it has no place in a Disney movie.

2 Great: Moana

Moana of Motunui is an indomitable force of nature, literally — Imagine a sixteen-year-old trying to deceive a trickster God and actually succeeding for the most part! In fact, she takes on both Maui and Te Fiti with borderline hazardous bravery, ultimately “winning” against both of them, restoring balance to the ocean.

Moana’s brutal honesty is heartening, given that she rejects the traditions of her village and her father in order to do what she knows must be done to save her little island.

1 Not So Great: Aurora

Aurora is blessed from birth, with two Fairy Godmother-types granting her good looks and musical talent (forget that she’s a princess who has practically everything from the start, anyway.)

Even the curse placed on her is diluted by Merryweather, changing it from instant death to a semi-permanent coma, the only solution to which is some prince performing a kiss on Aurora without asking for permission, let alone consent. Now, Maleficent: that’s a woman who knows what she wants and how to obtain it!

About The Author

Ajay Aravind
(429 Articles Published)

In real life, Ajay disguises himself as an academic, mainly writing textbooks for children — who all hate him for making their lives more miserable. He also writes about TV and film, strewing his opinions across the internet to see if people care (they don’t). You can find him @stain_dprinc_ss on Twitter.

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