• The 12 Disney Princesses are divided into three eras. The Golden Era includes the first three, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, the gentle, kind-hearted princesses. Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan belong to the second era, the Renaissance Era, those intelligent, independent, and self-reliant ones searching for adventure. The Modern Era princesses are Tiana, Rapunzel, Moana, and Merida, those who work hard to achieve their dreams.
• Although “The Princess and the Frog” used digital effects, 2010’s “Tangled” was the first completely computer-animated princess movie. Based on the Brothers Grimm story of Rapunzel, who was locked in a tower in the middle of the woods by a sorceress, the movie was six years in production, and carried a price tag of $260 million, the most expensive animated film in history. More than 30 animators and engineers worked to animate the 100,000 strands of Rapunzel’s 70-foot long hair. This was the first princess film to receive a PG rating.
• Princess Merida of DunBroch was introduced in the 2012 film “Brave,” the first Disney princess created by Pixar. Merida was also the first princess to be uninterested in going to balls and finding her prince. In fact, the 16-year-old princess with the fiery red hair spent her time fighting against a betrothal to a prince she had no desire to marry. Pixar generated 111,700 hairs for Merida’s curly hairdo.
• Eight of the princesses are of royal birth. Pocahontas was the daughter of a Native chieftain, thus qualifying her as native royalty. Moana became the second daughter of a chief princess in that 2016 film, set on the Polynesian island of Motunui.
• There are certain qualifications that must be met in order to be classified as a Disney Princess. She must be royal, marry into royalty, or perform an act of heroism. Mulan (1998) was not born into royalty and did not marry into it. Based on a legendary sixth-century Chinese female warrior, Hua Mulan, it’s the story of a daughter who disguised herself as a man to fight in a war in place of her father. An ancient Chinese ballad tells the story of her 12 years of brave and daring service in the Chinese army. More than 700 animators worked for five years to create the Disney classic.
• In the wardrobe department, Jasmine and Mulan are the only princesses who wear pants. Pocahontas is the only one with no costume changes. Tiana has 11 costume changes. Princess Merida in 2012’s “Brave” had 22 different costumes and five different hairstyles.
• In addition to the official Princesses, there are more than 40 “unofficial” ones, known as Disney Heroines. These include Elsa and Anna from 2013’s “Frozen,” Alice from 1951’s “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” character Esmeralda, and “Peter Pan” fairy Tinkerbell.
• Live-action remakes of the animated films began in 2015 with “Cinderella,” followed by “Beauty and the Beast” in 2017, and “Mulan” in 2020. Still to come are the planned live-action versions of “Little Mermaid,” “Snow White,” and “Aladdin.”
