Over the years, Disney has released many, many movies that turned into great classics. And in those movies, they featured characters of all sorts. However, it is safe to say that a large amount of Disney’s popularity stems from one particular group of characters that stands out from the rest: princesses. Not only are they the company’s most distinctive characters, but also the ones that sell the most merchandising. And while each one of them has her own unique story and comes from a different background, there are many things they have in common, ranging from their love stories to the adorable animal sidekicks that always keep them company.

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Fortunately, just as the world has evolved, so have Disney princesses, who turned into the heroines of their own tales and no longer need to be saved by men. Characters like Merida and Moana, for instance, are an inspiration for girls and boys around the world. However, in spite of all these changes, there is one thing that still remains unaltered: Disney’s rules for defining which characters are entitled to a princess status and which ones are not. Surprisingly, being a princess in their own movies is not enough; there are some other requirements that excluded many characters from this list, resulting in a line-up of 13 official princesses.

What Makes a Disney Princess?

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For a female Disney character to be considered an official princess, she must meet certain requirements (as outlined by Screen Rant). For starters, the character must play a central role in a Disney or Pixar film, and must not be introduced in a sequel. At the same time, she must be royal by birth or marriage, or do a heroic deed, as was the case with Mulan. She must be human or human-looking, as is the case with Ariel in The Little Mermaid, and be appealing and recognizable to the audience. Last but not least, the film in which this character is featured must neither be a flop nor an absolute hit.

While these are the official requirements, several other rules emerged over the years, albeit they are not considered official. Among them, it is established that all princesses are typically escorted by an animal sidekick, are innately skilled at communicating with animals, and are beautiful inside and out. The vast majority of them are also gifted singers, except for Merida and Raya, both of whom do not sing in their films, therefore it is unknown. Considering Disney’s requirements, the list of official princesses comprises Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Moana, and Raya.

Tinker Bell and Esmeralda: Two Princesses Dropped From the List

The list of official princesses kept changing over time, mainly because new characters were added to the list as new movies emerged. Still, two princesses were removed from it in 2005: Tinker Bell and Esmeralda. The reasons why they made the list in the first place are not entirely clear, since they are neither main characters in their films nor do they have royal heritage. Indeed, Tinker Bell is Peter Pan’s sidekick and does not even speak in the movie. However, and despite the reasons that got them on the list in the first place, they were eventually stripped of their title as official princesses for different reasons. In Esmeralda’s case, the reason was that the sales of The Hunchback of Notre Dame products were not going as Disney had hoped, and the character was not as popular with the audience. Tinker Bell’s situation was quite different, because she was removed so that she could star in her own franchise known as Disney Fairies.

Frozen’s Anna and Elsa’s omission from the list of official Disney princesses has drawn a lot of attention from the audience. There are plenty of reasons why they should make this list, starting with the fact that they are both royalty by birth, although by the end of Frozen 2, they each hold a Queen title. They are both human, beautiful inside and out, and with a gorgeous singing voice. And while they have no animal sidekick, Olaf fills the role of their faithful companion. However, the reason why Anna and Elsa are not part of the group of official Disney princesses is quite simple: they are extremely popular on their own, so they both have been given their own franchise, which also features the other Frozen characters. In spite of this, the two are often associated with the other Disney princesses, which is why they were given the title of Honorary Official Disney Princesses.

Heroines Without a Title

Despite being so popular, princesses only represent a small percentage of Disney’s notable female characters. Apart from this group, there are many other Disney heroines who became highly sought-after characters and, for different reasons, did not make it to the list of official princesses. These include those who are neither human nor humanoid in form, such as Nala from The Lion King, or the ones whose films were box-office or critical failures, such as Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Some of Disney’s most successful female characters with no official princess title are Minnie Mouse, Princess Sophia, Mirabel and Jessie from Toy Story. Among them is also Giselle from Enchanted, who came very close to being included in the official list. However, since she was played by Amy Adams in the live-action portion of the movie, Disney decided to leave her out since it would mean paying royalties to the actress for any merchandise they sold of her.