Disney Princess facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Disney Princess
Creator	Andy Mooney
Original work	Animated films
Owner	The Walt Disney Company
Print publications
Books	Disney Princess Chapter Books A Jewel Story
Comics	Kilala Princess Disney Princesses series Disney Princess Comics
Magazines	Disney Princess
Films and television
Films	Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
Animated series	The Princess Power Hour (block) Sofia the First Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets
Games
Video games	Enchanted Journey My Fairytale Adventure
Audio
Original music	Disney's Princess Favorites Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection Disney Princess Tea Party Ultimate Disney Princess
Miscellaneous
Toys	Dolls Palace Pets Comics line figures
Extension	Palace Pets
Clothing	Disney Fairy Tale Weddings collection
Official website
https://princess.disney.com/

The Disney Princess collection, also known as the Princess Line, is a popular group of characters and products from the Walt Disney Company. It was created by Andy Mooney and features special female heroes from different Disney animated movies.

This collection doesn't include all princess characters from Disney. Instead, it focuses on specific main characters from animated films made by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. The word "Princess" in this collection means a hero who shows inspiring qualities, not always someone with a royal title. There are currently thirteen characters in the group: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Moana, and Raya.

The Disney Princess collection offers many products like dolls, sing-along videos, clothes, beauty items, and home decorations. Companies like Lego, Hasbro, and Mattel make toys and games for the franchise.

History of the Disney Princesses

How the Disney Princess Idea Started

Andy Mooney, who used to work for Nike, became the head of Disney Consumer Products in 1999. He noticed that many young girls at a Disney on Ice show were dressed as princesses, but their costumes weren't official Disney products. This made him think.

In January 2000, Mooney suggested creating a real Disney Princess collection. Some people at Disney were worried that mixing characters from different classic fairy tales might make their individual stories less special.

The first Disney Princess lineup included Snow White, Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Esmeralda, and Mulan. Esmeralda and Tinker Bell were later removed. Tinker Bell went on to have her own series called Disney Fairies.

Mooney decided that when the princesses appeared together on posters, they should never look at each other. This was to keep their individual stories unique, making it seem like they were unaware of each other.

The Disney Princess line was launched without much advertising or special groups to test the idea. Even so, it became very successful. By 2012, it was earning billions of dollars, making it a top seller of entertainment products worldwide.

New Princesses Join the Group

The Princesses at Merida's coronation on Cinderella Castle's forecourt stage at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on May 11th, 2013.

Over time, more princesses joined the official lineup.

• Tiana from The Princess and the Frog became the ninth Disney Princess on March 14, 2010. Her special "coronation" event happened in New York City.
• Rapunzel from Tangled joined as the tenth member on October 2, 2011. Her "Royal Celebration" was held in London, England, at Kensington Palace, a real royal home.
• Merida from Brave was the first Pixar character to join. She became the eleventh member on May 11, 2013, with a coronation at Magic Kingdom Park in Walt Disney World in Florida.
• Moana from Moana was added as the twelfth member in May 2019. She joined without a special coronation ceremony, appearing in new products instead.
• Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon became the thirteenth member in August 2022 during World Princess Week at Disneyland Paris. She started appearing on official Disney Princess products and the website in 2023.

Princess Redesigns and Products

In 2012, the princesses received updated looks. Some, like Tiana and Rapunzel, got extra glitter on their outfits. Others, like Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine, had new hairstyles or slightly changed clothes. Cinderella's new look was the most different, with side-swept bangs and sheer sleeves on her dress.

Disney also started "National Princess Week" in April 2012, with Target Corporation as a partner. During this week, new princess-themed items were released.

In 2014, Disney announced that Hasbro would become the main company making Disney Princess dolls starting in 2016. This was part of Disney's plan to show the princesses more as strong heroes rather than just damsels in distress.

The "Palace Pets" toy line was launched in 2013, featuring cute animal companions for the princesses. This led to an animated short series called Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets in 2015, which takes place in a magical world between the princesses' kingdoms.

In 2018, Disney launched the "Princess Comics" line, which included graphic novels, figures, and clothes. This line featured Belle, Jasmine, Ariel, Rapunzel, and Pocahontas.

In 2021, Disney started the "Ultimate Princess Celebration," a year-long event that brought back the princesses' classic designs and included special events and products. Even though they are not official Disney Princesses, Anna and Elsa from Frozen were part of some of this celebration temporarily.

In 2022, Mattel once again got the right to make Disney Princess toys and dolls.

Who are the Official Disney Princesses?

The official Disney Princesses are main female characters from thirteen special Disney films. Most of them have royal connections in their stories. They are given a number in the collection based on when their movies were released. Snow White is the first, Cinderella is the second, and so on.

Disney Princesses at Parks and Resorts

You can meet many Disney Princesses at Disney Parks and Resorts around the world.

Disneyland Park in California

From left to right: Snow White, the Prince; Ariel, Prince Eric; Tiana, Prince Naveen; Rapunzel, Flynn Rider; Cinderella, Prince Charming; Prince Phillip, Aurora; Aladdin (as Prince Ali), Jasmine; Belle, the Beast (before returning to his human form) on February 14, 2012.

At Disneyland Resort in California, you can meet all the princesses for photos and greetings. In 2013, a new area called "Fantasy Faire" opened. It's a permanent home for the Disney Princesses.

Fantasy Faire

Fantasy Faire at Disneyland has a Royal Hall where you can meet princesses. It also has a Royal Theatre that shows small plays based on Beauty and the Beast and Tangled. Three princesses are usually scheduled to appear at a time.

Princess Dining

You can also have a special "Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure" at Napa Rose, located at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

Walt Disney World in Florida

At Walt Disney World in Florida, princesses can be found in specific places. You can dine with multiple princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table inside Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom. Another dining spot is Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion at Epcot.

Some princesses also have their own meet-and-greet spots. For example, Snow White is in Germany, Mulan in China, and Belle and Aurora in France, all within the Epcot World Showcase. A new meet-and-greet area called Princess Fairytale Hall opened in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom in 2013.

Disneyland Paris

In Disneyland Paris, you can meet a single Disney Princess at the Princess Pavilion. There's also a special restaurant called L'Auberge de Cendrillon (Cinderella's Inn) where you can dine with Cinderella and other princesses.

Shanghai Disneyland

At Shanghai Disneyland, you can meet Disney Princesses at the Storybook Court, located inside the Enchanted Storybook Castle.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland has a meet-and-greet area called The Royal Reception Hall, located in the Castle of Magical Dreams, where you can meet Disney Princesses.

Aulani Resort in Hawaii

The Aulani Disney Vacation Club resort in Hawaii offers "Kakamora Chaos with Moana" at Aunty's Beach House, their kids' club. This experience includes traditional Hawaiian games and a fun relay race inspired by Moana's home.

Disney Princesses in Media

Films and TV Shows

The Disney Princesses have appeared in many films and TV shows.

• Princess Party Palace was a TV block on Toon Disney from 2000 to 2007, showing episodes of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.
• Disney released a series of videos and DVDs called Disney Princess Collection and Disney Princess Stories, which included episodes from Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
• Belle had her own live-action TV series called Sing Me a Story with Belle.
• The first eight Disney Princesses also appeared in the animated TV series House of Mouse. Cinderella, Belle, and Snow White made small appearances in the Mickey Mouse TV series.
• In 2007, Disney started a new series of direct-to-video movies called Disney Princess Enchanted Tales. The first film, Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams, featured new stories about Princess Jasmine and Princess Aurora.
• The TV series Once Upon a Time featured live-action versions of many Disney Princesses, including Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Mulan, Ariel, Rapunzel, Merida, Jasmine, and Tiana.
• The TV series Sofia the First premiered in 2013. Cinderella appeared in the first movie, and other princesses like Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Mulan, Tiana, Ariel, and Rapunzel have also appeared.
• In 2017, the TV series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure debuted after the movie Tangled: Before Ever After.
• New animated TV shows for Tiana and Moana are planned for Disney+. Moana: The Series became the movie Moana 2 in 2024, while Tiana will still be a Disney+ series.

Many Disney Princesses have also appeared in live-action movies:

• Elle Fanning played Aurora in Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).
• Lily James played Cinderella in the 2015 film Cinderella.
• Emma Watson played Belle in the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast.
• Naomi Scott played Jasmine in the 2019 film Aladdin.
• Liu Yifei played Mulan in the 2020 film Mulan.
• Halle Bailey played Ariel in the 2023 film The Little Mermaid.
• Rachel Zegler will play Snow White in the upcoming 2025 film Snow White.

The princesses, along with Anna and Elsa from Frozen, made a special appearance in the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet. This was the first time these characters directly interacted in an animated Disney movie.

In 2021, Disney Channel started airing Chibi Tiny Tales shorts based on the Disney Princess franchise.

An animated Lego special, Lego Disney Princess: The Castle Quest, was released on Disney+ in 2023. It stars Snow White, Ariel, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Moana.

Most of the princesses also appeared in the short film Once Upon a Studio (2023) to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary.

Books and Comics

In 2005, a Japanese comic series called Kilala Princess was released. It follows a girl named Kilala who goes on adventures with the first six Disney Princesses.

Since 2016, Joe Books has published an ongoing Disney Princesses comic book series and graphic novels.

Video Games

Disney Princesses have appeared in many video games, including Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey, Disney Princess: Magical Jewels, and Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure.

Rapunzel, Merida, and Mulan are playable characters in the Disney Infinity game series. All Disney Princesses are also playable characters in the mobile game Disney Magic Kingdoms.

Kingdom Hearts Series

In the Kingdom Hearts game series, some Disney Princesses are known as "Princesses of Heart." These are young ladies with pure hearts who are important to the story. Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Jasmine are five of these princesses. Other characters like Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Kairi are also Princesses of Heart.

Ariel and Mulan are not Princesses of Heart, but they join the player's team in their own worlds within the games. While many princesses appear throughout the series, Pocahontas, Tiana, Merida, Moana, and Raya have not yet appeared in the Kingdom Hearts games.

Awards and Special Recognition

As of 2024, five Disney Princess films have been chosen for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. This means they are considered very important culturally, historically, or artistically.

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937; added in 1989)
• Beauty and the Beast (1991; added in 2002)
• Cinderella (1950; added in 2018)
• Sleeping Beauty (1959; added in 2019)
• The Little Mermaid (1989; added in 2022)

Images for kids

• 

  The official Disney Princess logo.

See also

In Spanish: Princesas Disney para niños