There are currently only seven Caucasian Disney Princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Rapunzel, and Merida. Snow White and Rapunzel are German. Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle are French. Ariel is Danish.
For example, even though seven of 11 princesses are white, 10 of 11 are based on fairytales or history. All 10 reflect the nationality of the people who live where the story originated (which happens to be Europe for many).
The thirteen characters in the franchise consist of Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Moana, and Raya.
In Disney's nearly 100-year history, there has been only one Black Disney princess — Princess Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog,” a 2009 animated feature starring Anika Noni Rose. The singer Brandy starred in a 1997 made-for-TV film version of “Cinderella,” a remake of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
One thing to note, Hans Christian Andersen left out race, skin color, and character names. For the animated movie, Disney made the little mermaid white, made her hair red, and gave her a name, Ariel.
As for whether Elsa and Anna are white … the Northuldra are modeled on the Sami, an indigenous people scattered across northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia who have faced a great deal of discrimination, but there's a lot of disagreement about the genetic and linguistic origins of Sami to this day.
As Disney starts to diversify their movies and Princesses, it is important this is done correctly and to the highest level of authenticity possible. Moana strays from Disney tradition to allow Moana's cultural authenticity to come through and ensures that Polynesian culture is correctly represented.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came out in 1937, debuting the very first Disney princess with Snow White herself. Voiced by Adriana Caselotti, she's incredibly of her time (i.e. dated af).
Ariel appears as an adult in Return to the Sea and gives birth to a daughter named Melody, becoming the first, and currently, only, Disney princess to become a mother.
Famously, Jasmine was Disney's first princess of color; her unprecedented ethnicity is credited with ultimately inspiring the studio to become more ethnically diverse, as evidenced by the subsequent introduction of their non-white princesses Pocahontas and Mulan.
Some say that Elsa's queen status stops her from being a princess (though that did not stop the chef of Motunui), while others speculate that she did not make the cut due to an obscure rule that stops characters becoming official princesses unless they had an animal companion.
Here's a baby name you won't want to let go! Though now a personification of empowering self-acceptance, Elsa first founds its mark as a feminine variation of the Hebrew name Elizabeth. With Hebrew, German, and Swiss origins, Elsa means "God is my oath," and will bolster baby's connection to their faith.
Originally Elsa was simply a short form for the biblical name Elisabeth and some of its variants: Elisabet, Elisabetta and Elizabeth. The first record mentioning the name were in Sweden at the 15th century, and became generally used after the 19th century.
Olaf appears in the sequel Frozen II, where he no longer needs a permanent snow flurry, as he is now made of permafrost, and enjoys being able to freely bask in the sun year-round. Now three years old, Olaf is slightly more intelligent and mature.
In modern Hebrew, Ariel is primarily used as a male name. However, in recent years in English-speaking countries, it has been more commonly used as a female name, primarily due to the influence of Ariel, the main character from The Little Mermaid. It also appears as a surname.
Of course, the animated mermaids are the daughters of King Triton and Queen Athena, but that may change in the live-action version with the implication that Ariel's sisters have different mothers.
Ariel is widely viewed as a male character, although this view has wavered over the years, especially in the Restoration when, for the most part, women played the role.
According to a Disney spokeswoman, Sofia has a mixed fairy-tale heritage; her mother and father are from Galdiz (which is based on Spain) and Freezenburg (which is based on Scandinavia), respectively.
' Elena avenges her parents, drives Shuriki out, and begins her reign over the port city of Avalor. "She is the first princess actively ruling her kingdom, and I think that's new," says Aimee Carrero, the Dominican-Puerto Rican actress who lends her voice to Elena.
