The First Generation (1937-1959): In this generation, Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959) were created. This period sets up the franchise as a whole and establishes the importance of “True Love's First Kiss” and “Happily Ever After”.
The Classics-Era princesses — Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty — were primarily passive and temperate. They were waiting for someone to come rescue them.
They were given an official number in the franchise line-up based on the chronological order in which their films were released, starting with Snow White as the first and original Disney Princess, with Cinderella being the second, followed by Aurora and so on.
The live-action princesses are the original Disney Princesses but in their live-action remake movies. Currently, the line up is Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan and Ariel, with Snow White and Moana joining in the next years.
Who Is An Official Disney Princess? - Disney Explained
Who was the 1st Disney Princess?
1937: Snow White
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).
The Disney Princesses are a magical group, but ultimately they boil down to a merchandise and film franchise from a business perspective. Frozen is its own merchandise and film franchise. Basically, Anna and Elsa aren't princesses because they're plenty profitable on their own!
The first Disney princess, Snow White was only 14 years old when she had to face off against the Evil Queen. She wasn't even old enough to be put in the position of ruling a country, but the Wicked Queen was determined to end her life because she was jealous of Snow White's beauty.
According to the most common theory behind her removal, she was deemed not marketable to or suitable for kids. It wouldn't be fair to blame Esmeralda herself for that—she's as kind-hearted, clever, and intrepid as any card-carrying Disney Princess. But The Hunchback of Notre Dame is infamous for its mature themes.
1. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The first-ever character that Walt Disney has introduced to Universal Pictures in 1927 was Oswald, where he starred in animated short films from 1927 to 1938 until Disney Studios lost its connection with Winkler.
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. Ariel is protective of her daughter, as Triton was of Ariel in the first film.
Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are the three good fairies in Walt Disney's 1959 film Sleeping Beauty. They are characterized as Princess Aurora's fairy godmothers and guardians, who appear at baby Aurora's christening to present their gifts to her.
Pocahontas became the first Native American Disney Princess and the first woman of color to be the lead character in a Disney film. As of 2014, she remains the only Disney Princess to be based on a historical figure.
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.
Tiana is recognized for being Disney's first African American princess. As the film's writers and directors, Clements and Musker claim that their decision to depict Tiana as an African American young woman came naturally simply as a result of the location in which the story takes place.
A recent survey reveals that Cinderella is the most loved Disney princess among Americans, with 13 percent of them expressing their preference for her. Snow White and Belle take the second and third spot, with ten and seven percent of respondents favoring them respectively.
Moana's age, 16, is less of an issue in her story as it doesn't include a romantic plot, but it still relies on a young girl to overcome dangerous challenges and save the world. Disney princesses have always had an age problem, with characters as young as 14 falling in love, defying parents, and getting married.
If Frozen was the story of Elsa's tentative first steps in exploring and accepting her genetic condition and deafness, Frozen 2 sees her dancing and singing into Deafhood, actualizing her Deaf identity, and embracing Deaf culture and ethnicity.
Moana strays away from the typical story of a Disney princess film. She does not have to be saved by a man, and end up with her “Prince Charming.” Moana is independent from the beginning, a strong leader, resilient, and she is not white!
In the revised version of the film, Elsa is born with the power to make ice and snow flow from her fingertips; however, when she becomes anxious or afraid, she is unable to control her magic.
