Disney Princesses: Best to Worst Messages for Women
Disney princess movies have been an entertainment staple in our lives for decades. With running themes like women needing to be rescued by a handsome man, ugly older women as the enemy, animals for friends, a dead mother, and a father in a hierarchy position. There’s definitely been some copy and pasting of the same elements in these films.
From Moana to Snow White, we’re going to conduct an investigation on these films and explore what exactly the message is for women and young girls watching these movies.
If you’d prefer to listen to this topic instead, we have an entire podcast episode titled, disney princesses: an investigation.
So let’s begin, shall we? Starting with the best and working our way down to the worst, here are some interesting messages that Disney wanted to send young girls when watching princess movies.
1. Mulan
Mulan was an obvious choice for us in regards to the best messages for women. First off, let’s just point out that Mulan literally saves China.
Of course, like most Disney princesses, it starts with her family wanting to marry her off. Saying that she’ll bring honor to her family if she gets married. Unfortunately, this is the only way she can bring honor to her family, by being the perfect bride! But thankfully Mulan is like, “Oh hell no, I’m having none of this!”
It’s interesting to see the movie begin with setting up oppressive gender roles like when the Matchmaker berates Mulan for speaking without permission, not to mention scolding her for being “too skinny” to bear sons. However, it’s even more interesting watching Mulan break out of these oppressive and stereotypical gender roles throughout the movie.
Mulan is selfless. Confronting the ultimate battle of gender roles and being non-conformist. This Disney princess shows young girls that strength is not about gender — we love to see it!
This is why Mulan, in our eyes, is the number one, best overall message in Disney princess movies for women.
While it’s unfortunate that Mulan has to disguise herself as a male to be seen as equal, it highlights the inequality between the sexes and allows for Mulan to be seen as her true self. She is able to exchange banter without gender restrictions.
Also, it’s important to note that Mulan is one of the few Disney princesses where there is no magic that affects her abilities. It’s all her! The only magic we see from this movie is her dragon, Mushu. But I mean, could he just be representing her conscience, right? We’ll leave that one up to you!
Although there is a divide in gender roles in this movie, what’s really important is that when Mulan reveals herself to be female, we see a shift in the outside world’s perception of women. You even see members of the army cross-dressing.
The reason Mulan is our number one, is because she defies the inequalities that still exist with stereotypical gender roles in society today.
Oh and bonus points that romance is the background feature to her story!
2. Moana
Our second Disney princess movie on our list of best to worst messages for women is Moana. There are lots of great messages in this movie and it’s a close second to Mulan.
In Mulan, they set up all the gender inequalities that exist and had Mulan defy all of them. Whereas Moana already exists in an already equal world which of course, is amazing, but unfortunately we don’t live in a society like Moana just yet.
From the beginning, Moana’s father declares that she will be the future chief of their people. Moana is one of the few Disney princess movies where there is no pressure on the female character to get married in order to be in power.
What’s interesting about Moana is that gender is not an issue at all in this movie. She is going to be the leader of her people regardless. Also, massive bonus points that she’s not getting married at 16-years-old like we see some princesses in Disney do (*Coughs*, Ariel).
There’s actually no love interest at all in this movie. Which makes total sense because the story isn’t about anyone else. We don’t need to meet a love interest.
Also, both Moana’s parents are alive which we rarely see and they’re both progressive and caring. It’s interesting that her character building doesn’t rely on the fact that she has a dead parent, one of Disney’s favorite things to throw into their princess movies.
Another bonus point is that Moana finally defies the original beauty standards that Disney set in place throughout a lot of their older films. Moana has curly hair and a realistic body type, which Disney was praised for doing.
Finally, someone has wild, curly hair and doesn’t have a completely unrealistic body. Talk about praising for doing the bare minimum though. Give one of your Disney princesses acne and then we’ll talk!
3. Merida
Merida in Brave comes in third on our list of best to worst messages found in Disney princess movies.
Unfortunately, the story is based around the fact that her mom is thirsty to marry her off, and in an arranged marriage might we add. Then her mom turns into a bear so like, ok I guess they’re even?
Here we see Disney again with the arranged marriages — they love a good arranged marriage! However, we love Merida’s reaction to her potential suitors and that she’s not going to be used as bait for political alliances. A great example of a woman knowing her worth and knowing what she deserves.
Even with the backward arranged marriage tradition, Merida comes in third on our list because of the example she sets against tradition.
Merida is a leader and fights for her own hand because she recognizes that her future isn’t defined by marrying a man. Why she even has to fight for her own right to not get married in the first place is beyond us.
The message of this story is that it really should be up to the individual to be in control of their own future and design their own life. Also, it’s just nice to see Disney movies that focus on the individual’s growth rather than bringing a relationship into the equation. The love story essentially is about a mother and daughter’s love — family love.
Thankfully and similarly to Moana, this film also features a Princess with big curly hair.
4. Elsa
Ok before you blast us and tell us that Elsa isn’t considered to be an “official Disney princess”, she’s an influential woman in Disney and deserves to be discussed.
We hear so much about Frozen being such a great message, but not enough focus on other Disney princesses who were assertive and strong. So this is why we bumped Elsa out of our top three.
Elsa’s main point is to Let It Go. Let go of the fact that she’s been ostracized by her whole city. The story in Frozen is really just bullying at its finest — “You’re different from us… So go away and be different somewhere else.”
Nobody backs Elsa. Her parents hide her power to turn things into ice so much so that when she’s an adult, nobody knows who she really is nor do they trust her. She’s forced out of her kingdom and her position as a ruler, just to live in isolation and hide who she really is from the world.
The message that she should hide and conceal who she is, was not our favorite. But there is some strong female character development here so we’ll give the movie a point for that.
Elsa is far more progressive than her sister, Anna, however, the issue here is that Elsa just keeps running away from her problems instead of dealing with them. Anna actually saves Elsa in the end which is a nice twist for a Disney movie to do.
At the end of the film, the spell is broken by an act of true love (typical). However, the love is between Elsa and her sister, Anna (not so typical). So we see a different love story here, which is great!
If she was to be accepted by everyone from the get-go, Elsa would have felt the love earlier in her life and the storm that takes over the entire city would have disappeared.
It’s also highlighted that Elsa doesn’t approve of her sister getting engaged to a guy she knew for a day. Instead of the usual Disney nod of approval to a 24-hour engagement, Elsa warns her sister not to go ahead with the marriage. So, extra points there!
5. Pocahontas
Pocahontas makes it to our top five for her open-mindedness and ability to stay true to herself.
The unusual thing about this Disney princess romance is that Pocahontas understands John for who he is. Her curiosity is sparked and she doesn’t see him and fall in love at first sight.
Pocahontas is amazed by the person standing in front of her who looks different from her and who speaks differently. The love for him develops later.
Bear in mind, this film was made in 1995 where we saw a shift in the role of women in Disney. Pocahontas was the first sign of a female Disney character being created as more assertive.
Pocahontas is a great example of an assertive woman. She never backs down when she sees injustice, she seeks adventure, she’s intelligent, and not naive like some other Disney princesses before this. She’s a strong character to look up to.
In the end, Pocahontas chooses her tribe over a man she just met, which no other Princess prior to her had done before. We love that she’s responsible for the truce in the end and that she doesn’t let John Smith mansplain to her about her own culture. She teaches him instead!
Pocahontas is also based on a real woman in history. She is very protective of her land and teaches John Smith about it, rather than let him make his own assumptions.
However, our issue with Pocahontas the movie is that the story focuses more on the romance and less on the history of Pocahontas’ people and the cruelty of colonialism. There was an opportunity to tell a powerful story of indigenous people and women, but Disney focused too heavily on romanticizing this history.
Because this movie downplays a lot of the actual history behind the British invasion, Pocahontas sits at number five.
6. Tiana
Up next on our list is Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. There were some strong points to Tiana’s story and some promising features. However, in our eyes, the film falls a little short in regards to a positive message for women.
It’s applaudable and admirable that Tiana is independent and focused on saving her own money. Yes, this film is progressive. She’s a young woman who has ambition and has interests outside of getting married.
But then the movie takes a turn and she has to kiss a frog! Why? Tiana gets dragged into a mess that removes her from the pillars that set her up as a strong character in the first place.
We do see Disney trying to move away from the stereotypical Disney Princess here, but Tiana is still a frog for the majority of the movie. Why is she a frog and why does she have to kiss frogs?
In addition, the message of this story is that true love always breaks the spell. The spell is always broken with a kiss or by true love.
Rarely is the spell broken in Disney when the person actually learns something valuable. We see the same concept even with Elsa in Frozen. It’s never about personal growth but always about love. Yes, love is great, but so is self-development.
7. Belle
Belle from Beauty and the Beast is definitely a feminist, there’s no doubt about that, and there are also some decent messages in this movie for women too.
Belle has interests and wants more out of life for herself. She has a hobby, finding enjoyment in literature. She’s assertive. She’s independent, and she’s certainly brave.
At least Belle is out here saving the men in this film. Both her father and the Beast. Also, she knows her worth slightly because she doesn’t get with Gaston so ya know, points there! Also, Belle obviously isn’t shallow because she falls in love with a hairy monster, proving that beauty really is skin deep.
However, it needs to be noted that this woman has complete Stockholm syndrome. She falls in love with the person keeping her hostage as a prisoner. This, people, is indeed Stockholm syndrome.
Disney romanticizes the fact that Belle is in captivity. There’s even an entire song called Be Our Guest. Ummm, she’s not a guest. She’s a prisoner. Was there no other way to tell a story with the message, “It’s what’s inside that counts?”
Another thing that’s odd about Belle’s story, is she sings about wanting more for herself and leaving her small town. First of all, ok peace out then. Go! Second of all, was being trapped in a castle by a scary monster Disney’s way of giving Belle her big adventure?
Belle was a promising female character. She deserved more.
8. Jasmine
Jasmine’s story in Aladdin is really just a passive female story if we’re honest. A lot of the movie is based around Jasmine breaking tradition in her society and asserting that marriage should be for love, not for politics. Most of the movie is about her experience of becoming the future heir to the throne, but the movie focuses more on the male protagonist’s attempt to become a Prince so that he can marry her. Hence the name, Aladdin.
Aladdin, to the core, is a love story let’s make that clear. Again we see Disney with their love of arranged marriages, but Jasmine isn’t putting up with it. She even says, “I’m not a prize to be won.”
We get hopeful watching Aladdin because we see a female character with a force to be reckoned with. She stands up for herself, she questions tradition, but why does a woman’s story have to exist in marriage or arranged marriages?
Jasmine’s got a rebellious streak, which is cool. She sneaks out and falls in love with a commoner. Which in a way is nice, because it shows that their love isn’t shallow and she wants to marry for love. The whole movie is based around the fact that Jasmine falls in love with who she wants to. She doesn’t allow anyone to force her into anything.
We like Jasmine a lot, but the messages in Aladdin just aren’t empowering enough for us. The story of female assertiveness needs more flesh to its bones. It’s far too passive.
9. Rapunzel
Rapunzel in Tangled is our next Disney princess on this list. To us, she’s sort of a “meh” message for women. Nothing really screams positivity for girls who are watching. There are too many copy and pastes of the OG Disney themes.
First off, why didn’t Rapunzel just leave the tower by herself and go see the lanterns that she so desperately wanted to see? She had to wait for some dude to end up in her tower so that he could escort her. Basically forcing him to help her escape. She sees an opportunity and takes it, so good for her, I guess?
It’s interesting because this is a modern enough film. It was made in 2010. So, why didn’t Disney have Rapunzel leave the tower by herself and then meet Flynn Rider in the forest or something once she was out? Oh, the questions we have.
This film does, however, make Rapunzel out to be a modern, confident, forceful, young woman. But she still represents a copy and paste of the good-mannered, gentle, kind of weak Disney princess we’ve seen in older Disney movies. Disney loves to portray its female characters like this.
There was an opportunity here for Disney to depict Rapunzel as a feisty woman, but she’s a bit too hesitant and cautious for us.
10. Ariel
Ok, so the Disney princess, Ariel from The Little Mermaid is where we REALLY enter into the worst messages for women.
Damn does this movie have some really questionable messages! Watching this film in the present day, as an adult, had us really floored with the absurd representation of women.
First off, let’s point out that Ariel is 16-years-old and so eager to get married. We completely forgot how young she was watching this film as two grown-ups. Is that even legal?
In The Little Mermaid, Ariel literally gives up her greatest talent, her voice, to go chase a guy she met once. Not to mention Ariel first meets the Prince when he’s unconscious and falls in love with him while he’s comatose.
Then the Prince meets Ariel properly for the first time when she’s unable to speak, admiring the fact that she’s a mute perhaps? How convenient is it, that Ariel couldn’t speak for half the movie!
Was this a silent film or were they just silencing the woman? The Little Mermaid uses a glamorized PG animation to convey the message, “Use your bodies, men don’t like to hear you speak!”
It’s also interesting how Ariel seeks adventure, a life beyond what she knows but her freedom to roam and be independent comes at the price of her vocal cords. A message we are not impressed by.
11. Cinderella
Oh, Cinderella. Such a traditionally oppressive story for women.
In Cinderella, the only goals here are number one, look pretty enough to get a man to fall in love with you, (we know this because her stepsisters are often referred to as “ugly”) and number two, the goal to be saved from being a prisoner in your own home.
Cinderella sings, “This is the miracle that I’ve bee dreaming of” as she dances with Prince Charming. This is the miracle? Wouldn’t you dream more about being free from captivity from your evil family members who use and abuse you, rather than your freedom coming at the hands of marriage?
It’s safe to say, Cinderella is a Disney princess that belongs at the bottom of the list for us. We get that Cinderella seeks to be free from imprisonment, knows her worth, and that life has to be better than what she’s experiencing.
However, she doesn’t do much about it. She just daydreams about leaving, singing to the birds, and playing with the mice. She doesn’t plan to save herself EVER because 1950s society would never expect a woman to free herself from a life she hated, right? Women could never be capable of such things, or so Disney thought!
There’s even a whole book called The Cinderella Complex that takes Cinderella’s hidden fear of independence as a metaphor to investigate women in society that have this unconscious desire to be taken care of by others.
On the contrary, we do applaud Cinderella for having some “lady wood” though and sneaking out to the ball for a fun night out in the Kingdom. Kudos to her for that!
12. Aurora
Aurora in Sleeping Beauty is a Disney princess that shows you how to get a man while you sleep.
From the beginning of the movie, Aurora is set up for failure because she’s literally cursed.
Aurora is just another Disney princess who is completely unavailable for the majority of the film, something we have seen in The Little Mermaid. In Disney movies, there is this constant portrayal of women being helpless and Aurora is no better.
The only positive role models for women in this entire movie are the three fairies that raise her. We love to see it!
Basically, Aurora’s role in this movie is: minimum lines at the beginning, asleep, asleep, asleep, asleep!
Then, in order to free this young woman from her curse and break the spell, Aurora must rely on a man to kiss her while she’s unconscious so that she’ll wake up. Really? Not the best message for women.
The main question we have regarding Sleeping Beauty is what are we actually learning from this film? What is the message? Why does a woman have to be asleep and kissed by someone in order to speak and live her life?
13. Snow White
Our final Disney princess and the worst message for women is Snow White, and for obvious reasons.
Snow White is literally a Disney princess who cleans and serves seven short men. That’s the message! I mean, Snow White was made in the 1930s so did we really expect any better from Disney? Still, it’s no excuse.
This film leaves very little room for growth. First of all, Snow White is forced to run away and get lost in the woods because she’s prettier than the Queen? Cool. Love that for women.
Plus, there’s always an old scary witch that craves youthfulness and beauty which is also a poor representation of women. We do think about other things bar our looks ya know?
It seems that this movie may have been written about the female experience from the perspective of a man… Oh, wait! Also, here we see another example of a Disney princess being kissed while being unconscious. Great!
Final Thoughts
To wrap up, we’d like to see Disney princess movies with more leading female characters developing personally, rather than influenced by a love interest.
We also want to see fewer witches, fewer haggard women, and fewer female characters with wild curly hair portraying evil and destructiveness. Throw us a Donald Trump look-a-like and make him the evil witch while creating a strong leading woman to take him down. Now that’s an animated movie we want to see (We also want the live-action version of this)!
In addition, how about a Disney princess who’s full of adventure because that’s what she desires? Or a Disney princess who works through her own problems on her own? These are relatable. These are stories that have messages women and girls actually want to see played out.
For example, we see Merida and Elsa’s journey of self-discovery, but on the other hand, we see both of these women’s self-exploration influenced by a particular relationship in their life.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but we’d like to see more women like Moana and Mulan for a change.
For more discussions, check out our podcast, shifting her experience (she.) on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. We release new episodes every Tuesday.
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