There are certain requirements that must be met in order to be considered an official Disney Princess, but back in 2012, Walt Disney Pictures has been bringing its unique type of magic to the big screen for decades, and while it has explored numerous genres over the years, in both animated and live-action adventures, it’s still best known for its animated features, especially those about fairy tales, with different princesses as lead characters.
The first Disney Princess, and the studio’s first animated movie, was Brave, which introduced viewers to Merida, the 16-year-old daughter of Queen Elinor and King Fergus.
a heroic deed (like Mulan). While not official, having an animal sidekick and at least one musical number are often counted as requirements, but Merida didn’t care much for many of these and other characteristics shared by previous Disney princesses.
Although Merida is a human, the lead of the movie, and royal by birth, she doesn’t have an animal sidekick and, most importantly, she doesn’t have a love interest, and her story instead revolves around her family and herself. Merida doesn’t have a big musical number either, nor an “I Want” type of song, like most Disney Princesses (for example, Ariel and “Part of Your World”). Moana’s arrival, who just like Merida, isn’t based on a preexisting character and doesn’t have a love interest.
While it could be argued that the changes in the rules for being a Disney Princess began to change with Mulan, the studio went back to its old formula with Tiana and Rapunzel, and it wasn’t until Merida arrived when those changes truly had a lasting impact. Hopefully, Disney will continue changing the Disney Princess requirements and adapt them to more modern ideals, and with that bring fresher and more interesting stories, like those of Merida and Moana.
