2025 Is The Perfect Time To Retire The “Disney Princess” Label

Disney has produced a wide range of movies, but the IP has become strongly affiliated with its animated features — in particular, the Disney Princesses. The phenomenon began with Disney’s first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. Since then, the beloved studio has spearheaded many female-led animated films, including Cinderella and Mulan. Each of these princesses are a celebrated icon, but the foundations for the female protagonists have shifted in recent years with the Disney Renaissance changing Disney princesses for the worse. Because of this, 2025 will be the perfect time to retire the “Disney Princess” label.

Moana calling into question the definition of a princess suggests that the term has become figuratively obsolete. The system of who makes it onto the official Disney Princess line has always been confusing and somewhat biased; notably, Elsa and Anna are not official Disney Princesses, despite having led the biggest Disney movie about young women born into royalty in the 21st century. Ultimately, there is a significant difference between the classic Disney princess and the more modern princesses, both in storytelling and industry, that demands some kind of change.

The “Disney Princess” Label Feels Less Relevant Than Ever Heading Into 2025

The Rise Of Female Empowerment Has Diminished The Relevance Of Princesses

While the Disney princess movies have seemingly upheld the franchise for decades, they cause many to overlook some of Disney’s more grounded stories. Some of the best Disney movies that aren’t about princesses offer meaningful stories in the darker tales of The Lion King or Hercules. A large proportion of Disney’s original stories are based upon fairy tales, but the increase in movies centered upon myth and legend proves that Disney is thriving by moving away from traditional princesses. Drawing inspiration from a diverse selection of sources provides a richer, more relevant portrayal of characters than the Disney Princess title.

Furthermore, Disney’s princess tales have perpetuated gender stereotypes for years about expectations and aspirations for women. Classic Disney heroines rely upon the damsel-in-distress trope that has become all the more undesirable. However, contemporary titular princesses are independent figures whose character alone is enough to drive the feature’s narrative forward.

In recent years, the studio has begun to move away from these reinforcements after criticism from audiences and critics alike for promoting patriarchal views. Frozen is perhaps the most significant indicator of change, considered Disney’s most profoundly feminist animated film (via The Conversation) as it focuses on the relationship between the two royal sisters. A decade later, the evolving feminist landscape renders the Disney Princess label less suitable for the messages the company wants to send its young viewers heading into 2025.

A “Disney Princess” Has Become Almost Impossible To Define (For Good Reason)

Female Heroines Are Multifaceted And Not Suited To One Label

While there are a number of rules for what constitutes a Disney Princess, the criteria are mostly ambiguous, which makes it almost impossible to define. Some accepted criteria state a princess must be: female, a human, and the main character in a movie that is not a sequel. These conditions only make the process more complicated as they are incredibly broad. Many of Disney’s iconic characters could fall into this category, such as Anna and Elsa, without being formally recognized as a princess. The roster of female protagonists is too intricate to reduce them to one encompassing label.

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Disney’s Best Unofficial Princesses, Ranked

Cinderella’s great and all, but let’s not forget these unforgettable, and unofficial, Disney princesses.

Of course, there are many unofficial criteria too. The film has to perform well, and the character can qualify for heroic actions, but they must be marketable. Nevertheless, it’s clear the young woman should be the story’s central focus. Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) addressed these ongoing discussions in an interview with Entertainment Weekly recently, saying “Films are always representative of their times. […] So, yeah, she is a princess, but she’s also a hero. I like that those two words are now interchangeable.” This suggests the traditional princess role has been replaced with a more timely heroic label.

Disney’s Acquisition Of Other Franchises Makes The Princess System Way Too Confusing

Disney’s Acquisition Of Fox & Pixar Opens Up Far Too Many Doors For The Princess System

Disney purchasing Fox and Pixar has made the system indefinitely confusing. This meant Disney gained the rights to major franchises such as Avatar, in addition to smaller-scale titles such as Alita: Battle Angel. Nevertheless, these films offer plenty of female-led protagonists that would typically fall under the criteria of a princess, for all intents and purposes. However, awarding all Disney’s obtained characters with the princess label seems rather ill-suited. The large volume of qualifying individuals would surely challenge the validity of the Disney Princess line, as it becomes overwhelmed with credible entrants.

The acquisition of other franchises blurs the lines of Disney’s branding definitions, which makes it more difficult to identify these characters with the label as a whole. Not to mention, Star Wars and Marvel have been the very core of Disney in recent years. With so many strong female leads, it is difficult to give each figure an adequate representation in the media, whether it be in terms of merchandise, film, or theme parks. An overabundance of heroines would inevitably result in some “princesses” being neglected and underrepresented by Disney.

Source: The Conversation, Entertainment Weekly