Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past 50 years, most of us know the classic Disney Princess stories and characters. If you are a girl, no matter how old you are, you probably saw a movie or had a book about Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or Snow White. These characters have been around for years and the Disney Company has put out wonderful animated movies that tell their stories.
Some may think that any of the Disney character girls, like Tinker Bell or Alice in Wonderland, for example, can be called a Disney Princess. Not so. So what does it take to qualify as an official Disney princess? A little history will help show the distinction.
In 2000, Andy Mooney was hired by Disney’s Consumer Products division to help combat falling sales. Soon after, Mooney attended his first show “Disney on Ice”. As he waited in line, he noticed the number of girls dressed as princesses. As he puts it, “They weren’t even Disney products. They were generic princess products.” Mooney saw a need and filled it. Shortly after, an official Disney Princess line was introduced.
Mooney chose a mix of old and new heroines to join Princess’s official lineup. The following list shows the first movie they starred in:
- Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)
- Cinderella (Cinderella, 1950)
- Aurora (Sleeping Beauty, 1959)
- Ariel (The Little Mermaid, 1989)
- Belle (Beauty and the Beast, 1991)
- Jasmine (Aladdin, 1992)
- Pocahontas (Pocahontas, 1995)
- Mulan (Mulan, 1998)
- Tiana (The Princess and the Frog, 2009)
Tinker Bell was once considered part of the Princess lineup, but has run her own department since 2005; Disney fairies.
Each of the official Disney Princess lineup has its own icon, color palette and character cameo, its own song, and full profile exclusive to just that Princess.
Little girls who want to emulate their favorite princess can get everything from band-aids to backpacks. And when they’re ready to attend a princess performance, like “Disney on Ice,” or play dress-up at home or go trick-or-treating for Halloween, there are dozens of Disney costumes for princesses for all ages. There are princess costumes that start with children’s costumes from baby pennants to adult princess costumes for mom, grandma, older sisters, and aunts.
Infant Princess Costumes focus on infant and toddler sizes of Fancy Princess dresses and costumes, most of which are official Disney costumes. Almost the entire official Disney Princess costume line has a storybook version, a ballerina version, and a baby version, but that’s not all. There are many versions available for princesses. For example, there are five Cinderella costumes for children and 7 versions of Cinderella costumes for adults. In addition to the wardrobe there are Disney tiaras, wands, slippers and shoes to complete the wardrobe.
Of course, not all Fancy Princesses are part of the Disney lineup, although Disney treats its Princesses very well. Some princesses are part of another organization or perhaps have a slightly more independent mindset. There are princess and toddler costumes for Princess Leia and Princess Fiona from Shrek, for example. The Pumpkin Princess costume is quite popular and very beautiful. And Princess Candy Corn is so popular that there are costumes for all sizes from babies, kids, teens, and adults and even a Candy Corn dog costume. How about that for popularity as a princess?
So hopefully that clears things up a bit. Of course, the official Disney Princess lineup is not closed. More princesses will be added. In fact, Disney has announced a new addition to the lineup. Disney movie Tangled up, which is scheduled to release in November, stars Rapunzel, who will be added to the official Disney princess roster.
The moral of this story (princess stories always have a moral) is that the Disney Princess line was born because little girls love to dress up in princess clothes. And any parent will love ooooh and aaaa for their little princess, starting with child princess costumes.
