6. Top Egalitarian Disney Princesses

In recent years, Disney Princesses have been criticized for being dependent upon men and magic, and unable to stand on their own two feet.  There have been a few princesses that have attempted to break that tradition. Egalitarianism is the belief that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.   Today, I would like out my top 5 egalitarian Disney princesses.

5. Tiana

Princess Tiana is of course the main character of Princess and the Frog, and when we are first introduced to her, she is a great role model.  She wasn’t born into money, so she works two jobs to achieve her goal of owning her own restaurant one day. Tiana has one moment of weakness when she gives into Naveen’s begging to kiss him so that he can be turned back into a man from his frog form.  However, for the remainder of the film, we see Tiana stick to her values and smarts, and falls in love with Naveen because of who he is as a person, not because he is a prince.  Naveen also relies on Tiana for help in escaping the dangers the face as frogs.  She is a heroine.  Tiana has the strength in herself to see past Facillier’s tricks and be true to herself.  Though Tiana shows great strength, and doesn’t rely on magic or Naveen to save her, her dream does come true by way of luck. In the end, realtors give Tiana her restaurant because Louis the alligator scares them into it.

4. Merida

Pixar was so excited to release their first ever heroine to the big screen 2012.  I was actually very disappointed with Merida when I saw Brave.  Basically, in my opinion, Merida is a typical rebellious teenager, she just has a bow.  Merida’s main issue in the film is that her mother won’t listen to her and take her seriously, so she has a witch “change” her.  Her mother turns into a bear, and the entire movie is Merida righting her wrong.  I’m being a bit harsh though.  What is likable about Merida, and egalitarian about her is that she brings change to Scotland. Merida is a rebel with a cause, and that cause is to not be pushed around by tradition, and not be married off like chattel because she is female.  By the end of the film, a new law is declared that Merida may marry whomever she wishes, if she ever does marry. Merida’s egalitarian attitude also comes out in her humor as she makes it clear that she is not impressed by her suitors.  At the tournament to win Merida’s hand in marriage, she playfully mocks the suitors, and then proves that she is actually an equal, if not better archer.

 

3. Pocahontas

Though the film Pocahontas was not loved by critics, I can’t help but love the character.  Just look at her.  She isn’t all dolled up in makeup, her dress doesn’t scream “I’m a delicate flower”, and it’s perfect for her daily tasks of hiking mountains and kayaking miles.  Pocahontas is not your run of the mill Disney princess.  Her personality, and the choices she makes in the film also prove her egalitarian attitude though.  She finds out that her father wants her to marry Kocoum, as he would be a “handsome sturdy husband” to build “handsome sturdy walls,” but Pocahontas just can’t bring herself to do it.  Her reasoning is not like princesses in other films that will not marry a man because they don’t love them, she will not marry him because she sees more for herself.  In the film she mentions the dream giver is always driving her ambition, and her need to seek out more in life.  John Smith of course arrives and catches her eye, and once again Pocahontas reveals that she is a forward thinker.  She does not sit back like a woman should when her tribe attempts to kill John, she throws herself over him to save him.  She also does not blindly agree with her father and her tribe’s opinion of the white men, she seeks out her own truth.

2. Mulan

I know, I know, Mulan isn’t really a princess, but she’s really tough so don’t talk bad about her.  Mulan is probably the toughest of all the Dinsey women, in more ways than one.  Her call to action was not due to romance or the fact that she felt less than content in life, although she really was less than content.  Milan’s call to action was to save her father elderly father from having to go to war.  In the film, she does not rely on magic, in fact she doesn’t know for a while that Mushu is there to help her.  Mulan relies on willpower and courage.  In regards to egalitarianism, Mulan proves that she is equal to her comrades in war, and again when she saves the emperor.  Mulan’s bravest moment is probably when she confronts Shang about the threat to the emperor, and calls him out on being a misogynist.  However, Mulan doesn’t have much else to her character, other than the fact that she’s quirky, but tough.

 

1. Belle

I remember watching Beauty and the Beast as a child and thinking that there was something more to Belle.  I believe it was because Belle was the first Disney princess to not just be pretty and kind.  Before Belle, there were princesses like Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, whose only character traits were just that.  They were pretty, kind, and had a good singing voice.  Belle has much better character development.  Belle is knowledgeable, brave, clever, well spoken, classy, and alluring all at the same time.  In the same film, we see Belle push away a creeper (Gaston) because he’s superficial, take her fathers place in prison out of love, bawl her eyes out over it, but then go right back in her captor’s face, save him from wolves, fight with him, get to know him, fall in love with him, leave her love in the name of family, then return and save her love once more, and then help in destroying a curse on her love. Movies that came out right after Beauty and the Beast, like Aladdin, and Mulan tried to show their leading ladies as having functioning brains with sense’s of humor, or biting rhetoric, but none came out as well as Belle.  Belle can be charming, grumpy, lady like, heroic, miserable, and funny.  She is a round character, not a flat one.  Belle demands to be taken seriously, and in the end is Prince Adam’s (the Beast) partner.   As his wife, she is his equal, she is not a pretty prize that he won, she is an independent woman that fell in love with him.