Feature films starring princesses have been a Disney staple for over 80 years. After the movie is over, the Disney princess continues to be close to our hearts as the publicity and merchandise machine of Disney keeps her Royal Highness front and center.
In fact, very often we know many things about a princess and we have never even seen the movie she originally starred in! You may be reading this for this exact reason.
What are the names of the Disney Princess movies?
There are 12 official Disney princess movies. They are:
- Snow White
- Cinderella
- Sleeping Beauty
- The Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast
- Aladdin
- Pocahontas
- Mulan
- The Princess and the Frog
- Tangled
- Brave
- Moana
This post will help us look deeper at the movies that gave our amazing princesses their acting debuts which thrust them into stardom and into our lives! To help us along, we are presenting all the Disney Princess movies in chronological order. Let’s begin.
Disney Princess Movies
1. Snow White (1937)
Princess – Snow White
Movie time – 83 minutes
Other prominent characters – Evil Queen, Prince Florian/Ferdinand, The Seven Dwarfs
Storyline – Snow White’s jealous Stepmother, the wicked Queen, finds out from the magic mirror that she is no longer the “Fairest in the land.” Snow White must flee from her wicked stepmother and she finds refuge with seven dwarfs who care for her.
Other interesting movie info – Snow White was Walt’s first major motion picture after only doing shorts and he spent a whopping 1.5 million to produce it. He worried it would either make him or break him, but it all turned out great in the end and as we now know, it was a huge success.
Because of the success of Snow White, Walt Disney was able to make more animated films. You can thank Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for paving the way for all of the Disney Princess movies!
2. Cinderella (1950)
Princess – Cinderella
Movie time – 74 minutes
Other prominent characters — Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine (Stepmother), Fairy Godmother, Gus, Jaq, Drizella, Anastasia
Storyline – Cinderella grows up as a mistreated young girl with a mean stepmother and stepsisters. When she is invited to the Royal Ball, a Fairy Godmother magically helps her go by turning her rags into a beautiful gown. When the clock strikes midnight the magic spell is broken and Cinderella returns to her former state – but she leaves behind a beautiful glass slipper.
Other related movies – Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True, Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time, Cinderella (2015) Disney’s live-action version of the original film. You can find our favorite Cinderella movie quotes here.
*Who can forget the classic cat in Cinderella – Lucifer! Find 32 other Disney Cats here!
3. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Princess – Aurora
Movie time – 75 minutes
Other prominent characters – Maleficent, Prince Phillip, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, Diablo, King Stefan and Queen Leah
Storyline – A curse is placed on Aurora by the evil fairy, Maleficent. Aurora falls into a deep sleep but needs to be awakened before the sunset on her 16th birthday by her true love, Prince Phillip.
Direct to Video Film – Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007)
Related movies – Maleficent (2014), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
4. The Little Mermaid (1989)
Princess – Ariel
Movie time – 83 minutes
Other prominent characters – Prince Eric, Ursula, Flounder, Sebastian, King Triton
Storyline – An inquisitive mermaid named Ariel falls in love with a human: Prince Eric. Ariel becomes a human, thanks to a spell from Ursula, an evil sea witch. Ariel must have Prince Eric fall in love with her in order to stay a human and stay with him.
The Little Mermaid Spinoffs – The Little Mermaid animated series (1992 – 1994), The Little Mermaid Live! (2019), The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (2000) Direct to Video, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008) Direct to Video.
5. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Princess – Belle
Movie Time – 84 minutes
Other prominent characters – Gaston, The Beast, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Fifi, Forte
Storyline – An arrogant young prince and his castle servants fall under the spell of an enchantress who turns him into a hideous Beast until he learns to love and be loved.
The spirited village girl, Belle, entered the Beast’s castle after he imprisons her father, Maurice. With the help of his servants, Belle begins to draw the cold-hearted Beast out of his isolation.
Other Beauty and the Beast spinoffs– Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World (1998), Beauty and the Beast(2017)
6. Aladdin (1992)
Princess – Jasmine
Movie Time – 90 minutes
Other prominent characters – Aladdin, Jafar, Abu, Genie, Rajah, Lago
Storyline – When the street rat, Aladdin, frees a genie from a lamp he finds his wishes granted. He soon finds that Jafar, an evil sorcerer, has other ideas for the lamp and for Princess Jasmine. Can Aladdin save Princess Jasmine and his love for her after she sees that he isn’t quite what he appears to be?
Other Aladdin spinoffs – Aladdin (2019) live action film, Aladdin (1994 – 1995) animated series, Direct to video films: The Return of Jafar (1994), Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007)
7. Pocahontas (1995)
Princess – Pocahontas
Movie Time – 81 minutes
Other prominent characters – John Smith, Chief Powhatan, Governor Ratcliffe/Wiggins, Meeko, Thomas, Grandmother Willow, Percy, Ben, Lon
Storyline – There is romance between a young Native American woman named Pocahontas and Captain John Smith, who journeyed to the New World with other settlers to begin fresh lives.
Pocahontas’ powerful father, Chief Powhatan, disapproves of their relationship and wants her to marry a native warrior. Meanwhile, John Smith’s fellow Englishmen hope to rob the Native Americans of their gold. Can Pocahontas’ love for Smith save the day?
Other Pocahontas spinoffs – Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World, a Direct to Video film.
8. Mulan (1998)
Princess – Mulan
Movie Time – 88 minutes
Other prominent characters – Li Shang, Mushu, Shang Yu, The Matchmaker, Chi-Fu, Yao, The Emperor, Cri-Kee, Ling, Chin-Po
Storyline – A young Chinese maiden, Mulan, learns that her weakened father is to be called up into the army in order to fight the invading Huns. Knowing that he would never survive the rigours of war, Mulan decides to disguise herself and join in his place.
Unknown to her, her ancestors are aware of this plan and in order to prevent it, they order a tiny dragon, Mushu, to join her in order to force her to abandon her plan. He agrees, but when he meets Mulan, he learns that she cannot be dissuaded and so decides to help her in the perilous times ahead.
Other Mulan spinoffs – Mulan 2 (2004), Direct to Video film. Mulan (2020) live action film.
9. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Princess – Tiana
Movie Time – 97 minutes
Other prominent characters – Prince Naveen, Dr. Facilier, Louis, Ray, Evangeline, Mama Odie
Storyline -The Princess and the Frog finds the lives of arrogant, carefree Prince Naveen and hardworking waitress Tiana crossing paths. Prince Naveen is transformed into a frog by a conniving voodoo magician.
Tiana is also turned into a frog upon kissing the amphibian royalty. With the help of a trumpet-playing alligator, a Cajun firefly, and an old blind lady who lives in a boat in a tree, Naveen and Tiana must race to break the spell and fulfill their dreams.
Other Princess and the Frog spinoffs – Coming in 2022 Tiana (a TV series)
10. Tangled (2010)
Princess – Rapunzel
Movie Time – 100 minutes
Photo by Lisa Reese of Pixie and Pirate Destinations
Other prominent characters – Flynn Rider (aka Eugene Fitzherbert or Horace), Pascal, Maximus, Mother Gothel, The Stabbington Brothers, Zhan Tiri
Storyline – A long-lost princess with the longest hair imaginable named Rapunzel has spent her whole life in a lonely tower, dreaming of the world, waiting to discover it.
When she finally starts to give up hope an escaped prisoner named Flynn Rider approaches Rapunzel’s tower and agrees to take her to see the lanterns that appear every day on her birthday as long as she would return his satchel filled with stolen jewels, including the lost princess’s shiny crown.
Flynn and Rapunzel embark on a journey that they will never forget and Rapunzel discovers who she really is.
Tangled spinoffs – Tangled Ever After (2012), short film, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure (2017 – 2020), animated series, Tangled: Before Ever After (2017), Television film.
11. Brave (2012)
Princess – Merida
Movie Time – 93 minutes
Photo by Lisa Reese of Pixie and Pirate Destinations
Other prominent characters – Queen Elinor, King Fergus, Mor’du, The Witch, The Wisps, Harris, Hubert and Hamish.
Storyline – Princess Merida, the impetuous, but courageous, daughter of Scottish King Fergus and Queen Elinor, is a skilled archer who wants to carve out her own path in life.
Her defiance of an age-old tradition angers the Highland Lords and leads to chaos in the kingdom. Merida seeks help from an eccentric witch, who grants her an ill-fated wish. Now, Merida must discover the true meaning of courage and undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.
12. Moana (2016)
Princess – Moana
Movie Time – 107 minutes
Other prominent characters – Maui, Gramma Tala, Tui and Sui, Kakamora, Tamatoa, Hei Hei, Pua
Storyline – An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder.
Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds. Along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she always sought: her own identity.
In case you are wondering….What about Elsa and Anna?
Frozen (2013)
Anna and Elsa of Frozen have not officially been deemed “Princesses” by Disney. I know, we can’t believe it ether. They are the daughters of royalty, Iduna and Agnarr, the former Queen and King of Arendelle. They even have a ride in EPCOT!
You would think they would be a shoe in, especially compared to some of the others that are princesses. Here is why they are not.
To qualify as an official Princess, one must meet the following guidelines:
- The individual should sing at least one song in the movie.
- The individual should either be Royalty or marry into it.
- The individual should have an animal companion or communicate with animals.
- The movie the individual is in should be a hit.
Even though Anna and Elsa do most of these, they don’t really have animal companions (Olaf doesn’t count and Sven is more Kristoff’s companion).
Furthermore, Anna ultimately becomes Queen of Arendelle.
Finally, we think it comes down to Disney understanding there is so much merchandise to be made from Frozen that from a business perspective, they don’t really need to lump it in with the other Princesses on this list.
Don’t complain to us, we are only the messengers!
One final note – Minnie Mouse is considered an honorary Disney Princess! You can find out more about her here. If you are going to Walt Disney World anytime soon be sure to meet your favorite princess! You can find out where to meet them here.