The Disney Non-Princess

One of Disney's biggest brands is undoubtedly the princess brand, so many of their characters are princesses that appeal to little girls everywhere except it's all a lie. Well okay, not all of it, but a lot of these princesses aren't actually princesses at all. Belle for example was a peasant girl who married a prince, which means they instantly would have become king & queen, so she was never a princess. Pochahontas is the daughter of a tribe leader, which you could argue makes her a princess except tribe leaders don't inherit their throne, but rather earn it. Mulan, one of the most popular disney princesses is not a princess, hell, she never becomes royalty, she's a peasant girl at the start, and she's a peasant girl at the end. I understand why these characters are often slumped together with the actual princesses because they do share a lot of similar traits and story points, and they can definitely be marketed like them, and i honestly don't actually have a big problem with it, it's just a nitpick. Especially when there are plenty of princesses that never get marketed this way because they don't fit the common trend. Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a straight up princess, except she's also more of a warrior and much more spiritual than a traditional princess, except that makes her fucking awesome, i wish she got a lot more attention. Or Vanellope from Wreck-it Ralph, she's called a princess in the movie (even though really she should be queen, but then becomes President Vanellope) but again, she's very different from the traditional disney princess. And really thinking about it, Nala from The Lion King is technically a princess, she was engaged with Simba since childhood and does have royal connections (just google how Lion Prides work) so not only was she a princess but she was also technically the first African princess. Really thinking about it, a whole lot of Disney princesses go against the typical formula yet they don't get featured, even though other princesses are featured that go against formula, even though they're not actually princesses, like Mulan or Pochahontas. But that is the sad truth, it's not about whether they act like a Disney Princess, all that matters is if they *look* like a Disney Princess.

-Danny