List of Disney Princess Movies in Chronological Order

Producer: Walt Disney
Actors: Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Harry Stockwell.
Released: 1937
Duration: 83 minutes

“Skin white as snow, lips as red as blood, hair as black as night.” Yes, we just described the stunning Snow White! Introducing the very first Disney Princess, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 Disney animated film based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Snow White was played by Adriana Caselotti in the film.

In a series of events that lead to Snow White fleeing her evil stepmother, this princess ends up living with seven adorable dwarfs―Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Bashful, Doc, Sneezy, and Dopey. Disaster threatens when the evil Queen makes Snow White eat a poisoned apple that causes her to go into a deep slumber, but a handsome prince soon breaks the spell with the ‘kiss of true love’, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Producer: Walt Disney
Actors: Ilene Woods, Verna Felton, William Phipps.
Released: 1950
Duration: 75 minutes

Who can forget the magical love story of Cinderella, the handsome prince, and the delicate glass slipper? The beautiful Cinderella is the second Disney princess and the main protagonist of this classic animated film. Ilene Woods played Cinderella in the movie.

Living with her evil stepmother and snobby stepsisters, Cinderella is a beautiful young girl who is made to work like a maid in the house. Help comes in the way of a fairy godmother, who magically transforms Cinderella’s dirty clothes into glamorous new ones, and helps her go to the royal ball. Inevitably, the prince of the land is charmed by the mysterious Cinderella, but she disappears at midnight, leaving just a glass slipper behind. A mission to hunt for the owner of that slipper leads the prince to Cinderella’s house and the rest, is history.

The third Disney Princess is Aurora, the main protagonist of Sleeping Beauty. Beautiful, long-haired and very gifted, the character of Aurora was played by Mary Costa in the animated movie. Aurora is cursed to die on her sixteenth birthday by the evil Maleficent. Hidden far away from the castle in the forest, Aurora falls in love with Prince Phillip, who, unbeknown to both of them, is betrothed to her. Despite the efforts of the good fairies, the curse claims Aurora as promised, but instead of killing her, it sends her into a deep slumber that will break only with the kiss of true love, which of course, is Prince Phillip!

The first Disney princess movie that released after Walt Disney’s death, The Little Mermaid is a sweet, fresh story that is different from the previous princess movies, despite having much of the same elements. Jodi Benson played Ariel in this much-loved animated movie.

Ariel is a mermaid and the princess of a kingdom underwater. Bored with life in the ocean, Ariel visits the water-surface to watch the handsome prince Eric celebrate his birthday, and instantly falls in love with him. A sudden storm throws the prince overboard, but Ariel saves him, and brings him to shore. Though she flees before he can see her, Ariel wants to make her way back to the prince. A deal with the cunning sea-witch almost puts their relationship and lives into jeopardy, but in the end, it all works out and they live happily ever after.

This Disney princess movie was highly praised by critics and viewers alike, and the Beauty and the Beast went on to earn two Academy Awards. Based on a French fairy tale of the same name, this animated film wonderfully projects a timeless, beautiful fairy tale.

An enchantress turns an arrogant prince into a beast, and his servants into household items. He is given a magic rose and an ultimatum―he has to find true love before the last petal falls, or he will remain a beast forever. Belle is a gentle, beautiful young girl who takes her detained father’s place in the Beast’s castle. The two slowly fall in love, but they have to overcome obstacles on the way, such as arrogant hunters, and crazy townspeople who are out to kill Beast. Though Belle is not a princess by birth, she becomes one after she marries the prince, and hence is included in the list of Disney Princesses.

Aladdin is a Disney film based on the Arabic folktale Aladdin and the magic lamp. Aladdin is widely considered to be the most successful film of 1992, and went on to earn several awards. Linda Larkin played Jasmine in this animated movie.

A poor young man and his monkey. A beautiful princess. An evil minister. Add to that a cheerful, adorable Genie. That’s Aladdin for you! Aladdin, the poor young thief and Princess Jasmine, who is the daughter of the Sultan of Agrabah, fall in love, much to the dislike of the evil Jafar. He tries his best to separate the two, and kill Aladdin as well as usurp the Sultan’s throne, but fails, thanks to the cute and super-helpful Genie.

Pocahontas is the first Disney animated film to be based on a real person. This classic is based upon the legendary Native American woman, Pocahontas. Though it received mixed reviews by critics, it was a super-hit at the box office. Irene Bedard played Pocahontas in this film.

Pocahontas is the daughter of Chieftain Powhatan, who is the head of their tribe. She is free-spirited and loves nature, and is against the idea of an arranged marriage with a warrior from the tribe. Instead, she falls in love with someone she’s not supposed to―Englishman John Smith, who has come to the land with colonists. Pocahontas is a beautiful story of love, and the bridging of two completely different cultures.

This animated, holiday-special film is a direct-to-video sequel to Beauty and the Beast. It is Christmas time, and the story goes back to when Belle is still a prisoner in the castle, and love hasn’t blossomed between her and Beast yet. The servants (the household items) all conspire to bring them together, and Belle plans to celebrate Christmas and make it special for Beast, who hates the holiday. It is not easy to convince Beast to let them go ahead with their plans, and to add to that, an evil pipe organ tries his best to create misunderstanding and problems between Belle and Beast, but fails. In the end, they all celebrate Christmas together.

Mulan is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. With beautiful attention to detail, this animated film was widely appreciated by critics and viewers worldwide. Mulan also earned several prestigious awards.

Mulan is the story of the young, brave Fa Mulan, who is the daughter of a famed Chinese warrior. When the Chinese emperor declares a war against the invading Huns, Fa Mulan is very apprehensive about letting her father, the aged warrior and the only man in their family, to go off to war, and instead impersonates a man to take his place in the army. Though Mulan is not a royal princess, Fa Mulan still holds the title of a Disney Princess.

This film is a sequel to the earlier Pocahontas movie. Instead of being released in theaters, this movie was released directly on video instead. Captain John Smith is betrayed by Ratcliffe, one of his voyage companions, and after being ambushed by the British soldiers, is presumed dead. Pocahontas is heartbroken, and tries her best to divert her mind elsewhere, when the King of England declares war against her tribe. In order to stop the war, Pocahontas goes to England as a diplomat with John Rolfe, an English diplomat. Ratcliffe tries his best to foil all her attempts but in the end, gets thwarted. The story ends with Pocahontas and John Rolfe returning to her land, having stopped the war.

The Little Mermaid II- Return to the Sea is a sequel to the 1989 movie. The story centers around Melody, the daughter of Prince Eric and Ariel (who is now a human), who longs to visit the sea, as it has been forbidden to her. The villain in this story is Morgana, sea witch Ursula’s sister. Morgana sweetly manipulates the innocent Melody and uses her to try get hold of Melody’s grandfather’s all-powerful trident. However, Ariel, Eric, Ariel’s father Triton, and their allies all thwart Morgana’s attempts. Melody then breaks all barriers between humans and the mer-people.

A sequel to Cinderella, Cinderella II compiles three different stories in one film. In the first story, Cinderella finds it very hard to adjust to the hierarchies in the palace, and wants to include everyone in the kingdom, including the commoners, in the next royal banquet. In the second tale, Cinderella’s mouse friend Jacques is turned into a human being named Sir Hugh by Cinderella’s fairy godmother. In the third, rather unconventional story, Anastasia, (one of Cinderella’s snobby, horrible stepsisters) falls in love with a poor, young baker, much to the annoyance of her mother and sister.

Mulan II is the sequel to Mulan, where a Chinese warrior’s daughter impersonates a man to replace her aging father in a war, and ends up falling in love with her commander. In the sequel, Fa Mulan is engaged to be married to General Shang, when the Emperor sends her off on a secret mission with Shang. A series of dangerous events nearly separate Fa Mulan and Shang for good, but then everything turns out well.

Cinderella’s fairy godmother accidentally drops her magic wand, and her evil stepmother wastes no time in getting hold of it in order to turn back time. She reverses time, back to the day when the Prince is looking for the owner of the glass slipper, and makes it fit on Anastasia’s foot instead. Anastasia, along with her mother and sister are taken to the palace, where Cinderella’s stepmother uses the magic wand to convince the prince to marry Anastasia. Cinderella has to battle many hurdles to bring back the prince’s memory, and they get married at the end.

This film is the prequel to the 1989 animated classic, The Little Mermaid. Ariel’s father, King Triton, bans music in the kingdom after the death of his beloved wife Athena. Ariel and her sisters enjoy music in secret with many of the mer-people from their kingdom, but Triton finds out and jails the ones responsible, and locks Ariel and her sisters up in the palace. Ariel breaks free from the palace and sets the jailed subjects free as well, and in the end, manages to convince her father to bring back music to their underwater kingdom. The villain in this film is Marina, Ariel’s governess.

The Princess and the Frog is loosely based on the novel ‘The Frog Princess’ by E. D. Baker, and is also the first Disney princess movie to be set in a relatively modern time―1912. Anika Noni Rose played Tiana in this film.

The Princess and the Frog is the story of Tiana, a young waitress who dreams of owning a restaurant someday, and Prince Naveen, prince of Maldonia is cursed by an evil voodoo doctor, turning him into a frog. The spell can only break if he is kissed by a princess, and Naveen mistakes Tiana to be a princess and begs her to kiss him. However, the spell doesn’t break and Tiana becomes a frog instead. The two embark upon a mission to break the spell and defeat the evil voodoo doctor, and after a series of complications, win their battle. They then end up marrying each other, and Tiana fulfills her dream of owning a restaurant.

Tangled is a computer-animated film loosely based on the German fairy tale Rapunzel. Mandy Moore played Rapunzel in Tangled.

With a plot similar to the fairy tale, Tangled is the story of Rapunzel, a princess kidnapped by the evil Mother Gothel just after her birth. Rapunzel’s hair has magical properties, which let Gothel retain her youth. Rapunzel is forbidden to step out of the tower, but manages to sneak out with the help of Flynn Rider, a young thief. Gothel plots to get Flynn executed and locks up Rapunzel again, where she realizes she is actually a long-lost princess. Flynn escapes before his execution and fights Gothel, who injures him fatally. Ignoring Rapunzel’s pleas to Gothel to let her treat Flynn’s wound, he cuts off Rapunzel’s hair. Gothel loses her youth, and dies. Rapunzel’s tears fall on a dead Flynn, and he is revived. Rapunzel and Flynn return to the kingdom, and she is finally reunited with her real parents.

Brave introduces us to Disney’s newest princess, Princess Merida. Produced by Pixar Animation Studio and released by Walt Disney Pictures, Brave is an inspiring story of a princess who dares to defy age-old customs.

Princess Merida is the free-spirited, headstrong, and adventurous daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Unhappy with her father’s decision to marry her off to the son of one of his allies as per custom, Merida tries to foil the marriage plans by defeating all the prospective suitors in an archery contest. Having shamed her father’s allies, Merida storms out of the castle after an argument with her family. A deal with an old witch gives Merida a magical cake that turns Queen Elinor into a black bear. Unless Merida mends the torn alliances between her clan and the allies, Elinor will be destined to remain a bear forever.

For reasons that are not very clear, Anna, the lead princess in this movie is considered an ‘unofficial’ Disney princess. Frozen was well-received by critics and audiences worldwide, and earned many prestigious awards. Kristen Bell played Anna in this Disney film.

Princess Elsa’s magical powers have accidentally cast the spell of a bad winter on the kingdom, and she runs away, afraid to cause anymore damage. Her younger sister, Princess Anna, is a fearless young girl who sets out on an adventurous journey to bring back her sister, and break the spell she has accidentally cast on the kingdom. Add to this some love, beautiful music, and the evil Duke who is determined to take over their kingdom, and you’ve gotten one of the best films of all time.