20 Fun Facts About the Disney Princesses
You’ve seen every princess movie. You can practically sing “A Whole New World” backward and even pretended you were a mermaid once or twice. You think you know your Disney Princesses, but do you? Here are 20 fun facts to challenge even the best Disney Princess fan.
Snow White’s voice was under contract
And you thought Ariel was the only princess who signed her voice away. Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White, signed a contract when she accepted the role. The contract forbade her from singing in other films or on the radio. Walt Disney though Caselotti’s voice was unique and didn’t want Snow White’s voice heard anywhere else.
Elsa could have been Rapunzel
Idina Menzel, the voice of Elsa, first auditioned to voice Rapunzel in Tangled. The role of Rapunzel was given to Mandy Moore, but Idina made an impression. The casting director later played Idina Menzel’s recording for the Frozen executives.
Aurora’s dress was an argument among many
Flora and Merriweather fight over what color Aurora’s dress should be in Sleeping Beauty. But they weren’t the only ones having this debate. The animators had the same argument and decided to use their disagreement as a plot point in the film.
Moana is also called Vaiana
In some European countries, Moana is known as Vaiana. Disney changed her name to avoid association with the Italian adult film star Moana Pozzi.
Rapunzel is the princess with the longest and the shortest hair
Rapunzel’s hair goes from 75 feet in length to a much shorter pixie cut by the end of the film.
Cinderella sued Disney
Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella, sued the Disney company for royalties. Disney had started releasing their animated movies on videocassette. Home video entertainment didn’t exist when Ilene Woods voiced Cinderella. Therefore, video royalties weren’t included in her contract.
Ariel is the only princess with a child
She has a daughter named Melody in the direct-to-video film The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.
Anna is named after an author
Anna’s name derives from the children’s author Hans Christian Anderson. Hans Christian Anderson wrote the fairy tale The Snow Queen which is the basis for the movie Frozen. Hans, Kristoff, and Sven are also named after the author.
Belle is based off a film adaptation of a literary character
Katherine Hepburn’s performance as Jo March in Little Women inspired Belle’s characteristics. Jo, like Belle, is strong and has a passion for literature.
Merida is the only Pixar Princess
She is also Pixar’s first female lead.
Tiana’s original name was Madeleine
She was going to be called Maddy for short. However, the filmmakers later learned that Maddy was a popular slave name. They changed her name to avoid racial controversies.
Jasmine is the first princess to have two voices
Linda Larkin provided Jasmine’s speaking voice. Lea Salonga provided Jasmine’s singing voice.
Mulan’s voice was already a princess
Lea Salonga also provides the singing voice for Mulan. She is the only woman to voice two Disney princesses.
Rapunzel was almost a squirrel
In an interview, actress Kristen Chenoweth announced she was going to voice Rapunzel. She also said Rapunzel was going to be a squirrel.
Pocahontas is the first princess with two love interests
She has three love interests if you take into consideration Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. She is also the first princess that chooses to remain single at the end of her original film.
Belle is the only person in her town who wears blue
Belle’s blue dress visually illustrates that she is separate and an outcast in her village. The colors of her dresses are also indicative of her emotions. When she is wearing blue, Belle is feeling sad and lonely.
Ariel was almost a blonde
Animators debated over the color of Ariel’s hair. They choose red to differentiate Ariel from the mermaid in the movie Splash who had blonde hair.
Aurora is the princess who speaks the least
Aurora only has eighteen lines in her film. Other than Dumbo who is mute, Aurora speaks less than any other main character in a Disney film.
Merida was almost voiced by an American
Reese Witherspoon was the original voice of Merida. She was recast and Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald got the role.
Snow White has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
And she is the first female fictional character to have one.
