Summary

• Disney princesses are often based on centuries-old fairy tales and other sources.
• Some Disney princess movies, like Snow White and Cinderella, are based on dark and violent stories, but Disney's versions are more colorful and romanticized.
• Each Disney princess has unique origins, such as Snow White being based on a German fairy tale, Ariel coming from a Danish story, and Moana drawing inspiration from various Polynesian folk tales.

Although Disney princesses have had a huge impact on Western culture, many of them borrow from centuries-old fairy tales and other sources. There are 13 canonical Disney princesses. Asha, the princess from Wish, is likely to this exclusive club, but Disney will include princesses if their movies are commercially successful enough, and they don't start their own franchises. This is most likely why Elsa and Anna from Frozen are excluded. Of the 13 canonical Disney princesses, 10 are based on characters from fairy tales, other folklore, or real life.

Some of the origins of Disney princesses are common knowledge. For example, Rapunzel was already a globally famous character well before Disney's Tangled. But some of the other folk tale inspirations for Disney princesses are far more surprising. Disney's colorful, romanticized musicals often hide dark alternative versions. Many classic Disney movies are based on violent stories which would be deemed inappropriate for children by today's standards. Most Disney princesses can trace their roots back hundreds of years, and their places of origin are scattered across the globe.

13 Snow White

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Snow White was the very first Disney princess, making her screen debut back in 1937. Snow White is based on the German fairy tale Schneewittchen, which was recorded by the Brothers Grimm in the early 19th Century, although its roots are much older. The fairy tale has most of the key elements that would eventually make up the Disney movie, including the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, and the glass coffin, but a Broadway adaptation in 1912 also influences Disney's production. Disney's live-action Snow White remake is slated for release in 2025.

12 Cinderella

Cinderella (1950)

Disney's Cinderella is primarily based on French author Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale of the same name, but the story goes back many centuries. Versions of the fairy tale have existed in different cultures around the world, stretching back at least as far as the first century AD. The ubiquitous nature of the rags-to-riches story has parallels in Egypt, Italy, China, Persia, and Korea, to name just a few. Walt Disney was interested in adapting Perrault's version in the 1930s, but he put the project on hold when he realized it should be a feature-length movie.

11 Aurora

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Like with Cinderella, Walt Disney also based Sleeping Beauty on Charles Perrault's version of the fairy tale. The first recorded version of the myth comes from the anonymous French chivalric romance Perceforest, published in 1340. This version went through many different changes over the years, including Italian poet Giambattista Basile's much darker retelling. Fortunately, Disney used Perrault as his inspiration rather than Basile. Otherwise, Aurora would have had an evil queen trying to eat her children and then burn her alive.

10 Ariel

The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Little Mermaid is based on a fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, originally published in 1837. Disney's version of The Little Mermaid changes Andersen's original story to remove some of the darker elements. The idea of a mermaid giving up her life underwater is the same, but in Andersen's version, the mermaid's transformation is extremely painful. Andersen describes the pain of her walking as if she is walking on knives, and the ending is less cheery too. The mermaid doesn't end up with the prince, and her soul enters a different plane of existence where she must serve humanity for 300 years.

9 Belle

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve first wrote Beauty and the Beast in 1740. Her story was edited for concision and rewritten by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1757, and it's Beaumont's version which went on to influence future retellings of the fairy tale. Disney's adaptation also borrows heavily from the seminal French movie of the same name, created in 1946. Walt Disney tried to make an animated version of Beauty and the Beast several times throughout his life, but he was ultimately unsuccessful.

8 Jasmine

Aladdin (1992)

Disney's Aladdin draws inspiration from a popular Middle Eastern folk tale from One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of stories from the Islamic Golden Age from the 8th Century to the 13th Century. The collection was first published in English as Arabian Nights in the early 18th Century. In this version, Jasmine is known as Princess Badroulbadour. The original story is set in China, and there is some uncertainty as to the authenticity of the folk tale. Due to different translators and writers adapting One Thousand and One Nights, the story of Aladdin may not have originated alongside the others.

7 Pocahontas

Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas is the only Disney princess who is based on a real person, rather than a mythical figure. Born on the land that is now known as Virginia, the real Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, the powerful leader of an alliance of local tribes. Disney altered Pocahontas' story to make it more palatable for younger audiences, but these changes also misrepresent Pocahontas' treatment by the European settlers. In reality, Pocahontas suffered intense hardships, and she was never romantically involved with John Smith.

6 Mulan

Mulan (1998)

Hua Mulan is a legendary folk heroine, with her origins dating back to between the 4th and 6th centuries. Mulan's story is generally believed to be fictional, although there is some doubt. With different versions of Mulan existing in songs and poems, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. Nevertheless, many of the details in the Disney movie are certainly fictionalized. Mulan incorporates other aspects of Chinese mythology and culture into the story of the female warrior, like the belief in dragons and spirits.

5 Tiana

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

The Princess and the Frog is a subversion of the fairy tale The Frog Prince, collected by the Brothers Grimm. The most well-known version of the story features a prince who has been cursed to inhabit the body of a frog until a princess agrees to kiss him, upon which he is transformed back into a human. Tiana is more closely based on E.D. Baker's 2002 novel The Frog Princess, in which a kiss transforms the princess into a frog. Disney took this concept, but changed the princess' cultural background and incorporated aspects of Creole mythology.

4 Rapunzel

Tangled (2010)

The story of Rapunzel is one of the most popular fairy tales in European folklore. It was most notably told by the Brothers Grimm, but different versions existed centuries before theirs. In most versions of the story, Rapunzel is kept locked in a tall tower with no means of escape, until she is cast out by the sorceress who imprisons her there. Tangled gives Rapunzel more agency, and the movie's different name is one attempt to distance itself from the well-known story. The prince in the fairy tale is replaced by a thief in Tangled, and she doesn't have children in the movie.