There's a lot of princesses out there. Lord of the Rings has Eowyn. The Princess Bride has Buttercup. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind has, well, Nausicaä. Nintendo still capitalizes on Princess Peach and Princess Zelda, despite them possibly not being princesses. For Zelda it's at least implied that she's the daughter of someone else ruling the kingdom, so I'll give her a pass. As I have never seen a King or Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, I'm going to have to assume that it's a vanity thing with Peach. The same thing applies to the My Little Pony Princesses in Friendship is Magic.
I grew up in the United States, so I didn't really understand the fascination with princesses (or royalty in general). That's not to say I didn't enjoy stories that featured royalty, I just didn't really understand what all the fuss was about. Then I took a few courses on popular culture and European history and I started to understand why they featured so heavily in American culture.
Most American children, I assume, are introduced to princesses through Disney movies. I know I was. Snow White, Cinderella, and Princess Aurora make up the "Classic" Disney Princess line up. It has since expanded, mostly thanks to the Disney Renascence, to include Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna, Queen Elsa (despite having a completely different title), and hopefully Moana. That's a lot of princesses in a short period of time and it's not even including the princesses who get ignored by the Disney company (sorry Eilonwy and Kida, but your movies didn't do well enough to include you).
I was at the right age for the Disney movies that came out in the 90s and I still watch a lot of them today. However, I can see where some people might not like the princess movies as much. Or at least think they are the best role models for little girls. After re-watching The Little Mermaid for the millionth time in college, my roommate and I came to the agreement that Ariel and Eric are the dumbest Disney protagonists out there. I've also found myself agreeing more and more with King Triton over the years. Seriously Ariel, you are sixteen, listen to your dad. He just wants what's best for you.
Heck I've started agreeing Zazu in the Lion King. He's really not the buzz kill I remember from when I was a kid. He is just trying to teach Simba and Nala that being an adult requires a level of maturity and responsibility they don't have as kids. It isn't all fun and games. I must be getting old if I'm agreeing with Zazu.
Since the passing of Carrie Fisher, there's been a growing movement to get Princess Leia canonized as a Disney Princess. As I'm still not sure how monarchies work in the Star Wars universe (for example Queen Padmé Amidala is technically democratically elected, but still has the title queen), I'm not sure if she would actually count as a princess. However, she was the first princess that I was introduced to in popular culture who didn't act like a stereotypical princess. In the first movie she ends up saving Han and Luke while they are trying to save her. In the later movies she's one of the top rebel leaders. Damsel in distress, Leia is not.
Moana is the latest female heroine to be called a Disney Princess (though she hasn't been canonized yet) and I personally think she is the best one to date. Though Moana denies her status in the film, Maui points out that she "wears a dress and has an animal side kick" which, in his opinion, automatically makes her a princess. What makes Moana's story different from her predecessors is that she isn't interested in finding love or seeking adventure which leads to a boyfriend. Her movie is about balancing her responsibilities to her people and accepting who she is.
I could find dozens of other examples of princesses who challenge and defy the stereotypes that I've been exposed to. I can also name dozens of examples of characters who exemplify the princess stereotypes, but that fact doesn't stop me from loving the stories or characters. What's important is that the story is engaging and the characters are interesting. And if those two criteria aren't met, then they're probably not the best written stories to begin with.
The princess narrative has changed a lot since Snow White and it's not just Disney who are making these changes. People want new stories and characters that reflect the modern way of thinking. Women's roles in society have changed. Snow White was the scared young girl lost in the woods (yeah she was 14 in that movie, I'm still a little weirded out by that fact) and the victim of her jealous step mother. Moana is a responsible leader who saved her people. Both are interesting characters who have an engaging story to tell. I doubt the princess character is going to go away anytime soon, especially not in fantasy stories, but we're going to continue to see changes to them.
You know, the live action Beauty and the Beast is coming out soon and I've heard they're making some small changes to Belle's character. It'll be interesting to see how she will be portrayed after 25 years.
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