All of the Disney Princesses, Ranked

With Malificent hitting theaters soon, it's time to decide which princesses are the best and which are the worst

By John Boone May 12, 2014 8:43 PMTags

Honorable mentions to Meg from Hercules and Nala from Lion King, but this ranking is for official Disney princesses only. Now, from worst to best, we present the princesses:

13. Snow White

#BasicBitch.

12. Aurora

She's not a bad princess, per se. She might actually be the prettiest of all the princesses. That hair? Flawless. But she's asleep half the movie! Pretty...but so, so boring. Sleeping Beauty was all about Maleficent anyway (which is probably why the new movie is straight-up just called Maleficentthey finally got it right).

11. Anna

Again, Anna isn't necessarily a bad princess. She's charming. We would build a snowman with her. But she is grossly overshadowed by a far superior princess in Frozen: Elsa. Plus, Anna got engaged to a guy she knew him for, like, two hours. Are you kidding me?

NEWS: Frozen is coming to Once Upon a Time—let's talk about that finale twist!

10. Rapunzel

Rapunzel was dangerously naive. Like, the most naive of all the naive princess. Which, yes, one should expect from someone who spent her entire life locked in a tower. But that means when Rapunzel was finally out in the world, she had to rely on a random dude to rescue her.

9. Pocahontas

It's safe to say that Disney took a few creative liberties with this one. Pocahontas is the most historically inaccurate of all the princesses. Which is almost not fair to compare, since she is based on a real person and The Little Mermaid is mostly likely not. Anyway, the best thing about Pocahontas really was the posse she rolled with, especially Meeko and Grandmother Willow. Shout-out to Grandmother Willow.

8. Mulan

Mulan could kick all of our asses. She may have been brave long before Brave, but...

7. Merida

Merida does not subscribe to your gender norms. GIRL POWER. YOU DON'T NEED A MAN.

6. Cinderella

Sure, Cinderella was absolutely princematized by Charming (not a good look, girl), but she's a classic. She is the ultimate rags-to-riches story. And to this day, we still wish a bunch of critters would come dress us every time we wake up. That sounds so helpful.

5. Tiana

Almost the exact opposite of Cinderella, Tiana's narrative doesn't rely on marrying a prince (the prince she does marry almost doesn't even count. He's poor). Tiana has a plan. She has a career and a paycheck and probably a 401(k). She's fiscally responsible. This is a businesswoman. Lean in!

4. Jasmine

She had a pet tiger! That is so cool!

3. Elsa

Technically, Elsa is a queen and was only a Disney princess for the very beginning of the Frozen movie, but we're including her anyway because she's a badass. She's also the only one with powers (bonus points), and obviously the fiercest of all the princesses. Whip that braid around, Queen E!

2. Ariel

Ariel was naive, a quality we have faulted other princesses for—trading your voice for a pair of legs? You got a raw deal, babe. But she was half-fish, so what do you expect? Also, Ariel didn't settle for her ignorance, this little mermaid wanted to learn. She had dreams and goals and other whozits and whatchamacallits. Mostly though, Ariel had the best songs.

1. Belle

Belle was the least vain of the princesses. She didn't ask for much, she just wanted more than this poor, provincial life. She's relatable—or as relatable as a cartoon can be—and a good role model. Also, and most importantly,  BECAUSE SHE CAN READ.