16 Magical Disney Princess Facts

Mickey Mouse may be Disney’s most enduring mascot, but none of their properties have earned the adoration of young girls around the world quite like the Disney Princesses. And they’ve grown into such a cultural institution over the years that a modern six-year-old can instantly recognize Snow White, even though the movie she starred in is almost 80-years-old.

And whether viewers will grow up to criticize them, to remix them, or to continue to adore them, the Disney princesses aren’t showing any signs of fading from relevance. 

But even if you love them, there’s likely still some things you don’t know about them. 

And that will change once you have a look at these 16 facts about your favorite Disney princesses.  

1. Snow White is 14-years-old.

This may beg the question of how old her Prince was, but it’s confirmed within the Disney company itself that Snow White’s entire tale happens when she’s barely a teenager. In fact, all of the 11 official Disney princesses are teens in their stories, but Snow White was the youngest.

2. “Part of Your World” was almost cut from The Little Mermaid.

It’s Ariel’s massively popular signature song – but Jeffrey Katzenberg, Disney’s animation head at the time, planned to cut it for being “too boring.” He came to this conclusion after seeing a child spill his popcorn during a test screening, but it stayed in the movie when the rest of the crew fought to save it.Katzenberg also reportedly wanted to get “more Die Hard into The Little Mermaid,” which would have been admittedly fascinating to see.

3. Pocahontas is the only Disney princess based on a real person.

She didn’t have a raccoon friend named Meeko following her around and was only 11-years-old when she met Captain John Smith, but she did really exist and was the daughter of the Powhatan chief. Besides Pocahontas, Mulan was the closest to being a real person, but she was based on a legend and thus may or may not have existed.

4. Mulan is not technically a princess.

Despite being an official member of the Disney princesses roster, Mulan is neither a princess by birth or by marriage. After she defeats Shan Yu, the Chinese emperor offers her a position as his consul, but she turns it down. And while she does end up marrying Shang in the sequel, he’s not a prince – he’s a general. Disney’s usually pretty strict about what qualifies a character for their Disney princess roster, but Mulan was popular enough to get in regardless of the “rules.”