The Disney Princesses have technically been around since 1937 when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves premiered. However, according to the BBC, the official line didn't start up until 1999 when Disney executives started noticing that little girls were dressing up at certain events and creating their own princess merchandise.
Princess films, made in different decades and generations, told different stories and had different messages to leave for their viewers. Ideas about romance and family changed over time. Villains have become less obvious over time too, as viewers got tired of familiarity. However, there are ideas to take to heart from both classic and modern Disney princesses.
8 New: Powerful Queens
This characteristic only applies to Frozen's Queens Elsa and Anna currently, but it is a big change that Disney's princesses are allowed to hold more power in their own right. Status doesn't change very much in the classic films, while in newer ones, princesses are taking their places in the world seriously.
Elsa knows she needs to stay in the forest as the fifth spirit, and thus abdicates in favor of her younger sister, who accepts the change and works to live up to it. The statue of their parents that Anna has created shows that she'll learn from the mistakes of the past, and of her ancestors.
7 Old: Told Familiar Stories
The first Disney princess films were fairy tale retellings. None of them were terribly long, and generally, the films were padded out with animal antics, such as in Cinderella (1950).
There's something very comforting about having a familiar story told to you. Since the field of animation was so new, early princess films served as visual storybooks. The Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault's stories lived on, though they were rebranded in Walt Disney's image.
6 New: Relationships Aren't Required
The older princess stories always involved princes and marriage. However, the more modern tales are trying to take a step away from that and have begun expanding their plots to focus on character development. For instance, the two Frozen movies have focused on Elsa's journey of self-discovery as she tried to adapt to her powers.
Merida from Brave also takes a step away from this stereotype as she fights for her independence despite objections from her family, who want her to marry. Newer films emphasize already existing familial relationships, as well as the effect good friends can have on someone.
5 Old: Were Part Of Animation History
The first Disney Princess films were made at a time when animation was still hand-drawn and models physically worked in the studio to model the characters and their movements. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is the first full-length animation picture Walt Disney successfully created, though he had done shorts prior to Snow White.
The early princesses were thus part of animation history. Each film saw animation improving by leaps and bounds, especially as different animals were animated and the animators got practice with different human expressions as well.
4 New: The Teenagers Get To Act Their Age
The modern princesses are far more current in their diction and mannerisms. Animation has evolved to the point that there are several more humorous sequences than there used to be; animated films aren't as classic and formal as they once were.
The newer princesses are allowed to be goofy or silly in ways that the earlier ones weren't, or at least not nearly to the same extent. Anna, from Frozen, in particular, is shown to be naive and a bit silly about the way the world works due to how she was raised. She can also be clumsy, which adds to the humor. Rapunzel's mindset on the world is similarly naive, but she seems to overcome it quicker.
3 Old: They Advocated For Themselves
Even though Snow White is spirited away from her stepmother by the huntsman, afterward, she takes charge of her own situation by cleaning and cooking for the dwarves. It's not ideal, but it is on her terms. Several of the older princesses figured out their situation and took charge of it. Mulan, after finding out her father would be going off to war, made the decision to go in his place and followed through on it.
2 New: All Relationships Matter
The newer films emphasize familial relationships much more than older films. Brave is entirely centered around Merida's relationship with her mother, while Frozen tackles an estranged set of sisters. Even Moana emphasizes the relationships between Moana and her grandmother and father.
Moana also has a delightfully platonic friendship with Maui, which is seen to be a breath of fresh air for the viewers. Disney is using its princesses to remind audiences that all relationships in someone's life matter, not just the romantic ones. They're all worth it in the end.
1 Old: Taking Risks Can Pay Off
Ariel from The Little Mermaid decides to take a risk for both a new life and love when she turns her fins into feet. Though it's clear she doesn't entirely understand what she's giving up (she looks scared as she signs Ursula's contract, and the creepy song doesn't help), Ariel still takes a chance that her desires will work themselves out.
And after plenty of adventure, they do. The older princesses were living such staid lives at the beginning of their respective films that they had to shake things up to make some change in their lives. Certain risks were worth it, and they learned some important life lessons along the way.
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