History Headscratchers / DisneyPrincess

** Same way that Mulan and Merida always get characterized as hating girly things and being more interested in fighting people than anything else. Or Pocahontas gets portrayed as cold, distant, and condescending of the other princesses. People are more interested in making these characters come across as cool and better than the other ones.

* I know she's not included in the line (yet), but I see this done more in the DP fandom than in the Frozen fandom, so...Why is Elsa always mischaracterized? In the original film she comes off as a kind yet secluded and nervous woman; but in the fandom she's always turned into this bold semi-Daenerys Targaryen figure, who's always going around menacing others, being assertive/"badass" and acting smugly around the other princesses. Is there something I missed? Because in the original film she has almost none of those traits. Sure, she gets a little confident during Let It Go, but afterward she's again afraid, nervous and distant.

** Princess is a specific title, daughter of a king or empress. It's not just something applied willy-nilly to anyone who is the daughter of a person in power. If that's the case, than a duke's daughter could be a princess, or a president's daughter. The Algonquin chieftain system differs from European monarchies. One term doesn't transpose into the other. Regardless, it's clear from the inclusion of Mulan that being a princess isn't necessary to make you a Disney Princess.

* Why are people here saying Pocahontas isn't a princess? She's the daughter of an Native American chief. Doesn't that make her a princess?

** One, because she's not any sort of nobility - even Mulan falls into that category - two, she's not important or major enough to the story of her film, the bulk of which focused on Hiro and his relationships with Tadashi and Baymax, and three, as far as I know, she's not popular enough to even be considered. It takes more to be a Disney Princess than just being a kind, optimistic feminine action hero.

* Why shouldn't Disney include [[Disney/BigHero6 Honey Lemon]] as one of the Disney Princesses? She's feminine, is an ActionGirl, and she's kind and gentle, always trying to stay positive.

** ... Uhm. Pocahontas isn't a princess either, and she's still in the DisneyPrincess line. Also, several things said in this thread seem to be either blatantly false or based on trying to project VERY gender-essentialist views (of the "FEMININE BAD, MANLY GOOD" kind) on Mulan's character. U nlike what one of the tropers above claims, Mulan herself NEVER despises anything girly or feminine: she actually likes being dolled up up until trouble starts at the matchmaker, willingly puts on a more practical but still girlish dress at the end, and gets along relatively well with very feminine women like her mother. She is '''''NOT''''' less independent and strong merely for putting on a dress.

* Why shouldn't Disney include [[Disney/BigHero6 Honey Lemon]] as one of the Disney Princesses? She's feminine, is an an ActionGirl, and she's kind and gentle, always trying to stay positive.

** As pointed out on the page proper, the characters included are really more like 'popular heroine'. Mulan and Pocahontas are not princesses, and Kida and Eilonwy are both human princesses who are not included (Megara and Jane are also nebulously royalty). Nala isn't hugely popular on her own, but more importantly she doesn't fit in with the merchandise (this is partially why you see so little of Pocahontas).

** One darker reason is that Nala ''really'' isn't human and would pretty much ''eat'' her rivals.

* Why isn't Nala, the lioness from TheLionKing, completely ignored as a Disney Princess, she being royalty now and all?

** Short-haired dolls are a bitch to make, trust me; also, having long blonde hair is kind of iconic to the Rapunzel fairy tale.

** I'd ascribe it to {{Flanderization}} by a FanDumb (or a divided fandom that loves Mulan and hates the classic three.) Worth asking is if any of these people interpreting Mulan as an ultra-mean tough girl (as opposed to a GuileHero who puts her love for her family first) have seen the film in recent years.

* Why is so Mulan so heavily misunderstood, even (especially!) by her own fans? People generally seem to have this idea Mulan is a tough, ball-busting tomboy who despises girly crap and would hate to be next to Cindy or Aurora on the merchandise (seriously, there was a tumblr post suggesting this). The Classic 3 are badly misunderstood enough but almost no one seems to understand Mulan's personality. She isn't masculine or aggressive in the slightest- she has a strong feminine side and is actually a very sweet and obedient daughter. Yet she is always pitted against the old princesses, especially Aurora, like they are opposites.

** Why is so Mulan so heavily misunderstood, even (especially!) by her own fans? People generally seem to have this idea Mulan is a tough, ball-busting tomboy who despises girly crap and would hate to be next to Cindy or Aurora on the merchandise (seriously, there was a tumblr post suggesting this). The Classic 3 are badly misunderstood enough but almost no one seems to understand Mulan's personality. She isn't masculine or aggressive in the slightest- she has a strong feminine side and is actually a very sweet and obedient daughter. Yet she is always pitted against the old princesses, especially Aurora, like they are opposites.

** There's no story or continuity to the line. They all exist in separate worlds and don't interact. You see Beast more often because he is more recognizable than Adam.

** Mulan disguised herself as a man and went to war to save her father; it had nothing to do with her being a tomboy, liking men's clothes, or promoting feminism.

* Why is it that whenever the princesses are shown with their respective princes, [[BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]] is always shown with Prince Adam in beast form? She wasn't a princess until they married after his transformation. Why would she still get an invite to whatever tea party, Christmas DVD, or other merchandising venture if she isn't a princess at that time? Does she have some sort of deal with the Enchantress if he misbehaves, as an alternative to making him sleep on the couch?

* Why is it that whenever the princesses are shown with their respective princes, [[BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]] is always shown with Prince Adam in beast form? She wasn't a princess until they married after his transformation. Why would she still get an invite to whatever tea party, Christmas DVD, or other merchandising venture if she isn't a princess at that time? Does she have some sort of deal with the Enchantress if he misbehaves, as an alternative to making him sleep on the couch?

** Because the merchandise often disrespects the characters, and by extension, women. Characters like Mulan did not appreciate being super dolled up, but that aspect of her character is disregarded to move merch. There's a strong implication that a woman's appearance is more important than her personality or tastes. Not to mention that part of the appeal of the movies has been their animation, and homogenizing the girls is ignoring that.

** Partially it has to do with the extra highlights and the intense implied light of the art, but it's worth noting that Aurora is not actually tan in her movie or even close to it. Compare her skin tone with the people around her--the darkness probably comes from being in the shade most of the time.