Mirror, mirror on the wall…
…are there any self-possessed Disney heroines at all?
But it’s not insignificant that it’s taken the better part of a century to get this far.
Bibbidi bobbidi…Boo.

Disney; Everett Collection
Though you want her to fight back, Cinderella takes the high road in her pumpkin carriage.
At least her one goal isn’t to marry a prince…that kind of just happens.
Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose) sure has a lot of aliases.

Everett Collection
Even in 1959reviewers were botheredby the similarities between Aurora and Snow White, especially in their slumbering passivity.
Achieving a dream or changing for a man?
An improvement, even thoughher storystill ends with romance.

Disney
The original fixer-upper boyfriend, perhaps?
Song may be as old as rhyme, butthiswas the Belle we needed right now.
Jasmine had another big-screen moment in the2019 live-action remake ofAladdin, directed byGuy Ritchie.

Everett Collection
), she also is crowned the sultana regnant.
We stan this confident woman in power.
In truth, the real Pocahontas married a Brit and changed her name to Rebecca Rolfe.

Everett Collection
But, you know, she also didn’t have a raccoon for a friend.
She struggles at first, but soon faces off against the Huns with brawn, brains, and bravery.
Mulangot the live-action treatment in 2020withYifei Liuas the titular solider.

Disney
She’s discharged from the army in this version, too, but still manages to free the emperor.
When she kisses a prince disguised as a frog, she becomes one herself.
Eventually they marry, kiss, and become human againand Tiana gets her restaurant.

Everett Collection
Later, Flynn is injured by Gothel, and Rapunzel nearly sacrifices her hard-won freedom for him.
Shedoesn’tbut her story still ends, like most of the others, with a marriage.
Merida, though, wants nothing to do with their plan.

Disney
She beats them all, but her mother says her refusal to marry will cause unrest in the kingdom.
Ughare we really forcing a 16-year-old to get married?
Her prize at the end is a happy, intact family, not a proposal.

Everett Collection
It’s sad to be this excited when a heroine is not an obligatory teenage bride.
When he turns out to be a villain, Anna instead falls for the unassuming good guy.
(You’re welcome.)

Disney

Disney

Disney

Disney

Disney

‘Raya and the Last Dragon’.Disney

‘Encanto’ by Disney.Disney