Disney Princes Characteristics. Who Will You Choose?

Thousands of reviews are devoted to princesses from Disney cartoons. However, only some people remember the princes. I decided to look closely at Disney princes characteristics to understand whether living a long and happy life with these fairy tale heroes is possible.

There are ten official Disney princes. First, remember their names: Florian, Charming, Phillip, Eric, Adam, Aladdin, John Smith, Li Shang, Naveen, and Eugene Fitzherbert.

Disney princes list in order.

Prince Florian, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937.

In Snow White, Prince Florian plays the purely practical role of the future betrothed of the main character.

The first time he appears on the screen when Snow White is languishing in the castle of her stepmother, the evil queen. Fascinated by her voice, Florian entered the royal court, which greatly frightened Snow White, and decided to serenade her. Well, this is not very pleasant: imagine that some stalker was watching you while you were unaware of it. These guys don’t even have time to talk during the first meeting, as Cinderella and Prince Charming did at the ball.

The prince will appear again when Snow White lies in the crystal coffin. But what kind of true love are we talking about? Isn’t it strange that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission? Was he trying to wake her up? Did he sing her another serenade? No! He just smacked his lips, and that’s it. But you can’t just kiss someone when they’re sleeping.

After a saving kiss, the hero takes his resurrected beloved to his kingdom, to the delight of the dwarves. The prince clearly does not see boundaries, and I think the girl’s marriage to him was not very sweet.

Prince Charming, Cinderella 1950.

Prince Charming seems to be a rather infantile and narcissistic young man who was lucky enough to be born into a royal family.

Remember how the prince behaved at the ball held in his honor? The future king rolls his eyes, yawns, and looks around. He doesn’t care about girls who curtsy to the ideal of male beauty. Prince Charming only becomes involved when Cinderella appears at the ball.

In this episode, the prince is attracted not by the main character’s beauty but by the dress she received as a gift from the fairy godmother. It’s no wonder that Prince Charming couldn’t remember the face of his future queen.

He is also shown as a man who will do everything to achieve his goal. He ordered all the women in the kingdom to try on the glass slipper to find the girl he once saw at a ball. 

And so, these two get married. Do they know each other well? No. Do they love each other? Well, more likely yes than no. They are in love, inspired by their romantic story and heartfelt conversation at the ball. But love is not there yet. It turns out that this is a marriage of two strangers. Like if you meet someone at a club, then miraculously meet again and get married. It’s cool, of course, but it isn’t clear how long your marriage will last.

Did the prince save Cinderella from her stepmother’s shackles? At the same time, yes and no – the prince had no idea who she was, where she was from, what her name was – even if he saved her, it was not on purpose. According to the plot, he didn’t even go to try on the girls’ shoes – he sat in the castle and waited for that girl, whose appearance I don’t remember, to arrive. Now, this story doesn’t seem so ideal.

By the way, watch the musical “Into the Woods,” in which Cinderella escapes from the handsome prince, and he falls in love with a completely different girl because he does not remember the face of his beloved.

Prince Phillip, Sleeping Beauty 1959.

Aurora’s betrothed is more independent, although he is flighty, like the princess in some ways. To unite the kingdoms, Philip needed to marry the princess to whom he was betrothed as a child. But no! He decided to fall in love with the first person he met. This decision puts the relationship between the two kingdoms at stake. I agree that love should not be forced, and this is a fairy tale, but if you think about it sensibly, the prince is also not very smart. Luckily, he conquered Aurora with his kindness, cheerfulness and good manners.

During the battle with Maleficent, he showed himself in all his glory, but without the help of the three fairies, Philip could not have done anything – they freed him, gave him weapons, and helped him in every possible way. That is, again, the character is hopeless.

Yes, he woke up the princess with a kiss of love, who, fortunately, turned out to be the right girl. But this is Philip’s only super task.

So, the kind, brave, and rich prince Phillip gets some points from me. Lucky Aurora!

Prince Eric, The Little Mermaid 1989.

Prince Eric is undoubtedly rich, cheerful, well-mannered, and a prince by birth. At the same time, he does not boast wealth but loves traveling on a ship among ordinary sailors.

When the prince woke up from Ariel’s singing, he seemed to open his eyes slightly and could see the redhead, but his brain did not remember her appearance. However, he then fell in love with the voice rather than the person and his inner world. It would be interesting to see if he could propose to the silent princess if not for Ursula’s charms.

The story ends with the fact that after the wedding, Eric united his kingdom with the kingdom of the sea. Great strategy!

By the way, Eric is the only Disney prince who became a father. Several Disney princess films had sequels, but until The Little Mermaid, we saw Ariel and Eric had a real family. The prince became a caring father to a girl named Melody. When she escaped to the bottom of the sea, he sent a whole flotilla to search for her.

And I also want to note that Eric owed his dazzling smile to the actor Joshua Finkel.

Prince Adam, Beauty and the Beast 2017.

In my opinion, the most exciting and charismatic prince from Disney cartoons is Prince Adam, who became a monster and lives in a very dark castle with animated furniture.

Unlike most princesses, Belle doesn’t fall in love with him at first sight. She does not like the manners and behavior of the selfish prince. Indeed, Adam’s actions are terrible: he imprisons Belle’s father in prison, constantly growls at the servants, and behaves aggressively.

I want to point out something that is constantly forgotten. Adam was turned into a monster when he was 11 years old. The witch cursed the castle’s inhabitants, together with the child. So, a small child was forced to answer for an offense for years, hammering into him the idea that he was not worthy of love.

However, he met a girl who treated him like a person, not a monster. And with Belle, Adam could finally be a person again – with interests and hobbies. At the same time, the monster demonstrates his human qualities – he empathizes, is ready to sacrifice himself and his interests, and is kind to the servants (in all the years, he has not harmed a single living object).

As a result, this story shows that the princess fell in love with the cute Beast and got a perfect prince ready to let his beloved go to his detriment. By the way, Beauty and the Beast is the first animated film for an Oscar in the Best Picture of the Year category.

Aladdin, Aladdin 1992. 

Aladdin pretended to be Prince Ali during his first meeting with Jasmine. The poor boy was afraid she would not be interested in the real him, so he pretended he was fabulously wealthy. And every time the hero lied, the feather on his turban tilted to one side.

By the way, Aladdin is the only Disney prince who was given a leading role. In addition, he is the first character who became a royal person by marrying a princess.

A kind-hearted boy who knew first-hand what poverty is since childhood, he gained access to a magic lamp and learned to feel the problems of this world more subtly. He helped kids on the street, saved Princess Jasmine, freed Genie, and became his best friend. In general, Aladdin was not spoiled by access to power – all thanks to his kind heart.

But the guy, without exaggeration, is under severe stress. He fears he remains a rabble and will never make a worthy match for the princess. It hurts him that his father left him to the mercy of fate and now has not the slightest idea of how to build a family. He worries that he will not live up to the Sultan’s trust.

The hero’s self-doubt peaks before the wedding.

The young man resolves all his doubts when he meets his father and learns why he disappeared. Aladdin could understand and forgive his father, saying goodbye to him on a good note.

However, this couple’s marriage promises to be fun. Alladin and Jasmine constantly talk, interrupting each other, communicate with inanimate objects, and are generally characterized by emotionality and absent-mindedness.

John Smith, Pocahontas 1995.

He is not rich, a commoner, slightly rude, and has no special strength. He did not even fight for the princess’s heart. Of course, he is charming, brave, and, most importantly, very kind and selfless. He could understand that Pocahontas and the Indians were not savages but intelligent, free people, and he spoke out in their defense.

John Smith fell in love with the kind and beautiful Pocahontas and was ready to sacrifice himself for her. Of course, his worldview changes a lot thanks to the princess – initially, we are generally shown that love is possible even if you are very different. At the end of the first part, John promises to return to his beloved. But the second part shows that their love is not so strong.

Everything is like in life.

Li Shang, Mulan 1998.

Li Sheng is Mulan’s partner who taught her martial arts while she was in her male form. War was especially difficult for the general- he lost his father, almost died himself, and even met his future wife in unusual conditions.

I want to point out that Li Shang is impulsive. His first reaction is always drama, but give him a couple of hours to think about it, and he will understand everything. In the scene where he finds out that Mulan is a woman, first, we see his rejection, then the realization that her action is justified.

But at the same time, he is very vulnerable; he is embarrassed to propose to Mulan and afraid of refusal. He rarely saw his father, but he tried to earn his respect and was very proud if he praised him. Also, Shang did not perceive Mulan as an object, and their relationship developed gradually, as befits an entirely healthy relationship.

In addition, Mulan and Li Shang are entirely different, and we can see this when the militant girl and the officer are asked about their life plans. She wants a big wedding, he wants a modest one, she wants one or two children, he wants as many as possible, etc. It becomes clear that they have no common ground other than an interest in the war. During one of these scenes, he does not even seek to defend the honor of his beloved when she is pushed out of the officer’s tent, wrapped in a blanket, in a rather intimate manner.

A good sign is that Mulan and Li Shang notice they are different. They are one team. Mulan and Shang still have a chance to stay together and be a good and strong union.

Prince Naveen, The Princess and the Frog 2009 

Naveen is the prince of the distant kingdom of Maldonia, who is so passionate about jazz that his path lies in New Orleans. Naveen is an extraordinarily spoiled and irresponsible young man with a natural charm that captivates the people around him. However, his tricks do not work on Tiana, a black waitress. The relationship between her and Naveen develops according to the principle of classic rom-com when the characters at first cannot stand each other but then slowly get used to each other.

The workaholic Tiana taught the young man to work. And he showed her to relax and not let people wipe her feet on her – in fact, that’s why she finally got a restaurant.

By the way, Prince Naveen is a champion kisser in Disney fairy tales. At the beginning of The Princess and the Frog, Tiana kissed Naveen when he was a frog. But more kisses followed, and they eventually became the couple who kissed the most in Disney cartoons.

Eugene Fitzherbert allias Flynn, Tangled, 2010.

A charismatic robber with charm and sparkling eyes, Flynn lived a dishonest life. He stole jewelry, betrayed his accomplices, and lied, but a meeting with one long-haired blonde changed his life – from a thief, he became the husband of a princess. Plus, Eugene brought Rapunzel to her birth parents.

Flynn was originally conceived as an anti-hero. The creators of the animated film “Rapunzel” wanted to move away from the classic portrayal of Disney heroes, who, in their opinion, could be “too soft” sometimes. So they decided that Flynn would not be a prince but a charismatic and charming thief to contrast his character and Rapunzel’s narrow-minded outlook on life.

This difficult story shows us that true love can arise in incredible circumstances. Our magic couple traveled together, fought against obstacles, and always supported each other. Flynn taught Rapunzel to be brave and confident, and she opened up to him a new side of life – the world of magic and witchcraft.

I think they are one of the most successful and magical Disney pairs.

ALSO READ

12 Disney Princesses Characteristics Guide.

Final words.

There are so many Disney princes to choose from. My heart is torn between Prince Eric and the monster Adam.

Do you love princes? How do you feel about weddings in fairy tales? Should every princess have fairytale love? 

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