Top 5 Disney Heroines

I would like to state up front that my criteria for my selection of my five favorite heroines is shaky at best. A healthy level of sass will often be the tipping point into my top ten, but trimming it down to 5 requires finesse and a very selective process of thinking, "If she were a real person, would I have considered dating her when I was 16, 20, 25, or all of the above?" Subjective? Yes, but all favorite lists must be subjective.

MATT FIFE'S FAVORITE FIVE DISNEY HEROINES

Belle

Now, in my villain post I did say that I am listing these in no particular order, and that remains true with one exception, Belle is and will for the foreseeable future remain my #1 favorite Disney heroine. Was she the first female to have a decisive role in the plot of a Disney animated feature? Yes. Let's look at her credentials. She's smart, a booklover, sassy enough to reject Gaston, sassy enough to stand up to the Beast, loving enough to put the well-being of others first, sacrifices the possibility of being with the Beast romantically in order to care for her ailing father, breaks a decade-old spell, fights wolves, and let's not forget the time she miraculously lifted the probably 300 lbs. Beast onto her horse in a snowstorm with wolves hanging around in the woods. And she turned the cold, angry heart of the Beast into that of a refined gentleman. Now, he had that kernel within him so Belle wasn't so much changing him as nurturing the good in him, but still, an impressive feat for any woman. I mean, did you see the way he used to eat his breakfast? And on that note, she's willing and tactful enough to compromise. "So the spoon is too tiny for his giant beast hands? Well then let's compromise to tastefully drink the porridge so that he doesn't feel like an idiot." Belle, you've forever ruined me (though I no longer eat my porridge like a beast, so I'm not completely ruined).

Ariel

Is she a teenager and does it show? Yes. But wouldn't you also run to the sea witch (who happens to be your only living older female relative) if your father had just thrown a temper tantrum and blown up your carefully curated human oddities collection with his trident lasers? I would. And despite the setbacks she faces (losing her voice, entering a completely unfamiliar world, getting shot at with trident lasers by her aunt) she never gives up in the pursuit of her goals. She is fearless (have you ever jumped a gap that large in a heavy open carriage pulled by one horse?), she is talented (best voice of all of Triton's daughters), she sticks to her guns (every night she combs her hair with a fork), and she fights for what she believes in (which happens to be an end to prejudice and opening diplomatic channels between humans and merpeople). The only downside is that she's just a little bit of a hoarder, but everyone has some idiosyncrasies. And without Ariel who would the gingers have had to look up to for the past 25 years?

Jasmine

The sass level here is off the scale. She does not hold back when she finds out Aladdin has been lying to her, though unfortunately she is taken in by the more extravagant lies he uses to cover the lies he has already told. This would not have happened if Aladdin were not such a world-class liar and con-man. Another unfortunate hiccup for her character is her poor money-management. In fact, she doesn't understand money at all or how the world works. But she loves her father, believes in an end to antiquated and sexist social custom, has a pet tiger, puts her trust in the right people, is athletic enough to climb out of the palace and pole-vault from roof to roof, and maintains a bearing of confidence and authority in less-than-perfect circumstances. Yes, she kissed Jafar, but in her defense she was functioning within the system to bring down the unjust system, so we let that slide. And through all of this she doesn't just rush headlong into marriage. Aladdin has to woo her for three movies before they actually get married. Talk about courtship.

Rapunzel

I bet you thought I was stuck pre-95, but let this be proof that I am not. That girl has so much hair and so much sassyness. With her frying pan in hand she boldly and bravely steps into the unknown. The only thing that could have made her character stronger is if she had decided to cut her hair instead of Flynn doing it for her, but it was sort of a traumatic moment and I can understand that she probably wasn't thinking super clearly. One of the greatest qualities of Rapunzel is that she unflinchingly pursues her dream while treating everyone with love and respect, thus inspiring them to follow their own dreams. She is as well-read as was within her power, is quite skilled in the domestic arena, and has an artistic soul. Instead of being a domineering force in the film, the character of Rapunzel and that of Flynn worked together to form an equal partnership filled with wonder, trust, and sacrifice.

Eilonwy

I will admit up front that much of my estimation of her character is influenced by the books which were so senselessly violated in the creation of this particular film, but I believe much of the essence of Eilonwy came through. In an effort to hide their shame, Disney does not often count her amongst their Disney Princesses even though she is very clearly the last princess of Llyr. Not only that, but she is a no-nonsense type of person. Who is always there to bring Taran back to reality? Eilonwy. Who consistently saves the day? Eilonwy. Who (in the books) sacrifices her claim to nearly limitless magical power to save her friends? Eilonwy. Who is instrumental in destroying the Horned King, the Black Cauldron, Taran's pompousity, Achren's evil power, and Arawn the Death-Lord? Eilonwy. And if this is piquing anyone's interest in the novels, I will happily lend them to you. But stepping back to limiting myself to the actual Disney versions of the characters, she is good-natured, shows poor, humble Gurgi tenderness when everyone else hates him, cares deeply for her friends, and has a magical bauble. Yes, her voice in the film will get on your nerves just a little bit, but let's face the ultimate, deciding factor as to what puts her in the top 5. She is openly, unabashedly, and unreservedly Welsh.

Honorable Mentions

Two other heroines deserve mention in this list, namely Mulan and Pocahontas. Both demonstrate great courage, fortitude, and resolve in the face hardship. And Mulan went up against one of the most ruthless villains (Shan Yu, who should have been an honorable mention on my Disney villain list) without so much as blinking, while Pocahontas fought the greatest villain, ignorance and racism. Mulan should actually probably have her own entry because she did everything for her family and for China, and just about nothing for Shang, showing that it's not always about the man, but there's no shame in accepting his advances once the crisis has passed.

Conspicuously Absent

Aurora - her contribution to the film was singing, and then pricking her finger on a spindle. While probably in the top three for most attractive Disney Princesses, there is not enough character development for her to make it onto this list. The list for top 4 most attractive Disney Princesses is Belle, Aurora, Ariel, and Jasmine. Getting it to 3 is actually really hard. Feel free to disagree.

Merida - Every time someone says, "Finally, a Disney princess that's a good role-model for girls," I want to punch them in the face. Come on people, we have Belle. Why is Merida a role-model? Because she resorts to magic to get her way after throwing a hissy-fit when she refuses to listen to her mother, and then backpedals for the duration of the movie? No thanks, I'll stick to people that function on principles of love and sacrifice. Merida is not a strong character, and you can lynch me later if you want. Bull-headed? Stubborn? Disobedient? Manipulative? Disrespectful? Hot-tempered? Yes. Strong? Not so much.

Anyone from Frozen or that frog movie - I haven't seen them. I may never see that frog one.

Live-action Disney Females - I just assumed it went without saying that I was sticking to animated features. If not then the live-action Alice from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland makes it into the top ten and has a pretty good shot at making top 5 if I ignore Welshness as a determining factor. And Giselle, but that's mainly just because I love Amy Adams, though Giselle does show great determination and self-possession, rescuing Patrick Dempsey from certain death.