At just about the time my two daughters were outgrowing their Disney princess obsession (and their homemade costumes), the Disney Princess group was born. Andy Mooney took over as the head of Disney’s consumer products division, and saw the value in building a new franchise with all the Disney princesses from the classic animated films together. Strangely, the company had tried to keep them separate previously for both artistic and economic reasons that seem to make no sense now. Mooney’s idea took off, and the Disney Princesses were a juggernaut. The group not only encouraged a rewatch of the older movies, but also boosted the profiles of the newer princesses, like Moana and Rapunzel, as they joined the gang. And they sold a lot of Disney merchandise.
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The original group of Princesses were Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan. The inclusion of Mulan indicated that a character didn’t have to be even a fictional princess to be a Princess. Tinkerbell (from Peter Pan) and Esmerelda (from The Hunchback of Notre Dame) were later added, then were quietly removed. Elsa and Anna from the 2013 hit Frozen were never invited to the group, even though they were royalty. There are now 13 Disney Princesses, from different countries, different time periods, and even different animation styles. But what about Tinkerbell, Esmerelda, Elsa, and Anna? Find out why some princesses are not Disney Princesses at Mental Floss.
Source: neatorama