5 Most Problematic Disney Princess Moments

Minnichi
Movies Disney
Movies Disney

The beautiful princesses of Disney are adored by all, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re good role models. In fact, many of them pull some pretty shady stunts that would horrify anyone in the real world. These girls aren’t always as magical and perfect as we think, even if their villains are far more evil. Let’s stop for a minute and take a closer look at some of their most questionable actions.

Snow White sleeps in a stranger’s bed uninvited

The dwarves discover snow white in their house

In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the princess flees from her murderous stepmother and finds refuge in a dwarf cottage in the middle of the woods. After seeing how dirty and cluttered the house is, she takes it upon herself to tidy things up with the help of some forest animals. The seven dwarves who live there are startled to find Snow White sleeping in their bedroom when they return home from work.

There are so, so many ways that this could have gone wrong. Trespassing on someone else’s property could easily land you a baseball bat to the face, if not a rifle. It’s both dangerous and impolite, no matter how well-mannered Disney depicts Snow White. But if you’re a Disney princess, who knows? You might become the mother that the household always wanted.

Aurora tells a stranger where she lives

Aurora and phillip

In Sleeping Beauty, the princess Aurora stumbles across Prince Phillip while gathering berries in the woods. Both of them are unaware that they’ve been royally betrothed since birth, but they’ve already met once upon a dream and are happy to be together. They part ways without revealing their names, and Phillip looks forward to visiting Aurora that evening at her cottage.

It’s implied that the lovebirds have known each other for a while due to their shared dreams, but Aurora has been warned all her life to avoid strangers. She doesn’t think twice about inviting one to her home, and that kind of thing might not go well. Dreaming about someone doesn’t make them more trustworthy.

Ariel signs a binding contract for a guy she just met

Ariel signs ursula's contract

In The Little MermaidAriel falls in love at first sight with the human prince, Eric, and she saves him from drowning after a storm wrecks his ship. This doesn’t bode well with her father King Triton, who hates humans with a passion and destroys her statue of Eric along with her hopes and dreams. The sea witch Ursula takes advantage of Ariel’s despair and offers her a chance to become human in exchange for her voice and her freedom… for all eternity.

As romantic as it sounds, the truth is that Ariel was willing to abandon her family and home for a guy she’d only looked at before. She made a deal with a sinister sea witch without knowing whether or not her love would go anywhere. Girls, that’s not an example we should follow.

Jasmine distracts Jafar with a kiss

Jasmine kisses Jafar

Things are looking bleak in Aladdin when Jafar becomes a powerful sorcerer and casts darkness over the kingdom. Princess Jasmine is reduced to a servant girl, but the genie refuses to grant Jafar’s wish for her to fall madly in love with him. However, Jasmine notices Aladdin sneaking in and starts pretending that she’s under the love spell, much to Jafar’s delight. She then plants a kiss on his lips to keep him occupied.

Almost everyone in that room either cringes or gags when Jasmine seductively approaches Jafar, and for good reason. It’s borderline sexual, and let’s be honest: Using your body to get what you want is not the way to go. Fortunately, things don’t escalate past the kiss in this scene.

Anna provokes Elsa over a cancelled party

Anna grabs Elsa's glove

The plot thickens in Frozen when Anna approaches her sister Elsa and drops the bomb of her sudden engagement with Prince Hans. She’s convinced that it’s true love, and she snaps at Elsa for disagreeing. The latter does not take this well, who proceeds to declare the party over while walking away from the scene. This upsets Anna, who snatches one of her sister’s protective gloves and refuses to return it as she demands to know why Elsa keeps distancing herself from the world.

Anna finds out the hard way why Elsa needed that glove, and it was kind of immature to make such a scene in front of everyone over social self-pity. It’s not surprising that her sister snaps, after which an eternal winter storm sweeps over all of Arendelle. While Anna does redeem herself later in the movie, she could learn a thing or two about priorities.

Grand Secretariat of the Ba Sing Se Times, Head of the Dai Li fandom and Queen of Procrasti Nation