Disney Princesses Got a Makeover

[Sotiris]

Why haven't they included Asha yet? I know she's not a princess but that didn't stop them before.

Maybe because her movie flopped? Then again, so did Raya's and they included her.

[Disney Duster]

I was wondering about Asha, too. I wondered if her film was so hated they didn't want to include her. I actually liked Wish but I didn't love it.

[DisneyFan09]

Why haven't they included Asha yet? I know she's not a princess but that didn't stop them before.

Maybe because her movie flopped? Then again, so did Raya's and they included her.

Well, I don`t want to sound condescending. But at least Raya was (somewhat) a Princess, for being a daughter of a Chief, unlike Asha.

I actually liked Wish but I didn't love it.

Okay. Why?

[PatchofBlue]

"Raya" at least has the pandemic as a cover to account for its box office, though I also think "Raya" was a much better film (even if I don't think she really belongs in the princess line either and will probably be phased out as time goes on).

[Disney Duster]

Okay. Why?

I like magic and the film was a lot about that, and I liked some of the songs, and I liked the animation style.

[Thumper_93]

Why haven't they included Asha yet? I know she's not a princess but that didn't stop them before.

Maybe because the franchise is over saturated of characters and they don't want to include more princesses that don't sell great. Including Raya was a big mistake so maybe in the future they'll tink more about including new princesses in the franchise.

[DisneyFan09]

Okay. Why?

I like magic and the film was a lot about that, and I liked some of the songs, and I liked the animation style.

Well, all in all I liked Wish. I liked the songs and score, the character designs and the voice acting. However, the movie was not without it`s flaws: The comedy was awful, the visual style was a mixed bag, the Disney references were tacky and for all the hoopla of Magnifico being a return to the traditional Disney villain, he was just a passable one. Besides, Asha was essentially a protagonist in a story that wasn`t about her own wants or needs. She simply was active in a plot that could`ve served well without her. So while Wish was a good movie, it was still overall a very flawed one.

Why haven't they included Asha yet? I know she's not a princess but that didn't stop them before.

Maybe because the franchise is over saturated of characters and they don't want to include more princesses that don't sell great. Including Raya was a big mistake so maybe in the future they'll tink more about including new princesses in the franchise.

Perhaps. But frankly, I think Raya deserved to be in the franchise. For being an actual Princess (sort of). Frankly, if there`s one Princess who should`ve been discarded from the lineup, it should`ve been Merida. Due to her being a Pixar character and for purpose to be an anti-Princess in every sense (despite how it was mandatory that she actually became included in the lineup, due to how Disney were more synonymous with Princesses a decade ago and deliberately made Princesses to be included in the lineup).

[Disney Duster]

Well, all in all I liked Wish. I liked the songs and score, the character designs and the voice acting. However, the movie was not without it`s flaws: The comedy was awful, the visual style was a mixed bag, the Disney references were tacky and for all the hoopla of Magnifico being a return to the traditional Disney villain, he was just a passable one. Besides, Asha was essentially a protagonist in a story that wasn`t about her own wants or needs. She simply was active in a plot that could`ve served well without her. So while Wish was a good movie, it was still overall a very flawed one.

Frankly, if there`s one Princess who should`ve been discarded from the lineup, it should`ve been Merida. Due to her being a Pixar character and for purpose to be an anti-Princess in every sense (despite how it was mandatory that she actually became included in the lineup, due to how Disney were more synonymous with Princesses a decade ago and deliberately made Princesses to be included in the lineup).

DisneyFan09, I completely agree with all of this!

[Thumper_93]

This is the first time that I see merchandise of Kidra from Atlantis under the Disney Princess franchise

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81X ... L1500_.jpg

[UmbrellaFish]

Why haven't they included Asha yet? I know she's not a princess but that didn't stop them before.

I think Asha would have joined the line if the movie had been more successful. As for why Raya was included, and not Asha, I think PatchofBlue is correct— Raya and the Last Dragon’s box office performance has to be considered with an asterisk due to the pandemic’s impact on its release.

Maybe because the franchise is over saturated of characters and they don't want to include more princesses that don't sell great. Including Raya was a big mistake so maybe in the future they'll tink more about including new princesses in the franchise.

Does anyone else think we are more likely to see a culling of the Disney Princess line than to see more heroines added to it, anytime soon? To me, the lineup is so big at this point as to appear unwieldy.

I think, if such a cut were to happen, probably Raya, Pocahontas, and Merida are most at risk. For the record, Pocahontas is one of my favorite princesses.

This is the first time that I see merchandise of Kidra from Atlantis under the Disney Princess franchise

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81X ... L1500_.jpg

That’s also the first merch I’ve seen! I researched Kida in the Disney Princess line a little while ago, and I did see a claim online that she was included in some merch. It must have been around the time the movie was released, as that’s the old franchise logo.

[Disney's Divinity]

I've been betting on a cut down for ages. Tbh, I am surprised Raya is there, too. I know the film got unfairly screwed by the pandemic, but I'm not sure the damage is reversible? A shame since I did love that film. Maybe they know something via its streaming performance that we don't know. Maybe it's not at the top, but it gets steady views or something?

I don't think Pocahontas will go. She's one of the most popular non-White characters they have, so... Really only Jasmine, Mulan, Tiana, Moana, and Mirabel besides her--I think.the only characters there that are likely on level (or above) Pocahontas are Jasmine and Moana. Unfortunately, Mulan took a hit because of the godawful remake, they should sue the director for the damage she did to the brand (ha)--that's if they weren't to blame for having allowed her to slice and dice the film like she did. Thankfully Ariel and SW are much bigger characters that couldn't be harmed by those remakes. Plus, Pocahontas stands out as a Native American character.

The only ones I really expect to go are Raya and Merida. Mulan ultimately is much more popular than Raya and they'll want at least one Asian character. Tiana won't go since she's the only popular Black character, and it seems like all the other White characters are way too popular to cut aside from Merida. After a decade or so, Anna, Elsa, and Mirabel will be folded in, I expect.

The thing is they will eventually make more "princess" films again--once they actually remember how to do them again, since Wish didn't really feel like one in a lot of ways... So the line getting bloated is inevitable. I think it could be smarter just to embrace it and shove Anastasia, Tinker Bell, Megara, Kida, Lilo, Alice, and Esmeralda in there, too, I say. Then have the most popular characters always appear while the others show up occasionally from one piece of merchandise to another.

[DisneyFan09]

I don't think Pocahontas will go. She's one of the most popular non-White characters they have, so...

While I don`t disagree with you that Pocahontas is a popular character in her own right, the truth is that she`s always been the least promoted Princess in the lineup. She`s always been featured considerably less in promotional pictures and merchandise. She wasn`t even featured in Sofia the First, which served as a valentine for the franchise and featured most of the Princesses (with the exception of Anna and Elsa, of course, who would`ve been featured in the lineup if Frozen didn`t became the big phenomenon that it was). Even Mulan and Tiana were more promoted than Pocahontas for a while.
But it would be easy to assume that the lack of Pocahontas` inclusion is due to how her movie is (unfortunately) essentially the Black Sheep of the Renaissance. And how it received scrutiny due to it`s controversies. But there`s always been an issue of how the White Princesses sells more than the Princesses of color (and no, I don`t mean it as a disregard). And since Mulan is the only non-Princess left, it`s easy to assume that she was included for diversity reasons. As for Jasmine`s popularity, I think it most likely due to how her movie is more popular as a whole.

[PatchofBlue]

Raya and Merida are the ones I really don't think fit in. Merida shouldn't be in there because she's not from Disney animation, and all the accompanying issues like not having her own sung number. And Raya ... there's just nothing even princess-adjacent about her. What's she going to wear during the parade next to all the other girls in their ballgowns? I actually love the idea of Disney creating female role models outside the princess template, but I just think that characters like Raya and characters like Tiana walk in different lanes.

I also used to keen to drop Mulan and Pocahontas simply because it just made things simpler because they don't really fall into the normal social construct of princesshood, but I've softened on that stance quite a bit over the years. And unlike Raya, they both have a princess-y wardrobe and musical numbers.

Though I'm also not anticipating Disney will actually go through the actions of dropping anyone out of the lineup. Phasing them out? Maybe, but we on this board put a lot more thought into these things than the executives do.

[Thumper_93]

Today I've been giving a walk in the toy section in a departament Store and I saw a mini dolls Princesses set from Mattel. All the Princesses were include although Raya. This is weird there is a mini doll of her that you can buy individually. LA Ariel wasn't include too even when she's also available individually.