There are currently only five non-Caucasian Disney Princesses: Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana and Moana.
If you look up a list of Disney princesses, you would see just four non-white characters: Mulan, Tianna, Jasmine and Pocahontas.
1992: Jasmine
Up until now, all the Disney princesses were white. It wasn't until Aladdin's Jasmine (voiced by Linda Larkin) that fans saw their first Disney princess of color.
In Disney's nearly 100-year history, there has been only one Black Disney princess — Princess Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog,” a 2009 animated feature starring Anika Noni Rose. The singer Brandy starred in a 1997 made-for-TV film version of “Cinderella,” a remake of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
As for whether Elsa and Anna are white … the Northuldra are modeled on the Sami, an indigenous people scattered across northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia who have faced a great deal of discrimination, but there's a lot of disagreement about the genetic and linguistic origins of Sami to this day.
Elena de Avalor is Disney's first Latina princess.
While some claim Jasmine is Arab because the movie opens with a song called Arabian Nights, others believe that the architecture in Agrabah is clearly based on the Taj Mahal, making Jasmine Indian. It's a debate that has fueled speculation that in Hollywood, Indians and Arabs are interchangeable.
No, Princess Moana is not black. Moana, who is the titular character in the 2016 Disney animated movie of the same name, is of Polynesian heritage. Her story is inspired by the tales of Polynesian seafarers and her home island of Motunui is based on multiple real-world locations from the Pacific Islands region.
Inspired by Polynesian mythology, Moana is depicted as the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti.
Amity and Luz represent Disney's first animated LGBT+ female regular characters. Terrace confirmed Amity as lesbian in a Reddit AMA in September 2020.
If you were a child of color growing up with the release of these movies, relating to one of the Princesses was much harder because of the appearance differences. Since most of the Disney princesses were white, ethnic watchers struggled to look up to them because they did not identify with them.
Mulan - Mulan (1998)
Shang and Mulan are both not royalty, just high-ranking members of the Imperial Army. This means that Mulan is not technically a princess, yet she is considered one when Disney lists their princesses.
She was once an official Disney Princess, until 2004. She was removed because her sales were financially disappointing. Along with it, Disney found it difficult to market her to younger children, due to the fact that she is represented with more mature themes in comparison to the other princesses.
If you haven't seen Frozen 2, you may be wondering, wait– how come Anna isn't a princess? Well, after Elsa was crowned as queen of Arendelle, she then resigned to become the fifth spirit, and Anna took her place. This made Anna the queen, and you simply can't be a queen and a princess all at once!
Other than being human, Alice is not royal and does not perform any prominent acts of heroism throughout the film, but her closeness to the title allows her to often be mistaken for a true Disney Princess.
Although Moana is from the fictional island Motunui some 3,000 years ago, the story and culture of Moana is based on the very real heritage and history of Polynesian islands such as Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Tahiti. In fact, once you start looking for ties to Polynesian culture in Moana, it's hard to stop!
Tiana is notable for being Disney's first black princess. The studio's decision to create a black heroine was met with mixed reception.
Jasmine debuted in Aladdin (1992) as the Princess of Agrabah, daughter of the Sultan.
Princess Ananya, has been confirmed by the team, but they have also added that it's quite in the early stages and the team isn't even close to launching her. Having grown up with Ariel, Elsa, Rapunzel, and Snow White, having a Disney Indian princess is a big step towards cultural representation.
She is a Scottish princess from the kingdom of DunBroch, the daughter of Queen Elinor and King Fergus, and the older sister of Harris, Hubert, and Hamish. Headstrong and intrepid, Merida challenged her kingdom's longstanding traditions to live a life of independence.
According to a Disney spokeswoman, Sofia has a mixed fairy-tale heritage; her mother and father are from Galdiz (which is based on Spain) and Freezenburg (which is based on Scandinavia), respectively.
4 Merida - 'Brave' (2012)
Merida is the epitome of feminism in how she conducts her life. She values self-sufficiency and speaks her mind.
I like the idea of Aurora being Italian. I would add more countries that are represented through the princesses. I agree with Aurora being Italian, but we never seem to know what the Disney princesses'cultures are.