20 Things You Didn’t Know About Disney Princesses (2/2)
Published -
- December 16, 2016
- 6:00 pm
Amazing facts about Disney’s Ariel, Snow White, Mulan, Elsa, Anna and many others. Did you know any of these?
Disney Princesses are a few of the most recognizable animated characters in the world. From Cinderella to Tiana to Aurora and Elsa, these princesses have captured our hearts in their respective films, but how much do we really know about them? Let’s find out.
More than 150 girls auditioned for the voice of Snow White, but the role went to Adriana Caselotti, the daughter of one of the film’s singing coaches. Adriana overheard her dad’s phone conversation with Disney execs, and she began talking loudly in the background to prove to them that she had the right voice for the character. She ended up winning them over immediately. In 1987, the character Snow White received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is the first Disney Princess to receive this honor.
What is the historical accuracy of Pocahontas in the Disney movie?
Continued from Part 1
11. The original Snow White story was much darker than the Disney version. It involved Snow White’s biological mother ordering her huntsman to kill and prepare Snow White’s heart and liver to eat. The stepmother in the story also met a gruesome end by being forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she died.
12. Pocahontas was only 12 or 13 years old when she first met John Smith, and they likely had no romantic involvement. Historians also state that she did not save Smith from execution as depicted in the movie.
13. Disney’s Mulan is not based on a true story but on a Chinese legend called “The Ballad of Mulan.” The real Hua Mulan is believed to have been a fictional character.
14. In the original “Beauty and the Beast” fairy tale, Belle had siblings and it was her father who was imprisoned by the Beast. The cameo of Belle in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” suggests that they might be in the same cinematic universe.
15. Cinderella’s dress transformation scene in the 1950 movie was done using hand-painted cells and filmed in live-action with a model dress. It took over nine months to complete.
16. Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog” is the only Disney princess to not have royal blood. She is also the first African American princess in the Disney princess franchise.
17. The Little Mermaid is not a happy ending in the original Hans Christian Andersen story. In the original, Ariel sacrifices her own life to save the prince, and subsequently, she is transformed into a spirit of the air, doing good deeds for 300 years before ascending to heaven.
18. Moana, Disney’s latest princess, is not based on a specific culture but rather an amalgamation of different Pacific Islander cultures.
19. Aurora, also known as Sleeping Beauty, only has 18 lines of dialogue in her entire movie.
20. The line used by the Evil Queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?” is actually a misquote. The correct line is “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”
In conclusion, these 20 facts shed light on the various inspirations and influences behind Disney’s iconic princesses. From different cultures to gruesome fairy tales, it is apparent that the creation of these beloved characters was not a simple or straightforward process. However, their impact on popular culture and generations of fans is undeniable.
