After the prettiest princess poll was such as success, I decided to do a ‘Bravest Disney Princess’ poll. I was a lot happier with the results this time around (although naturally I still disagree with some). Here is the public’s verdict on the Bravest Disney Princess.

11. Aurora
Around 50 people voted in this poll and nobody chose Aurora. She was also ranked last on commented lists. Is this justified? Well, maybe. Despite being in movie full of evil witches and dragons, Aurora never has a chance to demonstrate bravery. She is asleep for a good part of the action which means she takes more of a ‘damsel in distress’ role. Aurora may be one of my favourites, but even I can see that the public’s view is correct.

10. Tiana
Tiana’s positioning has dropped quite a bit since my ‘Prettiest Princess Poll’. The fans must have felt that she just wasn’t as courageous as some of the other girls. She has the bravery to follow her dreams, I suppose, but didn’t all the princesses? She also thought the villain at the end but so did Merida, Mulan and a few others. Tiana, while stunning in looks, doesn’t stand out in the courage department.

9. Rapunzel
Near the bottom again Rapunzel? Once more I feel this rank is undeserved. Punzie had a huge psychological obstacle to overcome which I feel a lot of people underestimate. Her whole life, she had been dependant on her mother and stuck in her tower. The courage it must have taken to defy her only human friend and leave her prison must have been tremendous. However, I do see where others are coming from. Technically speaking, all she did was leave a tower.

8. Belle
As far as I can figure out, Belle only got one vote which I think is fair. Don’t get me wrong: I love Belle. She’s just not as openly brave a s some of the others. Taking her father’s place as a prisoner is brave, arguing with an angry beast is brave, and so is trying to fight a pack of wolves. However, in the end, she still ends up getting saved by the beast. She’s an improvement on Aurora, but she’s still a little “damsel in distress”.

7. Jasmine
The fact that Jasmine isn’t actually the protagonist in her films is to her disadvantage. All the interesting and exciting scenes generally center around Aladdin. He’s the one who gets the big battle with the formidable Jafar. Despite this I feel Jasmine DOES do a lot of brave things. Refusing Jafar is just one of them.

6. Snow White
Personally, I don’t feel like Snow deserves this position at all. All she does is clean, make a huge mistake and wait for a prince to save her. Some people argue that she was courageous because she still carried on, even when she knew someone wanted to kill her. From what I remember, she ran away and cried when she found out she was being hunted. I guess you could say it was brave of her to become a motherly figure to the dwarves. Apart from that, I really can’t see much bravery. Sorry Snow.

5. Pocahontas
Pocahontas bravery is very transparent throughout the film. What I think sets her apart from the other girls is the fact that even though she feels scared and useless, she still tries. When John is about to be executed, she knows she may not be able to save him. But still she runs to his aid (despite the fact it seemed hopeless). She also had the guts to love an ‘enemy’. Pocahontas looked past his skin colour and his flaws and loved him for who he was. That, for me, took courage.

4. Ariel
There’s no denying that Ariel dared to be different. She dared to dream and she dared to change. She had the courage to follow her heart to see where it led her. Some people claim that she was the first adventurous princess and she led the way for characters such as Mulan, Pocahontas and Merida. For that reason, I think her rank is more than justified.

3. Cinderella
Cinderella is extremely brave, but not in the way most people think. Some think that it’s doing some big and bold act (like base-jumping or skydiving), others think that it is brave to stand up for what you believe in. One commenter summed this up well: “I think there are different kinds of bravery. Snow White is brave as she knows a killer is after her, Ariel is brave for leaving her entire world behind for a new one, Rapunzel gains bravery throughout the movie, etc”. I couldn’t agree more. Cindy is brave because even after years of abuse, she still dreamt and she still loved. Most of all, she forgave her tormentors. That took a lot of guts.

2. Merida
If Merida had been last, I would have crawled into a corner and cried. Her movie’s called ‘Brave’ for god’s sake! Fans have called her bratty and selfish, but didn’t people used to say the same about Ariel? Merida is brave because she doesn’t need love to be strong and successful. She’s brave because she knew things had to change, so she changed them. Finally, she is brave because she realised she was wrong. She did the right thing in the end, which is what matters.

1. Mulan
Mulan won by a landslide. 78% of voters thought she was the bravest. “The others can’t beat going to WAR” one girl said. And she’s right, isn’t she. Not even Merida can beat saving her father, fighting a War and saving her nation. Mulan had the courage to be herself in a world where everyone thought she should change. Mulan is the bravest of all the princesses.

Another countdown finished. Thanks to all the voters, especially those who ranked all 11. Please feel free to comment.
-Annabethandco