In this article, I’ll try to show you people, in the most objective way, my list of the smartest Disney Princesses. I used an objective point of view: I’ll list the most rellevant actions the princesses did during their movies, and I’ll rate them from +3 (very smart) to -3 (very stupid). After doing the calculation, I came up with this list. If you think that I forgot to list any action from any princess or made a mistake while rating any of the actions, please let me know. The idea with this article is exactly to make people discuss. Enjoy it!
PS: When there's a tie, the princess with more positive points wins. If there's still a tie, I'll explain the reasons ranked the princesses the way I did.
13. Belle (-13)
1 - Her conversation with Gaston (-1) / It was not a smart idea to use irony against Gaston instead of clearly stating that she doesn't want anything with him. And she insists in doing it when he proposes to her. Maybe things would have been different if she was honest with him.
2 - She lets her father travel alone to the fair (-1) / That was not a smart move, since numerous times in the movie she mentions that her father is old and sick. And I believe she should be aware that it's dangerous for an old man to travel alone in a place dominated by wolfes.
3 - She travels alone to search for her father (-1) / Another bad idea, considering that Maurice himself didn't make it to the fair.
4 - Taking Maurice's place in the beast's castle (-1) / Bad idea. She should have returned to the village and asked for help, after all that was about staying locked in a dungeon for the rest of her life. I thought about giving a -2 to this one, but I considered her emotions while seeing her father in such situation.
5 - Treating Beast badly when he invites her for dinner (-1) / [i]Not a smart move considering that he just allowed her to stay in the bedroom instead of the dungeon and she could loose that in any momment.
6 - Going into the West Wing (-2) / Even more risky than the others. And more pointless too.
7 - Running away from the castle (-1) / Not a good idea. Beast was just behind her, he could reach her at any momment (and so he did). And the wolfes that attacked Maurice were still there.
8 - Leaving the castle alone again when Beast sets her free (-1) / She just doesn't learn. But this time she got lucky
9 - Showing everybody the Beast in the magic mirror (-3) / I thought about giving -2 for this one, since it was a desperate act, but I'm tending to give -3 to actions that endanger the life of another person.
10 - Going back to the castle with maurice (0) / I'm not taking another point here, because she clearly had no option this time.
12. Pocahontas (-8)
1 - Jumping off the cliff (-2) / While it seems to be something she's used to do, it's still a pointless risk.
2 - Jumping off the waterfall (-2) / Same here
3 - Spying the English men (-1) / Another pointless risk. At least this time it can be justified by her curiosity.
4 - Making contact with John Smith (-1) / After all, he pointed a gun to her
5 - Later contacts with John Smith (-2) / I'm putting a -2 here because at this point, an idian had already been shot by the English men.
6 - Not explaining Nakoma what was going on (-1) / One of the many factors that caused Kocoum's death.
7 - Saving John Smith's life (+1) / It's not really something she thought through, she followed her heart. It was a risky move, but it worked.
11.Ariel (-8)
I put Ariel before Pocahontas because her dumb actions are overshadowed by a childish, reckless personality, while Poca was supposed to be a more serious/wise character.
1 - Going into the sunk ship (-1) / Same as Poca's cliff. But she couldn't know for sure a shark was in there
2 - Risking her life for a fork (-3) / Defenitely not one of her best moves.
3 - Going to Ursula (-2) / While it was her most risky move, I won't give it a -3 because she realized that was her only chance to get her dream, so there's a little bit of smartess in it after all.
4 - Jumping in the sea - as a human - to reach the wedding boat (-1) / She could have drowned if it wasn't for Sebastian
5 - Attacking Ursula when she turns Triton into a worm (-2) / Reckless and pointless, after all she had the trident.
6 - Attacking Ursula when she tries to kill Eric (+1) / A simple thing that saved the day.
10. Merida (-3)
1. Climbing that mountain (-1) / This goes to the pointless risk category
2. Entering the archery competition (-3) / A very, very stupid decision. It would never change her mother's mind or make she win her own hand. In fact, she almost starts a war between the clans.
3. Using a spell to change her mother's mind (-3) / I personally would never give my mother some cake a creepy witch I never had seen before gave me.
4. Figuring out Mordu's story (+1) / That he was the bear and so on
5. Figuring out she had to sew the tapestry (+2)
6. Cutting off her father's wood leg in order to save her mom (+1)
09. Anna (-2)
1. Deciding to marry Hans in the same day (-2) / In fact, even the classic princesses didn't do such thing.
2. Standing up to Elsa in the ceremony (-1) / If she was really aware that the sister had a problem, she shouldn't have confronted her in front of the whole kingdom
3. Leaving Arendelle alone (-1) / All she had with her was a cape...
4. Leaving Hans in charge (-3) / It affects the whole kingdom
5. Making Kristoff help her (+2) / She realized she needed his help and figured out how to convince him.
6. Using the guitar and fire against the wolfes (+2)
7. Attacking Marshmallow with the tree (+1)
08. Snow White (-2)
I'm putting her above Anna because her actions affect only her, while the newest princess endangers her whole kingdom.
1. Entering the dwarfes cottage and organizing it (-2) / Certainly a bad idea. It would be more rational to wait for them and ask for shelter.
2. Make a "deal" with the dwarfes to stay in the cottage and cook for them (+2) / It was very smart to use her best skills to gain a place in the house.
3. Forcing the dwarfes to wash themselves (+1) / A smart move to make them respect her and gain some kind of authority
4. Eating the apple (-3) / Very bad idea, since she was aware of the Queen's magic skills (even the dwarfes were) and that she was trying to kill her. And with all the advices she got...
07. Cinderella (-1)
1. She doesn't confront her stepfamily (+1) / It was a smart move to avoid being kicked out from the house. She knew she had no way to face them, so I see that as a smart move
2. Exposing her point of view about going to the ball in an objective, rational point of view (+2)
3. Not noticing/wondering where the mice got the accessories to make the pink dress (-1)
4. Running away from the ball without giving the prince her location (-1)
5. Giving away that she was in the ball while singing in front of Lady Tremaine (-2)
06. Jasmine (0)
1. Using Rajah to avoid the suitors (+1)
2. Running away (-2) / She was clearly unprepared for that, she almost got killed. If at least she had taken some money from the palace...
3. Stealing the apple in the market (-2)
4. Going to Aladdin's place (-1) / After all, he could be a maniac and rape her
5. Revealing her identity and using her authority to save Aladdin / Her authority seemed pretty weak, though...
6. Standing up to Jafar, Aladdin (Ali) and her father (+1)
7. Figuring out that Ali was Aladdin (+1) / I'm giving just a +1 here because she took a long time to realize it
8. Kissing Jafar (-1) / More reckless than calculated action... She didn't think of her crown's reflection
9. Attacking Jafar (-2) / Reckless and pointless
05. Aurora (+1)
I'm aware that Aurora is in advantage in this countdown because she's not the one in charge of moving her movie foward, so the "dumb" decisions were made by the fairies (like leaving Aurora alone in the day of the curse). But from an objective point of view, this is her ranking in the countdown.
1. Pretending she didn't know that the fairies were preparing a suprise (+1)
2. Accepting the company of Phillip instead of following her aunts' advice (-1) / He could be any kind of person
3. Asking Phillip to meet her again in the cottage instead of meeting him in the woods (+1) / Smart move that would protect herself if Phillip had bad intentions
04. Elsa (+2)
1. Leaving Arendelle (0) / I don't see this as a smart or dumb action. She was too scared, after all everything she was afraid of had just happened. This had a smart side (leaving was a way to protect people and protect herself), but I think it was too extreme, since she didn't have anywhere to go.
2. Building Marshmallow (-1) / She endangered her sister with that
3. Attacking the duke's guards (+2) / She wasn't going to kill them, but she figured out a very smart way to imobilize them and protect herself
4. Running away from the prision using her powers(+1)
03. Tiana (+6)
1. Accepting Charlotte's money (+1) / Just I notice the smartness behind that "This will cover it just fine, Lottie!"?
2. Keeping money at home instead of a bank (-1)
3. Finding a place to hide while being attacked by alligators (+1)
4. Making a boat to get to New Orleans (+1)
5. Defeating the ugly guys in the bayou (+2)
6. Thinking that Naveen married Lottie, even if she was still a frog (-1)
7. Not accepting Facilier's offer (+1)
8. Destroying Facilier's necklace after tricking him (+2)
02. Mulan (+6)
1. Cheating the matchmaker's test using ink (-1) / She knew she would get washed before the test
2. Using Little Brother to feed the chicken (-1) / All she did was a mess that probably herself would have to clean
3. Standing up to Chi Fu when her father is called to the chinese army (-1) / She knew her father well enough to know that would be "a disonor" to him
4. Yelling at her father during dinner (-1)
5. Dressing up like a man and going to the army (+1) / While she was clearly not prepared for that, it was still the only way to save her father and she had to put at least a little effort to have that idea
6. Following Mushu's stupid advice (-1)
7. Figuring out a way to climb that thing with the weights (+2)
8. Causing the avalanche to kill the huns (+3)
9. Dressing Yao, Ling and Chien Po to put them into the palace (+2)
10. Using the fireworks in the roof to defeat Shan-Yu (+3)
01. Rapunzel (+7)
1. Locking Flynn in the closet (+1)
2. Deciding it's better not to show Flynn to Gothel (+1)
3. Forcing Flynn into making the deal with her by hiding the crown (+3)
4. Facing the thugs with a frying pan and asking them to "find their humanity"(-2)
5. All the moves she made with her hair to save Flynn (+2)
6. Using her hair's light to escape from the cave (+2)
7. Not being seduced by Gothel when she finds her (+2)
8. Taking that long to figure out she was the princess (-1) / It was very clear that the floating lights were made for the princess... And with that painting in the wall, PLEASE...
9. Facing Gothel instead of just leaving the tower (-1) / Unnecessary risk, she should be aware of how dangerous Gothel was
Please leave your comments! Say what you agree and disagree! It's really important for me.
PS: When there's a tie, the princess with more positive points wins. If there's still a tie, I'll explain the reasons ranked the princesses the way I did.
13. Belle (-13)
1 - Her conversation with Gaston (-1) / It was not a smart idea to use irony against Gaston instead of clearly stating that she doesn't want anything with him. And she insists in doing it when he proposes to her. Maybe things would have been different if she was honest with him.
2 - She lets her father travel alone to the fair (-1) / That was not a smart move, since numerous times in the movie she mentions that her father is old and sick. And I believe she should be aware that it's dangerous for an old man to travel alone in a place dominated by wolfes.
3 - She travels alone to search for her father (-1) / Another bad idea, considering that Maurice himself didn't make it to the fair.
4 - Taking Maurice's place in the beast's castle (-1) / Bad idea. She should have returned to the village and asked for help, after all that was about staying locked in a dungeon for the rest of her life. I thought about giving a -2 to this one, but I considered her emotions while seeing her father in such situation.
5 - Treating Beast badly when he invites her for dinner (-1) / [i]Not a smart move considering that he just allowed her to stay in the bedroom instead of the dungeon and she could loose that in any momment.
6 - Going into the West Wing (-2) / Even more risky than the others. And more pointless too.
7 - Running away from the castle (-1) / Not a good idea. Beast was just behind her, he could reach her at any momment (and so he did). And the wolfes that attacked Maurice were still there.
8 - Leaving the castle alone again when Beast sets her free (-1) / She just doesn't learn. But this time she got lucky
9 - Showing everybody the Beast in the magic mirror (-3) / I thought about giving -2 for this one, since it was a desperate act, but I'm tending to give -3 to actions that endanger the life of another person.
10 - Going back to the castle with maurice (0) / I'm not taking another point here, because she clearly had no option this time.
12. Pocahontas (-8)
1 - Jumping off the cliff (-2) / While it seems to be something she's used to do, it's still a pointless risk.
2 - Jumping off the waterfall (-2) / Same here
3 - Spying the English men (-1) / Another pointless risk. At least this time it can be justified by her curiosity.
4 - Making contact with John Smith (-1) / After all, he pointed a gun to her
5 - Later contacts with John Smith (-2) / I'm putting a -2 here because at this point, an idian had already been shot by the English men.
6 - Not explaining Nakoma what was going on (-1) / One of the many factors that caused Kocoum's death.
7 - Saving John Smith's life (+1) / It's not really something she thought through, she followed her heart. It was a risky move, but it worked.
11.Ariel (-8)
I put Ariel before Pocahontas because her dumb actions are overshadowed by a childish, reckless personality, while Poca was supposed to be a more serious/wise character.
1 - Going into the sunk ship (-1) / Same as Poca's cliff. But she couldn't know for sure a shark was in there
2 - Risking her life for a fork (-3) / Defenitely not one of her best moves.
3 - Going to Ursula (-2) / While it was her most risky move, I won't give it a -3 because she realized that was her only chance to get her dream, so there's a little bit of smartess in it after all.
4 - Jumping in the sea - as a human - to reach the wedding boat (-1) / She could have drowned if it wasn't for Sebastian
5 - Attacking Ursula when she turns Triton into a worm (-2) / Reckless and pointless, after all she had the trident.
6 - Attacking Ursula when she tries to kill Eric (+1) / A simple thing that saved the day.
10. Merida (-3)
1. Climbing that mountain (-1) / This goes to the pointless risk category
2. Entering the archery competition (-3) / A very, very stupid decision. It would never change her mother's mind or make she win her own hand. In fact, she almost starts a war between the clans.
3. Using a spell to change her mother's mind (-3) / I personally would never give my mother some cake a creepy witch I never had seen before gave me.
4. Figuring out Mordu's story (+1) / That he was the bear and so on
5. Figuring out she had to sew the tapestry (+2)
6. Cutting off her father's wood leg in order to save her mom (+1)
09. Anna (-2)
1. Deciding to marry Hans in the same day (-2) / In fact, even the classic princesses didn't do such thing.
2. Standing up to Elsa in the ceremony (-1) / If she was really aware that the sister had a problem, she shouldn't have confronted her in front of the whole kingdom
3. Leaving Arendelle alone (-1) / All she had with her was a cape...
4. Leaving Hans in charge (-3) / It affects the whole kingdom
5. Making Kristoff help her (+2) / She realized she needed his help and figured out how to convince him.
6. Using the guitar and fire against the wolfes (+2)
7. Attacking Marshmallow with the tree (+1)
08. Snow White (-2)
I'm putting her above Anna because her actions affect only her, while the newest princess endangers her whole kingdom.
1. Entering the dwarfes cottage and organizing it (-2) / Certainly a bad idea. It would be more rational to wait for them and ask for shelter.
2. Make a "deal" with the dwarfes to stay in the cottage and cook for them (+2) / It was very smart to use her best skills to gain a place in the house.
3. Forcing the dwarfes to wash themselves (+1) / A smart move to make them respect her and gain some kind of authority
4. Eating the apple (-3) / Very bad idea, since she was aware of the Queen's magic skills (even the dwarfes were) and that she was trying to kill her. And with all the advices she got...
07. Cinderella (-1)
1. She doesn't confront her stepfamily (+1) / It was a smart move to avoid being kicked out from the house. She knew she had no way to face them, so I see that as a smart move
2. Exposing her point of view about going to the ball in an objective, rational point of view (+2)
3. Not noticing/wondering where the mice got the accessories to make the pink dress (-1)
4. Running away from the ball without giving the prince her location (-1)
5. Giving away that she was in the ball while singing in front of Lady Tremaine (-2)
06. Jasmine (0)
1. Using Rajah to avoid the suitors (+1)
2. Running away (-2) / She was clearly unprepared for that, she almost got killed. If at least she had taken some money from the palace...
3. Stealing the apple in the market (-2)
4. Going to Aladdin's place (-1) / After all, he could be a maniac and rape her
5. Revealing her identity and using her authority to save Aladdin / Her authority seemed pretty weak, though...
6. Standing up to Jafar, Aladdin (Ali) and her father (+1)
7. Figuring out that Ali was Aladdin (+1) / I'm giving just a +1 here because she took a long time to realize it
8. Kissing Jafar (-1) / More reckless than calculated action... She didn't think of her crown's reflection
9. Attacking Jafar (-2) / Reckless and pointless
05. Aurora (+1)
I'm aware that Aurora is in advantage in this countdown because she's not the one in charge of moving her movie foward, so the "dumb" decisions were made by the fairies (like leaving Aurora alone in the day of the curse). But from an objective point of view, this is her ranking in the countdown.
1. Pretending she didn't know that the fairies were preparing a suprise (+1)
2. Accepting the company of Phillip instead of following her aunts' advice (-1) / He could be any kind of person
3. Asking Phillip to meet her again in the cottage instead of meeting him in the woods (+1) / Smart move that would protect herself if Phillip had bad intentions
04. Elsa (+2)
1. Leaving Arendelle (0) / I don't see this as a smart or dumb action. She was too scared, after all everything she was afraid of had just happened. This had a smart side (leaving was a way to protect people and protect herself), but I think it was too extreme, since she didn't have anywhere to go.
2. Building Marshmallow (-1) / She endangered her sister with that
3. Attacking the duke's guards (+2) / She wasn't going to kill them, but she figured out a very smart way to imobilize them and protect herself
4. Running away from the prision using her powers(+1)
03. Tiana (+6)
1. Accepting Charlotte's money (+1) / Just I notice the smartness behind that "This will cover it just fine, Lottie!"?
2. Keeping money at home instead of a bank (-1)
3. Finding a place to hide while being attacked by alligators (+1)
4. Making a boat to get to New Orleans (+1)
5. Defeating the ugly guys in the bayou (+2)
6. Thinking that Naveen married Lottie, even if she was still a frog (-1)
7. Not accepting Facilier's offer (+1)
8. Destroying Facilier's necklace after tricking him (+2)
02. Mulan (+6)
1. Cheating the matchmaker's test using ink (-1) / She knew she would get washed before the test
2. Using Little Brother to feed the chicken (-1) / All she did was a mess that probably herself would have to clean
3. Standing up to Chi Fu when her father is called to the chinese army (-1) / She knew her father well enough to know that would be "a disonor" to him
4. Yelling at her father during dinner (-1)
5. Dressing up like a man and going to the army (+1) / While she was clearly not prepared for that, it was still the only way to save her father and she had to put at least a little effort to have that idea
6. Following Mushu's stupid advice (-1)
7. Figuring out a way to climb that thing with the weights (+2)
8. Causing the avalanche to kill the huns (+3)
9. Dressing Yao, Ling and Chien Po to put them into the palace (+2)
10. Using the fireworks in the roof to defeat Shan-Yu (+3)
01. Rapunzel (+7)
1. Locking Flynn in the closet (+1)
2. Deciding it's better not to show Flynn to Gothel (+1)
3. Forcing Flynn into making the deal with her by hiding the crown (+3)
4. Facing the thugs with a frying pan and asking them to "find their humanity"(-2)
5. All the moves she made with her hair to save Flynn (+2)
6. Using her hair's light to escape from the cave (+2)
7. Not being seduced by Gothel when she finds her (+2)
8. Taking that long to figure out she was the princess (-1) / It was very clear that the floating lights were made for the princess... And with that painting in the wall, PLEASE...
9. Facing Gothel instead of just leaving the tower (-1) / Unnecessary risk, she should be aware of how dangerous Gothel was
Please leave your comments! Say what you agree and disagree! It's really important for me.