Throughout its almost 100 years as a company, Disney has amassed a huge amount of box office smashes, with many of these movies starring groundbreaking female leads. While some of them are barely present in their own movies (one sleeps through the majority of hers), many of them have become global icons, promoting the idea that females can be far more than just the general damsel-in-distress character they have often been forced into in popular media. They’ve all pushed the envelope in their own unique way, and have paved the way for their successors.

Whether they be princesses, spacefarers, ladies with an unfathomable amount of hair, or lions, all of these heroines have the qualities to be described as just that, heroines. Whether they possess bravery, selflessness, or the ability to make a grown man cry as he leaves Disneyland (definitely not talking about myself), these 30 Disney heroines have stood the test of time, and for better or for worse, have ingrained themselves into popular culture as icons. However, the first few entries won’t be too pretty. I honestly don’t know why they make me so mad. Anyway, let’s take a look at 30 of the most influential Disney heroines of all time.

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30 Aurora

This character has only 18 spoken lines of dialogue in her own movie. What? She literally does nothing except sleep through the majority of the film. She’s essentially a plot device for the rest of the cast to use to keep things moving.

I mean, maybe Aurora was actually a well fleshed-out character with a Ph.D., but we’ll never know, since, ya know, she literally only sleeps.

With a movie title about just how tired you are, I guess we really should have seen it coming.

29 Snow White

Tell me exactly what this woman did except run around, scream, and then perish in her movie? Nothing. She did nothing other than those 3 things.

Snow White is s great example of what not to do with a female character in movies.

I mean, she had more agency than a certain sleepy woman we just covered, but still not enough to even be that relevant in her own movie. She is also the shining example of why we don’t take anything from strangers ever, kids!

28 Dory

From here on, we move into the positives! This fish is better than the previous two human women! Dory, while not necessarily the smartest fish in the sea, is a truly caring individual. While her memory loss is a big issue for her, she tries her best to help everyone around her. She does her best to help Marlin in his time of need, even after having just met him. This fish really deserves all the praise in the world.

27 Cinderella

Cinderella is "eh" on the list of princesses who do things.

I mean, she does most of the same things as Snow White with a lot less screaming and running around a forest.

Cinderella manages a higher spot on this list because of her dedication to doing good. I mean, she prepares food for a bunch of mice, I scream when I see a bee. She works as a maid in her own home and never even complains. While she is still a bit one-dimensional, she is a good person through and through.

26 Tinker Bell

This tiny little lady is one of the faces of Disney, how could she not make this list? Tinker Bell, one of the stars of Peter Pan, has since gone on to be the main attraction of the Disney Fairies franchise, a true businesswoman.

She is often shown sprinkling pixie dust over Disneyland, which is why I’m usually crying as I’m forced to leave that wonderful place.

Hey, any woman that is only a few inches tall and still has the power to supply Disneyland with its magic earns a spot on this list, easily.

25 Lilo

Lilo is one half of the dynamic duo of Lilo & Stitch. She is a young Hawaiian girl that is a bit alienated from the rest of the students at her school. Her personality matches perfectly with Stitch, and the two become fast friends. The two work hard to find a place for each and every one of Stitch’s hundreds of cousins, showing their dedication to help others. Ohana does mean family after all, and Lilo will make sure that no one gets left behind.

24 Belle

Belle is one of Disney’s earlier princesses that actually stood for her own ideals.

Truly though, while Belle’s story does end up as a love story, she’s not actively searching for one. She wants more than what her life offers her and outright rejects the advances of Gaston. She isn’t passive, and actively works to save both her father and the Beast in her story. She has agency to do what she wants, which earns her a place on this list.

23 Megara

Megara is certainly more of a fleshed out female character than some of the older Disney heroines.

She sold her soul to Hades! Big mood!

She's been burned in her life, and that causes her to be distrustful of people who want to get close to her. Throughout the course of her movie, however, she slowly opens up, and in the end, sacrifices everything for Hercules, the man she loves. Sounds like some pretty powerful character development to me!

22 Jasmine

Jasmine, one of the first non-white Disney Princesses, is one of the few of those ladies that appeared in their movie as a secondary character. While Jasmine is a strong character that wants to rebel against what society deems is necessary for her role as a princess, she soon ends up in the role of damsel in distress.

I mean, there was a powerful sorcerer bent on stealing her, so I don’t really know what she was supposed to do, but it does take away her agency in a sense throughout the movie.

However, Jasmine is still a strong-willed princess who wants more out of her life than what is deemed to be by society.

21 Nala

Nala is going to be voiced by Beyoncé, so honestly, I am as surprised as you are that she isn't #1 on this list. That aside, Nala is a prideful (no pun intended) lioness who is shown to be both a great companion and a powerful adversary throughout The Lion King. She is also shown to be able to take down Simba when they first reunite within the wild. She also manages to convince him to come back. After the events of the first movie, she is shown to be a loyal mate to Simba and is a true Disney heroine.

20 Rapunzel

Despite being 18 years old and never allowed to venture outside, Rapunzel is still a great, well-rounded character. She dreams of more than what she has up in her tower, and throughout the movie, goes on a large adventure and discovers much of her life has been a lie. She’s willing to sacrifice even her own happiness to make sure that Flynn makes it out of her tower okay. Even despite knowing no one but Mother Gothel throughout her life, Rapunzel quickly finds out what love really means.

19 Joy

The leading emotion in Pixar’s Inside Out, Joy is someone who strives to make Riley as happy as possible at all times. However, throughout the course of the movie, she learns that all the other emotions that power Riley have just as much of a purpose as she does. Nevertheless, she is a leader to the rest of the emotions. She works hard to make sure everything is running as smoothly as it should be, and always puts Riley first.

18 Scarlet Witch

The first of the Marvel Heroines on this list, Scarlet Witch is a baddie! The superhero has a wide array of different powers such as telekinesis and energy control ability. She shows just how powerful she is in Infinity War when *spoilers* she manages to destroy the Infinity Stone with one hand, while holding back an incredibly powerful Thanos with the other. I feel like there is even more power within Scarlet Witch just waiting to be discovered that we will hopefully be able to see soon.

17 Emma Swan

Emma Swan, the main protagonist of the Disney-themed show Once Upon a Time, red jacket extraordinaire, is the true embodiment of a heroine. Initially reluctant to accept her magical origins, she soon realizes that she has to become the hero she is meant to be. From that point on, she only uses her powers for good, and even goes as far as sacrificing herself to evil so the people she loves don’t have to. She doesn’t let anything get in the way of her achieving her goals, and will stop at nothing to protect her loved ones.

16 Shuri

Need any inspiration for women in STEM? Just look to Shuri! A genius level engineer, Shuri is responsible for a huge portion of Wakanda’s incredibly advanced technology. Besides that, she has also shown to be a great fighter, using her skills with technology to create weapons she can use. She also managed to completely deprogram Bucky Barnes. 90% of us give up on trying to fix our computers when turning it off and on again doesn’t work. She’s out here deprogramming humans.

15 Black Widow

Black Widow is the first female representative of the Avengers, and boy did she make her mark. The multitalented life-taker and spy has been a huge part of the team-up group’s history and was one of the original members. She has shown to be an incredibly talented fighter over the course of her time in the group, and with her own solo movie reportedly starting production soon, we’ll be seeing much more of the character soon.

14 Judy Hopps

Icon. This girl graduates from being a meter maid, infiltrates the Mafia, AND shuts down a conspiracy to turn the world’s population against each other set up by a government official. SHE IS A BUNNY.

Judy Hopps is dedicated to protecting the citizens of Zootopia, and you know, destroying crime rings run by members of the government.

Either one. Look, while I might not be a citizen of Zootopia, I can tell you that I would entrust Judy Hopps with my life.

13 Tiana

Tiana, star of The Princess and the Frog, knows the value of hard work and is willing to fight to get what she wants.

And then she gets turned into a frog! Oops!

Throughout the movie, Tiana never loses her agency and strives to reach her goal of owning her own restaurant. Falling in love along the way just happens to occur as well. Outspoken and determined, Tiana will make her dreams come true, no matter the obstacles in her way.

12 Elsa

The cold is bothering me as I write this, but it certainly never bothered Arendelle’s queen, Elsa. The woman was born with magical abilities that gave her the power to control and conjure ice, and these powers eventually made her cut herself off from the entire world. It is only when Elsa’s sister sacrifice herself for her does she realize that she never had to do this. From there, Elsa and her sister rule over Arendelle as the powerful duo we all deserve.

11 Kim Possible

Being a teen is tough, we’ve all been there.

It is required by law that you spend 80% of your time being annoyed by things that are really quite manageable.

How Kim Possible manages to balance that with crime fighting, I don’t know. Kim Possible manages to stop all sorts of crime in her path, including villains with superpowers! Let’s just hope that the live action movie coming in February will give the hero the spotlight she deserves.

10 Vanellope Von Schweetz

Vanellope, once thought of as an outcast by everyone around her, was ousted as the ruler of the Sugar Rush kingdom by an intruder, King Candy. He took the throne and turned Vanellope into a glitch. However, once Vanellope is exposed to real friendship in the form of Wreck-it-Ralph, she doesn’t let this little detail get to her, and instead, turns her glitchy nature into an advantage over the other racers. Vanellope manages to prove that everyone is capable of success, no matter their situation.

9 Pocahontas

Pocahontas literally stops a war. That’s rather impressive. The Disney Princess is a free-spirited individual who can speak with both animals and humans that all know different languages. She chooses to take adventure on whenever she can in her life, and bravely defends her people in the face of danger. She even chooses to leave her love, John Smith, to stay with her tribe, where she knows she belongs. But we’re not going to talk about Pocahontas 2, no, I refuse.

8 Rey

Rey is a strong and capable hero, a Jedi. Debuting in The Force Awakens, Rey brings a reluctant yet powerful energy to the table. Originally just trying to survive on her quiet planet, she soon became one of the leaders in the fight against the First Order. She quickly proved just how capable she is in battle, and *spoiler* if that epic team up with Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi told us anything, it’s that you don’t want to be caught on her bad side.

7 Anna

Through determination, a sharp mind, and a love for her sister, Anna managed to quell the eternal winter that ice monster Elsa accidentally started.

Or maybe she was just really mad that she had to wear a jacket in the middle of July.

Either way, Anna’s passion about the ones she loves, and her willingness to sacrifice herself for them, proves just how heroic of a woman that Anna is. Also, if we don’t get a Frozen 2 teaser sometime soon I’m going to scream.

6 Mrs. Incredible

The icon herself, we have Mrs. Incredible. Known to the public as Elastigirl, Helen Parr is capable of transforming herself into all sorts of different shapes and sizes to suit her needs. While she is part of a more ensemble cast in her first movie, Incredibles 2 is where she really shines, as she manages to take down a woman trying to make sure superheroes are disliked by the public forever. Don’t mess with this mom.

5 Gamora

Our space queen. Gamora is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fighting all sorts of crime with her team, The Guardians of the Galaxy. While *spoiler* she’s kind of deceased right now, I’m sure that won’t last, and soon she’ll be back to taking down space villains left and right. She manages to triumph over her less than stellar past of being fathered by the man soon to literally wipe out half of all life and became a better person from it, set on helping the universe in the end.

4 General Leia Organa

From Princess to General, we have Leia Organa. While Leia may have played the damsel-in-distress role when we first met her, she quickly shed that role, and from there, became a powerful protagonist throughout the Star Wars series. Blessed with the skills of military strategy, blaster knowledge, and an incredibly intelligent mind, even in a set of chains she could knock me out within seconds.

3 Merida

"But mom, it’s just meh bow!" Words of a true warrior. Merida, so far the only Disney Princess to be created by Pixar, is a true heroine. Intelligent and skilled with a variety of weapons, Merida is a go-getter.

She doesn’t need a man in order to make decisions, and will gleefully turn her mother into a bear.

Ok well, that may have been an accident, but even after doing so she never gives up hope and doesn’t rest until she makes sure that her mom turns back into her human self. Brave and dedicated, Merida exemplifies the best qualities of a Disney Princess.

2 Moana

With a dream in her heart and the wind in her sails, no one knows how far she’ll go. Set on exploring the world, Moana sets out on a perilous journey to save her home. Along the way, she meets Maui, a demigod. Moana remains the hero of her story by returning the stolen heart of a goddess to its rightful owner (while singing a song that gives me goosebumps to this day). While Maui helps her along the way, Moana never gives up her quest to save her people, and in the end, she does just that.

1 Mulan

SHE SAVED CHINA! How can you argue with me that Mulan is not deserving of the #1 spot on this list? In order to save her aging father from enlisting in the military, Mulan disguises herself a man and joins in her father’s place. While initially not the best soldier, she soon becomes a trained, skilled warrior. Although she saves the army from destruction, her guise is broken, and she is revealed to be a woman. Although she is banished from the military, once the Huns make their way to the imperial city, Mulan takes it upon herself to take them and their leader, Shan Yu, down once and for all.

After this, the entire city bows to her, and she takes her rightful place as the best Disney Princess there ever has been or ever will be.

Yes, this is a fact, and not an opinion.

Tags: disney