The love interests of the Disney princesses have come a long way over the years. The early Disney princes were not that interesting, the romances between the characters were pretty basic. Now, the love interests tend to have distinct personalities and more time is spent establishing the romance in the first place. Plus, many Disney princesses today such as Moana and Elsa, don’t have any love interests at all (at least so far).
Let's take a look at the romances of Disney princesses and how they compare with each other.
General Li Shang
Li Shang is an interesting character, and the relationship he shares with the title character in Mulan is dynamic and unique. The two end up being equals.
When Shang first learns that Mulan is a woman, he doesn’t take it well, but he makes up for that by fighting at her side. These two are both strong warriors and Shang is definitely someone who respects Mulan. The movie also gives time to see the relationship between the two develop, instead of just assuming they will fall in love.
Flynn Rider
Flynn Rider is a lovable, daring thief who ends up helping Rapunzel on her journey to see the lights. Rider is hilarious, and he and Rapunzel grow to trust and respect each other as the movie goes along.
The relationship between the two of them is sweet, and it’s easy to be happy and root for them to get together by the end. Rider is definitely a great example of a modern Disney prince, who has a distinct story and learns to love his Disney princess for who she is. The romance isn’t forced, and he’s not your stereotypical Prince Charming.
Prince Naveen
Prince Naveen from The Princess and the Frog starts his journey as a spoiled, shallow, pampered prince. When he and Tiana are turned into frogs, however, he goes through a journey to become a better person.
In the end, they are a couple that is easy to support. It's nice to see that Prince Naveen is able to support Tiana in her dreams once they get turned back into humans. Plus, he's also super handsome (not that this is the most important thing to consider). Naveen and Tiana make a cute couple, and seeing them dance on the roof of the palace at the end of the movie was definitely adorable.
Kristoff
Ana starts off falling for Prince Hans, but thankfully, she ends up with a much better man.
Kristoff is a reclusive person who doesn’t really like people, but he ends up helping Ana on her journey to help her sister and save Arendelle. Kristoff is also designed to go against the mold of a stereotypical Disney prince look, but he is definitely still handsome and quite lovable.
While he is a loner, he has a big heart. He clearly cares deeply about his pet reindeer, Sven, as well as about Ana. He helps her on her journey, and she helps him become more open to the world.
David Kawena
David Kawena is Nani’s boyfriend in Lilo and Stitch. While Nani isn’t technically a Disney princess, he had to be included on this list because he’s one of the best Disney boyfriends out there. He always supports Nani, is constantly there for her as she has to raise Lilo after their parents die.
David rolls with the ups and downs of Nani’s life, and is also super kind to both Lilo and Stitch. It’s clear that David is a great guy, and while he’s not a Disney prince, he has a big heart and definitely deserves that title.
Aladdin
Aladdin is the star of the eponymous movie, not Jasmine, but he’s definitely worth putting on the list since Jasmine herself is a Disney princess.
Aladdin is a dynamic character with a fun personality. The biggest problem with him is that he lies to Jasmine and tries to change who he is to get her to love him. Luckily, he finally shows her his true self, and the two of them turn out to be a pairing that is adorable and less problematic than some of the other classic Disney romances.
Prince Eric
Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid is definitely a handsome prince, and he does have a bit more personality than some of the other classic Disney love interests. Plus, the film flips the script at first by having Ariel rescue him.
He returns the favor near the end of the film risks his life for her. This shows he is pretty devoted to her. While it’s a little problematic that the two don’t really talk or get to know each other before they fall in love, at least Eric has some personality and can bring loyalty to the table.
Prince Phillip
Prince Phillip is Sleeping Beauty’s prince. He isn’t necessarily a bad love interest, but Sleeping Beauty is an older Disney movie. As such, the film reinforces traditional views that a woman needs to be saved by a dashing prince. The two of them don’t really know each other well, and Phillip doesn't have much of a personality.
However, he does fight Maleficent when she turns into a dragon, so he’s definitely a useful person to have around in a crisis. While the relationship between Phillip and Aurora isn’t very complex, they do share some cute moments (including when they dance together in the palace).
Prince Charming
Prince Charming is fairly iconic, seeing as his name is literally just the archetype of a prince character in a fairytale. Sadly, he’s another example of a boring and bland love interest from early Disney films.
He doesn’t do anything too problematic, except that he literally can’t remember what Cinderella’s face looks like and has to use a shoe to figure out who she is. This is a stereotypical story; the two end up together with no real establishment of a relationship. Cinderella is just a Disney princess archetype and so is her prince.
The Beast
Beauty and the Beast is definitely a Disney classic, but the Beast has some issues. He has real problems with his temper, for one, and he basically keeps Belle prisoner. He yells at her throughout, absorbed by his own issues.
At the end of the movie, Beast’s heart has changed and he is kind, but the movie sends a pretty bad message about relationships. The story seems to say that the love of a beautiful woman can change a bitter and angry man into a good one, which is quite an outdated motion when you think about it.
Prince Ferdinand
Prince Ferdinand from Snow White is another one of the run-of-the-mill Disney princes. He doesn't have much of a personality to set him apart, although this can mostly be forgiven since Snow White was the first movie of its type that Disney made.
The biggest issue with him was the whole 'waking with a kiss' thing, which further played into the outdated idea that women need strong and brave men to support them.
John Smith
John Smith from Pocahontas is a bit of a prickly one. He was intended to present a sort of quasi-historical, romanticized image of how things happened, which is a little troublesome. While he is made out in the end to be a victim, the truth is a lot more complicated than that if we take into account real history.
Pocahontas is able to expand Smith’s views and change his attitudes towards the natural world, but as far as meaningful relationships go, this was less than convincing.