Ever since its inception, Disney has made several classic children’s animated films that have shaped pop culture. At the same time, there are several aspects of such films that might not have aged that well in the 21st century. Such is the case of most of the ‘prince-princess’ love stories that Disney has produced.
While some of these royal princes in these relationships are plain evil (like Hans, in Frozen), others were glorified royals whose mannerisms are downright creepy, ranging from stalking every girl in their kingdom to kissing without consent. Such cases show us that the romanticized picture of the quintessential Disney prince that people were so used to might not be that perfect at all.
Kristoff: Selfishly Thinking About His Own Proposal
Now, Kristoff is definitely a heart-warming and caring person and his slight selfishness in Frozen II would hardly be categorized as ‘despicable,’ but it definitely shows his immaturity, a trait shared by many Disney princes. For most of the film’s duration, Elsa and Anna are on a quest of their own, coming closer to the secrets behind their parent’s death.
Just because Anna can’t give him all her time, Kristoff usually puts on a glum face and sings about how Anna doesn’t care about him (knowing very well about his lover’s dangerous quest). It seems petty and makes Kristoff pretty-self-centred because after all, it’s not that Anna has left him or is cheating on him, yet he’s always ready to guilt-trip her.
Aladdin: Lying To Jasmine
With the Genie and the magic lamp, Aladdin’s fate turned overnight. Finding himself in a rags-to-riches situation, he goes on to tell Jasmine one lie after the other, convincing her that he’s a majestic prince from a far-away land. This results in a couple of romantic moments and musical numbers.
When Jasmine realizes it’s all a farce, she’s obviously heartbroken. Even though the two end up living happily with each other and Jasmine does understand Aladdin’s perspective, a lot of confusion could be avoided if Aladdin never lied in the first place.
Prince Charming: Finding Any Girl That Fits The Slipper
Cinderella is a pretty bizarre story if one assesses it logically. The titular character instantly attracts Prince Charming. However, as she leaves the royal ball all of a sudden, she leaves her glass slipper behind. So, Charming devises a plan to find the girl whose foot fits in the slipper.
This is when things get a bit strange. If all he needs to fall in love is to be enamored by a pretty face, why can’t he just find that face in his kingdom? Not only that, but he completely forgets what said face looks like and so goes around knocking on everyone’s door, asking women to show him their feet.
Peter Pan: Narcissism And (Possible) Abduction
Peter Pan might appear as a smiling kid in green tights, but his actions show his superiority complex. He’s increasingly narcissistic and hardly seems to care about the other person at all. Even though Wendy carries a lot of affection for him, he either teases her, doesn’t reciprocate well, and doesn’t stop the Lost Boys if they’re troubling her.
When Wendy sews back his shadow, he congratulates himself without acknowledging Wendy’s work at all. While Tinker Bell has her flaws, some can say that Peter was also mean to the pixie. Furthermore, not much background has been given on the origin of the Lost Boys. Were they picked up from their families at a young age? This seems like a huge possibility.
Adam The Beast: Imprisoning Maurice
The Beast in Beauty And The Beast had his insecurities, as he dwelled in solitude in a large, gloomy castle. However, that doesn’t justify his anger towards harmless civilians. Belle’s father Maurice is chased by wolves in the wild, compelling him to find solace in the Beast’s castle.
After being offered hospitality by the Beast’s enchanted cutlery, Maurice is thrown into a dingy dungeon by the Beast for no particular reason. Surely, the Beast turns into a kind prince by the film’s third act, but he should have never held the poor, old man captive.
Eric: Fickle Romantic Choices
Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid proves that he can fall for any woman, as long as she’s pretty and has a good singing voice. When he’s rescued from a shipwreck by Ariel, he keeps on staring at the mermaid’s naked body and smiling. Without asking for any details about her, he decides that Ariel is the girl of his dreams and he wishes to marry her.
Later on, when Ursula takes a human form and sings like Ariel, Eric gets wooed yet again, ditching all thoughts of Ariel! For a while, Ariel loses her voice. But when she regains it and starts singing again, Eric falls for her, yet again.
Prince John: Usurping The Throne Of England
A lion vying for his brother’s throne, Prince John in Robin Hood conspires against his own kin for his selfish hunger for power. A corrupt prince, he’s unempathetic to those who aren’t as privileged as him and is scornful towards leaders of the working population, like Robin Hood.
While Robin Hood is a warm law-breaking vigilante, John is a vile royal who exploits the people under him. John uses his aide and advisor, Sir Hiss, to hypnotize the just King Richard, convincing him to fight in the Crusades. While John usurps the throne, he becomes a dictator.
Hans: Lying To Anna And Conspiring Against Elsa
Hans is a genuinely evil prince in the Disney universe, who, in a way, is a parody or caricature of a Disney prince. He’s initially introduced as a charming, romantic personality, easily wooing the naïve Anna. He hails from the Southern Isles and is one of 13 sons in the royal family.
Unable to get his stake of the throne, he conspires to make Anna fall in love with him, as marrying her means he would also get in contact with Anna’s sister Elsa, the queen of Arendelle. The last stage of his plan would involve somehow killing Elsa and ruling Arendelle.
Prince Phillip: Kissing Aurora While She’s Asleep
First of all, Maleficient, the antagonistic witch in Sleeping Beauty should be held accountable for creating a non-consensual spell that involves an eternal sleep that can be broken only with a true love’s kiss. But to make things worse, Aurora and Phillip’s relationship is hardly shown in depth throughout the film. Yet, when she suddenly falls asleep for a perpetual period, Phillip is convinced that he is Aurora’s true love and savior.
So, without finding any alternate solution, he plunges straight at Aurora and plants a kiss on her lips. It’s a scene that has definitely not been that memorable over the years.
Prince Florian: Kissing Snow White Without Her Consent
Florian (also known as Ferdinand) from Snow White And The Seven Dwarves was Disney’s first official prince. He has quite a bad reputation though, mainly for kissing an almost-dead Snow White. The latter is poisoned by an apple given to her by her stepmother. As she stops breathing, the seven dwarves mourn and lay her in a glass casket.
When the Prince chances upon this funeral, he instructs the dwarves to open the casket so he could give her one last kiss. And voila! His kiss brings her back to life and no dwarf gets creeped out by the Prince’s sudden urges.