Summary
- Disney princesses have evolved to become the main characters in their own stories, rescuing princes, saving their families, and defending their countries while looking beautiful and remaining confident.
- The smartest Disney princesses exhibit different types of intelligence, from emotional intelligence to book smarts.
- Belle, Mulan, Tiana, Moana, Rapunzel, Merida, Pocahontas, and Cinderella all demonstrate intelligence through their bravery, problem-solving skills, dedication, and ability to understand and empathize with others.
Disney has created princess movies for over eight decades, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937. In that time, Disney princesses have truly evolved to become the main characters in their own stories. Instead of being brought back to life by a prince’s kiss, newer Disney princesses are rescuing princes, saving their families, and defending their countries, while looking beautiful and remaining confident all at the same time.
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All that valiant effort requires a good deal of wit and intellect. And there are different types of intelligence at play in these Disney movies, from emotional intelligence to book smarts. But which are the smartest Disney princesses overall?
1 Belle - Beauty And The Beast
When the viewer first meets Belle in Beauty and the Beast's animated and live-action versions, it’s through a song that seems to praise her intellect while mocking how bookish Belle seems:
What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle”
And Belle is certainly always reading, trying to expand her mind and worldview through reading. But it’s her empathy for the Beast and all the transformed objects in his castle, and her bravery to replace her father there that add to her intelligence. Belle made a choice to enter a hostile and unfamiliar environment and still managed to kindly help everyone in their quest to become “Human Again”, and is rewarded for her emotional intelligence, with a new family, as well as her book smarts, with a drool-worthy giant library.
2 Mulan - Mulan
Like Belle, Mulan (who we'd love to see in Disney Dreamlight Valley) also exhibits bravery in replacing her father for a dangerous task – in this instance, to join the Imperial Chinese Army and fight in a war. Throughout the film, Mulan shows off her intelligence through her ability to improvise and come up with solutions to problems on the fly.
When the Huns attack the Chinese army, Mulan (dressed as a man) is able to find and use a cannon to trigger an avalanche, helping to defeat the enemies, and win the heart of Shang Li, despite getting a bit banged up in the process.
3 Tiana - The Princess And The Frog
Tiana’s intelligence comes from her dedication to her dream of opening a restaurant, and her drive to get herself there, without compromises. Tiana works multiple jobs and even accepts a catering job from some not-so-friendly royals to make her vision a reality.
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Tiana is a baking genius who creates mouthwatering food, and even when she falls in love with a prince, she won’t give up her dream to go and live in a castle. She gets Prince Naveen to open the restaurant with her, showing viewers that they can have their King Cake and eat it, too.
4 Moana - Moana
Moana utilizes her determination to save her island, and she’s also able to use her intelligence to outsmart others and get what she wants.
In the second half of Moana, Moana and the demigod Maui are captured by the creature Tamatoa, Moana learns how captivated Tamatoa is by shiny, powerful things. She first gets the boastful Maui to brag about himself as a distraction, and then uses algae to create a fake heart of Te Fiti, dazzling Tamatoa and escaping via a geyser.
5 Rapunzel - Tangled
Rapunzel (who some readers think is a Saiyan from Dragon Ball) was trapped in a tower for the first eighteen years of her life, so she took up a number of hobbies that required some intelligence, including painting, chess, reading, papier mache, pottery, playing guitar, knitting, and cooking.
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She also shows her intelligence by using her sweet-seeming persona against her enemies. When a bunch of thieves snatch up Flynn Ryder, she sweetly asks them if they ever had dreams. The thieves start enthusiastically discussing their dreams, and help Rapunzel and Flynn stage a distraction to escape.
6 Merida - Brave
Merida’s smarts lay in her combat skills and her ability to read people. While many of her actions stem from her stubbornness and unwillingness to solely become someone’s bride, she displays a remarkable talent for archery, stunning her whole village with her marksmanship.
Additionally, she quickly figures out an old woman is actually a witch, and is able to convince her to help Merida restore her transformed mother to her human form by casting a spell.
7 Pocahontas - Pocahontas
Many Disney princesses have furry animal friends, but none appear to understand majestic animals like Pocahontas, who is able to communicate with them and receive help from them as well. Pocahontas also takes on an important role in creating and keeping peace between her tribe and the settlers.
Even though peace-keeping falters at one point, Pocahontas ultimately is able to see a complex conflict from multiple perspectives and express empathy for both sides, displaying her emotional intelligence.
8 Cinderella - Cinderella
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Although Cinderella’s ambitions are not as grand as wanting to open a restaurant or save her family, her resourcefulness and her emotional control make her an intelligent princess, whose grace and beauty have spawned many other film adaptations. When Cinderella was trapped in a locked room, she hatched a plot with her birds and dog to set herself free.
She also, unfortunately, was smart enough to live and adapt under abusive circumstances: she was able to tiptoe around and not further anger her stepmother and stepsisters who were being unnecessarily cruel to her, protecting herself from even more meanness.