12 Years Ago, Disney Released the Princess Movie That Changed the Game

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Disney redefined princess movies twelve years ago, and the genre hasn’t been the same since. While Disney has created many different types of animated classics, like The Lion King and Hercules, they’re especially famous for their princess stories. This likely started with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, and continued with huge successes like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in the following years.

Disney made many films over the years, but its princess movies followed a familiar pattern, which the studio became well-known for. These stories usually featured a young woman’s journey to find herself and, ultimately, true love and a happy ending. However, a film released in 2013 showed that Disney could successfully try something different, and it changed how these princess movies were made.

12 Years Ago, Frozen Changed Everything for Disney’s Princess Movies

I remember when Frozen came out on November 27, 2013 – it was a game changer for Disney! It really shook up the whole princess movie formula, and honestly, it changed what we all expected from those stories. Instead of focusing on finding a prince, Frozen put the incredible relationship between Anna and Elsa front and center. And I loved how they played with the usual tropes – they seemed to be setting up a classic romance with Anna and a prince, but then totally flipped it with Hans being the bad guy! It was such a smart way to update the Disney princess for a modern audience, and the fact that it made $1.2 billion worldwide (according to Box Office Mojo) just proves how much people loved the fresh approach.

Frozen shows us that ‘happily ever after’ doesn’t always mean finding romantic love. While Anna does find love with Kristoff, it’s not the central focus of her story, and Elsa’s story doesn’t include romance at all – a welcome change. Brave explored this idea a year earlier, but Frozen’s much larger box office success demonstrated that moving away from traditional princess stories could be incredibly profitable. This is likely why Disney began to change how it approached its princess films.

Disney Altered Its Approach to Princess Stories After Frozen

Both Frozen and its 2019 sequel earned over a billion dollars at the box office, proving audiences want princess stories that are different from the usual. While only Frozen 2 reached that level of success among Disney’s later princess films, the studio clearly noticed this and changed how it makes those movies. Since Frozen, Disney has released Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, Moana 2, and Wish – all stories with strong, independent female leads. (Although Raya isn’t officially a princess, she definitely feels like one!)

These animated films generally prioritize their heroines’ personal journeys and goals over romantic relationships. This strategy proved successful with Moana, which earned a large following and $643 million worldwide (according to Box Office Mojo). Moana 2 continued this trend, exceeding $1 billion at the box office, demonstrating that princesses can connect with audiences even without a love story. However, Raya and the Last Dragon and Wish show that straying from traditional princess narratives doesn’t always guarantee success. While both films were original and creative, they weren’t as well-received.

Despite its success, Frozen sparked a shift in Disney’s approach to princess stories. This is evident in films like Wish, where the main character isn’t a princess by birth, but still experiences a classic princess-style adventure. It’s likely Disney wouldn’t be exploring these new directions if Frozen hadn’t been so popular. Frozen essentially paved the way for Disney to reimagine its princess narratives, and this trend will probably continue as audiences evolve.

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2025-11-28 01:17