I was shopping for a birthday present for a 5 year old and realized what an absolute bazooka buffet of Disney princess merchandise there is. It is princesstacular out there. And this made me start thinking about Disney heroes – and which princes and heroes were my favorite. I asked the question on Twitter and Facebook, and had such a response I wanted to ask here as well.
On Twitter, the majority liked the Beast – in beast form – from Beauty and the Beast. I figure this is a clear case of loving the bad boy who learns to grow up, take responsibility, and reveal that moral core of goodness hidden … underneath all that hair. The folks at Pocket After Dark figure it’s because he gave Belle a library – also a good reason.
My faves: Beast, Tramp, and above all, Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty. I don’t know what it is about him, but of the Disney princes, Phillip is my favorite.
So which is your favorite of the Disney animated heroes or princes? Please, tell me why you picked your fave in the comments – I’m so curious which you like, and why, especially since early male heroes in the Disney movies had little to no personality, or even names. (And dude, if I forgot one, give a holler.) Does your princely preference match your romance hero preference?
I am pleasantly surprised to see that I am not the only Shang girl out here. Beast as a beast is very close. But I totally LOVED Mulan because at no point in that movie did she need to be rescued by a stinky man. She also had both parents at home (not putting down single parent families, but for Disney, it seems to be a prerequisite for creating a princess. My daughter used to say, “Let’s pretend my mom is dead and you are my aunt”).
And Shang is just smokin’ hot. I want to see him naked.
I love Jack because he’s dark, and funny and he has this mad desire to break out of the mold. My other fave is Shang because he loves Mulan for kicking ass and takes pride in her.
I hate going with the herd, but I had to choose Beast. BatB is my fav Disney of all time, and upon reflection, I now see that it embodies my favorite romance themes I seek out in the books I read. (BatB, of course, came before romance novels for me.) Extreme alpha male, alpha belligerence, risking life and injury for newly found love, and a feeling at the end that despite the conflict and assholeness the hero and heroine deserve each other (in a good way). I love when a story turns from belligerence to a character trying to prove him/herself. And yeah, I want that library…and yellow dress (even though I look horrible in yellow).
@Mim: GLAD I’M NOT ALONE! =)
@Betty Fokker who said: “Li Shang had the best body, by far. Phillip is my favorite, but I would totally have a hot fling with Li Shang before I married Phillip. And maybe Eric. I would be Sleeping-Around Beauty.”
——- ROTFLO——Sleeping-Around Beauty – HA!
….However, I am fairly sure Disney will NEVER put your HEA on the big screen. A shame, because your plan is brilliant! =)
Naveen casts off the appearences of his princely background and upbringing so he can slip out of the royal grasp to… play the ukelele?
Really?!
ahahahhaha!!!
Any time Donny Osmond is used to sing a voice I’m a happy camper. Shang is all kinds of awesomeness with trying to make a man out of me. PLUS… he can shoot arrows through apples. Win.
I went with Beast,mainly due to his having the most personality-most of the other male love interests in old school Disney films(except for the animal ones,oddly enough) were blander than vanilla frosting on angel food cake:)
Aladdin,being the leading man in his movie,has that plucky boyish charm and speaking of charm,Tramp with his roguish ways and willingness to share his spaghetti and meatballs is beyond awesome.
Oh,and I remember a mention of Sleeping Beauty’s Prince Philip on a Gilmore Girls episode,where his appeal was explained by the fact that he could dance. Anyone agree with that?
Seriously, the Beast. He gives her not only a library, but a huge multi-floored one. Also, as SB Sarah has now highlighted, he also embodies many of my favourite characteristics of romance heroes. No wonder I loved him, even as a girl.
I voted for Robin but it Thomas had been up there it would have been a tie. Gottal love the tough yet caring heros who aren’t afraid to get down and dance!
I voted for the Beast even though I have issues with the plot line bad boy redeemed through the love of a good woman (and also there are major timeline continuity issues, but really I won’t go on about that).
Saying that, I love Philip because a) he’s named b) the movie is all about him and his struggles to get Aurora (plus the 3 old women (fairies) kicking ass) which is a total redirection from a lot of fairy tales/disney films (until some more recent ones) where the female must be the one to struggle and fight or change to get what she wants.
cough I may have been an English major who took a few classes on fairy tales back in the day cough
@teshara That’s one reason I love Naveen. Music is more important to him then status. As a singer that totally appeals to me. I wish he had been on the list.
I guess Naveen? Cause I love so much how in the end he rolls up his sleeves and joins his wife as an equal, capable partner in her life, which is my ideal of what a husband (and wife, for that matter) should be. And after decades of princes with no personality and stories that stop with a wedding, it’s nice to see that glimpse of their marriage and the person he becomes.
But it’s hard to choose! Especially with Shang on the list. God, he is smokin’ hot.
Voted for Flynn.
Would have voted for Aladdin’s Dad if I had the chance. WOOF!
Gonna go with Beast, but my true fave is also Dmitri. Cute bad boy who redeems nicely and John Cusack? Oh, yeah, I want some of that. Li Shang is also an inspired choice.
Cannot comment on Flynn because the husband took the kids to see “Tangled” when I was out with my girlfriends. Will be checking him out as soon as the DVD is released.
There’s also some decent hero material in the umpteen number of “Barbie as…” animated movies. They aren’t as developed as characters as Disney dudes because, after all, it’s all about Barbie, if you are forced into Barbie’s Fabulous World, at least there is that consolation.
Oh, Beast. Hands down. For all the previously stated reasons. But Li Shang is right behind him, although that may be as much about him being voiced by B.D. Wong as his character.
I haven’t seen at least half of these, but I can’t imagine changing my mind about my favorite animated hero at this point in my life. I had to go with the beast, and not just because of the library, but as everyone has pointed out, oh god, the library. No, for me the thing that made the beast so wonderful was the sense that I, er, Belle, was the only one to truly know him. It made me feel special, that I alone (plus Belle and the majority of women according to this website but whatever) understood and appreciated him. I never thought of him as a bad boy, never really had a thing for bad boys, but wounded misunderstood boys, outcast unhappy boys…It started with Bert of Ernie and Bert (pigeon dance! is it really just me? and yes I know he’s gay, but since the topic is animated princes, I don’t see how reality, if that’s even the right word, applies). I don’t know that it’s my favorite type in romance novels, because its too close to home I suppose, and that makes it impossible for me not to be prickly about it, but I’m open to just about any type of hero if he’s convincing. I also didn’t like the beast as a prince, because as someone mentioned in a recent thread, the good-looking people contributed strongly to the misery of my school years, leaving me with a decided aversion to what are conventionally considered handsome types.
“You broke my smolder!” Flynn is soooooooooooo my new favorite. Adore the snark, he’s cute, charming, likes books, is just generally adorable.
Prince Eric is my #2: he’s nice, sincere, no species boundaries, is friendly even to a girl who can’t talk, goes after her… I don’t think he gets enough love.
Beast would probably drive me crazy, he’s grumpier than I am and that takes some doing.
One more vote for Beast and his glorious, um, library?
Even if he can’t read, what a library!!! But I love him because I love the film, because I identify with Belle (and none of the other Disney princesses), and because he transforms into a prince who looks something like my husband.
Had to go with Beast, not so much for most of the reasons above but because he learns to notice what’s important to Belle and to try to make her happy. And he tries so hard! (I especially love the scene where he’s getting dressed for the “ball” and like most guys is WAY outside his comfort zone but puts up with it to please Belle)
My second place would be Li Sheng just because he is so no-nonsense and admires Mulan’s self-sacrifice as well as her kickassery.
Do have to add that I think Phillip was the first prince to actually have not only a personality but to actually do the work and walk the walk; most of the princes previous (such as Snow White’s) let everybody else do the work and just swept in at the end and carted the princess off. And I second the votes for Roger and Pongo as well.
And at tracyktn:
How to Train Your Dragon. Now *there’s* a hero for you…the name is crazy, of course, but I betcha Hiccup Haddock Horrible III will be one HECK of a man when he’s all grown up…
Definitely agree here, that was one of the best animated films I’ve seen in a LONG time, both writing and art quality, and I loved Hiccup (and Astrid!). I think he will make a better Thane (or whatever) than his dad because he’s got the grit to do whatever he needs to do to take care of his people, the imagination to find the unexpected solutions and the sensitivity to care about the well-being of both the people and the environment—including the dragons! For an idea of what he might look like grown up, search on HTTYD on deviantart.com, there’s a lot of good fanart there.
ball36: I’d love to go to a ball with all 36 of these heroes!
Jack Skellington.
Because I love the friends-to-lovers trope.
Because he’s the only one of these “princes” who had a rich productive life OUTSIDE of being a “hero” and love interest.
Because he a) could recognize when he screwed up, and b) didn’t dwell on it.
Because I will ALWAYS pick the guy who looks great when his head is on fire.
well, hes not a DISNEY prince, but still! Demetri form Anastasia <3 but I chose Eric from Little Mermaid; Beast was a close second, but when he turns human (and I know that there are 2 options for him) he looks like Tarzan and Fabio mushed into one… always ruined it for me….
The Beast is my pick too, but for me it was Terrence Mann’s voice in the Broadway musical version. The library is a big part of it, too, but it’s him singing “If I Can’t Love Her” on the OBC that made me stay in love with the character all these years.
Movie version alone, though, I’d totally advocate running away with Lumiere after they all transform. Jerry Orbach definitely has a lot to do with this. (While we’re on the subject of singing voices. Who’s heard the original cast recording of the Fantasticks? DAMN. I have no idea what Jerry looked like at 25, but based on how he aged and what he sounded like back then, I would give serious thought to going back to the 1960s and seducing him if easy time travel was available and it wouldn’t fuck with the time space continuum too much. Is it cheating if it happens before you and your boyfriend were born?)
I’ve never seen Atlantis, though. Milo looks like he’d probably be my type.
Ah, nostalgia. When I was young, Prince Phillip was my ideal. I fell in love when he said, from the stream, “No carrots.” He’s still got my vote.
But a veryveryvery close second is the Tramp.
Prince Philip because he was man enough to know that the women ruled in Sleeping Beauty. He didn’t need to belittle them to stay true to his princelike role.
@AllyJS
Amen, sister!
Oh, and hey, can I add a shout-out for a villain? Cuz that Hun in Mulan was also creepy-hot with those wonderful weird eyes and was definitely more than a match for our heroes, as a good villain should be.
Maybe next time you should do a poll for smexyest evil guy of all time…
wow. I have to say I’m surprised by the Beast votes! All I remember when I saw that movie the first time as a young teenager was that he was an abusive man. It just never sat right with me. He yells at her, holds her prisoner, he is literally a monster, but if she could just love him enough he would be a prince. Such a classic, dysfunctional, abusive relationship. It still gives me the willies. I don’t mind a dark side, but not abusive. But, then I never found Wuthering Heights to be romantic either.
And WHY in all the Disney Princess follow-ups is he always still a Beast? Ariel is always human, but he remains a Beast. I don’t know, I just don’t like it.
I like Flynn a lot, and my nerd lust makes me go SQUEEE for Milo. However, if I am to go with one guy, I think I would pick Naveen. He is the first Disney prince that makes me think (and proclaim out loud to my horrified friends who complain that I shouldn’t think of a Disney prince that way) “Oh man! I would hit that!”. I guess it’s the combination of the character design (HOT CHOCOLATE SKIN) and his personality. He seems like a fun guy to live with. Also, the fact that he chose to support Tiana living her dream was much sweeter to me in a way than if he just took her to be his princess. I think that is just a much more realistic happy ending I can actually picture happening in life.
Have to admit I haven’t seen Tiana/Naveen, but my favorite of the ones listed is Tramp b/c he takes Lady on a real date (dinner with spaghetti).
But THOMAS O’MALLEY, the alley cat in “Aristocats” – takes Duchess (voiced by Eva Gabor!) to a cool cat jazz bar and he takes good care of the kittens that aren’t even his offspring. It’s easy for a prince to love single, lithe and unencumbered Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, etc – but O’Malley’s a great guy for a single mommy cat (which, thankfully, I am not but my good friend is and dating is hard at that point.) Let’s hear it for the heroes who show they’re not afraid of commitment AND will take you out right.
For me it was a 3-way tie between Eric (The Little Mermaid), beastly Beast (Beauty and the Beast), and Li Shang (Mulan).
Einey, meaney, miney, moe…voted for Li Shang.
I haven’t seen Princess and the Frog or Tangled yet. But it’d be hard to top my fave 3.
I went with Jack Skellington. A little bit naughty (stealing Christmas) and a whole lotta nice (saving Santa). All hail the Pumpking King!
I want to add to the love for non-Disney Dmitri, too. He is so yummy.
Also—Prince Cornelius from Thumbelina, anyone? The movie is pretty bad, but I ADORED Cornelius as a child. He has a bumblebee motorcycle. And is super romantic and awesome.
I always answer Beast when this question is asked but I actually voted for Shang. He had to overcome a lifetime of prejudice to admit his love for Mulan. He took a huge risk in going to her. Women in China were supposed to be meek perfect little housewives. For a Chinese man of that time period to admit that he loves a woman who can kick ass and look good doing it…well, that sort of humility just melts my heart! Although Shang may not be my perfect man (I will always favor Beast!), I think he had the furthest to go in order to get his HEA.
No contest for me – Beast. He gave Belle a library! Plus, and I know this is shallow of me, he has servants to cook and clean, so Belle has time to read. Really, what else could one ask?
@Cakes – That’s one of the reasons I don’t like it. Belle basically gets Stockholms Syndrome. Not romantic.
Plus I can’t stand the major changes to it.
1: Belle is suppose to be the youngest of six children – three boys, three girls, not an only child.
2: Their father was a widowed merchant, not a crazy inventor.
3: Belle is suppose to be a blonde, not a brunette.
4: The servants were all invisible, not changed into objects.
Not to mention in the books despite holding her prisoner, the Beast treats Belle tenderly and with gentlemanly manners. He does not yell at her, does not drag her around and throw her into rooms, he’s only beastly in appearance, not manners. Unlike the Disney movie, he is not an abusive jerk. He even lets her go home when she’s homesick – and it’s her wicked, jealous sisters who keep her home until the Beast is dying. In the end the sisters are turned into statues by the same fairy that transformed the Beast, forced to forever watch their youngest sister and her beloved in their happiness and joy.
Now I can go along with the changes in Princess & The Frog because they completely changed the setting and the time. But B&TB; was suppose to be set in the original place and time as the story – and because of that I cannot stand the changes they made. Beast is NOT suppose to be an abusive jerk and Belle is NOT suppose to be a brown haired bookworm and only child of a crazy inventor.
Also Ariel is suppose to die and the prince marry someone else.
@JamiSings: Well, to be fair, there are many versions of the B&B story; in some, Belle is the third sister, in at least one the fourth; also, in some, the Beast is beastly to Belle, and so on. But this is the case with 99% of fairytales in general, so I don’t have a problem with the changes made in the Disney version. Yes, in most versions, Belle’s father is a merchant, but in many he’s also a jerk himself, one way or another.
Not that Disney is famous for keeping up with the originals, anyway. In Hamlet, Simba dies in the end, too. 😉
If I were being honest I’d say Ray the Firefly from Princess and the Frog. He’s salty and brave and in love witha star named Evangeine. But Naveen is one of my fave Disney hero’s. He’s smooth and kinda cheesy and absolutely a reformed rake who can play a tiny guitar ( a WIN in my book). Plus he totally allows Tiana to kick his ass, he is whipped! Plus he’s totally different from all the older Disney heroes, as most of the other ones have little to no personality. Sadly.
I also always loved Robin Hood, in spite of him being a fox. He was such a hero, with a big heart. And I loved the Beast too. Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney movie of ALL TIME EVER. Lumiere may have had something to do with that, and also Belle. I loved a heroine who loved to read as much as I did/do.
Prince Philip all the way.
He was willing to sacrifice everything. He didn’t care if she was just some farm girl who sang to animals in the middle of the forest, it was love at first song! Plus, he put up the biggest fight in the end. Thorns, dragons, creepy little demon things…He earned his kiss.
the beast’s name isn’t Adam. that is something that a fan started circulating and it caught on. if you watch the extras on the BatB DVD’s, they even comment on it, saying that he doesn’t have a name.
Because83: Because 83 million people seem to be under this misconception.