All The Good Men~ By Dianna Standen
The only think necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing – Edmund Burke
Quick name 10 princesses. Now name 10 villains. Now 10 heroes/princes. I bet that last one was harder than you would think. We have a whole line of Disney Princess and Villains merchandise, food, and so much more, but heroes are a different story. I am using heroes and princes meaning the same thing. I have to thank my husband for inspiring this article. He is a big fan of the movie Aladdin, and loves pointing out that everyone remembers Jasmine and Jafar, but not the title character. I figured that I would shed some light on the heroes. I am going to be doing this in chronological order, if I missed your favorite I am sorry.
Lets start with Prince David, for those who do not watch Once Upon a Time, the Prince. You would think he as lots of firsts, but that title is for another man. He has the least amount of screen time and never actually faces the antagonist. He is the first to sing for his love interest. There is a rumor that his name is Ferdinand, but Disney denies this. He also sets the trend of brown hair brown eyes and dons a cape.
Now we have Prince Phillip who has a long list of firsts. We know his birthday is Aug 18 and he continues the Brown/Brown tradition. He is the first to have a proper name, and be seen in more than one outfit. His horse, Samson, and he are the first to have a ‘special’ bond, they seem to have a way to communicate other than words. He was the first we get to see as a youngster and he is also the first we see with a weapon. He is also the first to be locked in a dungeon.
Lets jump now from 1959 to 1989. Prince Eric was 18 years old, but there is a debate about when his birthday is the possible dates are Sept 17 and July 16. Max is his loveable and always licking dog. He is the first prince to not sing in the flagship movie but he is the only prince to play an instrument, he is also the only dad (Simba is also loosely considered a dad). He also differs from the Brown/Brown trend to having black hair and blue eyes. He was also the first we see bare foot and also the first to be saved by his love interest.
Now we go to a beast of a different nature. The Beast or Adam as he comes to be known as in a video game is the first red head to match his blue eyes. He is the first prince that is not human for most of the movie. He is also the first hero to not save the girl, Chip does that and he is also the first hero to be seriously hurt. He also only tells the antagonist one line, “Get out”. He also is the first hero to have a non-human companion, Sultan, the footstool.
We go just one year in the future and a whole new list of ‘firsts’. We have a lot of information about the ‘diamond in the rough’. His dad was Cassim and we don’t know his mother’s name, his dad left and his mom died so Aladdin grew up in Agrabah an orphan with Abu. Aladdin means ‘devout of the faith’ in Arabic, and his name is the only hero’s name mentioned in the title. He is the first to change his name, and he also travels the furthest away from home. He was the only prince to be the main protagonist. He was the first hero we see without a shirt and is not royalty by birth.
Well now we leave the human world all together. Now Simba may not be a price in the traditional sense but he follows a royal bloodline. For Simba we have the most complete family record, grand-parents parents, siblings, wife, children and even uncles.
We are now crossing into the next millennium, and we move to the US. Prince Naveen a self-promoted philanderer also has a host of ‘firsts’. He is from Maldonia and speaks some Italian. He is the first prince without brown or blue eyes. He is also the only price with both parents alive and we know he has a younger brother. He is also the first to have a distinguishable accent.
On to the newest hero, Flynn Ryder, whos real name is Eugene Fitzherbert, was going to be Bastion originally. His is the first prince to not have a true companion, since Maximus and he didn’t get along. He is the first to have facial hair and takes us back to the Brown/Brown combination. He is also one of the oldest princes at 26 years old.
Now we flash forward to the end of this year, Kristoff. He is the hero in new movie, Frozen alongside Anna the princess. All of the information I have now is not finalized, but it has been released by Disney. He is the second with blonde hair, and the fifth that is not of royal blood. He is an ice harvester with Sevn, a reindeer as a companion.
I hope you enjoyed this little recap of the Disney Heroes, and I hope we call can appreciate the story Disney animators have created for all these people.
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