In a world where magic meets merchandise, the enchanting Disney Princesses have stepped out of the fairy tale and into your shopping cart. As Disney continues to reign as one of the most popular companies world-wide, brands across the globe are collaborating to bring everyone’s favorite princesses to life. Let’s see if “happily ever after” might just be the new adaptations of the old animated films, character specific scents, rings, or even collector’s dolls. Starting in 2014, Disney made the courageous decision to recreate their original animated films into live-action films. This was a huge risk knowing just how popular and special these movies are to people all over the world. Knowing that they would most likely hear a lot of backlash from this, they decided to go through with it. In May, 2014 Disney released Maleficent, a spin on the original animated film, Sleeping Beauty. Although this movie highlighted the villain over the princess, it was the first time Disney made one of their princesses come to life. Aurora was later joined by other live-action princesses in films such as Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan, and The Little Mermaid.
Senior Hadassah Rivera says, “Cinderella was my favorite of the adaptations, I would even say that I like it more than the original. Growing up, she was my favorite Disney princess and so when it came out I was so excited. I think that Lily James portrayed the character really well.”
Recently, Bath and Body Works released a Disney Princess collection that featured scents that represented princesses such as Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Moana, and Tiana. These have been heavily advertised on social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook. Each princess has a set of nine items: fine fragrance mist, a travel-sized fragrance mist, a 3-wick candle, a wallflowers fragrance refill, foaming hand-soap, body cream, hand sanitizer, body wash, and lip gloss.
Senior Madison Esposito bought Ariel’s body wash and spray. She says, “I don’t really know how to describe it except for tropical, but I really liked it, and would recommend it to anyone who likes those kinds of scents.”
Sophomore Aubrey Kester says, “I was so excited when I first heard about them. If I were to get any of them it would be Cinderella. The castle wall plug in is so cute and my favorite out of her collection.”
Every little girl’s dream finally came true when American Girl announced their brand new Disney collection in July 2023. Initially, it featured three collector series dolls: Rapunzel, Belle, and Jasmine. Each doll was about $300and only 4,000 were made. When these sold out quickly, American Girl partnered with Disney again in 2024, this time releasing dolls of Anna, Elsa, Tiana, Cinderella, Ariel, Rapunzel, Moana, and Belle.
Elizabeth Rossi says, “My favorite princess has always been Belle because growing up I constantly watched Beauty and The Beast with my mom. My favorite accessory from her collection would be her blue dress set. I think that little me would’ve been so excited to have my own Belle doll.”
At the beginning of February, Pandora released seven different rings inspired by Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Tiana. These quickly went viral on TikTok, with many people claiming Pandora “got them wrong.” Naturally, the release sparked plenty of debate.
Senior Morgan Lewis says,”If I were to get any of them it would be Rapunzel’s because she’s my favorite princess, but I feel like they got a lot of them wrong. I think Rapunzel’s gems should be more of a dark purple color and Jasmine’s should be more of a teal color. I also think that they chose the wrong colors for a lot of the rings. Tiana’s should be gold instead of silver, Belle’s should be gold with a darker red in the middle, Snow White’s should be gold with a blue gem in the middle like her dress, Cinderella’s should be silver, and Jasmine’s should be gold.”
Another senior, Aryana Salata says, “My favorites would be the Rapunzel and the Cinderella ring. I think the pink and blue gems go really well with the gold. However, I do think that Tiana and Jasmine should have been gold instead of silver.”
Mrs. Kerpsack adds, “I feel like Pandora got them all wrong. Every single ring should be offered in both silver and gold. I think most of the rings don’t really represent the character as a whole. For example, at first glance I thought Jasmine’s could’ve been Cinderella’s ring just based on the color.”
With brands continually finding new ways to sprinkle magic into your everyday life, it’s clear that the story of these princesses is far from over. Who knows? Your next royal accessory might just make you feel like you’re living in a fairy tale!
