My Top Ten Disney Princes

#10 The Sword in the Stone — December 25, 1963

The story of King Arthur is a story that has been around a lot longer than Walt Disney, but this charming movie brought the story to children everywhere. With a loopy merlin tutor as his guide, young Arthur pulls out the sword to become the king of England. The boy Arthur is so sweet and humble, you just know that he will do a good job.

#9 Cinderella — February 15, 1950

Prince Charming, the original dashing prince to first save a princess. This oh so charming prince has been winning the hearts of little girls for almost 60 years. It isn’t fair to expect a real guy to be willing to put a glass slipper on every girls foot in the kingdom, but a girl can dream.

#8 Bambi — August 13, 1942

At birth Bambi was proclaimed the new prince of the forest and we all enjoyed watching him as he took his first steps and spoke his first word–Bird!. We also watched Bambi withstand harsh Winters and lose his mother to the “Men” in the forest. Then we saw him stumble through his awkward teen phase, fall in love, and get in fights. The beautiful circle of life was complete when Bambi earned his birthright in the forest fire and watched his own small fawns be born from his high perch as the Ruler of the forest.

#7 Beauty and the Beast — November 22, 1991

A cruel prince in placed under an enchantment when he turns an old lady out during a storm. His servants become inanimate objects and he is transformed into a hideous beast. They are also given a deadline, he must fall in love and earn love back before the last petal of the rose falls. For over a decade the Beast broods in his castle before meeting Belle. He falls in love and earns back his good looks in a fight to the death with Gaston, Who wouldn’t fall for his sad eyes after that?

#6 Hercules — June 27, 1997

So, in this movie I’m stretching the role a bit, but I think that the head God is sort of like a king, so his son counts as a prince. Hercules is a fun character to watch. He is innocent and gullible, but in a charming way that makes you want to protect him, even though he is stronger than 1,000 men.

#5 Tarzan — June 18, 1999

Tarzan came out when I was 10 so I was able to appreciate this movie on several different levels. I could sympathize with Tarzan’s feelings of alienation because like many pre-teens I often felt I didn’t fit in. Tarzan’s brooding nature and his emotional ups and downs all play out to a brilliant soundtrack with songs like, “You’ll Be in My Heart” that just make you wanna cry.

#4 Aladdin — November 25, 1992

A street rat becomes a prince in this story, after he messes up in every way possible. Aladdin seems like a very real guy to me because of how he fumbles so easily when he is trying to impress Jasmine. Like most guys, he has to figure out that by being himself he has the best shot.

#3 The Nightmare Before Christmas — October 29, 1993

So, technically he is the pumpkin king and not a prince, but because Jack Skellington has such a soulful, melancholic way about him, I just had to include him on this list. As he boldly, and blindly, tries to force some new colors (green and red) into his life, he stumbles right into a big mess! But you love him so all you can do is hope he is able to save Santa and Christmas.

#2 The Emperor’s New Groove — December 15, 2000

From the first time Kuzco shouted, “You through off my groove!” and had that old man thrown out the window, I was hooked. Kuzco offers a more selfish, spoiled, and some would say realistic personality to the Disney Prince Pack. Raised in a kingdom where his every whim if granted to him he was bound to turn out a spoiled brat. They can’t all be charming, can they?

#1 The Lion King — June 24, 1994

The Lion King is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. I liked it as a kid, but it wasn’t until I grew up that I could fully appreciate the way Disney models the story of Hamlet using a family of lions rather than people. Simba is Hamlet and he faces the problem of having an evil uncle who killed his father. For Simba, it isn’t “to be, or not to be” its, “Be king, or not to be King.” Now thats a good question!