Aside from Mickey Mouse andStar Wars, everyone associates the WaltDisneyCompany with princesses. It’s one of the studio’s most popular and lucrative franchises, and it makes sense. The House of Mouse may have been founded on Mickey Mouse, but it was princesses that helped build it. Disney’sSnow White and the Seven Dwarfswas the first full-length, animated feature film.
BeforeSnow White,animation was used for comedic gags and wasn’t a medium that was taken seriously. People scoffed when Walt Disney announced that he’d be adapting this classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale into an animated film. “Disney’s folly,” they called it, especially when news spread about the movie’s overblown budget and recurring delays. But in the end,Snow Whitewas a tremendous hit.
Its success became a business model for Disney. Ever since 1937, the House of Mouse has been pumping out fairy tale adaptations, especially those involving princesses. These films are widely regarded as Disney’s greatest hits. They’ve been watched, revered, and cherished by generations of fans and remain popular and relevant to this day.
You know the movies:Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, the Princess and the Frog, Frozen,and so many others. But there are also a number of Disney Princess movies that, for whatever reason, have been scrapped over the years. Some of them are sequels or live adaptations. Others feature brand-new princesses whose stories unfortunately never made it to the big screen. Let’s dig through the Walt Disney vault and see what princess movies have been canceled.
Although she’s not truly a princess, Mulan has been incorporated into the Disney Princess franchise. Her 1998 film,Mulan,is based on the Chinese legend and folk heroine, who disguised herself as a man, took her elderly father’s place in the army, and achieved military greatness.Mulanwas praised by both critics and audiences and is one of the best films of the highly regarded Disney Renaissance.
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The film’s success birthed a direct-to-video sequel,Mulan II.There were even plans for a third film in the franchise,Mulan III.Following the events of its predecessor, Mulan would help a Chinese maiden save her father, who’s imprisoned in Japan. But the negative response toMulan IIscrapped any plans for a sequel, keeping theMulanfranchise to a duology.
Snow White Returns
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Mulan isn’t the only Disney Princess to appear in a direct-to-video sequel. In fact, several of them have, including Ariel,Belle,Cinderella, and Jasmine. Interestingly, Disney’s OG princess, Snow White, never got a sequel, though that wasn’t supposed to be the case.Snow White Returnswas a proposed sequel short film, where the lovable seven dwarfs prepare their cottage for an annual visit by Snow White.
The short was going to include deleted material from the original film, such as the “Music in Your Soup” musical number – a scene where Snow White teaches the dwarfs how to properly eat soup while singing to them.Walt Disney himself put the kibosh on the production. The studio respected his wishes after his death, leavingSnow White Returnsin the junk pile.
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales Sequels
On paper,Disney Princess Enchanted Taleswas a good idea. It was a proposed series of direct-to-video animated films that would featurethe iconic Disney Princessesin brand-new short stories. Only one film in the series, however, was given the greenlight. Released in 2007,Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreamsincluded two tales, each one focused on a different but familiar Disney Princess: Aurora fromSleeping Beautyand Jasmine fromAladdin.
Would the sequels have followed this same format with two princesses per movie? What other princesses were going to make an appearance? Would there have been a movie where these princesses actually interacted with each other?
These questions remain unanswered. Around this time, John Lasseter from Pixar had risen to Chief Creative Office at Disney and pulled the plug on all future direct-to-video films, killing theDisney Princess Enchanted Talesseries before it could really get started.
You know the story ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.But did you know that Snow White has a sister named Rose Red? Well, kind of. “Snow-White and Rose-Red” is a lesser known fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It follows two impoverished sisters, Snow-White and Rose-Red, who unknowingly befriend a prince that’s been transformed into a bear by a wicked dwarf.
Despite the identical name and the presence of a dwarf, the Snow-White in this story has no connection to her more famous counterpart. But Disney was planning to change that.
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From Snow White’s 2D to the live-action remakes of Maleficent, Disney’s evolution of princess stories has set the standard for animation.
The House of Mouse was going to make a spin-off of their 1937 classic and givethisSnow White a sister.Rose Redwas supposed to be a live-action film that followed Snow White’s sibling. Would there be a prince that was cursed into a bear? An evil dwarf? Would Snow White play a role?
Unfortunately, we’ll never get the answers. Disney announced in 2021 thatRose Redwas no longer in development. We are, however, expected to get the live adaptation ofSnow Whitein 2025. And much like its animated counterpart,the production has been plagued with controversy and problemsthat have made it seem destined to fail.
Penelope and the Twelve Months
Unlike other entries on this list,Penelope and the Twelve Monthsis an original tale that wouldn’t have had the princess as its focal point. A retelling of Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper,” this animated short film would have followed a palace kitchen-maid named Penelope, who happens to look identical to the palace’s spoiled princess.
Using a magical item, Penelope would encounter various supernatural beings, including personifications of the Earth’s elements and the months of the year (hence the title), as she searches for snow-flowers requested by the Princess. It sounds like a pretty cool and unique story, and we’re bummed that Disney never developed it, though it wasn’t from lack of trying.
Renowned Disney artist Mary Blair – who worked onAlice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan,and other classics and whose artistic style inspired the look of the iconic Disney attraction “It’s a Small World” – actually developed concept art forPenelope and the Twelve Monthsduring the 1940s. But the project never moved into production.
At that time, the audience for Disney films was largely adults, and they didn’t think that a story centered on a small child would work. Maybe one day, they’ll open up the vault and revisit this story; Disney could certainly use more original ideas.
Princess Academy
Princess Academywas another intriguing project that sadly never came to be. It was a proposed animated short that would have featured every female character, not just princesses, that ever appeared in a Disney movie.
It would’ve spanned 1937’sSnow White and the Seven Dwarfsall the way up to 2010’sTangledand would’ve included Pixar movies,Who Framed Roger Rabbit,andThe Nightmare Before Christmas. Princess Academywould’ve boasted an all-star ensemble of Disney females, who would’ve interacted with each other in a royal boarding school. The short was going to be designed withFantasia-like segments,with music by the Disney legend himself, Alan Menken.
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Production on the film began in 2009. Animators spent three years developing concept art and storyboards, and Menken officially joined the team in 2012. But in 2013, afterstruggling to complete with the increased demand for 3D animation, Disney shut the doors of its hand-drawn animation department. The studio fired nearly all of their 2D artists, including the blindsided animators working onPrincess Academy.
Despite years of hard work,Princess Academybecame another canceled project and another missed opportunity. It would’ve been cool to see these Disney A-listers interacting and singing together. But alas, there was no happily-ever-after for this princess film.
