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6. Princess Jasmine (Aladdin)
Aside from Ariel and Pocahontas, I think Jasmine is the only "Disney Princess" who actually happens to be a real Princess for the duration of the movie. Cinderella, Belle and Aurora all married princes and became Princesses by the end of the movie and why Mulan is sometimes referred to as a Disney Princess (no, really, she is!) I have no idea. Anyway...So Jasmine is a cool character in that she is a pretty kickass woman who doesn't want men to dictate her life, but she also has a very feminine, vulnerable and romantic side to her. For most of her life, Jasmine has been kept in the walls of the palace where she waits for her father, the Sultan (who is a really annoying character, btw) to decide who she is to marry. Jasmine is not at all happy with this idea and longs to break away and experience life in the city. Her only friends are Raja, the tiger and the little birds that live in the palace (however, they don't do everything for her the way Cinderella/Snow White's bird friends did - Lol.) Jasmine decides to sneak out one day, dressed as a peasant and meets Aladdin. This of course, starts everything as Aladdin decides to become a Prince. When both "Prince Ali" and Jafar fight for her hand in marriage, Jasmine isn't happy about that either ("I am not some prize to be won!") In the end, she does get to marry the man she chooses: not Prince Ali, but regular Aladdin!



5. Captain Li Shang (Mulan)
Captain Li Shang may be sort of a strict hardass, but he's certainly not without a soul. He is the leader of Mulan's platoon and is very serious and driven to succeed. Like Mulan, Shang has a close relationship with his father whom he wants to please. His father is a powerful General who gives Captain Shang the opportunity to lead his own group. Unfortunately for Shang, his men (and Mulan - Lol) are pretty pathetic at first. But through rigorous exercises, he whips them into shape. Shang's relationship with Mulan is very interesting and much different than that of most Disney couples. In the beginning, he is disgusted by her and even tells her she isn't cut out to be in battle and that she should go home. Eventually, however, he begins to tolerate her and after she rescues him from the giant avalanche, he even starts to respect her. However, this is short lived when Shang finds out that Mulan is really a woman. Being an honorable sort of guy, he doesn't kill her (even though at the time, what Mulan did would have been punishable by death) and tells her it was a "life for a life." It takes Shang awhile after that, but in the end, he does come around and supports Mulan for who she really is and even defends her to the Emporer. Shang has probably the best song for a love-interest (which tend to be somewhat uncommon) in "I'll Make a Man out of You," which is definitely my favorite song in Mulan.




4. Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notredame)
Esmeralda is unique among the Disney love-interests in that she doesn't actually end up with the main character at the end. When I first saw The Hunchback of Notredame, I thought it was stupid that she and Quasi didn't get together. I'm one of the few people it seems who actually liked Phoebus, but I still didn't think Esmeralda should have chosen him over Quasimodo. However, now that I think about it, I kind of like that ending. Things ended well for Quasi (he made friends, left the cathedral, killed Frollo, etc), but its nice to know that even in a Disney movie, there's not always an uber-happy ending. Anway, Esmeralda: she's probably one of the toughest Disney girls ever, IMO. She's basically an activist for the rights of her people and leads the resistance (along with Clopan or whatever his name was). She is brave and free-spirited and has no problem standing up to those more powerful than she is (ie: Frollo - I loved the part where she spits in his face at the end just before he tries to burn her at the stake). She sees the good in people and is the first person Quasi meets who is nice to him (but just as a friend of course ;) ) Despite what Frollo thinks, Esmeralda does believe in God, but she has her doubts about Him also as she says in the song "God Help the Outcasts" (another good song, btw!)

Whoops. Oh yeah. I thought they just knew she would marry Prince Philip from the prophecy-thingy.

Final three! Yay!!!







































































Third Place...
































































































































The Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
Okay, so I know I complained about Prince Charming and other Prince Charming not having real names. As far as I know, the Beast doesn't have a real name either, but unlike Prince Charming and Prince Charming, he has a personality and that's even more important! Long ago, the Beast was a selfish and arrogant prince (not unlike The Emporer's New Groove's Kuzco), who gets his comeupance after being a complete asshole to a sorceress-dressed-as-a-hag who was only trying to give him a rose. The sorceress cast a spell on the prince and the entire castle, turning him into a beast and the servants into inadimate objects. Personally, I've always thought the servents got the rawer deal, especially since they didn't even DO anything to offend the sorceress. Anyway, the spell could only be broken when a someone (a woman presumably, though I don't think they ever said otherwise) fell in love with the Beast (and vice versa). However, the sorceress also put a time limit on it: it had to be done before the last petal of the enchanted rose fell. Before Belle's arrival, the Beast is an angry loner who pretty much keeps to himself while his servents collect dust. He has an explosive temper and can be terrifying and dangerous. He also has no manners and no social skills (but, who can blame him for that?) Eventutally, Belle brings out the softer side of the Beast and he is revealed to be a kind-hearted, albeit somewhat awkward character. Even before he really warmed up to Belle, the Beast rescued her from the wolves around the castle. Later on, he reveals his love for Belle by giving her what she loves the most: the castle's library (how romantic!) Of course, the Beast's kindest gesture is to let Belle go and see her dying father, despite the fact that he earlier told her she was trapped in the castle for all eternity. By the end of the movie, the Beast is no longer a terrifying, angry creature, but gentle and lovable. This doesn't stop him from pawning Gaston, however. Finally, the Beast turns back into a human, but still isn't given a real name. I guess I'll just call him "The Prince."
























































































































Runner up....

























































































































Nala (The Lion King)
Nala was Simba's best friend from the time the were cubs and I think even at a young age WAAAAY before they were married (or whatever the lion equivilant of marriage is), she was his "better half." When she is a cub, Nala loves adventure as much as Simba does and happily goes along with his schemes, but unlike him, she's actually sensible about things. She's the brains of their group and the one who comes up with the whole ditch Zazu/"I Just Can't Wait to be King" idea. ("Hey, Genius...It was MY idea!") Even as a cub, she is tougher than Simba physically (at least she is able to "pin" him everytime: "Hah. Pinned you again!") which is just all kinds of awesome. She's somewhat bossy toward him too ("Simba, I'm kind of in the middle of a bath...") and keeps him reined in. She holds her own fairly well in the elephant Graveyard scene (I mean, at least she doesn't freak out like Zazu), even though in the end, Simba has to protect her (that scene always bugged me a bit.) If cub Nala was cool however, then adult Nala is even cooler. She leaves the Pride Lands and goes off all on her own in search of food and help for her Pride and the Kingdom as a whole. When she reaches the jungle, she finds Simba and when he fights her to defend Pumbaa, she pins him down yet again (hence, how he recognized her.) Nala is thrilled to find Simba alive but soon learns that he has devolved into an irresponsible loser who doesn't think he owes his kingdom, his family, or Nala herself anything. Understandably, Nala is pretty frustrated and pissed off. She rips into Simba for not facing up to his responsibilities and tells him what Scar did to the Pridelands. This leads Simba to tell her she is starting to sound like Mufasa, which she replies: "Good. At least one of us does." Just as when they were cubs, Nala is the voice of reason for Simba and is both much more self-aware and much more mature than he is (likely because she has had to grow up in Scar's regime). Even though she is reasonable, however, this doesn't stop her from getting emotionally and romantically attached to Simba, even when he's being an asshole. C'mon girls, we've all been there, haven't we? ;)















































































And the winner is.....







































































































Meg (Hercules)
"Megara. My friends call me Meg. At least they would if I had any friends." Lol. No matter how many times I've seen that movie, that line still makes me laugh. There's just something funny about someone snarking on how friendless they are, I guess and doing it with a straight face no less. It's probably my favorite line in the movie - which is saying something since Hercules has so many funny lines. Well, anyway, congrats to everyone who predicted and/or was hoping for a Meg win. She's the third Hercules character to make the final three (btw, I probably won't rank the movies, but just so y'all know, Hercules is my favorite movie) and its fitting that she gets first place on this list because she is my favorite character in that movie (which is saying quite a bit. It has a really great cast!) Anyway, Meg is one of the most unique Disney love-interests ever both in terms of personality and storyline. She's a fiesty, snarky, witty and flirtatious young woman, who can indeed be sort of a bitch at times. However, she also has a romantic and vulnerable side, brought about by Hercules - as well as a complex backstory. Meg differs from most Disney girls in that she actually works for the villain. A few years back, she sold her soul to Hades to save her boyfriend's life. Too bad for her, that same boyfriend ditched her soon after for someone else. Not surprisingly, Meg doesn't trust men ("I've sworn off man-handling - Lol) very much after that and is very cynical about the prospect of love in general. Hercules' ernest personality eventually leads her to change her mind, however. Hades sees this and tries to use her to get to Hercules, even offering Meg her freedom if she agrees to help kill him. Meg refuses to do this, even with her freedom at stake. In the end, she sacrifices herself for Hercules by pushing him out of the way of a falling piller. I think she is the only love-interest who actually literally dies, but Hercules goes and gets her back. Now normally, I don't really like the whole dying and coming back to life thing, but since I like Meg and since it was important to Herc's development, I don't mind it in this case. Anyway, as far as songs go: Meg also has one of my favorites: "I Won't Say I'm in Love."