Top Five Disney Princes

Today, I’m staying home for all the sanitation workers out there.

Is it sexist that I’m compiling a Top Five of princes before I get to princesses? I’d say no – I’m starting with the princes because it’s easier for me to just pick five. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to doing a similar post for the Disney princesses, but I know I’m going to be debating long and hard to winnow down my list to my absolute favorites.

Phillip (Sleeping Beauty) – Going old-school for the first name on this list. If I were basing this on my initial memories of this movie, I wouldn’t have included Phillip, but rewatching the film in recent years made me remember how cool he is. After a couple mostly-blank-slates in Snow White and Cinderella, Phillip is fun and energetic and dashing. It’s easy to see why he and Aurora get so caught up in one another (“love at first sight” tropes notwithstanding,) and I still get a kick out of his declaration, “Now, father, you’re living in the past. This is the 14^th century!”

Best Musical Bit: Gotta go with the classic, “Once Upon a Dream.” I like the ending, with Aurora and Phillip singing together. “If I know you, / I know what you’ll do. / You’ll love me at once / The way I did once / Upon a dream.” Lovely.

The Beast (Beauty and the Beast) – More so in the live-action version, even though I did always enjoy him in the original. The Beast is someone who’s had a long time to feel sorry for himself, punished for his past cruelty but reflecting on how hard it is for him rather than recognizing that he needs to change his ways. It’s not until Belle comes along, someone who doesn’t capitulate to his growling and his tantrums, that he starts to uncover the man he could be.

Best Musical Bit: Again, we’re talking live action, because “Evermore” is worth the damn price of admission. “Wasting in my lonely tower, / Waiting by an open door, / I’ll fool myself she’ll walk right in. / And as the long, long nights begin, / I’ll think of all that might have been / Waiting here forevermore.” Oh, the angst! The way it’s shot, with the Beast clamboring about the castle, is so windswept and dramatic, and the emotion in his voice is really affecting.

Aladdin (Aladdin) –Aladdin is the first Disney movie I have really clear memories of seeing in the theater, and Aladdin will probably always be my favorite. A scrappy and resourceful thief with a good heart, Aladdin brims with potential that he doesn’t fully trust he has. I love watching him come into his own and realize he doesn’t have to be someone he’s not to get the sort of life that he wants. (Also, Mena Massoud was totally the best part of the live-action movie.)

Best Musical Bit: I’m gonna go with the reprise of “One Jump Ahead,” short but very sweet. “If only they’d look closer, / Would they see a poor boy? / No siree. / They’d find out / There’s so much more to me…” You really feel that yearning, and it comes through even more for borrowing the melody of the previous song, which displays such cockiness and charm.

Li Shang (Mulan) – Gotta love Shang. Not technically a prince, but Mulan isn’t a princess either – both get honorary status just ‘cause they’re that cool. A dedicated captain with daddy issues, Shang is brave and principled, and his experiences with Mulan help expand his notions beyond doing what is expected/ordering into doing what is right. Sad we won't see him in the live-action movie.

Best Musical Bit: Obviously “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” come on now. I especially love those vocals at the start of the last verse. “Time is racing toward us till the Huns arrive. / Heed my every order and you might survive.” A kickass song set to an awesome montage. It’s just *chef’s kiss*!

Kristoff (Frozen) – I get such a kick out curmudgeonly Kristoff being slightly stunned at Anna’s sunshiny naivete. He can be a bit of a grouch, but he has a good heart, and for all that he’s irritated by Anna early on, he still keeps helping her. And when the chips are really down, he’s all in. I don’t think Frozen 2 serves him quite as well, but he delights me as a character in both the movie and the musical.

Best Musical Bit: I do love me some Jonathan Groff, but the first Frozen completely drops the ball on Kristoff singing, and while Groff sings the heck out of “Lost in the Woods” in Frozen 2, it’s a little too cheesy for my tastes. So I’m going Broadway version, with “What Do You Know About Love?” Kristoff’s parts in bold: “Some people know their hearts / The minute true love starts.” – “Some people read a lot of books.” – “Some people simply know / When true love says, ‘Hello!’” – “Some folks are taken in by curly locks and princely looks!” Great contrast between the low softness of the first line and the rising intensity of the second, and it’s a nice demonstration of his cynicism where instant-love is concerned.