Tangled – Tangled is a wonderfully made Disney movie made in 2010 that’s based on the fairytale “Rapunzel”. The original fairy tale takes place in Germany, however, Disney’s approach made Tangled take place in a fictional kingdom called “Corona”. In the movie Tangled; A princess has magic hair and is kidnapped by a witch that uses her powers to keep her young, the witch makes herself known as Rapunzel’s “mother” and makes strict rules for Rapunzel including Rapunzel is not allowed to leave the castle. She wants to see the world though and she feels a connection with lanterns that go up in the air on a specific day every year, and one day she decides to break her “mother’s” rules and leave the castle. Tangled is full of great music, comedy, and emotion and it’s truly my favorite Disney movie of all time.

The Princess and The Frog – The Princess and The Frog is a musical fantasy romantic comedy made in 2009. This film is loosely based on the fairy tale “The Frog Princess” and is set in 1920s New Orleans. This movie tells the story of a hard-working waitress named Tiana that has dreams of making her own restaurant, after leaving a party she sees a frog and she ends up kissing a frog and she herself turns into a frog. Tiana then goes on a major adventure as a frog to turn herself back into a human, meanwhile, she is “unknowingly” falling in love with the frog as a prince. Throughout the movie, Tiana speaks of how important her family is to her and, specifically, her mom and dad. The movie just warms my heart every time I watch it. Along with the great storyline, there is amazing music and it makes it so enjoyable to watch. 

The Lion King – The Lion King is a musical drama film produced in 1994, and it takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and is influenced by biblical stories of Joseph and Moses as well as Shakespeare’s hamlet. This Disney classic tells the story of Simba, a young lion. Simba is supposed to take his father’s place as king when his father’s time is over, but Simba’s evil uncle Scar kills king Mufasa and blames it on the son Simba. Simba then flees the land, leaving all power to Scar. While Simba is gone from the kingdom he meets his best friends, Nala and Shaman. When he grows up he takes power back and defeats Scar and becomes the rightful king. I love the Lion king because of the adorable characters, the emotion, the comedy, and the overall powerful storyline, it will forever be one of my all-time favorite Disney movies. 

Mulan – Mulan was made in 1998 and is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the film’s plot takes place in China during the Han Dynasty where Fa Mulan daughter of warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father’s place when he is supposed to go back to war to fight the Hun invasion. I count Fa Mulan as a “Disney Princess” but she is the most unique one in my opinion. In the film, she is arranged to see a matchmaker to demonstrate her fitness as a future wife, but after several mishaps, the matchmaker deems Fa Mulan as a disgrace to her family.  When her veteran father is told he will be going back to war, Fa Mulan protests. She knows her father will not make it in war due to health conditions, she takes it into her own hands; cuts her hair, takes her father’s armor and sword, and disguises herself as a man to save her father. Mulan is a powerful movie, full of rich emotion, comedy, and beautiful music and it is great to watch time after time.

The Nightmare Before Christmas – The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 stop motion animated dark fantasy. It originated from a poem Tim Burton wrote while working as an animator for Walt Disney Productions. Disney initially released TouchStone pictures, saying it was too dark and scary for kids and it couldn’t be completely under Disney’s name. Then after major success with the film, Disney bought the movie back. The Nightmare Before Christmas tells the story of “Jack Skellington”, the king of “Halloween Town” who stumbles upon “Christmas town” and falls in love with the magical place. This movie is impressive stop motion animation that gives you the creeps at moments while also possibly warming your heart. It also has great music throughout the movie. The cool thing about this movie is that it is considered a Halloween and a Christmas Disney movie, but if you’re like me then you will watch it all year round.