Disney Princess is a media franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company, originally created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney in the late 1990s and officially launched in 2000. The original eight princesses consisted of Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan. The franchise spotlights a line-up of fictional female heroines who have appeared in Disney animated feature films. The franchise currently includes eleven female protagonists from ten different Walt Disney Animation Studios films and one Pixar film, each of whom is either royal by birth, royal by marriage, or considered a "princess" due to her significant portrayal of heroism.
Most recently, the line-up has expanded to include Tiana, Rapunzel and Merida after the successes of their respective films. Princess Moana from the movie Moana is expected to join the line-up.