Disney Princess Movies in Order: Chronological & The Release Date
There have been a lot of Disney princess movies in history. Still, fans would say, there weren’t enough of them. If you are a fan, as we are, you are certainly wondering what is the best way to watch them in order. Well, you are in the right place, as we will now let you know the best way to watch Disney princess movies in order by the release date and chronologically.
Not only that, but we will also let you know how many Disney princess movies are there, what are they about, whether are they connected and how, do you need to watch them in order, and whether will there be more Disney princess movies in the future.
Let’s start with how many movies are there and the order of Disney princess movies by the release date.
Disney princess movies in order by the release date
There are currently thirty-one Disney princess movies and we will now show you what they look like in order by the release date. We will include live-action and sequel movies as well.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
- Cinderella (1950)
- Sleeping Beauty (1959)
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- Aladdin (1992)
- Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar (1994)
- Pocahontas (1995)
- Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)
- Mulan (1998)
- Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World (1998)
- The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
- Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2001)
- Mulan II (2004)
- Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time (2007)
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008)
- The Princess and the Frog (2009)
- Tangled (2010)
- Brave (2012)
- Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess (2012)
- Frozen (2013)
- Maleficent (2014) – Live-Action
- Cinderella (2015) – Live-Action
- Moana (2016)
- Beauty and the Beast (2017) – Live-Action
- Aladdin (2019) – Live-Action
- Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)- Live-Action
- Frozen II (2019)
- Mulan (2020) – Live-Action
- Raya and The Last Dragon (2021)
- Encanto (2021)
- The Little Mermaid (2023) – Live-Action*
- Snow White (2024) – Live-Action*
* The two last Disney live-action movies are not yet out. Still, we have sorted them here as they are in development.
Now let us check the chronological order of Disney princess movies.
Disney princess movies in chronological order
We will try to do our best and sort all of the Disney princess movies in chronological order. This won’t be an easy task, as not all of these movies are exactly set in time. Still, we will try to sort them in the right Disney timeline.
Moana (2016)
From Disney’s animation studios comes Vaiana, a spirited computer-animated film about an adventurous teenage girl who sets sail on a dangerous mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-powerful demigod Maui, who guides her on her mission to become the ultimate navigator.
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Together, they sail across the ocean in a dangerous, action-packed adventure and encounter giant monsters, and along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient mission of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she’s always been searching for: her own identity.
Moana is set somewhere around 2,000 years ago.
Mulan (1998)
Brave Mulan disguises herself as a member of the opposite sex to serve as a soldier in the Chinese army, where she performs many brave deeds. But the secret about her true gender will catch up with her…
It is possible that the movie is set between the 4th to 6th century AD.
Mulan (2020) – Live-Action
When the Chinese emperor issues a decree that one man in each family must serve in the imperial army to defend the country from northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honorable warrior, steps up for her ailing father.
Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun goes through trials every step of the way and must learn to harness her inner strength and embrace her true potential.
We belive the live-action movie is set at the same time as the original movie.
Mulan II (2004)
The beautiful and fearless Mulan prepares for her wedding, but first, she must complete a dangerous mission in this animated sequel. Accompanied by her fiance, three princesses and a cheeky guardian dragon, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime.
The beautiful and brave heroine is back, along with her funny guardian dragon Mushu, with even more excitement and adventure. After saving her people from the evil Huns, the brave Mulan is surprised like never before when General Shang proposes her hand in marriage. But before the wedding, Mulan and Shang must complete a dangerous mission and escort the three princesses Ting-Ting, Mei and Su to a distant city.
The future of China hangs in the balance when, mid-journey, Mulan and Shang clash over their duties. The chaos is fueled by mischievous Mushu who wants Mulan to remain single as long as possible in order to keep his cushy job as her guardian dragon.
Mulan II takes place approximately one month after the events of the first film.
Brave (2012)
Merida is a skilled archer and the daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to forge her own path in life, Merida defies the centuries-old tradition of custom that is sacred to the lords of the land: the great Lord MacGuffin, the pudgy Lord Macintosh, and the grumpy Lord Dingwall.
Her actions will soon cause chaos and fury in the kingdom, and after she turns to an eccentric old Witch for help who grants her evil wish, Merida will have to discover the true meaning of bravery to prevent a curse in the form of a wild beast before it’s too late…
Brave is set in the 10th century.
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
A beautiful princess born in a faraway kingdom is destined by a terrible curse to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep that can only be awakened by true love’s first kiss. Determined to protect her, her parents ask three fairies to raise her in hiding. But the evil Maleficent is just as determined to seal the princess’s fate.
Sleeping Beauty is set in the 14th century.
Maleficent (2014) – Live-Action
A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her heart into stone.
Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading King’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.
It is set somewhere around the first Sleeping Beauty movie.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) – Live-Action
Maleficent and her goddaughter Aurora begin to question the complex family ties that bind them as they are pulled in different directions by impending nuptials, unexpected allies, and dark new forces at play.
It is hard to tell, but it could be that Aurora is 21 years old in this movie. If it is so, it would probably be set around 5 years after the events of Sleeping Beauty and probably Maleficent.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The first feature of Walt Disney’s Animated Classics division is a musical tale of a lonely princess who runs away from her evil stepmother and hides with a septet of friendly dwarves in the woods.
Snow White is set in the 16th century.
Pocahontas (1995)
An English soldier and the daughter of an Algonquin chief share a romance when English colonists invade seventeenth-century Virginia.
Pocahontas is set in 1607. One of the rare Disney movies we can pinpoint exactly on the timeline.
Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World (1998)
When news of John Smith’s death reaches America, Pocahontas is devastated. She sets off to London with John Rolfe, to meet with the King of England on a diplomatic mission: to create peace and respect between the two great lands.
However, Governor Ratcliffe is still around; he wants to return to Jamestown and take over. He will stop at nothing to discredit the young princess.
Pocahontas 2 is set only a few years after the original movie.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008)
King Triton and his wife, Queen Athena, rule an underground kingdom of Atlantica that is filled with music and laughter. They have seven daughters, the youngest of whom is Ariel. One day, Triton presents Athena with a personalized music box, but at that moment, a pirate ship comes by and Athena is killed in an accident.
Overwhelmed with grief and pain, Triton throws away the music box and bans music from the entire kingdom. Ten years later, Ariel wonders why there is no fun in the kingdom and decides to change that…
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning is one of the rare Disney princess prequel movies. It is set around 10 years before the original movie.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
In the underwater arena, in the depths of the sea, King Triton is waiting for the beginning of the Sebastian crab concert. The ceremony begins, and Triton’s youngest daughter, Ariela, has not been heard from.
Namely, for the 16-year-old princess Ariela, life at sea has become monotonous and she wants to find out how people live on land. With her best friend Flounder, Ariela collects the belongings of the people on the sunken ship and heads to the surface of the sea, where she is greeted by the seagull Scuttle, who misleads her about the items they found.
Soon Ariela is staring at the man on the ship, Prince Eric. When a storm hits, the ship sinks, and Ariel saves Eric.
The Little Mermaid is set in the 18th century.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
Ariel and Eric celebrate the birth of their newborn daughter Melody on the ship. Ariel’s father, Triton, gives her a magical necklace, but the celebration is interrupted by the evil sea witch Morgana, sister of the deceased Ursula, who vows to one-day harm Melody and get Triton’s Trident through her.
Because of fear of Morgana, Ariel and Eric decide to forbid their daughter access to the ocean, but 12 years later, Melody does not understand what the problem is and goes into the sea…
The Little Mermaid II is set 12 years after the original movie.
Tangled (2010)
When the kingdom’s most wanted-and most charming-bandit Flynn Rider hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel, a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair.
Flynn’s curious captor, who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower where she’s been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs.
Tangled is set sometime in the 1780s.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Belle is a young girl who, by a combination of circumstances, finds herself in the castle of a prince turned into a beast. With the help of the castle’s staff transformed into household items and furniture, Belle learns the most important lesson of all: true beauty comes from within.
Beauty and the Beast takes place at the beginning of the 19th century.
Beauty and the Beast (2017) – Live-Action
The story and characters that audiences know and love come to life in a spectacular live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, the Disney animated classic that becomes a stunning cinematic event celebrating one of the most beloved stories ever told.
Beauty and the Beast is a fantastic journey of Belle, a smart, beautiful and independent girl who is captured by the Beast in his castle. Despite her fears, Belle befriends the enchanted staff and sees the noble heart and true prince behind the Beast’s fearsome appearance.
Just like an animated movie, live-action is set at the beginning of the 19th century.
Frozen (2013)
It’s always winter in this kingdom. Elsa, the princess of Arendella, has cryokinetic powers with which she can manipulate ice and snow. One night in the game, he accidentally injures his younger sister Anna. Their distraught parents, the queen and king, seek help from the troll king, who heals Anna and erases her memory of Elsa’s sorcery.
The parents isolate the sisters in the castle until Elsa learns to control her powers. When Elsa comes of age, the kingdom prepares to crown her as the new ruler. Among the guests is the Duke of Weselton, who wants to exploit Arendelle, just to get even richer. Meanwhile, happy to be out of the castle, Princess Anna explores town life and meets Prince Hans.
The first Frozen movie is set in 1843.
Frozen II (2019)
Why and how was Elsa born with magical powers? The answer to this question haunts the heroine of Frozen II and threatens her home. Together with his sister Ana, Kristof and Olaf, she begins a dangerous but extraordinary journey.
Frozen 2 is set three years later, in 1846.
Cinderella (1950)
Cinderella is a modest and hard-working girl who has lost her mother, and her desperate and lonely father finds an ideal new wife with two daughters to ensure that his daughter is no longer alone.
Cinderella’s father dies and she is forced to continue living with her stepmother and evil stepsisters who make her do the hardest physical work around the house while they enjoy themselves. One day an invitation to a royal ball for all the unmarried girls arrives. Cinderella is happy about the possible ball, and the stepmother promised her that she will be able to go with her half-sisters if she does all the chores in the house and sews herself a dress. Cinderella succeeds with the help of her mouse and bird friends who sew her dress – but when they see this, the jealous stepsisters destroy everything she’s been working on and leave for the ball without her.
Cinderella comes to the Fairy Godmother who, with the help of a spell, gives her a dress, shoes and a carriage with a warning that the spell only lasts until midnight. Cinderella meets the Prince at the ball and forgets the time, so when the clock strikes midnight she runs away from his arms, and on the way the glass slipper falls out, which the Prince finds… it’s the only clue she has about her beloved.
Cinderella is set in the late 19th century, according to Fiction Horizon.
Cinderella (2015) – Live-Action
The story of Cinderella follows the fate of young Ella, whose merchant father remarried after her mother’s death. Ella accepts the new stepmother and her two daughters, Anastasia and Drisella. After the sudden death of her father, the girl Ella is left at the mercy of her new cruel family, who turn her into a maid covered in ashes, called Cinderella. Not long after, she meets a stranger in the forest, her soul mate, a charming prince.
After the fateful meeting, the kingdom invites all the girls to a ball so that the prince can choose his future wife. Young Ella, despite all the misfortunes inflicted on her by her evil sisters and stepmother, manages to come to the ball and with the help of a magical carriage – a pumpkin and a pair of mice, and the popular glass shoes, she changes her life forever.
It should be set around the same time as the original Cinderella movie.
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2001)
Newly crowned princess Cinderella discovers that the princess’s responsibilities that come with life in the castle are more challenging than she imagined.
In three warm stories, Cinderella invites her animal friends and the Fairy Godmother to help her fulfill her royal role to which she will add a dose of her loveliness and charm. In doing so, they will discover that being true to yourself is the best way to make your dreams come true.
Cinderella 2 is set between the first and the second movie.
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007)
In the house of the Tremaine family, Cinderella’s half-sisters Anastasia and Drisella are doing household chores that Cinderella used to do for them. Desperate and unsatisfied, Anastasia runs away from her obligations at one point and stumbles upon the celebration of Cinderella and the Prince’s one-year relationship, where the Fairy Godmother is also present.
When Fairy Godmother accidentally drops her magic wand, Anastasia gets hold of it and accidentally turns her to stone. Not knowing what to do, Anastasia runs home with the wand, and when her mother (Cinderella’s stepmother) realizes what it is about, she will use it to go back in time and change everything for the benefit of her family…
Cinderella 3 is set one year after the first movie.
Encanto (2021)
Animated story about the unusual Madrigal family, who live hidden in a magical house in the mountains of Colombia, in a wonderful and charming place called Encanto.
Encanto’s magic blessed each child in the family with a unique gift, from super strength to healing powers, except for Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding Encanto is in danger, Mirabel realizes that she, the only “normal” Madrigal, may be her extraordinary family’s last hope.
Encanto is based more or less at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Everyone knows the story where a princess finds the true love of her life when she kisses a toad who magically turns into a handsome prince. In this version of the story, the girl still kisses the toad, but the result is quite different from what was expected; and that’s just one of the many surprises in this mix of crazy humor, music and emotions.
Princess and the Frog is set during the 1920s.
Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess (2012)
Sofia is a little girl with a commoner’s background until her mom marries the King and suddenly, she is royalty. With the help of the three fairies in charge of the Royal Training Academy, Sofia learns that looking like a princess isn’t all that hard but behaving like one must come from the heart.
Sofia the First is set around 2012-2013.
Raya and The Last Dragon (2021)
Long ago, in the magical city of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when the evil forces known as the Druuni became a threat to all, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity.
Now, 500 years later, those same monsters are back and it’s up to the warrior Raya to find the last dragon to stop the Druuns forever. However, during her journey, Raya will learn that to save the world, she will need more than dragon magic – trust and team spirit are necessary above all.
Raya is set in the fictional realm of Kumandra, and unfortunately, we can only guess when it is set in the timeline. Still, we believe it is before Aladdin, so we will put it here, but it can really be put anywhere on this list.
Aladdin (1992)
Aladdin is a poor young man from Baghdad, who spends his days on the city streets, in the company of his best friend, the monkey Abu. In the same city, in the royal palace, Princess Jasmina is very sad. Namely, she cannot do anything she would like because the laws oblige her to blindly obey her father’s orders, which even concern her marriage.
Eager to live, she sneaks out of the palace and heads to the city, where she runs into Aladdin. However, a search began for her led by the king’s grand vizier Jafar. Learning that there is a young Aladdin, he throws him into a dungeon and decides to use him to bring him a magic lamp from the cave of wonders, in which the spirit of superhuman powers is hidden. The naive young man agrees, but things will get complicated…
Aladdin is really interesting, and it would seem that the movie is actually set in the far future. According to some calculations and theories, Aladdin is set in the post-apocalyptic world, and Genie was in the lamp for 10,000 years, which means that Aladdin is set in 10,030 AD.
Aladdin (2019) – Live-Action
Talented director Guy Ritchie brings us a romantic and musical adventure set in the fictional port city of Agrabah. In the main roles are the ghost who appears from the magic lamp, the charming rascal Aladdin and Jasmine, the modest and determined princess of a free spirit.
Joining their adventure are the magical wizard Jafar, the Sultan who is concerned about the well-being and future of his daughter Jasmine, Jasmine’s best friend Dalia, the handsome and arrogant suitor Prince Anders, and Haskim as Jafar’s first assistant and captain of the guard.
Aladdin live-action movie should be set around the same time as the original movie.
Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar (1994)
A group of incompetent bandits led by Abis Mal gets hold of a great treasure, but before they can enjoy the stolen loot, they are met by Aladdin and Abu, who take the gold from them and take it to Agrabah, where they distribute it to the poor.
Meanwhile, in the desert, the parrot Jago rebels against Jafar, who now lives as a ghost in a magic lamp, and goes to Agrabah to find Aladdin to make amends. But Jafar’s lamp is found by Abis Mal, who will help Jafar get revenge on Aladdin.
We would set it only a few years after the first Aladdin movie.
Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)
Aladdin and Jasmine are finally preparing for their wedding. Despite the support of friends and relatives, Aladdin feels a little insecure, especially because he fears that he will not know how to be a good father since he grew up without him. But all worries disappear when 40 bandits disrupt the wedding plans by trying to steal a valuable, ancient talisman…
We would set it only a few years after the second Aladdin movie.
