6 Canceled Disney Princess Movies

Aside from Mickey Mouse and star WarsEveryone connects and Disney Company with princesses. It's one of the studio's most popular and profitable franchises, and it makes sense. The House of Mouse may have been founded on Mickey Mouse, but it was the princesses who helped build it. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs It was the first feature-length animated film.

before snow white, Animation was used for comedic jokes and was not a medium to be taken seriously. When Walt Disney announced that he was going to turn this classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale into an animated film, people scoffed. They called it “Disney’s folly,” especially when news spread about the film’s exorbitant budget and repeated delays. But in the end, snow white It was a huge hit.

The success of this film became a business model for Disney. Since 1937, the House of Mouse has been producing films based on fairy tales, especially those featuring princesses. These films are widely considered Disney's greatest. They have been watched, revered, and cherished by generations of fans, and remain popular and important to this day.

You know the movies: Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess and the Frog, Frozen, And many more. But there are also a number of Disney princess movies that have been canceled, for whatever reason, over the years. Some are sequels or live-action adaptations. Others feature new princesses whose stories unfortunately never made it to the big screen. Let's dig into Walt Disney's catalog and see which princess movies have been canceled.

Mulan 3

Although she is not a real princess, Mulan has been incorporated into the Disney Princess line. Her 1998 film, Mulan, Inspired by the Chinese legend and folk heroine who disguised herself as a man, took her aging father's place in the army, and achieved military greatness. Mulan It was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is considered one of the best films of the prestigious Disney Renaissance.

The film's success led to a direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II. There were also plans to produce a third film in the series, Mulan III. After the events of the previous part, Mulan helps a Chinese girl rescue her father who is imprisoned in Japan. But the negative response Mulan 2 She cancelled any plans for a sequel, keeping Mulan Privilege for duality.

Snow White Returns

Mulan isn't the only princess to appear in a direct-to-video sequel. In fact, several have appeared, including Ariel, belle, Cinderella and Jasmine. Interestingly, Disney's original princess, Snow White, did not get a sequel, even though it was never supposed to happen. Snow White Returns It was a proposed short film, in which the beloved Seven Dwarfs prepare their cottage for an annual visit from Snow White.

The short was to include material deleted from the original film, such as the musical number “Music in Your Soup”—a scene where Snow White teaches the dwarves how to eat their soup properly while singing to them. Walt Disney himself blocked the production. The studio respected his wishes after his death, leaving the film to viewers. Snow White Returns In the scrap heap.

Disney Princesses' Enchanting Tales Continued

On a sheet of paper, Disney Princesses Enchanting Tales It was a good idea. It was a proposed series of direct-to-video animated films that would feature the famous Disney princesses in all-new short stories. However, only one film in the series was ever greenlit. It was released in 2007, Disney Princess Tales of Enchantment: Follow Your Dreams It featured two stories, each focusing on a different but familiar Disney princess: Aurora from sleeping beauty And jasmine from Aladdin.

Would the sequel have followed the same format with two princesses in each film? What other princesses would have appeared in the film? Would a film have been possible where the princesses actually interacted with each other?

These questions remain unanswered. Around that time, John Lasseter rose from Pixar to become Disney's chief creative officer and halted all future direct-to-video production, effectively killing Disney. Disney Princesses Enchanting Tales The series before it could actually start.

Red Rose

you know the story Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But did you know that Snow White has a sister named Rose Red? Well, sort of. “Snow White and Rose Red” is a lesser-known fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The story follows two poor sisters, Snow White and Rose Red, who unwittingly befriend a prince who has been turned into a bear by an evil dwarf.

Despite the identical name and the presence of a dwarf, the Snow White in this story has no connection to her more famous counterpart. But Disney was planning to change that.

The House of Mouse intended to produce a spin-off of their 1937 classic and present it. this Snow White's sister. Red Rose It was supposed to be a live-action movie following Snow White's sister. Will there be a cursed prince who turns into a bear? An evil dwarf? Will Snow White play a role?

Unfortunately, we will never get the answers. Disney announced in 2021 that Red Rose It is no longer under development. However, we are expected to get the live version of snow white In 2025. Like its animated counterpart, the production was plagued by controversy and problems that made it seem doomed to fail.

Penelope and the Twelve Months

Unlike other entries on this list, Penelope and the Twelve Months It's an original story that wasn't going to have a princess as the focal point. A retelling of Mark Twain's “The Prince and the Pauper,” this animated short was supposed to follow a palace kitchen maid named Penelope, who just so happens to resemble the pampered princess in the palace.

Using a magical element, Penelope will encounter various supernatural beings, including personifications of the elements of the earth and the months of the year (hence the title), as she searches for the snowdrops the princess has requested. It sounds like a wonderful and unique story, and we're sad that Disney never developed it, though it wasn't for lack of trying.

Disney's most famous artist Mary Blair – who worked on Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and other classics whose art style inspired the look of Disney's famous attraction “It's a Small World” – in fact, concept art was developed for Penelope and the Twelve Months During the 1940s. But the project never moved into production.

At the time, Disney's audience was mostly adults, and they didn't think a story centered on a young child would work. Maybe one day they'll open the closet and revisit this story; Disney definitely needs more original ideas.

Princess Academy

Princess Academy There was another interesting project that unfortunately never got off the ground. It was a proposed animated short film that would have included all the female characters, not just the princesses, that appeared in the Disney film.

It could have extended back to 1937. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs All the way to 2010 tangled It could have included Pixar films, who framed roger rabbit, And Nightmare Before Christmas. Princess Academy The short film was to feature a group of female Disney stars, who interacted with each other at a royal boarding school. The short film was to be designed with Fantasy-Like the clips, with music from Disney legend himself, Alan Menken.

Production on the film began in 2009. The animators spent three years developing concept art and storyboards, and Menken officially joined the team in 2012. But in 2013, after struggling to complete the growing demand for 3D animation, Disney closed the doors of its hand-drawn animation department. The studio fired nearly all of its 2D animators, including the animators who had worked on Princess Academy.

Despite years of hard work, Princess Academy This movie became another cancelled project and another missed opportunity. It would have been great to see these Disney stars interact and sing together. But unfortunately, there was no happy ending to this princess movie.