Welcome back to Lilly’s Hot Takes! If you haven’t been here before, my name is Lilly, and I love sharing my controversial opinions. Let’s jump in.
The hot take of the week? Belle is the best Disney Princess.
When I was little, Belle was always my absolute favorite princess, and still to this day I believe she is the best because of the perfect role model she is for young girls.
Belle was one of the first princesses to take interest in reading, and although I’m not much of a reader anymore, Beauty and the Beast single handedly made me love to read. Belle is the perfect role model for young girls, showing that loving to read and being smart isn’t something to be ashamed of, but should be a source of pride.
Belle was also one of the first princesses not to fall for the traditional prince charming. She had Gaston, charming, sure, but obnoxious and rude, and relentlessly chasing after her. In most Disney Princess movies the princess typically goes for that guy, but not this time. Belle picked a guy for personality first, not looks, sharing an important message about beauty and looking within.
And, despite ending up with the Beast, Belle remained a strong independent character throughout the movie.
In Cinderella, she needed a fairy godmother to make her “pretty enough” to go to the ball to find her Prince Charming, and it wasn’t until the Fairy Godmother or Prince Charming came along that she finally stood up against her step mother or siblings.
In Sleeping Beauty, Aurora was casted in a lifelong sleep, completely relying on a Prince to wake her out of it. In Tangled, Rapunzel was stuck in her tower, waiting to be rescued by her prince.
Yet, Belle had an unstable dad who got kidnapped and was a bit crazy, she was mocked for loving books and reading by all in her town, and she still managed to rescue her dad, explore like she wanted, and in the process meet her “prince”.
So, because Belle is consistently true to herself and a strong independent princess, she is the best.
