Top 10 Reasons Why Mulan Ain't No Princess

Mulan is unquestionably the best Disney heroine of all time. It seems insufficient to place her alongside the demure, sometimes fragile princesses from the classics, and the whiny, sometimes emo 'modern' princesses of the Renaissance. I've mentioned before that I don't count Mulan as a Disney princess. Here's why:

10. She isn't royal and she doesn't marry anyone royal.
Umm...enough said. Aren't those the requirements of being a princess? But I'll go on, because I can.

9. She isn't the daughter of a single parent and isn't raised by someone other than her real parents.  
She also has no evil stepmother. (Why do so many princesses either have no mother or a stepmother who hates them?) Mulan has loving parents, and a hilarious grandmother to boot!

8. She uses her cleverness to do incredible things.
She destroys the entire Hun army with just one canon. Talk about efficient!

7. She never needs to be rescued by the guy.
In fact, she rescues him. Multiple times. One time she uses her shoe!

6. She single-handedly takes down the bad guy.
...using a Chinese paper fan!
Shoes. Fans. Seriously, she's so resourceful!

5. She cuts her own hair.
And she uses a sword. Automatic awesome points.

4. She doesn't look perfect when she's sleeping.
I don't believe for a second that Sleeping Beauty or Snow White's hair could stay in tact in their sleep. Normal girls don't wake up looking flawless.

3. She doesn't fall in love at first sight.
She gets a crush. And he doesn't notice her at all. Finally. A romance I can relate to. (Granted, I'm pretty sure the reason my crushes didn't like me back was NOT because they thought I was a man. At least I really hope not.)

2. But she doesn't wait around. She invites the guy to dinner!
Hmm...maybe I need to take a cue from her.

1. She plain old just kicks ass. Yup, I said it again.

Mulan is the best!!

(thanks to disneyscreencaps.com for all images)