Disney Princesses: A Short History of One Girl’s Obsession: Belle

2. Princess Belle: My niece’s Disney Princess obsession quickly grew to include Belle from Beauty & the Beast, so she’s the next Disney Princess up for discussion. Like Ariel, Belle is smart and independent, has a very complicated relationship with her father and an absent mother. (Whoa, it didn’t occur to me until I typed that just how Freudian Disney heroines can be. Anyway…) Unlike Ariel, who needs to rebel against her domineering, larger-than-life father, Belle has the responsibility of basically managing her sweet but eccentric and relatively clueless father’s life. He goes missing one day, she takes off to find him, which leads her into meeting the beast, etc. The best part about the entire film is the underlying message that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, even though that message is somewhat dampened by the fact that the beast eventually turns back into a pretty hot cartoon guy. Regardless, Princess Belle toys tend to be a big hit with little girls.

Here are some great Disney Belle gift ideas:

• Disney Princess Tea Time With Me Little Belle
• Disney Princess Belle Deluxe Red Velvet dress
• Disney Princess Belle Snowglobe
• Disney Princess Glowing Beauty girls pajamas