As we all know by now, Disney’s upcoming Wreck-It Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, is going to include a major crossover scene in which the entire roster of Disney Princesses appears. Characters like Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Elsa, Moana, and others are all present in the film, and they’ve been shown off in several of the trailers and ads.
While the Disney faithful are understandably excited about this, there are some who have questioned why certain princesses didn’t make the cut. The most notable of these omissions comes in the form of one of the most iconic film princesses of all time, Star Wars‘ Leia Organa, played by the late Carrie Fisher.
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Since Disney owns Star Wars, and Leia is most definitely a princess, why wasn’t Leia included in the scene, along with other Disney characters like Esmerelda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Meg (Hercules)? The directors of the film certainly have an answer for that.
During a recent visit to Disney Animation Studios to learn about the making of Ralph Breaks the Internet, ComicBook.com attended a Q&A with directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston as well as producer Clark Spencer. After seeing footage of the big Disney Princess scene, the creative team was asked about the decision not to include Leia in the scene, and they said that it was all about sticking to the canon.
“In the Disney princess scene? We decided there’s a lot of princesses that are from Disney movies that are not part of the canonized Disney princesses, and I don’t know how they’re chosen, I don’t know how it goes on,” they explained. “It’s like the Vatican where smoke comes out of a chimney and they announce ‘Moana is officially a princess!’
“So we decided we’re going to use the canonized group of princesses that are known as the Disney princesses. Not that we don’t love Princess Leia and Qi’ra and Meg and Esmeralda, but we decided we’re going to go with the official Disney princesses.”
Obviously, the bit about the Vatican was just a joke, but it speaks to the mysterious process of compiling the official Disney Princess list. While there are plenty of princesses throughout Disney properties, the company decides which of them actually get labeled as “Official Disney Princesses.” Unfortunately, none of us really have any idea what goes into that process.
Do you think that other princesses should have been included in the Disney Princess scene? Let us know in the comments!
Ralph Breaks the Internet is set to hit theaters on November 21st.
