What are some characteristics that spring to mind when you think of Disney princesses? Orphans? Good singers? Tend to fall in love very quickly and hang around with talking animals that sound like popular comedians? Check, check, check. One word you don’t often associate with the Mouse House’s pantheon of princesses, though? Deadly.
And yet Disney princesses aren’t as hopeless and as dependent on a prince to save them as their reputation suggests. That’s especially true of those that have entered the Disney canon across the 1990s and the 21st century, thanks to the desire to see independent heroines with stronger agency at the center of the studio’s animated films. And, yes, some of them are even a danger to others. Think of Elsa and her out-of-control snow powers in Frozen or monster-slaying warrior Raya.
Still, there’s a Disney princess who has more blood on her hands than any other…
One Disney princess is responsible for the deaths of thousands
For anyone who has seen the 1998 film in question so many times they can recall it shot for shot, it won’t surprise you to know that Mulan is the deadliest Disney Princess, with a kill count that’s vastly higher than most Disney villains. Specifically, Fa Mulan is depicted as killing 1,995 men in her animated movie.
We know that there were 2,000 Hun warriors marching on China, but Mulan wiped them all out when she launched a rocket at their vicious leader, Shan Yu, which caused a colossal avalanche that crushed the entire invading army. Well, all but six of them, that is, including Shan Yu. However, Mulan ultimately killed the tyrant for real when he attempted to execute the Emperor at the palace. Ergo Mulan’s total kill count by the time the credits roll is just five shy of 2,000.
On top of her impressive, and alarming, number of kills, Mulan is also one of the few princesses to kill their nemesis themselves — traditionally, that job belongs to the male love interest or occasionally their sidekick (don’t forget, Pascal tripped Mother Gothel out the window in Tangled). She’s joined in this by Tiana, who is responsible for sending Dr. Facilier to the underworld in The Princess and the Frog, while Ariel fatally impaled Ursula in The Little Mermaid remake.