Top 10 Most Badass Female Disney Characters

Disney has given us some of the most fearless, strong-willed, and all-around incredible female characters. These women prove time and again that being tough isn't just about physical strength. It's about standing up for what's right, pushing past obstacles, and refusing to let anyone define their worth. Some fight with swords, some use their wits, and some break barriers just by being themselves.

This list is all about celebrating the female Disney characters who bring courage, intelligence, and determination to the screen. Some are warriors, some are spies, and some are superheroes, but all of them know how to take charge when it matters most. They inspire, they lead, and they remind us that bravery comes in many forms.

The Top Ten

Mulan (Mulan)

Fa Mulan is a fictional character inspired by the legendary Chinese heroine who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' Mulan (1998) and its direct-to-video sequel Mulan II (2004). She is voiced by Ming-Na Wen, and her story follows her disguise as a male soldier to save her father and bring honor to her family... read more

If you think Ariel is better than Mulan, hand over your Disney fan club membership card so I can rip it to shreds. Mulan is the kind of character that all girls should aspire to be like! She proves that being a girl isn't just about being pretty. They can be both pretty and tough. Mulan proves this by saving all of China. She does the right thing by going to war in her dad's place so he won't get hurt and so the country will be saved.
She doesn't do anything selfish. She struggles at first but then shows everyone what she is capable of. She is very tough, an absolute inspiration. And yet, people prefer Ariel just because she's pretty and a good singer. Literally the only reasons I've heard from people who like her. Mulan is also those things, but she does what she knows is right. Family comes first. Mulan inspires people to bring honor to their family, while Ariel inspires people to ditch their family and explore a different world for their own selfish reasons, potentially putting the lives of others at risk.
Elsa (Frozen)

Queen Elsa of Arendelle is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen (2013) and its sequel Frozen II (2019). She is voiced by Idina Menzel, and her innate ability to create and manipulate ice and snow is central to the films' narratives. Elsa's signature song Let It Go... read more

Only nine more months until I see Wicked! I'm so excited! Speaking of Broadway musicals, Frozen is now a Broadway musical, and I will definitely be seeing that when it starts touring. Anyway, Elsa is a girl with ice powers - doesn't get any more badass than that. With her ice powers, she can do a lot of awesome things. She can even create living things. She created Olaf as well as Marshmallow, the snow monster. When the guards go after Elsa, she uses her powers to defend herself. This is my favorite scene in the movie. Elsa is indeed a great character. People seem to hate on her for no reason.

Thank you for putting her on here.
Kim Possible (Kim Possible)

Kimberly Ann "Kim" Possible is a fictional character who appears in the animated television series Kim Possible, voiced by American actress Christy Carlson Romano. The show aired on Disney Channel from 2002 to 2007 and followed Kim, a high school student who balances her life as a teenager with her duties... read more

Let's face it. Everyone only watched this show because of how attractive Kim is. After it was announced that it's getting a live-action movie, I've been binge-watching the entire series since it's been years since I've watched it. I forgot how great it was. The best part about it would have to be the main character herself, Kim Possible. She is so hot! Not only that, but she is just an overall cool character.
Whenever she goes on a mission, she always knows what to do in certain situations because she can do anything. The villains she faces don't stand a chance against her. Despite being an agent, she also has to deal with real-life situations, like school. She's basically a female version of Spider-Man, except she doesn't keep her identity a secret. The fact that she's able to do this shows how amazing she is. This honestly makes me nervous for the live-action movie, especially since it will be a Disney Channel Original Movie. That just makes things worse.
Merida (Brave)

Merida is the main protagonist of Pixar's 2012 film Brave and was the first Pixar-created heroine to join the Disney Princess line-up. She is a skilled archer and the 16-year-old princess of the Scottish kingdom of DunBroch. Merida seeks to break away from traditional royal expectations and mends her... read more

Brave gets a lot more hate than it deserves. It's a pretty decent Pixar film. Merida is honestly a great and heroic character. She can do a lot of things: she is a master at archery, she can ride a horse, and she is a great sword fighter. What's not to love about her? I'm sure she taught herself some of these things, which is pretty impressive. She even stands up for herself when she doesn't agree with her mother about getting with a guy she doesn't know. This isn't the last time we'll be seeing Merida. We shall be seeing her again in November.

She is an archery master, but what I think makes her badass is how she is kind of rebellious.
Elastigirl (The Incredibles)

Helen Parr is a fictional superhero created by Brad Bird for Pixar's The Incredibles franchise. She is also known by her superhero alias, Elastigirl, due to her ability to stretch her body to extreme lengths. Helen is the wife of Bob Parr, also known as Mr. Incredible, and the mother of three super-powered... read more

A couple of days ago on Twitter, The Incredibles composer Michael Giacchino posted a video of the music for Incredibles 2 being recorded. That got me even more hyped! I'm so excited for the sequel, especially since we get to see more of Helen Parr, aka Mrs. Incredible, aka Elastigirl. If you saw the first Incredibles movie, you saw how amazing she was. One of my favorite scenes is when she knocks out all of those guards. That was the moment I fell in love with the character. It's amazing how she's still able to do stuff like that despite having been a retired superhero for 15 years. She's able to fight crime and still takes good care of her family. Bob is a lucky guy! From what I've heard, the sequel will focus more on Elastigirl. That will be very interesting to see.
Moana (Moana)

Moana is the protagonist of Disney's 2016 animated feature film of the same name. She is the daughter of Chief Tui and Sina and was born on the island village of Motunui. Chosen by the ocean, Moana embarks on a daring journey across the sea to save her people and restore the heart of Te Fiti, fulfilling... read more

Remember when Auli'i Cravalho got hit in the head during her performance of How Far I'll Go at the Oscars? Good times. Moana is pretty much every Disney princess put into one character. However, the thing that makes her different from every other Disney princess is that she has no love interest. She doesn't need a man to save her. Moana does most of the work in this movie, while Maui helps out a little. Keep in mind that Moana is a normal teenage girl, whereas Maui is a thousand-year-old demigod. What's even more impressive is that she's never been off the island before. She's a very inspiring character - and a very awesome one. I also like how aggressive she can be at times.
Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Maleficent is the main antagonist in Disney's 1959 animated feature film Sleeping Beauty. She is an evil fairy and the personification of pure evil, causing misfortune throughout King Stefan's kingdom. Maleficent has since become one of Disney's most iconic villains.

When people talk about awesome Disney villains, Maleficent is the one who's brought up the most. She's definitely the definition of evil. She does really mean things when she doesn't get her way. She even went as far as putting a curse on Aurora. The best part about her is that she can turn into a dragon. It doesn't get any better than that. What happened to villains like this? We don't get villains as awesome as her anymore. Now it's all about surprising people with some kind of plot twist where a character we thought was a good guy turns out to be the bad guy. I'm really tired of that trope. It even bothered me in Coco. I really want to see another great villain like Maleficent.
Megara (Hercules)

Meg is a heroine from the Disney movie Hercules. She is the love interest of Hercules, the film's protagonist. Meg once sold her soul to Hades in exchange for her boyfriend's freedom, but he later betrayed her, leaving her heartbroken and guarded... read more
Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Esméralda, born Agnès, is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. She is a beautiful Romani street dancer in Paris who captures the attention and obsession of several men, including the archdeacon Claude Frollo and the hunchbacked bell-ringer Quasimodo. Her character... read more

Esmeralda is awesome. She stands up for people when no one else does. She is clever, a great dancer, and I love it when she spits in Frollo's face.
Nala (The Lion King)

Nala is a fictional lioness character in Disney's The Lion King franchise, introduced in the 1994 animated film. She is Simba's childhood friend who later becomes his queen and the mother of Kiara and Kion. Nala plays a crucial role in encouraging Simba to return and reclaim his place as king of Pride... read more

The Newcomers

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Mama Odie (The Princess and the Frog)
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Mrs. Boonchuy (Amphibia)

The Contenders

Rapunzel (Tangled)

Rapunzel is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th animated feature film Tangled (2010) and its short sequel Tangled Ever After (2012). She is voiced by actress and singer Mandy Moore. Rapunzel is officially recognized as the tenth Disney Princess and is the first to... read more

If you think about it, Rapunzel is kind of a Mary Sue. She spent 16 years of her life trapped inside her tower. Then, when she finally leaves, she learns things pretty quickly. How did she learn to swim? This also bothers me in the series. Eugene has been out in the real world longer than Rapunzel has, yet she's able to do certain things better than he can. Still, she's pretty awesome. She is a master at using her hair and is unstoppable with her best weapon - the frying pan. She's more skilled with a frying pan than Princess Peach is. She's basically a much better character than Peach. At least she doesn't always act as the damsel in distress. She actually acts as the hero quite a lot. The Season 1 finale of Tangled: The Series pretty much proves it. I can't wait for Season 2.
Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)

Princess Tiana is the main character in Disney's 2009 animated feature film The Princess and the Frog. She is the first African-American Disney Princess and is voiced by Anika Noni Rose. The story is set in 1920s New Orleans and follows Tiana's dream of opening her own restaurant.

She's one of my favorite princesses. She had to work really hard and have a lot of determination to get what she wanted. Her life was difficult, and I love the message she gives to little girls: that to pursue your dreams, you have to work hard for them.
Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Elizabeth Swann, portrayed by Keira Knightley, is a central character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. She appears in the first three films: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Dead Man's Chest (2006), and At World's End (2007). Elizabeth evolves from a governor's daughter into a courageous... read more

With the overwhelming success of the Pirates series of movies - and given that I see we are not solely sticking with animated characters - the fact that she ended up being the Pirate King lets everyone know that Elizabeth Swann is a bit of a badass.
Judy Hopps (Zootopia)

Officer Judy Hopps is the main character in Disney's 2016 animated film Zootopia. She becomes the first rabbit to join Zootopia's police force and is determined to prove herself by overcoming species-based prejudice. With the help of Nick Wilde, a clever fox, Judy investigates a mysterious case that... read more
Pocahontas (Pocahontas)

Pocahontas is the title character of Disney's 1995 animated feature film Pocahontas and its 1998 direct-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. She is voiced by Irene Bedard, with Judy Kuhn providing her singing voice in the original film. The character is inspired by the historical Native... read more
Alice Kingsleigh (Alice in Wonderland)

Alice Kingsleigh is a character in Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and its sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass. She is a curious and imaginative young woman who cannot conform to the values of the society in which she lives. Her adventures in Wonderland reflect her journey of self-discovery... read more

She actually chopped off a dragon's head. What a woman.
Violet Parr (The Incredibles)

Violet Parr is a fictional character from the animated films The Incredibles and Incredibles 2. The story follows her and her family of superheroes as they navigate a world where supers are considered dangerous and must conceal their powers.... read more
Cassandra (Tangled: The Series)
Jasmine (Aladdin)

Jasmine is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures' 1992 animated film Aladdin. She is the spirited princess of Agrabah and one of the official Disney Princesses. Jasmine is voiced by Linda Larkin, with Lea Salonga providing her singing voice.
Gogo (Big Hero 6)
Vitani (The Lion King)

Vitani is a female lion from Disney's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. She was initially a secondary antagonist in the movie. Vitani is the daughter and middle child of Zira, the older sister of Kovu, and the younger sister of Nuka.... read more

I love Vitani! She's awesome. She needs more love, and she's 100 times better than Kiara!
Star Butterfly (Star vs. the Forces of Evil)

Star Butterfly is the main character in the animated television series Star vs. the Forces of Evil, which aired on Disney XD from 2015 to 2019. She is a teenage princess from the dimension of Mewni who is sent to Earth to learn how to use her magical powers. The show follows her adventures as she battles... read more
Tinker Bell (Peter Pan)

Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and its 1911 novelization Peter and Wendy. She is a fairy companion of Peter Pan and is known for her loyalty and fiery personality. Tinker Bell later became a prominent Disney character and mascot.
Wendy Corduroy (Gravity Falls)

Wendy Blerble Corduroy, born around 1997, is a major character in the animated series Gravity Falls. She is a tall, laid-back teenager who works a part-time job at the Mystery Shack. Fun-loving and rebellious, she frequently shirks responsibility in favor of hanging out with her rambunctious friends... read more

My favorite Gravity Falls character.
Anne Boonchuy (Amphibia)

Anne Boonchuy (Thai: แอนน์ สาวิสา บุญช่วย) is a fictional Thai-American character who is the main protagonist of the Disney Channel animated series Amphibia. She is a courageous and adventurous teenage girl who is transported to a magical world inhabited by talking amphibians. The character is voiced... read more