Disney launched the Disney Princess character-merchandise franchise in 2000.
The franchise was created as a unified consumer-products brand bringing together leading female characters from Disney animated films. Before its launch, characters such as Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and Snow White were marketed largely through their individual films and products. The franchise gave them a shared identity and a coordinated merchandising strategy.
Andy Mooney, then a Disney consumer-products executive, is widely credited with helping develop the modern Disney Princess brand. The line expanded beyond dolls into clothing, accessories, books, home goods, role-play products, and themed experiences.
The franchise is not the same thing as the Disney animated-film canon. It is a merchandise and branding program, and its official roster has changed over time. Characters such as Anna and Elsa are associated with Disney Princess merchandise broadly, but they have also been marketed through the separate Frozen franchise.