Princess Jasmine

Princess Jasmine first appeared in Disney's 1992 animated film, Aladdin. She instantly caught the attention of viewers because the entire theme of the fairytale was out of the ordinary. Jasmine, daughter to the Sultan of Agrabah, was his only child and heir to the throne. Princess Jasmine was Disney's first princess who was not from a European nation, and the first princess to break the fairytale norm and marry an ordinary man who was not a prince, Aladdin. 

Her character  was initially  developed   after The Little Mermaid, but was put on  temporary hold  as the writers shifted their  focus to Beauty and the Beast, before resuming development in late 1991. The movie Aladdin was loosely based on two Middle Eastern folk tales, One Thousand and One Nights, and The Thief of Baghdad, from which her name as  Princess Badroul was derived from the former folk tale. It was however changed to Jasmine because during that decade, the name Jasmine was very popular.

Princess Jasmine was developed as a mature and independent princess, who was capable of taking care of herself, not being a spoilt brat, but  having  to experience life outside the palace due to cultural restrictions that would not allow a princess outside the palace grounds. She manages to leave the palace with Aladdin (prince Ababwa at the time) on his magic carpet to which they sing the ever so popular song "A Whole New World", the same tune used in our Princess Jasmine Carousel.

Officially, Princess Jasmine is described as free-spirited and kind, which is why she gave Aladdin a chance to be himself without being judgemental , after it was revealed that he wasn’t actually a prince. Although she was actually the deuteragonist, Jasmine was more popularly referred to as the co-protagonist alongside Aladdin.

Princess Jasmine was particularly popular because of her being the first non-European princess. She was designed with beautiful, tanned skin, and gorgeous long black hair, dressed in what was themed as a native Middle Eastern dress.  To make it even better, she had a pet tiger named Rajah who was probably the coolest pet of any Disney princess ever.

Post Aladdin, Princess Jasmine appeard in two more Aladdin sequels called "The Return of Jaafar" in 1994, and then "Aladdin and the King of Thieves" in 1996. She would later appear in the Aladdin television series where she developd even stronger traits such as physical combat abilities.