A Ranking Of Disney Dads Based On How They Treat Their Daughters

"The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter."

9. The King of Arendelle from Frozen

Disney / Via notanotherdadblog.com

The king's heart is in the right place — his daughter has a mysterious power she can't control that almost kills his other daughter and he just wants to protect them both as best he can. But he panics and shuts Elsa away from the world, all while encouraging her to bury her emotions deep within herself, causing her to lead a life of extreme solitude. And he of course keeps it all a secret from Anna, making her believe all these years that her older sister's aloofness is because of something she did. It's a miracle both women turned out OK in the end.

8. King Triton from The Little Mermaid

Disney / Via imgarcade.com

Ariel gets a terrible rep for being ready to abandon her family for a guy she's never met. But, in all fairness, wouldn't you when your dad's reaction to your natural teenage rebellion is to go into A TERRIFYING, DESTRUCTIVE RAGE? Sure, he gives Ariel her legs (and, thank God, her space to go with that), but it takes, you know, an entire film and near-death experiences for all the main characters to get there.

7. The Sultan from Aladdin

Disney / Via fanpop.com

UGH, where to begin? Sure, he seems cuddly on the outside, but he obviously doesn't connect with the common people of Agrabah, since Jasmine has to wear a disguise just to hang out there and feels cripplingly isolated as a result. He also is obsessed with arrange-marrying Jasmine to some dud (doesn't seem to matter who) and, oh yeah, is dumb enough to let himself be manipulated by Jafar all these years. JASMINE'S FACE IN THIS PHOTO SAYS IT ALL.

6. Chief Powhatan from Pocahontas

Disney / Via fanpop.com

Chief Powhatan's an all-around good guy. Despite losing his wife, he isn't overprotective of Pocahontas and generally has an emotionally healthy relationship with his daughter. Yeah, he doesn't have the best taste in suitors for his daughter (Kocoum would've been a terrible fit) and he does nearly kill her boyfriend, but he knows how to listen and learn from his daughter, especially when she's like "y'all are idiots, war is dumb." He's a solid dude.

5. King Fergus from Brave

Disney / Via kazokuai11.wordpress.com

Hey, Fergus lost his LEG protecting Merida from a bear. He's a pretty rad dad, teaching his daughter archery and generally not treating her differently despite her gender. The only issue is that her mother ends up always looking like the bad guy when she's the one having to set boundaries for Merida (while Fergus just comes off as the fun dad.) Elinor is the only one vocally pushing Merida to marry, even though it's literally all for her father's sake and is meant to unite two kingdoms. Parenting is a team effort, sir.

4. Maurice from Beauty and the Beast

Disney / Via solarnavigator.net

Aw, Maurice. He's delightfully eccentric and brilliant. He confides in Belle and you can tell he's never talked to her in a condescending or simplistic way, which is probably why she too is eccentric and brilliant. Together, they live apart from the rest of the vapid townsfolk and as a result are both sensitive and resilient people who don't feel the pressure to fit in. Maurice's only flaw is that he's not the best at being self-sufficient and gets himself into a few messes that Belle has to somehow navigate around, but luckily it all works out in everyone's favor!

3. Professor Archimedes Q. Porter from Tarzan

Disney / Via disney.wikia.com

Jane and her dad are a team. She's treated as his intellectual equal at all times, which leads to them having a pretty fantastic life traveling and making significant anthropological discoveries together. And when she decides to stay behind and live off the coast of Africa with a man who was raised by gorillas, her pop is not only open-minded but doesn't hesitate to drop his life so he can stay with his daughter.

2. James from The Princess and the Frog

Disney / Via cornel1801.com

From an early age, James instilled an extraordinary work ethic in Tiana and helped her figure out what she wanted to do with her life. While he himself didn't get everything he wanted career-wise in his life, he was never bitter and taught Tiana to dream just as much as persevere. It's so sad he didn't live long enough to see her grow up to be such an amazing person.

1. Fa Zhou from Mulan

Disney / Via fanpop.com

Fa Zhou is the absolute best. His capacity for love is unrivaled. He loves Mulan when she messes up her matchmaker appointment ("the flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all") just as much as he loves her when she risks her life to save his and then ends up rescuing all of China ("the greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter.") Just try to watch the end of this film without tearing up.