I have two rough ideas.
An Armored Princess
People have been talking for awhile about Disney creating and LGBT Princess, I would not be oppose to that but what about a handicapped Princess? I don't mean someone like Elsa who has some kind of allegory I mean a Princess who actually can't walk? How about that?
A princess that cannot walk without a magical suit of armor that she uses to protect her kingdom from the villain who is trying to take it over. Maybe no one but her closest friends know about it. She's afraid what might happen if every learned she was disabled. I like the idea of a prince of a knight from the outside who comes to help her protect her kingdom and slowly figure out the truth which leads to tension between them. She's afraid of failing her people, he's afraid that she's taking on more than she can handle despite her skills. Maybe her journey is about accepting that everyone needs someone else at some point.
In the last act the villain finds a way to remove the magic from her armor which leaves her helpless under all that steel. She manages to remove her armor and defeats the villain saving the kingdom. I like the idea that after the villain is defeated his fortress/lair is sinking into the sea allowing the prince to step in and rescuing her from drowning while also having the armor lost forever. In the last scene she says she worried what will become of her people now that the armor is gone to which the prince says 'it was never armor that protected them' and then when its revealed to the kingdom that she was disabled they still accept her as their princess.
Also if I could design her character I would have the armor be like a full suit of heavy plate, something like this.
A Princess in an Ivory Tower
If you're unfamiliar with the term, 'the ivory tower' refers to the self imposed isolation common to people who focus on academic or scholarly pursuits. I like the idea of a princess who is more like a scholar or an academic and is so focused on her research, whatever it might be, that everything else in her life is secondary to that goal. She even sees getting married like a chore, something she has to do so she can focus on her work. Eventually the chancellor tries to seize power forcing her out of her academic sanctum and driving her to take control of the situation. Yes the chancellor or whatever seizing power is an old cliche but I was thinking when she confronts him about it he tells her how it would not have been necessary if she hadn't buried herself in her work and was willing to take an active part in running the kingdom, something he had been trying to groom her for.
The story would end with her resolving the situation and ascending to the throne as Queen, realizing how irresponsible she had been by ignoring everything but her work.
So that is my ideas.
What kind of character would you like to see as a Disney Princess?
