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The Prince, also known as Prince Florian (and erroneously referred to as Prince Ferdinand) is a major character in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He is the first official Disney Prince.

Disney History

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Evil Queen, jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty, forces her to work as a servant in her castle. As Snow White works, she sings I'm Wishing, attracting the attention of Prince Florian, who's passing by on his horse. As she sings into the well, performing a duet with her echo, she's startled as Florian suddenly joins in. She runs into the castle and watches as he sings One Song. The two fall madly in love with each other. Watching from above is the Queen, who angrily closes the curtains of her window in jealousy.

When the Queen arrives, disguised as the Witch, to poison Snow White, she, knowing of the romance between the girl and the Prince, fools her into believing that the Poisoned Apple is a magic wishing apple, capable of making her greatest desire a reality. Snow White wishes to live with the Prince and, taking a bite, falls to the floor, taken by the Sleeping Death. Though the seven dwarfs succeed in chasing the Witch to her doom, Snow White remains uncured; the dwarfs place her in a glass coffin and take her to a clearing in the forest. The Prince hears of this and comes to the clearing. After singing One Song again, he kisses her on the lips and breaks the curse on her as she is revived. He takes her in his arms and puts her on his horse; after saying farewell to the dwarfs, the two ride into the sunset to his castle (the image of which is shown in the clouds above), where they live happily ever after.

Other History

Once Upon a Time

The Prince, also known as Prince Charming, Prince David is a major character on Once Upon a Time. He debuts in the first episode of the first season. He is played by starring cast member Joshua Dallas and is the fairytale counterpart of David Nolan.

David is a poor shepherd whose twin brother, James, was given to King George as an heir in a deal with Rumplestiltskin. Prince James is killed in battle shortly after agreeing to kill a dragon for King Midas in exchange for gold, and the shepherd takes his brother's place in exchange for the prosperity of his mother's farm and the promises that he can return home afterward. He takes his brother's name and unexpectedly slays the dragon himself. Midas then declares David worthy to marry his daughter Abigail and unite the kingdoms, unaware that neither the real James nor his replacement is of royal blood. David, wanting to marry for love, tries to decline, but George reneges on his promise and vows to kill David's mother if he does not marry. David reluctantly agrees. He visits his mother to say goodbye and receives her wedding ring, which she claims is followed by true love. The ring is stolen and sold by Snow White, who nicknames him "Prince Charming". The pair fall in love while trying to retrieve it. He writes a letter to Snow saying that if she loves him, visit the castle before his wedding, and they will run away and be happy. She comes, but George catches her. He forces her to tell David that she does not love him or he will kill David, martyring him, and hopefully uniting the kingdoms out of Midas's pity for George. She complies, but David still attempts to secretly flee his wedding. Abigail reveals that she knows he does not want to marry her and tells him that she does not want to marry him either; she gives him provisions for his journey. He is later seen fleeing King George's knights on his search for Snow. When he finds Snow, he learns that she cannot remember who he is. To prevent her from killing the Evil Queen he takes the arrow meant for the Queen and tells Snow he would rather die than let her become evil. She realizes that no one else will die for her; she kisses him and regains her memories. However, the pair are separated again when George's knights capture him. He is set to be beheaded, but is rescued by the Queen. She takes him captive and uses him to convince Snow to willing eat a cursed apple that put her into a deathlike sleep. Sometime after, he awakens Snow from her enchanted sleep and the pair marry. At their wedding, the Queen announces that she will cast a curse on the Enchanted Forest and take away all they love. David and Snow seek advice from Rumpelstiltskin, who tells them that Emma, the daughter they are expecting, will break the curse. Emma is born shortly before the curse takes hold, and David places her in a magical wardrobe to protect her from the curse. However, he is seriously wounded by the Queen's knights in the process. In Storybrooke, he first appears as the comatose John Doe, who has gone unidentified for years. He wakes up after Mary Margaret, who is Snow White, reads him the story of Snow White and Prince Charming. Shortly after, he is reunited with his wife Kathryn Nolan, who is Abigail, and is identified as David Nolan. It is revealed that he and his wife were separated after he left the house after an argument and, unknown to Kathryn, fell into a coma. However, David suffers from amnesia and cannot remember his life with Kathryn. Although he cannot remember his life in Storybrooke either, he falls in love with Mary Margaret and decides to leave Kathryn for her. However, his false memories of his marriage begin to return and he decides to work things out with Kathryn instead. He eventually gives in to his attraction to Mary Margaret and begins having an affair with her. Kathryn is later accepted to a law school in Boston, but he tells her that he cannot come with her and suggests they end their marriage. Kathryn learns about the affair but realizes there was never any love in the marriage. She decides to go to Boston alone. She writes David a letter telling him that she wants David and Mary Margaret to be happy together and that she forgives them both. However, Regina steals the letter from the Nolans' home and burns it before he can read it. Kathryn disappears shortly after. David becomes a suspect in her disappearance, namely because of a phone call he made to her immediately before she went missing and because he starts exhibiting strange trance-like behavior during which he cannot recall his actions. However, the suspicion is dropped when Mary Margaret's fingerprints are found on a box containing a human heart thought to be Kathryn's. In an attempt to prove Mary Margaret's innocence, he asks Archie Hopper to help him regain his memories of the black-outs. However, he recalls some of his memories of the Enchanted Forest, namely when he was telling Snow not to kill the Queen. He confuses these for more recent memories and believes he is telling Mary Margaret to not kill Kathryn. He starts to doubt her innocence. When Kathryn turns up alive, David sees her at the hospital and Kathryn says she is no longer angry at David as she is the first to realize that he and Mary Margaret belong together. The two break up on good terms. However, Mary Margaret is upset over David doubting her innocence and refuses to speak to him. David decides to move to Boston and asks Mary Margaret to give him a reason to stay in Storybrooke. However, she does not. As he approaches the town limits, the curse is broken and he regains his memories. He returns to town and reunites with Snow White.

House of Mouse

Like other Disney characters, The Prince received many cameos but for him, they were always non-speaking. He was usually seen at a table with Snow White.

Songs

Gallery

Trivia

  • He was originally going to have a more prominent role, but this idea was scrapped as Disney's animators found him to be difficult to animate. Several of these cut sequences were later used in supplementary material such as the tie-in comics released to promote the film.
  • While Disney has never fully confirmed his real name, a number of sources, namely Disney France and Disney On Ice, refer to the Prince as Florian. And contrary to popular belief, the "Ferdinand" mentioned by Shirley Temple at the 1938 Oscars is actually Ferdinand the Bull. Disney Parks cast members who are "friends with" (i.e. taking the role of) the characters simply refer to Florian as "The Prince", which is also reflected on the autographs they sign.


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