In a good way or bad way?

Of course. She is always made out to be this selfish brat by pretty much everyone that is ungrateful and disrespectful when she is not.

This is quite strange. Elsa was in the lead, and Jasmine had one vote, and then Jasmine was in the lead and Elsa had one vote, now Elsa, Ariel, and Jasmine are tied.

Hands down.

At least on fanpop

Nearly everyone "out there" *shivers* thinks she is an one-dimensional, dimwitted weakling.

Unfortunately

Sadly :(

Yeah :(

I really don't like questions like these because everyone who's going to answer is going to pick a princess they like. If they don't like a princess they wouldn't say she's misunderstood, and it's kind of bother some when people say that since someone doesn't like a princess it means they misunderstand her. Ugh, but whatever. Here's me putting in my equally biased answer since I love Elsa.

Why is Ariel in the lead? I don't think she's "misunderstood." I think people who don't care for her know exactly what her detractions are and base their opinions on that.

Same with most princesses, really. Just because some people don't like certain gals doesn't mean I'm going to insult them by saying their views aren't valid; that they have no "real" reason to dislike her; that the princess is objectively, fundamentally impossible to dislike, and that if people just "got" her then they would change their minds.

No princess is universally likable, and I won't be so egotistical as to think that just because I like a princess means everyone has to like her. That if they claim not to like her, it must be because they don't "get" her, or they're willfully ignoring her good points/making up bad points.

With that said, I feel like a lot of the reasons people give for disliking the Classics, particularly Snow White... don't tend to be the reasons I see on screen. Sometimes I feel like it's more hype than what's shown on screen, like how people say Snow White is a weak-willed pushover even though she pretty much takes over the house once the dwarves let her stay, say that she's dumb even though she shows herself to be rather shrewd, etc.

If you're going to dislike a princess, generally I respect people who give reasons that they can back up with scenes from the film.

By the fans here? She is really misunderstood.

Also Anna. Most people call her stupid. They explain but they always give the same reason. As for Ariel people do explain why they think she's selfish but they overreact by calling it a fact. I understand why people have Aurora, Jasmine and Elsa low. Well, because they don't have enough screentime so their personality can be a bit hard to understand. But I respect those who pays deep attention to their movie and tend to like Aurora, Jasmine and Elsa. But I also like to state my opinion on why I have two from these girls low.

I feel sad for her, she's amazing <3

The one thing that bothers me is when someone says "She gave up her whole life for a boy". She wanted to be human LONG before meeting Eric but Eric was the last push for her to really want her dream to come true.

Ariel is a very... polar character. people tend to either love her or hate her. admittedly the people who hate her usually do so because they misunderstand her desire, thinking it's "only" for a man (which is a perfectly fine thing to want in life, and natural!) when in reality she wanted Eric AFTER she had already been wanting to live on land. But I think for the most part even she is better understood than Aurora and Snow, which is why I feel the need to defend them so much. Heck, even Cinderella isn't as understood as Ariel, and she's generally more respected.

People who hate Snow: "OMG she's so stupid, you're not supposed to take apples from strangers, I mean like we ALL learned that in kindergarten! also all she does is sit around waiting for a prince to rescue her!"
People who hate Cindy: "OMG she's so overrated. All she did is wait for a prince to rescue her. she never did anything or stood up for herself! what a doormat!"
People who hate Aurora: "OMG all she does is sleep, cry and dance and want a man! she has no personality!"

at least some people have SOME grasp on Ariel's story, whereas I'm fairly positive NONE of the people who hate the Classic princesses have ever seen their movies even once, at least since they were 4 years old. so her or Snow, for the exact reasons Tygers mentioned (as usual). I'm not sure who I really think is more misunderstood but I had to pick someone.

Besides, even Snow White usually gets more credit for being emotionally tough in a bad situation (though the majority of the time they admittedly think she is a stupid, gullible milksop when that couldn't be further from the truth), whereas almost nobody understands anything about Aurora, her personality, her situation, her relationship with Phillip, etc.

And Elsa

I hate that she's considered boring just because she's not as frisky or whimsical as the others, and I absolutely hate it when people say that she doesn't fit in with the others, because I think it's refreshing to see somebody so different, so grounded and hardworking, in the lineup.

I don't think Ariel is misunderstood at all. Yes, she wanted to become a human before she saw Eric, but after seeing him just once, her dream changed into her wanting to become human in order to be with Eric.