Third wave films were released in close succession to the second, with Pocahontas in 1995, Mulan in 1998 and Atlantis: The Lost Empire in 2001. More changes were occurring. The most notable was women's representation within the public sphere, and further legislation enabling women's rights. In 1993, Janet Reno became the first female attorney general of the United States (Mollet 2020: 48–9), and in 1997, Madeleine Albright became the first female Secretary of State. In terms of legislation, the Violence Against Women Act (1994) was signed by President Bill Clinton. The act funded services and civil rights assistance for victims of rape and domestic violence (Clinton White House n.d.). However, ‘Clinton notably remained very quiet on issues of race, abortion and class’ (Mollet 2020: 49), indicating not all people were being supported at this time. Years later, the Supreme Court denied victims of rape and domestic violence to sue their perpetrators in federal court (United States v Morrison 2000). In 1996, Fauziya Kassindja sought asylum in the US to escape from her home country's practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), it was accepted, and immigration law reflected a wider change for supporting FGM victims (Matter of Kasinga 1996).

Despite Disney's success in the early 1990s, there were a few issues arising around the time of Pocahontas’ release. In 1994, the President of Disney, Frank Wells, was killed in a helicopter crash (Associated Press 1994). Chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Eisner appointed Michael Ovitz (reportedly a friend of Eisner’s) as his replacement (Mills 1995). Nevertheless, Pocahontas continued the success of previous princess films, despite the issues within the studio. The film had a gross of $346,079,773 and was ranked fourth in the worldwide gross ratings (Box Office Mojo n.d.h). Mulan – based on The Ballad of Mulan – amassed $304,320,254 worldwide (Box Office Mojo n.d.i). Atlantis: The Lost Empire did not continue the success, generating $186,053,725 (Box Office Mojo n.d.j). This was perhaps why Kida was not included in the Disney Princess Franchise, as in comparison with the other recent princess films, it was not a success.