Damsel in Distress

The damsel in distress can fall into situations in which they need saving, but it happens in girls and ladies. Usually she is kidnapped by the story's main antagonist and held prisoner. A damsel in distress can also: Usually, the hero comes to her rescue, but she can also get out of these situations herself, using her own wits and skills. When the heroine gets into trouble and needs help, this can raise the stakes and/or set the plot in motion.
 * get swept away by a river,
 * possessed/brainwashed by an evil entity,
 * chased and attacked by a monster or dangerous animal,
 * transformed into a vicious monster or animal, or
 * caught up in a natural disaster.

Animated Movies

 * Jewel: She gets kidnapped by Nigel two times and locked in a cage until Blu arrives and sets her free.
 * Shanti: She almost winds up as Kaa's dinner, but Ranjan saves her. Later, she reveals her hiding place to Shere Khan by mistake.
 * Abigail: Gets captured by the Barn Owl.
 * Merida: Although not a damsel in distress per se, Merida lands in this kind of situation in the final climax when Mor'du catches her and prepares to eat her until Elinor breaks free and charges to the rescue.
 * Vanellope Von Schweetz: Gets captured by King Candy and locked in the Fungeon.
 * Ariel: In the first film, Ariel gets kidnapped by Ursula and used as a bargaining tool for King Triton.
 * Wendy Darling: She gets kidnapped by Captain Hook and Peter Pan saves her.
 * Belle: Attacked by wolves until the Beast saves her.
 * Cinderella: Lady Tremaine locks her in the attic to keep her from trying on the glass slipper.
 * Anastasia: When she is a child, Rasputin catches her and almost pulls her into the icy river with him, but she manages to escape. In the final climax, she is nearly pushed off a bridge.
 * Esmeralda: She gets captured by Judge Frollo and is about to be burned at the stake, and Quasimodo rescues her.
 * Peaches: She gets captured by Captain Gutt and his crew to lure her father Manny into his trap.
 * Lilo Pelekai: Captain Gantu abducts her in the climax of the first film.
 * Rapunzel: She gets kidnapped by Mother Gothel as a baby. In the climax, however, Gothel chains her to the wall and gags her mouth to keep her from running away and warning Flynn Rider when he comes to her rescue.
 * Kayley: She gets captured by Ruber two times in the film, but then manages to free herself.
 * Queen Elsa: She gets captured by Prince Hans and locked in the Arendelle dungeon.
 * Robyn Starling: She is trapped on the top of a Ferris wheel by Captain Kiddie, but then Tom and Jerry rescue her. She gets captured by Aunt Figg and Lickboot, and also trapped in a cabin fire, and Tom and Jerry rescue her.
 * Maid Marian: She gets chased by Prince John's henchmen, and Robin Hood saves her.
 * La Petite Ballerina: She is kidnapped by Tom and his gang of alley cats during the hostile takeover of the holiday kingdom and held prisoner in the castle by the King of Cats, but she manages to free herself later in the film.
 * Penny (Bolt): She gets kidnapped by Dr. Calico, and later trapped in the studio fire.
 * Tiana: She gets captured by Reggie and his sons and Prince Naveen comes to her rescue.
 * Miss Red: She gets abducted by Professor Moriarty and his three cat henchmen.
 * Aurora
 * Jasmine: She gets captured by Jafar after Jafar makes his first two wishes and banishes Aladdin and Abu to the ends of Earth. In the climax, Jafar traps her in a giant hourglass.
 * Snow White
 * Princess Fiona: She is captured and almost killed by Lord Farquaad.
 * Jenny Foxworth: She gets kidnapped by Bill Sykes for ransom.
 * Cera
 * Ducky: In Journey to the Mists, she is captured by Ichy; in The Stone of Cold Fire, Pterano and his goons kidnap her.
 * Odette: Gets kidnapped by Rothbart, and turns into a swan in the first film.
 * Anna: Prince Hans locks her in the library and leaves her to freeze to death after she discovers his betrayal.
 * Angie: Arranged by Lola to be held hostage by Don Lino and his mob in demand of Oscar's obedience.
 * Anne-Marie: She gets kidnapped by Carface to use as a slave.
 * Princess Dot: Holds onto a dandelion puff, and nearly gets eaten by a bird.
 * Princess Bala: She got stuck in a gum under a person's shoe.
 * Marina: She gets kidnapped by Drake to force her to marry him.
 * Thumbelina: Mama Toad kidnaps her to use her as a bride for her son Grundel.
 * Lucy Wilde: captured by El Macho and strapped to a shark on dynamite
 * Megara: She gets captured by Hades and used as a bargaining chip.
 * Winnie Portley-Rind: She gets captured by Archibald Snatcher twice.
 * Jane (Peter Pan): Jane gets kidnapped by Captain Hook to use as bait to capture Peter Pan. Later, in the final climax, Hook pins her to the mast after she saves Peter.
 * Jessie the Cowgirl
 * Honey Lemon and Go Go Tomago: Yokai traps Go Go and Honey, but they manage to free themselves, aided by Hiro.
 * Dawn (Strange Magic): She gets kidnapped by the Bog King and then by Roland.

Comics

 * April Patterson - she slips and falls in the river near the Patterson family home; she nearly drowns until their aging dog Farley manages to save her
 * Elizabeth Patterson - she is assaulted at work by Howard

Video Games

 * Amy Rose: she gets abducted by Metal-Sonic in her first game Sonic CD, and later kidnapped by Zero in Sonic Adventures, held hostage by Dr. Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2 and then abducted by Lyric the Last Ancient in Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal
 * Princess Elise: Captured multiple times by Eggman
 * Princess Peach: she gets kidnapped by the evil King Bowser multiple times and the Mario Bros. must come to her rescue
 * Kairi
 * Princess Daphne
 * Princess Daisy
 * Namine
 * Pauline
 * Princess Zelda
 * Cream the Rabbit: she is held prisoner by the military until Sonic rescues her
 * Kat: Been held by Mundus after getting kidnapped by the FBI
 * Trish: Almost died by a rock until Dante save her and was stunned that he save her. Later, she was been held by Mundus and sacrifice her life to save Dante before she died.
 * Kya - Is captured by Wolfen and sent to a prison, her weapons and items are taken away. She is put inside of a floating cage, It isn't until she tricks a Wolfen into breaking her cage, that she is set free and escapes from the cage. She then finds her equipment and leaves the prison, while defeating Wolfen along the way.

Live Action Movies

 * Latika: Salim, Javed and his thugs kidnap her after she finds Jamal at the train station.
 * Patsey: She gets tied to a post and whipped by Edwin Epps.
 * Ann Darrow: Ann gets captured by the Skull Islanders to be sacrificed to King Kong, then nearly falls prey to monstrous dinosaurs.
 * Marion Ravenwood: Marion gets kidnapped by Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark. First, she is threatened by the Gestapo agent Toht; second, she gets abducted by Rene Belloq and a band of robbers.
 * Madison Bowen
 * Vesper Lynd
 * Elizabeth Swann: In The Curse of the Black Pear, she gets kidnapped by Captain Barbossa and his pirate crew. In Dead Man's Chest, she almost winds up as lunch for the Kraken.
 * Mary Jane Watson: MJ gets captured many times and Spider-Man needs to come to her rescue. She gets kidnapped by the Green Goblin in the first film, then by Dr. Octopus in the second film and Venom in the third film.
 * Robin Wheeler: In Re-Animated, she is kidnapped and tied to the train tracks by Sonny Appleday
 * Gwen Stacy: In Spider-Man 3, she almost falls to her death. In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, she gets kidnapped by the Green Goblin.
 * Christy Fimple: Christy gets captured by a group of Gwendy dolls, along with the Commando Elite.
 * Wendy the Good Little Witch: Wendy gets dragged into the Mystic Abyss by Desmond Spellman
 * Penny (Inspector Gadget): She gets kidnapped by Dr. Claw in the sequel.
 * Laurel Weaver: Laurel gets kidnapped by Edgar the Bug while Edgar tries to get to the ship tower at an abandoned world's fair.
 * Little Orphan Annie
 * Nicky Nale
 * Ursula Stanhope: She was kidnapped by Lyle Van de Groot to force her to marry him
 * Susie & Jessica: they are kidnapped and taken hostage by Bart Gifooley
 * Dorothy Gale: She was kidnapped by the Flying Monkeys and being held captive in the Wicked Witch of the West's castle.
 * Penny Pingleton: She gets tied to her bed by her mother as punishment.
 * Ofelia: She gets chased by the Pale Man and then imprisoned by Captain Vidal.
 * Carol Brady
 * Bandersnatch: Captured by the Red Queen and her armored cards in her doghouse.
 * Carol Anne Freeling: She was kidnapped by the ghosts and was sent to the closet
 * Jeanette Miller (live action): She was munk-napped by Zoe, who forces her to retrieve the treasure from the cave.
 * Tara Roland: She was kidnapped by the ghost, Phears and is held captive by the evil ghosts.
 * Madeline (1998 film)
 * Brenda Bradford: She gets kidnapped by Dr. Claw and taken to his helicopter.
 * Mal: About to drown in the lake after jumping in to save Ben after he doesn't resurface, but is unable to swim. Ben saves her before she drowns.
 * Ashley (Bulletproof): Grimm Jim kidnaps her out of revenge on Bulletproof Jackson.
 * Colleen Barker: She gets kidnapped by Bugsy Them and his thugs for ransom.
 * Hannah Stine: She gets imprisoned in her home by R.L. Stine and nearly falls prey to the Goosebumps monsters.
 * Mothra: She often gets into fights with Godzilla. In ​Godzilla vs. Mothra, she gets paralyzed by Godzilla's Nuclear Pulse and Godzilla blasts a Ferris Wheel which nearly falls on top of her until she is saved by Battra. She also tries to stop King Ghidorah but is attacked and nearly killed by him until Godzilla and Rodan comes to help her in Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster.
 * Miki Saegusa: In Godzilla vs Biollante she is overwhelmed by Godzilla's psychic power. In Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla she gets kidnapped by the Japanese Mafia. In Godzilla vs Destoroyah, she is chased and nearly killed by the Flying Destoroyah until Junior blasts him and has her helicopter destroyed by Destoroyah leaving her an a dangerous ground.
 * Sara Crewe she was lock up by Miss Minchin as a maid, and was falsely accused to be a thief, and was about to beg taken away by police officer until her father Captain Crewe get his memory back and save her and finally reunited with her.

Live action TV

 * Happens quite a few times in Supernatural. Charlie Bradbury started off as a damsel in distress because she was enslaved by the Leviathans yet she broke out of their possession. Also Osborne's Daughter qualifies as one yet no one can save her.
 * Kimberly Ann Hart
 * In Doctor Who, Rose Tyler falls in this category several times. Most notably in the episode when Lady Cassandra possesses her and the Doctor has to save her. Also Donna Noble qualifies as a damsel in distress when the Doctor has erased her memories of him but she begins to remember everything when the Master is back.
 * In Lost Tapes, there are tonnes of examples:
 * Despite her bravery, Rachel Glenn may qualify as a damsel in distress yet she survives her encounter with little outside help.
 * Sharon Novak is the most notable damsel in distress, yet she is a cowardly, corrupt, greedy defenseless damsel who only relies on her beauty and outside help. Because of these qualities, she fails and gets eaten

Anime Series

 * Yukina: she is kidnapped by the Gonzo Tarukane
 * Mai Valentine: she is held hostage by PaniK
 * Keiko Yukimura: she lands herself in dangerous situations, requiring Yusake Urameshi to come to her rescue
 * Marina: she is kidnapped by Atilla and Hun from Team Rocket
 * Emily(Glitter Force):Gets taken by Ulric's voliball buffoon,Kelsey saves her lader by Brute Foodball net Buffoon,April saves her
 * Gatomon: she is tatúen away by Myotismon to use as bait for the eighth Digi-Destined child
 * Téa Gardner: she gets kidnapped by the Rare Hunters, along with Joey Wheeler
 * Rini aka Sailor Mini-Moon: she was kidnapped by Lady Badiyanu
 * Delia Ketchum: she gets kidnapped by Entei in the third Pokémon movie, "Spell of the Unown", and brought to Molly Hale in the Crystal Tower
 * Amy Anderson aka Sailor Mercury
 * Mimi Tachikawa
 * Serenity Wheeler: In Battle City, she and Tristan are ambushed by the Rare Hunters and then in the Virtual World, she is chased by a Mad Sword Beast
 * Kamiya Kaoru
 * Hilary Tachibana: she is abducted by two Men in Black along with Kenny
 * Sango
 * Kari Kamiya: she is kidnapped by Divermon
 * Cosmo the Seedrian
 * Kagome Higarashi: she is kidnapped by the Thunder Bros., and then by Koga the Wolf Demon
 * Raye Hino aka Sailor Mars
 * Sora Takenouchi: she gets kidnapped by Bakemon, along with Joe Kido, then gets kidnapped by Datamon
 * Lita aka Sailor Jupiter
 * May: she gets kidnapped by a wild Skarmory, then gets kidnapped by a giant Slaking
 * Misty: she gets turned into a doll (along with Brock) by Sabrina, caught and held hostage by Team Rocket on occasions, nearly drowns
 * Dawn: she is attacked by a swarm of Ariados
 * Serena: she is attacked by Swirlix
 * Fennekin: kidnapped by Team rocket
 * Eevee (XY series):captured by team rocket but is rescued by serena
 * Iris: she is held hostage by Team Plasma
 * Bonnie
 * Bulma: she gets kidnapped by a pterodactyl, then possessed by Baby
 * Molly Baker
 * Pan: she gets turned into a doll by Dolltaki
 * Mina aka Sailor Venus
 * Chi-Chi: Young Chi-Chi gets chased by a giant T-rex, adult self possessed by Baby
 * Serena aka Sailor Moon
 * Rika Nonaka: She gets kidnapped by IceDevimon.
 * Asia Argento: she gets kidnapped by her fake savior & lover stealing pimp Diodora Astaroth

Western Animation

 * Gosalyn Waddlemeyer-Mallard: She gets kidnapped by a criminal kingpin named Taurus Bulba; she is also captured and held hostage by various villains (ie: Steelbeak, Wacko, Tuskernini, Megavolt, Negaduck, QuackerJack, etc.), threatened by Darkwarrior Duck, nearly dragged into a portal through Paddywhack's evil Jack-in-the-box
 * Dr. Rhoda Dendron: she gets kidnapped by Bushroot, who intends to turn her into a half-plant.
 * Morgana Macawber: she gets kidnapped by Negaduck and captured by the Fearsome Five along with the other Justice Ducks; she is also captured by Beelzebub in order to exchange her for Darkwing Duck's soul
 * Marge Simpson
 * Babs Bunny
 * Cleocatra: Cleocatra, or Cleo for short, ends up getting kidnapped on occasions and relies on her love interest, Riff-Raff to come to her rescue
 * Princess Calla: She gets kidnapped by Duke Igthorn.
 * Daphne Blake: has earned her nickname "Danger-Prone Daphne" due to her being abducted by villains or other situations
 * Brittany Miller
 * Jeanette Miller
 * Eleanor Miller
 * Eliza Thornberry: She gets captured by poachers in Trouble with Darwin and taken captive by Sloan and Bree Blackburn in The Wild Thornberrys Movie.
 * Minnie Mouse
 * April O'Neil: she gets kidnapped by the Foot Soldiers and/or The Shredder.
 * Lisa Simpson
 * Sam Manson: she gets possessed by Undergrowth to make her his queen
 * Mandy: she gets kidnapped by the Bogeyman and put her under his sleep spell until her will is broken in Billy and Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
 * Maggie Simpson
 * Catwoman: she gets kidnapped by the Joker in the Season 3 episode, "The Laughing Cats" of The Batman.
 * Twilight Sparkle

Visual Novels

 * Annabeth Chase: In The Lightning Thief, Annabeth gets attacked by spiders. In The Sea of Monsters, she gets captured by Polyphemus and is about to get eaten. In The Titan's Curse, Annabeth gets kidnapped by Luke Castellan and Atlas. In The Battle of the Labyrinth, she is taken hostage by Geryon. Of course, Percy Jackson saves her life in each scene.
 * Ginny Weasly
 * Hermione Granger
 * Marcie Venturi: Gets kidnapped by Forda and her henchmen.
 * Andrea McCallister: Gets kidnapped by Quincy Maroone's dim-witted gang.
 * Riley Flemming: Gets captured by Derek Krumholtz, who believed she was responsible for shutting down Krumholtz Industries, and he was going to throw her in the lava to kill her.
 * Wendy Darling: She and her siblings get kidnapped by Captain Hook.
 * Helen Grace: She gets captured by Mulgarath and the goblins.
 * Princess Tiger Lily: She is kidnapped by Captain Hook and left to drown at Marooner's rock.
 * Eva Nine: In The Search for WondLa, she gets captured by Besteel and frees herself with the aid of Rovender Kitt.
 * Madeline: she slips and falls in the River until a stray dog named Genevieve rescues her from a watery grave.
 * Little Red Riding Hood: She winds up as lunch for the Big Bad Wolf but gets rescued by the Woodsman.