Only Millennials Can Match These Disney Side Characters To Their Film
- by Danielle Lasher
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Disney fans used to have to wait until Mouse Headquarters decided it was time for a movie like Aristocats or The Jungle Book to show up in theaters again, or if they got really lucky, maybe be broadcast on television. Millennials, however, grew up with the joy of movies available on VHS. For the first time, Disney fans didn't have to wait for the next theatrical release to watch their favorite movies.
Disney still kept a sense of occasion about the releases of the classics on videotape, though. They made the video release dates almost as big a deal as the movies coming to the big screen, with limited times some titles would be available for sale, and special editions, too. Despite the specialness of the release schedule, millennial kids with VCRs could now watch The Little Mermaid or Snow White or Sleeping Beauty as many times as they wanted. And they did, over and over again.
These fans became the first generation who could watch their favorite cartoons every day if they wanted to, and they became the first generation of fans to develop encyclopedic knowledge of the movies because of it. A golden age of Disney classics on video overlapped with millennial kids who watched them, and these young fans knew more about their favorites than any other previous generation. The challenge? Try to match these minor characters to their classics—for real millennials, this should be a breeze.
What movie is this character from?
She's a ragged outcast from the streets of the city and runs into the main characters while they're on the run. She sings a swinging torch song while in a kind of dungeon, and the song has turned into a jazz standard of sorts. She's world-weary, wise, and lives for adventure, and she carries a torch for one of the main characters—his name is even in the name of her signature tune. Oh, and she's a dog. What's the movie?
What movie is this character from?
He's in charge of a whole operation in the forests of a strange land, but not because he likes forests or new places. He leads a boatload of people who don't like him very much, and has an assistant who is almost totally useless. He wants to find gold no matter what it takes, and sings about it in a song with a great pun about mining for gold and the gold being "mine." He has a pampered dog, too. What movie is he in?
What movie is this character from?
This feline bad guy doesn't speak or sing, but he chases the title character's friends all over the place. She rescues her friends from him constantly. He catches one of them under a teacup, but the little guy escapes. This evil kitty is beloved by the other villains in the story, who pamper him and insist that he's misunderstood rather than as terrible as he really is. Even his name tells you how awful he is. Which movie is this guy from?
What movie is this character from?
Another feline bad guy in another movie talks quite a bit. You could say he's in charge, or would be if he were smart enough to really run things. He's kind of a baby, especially when things don't go his way--in one scene, he starts sucking his thumb when he gets really angry about the movie's hero. His evil henchman is the starring villain of the movie, and is the one really running things around the kingdom. What's his movie?
What movie is this character from?
Bad guy animals creep up in the oddest places. This one slithers his way into the story in a tree and hypnotizes the hero. He also seems to keep trying to kill the hero, but his preferred method of killing him is pretty strange—it involves squeezing. When the good guys defeat him, they tie him into a knot and he gets so bent out of shape that he acquires angles he never had before. What story is he part of?
What movie is this character from?
There's more than one snake in the Disney bad guy pantheon. This one doesn't work on his own, but acts as the assistant to one of the other bad guys. He wears a puffy hat and a matching short cape and collar, and like the other snake, he can hypnotize his victims. He is very good at figuring things out. He is much smarter than his boss, but his boss doesn't listen to him. Where does he appear?
What movie is this character from?
This happy-go-lucky fellow shows up when he gets thrown out of a restaurant, and his nieces are surprised to see him. They're a little embarrassed, in fact. Their dear old uncle is not in good shape, and he keeps yelling and singing "ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" and yelling "whoopee!" He is proud of how he was going to be prepared in the kitchen he just got thrown out of. He struggles to be dignified, but his hat is in terrible shape. What movie is this?
What movie are these characters from?
This group of kind of mean sidekicks sings along with the hero. They're not exactly evil, but they aren't very helpful, either. In the song, they tell the hero that he's really ugly. They are part of the place where they appear, and they're also funny. They do not appear in the original version of this story, but are Disney inventions. What movie were they invented in?
What movie is this character from?
This animal sidekick doesn't sing or speak, but he's an important part of the story. One of the main characters mistakenly calls him a cow (he's a horse). He tries to stomp on that same character when they first meet. He is a loyal friend to the title character, but he probably belongs to her father. He helps rescue the title character and her friends from an avalanche. What's the title?
What movie is this character from?
This character is the dad of one of the main characters. He is eccentric but smart and enjoys sharing his love of knowledge with his daughter. He's also very kind. He uses contemporary scientific language to talk about some of their discoveries, and it's funny when he does. He can be clueless about practical things, like choosing a safe guide—he's picked out a bad guy as their guide and takes too long to realize the mistake. What's this movie?
What movie is this character from?
This feline side character does not sing, but his owner sings to him. She confides in him about how awful some of the people she meets are. He is scary to anyone he doesn't like, and takes a bite out of someone's pants, but he's a perfectly tame friend to the princess. In the movie's climactic battle, one of the main characters turns him into a cub and he's stuck in a birdcage. He gets turned back to himself at the end of the battle. What movie?
What movie is this character from?
This character is a mysterious ringleader who runs the world one of the main characters lives in. He seems to be able to do anything—sing, dance, steal things. He wears a multi-colored outfit. He is the instigator of a huge holiday celebration that includes one of the major songs in the movie, about everything being backwards and topsy-turvy from what it should be. He tries to kill the title character, but not out of malice. Where is he from?
What movie is this character from?
This character tries to follow orders, even though he doesn't think he's doing the right thing but disobeys when the moment of truth comes. He works for the villain. He is a forest person—and yes, he's a person—and brings the title character to the forest, but he doesn't do the rest of what he was ordered to do. Instead, he tries to fool the villain. He wears a cape and a hat. He tells the title character to run away—in what movie?
What movie is this character from?
Disney villains seem to have it in for the heroes. This villain wants a whole bunch of creature’s dead, but she's driven by fashion rather than ambition or money. She has an elaborate plot to get what she wants, but the stupidity of her sidekicks help doom her efforts. She cons people she is supposed to be friends with to get what she wants. She ends up careening off the side of the road, screaming all the way down. What movie is this one?
What movie is this character from?
This character flies from place to place and is usually in a tree. He is old and wise and attempts to give the title character and his friends some of that wisdom. It's only partly successful; mostly it's funny. As soon as the situation this guy predicts actually happens, the title character forgets everything this guy told him and goes off in a daze. This guy is also cranky, and sleeps all day, if his singing neighbors will let him. Where do we meet him?
What movie is this character from?
There's an animal side character that shares a name with a human side character in another movie. This one is a sidekick and helper to a wizard. He watches over what his boss does and tries to keep an eye on the movie's hero for safety. When he sees the hero getting into trouble with an evil (but funny) magical villain, he flies back to try and save the day. His usual sound is mistaken for a question. Where do we meet him?
What movie is this character from?
This character doesn't have a name but is in charge of a lot of things, including the punishment (and escape) that indirectly causes the events of the movie. She keeps checking in throughout the movie to see how things are going, and if the escapee has been captured yet. She is concerned about conservation, and has the sense to change her mind about what should happen to one of the main characters when it seems reasonable to do so. What's this movie?
What movie is this character from?
This wise father figure to the main character never loses his temper and is very kind-hearted—that's how he ended up taking care of the movie's hero. He and his wife wanted children. He found the hero as a baby. Later, when the hero is much older, he brings the main character to the marketplace to tend to some household business. Things go wrong and one of the shopkeeper’s yells at him about it. He's a farmer. In what movie?
What movie is this character from?
This motherly character comforts one of the main characters when she is trapped in a strange place and pours her some tea. She has a son, who we see in the movie, and she sings two of the movie's most famous songs. At the end, when she is transformed back into her true self, she looks like she's been a cook or some other household servant to one of the main characters. She isn't an animal or a person—she's a magically animated inanimate object. What movie introduces her?
What movie is this character from?
This royal father has the distinction of almost never seeing his child. He is calmer than his neighbor, who's also a king. He tries to find a solution to a curse, but he needs a lot of help from some other characters to get it to work. He shouts a classic line when the villain appears: "Seize her!" The order he shouts turns out to be impossible—his soldiers run at the villain but are neutralized. He falls asleep with his neighbor. What's this movie?
What movie is this character from?
This character is the main character's best friend—in fact, she declares it, and gets others out of the way by loudly saying "best friend, coming through!" When her buddy is in big trouble, she tries to stop his father from finding out. She comes up with unwise things for the main character to do, but it's not to get him in trouble—she just doesn't realize ahead of time that these things could turn out badly. What movie is she from?
What movie is this character from?
This horse wears a flowered hat, and proudly pulls a carriage through the city streets. She makes friends with a main character even though she thinks he may be a bit unsavory, and shows her loyalty trying to help the main characters even when there isn't much she can do. The villain confides his elaborate plan to her, which is how the main characters find out that there is something bad about to happen to them. In what movie does she do this?
What movie is this character from?
This character is the voice of reason for the main character. She is constantly trying to get her to behave a little more sensibly. The main character tells her a secret, believing that her friend will keep the confidence, but this side character betrays her friend's confidence and indirectly brings about a tragic loss. She is stubborn and realistic and gets frustrated with the main character's dreaminess. What movie do we meet her in?
What movie is this character from?
When the main character arrives in a new place, one of the first people she meets is this character, who immediately picks a fight and scares the main character. We figure out pretty soon that it's all just talk, though, and this character is in fact pretty tame. He has a funny voice, and one of the more memorable moments in the movie is when he's about to jump into a river to go swimming (the main character escapes embarrassment here, fortunately). What's this movie?
What movie is this character from?
This villainous feline is, unusually, not the only feline in the movie. He is part of a whole group of them, but his main friends seem to be from other species. He plots against his family. He is very intelligent. He is physically weak, but in a scary moment of the movie, he is strong enough to do some real damage to the hero. He's a good liar, and very convincing about awful things that aren't true. What movie is he in?
What movie is this character from?
This magical creature can fly around, although his wings are probably removable, and he brings word from his boss to whoever he needs to get to. He can talk, and while he has some supernatural powers, there aren't many of them and we don't really see them in the movie. A magical object he carries helps his powers. He isn't really human, but he looks sort of like one (apart from being blue, he's totally normal). What movie does he appear in?
What movie is this character from?
This adviser to the king lays down the law but tries to be reasonable within the rules he enforces. He doesn't rat on the main character when he could have; she gets in trouble with her father anyway, though. He is an animal. He sings—in fact, he's a musical marvel. He is shocked when he discovers the main character's secret, but she convinces him not to say anything. He later tries to help her get to a happily ever after ending. What's his movie?
What movie is this character from?
This tiny magical creature doesn't really speak, but she does make noise. She certainly communicates. She is one of the only magical creatures in the movie, even though the main action of the movie takes place in a whole land where things are quite unusual. She is cranky and jealous, but performs a famous act of self-sacrifice. Fortunately, she is saved in the end, and the main character that she is loyal to does not lose her. What movie is she in?
What movie is this character from?
This flying fellow is the brother to another character; the brother is the one who has helped the heroes in the past. This guy gets himself bent into a weird shape after crash-landing. He is a bird, although not naturally maternal, so when a moment arrives in the story when a nest full of eggs must be sat on, he is persuaded to do his duty. He is named after a famous human that he has something in common with. What's his movie?
What movie is this character from?
This horse is called a "trusty steed," and it's true—he is trusty. He takes one of the main characters anywhere he needs to go, especially if he's promised carrots. He also shows up in the forest and meets the title character. Even though he's a horse, he tries to go along with some dancing. When his rider lands in the river, this horse seems to think it's funny, but then the rider tells him, "no carrots." Which movie is this?
What movie is this character from?
This sidekick to the villain is an accomplished cook. He seems to be big and dumb, and in some ways is pretty clueless, but he knows an awful lot. He's terrible at keeping his mind on his boss' instructions and has to be reminded of what the evil plan is. He says some of the funniest lines in the movie, and even though he's technically on the bad guy side, he's lovable. That's because he seems so clueless about the villain. What movie introduces this guy?
What movie is this character from?
One movie has several characters that get in the main character's way and make life difficult for him, but they aren't really villains. This character acts as the hero's boss, and is unworthy of being a boss. He's not very smart, and he's not very nice, and he's also not very good at what he does. He does, however, have the support of an important higher-up. When he tells the hero to go get something for him, the hero ends up dong something miraculous. This happens in what movie?
What movie is this character from?
When the villain gives an order, this character tries his best to carry it out, but he's so bumbling that it almost never goes as planned. He often brings danger on his boss by mistake—danger in the form of another character that's out to get his boss. He cries sometimes and tries to rally the rest of his boss' underlings, but it doesn't work. At the end of the movie, he's the only one left who sticks with the villain. Which movie's assistant villain is he?
What movie is this character from?
In this movie, a family made up of two humans are the owners of the main female character. She is intensely loyal to this side character, who is the male human in that family. He is kind and generous, and doesn't believe she could ever do anything wrong. She brings him the newspaper every day, and slippers. He doesn't understand that she will be upset if the household changes, but it does. He is very proud of her new family at the end of the movie. What movie?
What movie are these two characters in?
These two henchmen are too easily fooled to be of any real use to their boss, but she keeps trying anyway. They have to set up house in the middle of nowhere, and they have to keep count of something important so that things don't go wrong. They are okay at their job while they're in the city, but when they get to the countryside, a bunch of farm animals manage to outwit them. What movie do these fools appear in?