Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

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thedisneyspirit
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Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by thedisneyspirit »

Similar to the heroines thread, but now focused on the guys.

As for me, I'll probably fill it up as time comes, but for the moment my least favorite is probably John Smith. Aside from admitting he's killed other natives in the backstory of the film, he's just patronizing and when not he's a generic action hero. His design is also pretty unappealing.

Peter Pan is also a character hard to like, but I wonder if he's unlikable on purpose. He's supposed to represent every aspect of childhood, and brattiness is a part of that too, so...
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Peter Pan ~ Easily the absolute worst.

Hiro Hamada / Fredzilla ~ I've only seen BH6 once and both these characters were irksome. Hiro is a brat even before Tadashi (who I do like) dies.

Kenai and Koda ~ The reason Brother Bear is unwatchable for me. I know Kenai grows throughout the film and Koda is just a child (one who loses his mother), but they're both just so obnoxious and unbearable. :wink:

Prince Charming ~ Both he and The Prince from Snow White are basically cardboard cutouts, but while I think The Prince goes well with SW, there's just something I've never liked about Prince Charming. Part of it is that Cinderella is more fleshed out as a character than Snow White and she needed a better love interest than SW did, but something about his design and his yawning at all the pretty girls fawning over him leaves me with a negative impression of the character in a way The Prince didn't. The Prince I liked because of his design and the song he sings to Snow White. I guess the balcony scene in Snow White makes me think of Romeo and Juliet, and that's more romantic/devotional to me than a dance and a kiss on the hand. *shrug*

Prince Phillip ~ I've explained before (although it feels like a long time ago now) that he always creeped me out as a child. Something about the wood scene always gave me rape-y vibes. I think it's the way he keeps grabbing Aurora's hand as she tries to escape. It doesn't help that he looks quite a lot like my grandfather (especially in pictures when he was young).

I used to hate Flynn Rider, too, but the Tangled TV series has softened my opinion of the character. Tigger gets on my nerves at times although I'm not sure if he would count in this category (most of the WtP characters seem to share equal time with Pooh, so... Idk). Wilbur Robinson is a touch annoying, too. Pacha is dull despite John Goodman, but that's the worst I'd say about the character.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by disneyprincess11 »

I recall from the directors that they made Peter Pan bratty and intolerable on purpose because of his childish ways.

1) I can't say I like him or don't like him, but Maui. He's the worst and only bad element in Moana. He's immediately dislikable because he puts a CHILD in a sealed cave to die in. Like, good lord! :headshake: The biggest problem of Maui is not that, but the writing. They really tried to modernize him and Dreamworks-ize him that really make us pull from the time of the movie.

Examples:
“When you use a bird to write with, it’s called tweeting.” (To be fair, the whole audience was laughing to - no joke - the point of applause in that quote. So, I guess it worked for Disney?)

“Listen. For a thousand years, I’ve only been thinking about keepin’ this hair silky, getting my hook, and being awesome, again.”

What is so great about Ron and John's scripts (and the 90's) is that their writing is timeless and fits the atmosphere & the character. Naveen was a prick at first, but he was still charming without "making him hip."

Dwayne Johnson is really the reason why I can tolerate Maui. He was perfect as him.


2) I like Flynn, but I hate they gave him Dreamworks characteristics as well. I still cringe to the smoulder 8 years later.

3) I do Kenani from Brother Bear, but he is unlikeable at times. He's just so rude to Koda, whom I like.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by thedisneyspirit »

The new Revival Era Heroes are a mixed mash. Sometimes I like them, but other times they can be obnoxious. Since they're all cut from the same pattern in terms of personality, I suppose this is expected, but I kinda hope Disney thinks of changing this formula soon.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by JeanGreyForever »

Peter Pan. He's nothing at all like the book version who at least is endearing in his cockiness, probably because he is so charming. The Disney version lacks any charm. He's a petulant brat and utterly infuriating. Reminds me a lot of Lampwick (not just in physical design) but at least Lampwick is somebody you're supposed to dislike and root against. Peter is the main character, or at least title character. He represents the worst qualities of masculinity in the 50s. I love Bobby Driscoll's work as a child but he was way too old by the time he took on this role.

Naveen - can't stand him. He's a womanizer and way too skeezy for my taste. I can't see him being faithful to anyone or any relationship. Him suddenly falling in love with Tiana comes out of nowhere and I can't see their relationship lasting. Tiana isn't my favorite either, but she deserves way better than him. I was quite disappointed that Disney made a hero, let alone a prince, like Naveen.

Flynn - he reminds me a lot of Naveen to be honest. Don't trust him one bit and I despise his Dreamworks style of humor. I couldn't care less about his Eugene backstory which I found to be an utter cliche and not a well-developed one at that. Seemed like it was just inserted to ensure that people would root for him because of his "tragic" backstory. The fact that he took a sheltered, naive girl into a pub with thugs speaks to his character, since we all know what likely would have occurred in a real situation like that if this hadn't been Disney. He comes off even worse considering what his character was supposed to be like in earlier drafts of the film. Only his looks are his saving grace and I'd argue that most girls only like him because they have the hots for him. I also find his creation, from picking and choosing the best qualities of different celebrity men a bit voyeuristic and creepy. Imagine the reverse if it had been done with a female character, choosing the best lips from one, and the best legs from another.

Kristoff - he's the typical loner archetype who ends up falling for a young, idealistic girl. His design may resemble Bastion's (proto-type Flynn from Rapunzel) but he loses all the endearing charm and qualities from that character. Frankly, I just find the character gross. I get that he lives in the woods with rock trolls, but not only is he unhygienic, but I didn't appreciate him generalizing the entire male gender with his sickening and frankly even disturbing ways. Also him suddenly falling for Anna totally kills the theme of the story that you can't fall in love with someone you've just met. Especially since he's known Anna for as long as Hans did, if not less time. His only saving grace is because of Jonathan Groff's voice acting.

Maui - I don't actually mind him too much because he is a demigod so his conceitedness is integral to his character and storyline, plus his tattoo version serves as a reminder to the audience that he does have a more human side. I also enjoyed his backstory, much more than Flynn's. I only don't like his Dreamworks type humor, but it's not as insufferable as Flynn's who literally opens his movie this way.

I also find Shang to be somewhat overrated. People only seem to care for him these days because they think he represents a gender-fluid or bisexual icon. If he didn't stand for those things, I think more people would find him boring.
thedisneyspirit wrote:The new Revival Era Heroes are a mixed mash. Sometimes I like them, but other times they can be obnoxious. Since they're all cut from the same pattern in terms of personality, I suppose this is expected, but I kinda hope Disney thinks of changing this formula soon.
With Lassetter gone, I'm hoping this can happen. And the pattern isn't just for the heroes, but the heroines as well. Every female character has been this young, idealistic and doe-eyed character who ends up reforming her far more cynical and worldly male partner. The best take on this was Judy and Nick who felt the most natural and developed of this archetypal pairing. Rapunzel and Flynn represent the worst version of this while Moana and Maui are the most generic.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

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JeanGreyForever wrote: Naveen - can't stand him. He's a womanizer and way too skeezy for my taste. I can't see him being faithful to anyone or any relationship. Him suddenly falling in love with Tiana comes out of nowhere and I can't see their relationship lasting. Tiana isn't my favorite either, but she deserves way better than him. I was quite disappointed that Disney made a hero, let alone a prince, like Naveen.
The whole womanizing quality is the same reason I could never find the Rapunzel-Flynn relationship believable in-film either. The only reason I could enjoy Naveen instead of Flynn is the voice actor makes him very charming, and the "Dig a Little Deeper" scene. Well, that and Naveen being the first in this string of characters perhaps makes the difference for me (although I guess there's Mittens in Bolt who's a similar jerk character, but with a better backstory to explain it).

As for Flynn, like I've said he's only grown on me because of the TV series allowing for more interactions between him and Rapunzel. Of course I've always said I wish they'd kept the earlier iteration (Bastion), but even the more gypsy/pirate-ish variation of him before they settled on the finished character seemed at least more charismatic like Naveen.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by JeanGreyForever »

Disney's Divinity wrote: The whole womanizing quality is the same reason I could never find the Rapunzel-Flynn relationship believable in-film either. The only reason I could enjoy Naveen instead of Flynn is the voice actor makes him very charming, and the "Dig a Little Deeper" scene. Well, that and Naveen being the first in this string of characters perhaps makes the difference for me (although I guess there's Mittens in Bolt who's a similar jerk character, but with a better backstory to explain it).

As for Flynn, like I've said he's only grown on me because of the TV series allowing for more interactions between him and Rapunzel. Of course I've always said I wish they'd kept the earlier iteration (Bastion), but even the more gypsy/pirate-ish variation of him before they settled on the finished character seemed at least more charismatic like Naveen.
I wrote a lot about Flynn so I didn't want to dive into him anymore, but I feel like he's completely cut from the same cloth as Naveen actually. He also is very much a womanizer as you said, so I find the character just as insufferable. I actually liked Naveen's voice actor which is one of the few pluses the character gets from me, whereas I find Flynn's voice actor to be generic.

I still haven't seen the TV although I know that several people who didn't enjoy the original movie, such as yourself, endorsed the TV show which slightly raised my interest. I'm just so busy with other TV shows and I frankly don't think it would alter my opinion of Tangled very much since it's not just the characters I dislike, but also the setting, costumes, mythos, general tone, etc. Bastion was who I wanted to see on screen especially because I think he provided a nice physical contrast to Rapunzel's character but I would have liked to have seen the Romani version of Flynn/Bastion as well. Especially since then we would have a male character of color with a white heroine. However, if his character was going to be as skeezy as Naveen and Flynn ended up being, then I'd rather not that the Romani race be further associated with those character traits.

Mittens is interestingly is a character I really like and in fact the only part about Bolt that I enjoy. I think it's refreshing that in Disney's current crop of films for a female character (albeit a cat) to be the jaded and cynical character in contrast to Bolt.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by thedisneyspirit »

Calhoun and Vanellope would also be an reverse of the "cynical guy" thing the other revival films have, considering Felix and Ralph are much more naive and idealistic compared to them, who are much more weary and street-smart. As for BH6...I dunno. I don't think either Hiro or Baymax fit into the mold, and the other characters are too minor to fit the formula.

As for the Revival guys, it's a mixed bag. Sometimes they're charming, other times they're rather rude. Sometimes they're integral to the story, other times they just feel tacked on, and their relationship with the female lead feels often forced. And often I just feel I like them for shallow reasons, like their voices or their design. (Nick and Kristoff have lovely voices, and Naveen is one of the handsomest princes). Though I think Nick is probably the best of this mold, all things considered...

:? I'm not even sure why this is, tbh, Ralph was a decent lead, and with characters like Aladdin, Tarzan, Quasimodo, etc. I thought Disney had finally managed to create well-developed interesting male leads.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

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I don't like Ralph. I think Disney wanted to make a "bad guy turned good" without having the courage to actually make the character a bad guy at the beginning (same applies to Elsa and Maleficent) like they used to with the Beast, Meg and Kuzco.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by JeanGreyForever »

thedisneyspirit wrote:Calhoun and Vanellope would also be an reverse of the "cynical guy" thing the other revival films have, considering Felix and Ralph are much more naive and idealistic compared to them, who are much more weary and street-smart.

As for the Revival guys, it's a mixed bag. Sometimes they're charming, other times they're rather rude. Sometimes they're integral to the story, other times they just feel tacked on, and their relationship with the female lead feels often forced. And often I just feel I like them for shallow reasons, like their voices or their design. (Nick and Kristoff have lovely voices, and Naveen is one of the handsomest princes). Though I think Nick is probably the best of this mold, all things considered...

:? I'm not even sure why this is, tbh, Ralph was a decent lead, and with characters like Aladdin, Tarzan, Quasimodo, etc. I thought Disney had finally managed to create well-developed interesting male leads.
No wonder Calhoun and Felix have been given bit roles in the WIR sequel. They didn't fit the Lasseter mold.

Aladdin, Tarzan, and Quasimodo are three of my favorite male Disney protagonists as well. And I love how different all three of them are compared to the male heroes of the Revival who are almost all synonymous. I will say though that I find Hercules to be a bit bland. He's better than most recent Disney protagonists, but he's missing something for me.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

Post by disneyprincess11 »

I actually love Naveen. He is a flawed womanizer, but there is still a genuine kindness to him, like with the little boy he dances with on the streets. His development is rushed, but it still shows. He's just a charming, but sweet character.

Out of all of the Revival Heroes, Ralph and Felix, besides the Big Hero 6 boys, are the most different and they actually have their own characteristics.

Nick is pretty much a Flynn Rider 3.0, but he actually has a interesting backstory and a really great development throughout the movie, which is why he's better than Flynn. I am guessing they would do the same thing with Jack in Gigantic.
thedisneyspirit wrote:Calhoun and Vanellope would also be an reverse of the "cynical guy" thing the other revival films have.....
Yet they still had their own personalities. Vanellope has mischievous, but cute and snarky in her own way. And Calhoun was a straight up military person. I just don't know how Disney still manages to make the same characters over and over again. I hope it changes now Lassenter is gone.
farerb wrote:I don't like Ralph. I think Disney wanted to make a "bad guy turned good" without having the courage to actually make the character a bad guy at the beginning (same applies to Elsa and Maleficent) like they used to with the Beast, Meg and Kuzco.
I was little bit annoyed by Ralph too when I first saw the movie with the constant yelling and stuff. I found him decent, but I love him much more now too. The point of Ralph though, is that he plays a bad guy role, but he's good in real life. His colleagues take it to literal and treat him like garbage. When I first saw the movie, I thought he'll be a literal bad guy too.

A part of me wishes they kept Elsa evil. I love what she have, but it's so distant from the original. And evil Idina Menzel would be a dream.
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Re: Who are your LEAST favorite Disney heroes?

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disneyprincess11 wrote: Nick is pretty much a Flynn Rider 3.0, but he actually has a interesting backstory and a really great development throughout the movie, which is why he's better than Flynn. I am guessing they would do the same thing with Jack in Gigantic.

A part of me wishes they kept Elsa evil. I love what she have, but it's so distant from the original. And evil Idina Menzel would be a dream.
This makes me even happier that Gigantic was cancelled, because besides looking like another Tangled wannabe film, I don't think I'd have it in me to see the fourth rendition of Flynn Rider that Disney has released this decade. Not to mention, he'd be even more insufferable since he'd be the lead of the film.

I would have liked evil Elsa too. An evil Elsa that can still reform though, because as of now, Elsa is quite bland especially with every new short that comes out. Her only scenes seem to involve her apologizing which is even worse than the limited screentime she had in her film. At least as a villain, she could chew the scenery and probably appear more. Her best scene is still when she's fighting Hans' guards and seriously considering killing them until Hans talks her out of it, for reasons I still don't completely understand. I would have liked to have seen a more morally ambiguous Elsa like that, especially since it would fit her signature song more.
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