BrettEagles ranks Disney Characters

Woo. I consider myself to be quite knowledgable in the all things Disney so I figured I would join the ranking craze. Give me some characters and I will rank them in order with writeups. These rankings will be based mostly on my personal feelings, but historical context will be taken into consideration.

Rules


 * Characters can be from any short, movie, cartoon, Disney park ride, whatever as long as they are Disney related.
 * Feel free to suggest specific examples (i.e. Baloo from Jungle Book or Baloo from TaleSpin).
 * Also you can suggest live-action characters as well.

This is still an ongoing project, so feel free to add to the queue on Board 8.

Current Rankings
Rankings:
 * 1) Donald Duck
 * 2) Mickey Mouse
 * 3) Goofy
 * 4) The Genie
 * 5) Captain Jack Sparrow
 * 6) Tigger
 * 7) Belle
 * 8) Pluto
 * 9) WALL-E
 * 10) Jafar
 * 11) Woody
 * 12) Judge Claude Frollo
 * 13) Alice
 * 14) Scrooge McDuck
 * 15) Tinker Bell
 * 16) Darkwing Duck
 * 17) Roger Rabbit
 * 18) Hercules
 * 19) Fa Mulan
 * 20) Jack Skellington
 * 21) Simba
 * 22) Scar
 * 23) Ursula
 * 24) Mike Wazowski
 * 25) Merlin
 * 26) Tramp
 * 27) Mufasa
 * 28) The Beast
 * 29) Hades
 * 30) Ariel
 * 31) Megara
 * 32) Launchpad McQuack
 * 33) Eeyore
 * 34) Iago
 * 35) Pumbaa
 * 36) Gadget Hackwrench
 * 37) Kim Possible
 * 38) Archimedes
 * 39) Demona
 * 40) Mushu
 * 41) Oogie Boogie
 * 42) Elliot
 * 43) Peter Pete (Goof Troop)
 * 44) Milo James Thatch
 * 45) Meeko
 * 46) Horace Horsecollar
 * 47) Monstro
 * 48) T.J. Detweiler
 * 49) Hal
 * 50) Scamp
 * 51) Puck
 * 52) Roxanne
 * 53) Kirby
 * 54) Carl Fredericksen (reevaluation later)
 * 55) Dewey Duck (Quack Pack)
 * 56) The Evil Manta
 * 57) Powerline
 * 58) Hannah Montana

Writeups

 * Writeups will be placed here in alphabetic order, not the order of ranking, just to make it easier to find the character.

Carl Fredricksen
First Appearance: Up (2009)

Voiced By: Ed Asner

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/toonstruck/Carl_Fredricksen_half.jpg

Well, since Up hasn’t come out yet, all I’ve got to go on are the trailers. What I’ve seen so far though, I like. Nothing like a grizzled, curmudgeonly old man. Apparently Carl wants nothing more than to live his lifelong dream of adventure. To do this, he ties an enormous amount of balloons to his house and flies away. Fun so far.

If there is one thing I definitely know, it’s that the storytellers at Pixar know how to pull at the heartstrings better than anyone. I have a feeling Carl will be a very deep character and will end up being quite beloved. But for now, he’s got to go to the bottom of the list. I will reevaluate Carl as soon as I see the movie. I can’t wait!

Random Fact: Carl will not be the first Disney character for Ed Asner. He also provided the voice for the gargoyle Hudson.

Launchpad McQuack
First Appearance : “Treasure of the Golden Suns” – Duck Tales

Voiced By: Terry McGovern

http://users.cwnet.com/xephyr/rich/dzone/hoozoo/images/launchpad2.gif

For fans of LOST, I like to call Frank Lapidus the anti-Launchpad McQuack. Why? Because unlike Scrooge’s personal pilot, Lapidus never crashes a plane. Whereas, McQuack’s personal motto is “If it’s got wings, I can crash it!”

Launchpad is one of the biggest original stars from the Disney Afternoon era. Starting on Duck Tales and crossing over to Darkwing Duck, Launchpad brings plenty comedic relief. On Duck Tales, he usually was the bane of Scrooge’s existence or a fool who the nephews played just for fun. On Darkwing, he filled the role of superhero sidekick.

Personally, I’m a big fan of Launchpad. I loved watching the Disney Afternoon shows and so always got a dose of him everyday after school. Fun character, but lacks the depth to be considered a great. Overall, I put him ahead of Mushu on the list, but he doesn’t come close to the Mick.

Random Fact: Unlike other Disney ducks, Launchpad actually wears pants.

Mickey Mouse
First Appearance: Plane Crazy (1928)

Voiced By: Walt Disney (original)

http://disney-clipart.com/mickey-mouse/mickey-mouse/mickey-mouse-10.jpg

The Big Cheese. The Mick. The icon and face of Disney. Nothing embodies the Disney name like Mickey Mouse

Mickey has gone through variations transformations throughout his lifetime. He started out as a troublemaker, always getting in a little over his head, but still playing the hero all along. As Donald Duck became more prominent and popular, the role as mischief maker was passed on to him while Mickey became the embodiment of the everyman, relatable to all viewers. Walt Disney himself once said “When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it's because he's so human; and that is the secret of his popularity.” Mickey is still the Disney lead today, with a more squeaky clean persona than his former incarnations. Still relevant after over 80 years, Mickey is as popular as ever. Historically, there is no more significant character for Disney. Without him, there would be no Disney.

Mickey has always been one of my favorites. I’ve always found Mickey to be funny and interesting as character. He represents imagination to me. I grew up on the Mickey cartoons and never stopped being a fan since. He’s taking the #1 spot on the rankings for now, and there are only a few that could possibly knock him off this pedestal.

Random Fact: Story artists working on Fantasia originally placed Dopey in the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment. With Mickey's popularity waning, Walt himself insisted Mickey take on the role, which in turn revived the mouse's career.

Monstro
First appearance: Pinocchio (1940)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/Monstro_wake.jpg

While Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket are searching for Geppetto on the ocean, they run into a large problem. The largest character on the list so far. Probably the largest when we’re all said and done as well. Monstro is the enormous black whale with a bloodlust for wooden puppets, official consciences, toymakers, cats, and, well, everything. After swallowing up all the main characters, the only way they could escape his hunger was by building a fire and making him sneeze.

Good idea, right? Wrong! That just made Monstro angry! The whale chased the escaping “food” down and put the entire family in grave danger. Death and mayhem ensued.

As a character though, I can’t rank Monstro too high. He’s more of a plot device than a real character. He’s just a whale. A hungry, angry whale. And if Kingdom Hearts has taught me anything, he’s a space whale.

Random Fact: In the original Pinocchio fairytale, Monstro’s name is actually the Terrible Dogfish.

Mushu
First Appearance: Mulan (1998)

Voiced by: Eddie Murphy

http://zuska.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/mushu.jpg

I remember when I first saw the previews for Mulan. One thing stuck out for me: Eddie Murphy. I usually can’t stand Eddie Murphy. He either does excellent stuff (Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours) or terrible stuff (Pluto Nash, Shrek). He’s so hit or miss that I was worried he might be the sore spot in an otherwise great looking Disney movie. Luckily, this wasn’t a bad Eddie Murphy performance.

Mushu, the guardian dragon (don’t call him a lizard), plays the role as Mulan’s companion on her quest. He definitely falls victim to the “little man” syndrome, exuberating his nature as a dragon even though he’s tiny in stature and usually runs at the first sight of danger.

Mushu falls into the sidekick category. There’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes the sidekick can be more interesting and memorable than the lead. This is not one of those cases though. Mushu serves as the comedic relief who pushes Mulan to be the best warrior she can be and does a good job keeping the movie lighthearted, but he fails to stack up against some of the other Disney sidekicks. For now, since he’s first, Mushu takes the #1 spot.

Random Fact: During the production of Mulan, her sidekicks were originally to be two reptilian sidekicks. They were later merged into one dragon with two heads, and then finally the Mushu we know today.

Powerline
First appearance: A Goofy Movie (1995)

Voiced by: Tevin Campbell

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/3385504.jpg

Wow. Powerline. He’s like MC Hammer meets Vanilla Ice. But somehow awesome enough to help win Roxanne’s heart.

The first taste of Powerline comes in the opening sequences of A Goofy Movie when Max dresses up as the pop star and takes over the auditorium to impress Roxanne. After Max gets in trouble at school and Goofy takes him on a road trip, Max creates a lie that he’s going to LA to be on stage with Powerline. Somehow, Max’s friends are very impressed. In the end, Powerline, Goofy, and Max rock out on stage.

Basically, Powerline is a throwaway. But he somehow has the power to impress your friends, so my suggestion is download his amazing hit “I2I” and start mystifying any girl/boy you’re interested in.

Random Fact: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sjAb-qYflE

Scrooge McDuck
First appearance: “Christmas on Bear Mountain” – Four Color Comics (1947)

Voiced By: Bill Thompson (original)

http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/scrooge-mcduck-make-it-rain.jpg

The richest duck in the entire world. On the surface, Scrooge may seem like a shallow character, but in actuality he is one of the most flushed out and deep figures in the Disney lexicon.

Coming over from Scotland at a young age with no formal education and only his Number One Dime, Scrooge worked his way up the ladder of success. Never satisfied, Scrooge is the consummate businessman. Always looking for “another rainbow”, he wants nothing more than to find new treasure to add to his massive money bin. Scrooge shares a lot of traits with his nephew, Donald Duck. He can be ill-tempered and destructive, even crossing over the line in the process. Scrooge’s actions can sometimes put him in a grey area, somewhere between good and evil. When Huey, Dewey, and Louie moved in on Duck Tales, Scrooge seemed to calm down a good bit, but still had the occasional outburst.

If you want to learn more about Scrooge and why he’s considered such a great character, pick up a copy of Don Rosa’s award-winning graphic novel called “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.” Written in the mid-90s, Rosa does a lot to explain Scrooge’s past and create a better understanding of where he came from and why he is the way he is.

For me, Scrooge is definitely a top tier character. My first experience with him was Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Even if tied to the Dickens’ formula in the film, Scrooge was endearing, funny, and very memorable. Duck Tales was next for me, followed by finding out more about his previous works. I’ll put him at the #2 spot, right below Mickey. It’s close, but the mouse is just slightly better in my book. Maybe if Scrooge lends me some cash, I’ll bump him up to the top spot.

Random Fact: Even though Scrooge’s net worth is disputed, creator Carl Barks puts it at five billion, quintiplitilion, unptuplatillion, multuplatillion, impossibidillion, fantasticatrillion dollars.

More to come...