Those moments Disney characters perfectly summed up our quarter-life crisis
Do you ever feel like Disney movies just get you? In the sense that like, yeah sure they might be made for the little ones out there, considering all the singing cartoon characters, but listen, some of those characters are wise beyond their years. A lot of Disney characters speak in cold hard truths about life, love, acceptance, and finding your place in the world.
Don’t believe it? It’s true. You don’t even need to drag out your dusty Disney VHS’s to get a dose of reality from some of the best fictional anthropomorphized animals and singing princesses. With over 50 animated films — not counting straight to DVD ventures, shorts, and theme park appearances — Disney characters are on point when they talk about life. Just some of the best examples:
Belle: Because what we’re supposed to do with our lives doesn’t always feel like it lines up with want we want to do.
Sing it, Belle. She totally gets us every time. She doesn’t want to accept the life that she’s been given, and she doesn’t plan to. Also the fact that there’s just been an entire song about how beautiful Belle is, and how no one can figure out why she’s always reading. Meanwhile, Belle’s out in the fields like, “I gotta get out.” We feel you on so many levels.
Alice: Because we all second-guess our good instincts sometimes
Aren’t you always giving your friends really good advice, and then wondering why you often don’t follow it yourself? And then you think, “I’m totally going to take my own advice this time!” And then usually do the complete opposite. It’s OK, we’re learning slowly.
Rolly the Dalmatian: Because, HANGRY
US TOO, ROLLY. US TOO. No one gets between us and that hangry feeling. NO ONE.
Scar: Because we sometimes feel like nobody’s picking up what we’re putting down (except you, Scar)
Think back to the last group project you did, and how you basically did the whole group project by yourself after all your partners bailed, one by one. That’s what scar feels like among his hyenas, especially when he realizes he’s got to do everything on his own.
Mulan: Because we get the struggles of “fitting in” when you just want to be yourself
The whole plot of Mulan focuses around Mulan trying to bring honor to her family. The thing is, though, that in trying to do that, Mulan’s got to fit in instead of standing out. Mulan’s not one to fit in, because how are you supposed to save China if you don’t break the rules a little bit?
Marlin: Because we’re not happy ALL of the time, and that’s OK
Marlin the clown fish is having a rough patch of luck. For starters he’s not a very funny clown fish (much to everyone’s objection), and also his son’s been kidnapped by a dentist. So, yes, it is a pretty big deal to suddenly find that shining beacon of light to be happy about once again. We all have those days where everything is going wrong until one bright spot comes along.
Ursula: Because, ugh, decisions. They’re everywhere.
You don’t have to remind us twice, Ursula. We are well aware of just how many tough choices are in life, not even including whether we want to give up our voice to gain legs to go see Prince Eric again
Hercules: Because we sometimes we feel like we’re not where we’re supposed to be. But, hey, it’ll pass. .
Poor little Hercules. He doesn’t even KNOW what he’s going to be capable of one day. But now he’s basically in that moody stage of life where nothing seems right and everything’s a mess. We’ve all been there before. You DO belong. It just might take a while to figure that out.
