Some animated characters have very unique
personalities. There is something about the fact that it's a cartoon
that people think we will not notice the very abnormal personality
traits. I mean, Woody Woodpecker is a trouble maker, Casper is way to
interested in being liked by everyone. So, just for laughs I thought I
pick five animated character and discuss the more bizarre parts of their
personality, aspects that would have then on a Psychiatrists couch if
they were real people.
Heat Miser (Year Without a Santa Claus)
I never understood this guy. He complains that his
brother,
the snow miser, gets all the love and attention at Christmas time. The
reason
is that at Christmas people dream of snow and horse drawn carriages and
all
that cool stuff. Ok, but what about the rest of the year? Don't a lot of
people
curse the snow, and do everything they can to escape it? Don't many
people flee
the cold and snow for warmer climates? Isn't summer generally the
favorite time
of year because of the warm weather and long days? This guy can't give
his
brother a month to be the center of attention, he will get plenty the
rest of
the year? And ever notice how snow miser agrees to the deal Mrs.Clause
presents, but it's Heat Miser who refuses? I guess this is classic
sibling rivalry, which doesn't help that he
is such a hot head
Michael "Mike" Wazowski (Monsters Inc)
I loved this guy, it's amazing how a little monster with one
eye could be so charming. Of course, a large part of that was Billy Crystal
doing the voice. This character is also a fascinating one, he is so self
centered just not in a bad way. He doesn't care that half is face is cut off
the magazine cover, all he sees is that he is on a magazine. Subsequently, when
Sully is working to save Boo and find out what is going, Mike is still obsessed
with the record they were trying to break. When Sully points that out that
doesn't matter anymore, Mike is aghast! How can that be? Something else is more
important? Of course he figures this out eventually and winds up helping Sully
save Boo. But Mike is totally fascinating as a character, he just can't see the big picture.
Cinderella (Cinderella)
I can understand the complaints people have over this
character. She is so weak, really. First of all, why can't she stand up to her
step-mother? I could understand it if her father were still around, that would
make perfect sense, but he's not so what's the problem? Yes, I know this was a
different time and all that. Her worst character trait is that she believes all
you have to do is wish for something and it will come true. I mean, the mice
and birds do more work than she does (the scene where they make the dress is
one of my favorite Disney scenes ever). It may even be one of the reasons why
Cinderella III wasn't so bad, because that movie removed the happy ending and
she, as well as the prince, has to work to get to their "happy ever
after". Just for the record, I always loved the movie its one of my
favorites, but I totally get the criticism.
Timon (The Lion King)
It's amazing how the right voice actor can make an obnoxious
character likeable and charming. That's what happens here. Timon is only
worried about himself, and when Simba comes around the only reason Timon is
nice is so that he can use him later. Timon is that friend you had as a kid who
would pick on you and treat you like crap, and yet you put up with him anyway.
His whole philosophy of life is Hakuma Matata, which means "hey, why should we care
about anything besides ourselves?" Thankfully there is Pumbaa, who is the heart
of the duo. The only problem with Pumbaa is he is more insecure, so Timon walks
all over him. I give Nathan Lane credit, he is so charming that you forget that Timon is one very selfish meercat.
Yogi Bear
Am I the only one who never liked this character?
Exactly
what made him charming? He was a compulsive eater, and a kleptomaniac.
He saw a
picnic basket and had to steal it. He would run around Jellystone Park
causing trouble,
harassing the people, and we were supposed to think Ranger Smith was the
bad guy? Boo Boo was the
voice of reason, he was there to try to explain why Yogi shouldn't do,
whatever
he was doing. Yogi also has a bit of an over inflated ego, he thought he
was so much smarter than others. "I'm smarter than the average bear!". I
was never a huge fan of Yogi, although I did see his Christmas
special a lot growing up.
Right... I know that this reply comes very late, but I somehow missed this one until two days ago. So for what it's worth, here it goes...
ReplyDeleteI've had it up to here with people, who never will stop criticizing Cinderella for being "weak". I mean, what exactly did you expect her to do? Like you said yourself, this story takes place in a different time and age. And as a girl from a prestigious family, Cinderella was bound to her father's house until she was married. And the fact that she became an unloved orphan only makes it more painfully clear. But even so, it is not true that Cinderella never stood up to Lady Tremaine. She demanded her right to go to the ball along with her stepsisters, despite the fact that she was practically their slave! But many people will forget that scene and just complain at how Cinderella only "wished" that things would get better, without seeing that she could hardly do more than stick around and stay optimistic. All in all, Disney gave us a very realistic portrait of an abused orphan from that social class in the 19th century. And they did so in a fairy-tale movie from 1950, which is very remarkable.
And as for Yogi Bear, I don't believe that I've seen this episode myself, but I read that there was one, where he explained why he kept stealing those picnic baskets. As I understood it, Ranger Smith had had it with Yogi and gave him a good telling-off. But then, Yogi explained that humans had taken over his old habitat. And then, they expected the animals there to just conform to this and follow human rules! And even if Yogi was smarter than average bear, he still had some of the instincts and the full apetite of a wild animal. So even though it doesn't solve the problem with the picnic baskets, we got an explanation as for why there has to be a problem in the first place...