Which Disney Renaissance Film is the BEST? Part 1: The Heroes (Guys)

It should come as a surprise to no one that the greatest era in Walt Disney's Feature Animation department is arguably the most beloved era of a single company's film making in motion picture history.  After all, not only was Disney at the height of their creative development, but the studio continued to release hit after hit, without any glaring failures in anyone's eyes.  To many who are reaching adulthood today,. these films are what we grew up on.  My first film watching experiences were at least five of the top movies pictured above.  These films have had a profound impact on how we act, how we think, and how we tell our life stories.  

But which of these high ranking movies is the most superior?  How can one masterpiece be better than another?  That is what I will be focusing on for the next several posts.  Which film was the most structurally sound, which was the most superior in one area, and ultimately, which was the best.  Feel free to argue for one of your movies on this list or if you think my list is incorrect, but please understand that this is all opinion based, so it doesn't make someone stupid if they agree or not.  

Here is how the list will be determined.  All 10 films of the Disney Renaissance will be judged on the following categories:

Hero

Heroine

Villain

Supporting Cast

Songs (The Rescuers Down Under gets a pass here)

Musical Score

Animation

Story

Special Effects

Theme/ Message

Each film will be scored on a 1-10 scale.  The higher points you score for a category, the greater the chance is that film is ranked the best.  But please note that just because a film could get two or three 10's in a row, doesn't mean that it is guaranteed a victory.  Keep a close eye on the consistent films.

At the end of the competition, the films will have their scores divided by 10 (nine for Rescuers Down Under), and a winner will be determined when the math is completed.  The winner will receive the next King's Analysis and a special surprise for it on my YouTube channel, NintendoMan64.  

Today's Category: Best Hero

A hero can be judged on any number of categories.  Be it their bravery, their character dynamic, or their personalities.  Or perhaps their actions speak louder than their words.  This was arguably the easiest part to rank, because some of the male leads of these movies are easily standouts when compared to their counterparts.  

10. John Smith (Mel Gibson) (Pocahontas)

Considering that Pocahontas is considered by critics and fans to be the weakest film in the Renaissance, it is the clear underdog in this competition.  But it doesn't help the film that it has arguably the most boring male lead Disney has had in a long time.  John Smith serves the role of Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves or Sam Worthington's role in Avatar, the white guy who has to learn about the native's culture in order to understand that just because they act differently to your race, their not savages.  The biggest problem Smith suffers from is his sloppily paced transformation to this realization.  His earthly and more undertone personality often clashes with Pocahontas's free spirit, which is why so few people buy into the romance of the film.  It's not like Smith is a terrible lead for this film.  On the contrary, he serves his role to the best of his ability, but is it his fault or the fault of the films?

+1 point

9. Li Shang (BD Wong) (Mulan)

Mulan is a movie of challenging societies role for girls and allowing people to take any role they want in the ever moving storybook of our lives on Earth.  And while the movie does take the time to develop it's female lead, the male lead falls back into an awkward character who while serving well as a trainer of these slack-jawed simpletons, doesn't allow for a personality to come out.  He serves mostly as the guy who has to doubt Mulan throughout the movie and be the second biggest hurdle she has to jump over in her training (the biggest being herself).  And while this may not be Shang's fault, it would have helped me in liking this film more if Shang wasn't such a thickheaded...well...guy.  

+2 points

8. Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes) (The Little Mermaid)

 The biggest stereotype Disney Animators complain about is having to create a prince character for their fairy tales.  After all, all three previous princes before Eric are the three most boring things ever put into Disney Animated films.  The odds were stacked mightily against Eric.  And yet, while Eric is no godsend of a hero, Eric does manage to give us some kind of a decent prince.  While Eric suffers from blandness and a general lack of brainpower, he does do things that other princes don't do, such as take up a third of his time on the movie sailing across the seas, and even risking his own life and the future of his kingdom to save his pet dog (EPIC DUDE!).  We get to see Eric evolve from a man obsessed with searching for a girl with a beautiful voice to falling in love with the beautiful but quirky deaf girl he just found by the shore.  And unlike the other princes who preceded him, he actually has the makings of some kind of personality.  If only it showed more...

+3 points

7. Bernard (Bob Newhart) (The Rescuers Down Under)

Isn't it amazing what a second film can do for a character so boring and uninteresting?  In the original Rescuers movie, Bernard is probably one of the weakest parts of the movie.  His only character traits are his feelings for Miss Bianca and his triskaidekaphobia.  But in Down Under, Bernard has to man up and not only face his fears of rejection and propose to Miss Bianca, but he must also brave the Australian Outback on his own for the second half of the movie.  Even worse, he has to deal with Jake, who wants to steal Miss Bianca from him (innocently, no malice intended).  Bernard puts aside his cowardly approach to his decision making and becomes the hero the audience and his friends need him to be, when he fights snakes, razorback boars, and Joanna the Iguana, to save the Golden Eagle from extinction.  Talk about a stark improvement...

+4 points

6. Hercules (Tate Donovan & Josh Keaton) (Hercules)

Ever wonder what Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent would look like as a red head?  Well, I didn't either, but Hercules is another decent addition to the Disney Fan Girl's catalogue for future expectations of their men.  Ripped beyond even Schwarzenegger's wildest imaginations, the only thing the son of Zeus is missing is a personality.  But he's got pretty much everything else.  He battles monsters, titans, insecurites, and his hotheaded uncle who would like to see him and all of the planet bow before him.  And while Hercules' innocent can sometimes be annoying, his kindhearted attitude and "rippling pectorals" can make up for his lack of solidity in his lines and delivery, I guess....

+5 points

5. Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn & Alex D. Linz) (Tarzan)

The list was starting to get harder to assemble here.  All five remaining guys has a reasonable shot at being number 1.  But their can only be one, and Tarzan is probably the weakest of the remaining heroes, but that is nothing for this King of the Jungle to be ashamed of.  Tarzan, much like Bambi, needs to not only serve as the driving emotional force of the movie, but as the clean slate that needs to learn all there is to know about both life in the jungle and human life.  But he also has to hold his own against the dangers of the jungle, such as the vicious leopard Sabor, crocodiles, elephants, baboons, and even his own kind.  Tarzan's emotional struggles are fairly rare for Disney Main Leads, who often just struggle with what's right and wrong.  Tarzan has to choose not between right and wrong, but between the life he loves and the life he should be living.  And his fast decision making and choosing the right path in not stooping down to Clayton's level makes him a good choice for the top five Disney Dudes...

+6 points

4. Quasimodo (Tom Hulce) (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Much like how Tarzan struggles with choosing between two lives, the path set for Quasimodo is also one involving two worlds: his isolation in the bell tower of Notre Dame and the world below where normal people live and interact.  Quasimodo is very similar to those people you see in school who have very vibrant personalities in  small groups, but struggles to act and communicate in larger groups.  This was one of Disney's first really relatable leads, who could serve as a kind of role model for those of us out there who aren't the most attractive but have the purest hearts.  As he begins to broaden his views beyond the bell tower, he comes across true friends in Esmeralda and Phoebus, and also begins to question the judgments Frollo has set for him, such as his appearance and his views on gypsies.  The top four on this list all go through emotional changes in their stories, so that their opinions and their lives they live drastically change via the events of the movie.  And Quasimodo is no exception to the rule, giving Disney Fans a kindhearted, and eventually self empowering lead that we'd always wanted...

+7 points

3. Beast (Robby Benson) (Beauty and the Beast)

The Beast is the only male lead in all of these movies that has to undergo both a physical and emotional transformation in order to truly realize who he is and what he wants.  And unlike the other leads on this list, one can make an argument that in the first half of Beauty and the Beast that the Beast is in fact a villainous character.  Beast is a coldhearted, short tempered monster who lashes out at everyone to cloud the fact that he is truly ashamed of who he is and what he's done with his life.  In my eyes though, his greatest crime is his inability to comprehend what love is.  Beast only assumes that love is something he can grab and hold onto and is stunned that Belle constantly rejects him.  It is only when he and Belle both decide to let their guards down and get to know each other that the Beast learns what true love is and he manages to come to terms that Belle's needs were more important than his own.  This is one of the bravest moments in Disney History, because he gives up his one and only chance to redeem himself in order for Belle to rescue her father.  But it is the impact he leaves on Belle that saves him in the end, as he manages to win the heart of his princess just by being something more than a Beast: a hero.

+8 points

2. Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas & Matthew Broderick) (The Lion King)

No character on this list undergoes more of a personal transformation journey than Simba.  Simba goes through more emotional turmoil than all other characters in this list put together.  His emotional journey does not include finding love or learning what a hero is.  His entire story arc is his learning to come to terms with who he is and what his place in the Circle of Life means to the Pride Lands.  He begins as an arrogant little cub who believes he is entitled to everything just because his father rules the Serengeti.  And while he shows signs of growth in his character as a cub, the tragic death of his father and the guilt that his uncle pegs to him forces Simba into a self imposed exile, where he must either come to grips with his past, or bury it deeper into his psyche.  Luckily, Simba chooses the former, and his bravery in facing off against Scar and the hyenas must be noted.  But it is his decision to return home and face his fears that makes his character arc the most adult in it's conception.  Simba is without a doubt a Disney Legend in his character growth and his emotional connection to all of The Lion King's many fans.  The Circle of Life lives on in him...

+9 points

1. Aladdin (Scott Weinger) (Aladdin)

No, Aladdin's journey into self-discovery isn't the most emotional, nor is it the most graphic.  But Aladdin is one of the few Disney Leads that acts like a true hero from the beginning of his movie.  He steals a loaf of bread and dodges guards and merchants, but he gives it away to starving children.  The hero of Agrabah also has to come to his realization on his own, unlike others who are spoon fed what they should do.  While Genie does prod Aladdin into being himself around Jasmine, Aladdin has to discover for himself how his transformation into Prince Ali has changed him, and forces his hand into telling Jasmine and the Sultan the truth.  Aladdin is the most selfless person throughout most of his movie and when he realizes how selfish he became as his alter ego, he cannot stand himself.  Aladdin's selflessness is just a part of his character.  Aladdin is clever and quick, allowing himself to think of unique and smart decisions to get himself and others out of danger, and even save the day by playing onto the villain's weakness.  Aladdin's moment of true valor, however, is his decision to free Genie and not become a Prince, deciding that Jasmine ought to know him for who he is, rather than who he wants or who she wants him to be.  And that is why, without a doubt, Aladdin is the best Disney Male Lead of the Renaissance.

Standings:

1. Aladdin                                                                10 pts

2. The Lion King                                                      9 pts

3. Beauty and the Beast                                           8 pts

4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame                          7 pts

5. Tarzan                                                                   6 pts

6.  Hercules                                                               5 pts

7. The Rescuers Down Under                                  4 pts

8. The Little Mermaid                                              3 pts

9. Mulan                                                                   2 pts

10. Pocahontas                                                         1 pt

Next round, watch as the damsels turn into the daring, in Best Heroines (be prepared for several lowly ranked movies to spike up and for some decently ranked films to plummet.