Yuku free message boards

Mulan (Mulan)
Sorry to everyone who was rooting for Mulan to win - I know she was really popular in this thread. That said, it was extremely hard choosing between the top three, so its nothing against her at all. She's an amazing character and one of the most kickass Disney girls ever! Mulan's family struggles are both interesting and relatable (on sort of an OT note, did any one else notice that Mulan is the only Disney girl who has both a father AND a mother? Mothers are almost always missing in the Disney-verse it seems.) Anyway, I'm sure we all have been in a situation where we want to please our families, but also want to be true to ourselves. In Mulan's case, she can't really do both. She doesn't fit into the mold of calm, obedient, refined bride like the other girls in her village and is instead, klutzy (especially during her meeting with the Match Maker), outspoken and opinionated. And, unlike most of China, Mulan doesn't understand why her elderly and sickly father has to go to war to defend the Emporer - after all, he's served in the army before when he was younger. Despite not fitting in perfectly with her family, Mulan is very dedicated to them (especially her father)which leads her to disguise herself as a man and take his place in the army. The scenes of Mulan pretending to be a man ("Ping") are probably the funniest in any Disney movie because she is so bad at it (funniest line, IMO: "I have a name. And its a boy's name too!") Mulan/Ping's time in the army doesn't start off well as she gets picked on by the other soldiers and looked down upon by Captain Shang. Eventually though, she proves her place as a true Warrior. The thing I find most awesome about Mulan is that she defeated Shan Yu not as Ping, but as herself, using only a fan, fire works and of course, her wits. In the end, she proves she can make her family and all of China proud just by being herself.














































2nd place.....











































































Hercules (Hercules)
I know he's not real, but I wish Hercules was my boyfriend. Not only is he smoking hot (just check out the picture!), he's also sweet, modest and has a great (albeit awkward and sometimes unintentional) sense of humor. Meg is extremely lucky to have him. Anyway, I said waaaay back in Milo's ranking that I normally love the spazzy/geeky characters. Milo was OTT and annoying as hell, but Hercules' spazziness/geekiness is one of the things that makes him so endearing and prevents him from getting cocky even after he becomes famous. He starts the movie as a gawky teenager, who like most Disney heroes just wants to fit in. Despite his best attempts to make friends however, his uber-strength just makes him a nuisance. Soon, Hercules discovers the truth: that he is adopted and actually is an Olympian God! Instead of getting mad at his adopted parents for not telling him the truth earlier, Herc eagerly embarks on a mission to find his real father, Zeus and become a true hero. I absolutely love Herc's enthusiasm in everything he does. It's so geeky, but so passionate at the same time! With Phil's help, Hercules gets in shape and ready to save the world and he also ends up meeting Megara. Herc and Meg's relationship is so adorable and is one of my favorites in any Disney movie. He is so shy and awkward around her, but also so kind and thoughtful. Sure, he's also more than a little naive where she is concerned, but hell, no one's perfect. I guess I should mention some of Hercules' big achievments since they've been talked about up-thread: he defeats the many-headed Hydra, takes on the Cyclops without any powers and still wins, helps Zeus and the Olympians beat the Titans (and throws them all into outerspace!) and traps Hades in the river of death after climbing out himself as an imortal! Despite all these acompleshments, Herc never gets a big head and in the end, it isn't his strength but his heart that makes him a true hero. On another note, Hercules never had a sequel, but he did have a cool TV series on ABC's One Saturday Morning lineup for awhile where he goes to high school with other Greek mythology characters. It was kind of awesome too.


















































































And the winner is....
















































































Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
And now, let me introduce the winner of the Disney Protagonist Rankings! Belle has always been and always will be a sentimental favorite of mine. I used to watch Beauty and the Beast at least once a week when I was five or so and when ever my friend and I played Disney Princesses, I chose to be her. She still holds up well as a great character and one of the most relatable for me personally. Like Belle, I grew up in a small town (not quite that small, but still), and like her, I always longed for something more exciting that wasn't the same every day too. Belle is yet another Disney protagonist who doesn't fit in, but for the most part, she doesn't really let it bother too much her and she's pretty friendly with the townspeople even when they talk (er...sing) about her behind her back. People in her village think she is a bit "off" because of her nerdiness and the fact that she's always reading and seems to always have her head in the clouds. She's also "weird" because she's the only girl in her village who doesn't absolutely love the cocky asshole, Gaston. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when she stands up to Gaston and refuses to accept his marriage proposal, which in my opinion makes her one of the coolest feminist heroines in Disney. Like Ariel, Hercules and many others, she is extremely passionate and enthusiastic, but bored and restless in her "provincial life." Belle is also quite a Daddy's Girl and is very protective of her strange, old, inventor father even though he is another reason she gets made fun of. In fact, it is because and of him and her bold sacrifice that she ends up trapped in the Beast's castle. Belle's love-hate relationship with the Beast is great (if you can get past the bestiality aspect of it - I mean, hell, he used to be human!) and she soon comes to see the good/loving side of him. Her curiosity remains an important trait too, however, which leads her to disobey the Beast's orders about staying out of the West Wing. She never loses her bookishness either - which is why the Beast presents her with the library as a gift. So, all in all, Belle may be a total nerd/bookworm, but she's also brave, feisty, independent and totally kickass.