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Disney movies are packed with heroes, but sometimes the real MVP isn’t the title character. Join us as we celebrate the side characters who outshine the leads with heart, courage, and unforgettable impact. From loyal friends to selfless parents, these Disney favorites prove that being the hero doesn’t always mean being the star. Spoilers ahead!
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00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Disney side characters
00:08who are more fun, inspiring, and or impactful than the protagonists.
00:12Watch out for the spoilers ahead.
00:25Number 10. Pacha, the Emperor's New Groove
00:28Hey, there he is, my main village man.
00:31Um, Pacha. Anyway, I got this summoned.
00:35Pacha, that's right, you are just the man I wanted to see.
00:39Sure, Kuzco gets all the attention from fans, but let's not forget who got him to change his ways.
00:45Pacha somehow puts up with the Emperor's selfishness long after most people would have called it quicks.
00:51From going down a waterfall to scaling a cliff, Pacha braves through it all to get Kuzco home.
00:57Even more impressive is that he never stops believing there's a genuinely good person beneath all that ego.
01:03Admit it.
01:04Wrong.
01:05Yes, there is.
01:05Nuh-uh.
01:06I think there is.
01:07Nuh-uh.
01:07Hey, you coulda let me fall.
01:08Come on, what's the big deal? Nobody's that heartless.
01:12Huh.
01:13Yeah, don't read too much into it. It was a one-time thing.
01:17Right, sure.
01:18Time and again, he risks his own safeties simply because helping others is who he is.
01:24Without Pacha's compassion and persistence, Kuzco would never learn humility, and Yzma would still be Emperor.
01:30Looks like you and your family are stuck on the tuneless hilltop forever, pal.
01:43You know, I'm pretty sure I heard some singing on the hill next to us.
01:48In case you're interested.
01:49Number 9. Thumper, Bambi
01:52If there was an award for adorable sidekicks, Thumper would hop away with that trophy.
02:00I'm thumpin'.
02:01That's why they call me Thumper.
02:04That's why they call me Thumper.
02:07Thumper!
02:07Thumper!
02:08Even though the movie is named Bambi, it's this energetic little rabbit who brings so much of its charm.
02:15From teaching the fawn how to navigate the forest to introducing him to its colorful residents,
02:20Thumper is there nearly every step of the way.
02:23He also has surprisingly good advice, such as thinking before you speak.
02:28If you can't say something nice,
02:34don't say nothing at all.
02:37Bambi may be the story's emotional center,
02:40but Thumper's humor, heart, and adorability make him a true scene stealer.
02:45Eating greens is a special treat.
02:48It makes long ears and great big feet.
02:54But it sure is awful stuff to eat.
02:59I made that last part up myself.
03:02Number 8. Widow Tweed, The Fox and the Hound
03:05Sometimes the biggest heroes aren't the ones swinging swords or saving kingdoms.
03:10Sometimes they're simply parents.
03:24Widow Tweed takes one look at the orphaned Fox Todd and opens both her home and her heart without a
03:30second thought.
03:31The relationship quickly becomes one of the film's emotional anchors,
03:35which makes her toughest decision extremely heartbreaking.
03:38I know he's in there.
03:40Now just a minute.
03:42You can't come barging onto my property, Amos Slater.
03:46That fox of yours almost killed Chief, and I'm gonna get him.
03:53You can't keep him locked up forever.
03:56When she realizes keeping Todd will only put him in danger,
04:00she releases him into the wild,
04:02sacrificing her own happiness so that he can have a chance.
04:06This simple yet selfless act easily makes her the film's most heroic character.
04:11Forever farewell is like the end
04:16But in my heart's a memory
04:20And there you'll always be
04:26Number 7. Scuttle, The Little Mermaid
04:29This next pick might sound a little surprising, but hear us out.
04:34Sebastian may be Ariel's conscience,
04:37and Flounder may be her closest friend,
04:39but Scuttle has a bigger impact on her than anyone else.
04:43Look at you.
04:44There's something different.
04:46Don't tell me.
04:47I got it.
04:48It's your hairdo, right?
04:49Long before the adventure begins,
04:51he's the only one who encourages Ariel's fascination with the human world
04:56instead of judging her for it.
04:58You can say that all his facts about the world are hilariously wrong,
05:02but you can't say his loyalty is.
05:05You look great, kid.
05:07You look sensational.
05:09Scuttle is also the one who discovers Ursula's evil plan
05:13and rallies an army to stop her.
05:15Say what you will about his lack of brains,
05:17but he's arguably braver than Flounder
05:20and more supportive than Sebastian.
05:22Quite a show, eh?
05:23Scuttle, be quiet.
05:24They'll hear you.
05:25Oh, I gotcha.
05:27I gotcha.
05:28We're being intrepidatious.
05:30We're out to discover!
05:31Number 6.
05:33Philoctetes, Hercules
05:34Behind every great hero is someone who believed in them first.
05:39In Hercules' case, that someone is Phil.
05:42I want to become a hero.
05:44A true hero.
05:46Sorry, kid.
05:47Can't help you.
05:48Wait!
05:51Sorry.
05:52Why not?
05:53Two words.
05:54I am retired.
05:56When we first meet him,
05:57he's a washed-up trainer
05:59whose lifelong dream
06:00is to mold the world's greatest hero.
06:02Honestly,
06:03that seems a lot more admirable
06:05than Hercules' goal of becoming a god.
06:07Habit dreams are for rookies.
06:09Guy can only take so much disappointment.
06:12But I'm different than those other guys, Phil.
06:14I can go the distance.
06:15Eventually,
06:16he's convinced to pour everything he has
06:19into preparing the young demigod for greatness.
06:22Even after Herc pushes him away,
06:24Phil never truly gives up on his student.
06:26His finest moment comes after Hercules
06:28loses both his powers and confidence.
06:31You were right all along, Phil.
06:34Dreams are for rookies.
06:36No, no, no, no, no, no, no, kid.
06:38Giving up is for rookies.
06:40I came back because I'm not quitting on you.
06:42I'm willing to go the distance.
06:44How about you?
06:45Phil's pep talk reminds him
06:47what real heroism is all about
06:49and gives him the strength to win
06:51without his powers.
06:52Turns out, Phil had the heart of a hero
06:54long before Hercules did.
07:00That's Phil's point!
07:14Number 5. Rafiki, The Lion King
07:18Sometimes pointing someone
07:20in the right direction
07:21is all you need to be a hero.
07:23That's not my father.
07:25It's just my reflection.
07:26No!
07:29Look hard.
07:31As the Pride Land's wise shaman,
07:33Rafiki quietly protects the circle of life
07:36while keeping a watchful eye
07:38on Simba's journey.
07:39Years later,
07:40when everyone else wallows
07:41in the villainous Scar's kingdom,
07:43Rafiki tracks down Simba
07:45and forces him to confront his past.
07:47In the process,
07:49he gets Simba to talk
07:50with his father's spirit,
07:51then delivers some sage advice
07:53of his own.
07:54Ow!
07:55Jesus, what was that for?
07:57It doesn't matter!
07:58It's in the past!
08:00Yeah, but it still hurts.
08:01Oh yes,
08:03the past can't hurt.
08:04But the way I see it,
08:06you can either run from it
08:07or learn from it.
08:11Ah!
08:11The Mandrill's strange methods
08:13prove to be enough
08:14to put Simba on the path back home.
08:17Timon and Pumbaa, of course,
08:18provide some much-needed comedic relief,
08:21but Rafiki strikes that balance
08:22of humor and seriousness
08:24that they couldn't.
08:25The weather,
08:27very peculiar,
08:28don't you think?
08:29Yeah.
08:31Looks like the winds are changing.
08:33Number four,
08:33the mice,
08:34Cinderella.
08:35For characters so small,
08:37these mice sure accomplish a lot.
08:39We can do it,
08:40we can do it,
08:41we can help our Cinderella.
08:43We can make the dress so pretty,
08:45there's nothing to it really.
08:47We'll tie a sash around it,
08:49put a ribbon through it.
08:51When dancing at the fall,
08:52she'll be more beautiful than fall.
08:54In the lovely dress,
08:55we'll make for Cinderella.
08:57Jacques, Gus, Perla, Susie,
09:00and the other rodents
09:01spend nearly the entire movie
09:03finding ways to make
09:04Cinderella's life a little easier.
09:07Whether they're dodging
09:08the cat Lucifer,
09:09stitching together a dress,
09:10or sneaking around Lady Tremaine,
09:13they never stop helping.
09:15I never dreamed it.
09:16It's such a surprise.
09:19Oh, how could I ever,
09:23oh, thank you so much.
09:26Their first attempt
09:27at getting Cinderella
09:28to a castle ball initially fails,
09:31but they do end up
09:32escorting her there
09:33thanks to the fairy godmother.
09:34Their biggest contribution occurs
09:36when they freeze Cinderella
09:37from her room
09:38just in time for her
09:39to try on the glass slipper.
09:41It's no exaggeration to say
09:43that she never would have
09:44received her happily ever after
09:46without them.
09:46If you keep on believing
09:50the dream that you wish
09:54will come true.
09:59Number 3.
10:00Kala, Tarzan
10:02If we're talking about
10:03Disney's greatest parents,
10:06Kala deserves a spot at the top.
10:08After suffering the heartbreaking
10:09loss of her own child,
10:11she doesn't let grief
10:13quell her heart.
10:14Instead, she rescues baby Tarzan
10:16and raises him
10:17with unconditional love.
10:19Kala, it won't replace
10:21the one we lost.
10:22I know that,
10:24but he needs me.
10:26She never treats him
10:27like he doesn't belong,
10:29nor does she pity him
10:30for his differences.
10:31In fact, she's the voice
10:33encouraging him
10:34to embrace whoever
10:35he wants to be.
10:36What do you feel?
10:39My heart.
10:41Come here.
10:44Your heart.
10:45See,
10:46we're exactly the same.
10:48Even when Tarzan decides
10:49to leave the jungle behind,
10:51Kala supports him
10:52despite the pain
10:53it causes her.
10:54There's really no
10:55other mother figure
10:56in Disney's catalog
10:57as strong as her.
10:59No matter where I go,
11:00you will always be my mother.
11:07And you will always be in my heart.
11:10Number two,
11:11Baloo,
11:12The Jungle Book.
11:13At first glance,
11:15Baloo seems like
11:15the last character
11:16you'd expect to find
11:17on this list.
11:19He's laid back,
11:20carefree,
11:20and perfectly content
11:22with the
11:22bare necessities.
11:24Now that is
11:25something true.
11:27No bare necessities
11:28of life
11:29will come to you.
11:31Yeah,
11:32I give up.
11:33Well,
11:34I hope his luck holds up.
11:36Oldly,
11:37how about you say?
11:38Look for the
11:40bare necessities,
11:42the simple
11:42bare necessities,
11:44forget about
11:45your worries
11:46and your strength.
11:47He's not exactly
11:48a great influence,
11:49but he proves
11:50that there's more to him
11:51than dancing and relaxation.
11:53As much as he wants
11:54Mowgli to stay
11:55in the jungle with him,
11:56Baloo realizes
11:57that keeping him there
11:58would only put him in danger.
12:00But I love that kid.
12:03I love him like
12:04he was my own cub.
12:05Then think of
12:06what's best for Mowgli
12:07and not yourself.
12:08He eventually
12:09puts his own feelings aside
12:11and encourages the boy
12:12to live in the man village.
12:14Then,
12:15he really proves
12:15how much he cares
12:16by battling the tiger's
12:18sheer con
12:18and nearly dies
12:19saving Mowgli.
12:21By that point,
12:22it's pretty clear
12:23that Baloo
12:23isn't just a best friend.
12:25He's the ultimate
12:26Disney ride or die.
12:28You sure had us worried.
12:29Aw,
12:30I was just taking five.
12:32You know,
12:33playing it cool.
12:35Yeah,
12:35but he was too easy.
12:37Good old
12:38Papa Bear.
12:39Number 1.
12:40Nani Pelikai,
12:41Lilo and Stitch
12:42As kids,
12:44we saw the film
12:45through the eyes
12:45of its lonely protagonists.
12:47The older you get,
12:48the more you realize
12:49it's just as much
12:50Nani's story
12:51as it is Lilo's and Stitch's.
12:53By the time the film begins,
12:54she's already
12:55at the end of her rope.
12:57She's struggling
12:57to hold down her job
12:59and raise her little sister
13:00alone after their parents died.
13:02Things only spiral further
13:04when she's fired
13:05and social services
13:06start closing in.
13:07I know you're trying,
13:09Nani.
13:09But you need to think
13:11about what's best
13:12for Lilo.
13:13Even if
13:14it removes you
13:16from the picture.
13:20Nani's biggest enemies
13:22aren't really aliens
13:23or mad scientists.
13:25They're money troubles,
13:26grief,
13:27and the very real possibility
13:28of losing her sister.
13:30Stitch may have saved
13:31Lilo in the finale,
13:33but Nani's an everyday hero
13:35who inspires us
13:36by simply fighting
13:37for her family.
13:58Which character
13:58would you rather have
13:59as a best friend?
14:00Let us know who you'd trust
14:02and hang out with
14:02in the comments.
14:05Let us know who you're
14:08going to be.
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