H12

There has been an ongoing discussion among many of my friends about this issue, and I figured this would be a good place to get some input. Note that these are Disney's more recent characters; Mickey, Winnie, Tinkerbell, and many others are excluded from this poll because of that.


While you may define "iconic" as you like, we've been mainly arguing over the following aspects: instant recognition, sales of merchandise, the quality/number of movies they have appeared in, and general preference. Computer animation and human performances are acceptable for the debate. Which character best serves as the face of Disney from the past twenty years?




Also, if you like, it would be cool to know how old everyone is with these votes and if you're a man or woman.

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telekinetic

Definitely a princess. I'll go 'Ariel' since she's more iconic in that she has more recognizable features (ie, it would be far easier to draw a cartoon Ariel and have people recognize it as such than a Belle)

25/m

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MexicanOnABike

Alladin since he's been out longer than most on this list. and he's had like 3-4 or 5 movies... a TV show. plus whenever I play the prince of persia, I think of alladin.

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aberkok

If Pixar is in the running, then I am confident that even less than a year out, Wall-E will be seen as the most iconic.

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dlish

alladin for sure, followed by simba.

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Tully Mars

Don't see a dollar sign up there so I guess I'll opt out of this poll.

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little_tippler

Though Aladdin is older, I have to say Ariel. I was 9 years old at the time and I knew all the songs.

28/f

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Lasereth

I would have to say Aladdin with Ariel in a close second.

25/M

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snowy

Ariel. Gotta love that shell bikini top.

She's older than Aladdin, by the way.

And I'm 26 and a female.

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PonyPotato

I voted for Ariel, even though she should nearly be off the list for the last 20 years.. the Little Mermaid came out in 1989. I was 4 when it came out, so as a little girl it was a great movie even though I don't think I saw it until it was released on VHS. I know I saw Ferngully in the theater.

I grew up with Aladdin, Genie, and Simba. So those three are VERY close to my heart. I'm 23/f.

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Derwood

as someone with two daughters under 6, it's Ariel all the way

Strange Famous

Has to be Ariel.

Cant believe I am answering this question!

Still, definitely Ariel

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edit - oh and Wall-E is a wonderful movie, but he's no God Damn Ariel.

Also, I always thought Simba and his father was a jerk. Scar maintained the peace and held order, Simba/Hamlet was an irresponsible, feckless, self satisfied jerk who just wanted to prance around like a schoolgirl and have people sing songs about him rather than take the tough decisions which a leader needs to do.

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biznatch

I voted Simba.

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fresnelly

You'd think that but Wall-E toys haven't been selling very well. Almost 4 years later, Cars merchandise is still very present. That movie, despite being their most conventional and least memorable, is a a juggernaut. They're also coming out with Cars 2 next year.

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highthief

Anyone with a little girl will tell you - Ariel in a landslide.

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CinnamonGirl

Going by instant recognition and merchandise, I'd (sadly) have to say Hannah Montana. That girl is everywhere.

I'm personally a fan of Belle, though.

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Charlatan

Those who voted for SImba should know that Disney ripped off Kimba the White Lion.

But as others have pointed out... anyone knows it's Ariel.

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Baraka_Guru

So everyone should be okay with Disney's "ripoff" of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid"?

Would iconic require the character to be more original? Or is it merely a popularity thing?

I withhold my vote until further clarification.

Actually, if you go to each respective source, Aladdin is as old as 1,100 or 1,200, whereas Ariel is only 172.

Belle is 269.

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Anxst

I voted Ariel, based off research involving my daughter. Ariel is second behind ALL the disney characters she likes, losing only to Tinkerbell.

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Charlatan

There is a difference between acknowledging the source, as with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and just lifting the story with making reference to the source (in the hopes that you don't have to pay royalties).

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ngdawg

Based on that Wiki synopsis, the two stories aren't alike at all. Simba was the son of a great leader, killed by his wicked brother. Kimba was born on a circus train to the "widow" lioness of a cattle killer. Kimba is raised by people; Simba roams the delta with a meercat and a warthog.

No Disney cartoon was an original idea even if they did "rip it off" -they were all based on fairy tales or fables.

Ariel might be the modern icon, but Bambi is THE icon.

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Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

levite

That's tough. I mean, it was pretty cold that Disney totally changed the Hans Christian Andersen details to make the Little Mermaid.... Then again, who could imagine that Captain Jack Sparrow, the classic loner, outsider, reject of society, would actually be a property of one of the world's largest and most "mainstream" corporations? Not to mention Simba, the African lion voiced by a white, Jewish, American guy?

Oh, wait..."iconic?"

I thought you said "ironic."



Never mind....

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guyy

Michael Eisner. Not as colourful as the Old Bastard himself, but a bastard in his own right.

Varulven

Going by instant recognition and merchandise:

Winnie the Pooh

You get everything...

On the vid:
4 cinema movies
5 direct to dvd
3 different cartoon series

Yes, I know the character is from A. A. Milne.
Drawn first from E. H. Shepard.
But everybody recognizes Disney´s Pooh and not Shepard´s.


Edit: Damn it - the last 20 years. The first movie is from 1977. Sry

Sorry, it would than be Aladdin

Anormalguy

H12, this is a great thread.

I never would've imagined such a lively discussion involving Disney characters.

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Magpie_1

I'm voting Ariel.

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mixedmedia

20 years is too recent to be 'iconic'. Come on. Stretch it alllll out a little bit.

Of all the suggestions (on the thread), I would think that Pooh bear would be the only likely candidate for the title of 'icon.'

Otherwise, this thread exists in ignorance of the golden age of Disney which is, I don't know, just gross in its lack of depth. Ew.

If that's what you prefer then fine, but you're not fooling us old people. We smirk at your limited scope. All the time, not just on the subject of Disney.

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Grasshopper Green

Of the past 20 years? I'm going with Jack Sparrow.

When I think of Disney, I think of the original - Snow White.

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murp0434

Wow...never really thought about it like that. Only problem is Scar didn't make any attempt to fulfill the apparently-necessary role of providing food for the kingdom, and five seconds after Simba came back the weather improved, the grass grew again, and all the dead animals came back to life. If I had to vote, I'd vote for the one who can do the Jesus-level stuff vs the guy who brought on the depression

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Baraka_Guru

Ok, I've decided on Ariel.

Mainly because she's the perfect showcase of the coming-of-age sexual subjugation of women. This is something Disney has done well over the years.

Iconic.

I'll rue the day any of my children watch Disney films.

Icons aren't inherently good.

Hitler is an icon.

(Oh, shit, did I just Godwin the Disney thread?)

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Redlemon

I voted Hannah Montana, based on what I see my 6 year old boy's girlfriends wearing. And it seems to carry up well into the older elementary school kids as well. I considered voting for the High School Musical set of kids as well, but I think they are a close second to HM.

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lostgirl

Ariel is the one, no doubt about it. Kids are still playing little mermaid in the pool.

ohsweetjebus

jack sparrow

ShaniFaye

Im having a hard time with this thread, because to me 20 years isnt long enough to be iconic lol Im 40 and when I think of Disney I think of 101 Dalmations so my vote would go for Cruella DeVille and/or Maleficent from Snow White

Since I have to pick one on the list, I go with Jack Sparrow as well

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Yoblazer

I've gotta go with Ariel here.

spindles

I voted for Buzz Lightyear (I'm 38 and male). He is by far the most recognisable for me (on that list). I have never seen the littleest mermaid and with two boy children I suspect it is never going to come up as a 'we gotta get this movie' option.

If I asked my kids this question, they'd probably come up with "Lightning McQueen" (from Cars). The merchanising from this movie is huge (and given the number of 'Cars' in our house, I think we may be single handedly helping keep Disney afloat). Thomas the 3 yo may vote for Frank the combine harvester, but I'm not sure his opinion would be that valid - he just loves Frank.

If you were talking not just last 20 years, I'd vote Mickey. You just have to draw the ears and everyone knows who it is!

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