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As we all know, the main protagonists are the highlight of any story. You need somebody to root for, and so I present to you the animated heroes and heroines I personally root for, both then and now.

1. Moses from The Prince of Egypt. He's one of the top reasons I love that movie with such passion. Not only is he a wonderful portrayal of a renowned historical and spiritual figure, but his character growth is absolutely incredible. How he goes from an arrogant worldly prince to a humble servant of God is pure poetry in motion.

What I like best about him is that he feels so real, like I can actually relate to him. With all due respect to past depictions of Moses, like The Ten Commandments, they make him a little too much of a flawless, incorruptible Superman. Absolutely nothing will stand in his way, which is fine, but I feel The Prince of Egypt does it better because Moses is human like the rest of us, meaning he is not so perfect. He's an ordinary man who becomes extraordinary in God's hands. He feels things, and his emotions are so tangible.

Even when he's at his worst, he's still capable of compassion for others. I love how he first learns to see things through the enslaved Hebrews' eyes, and though he has no dialogue for a good while, his facial and body language make it perfectly clear that it's dawning on him that slavery is a bad thing...very, very bad.

I also love how he and Ramses still care about one another despite their brotherly bond falling apart at the seams. Moses takes no more joy in Ramses's suffering than in his people's suffering, while Ramses is humane enough to put a gentle hand on Moses's shoulder and ask, "Why can't things be the way they were before?"

2. Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. For someone who's supposed to be monstrously hideous, I always found Quasimodo rather handsome in his own way. Maybe that's due to the fact that he's such a sweetheart; you just want to hug him and you can't bear it when he gets upset. His awesome voice, courtesy of Tom Hulce, doesn't hurt, either.

I love how he's never truly broken despite all the hell he goes through, how he learns to see the good things about the world along with the bad, but the best thing about him is that he learns to let Esmeralda go while staying on friendly terms with both her and Phoebus. I like how they're a sort of surrogate family in the sequel, with their young son riding around on Quasimodo's shoulders, and as cheesy as it is, I also like how he finds another girl to love romantically.

3. Mulan from Mulan. I think you already know why I sing her praises, but I'll just say that I love her ability to fight back without going too far out of her way to appear tough. She'll only fight when she absolutely has to, she'll pull no punches, and when it's all over, she just wants to go home and live on her farm in peace.

I find the moral dilemma rather fascinating, too, a classic example of "doing the wrong thing for the right reason." Yes, she was deceptive. Yes, she caused her family a lot of grief; it's almost a miracle her father didn't die of a broken heart. Then again, she demonstrated amazing filial piety, which was a huge deal in ancient China, and it's thanks to her that many people, including the Emperor himself, will live to see another day.

4. Spirit from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Not as much to say about him, but I appreciate how he learns not all humans are cruel; some humans are actually worth risking your life for. He even teaches his enemies that some things are best left alone.

5. Balto from Balto. Despite being a complete outcast, despite having next to nothing to gain, he still risks his life for others with neither hesitation nor regret; it's just what my Beowulf would have done. This makes him a most superb foil to Steele: Steele only wants personal glory, even at the expense of sick children. Balto only wants the sick children to be safe and well, even at the expense of personal glory.

6. The Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn. She starts off rather cold toward humans, with no concept of love and no desire whatsoever to learn said concept. In the end, she considers certain humans her friends, with her heart forever bound to one particular human even though they can never be together now. She outright expresses thanks for the opportunity to have known love, recognizing the sweetness of her experience along with the bitterness. That's deep.

7. Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. A truly unique and awesome blend of weirdness and nobleness. Somewhere deep inside of those old bones lies a heart of purest gold. And man, can he sing or can he sing?

8. Princess Anna from Frozen. Despite my lukewarm feelings about the movie itself, Anna is by far the biggest highlight. There's nothing wrong with Elsa (besides her insane horde of insane fans) but I feel a much stronger connection with Anna, and when all's said and done, this is her story and she's the true heroine. When it comes to what I like about fictional females, she checks off pretty much everything on the list...with a big double check.

9. Judy Hopps from Zootopia. I like her for just about all the same reasons I like Princess Anna. The only thing I frown on is how people (outside the movie) act like she must be romantically involved with Nick, which I deem both unnecessary and stupid. It goes to show how crazy these "shipping wars" can get. Well, those people can think whatever they want; I see Judy and Nick as a lovely platonic couple and nothing else.

10. Rapunzel from Tangled. She came as a great surprise because I honestly didn't expect to like her at all at the first. Oh, I didn't expect to hate her but I didn't think she or her movie would be anything worth bragging about. This is one of those rare cases where I'm quite happy to take it all back, and I've got my fork ready for that nice little meal of crow. Eugene is really awesome, too; he and Rapunzel about as perfect a couple as any Disney has created yet.

I also like her very much in the TV series...though her "friend" Cassandra is a bit of a different story.

And now it's time to hit the sack. Goodnight, everybody.

Template courtesy of HorrorExplorer : Best Main Protagonists

All images property of their respective owners.

Description

As we all know, the main protagonists are the highlight of any story. You need somebody to root for, and so I present to you the animated heroes and heroines I personally root for, both then and now.

1. Moses from The Prince of Egypt. He's one of the top reasons I love that movie with such passion. Not only is he a wonderful portrayal of a renowned historical and spiritual figure, but his character growth is absolutely incredible. How he goes from an arrogant worldly prince to a humble servant of God is pure poetry in motion.

What I like best about him is that he feels so real, like I can actually relate to him. With all due respect to past depictions of Moses, like The Ten Commandments, they make him a little too much of a flawless, incorruptible Superman. Absolutely nothing will stand in his way, which is fine, but I feel The Prince of Egypt does it better because Moses is human like the rest of us, meaning he is not so perfect. He's an ordinary man who becomes extraordinary in God's hands. He feels things, and his emotions are so tangible.

Even when he's at his worst, he's still capable of compassion for others. I love how he first learns to see things through the enslaved Hebrews' eyes, and though he has no dialogue for a good while, his facial and body language make it perfectly clear that it's dawning on him that slavery is a bad thing...very, very bad.

I also love how he and Ramses still care about one another despite their brotherly bond falling apart at the seams. Moses takes no more joy in Ramses's suffering than in his people's suffering, while Ramses is humane enough to put a gentle hand on Moses's shoulder and ask, "Why can't things be the way they were before?"

2. Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. For someone who's supposed to be monstrously hideous, I always found Quasimodo rather handsome in his own way. Maybe that's due to the fact that he's such a sweetheart; you just want to hug him and you can't bear it when he gets upset. His awesome voice, courtesy of Tom Hulce, doesn't hurt, either.

I love how he's never truly broken despite all the hell he goes through, how he learns to see the good things about the world along with the bad, but the best thing about him is that he learns to let Esmeralda go while staying on friendly terms with both her and Phoebus. I like how they're a sort of surrogate family in the sequel, with their young son riding around on Quasimodo's shoulders, and as cheesy as it is, I also like how he finds another girl to love romantically.

3. Mulan from Mulan. I think you already know why I sing her praises, but I'll just say that I love her ability to fight back without going too far out of her way to appear tough. She'll only fight when she absolutely has to, she'll pull no punches, and when it's all over, she just wants to go home and live on her farm in peace.

I find the moral dilemma rather fascinating, too, a classic example of "doing the wrong thing for the right reason." Yes, she was deceptive. Yes, she caused her family a lot of grief; it's almost a miracle her father didn't die of a broken heart. Then again, she demonstrated amazing filial piety, which was a huge deal in ancient China, and it's thanks to her that many people, including the Emperor himself, will live to see another day.

4. Spirit from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Not as much to say about him, but I appreciate how he learns not all humans are cruel; some humans are actually worth risking your life for. He even teaches his enemies that some things are best left alone.

5. Balto from Balto. Despite being a complete outcast, despite having next to nothing to gain, he still risks his life for others with neither hesitation nor regret; it's just what my Beowulf would have done. This makes him a most superb foil to Steele: Steele only wants personal glory, even at the expense of sick children. Balto only wants the sick children to be safe and well, even at the expense of personal glory.

6. The Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn. She starts off rather cold toward humans, with no concept of love and no desire whatsoever to learn said concept. In the end, she considers certain humans her friends, with her heart forever bound to one particular human even though they can never be together now. She outright expresses thanks for the opportunity to have known love, recognizing the sweetness of her experience along with the bitterness. That's deep.

7. Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. A truly unique and awesome blend of weirdness and nobleness. Somewhere deep inside of those old bones lies a heart of purest gold. And man, can he sing or can he sing?

8. Princess Anna from Frozen. Despite my lukewarm feelings about the movie itself, Anna is by far the biggest highlight. There's nothing wrong with Elsa (besides her insane horde of insane fans) but I feel a much stronger connection with Anna, and when all's said and done, this is her story and she's the true heroine. When it comes to what I like about fictional females, she checks off pretty much everything on the list...with a big double check.

9. Judy Hopps from Zootopia. I like her for just about all the same reasons I like Princess Anna. The only thing I frown on is how people (outside the movie) act like she must be romantically involved with Nick, which I deem both unnecessary and stupid. It goes to show how crazy these "shipping wars" can get. Well, those people can think whatever they want; I see Judy and Nick as a lovely platonic couple and nothing else.

10. Rapunzel from Tangled. She came as a great surprise because I honestly didn't expect to like her at all at the first. Oh, I didn't expect to hate her but I didn't think she or her movie would be anything worth bragging about. This is one of those rare cases where I'm quite happy to take it all back, and I've got my fork ready for that nice little meal of crow. Eugene is really awesome, too; he and Rapunzel about as perfect a couple as any Disney has created yet.

I also like her very much in the TV series...though her "friend" Cassandra is a bit of a different story.

And now it's time to hit the sack. Goodnight, everybody.

Template courtesy of HorrorExplorer : Best Main Protagonists

All images property of their respective owners.