Toon Talk Special: Go the Distance: Disney's 50 Greatest Heroes (Part 1 of 2) - May 1, 2007

Toon Talk Special: Go the Distance: Disney's 50 Greatest Heroes (Part 1 of 2)
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SUPER DADS

These fathers (and father figures) prove their heroism when their offspring (whether actual or surrogate) are endangered. (And no, Bob Crane didn’t make the cut.)

FATHER ROBINSON

Film: Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
Actor: John Mills
Sidekicks: The rest of the Robinson clan
Quote: “Don’t you sometimes feel that this is the kind of life we were meant to live on this earth? Everything we need, everything, right here, right at out fingertips. You know, if only people could have all this and be satisfied, I don’t think there’d be any real problems in the world.�?
DVD: Available

Shipwrecked on a remote island, the Robinson patriarch rallies his wife and three sons, ensuring their survival by designing and building history’s coolest tree house. He assures their safety further when a band of cutthroat pirates, intent on destroying their idyllic paradise, besieges them.

PONGO

Film: 101 Dalmatians (1961)
Voice Actor: Rod Taylor
Directing Animator: Frank Thomas
Sidekicks: Loving mate Perdita
Quote: “My story begins in London, not so very long ago. Yet so much has happened since then, that it seems more like an eternity …�?
DVD: Available

This doggy daddy sets out on a treacherous trek to rescue his fifteen puppies from the fur-clad arms of the wicked Cruella de Vil. When they find their brood, along with dozens more, he happily adopts them all, leading the whole ninety-nine home to safety.

BALOO

Film: The Jungle Book (1967)
Voice Actor: Phil Harris
Supervising Animator: Ollie Johnston
Sidekicks: A reluctant Bagheera
Heroic Anthem: “Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities. Forget about your worries and your strife …�?
Quote: “I love him like he was my own cub!�?
DVD: Available

His man-cub Mowgli may in fact be human, but to his “papa bear�?, he’s all bear. Teaching him all about the “bare necessities of life�?, the beat lovin’ bruin must prove his love for the boy when all sorts of jungle vermin threaten him … not the least of which is a fearsome, fire-hating tiger.

SULLEY

Film: Monsters, Inc.
Voice Actor: John Goodman
Sidekick: Mike Wazowski
Quote: “I’m not going to scare you … I’m off duty.�?
DVD: Available

James P. Sullivan is a big blue monster who scares children for a living - and he is the best at what he does to boot. So why does the cute little moppet who poses a threat to all of Monstropolis take a shine to him? She must see past all the fur and fangs to the “kitty�? beneath. No wonder he does all he can to protect her.

MARLIN

Film: Finding Nemo (2003)
Voice Actor: Albert Brooks
Sidekick: Dory
Quote: “I have to get out of here! I have to find my son! I have to tell him how old sea turtles are!�?
DVD: Available

He is an overprotective clownfish with neurotic tendencies, and his son Nemo has had enough of it. However, when a human captures the boy, Marlin crosses the big blue, facing dangers unfathomed, to find him. Along the way, he finds the courage within himself to do so, something he never knew he had.