Toon Talk Special: Go the Distance: Disney's 50 Greatest Heroes (Part 1 of 2)
Page 1 of 6
by Kirby C. Holt
Part 1 of 2
True heroes in the Disney universe are unique indeed. Unlike the flashier villains or scene-stealing sidekicks, the heroes on this list have deeper characterizations that make them more relatable to us. They possess more rounded personalities, with driving ambitions that go beyond simply helping their friends, honoring their family or rescuing the proverbial damsel in distress (though all of these are prerequisites of the job).
These heroes make sacrifices for the greater good, sure, but they also have their own flaws, making their ensuing heroics even more human - even if they are not. Quite a few characters that may seem like the hero or heroine of their respective films are in actuality merely the protagonist (most of you “Disney Princesses�?, I’m talking to you). But the following fifty or so are true heroes, and Disney’s greatest at that.
REAL AMERICAN HEROES
From the great frontier to the Wild West, these heroes stand for truth, justice and … you know.
JOHNNY APPLESEED
A simple man with a simple chore: to plant apple trees all across the fledgling landscape of the American wilderness. With a stove pot on his head and a bag of seeds slung over his shoulder, he traverses this great land … and into legend.
DAVY CROCKETT
He may have only been born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, but this coonskin capped frontiersman’s fabled adventures stretched from the Mississippi River to Washington D.C. to his final days at the Alamo. Another simple man whose steadfast patriotism led him to greatness.
ZORRO
With a “Z�? carving saber ablaze, this swashbuckling adventurer of the night posed as the foppish Don Diego de la Vega by day. Galloping through old California, this Latino Robin Hood made his name - and left his signature “Z�? - with every exploit.