Most movie fans understand that the hero in a movie is fun, kind, relatable, and epic. It's true, heroes may be all of those things and more, but some heroes perform marvelous feats while being complete and utter terrors in their daily actions or their personalities.
Take Mickey Mouse, for example, he is fun, cute, charming, and delightful but for anyone who has seen the classic Disney movie Fantasia, it's easy to see that when alone Mickey is actually disobedient, sly, and a huge trouble-maker. He is quite the pest and that applies to a few more Disney so-called heroes. Let's take a look at a list of some of the terrors in Disney playing hero roles.
Merida: Brave
She may be a beautiful vision of a Scottish princess with long flowing red locks and a fiery spirit, but Merida is an ultimate terror in every way possible! She not only mocks her friendly competitors, takes advantage of the way her father spoils her, complains about doing her duties, and acts like a completely uneducated little brat, but she actually gets a hold of magic and curses a bunch of pastries to feed to her mom turning her into a beastly bear. If that isn't the most horrible thing a child can do, then what is? Only after causing so much chaos must she venture out and become a hero.
John Smith: Pocahontas
In the film Pocahontas there are so many captivating characters that really make the story likable. Captain John Smith is a loved character for his love entanglement with the chief's daughter, Pocahontas, and for learning the ways of nature and that life is in all things.
Still, if he had not coincidentally fallen in love with Pocahontas, he would have remained the arrogant, demeaning, nature-destroying, murderous, colonizing captain of the fleet that he originally was calling the natives "savages" and taking their land as his own without regard or respect for their safety, community, territory, and culture. John Smith is definitely the worst!
Aurora: Sleeping Beauty
The movie Sleeping Beauty doesn't give princes Aurora a big role nor does she get enough lines to speak. She is the hero in the Disney classic because she touches the heart of a prince and convinces him that love conquers all leading the prince to defeat the villain Maleficent and break her curse. So why is Aurora a terror? She is such a lovely girl considering that she was raised in a cottage in the middle of the woods with three fairy godmothers watching and protecting her every more and hardly asking anything of her. So when she discovers that she is a true princess and she has real parents who love her, what does she do? She cries and pouts on her bed all night because she won't be able to see a boy she just met in the forest a minute ago.
The Blue Fairy: Pinocchio
The blue fairy in Pinocchio has truly good intentions for the little wooden puppet but she doesn't execute them well throughout the entire film. While she demands Pinocchio to be good, wise, and well-behaved, and obedient to puppet-maker Geppetto she never actually teaches him anything and he literally has an empty box for a brain.
After constantly making bad choices from lack of knowledge or experience in life, the blue Fairy punished Pinocchio without ever considering his situation realistically. She is the worst fairy godmother ever!
Aladdin: Aladdin
The Disney movie Aladdin is a touching story about a boy from the streets who makes his way to the throne. It's a nice fantasy story of rags to riches and might be very inspirational to many people. So, it's a bit sad to say that the hero of the story, Aladdin, is a selfish and lying brat. First of all, he is a thief, perhaps not by choice but there is no attempt shown that he tries to work for his food. Second, he meets the lovely princess Jasmine and lies to her then later impersonates in front of her and lies some more. Finally, he meets a sorcerer and ends up with a magic lamp that he uses for his own personal gain all the while still lying to everyone. He kind of sucks as a hero character meant to inspire others.
Rapunzel: Tangled
Fans that have seen the film Tangled know very well that Rapunzel is an adorable girl who had an unfortunate event happen to her but she is also an absolute terror to be around. She won't only not ever stop talking but she mentally exhausts the people around her with her erratic antics and emotional rollercoaster rides she has with herself out loud. Her indecisive behavior and childish expectation make her impossible to bare but lucky for her she fulfills what she set out to accomplish and also finds true love along the way.
Belle: Beauty And The Beast
It's difficult to believe that the graceful and eloquent Belle could be a terror but she most definitely is. Her actions show her to be snotty, inconsiderate, and strange. The first proof is in the song "Little Town" in which she sings direct lines of insults to the village people calling them "little people" and saying things like "poor provincial town" and "the same ole..."
She then badmouths them further when she gets home but later proves them right when they called her strange because she falls in love with a beastly animal-man who had her prisoner in his home. She is considered the hero of the story for breaking the curse by telling the beast that she loves him. It's not exactly the biggest accomplishment for such a strange girl. Still, the movie has many great characters to love.
Prince Naveen: The Princess And The Frog
Many Disney Princes are a bit terrible and here is an example of one. Prince Naveen from The Princess and The Frog ends up being one of the heroes of the story but if viewers can remember correctly, he was completely disgusting to be around for most of the film. He came from money and never worked a day in his life. He pranced around attracting the town's girls even after his parents cut off his funds. He had not a care in the world and treated everyone like they should love him on the spot. After being turned into a frog, he completely leans on Tiana to help get them out of their mess.
Mulan: Mulan
The recent release of the live-action film Mulan has popularized the story once again. Mulan's character is depicted as courageous, epic, and the savior of the great country of China. If one takes a closer look at her story and character, it is easy to see that she was actually a complete mess and an inconsiderate and stubborn klutz that had a hard time fitting into her family role. She was too old to be so childish and constantly failed at being a lady to bring honor to her family. She then impersonated a soldier, an act that would have possibly sent her and her entire family to death. She didn't exactly think that one through so she is extremely lucky that she wasn't killed when she was discovered by the captain and that she saved the emperor.
Peter: Peter Pan
The boy that can fly and never ages is a complete irritant and a disgrace to all the people who know him. Peter Pan's foolish behavior causes Captain Hook to lose a hand. He also gives Wendy a horrible time by physically imposing himself on her by yanking on her and then forcing her to be a mother to the lost boys, making her collect wood at the Indian camp, letting the mermaids attempt to drown her as he laughs hysterically, and then abandoning her while he rescues Tiger Lily. He is completely inconsiderate of Tinker Bell's feelings and loyalty towards him and mistreats her by grabbing, shaking, and yelling at her. Peter is definitely a terror and a huge disappointment to be around.