Wish Upon A Star Region #1 Jiminy Cricket def. #8 Flower 14-2 #5 Jaq and Gus def. #4 Timothy Q. Mouse 8-4 #3 Thumper def. #6 Jim Crow and His Murder 10-6 #2 The Seven Dwarfs def. #7 Cyril Proudbottom 12-2 My biggest takeaway (and disappointment) from this region is Timothy getting doubled up by Jaq and Gus. Going into this, I felt that Timothy was one of the more underrated Disney characters and the results bear this out. All things considered, he might also be the most important sidekick among the entire field of thirty-two. Dumbo is essentially a mute infant and because of this, both he and the movie need a lot of support and Timothy proves to be more than up to the task. He props the story up where Dumbo can’t and literally provides a voice to its star and hero. He is Dumbo’s protector/father figure (defends him from bullies), best friend (they get drunk together) and business manager (signs him to a Hollywood contract) all in one. Nothing against Jaq and Gus but the street-smart mouse with the New York accent is clearly the superior rodent and is worthy of much loftier heights than a first round exit. Pixie Dust Region #8 Skippy def. #1 Tinker Bell 9-7 #5 Little John def. #4 Piglet 9-6 #6 The Lost Boys def. #3 The Cheshire Cat 9-8 #2 Flora, Fauna and Merryweather def. #7 Archimedes 8-6 In the region of upsets (three out of four!), none were bigger than a scrappy little rabbit taking down Disney’s own Queen of Mean and Lass of Sass. Seriously, how does Skippy, a sidekick so obscure most people don’t even know his name, take down an iconic, household character like Tinker Bell? Well, for one thing, Robin Hood is immensely popular with the demographics (30s) voting in this competition. It was a HUGE part of most of our childhoods’ and even remains mine and Amy’s #1 favourite Disney movie of all-time. Another factor may be Tinker Bell fatigue – especially with today’s watered down, brand-killing version of the now-speaking pixie appearing in her very own Peter Pan-less Tinker Bell movies. Like they say: “you either die a hero or live long enough to star in a series of lame-o, straight-to-DVD movies.” I also believe Amy and I may have swayed the votes by comparing Skippy to our son Brody, who everybody loves. A vote for Skippy essentially became a vote for Brody and a vote for Tink means you went against our son and are now dead to both of us. Hakuna Matata Region #1 Timon and Pumba def. #8 Victor, Hugo and Lenore 12-2 #5 Magic Carpet def. #4 Lumiere and Cogsworth 12-4 #6 Flounder def. #3 Abu 9-6 #2 Sebastian def. #7 Flit and Meeko 15-3 In what’s perhaps the most loaded region, we had some real heavy hitters bow out early. I thought for sure that kleptomaniac Abu would resonate more with voters than milquetoast Flounder. That monkey has an edge with some serious moves while Flounder is just a sweet, doughy fish. Meanwhile, I get why Magic Carpet beat Cogsworth and Lumiere but, geez, a blowout? Do we hate the French so much we prefer a Middle Eastern rug? Has it come to this???? But, really… xenophobic jokes aside, the clock and candlestick deserved better – it was just a tough draw in the battle of inanimate objects. Warm Hugs Region #1 Olaf def. #8 Terk and Tantor 10-4 #5 Sven def. #4 Pegasus 11-6 #3 Ray def. #6 Louis 11-4 #2 Mushu def. #7 Pascal 12-6 There weren’t a lot of surprises in this region and, no, a five beating a four doesn’t exactly constitute as one at this point either. But what is interesting is who was left out of this region. Although I reluctantly recognize that these sidekicks aren’t quite popular or iconic enough to crack the bracket, they are still among my personal favourites and would make my Top-10 list of sidekicks if I were to make one (which I still might!). Of course, I’m talking about Mulan’s trio of soldier pals – Yao, Ling and Chien Po. Yao is the scrappy, gravelly voiced “tough guy” of the group and has a face that more than resembles Percy, Ratcliffe’s bulldog, from Pocohontas. Ling is the happy prankster of medium carriage. And last but not least is Chien Po – the gentle but extremely strong giant. In a lot of ways, they’re even more important and helpful to Mulan than even Mushu (*gasp*). They offer Mulan comaraderie, sing a song - “A Girl Worth Fighting For” and even play a key role in defeating the Huns by cross-dressing! Waltz Madness Round 2 |
