Top 10 Disney Characters That Deserved Better

This loveable little salamander deserves so much more love than people give him. Though theadorable, elemental spirit of fire was not the focus of the film, he warmed the hearts of many, and he deserves more backstory than he was given. Bruni, like the other four elemental spirits, was consumed by rage when the king of Arendelle betrayed the Northuldra and built a dam, cursing the Enchanted Forest. This alone makes his story sad, and until Elsa comes along, no one tries to be patient and kind with poor Bruni. But he could also use a lot more love from filmgoers! The fact is, Bruni is incredibly cute, and deserves far better for being such a sweet, misunderstood fire spirit.

Watching Ellie’s life pass by with Carl is sure to bring tears to anyone’s eyes, and while Carl certainly had a sad story, and we wish he had lived a longer life with his wife (xref), Ellie truly deserved better. While ultimately she lives a happy life with Carl, two of her greatest dreams are never achieved. Ellie is told she cannot have children and seems to undergo depression after that. Her other big dream is to move her “clubhouse” to a cliff overlooking Paradise Falls, and though she and Carl save up for it their entire lives, she passes away before she can achieve this dream. The house eventually makes its way to Paradise Falls, but Ellie deserved to be there as well.

One of the silliest looking characters in Disney also gets one of the saddest endings. While Joy and Bing Bong are trying to get back to headquarters to save Riley from depression, they fall into the Memory Dump, where memories are forgotten. They find Bing Bong’s magic rocket and try to fly out of the hole to save Riley, but Bing Bong realizes they’ll never make it as both he and Joy are too much for the rocket to carry, - so he jumps off the rocket at the last second, sacrificing himself for Riley’s happiness. While it’s natural to forget your imaginary friends, Bing Bong was a hero and deserved to be remembered by Riley for all that he did.

You heard correctly; the Mistress of All Evil deserved better. The movie starring Angelina Jolie gave us a new look at Sleeping Beauty’s villain, and the retelling makes it clear that Maleficent was subjected to one of the cruelest fates imaginable; betrayal. The man she’s loved since she was a young fairy, Stefan, drugs her and chops off her wings to present to the king, so that he may become the new ruler of the kingdom. To be violated and betrayed by someone she thought she could trust and even love is a fate that nobody deserves. She certainly seems less like a “villain” after watching this flick.

The theme of betrayal is an important one in this list. For Hector, it cuts deep. When he tells his partner, Ernesto, that he wants to go home and return to his family, Ernesto murders Hector, and steals his music, so that audiences the world over will remember the name Ernesto de la Cruz. Hector is forgotten by all but his daughter, Coco, now an elderly woman, and as her memory fades, so too does his last bit of life in the Land of the Dead. Hector’s life and undeath were both almost taken from him due to jealousy, and he really didn’t do anything to deserve that. He just wanted to see his little Coco again.

It’s hard to be a mother. Though it would be fair to put both Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo on this list, the mother elephant gets the spot for being punished for following her motherly instincts. After watching Dumbo get abused and bullied for his large ears, Mrs. Jumbo goes berserk trying to defend her son. As a consequence, she is put in solitary confinement and kept away from Dumbo. No animal deserves the treatment they get in the circus, but one can’t help but feel particularly bad for Mrs. Jumbo, who just wanted to protect her baby.

Long live the king. Well, not if Scar has anything to say about it, anyway. Mufasa rules the Pride Lands with a level head and serves as a great father figure to Simba. Unfortunately for him, he’s got a conniving brother who wants to be king. Scar’s betrayal is an iconic scene because of how heart-wrenching and dramatic it is, but one can’t help but wonder what could have been if Mufasa had lived to pass on more wisdom to Simba. Mufasa is an incredible presence and the reason for the prosperity and stability of the Pride Lands, and all his hard work and dedication to being a good king is thrown away by his jealous brother.

Suffering abuse at the hands of his mentor, Claude Frollo, for his entire life, the Hunchback of Notre Dame finally decides to spend a day out there, among the people of Paris. Things seem to go well for Quasimodo at first; though initially shocked by his appearance, the townsfolk laugh along with the hunchback, and they even crown him the “King of Fools”. Everything turns sour, though, when some of the guards start to pelt Quasimodo with tomatoes. Quasimodo gets bullied by the entire town square while his supposed protector watches. This is just a part of the abuse Quasimodo must face in his daily life, and he is too gentle and sweet a person to be treated this badly.

Raising a rambunctious kid is hard enough, but Nani’s got a lot more to deal with. She has to take care of her younger sister with no parents helping out, social workers threatening to take custody of Lilo, and an alien “dog” making a mess of things. Nani has it rough, and while Lilo herself doesn’t lead an easy life by a long shot, it is so easy to sympathize with Nani’s plight. While Lilo often sees an overbearing sister who doesn’t understand her, it is clear that Nani loves Lilo with all her heart and is trying her best to raise her properly, constantly being thrown for a loop and disrespected by others when things don’t go as planned.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Jessie
“Toy Story 2” (1999)

Pua
“Moana” (2016)

Rapunzel
“Tangled” (2010)

Elsa
“Frozen” (2013)

This deer was taken from her baby far too soon. It’s hard to watch Bambi to this day and not feel tremendous sadness and anger at hearing Bambi’s mother be shot by hunters. As with Mrs. Jumbo, seeing a mother suffer trying to help their child is heartbreaking, but what’s worse in this case is that Bambi’s mother never gets to see her child again. Her death is sudden and unfair, as all we see of Bambi’s mother is how caring she is towards her child. She deserved so much better than the undignified end that she got.