Welcome to Shock Naue Entertainment News, where we delve into the fascinating world of classic animation and character analysis. For decades, Disney’s animated theatrical releases have introduced us to iconic heroines, each with their own unique traits and journeys. Tracking how the “ideal Disney girl” has evolved over the past 85 years offers a compelling look at changing cultural values and storytelling techniques. Using a specific personality sorting system, we’re examining these human-shaped protagonists, exploring their core motivations and methods. This system categorizes personalities into four primary (motive) types – Badger (Loyal to the group), Snake (Loyal to self/important people), Lion (Subconscious Idealist), and Bird (Conscious Idealist) – and four secondary (method) types – Badger (Connect with group), Snake (Connect with environment), Bird (Collect skills/tools), and Lion (Be honest/direct). Let’s explore how these archetypes manifest in the early Disney leading ladies, including insights into characters like Cinderella and her loyal animal friends, often affectionately thought of as her “Cinderella Puppy” and mice companions, who play a significant role in her story.
Understanding the Sorting System Basics
Before we meet the heroines, let’s quickly reiterate the fundamental aspects of the sorting system applied here. The Primary sort reveals a character’s core drive or loyalty. A Badger thrives on group connection and belonging. A Snake prioritizes their own needs and those of their closest allies. A Lion follows internal feelings and instincts, driven by subconscious ideals. A Bird is guided by external systems, facts, and conscious ideals, collecting knowledge and tools.
The Secondary sort describes how a character navigates the world and solves problems. A Badger connects with others, works collaboratively, and adapts to the situation. A Snake observes their environment, notices details, and can use charm or manipulation. A Bird gathers skills, information, and resources. A Lion is direct, truthful, and confronts obstacles head-on. Now, let’s see how these sorts apply to the beloved figures of early Disney animation.
Snow White (1937)
Snow White singing “Whistle While You Work” with forest animals, demonstrating her Badger secondary connection to groups.
It’s hardly a shock to see Snow White emerge as a Badger secondary. Her iconic song “Whistle While You Work” perfectly encapsulates the Badger method of connecting through shared effort and contribution. She quickly earns the devotion of the forest animals and the initially suspicious dwarves. Snow White excels at identifying the group’s needs – in the dwarves’ case, a drastic domestic intervention – and fulfilling that role. She brings order, cleanliness (delegating effectively to her animal team), and nourishment, transforming their chaotic dwelling into a home. Who wouldn’t want such a considerate roommate?
Her primary sorting points strongly towards Badger as well. Snow White is defined by her relationships with groups, first the animals and then the dwarves. She seems to fully immerse herself in their world, almost forgetting her princess status. While she sings of a prince, her actions and narrative focus are centered around these collective dynamics. There’s also a subtle authoritarian streak in her; she insists on proper etiquette, like washing up for dinner, even when met with resistance. This adherence to a “way things are done” is a key aspect of a Badger primary attitude. Thus, Snow White fits neatly into a Double Badger archetype.
Cinderella (1950)
Cinderella with her mouse friends Jaq and Gus and singing birds, illustrating her bond with loyal animal companions.
Growing up, many gravitated towards characters like Belle, but the enduring strength of Cinderella becomes more apparent with age. She shares a Badger secondary with Snow White, but in a different flavor – less “Bookkeeper” and more “Courtier.” While she performs the labor expected of her, her connection-building extends to the animal kingdom. She rescues and cares for the birds and mice, making them clothes and earning their fierce loyalty. This ability to foster deep connections allows her to project the “perfect princess” image when needed, but also to maintain a facade for her stepmother – a skill a Badger secondary understands requires genuine connection, not just faking it. The advice she gives her dog, Bruno (who, alongside the mice like Jaq and Gus and the antagonistic cat Lucifer, forms a key animal sub-narrative), about learning to like Lucifer (“There must be something good about him”) underscores this deep-seated empathetic connection with animal companions, including the concept of a “Cinderella Puppy” in the form of Bruno, her loyal canine friend.
Cinderella’s Badger secondary has been crucial for her survival, yet it also makes her vulnerable to manipulation and gaslighting. The glass slipper, a central symbol, represents her fragile foundation and sense of self, actively targeted by the Stepmother. Her primary sorting is more complex. While the “Survivor” archetype of a Bird Badger fits, a closer look suggests a Burnt Bird Primary. What breaks Cinderella isn’t the servitude or bullying, but the destruction of her dress. She meets the impossible tasks set by her stepmother (with animal help), operating within a defined system. When her gown, made from scraps, is reframed as “stolen” and destroyed, the rules change arbitrarily. This shatters her system and leaves her lost, unsure what is true – a common reaction for a Bird primary whose external system is invalidated. A Lion primary, in contrast, would likely react with anger rather than disorientation. Her lack of Loyalist energy is also notable; her desire to attend the ball seems less about meeting a prince and more about the event itself, and her protection of the mice doesn’t necessarily mean she’s fully part of their world. Thus, Cinderella sorts as Burnt Bird / Badger.
Alice (1951)
Alice in Wonderland looking perplexed, representing the Burnt Lion primary struggling with a chaotic environment.
Alice serves as an archetypal example of a Burnt Lion Primary. Her core drive is internal and instinctual, but the chaotic environment of Wonderland constantly challenges her sense of reality and fairness, leading to frustration and disorientation – the “burnt” aspect of this primary type.
Interestingly, Alice is also sorted as our third consecutive Badger secondary. Despite the bizarre circumstances, she repeatedly attempts to connect with the strange inhabitants of Wonderland, trying to understand their rules (or lack thereof) and find her place. This method of engaging with her environment by trying to build rapport and understand the “group” (as nonsensical as it is) aligns with the Badger secondary approach. While she exhibits some modeled Bird primary traits in trying to apply logic, her core reactions and struggles are deeply rooted in her Lion primary clashing with the illogical external world. Alice sorts as Burnt Lion / Badger.
Wendy Darling (1953) (& Tinkerbell)
Wendy Darling and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan, highlighting their contrasting personalities and relationships.
Sorting Wendy and Tinkerbell presents a unique case, particularly because Peter Pan unusually presents the Badger secondary trait negatively through Wendy. While her mother embodies a positive, diplomatic Badger secondary, Wendy’s attempts to emulate this often come across as bossy, arbitrary, or simply being a pushover to fit in. The film highlights the absurdity of her being expected to be a “mother” to the Lost Boys at her age, making her modeled Badger secondary feel forced and artificial.
Wendy’s true secondary emerges as Bird. She is a lore master, possessing extensive knowledge about Peter Pan and Neverland, which proves incredibly useful. Initially framed as childish by her father, this Bird secondary skill is ultimately validated by the film’s message: the stories and knowledge you love as a child remain valuable. By the end, she confidently shares her adventures, prioritizing her truth (Lion primary) over conforming to her father’s conventional view.
Wendy’s primary is Lion. She is remarkably steadfast and direct, notably being the only one completely unmoved by Captain Hook’s deceptive sales pitch. Her unwavering refusal to yield inspires the Lost Boys to change their minds. While one could argue Snake primary due to her loyalty to Peter, the significant tension between her and Peter (another Lion primary) and the stark contrast drawn with Tinkerbell argues against it. Wendy is sorted as Burnt Lion / Bird (with a Badger Model).
Tinkerbell, on the other hand, is a quintessential Snake primary. Her entire motivation revolves around Peter and her intense loyalty to him. Everything she does serves his interests, often to the detriment of others. Her secondary is also Snake. Though she cannot speak English, she expertly navigates her environment, notices weaknesses (like Wendy being a potential rival), and effectively manipulates the Lost Boys to achieve her goals for Peter. Tinkerbell sorts as Snake / Snake.
Aurora (1959)
Princess Aurora is challenging to sort definitively because her narrative arc is largely controlled by external forces – the curse and the actions of the fairies and Maleficent. The core conflict stems from parental anxiety surrounding her maturation and independence, symbolized by the triggering mechanism of the spinning wheel (historically, a tool for earning a living).
Aurora’s reaction to discovering she’s a princess – one of distress rather than intrigue – suggests she doesn’t inherently value status or external systems (counter to Bird). Her desire to remain “Briar Rose” and pursue the connection she made in the woods points towards a Loyalist primary, specifically Snake, focused on her bond with one important person (the prince). Her feeling of crushing betrayal upon learning she was lied to reinforces this Loyalist drive; an Idealist might understand the perceived necessity of the lie better.
While she exhibits a playful, flirtatious side that could hint at a Snake secondary, her limited agency in the plot makes it difficult to assess her problem-solving methods. The film’s final image, where the fairies change her dress color while she simply dances on with the prince, serves as a symbolic clue for her Snake primary. The older generation (fairies/parents) are still attempting superficial control, but Aurora remains unaffected, focused purely on her connection with her chosen person. She is not deeply impacted by her external environment; her world revolves around her significant other. Aurora sorts as Snake / ? (Unclear Secondary).
Maid Marian (1973)
Maid Marian from Robin Hood, depicted with her Lady-in-Waiting, representing her transition from proper lady to assertive ally.
Superficially, Maid Marian shares some traits with Snow White – a royal lady in a difficult situation who joins rebels. However, her approach differs. While she can perform the role of a proper lady (a kind of Badger model), she seems aware it’s temporary. Her focus is singular: Robin Hood. Her motivation is clearly Snake primary; she is driven by her loyalty to him, and when she joins him, his cause becomes hers. The Merry Men are important primarily because they are important to Robin.
Her secondary is firmly Lion. Unlike other characters who use trickery or flattery against Prince John, Marian is direct. When Robin is in danger, she doesn’t strategize; she boldly declares her love for him, disrupting the situation and buying Robin time. During the escape, she becomes the first Disney heroine to resort to physical action, hitting someone. This directness and willingness to confront obstacles head-on, mirrored by her Lion secondary Lady-in-Waiting, marks her method. Maid Marian sorts as Snake / Lion (with a Badger model).
Eilonwy (1985)
Featured in The Black Cauldron, a film grappling with themes of failure and adjusting unrealistic goals, Princess Eilonwy (in this adaptation, seemingly faking her royal status) presents interesting sorting challenges. The Horned King calls her a scullery maid, and her behavior aligns more with someone trying to project a persona. She introduces herself as a princess to gain influence, maintaining this persona somewhat rigidly even when it irritates others. This suggests an Actor Bird tendency – adopting a crafted identity.
Her possession and skill with the magical finding-things orb strongly indicate a Bird secondary. Bird secondaries collect tools, knowledge, and resources. The orb is her primary tool for navigating the world and solving immediate problems, marking her as either a tool-finder or perhaps an inventor within the system.
Determining Eilonwy’s primary is difficult from the film’s narrative. Much of her time is spent simply surviving or attempting to save the world alongside the others, which doesn’t provide clear insight into her day-to-day motivations or core loyalties outside of these immediate crises. Her primary remains ? / Bird.
Summary of Early Disney Heroine Sorts
Based on this application of the personality sorting system to the early heroines of Disney animated features, here’s a quick recap:
- Snow White: Badger / Badger
- Cinderella: Burnt Bird / Badger (Notable for her connection with animal friends, including the dog Bruno, sometimes referred to as her “cinderella puppy,” and mice companions).
- Alice: Burnt Lion / Badger
- Wendy: Burnt Lion / Bird (Badger Model)
- Tinkerbell: Snake / Snake
- Aurora: Snake / ?
- Maid Marian: Snake / Lion (Badger model)
- Eilonwy: ? / Bird
This analysis reveals a shift in the portrayal of the “ideal” Disney heroine, moving from the double-Badger Snow White, rooted in group loyalty and connection, through characters struggling with external systems (Cinderella, Alice, Wendy) or focused on individual loyalties (Tinkerbell, Aurora, Maid Marian), towards characters defined by their skills and adaptability (Eilonwy). It offers a new lens through which to appreciate the evolving archetypes in these timeless stories.
