While Disney may be known for its romances, you can’t deny that the friendships that can be found
in its movies are just as memorable - and just as wholesome. …Well, most of the time. Hey, even
the best of friendships can sometimes have their moments where conflict arises,
but the ones that are built rock-solid can usually withstand the worst fights. But which Disney
friendships fall under that ‘rock-solid’ category and which have a long way to go?
I’m Brad with WickedBinge, and this is Disney Friendships: Healthy to Healthiest.
Now, normally we’d go rank these relationships from Healthy to Toxic. However, since there aren’t
really any truly toxic friendships in the Disney canon, we’re instead going to start off with the
friendships that had the most conflict and that had to go through the most development
before working our way up to the wholesome and the most well-balanced friendships.
It shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone that the pair getting our Least Healthy Friendship
ranking is Ralph and Vanellope. *Sigh* Yep, we’re talking about this one again. But we promise,
we’ll make it brief - as, if you’ve seen our Disney Princess Relationships video,
you already know the gist of these two and the problems that they have thanks to a
certain notorious sequel. In “Ralph Breaks the Internet”, we see the two of them struggling
to properly communicate their concerns as well as their feelings. Ralph, naturally,
doesn’t want to lose his closest friend and ends up becoming extremely protective and more than a
little clingy. It gets to the point where he actually tries to sabotage “Slaughter Race”
in the hopes of making Vanellope dislike it enough to leave, instead of - y’know… talking about his
actual concerns. Vanellope, while not nearly as bad as Ralph, could still probably work on her
communication skills. While it’s good that she doesn’t dwell too much on their disagreements,
she also seems to dismiss Ralph’s obvious worries and struggles to tell him the truth when it comes
to her desire to game hop into “Slaughter Race”. Both characters had room for improvement, and
thankfully by the end of the film, they’ve come to enough of an understanding that they’re able to
have a healthy long-distance friendship. Really, if it weren’t for the sequel, these two probably
would’ve been near the top, as their dynamic is very fun, they clearly care about each
other and most of the squabbles they have come off as more sibling-like than anything serious.
But one friendship had to be ranked last, and given that their unhealthy aspects caused the
conflict of an entire film, we really couldn’t think of a pair that fit this spot better.
Right above the video game duo is a friendship from the mid-2000s era of Disney - Kuzco and
Pacha. Of course we had to include the characters that came from one of Disney’s first buddy-comedy
movies. To say that these two started off on the wrong foot would have been an understatement.
While Pacha was nice enough to Kuzco without even really needing to think about it,
Kuzco had very little - if any - respect for the peasant. He even tricks Pacha at one point when
they cross the bridge, not caring if Pacha could potentially be hurt. Obviously, much of the flaws
of this friendship came from Kuzco’s side, though that’s not to say that Pacha didn’t have moments
where he let his frustrations get the better of him. Still, for the most part, Pacha is patient
and continues to show Kuzco kindness, which is what ultimately allows the emperor-turned-llama
to let some of his walls down and actually care about another person - the point where he’s not
only saving Pacha’s life, but actively sacrificing something he needs in order to save Pacha.
Really, you could argue that Pacha is less of a friend and more of a surrogate father figure,
considering Kuzco is only 18. Yeesh, no wonder the guy was so willing to give Kuzco a million
second chances. In the end, Kuzco learns to be a better person because of Pacha, and the two end up
forming a genuine bond that lasts even after they no longer need to rely on each other.
They say the best relationships are the ones that push the people in them to want to be better,
and Kuzco and Pacha are a pretty good - if a bit one-sided - example of that.
Next up is the friendship between Mulan and Mushu. Yeahhh, this is another one that earns
its low ranking thanks to its less-than-stellar sequel. While we will give Mushu some credit for
at least trying to make up for his mistakes, him trying to break up Mulan and Shang for the sake of
his status as a guardian is still VERY messed up. But even before “Mulan II”, Mushu wasn’t
exactly the most selfless friend. He only went after Mulan to try and get his pedestal back,
and even while trying to help her, he wasn’t the best listener and could sometimes even be a little
snarkier than necessary. Over time, however, Mushu became a confidant for Mulan - someone
to encourage her and give her support. Mulan might not have been very impressed with her lizard- er,
DRAGON - guardian at first, but she was able to trust him and the two even
became comfortable enough sharing their deepest fears and feelings with one another. Watching
these two work together to try and stop the Huns was definitely one of the film’s highlights,
and while they still have their issues, the good ultimately outweighs the bad with this friendship.
From heroine and sidekick to co-workers, we have Lumiere and Cogsworth. Both of these guys are
servants of the Beast, with Cogsworth being the more organized one that tries to keep things in
order while Lumiere is a people-person and often acts as a fantastic host. With how much their
personalities differ, it isn’t too surprising when they bicker. Their squabbles even turn
violent occasionally, although thankfully it comes off more as brotherly than anything else.
Like brothers, while they may not always get along, these two do have each other’s back.
This is seen when Cogsworth saves Lumiere during the castle invasion. They may not
be the closest friendship on here, but we still felt that they deserved a decent spot.
Next up is one of the original Disney friendships. From “The Fox and the Hound”,
we have Tod and Copper. The bittersweet story of two would-be enemies becoming
brief childhood friends, it’s a story that classic Disney fans know all too well.
While their friendship is a pretty innocent and sweet one, it feels fairly shallow
given how it only lasts a season at most. Once Tod and Copper are both grown, it takes a bit
for these old feelings of friendship to return in a significant way. Sure, Copper saves Tod - but
only a couple scenes later, he’s blaming Tod for Chief getting hurt and vowing vengeance.
Despite this, Tod still tries to protect Copper and Copper actually returns the favor in the end.
While this story is a classic for a reason, we really couldn’t put it much higher since they
spend about the same amount of time being ‘enemies’ as they do being friends, though
we will give Tod some credit for always believing that he and Copper could one day be friends again.
Following them is the fun friendship of Tarzan and Terk. Being both childhood friends and cousins,
these two have always had some sort of relationship. Although Terk may not have
always wanted Tarzan hanging around her as a kid, she never wanted to hurt him or put him in danger,
being clearly worried when he tried to get an elephant’s hair for her.
Tarzan, in turn, saw Terk as not only a playmate but someone he could usually rely on.
This dynamic really didn’t change much as they grew up, the two still often wrestling with each
other and hanging out as close friends. Things do turn a bit sour when Tarzan pushes Terk to help
him with a distraction plan - something she is VERY much not happy about. Then,
when Tarzan leaves the jungle, he does so without giving a proper goodbye, leaving Terk hurt and
angry to the point where she nearly just lets him go. It takes Tantor pushing Terk to action when
it seems like Tarzan could be in trouble. While it maybe isn’t great that Terk was willing to ignore
Tarzan’s cry for help, this is really the only moment in the climax where her support falters.
Terk really does care about Tarzan, even if she sometimes tries to hide it,
and Tarzan cares about her. Remember, he was willing to confess and put the blame for the
elephant stampede entirely on himself as a child, not wanting Terk to get in trouble too. Really, in
terms of Disney hero-sidekick pairs, these two are probably two of the better ones.
From one renaissance film to another, next up are Quasimoto and the Gargoyles. It isn’t easy living
in a tower all by yourself, so it’s a good thing that Quasi has some friends to not only keep him
company but also encourage him to live his life to its fullest. It’s clear that the Gargoyles
care deeply about Quasi, and even when they make mistakes, everything they do is clearly done with
the best of intentions. This includes a certain infamous musical number that may or may not
have completely ruined the Gargoyles for some fans out there. Yes, it can be a bit hard to
enjoy “A Guy Like You” when you know that it’s just setting Quasi up for disappointment, but it’s
not as though the Gargoyles knew what was going to happen. They were genuinely trying to help,
even if it ended up being unintentionally harmful. Additionally, we feel like the
Gargoyles fully make up for this mistake - first by encouraging Quasi to be “stronger than stone”
and then by helping him fight off Frollo and his men. Really, these guys aren’t that bad.
In fact, we’d say they’re some of the best friends a guy like Quasi could have.
Next is a true fan-favorite when it comes to Disney friendships - Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.
Yes, we know that there are some fans that see these two as a romance in the making, but since
we only see them portrayed as friends in the film, we felt that it was only right to include
two of Zootopia’s finest. Like with quite a few Disney pairs, their relationship is initiated
by conflict. Simply put, Nick is kind of a jerk when he first meets Judy - first by tricking her,
and then by being incredibly condescending towards her. Judy, however, is just as clever as Nick and
isn’t afraid to fight back - something that earns her Nick’s respect. …Eventually. He
does admittedly try to sabotage Judy a couple more times, but the two do become friends much
faster than a pair like Kuzco and Pacha do. We see them save each other’s lives and help each
other out several times, showing how much they care and encouraging each other. Even after Judy’s
unintentional betrayal, she does all she can to try and make things right and Nick, thankfully,
doesn’t hold much of a grudge. This is another friendship where
just being friends with each other not only improves both characters but improves their
lives as a whole as well, which is why we felt these two deserved a pretty high spot.
Next up is The Little Mermaid’s Ariel and Flounder. While Sebastian may have been the
one to help Ariel on land, Flounder still played an important role in Ariel’s life.
For as scared as he might have been of sharks and sunken ships, Flounder was always by Ariel’s side,
never trailing too far behind her. While Ariel may have teased Flounder a bit, calling him a
guppy for being so nervous, Ariel still looked out for Flounder, protecting him and helping
him out during their big escape at the start of the movie. Of the two of them though, Flounder
definitely seems to be the most supportive as we see him comforting Ariel prior to her “Part of
Your World” number. He later retrieves Eric’s statue for her, knowing how much she already
likes him and wanting to give her a special gift. Even when he’s stuck on the sidelines for most of
the film’s second act, being stuck in the water doesn’t stop Flounder from keeping an eye on his
best friend. He even helps Ariel get to Eric and Vanessa/Ursula’s wedding boat. While this may make
their friendship come off as a bit one-sided, we still feel like Ariel cares a ton about
Flounder - even giving him a proper goodbye at her wedding, showing that she never forgot about him
even while trying to achieve her dream. There are plenty of Disney Princesses out there with
animal sidekicks, but Ariel seems to have the closest relationship with hers - probably
because Flounder can actually talk and communicate with her. Either way, we still think it’s sweet.
Following them, we have Basil of Baker Street and Dr. David Q. Dawson from “The Great Mouse
Detective”. While it would be easy to dismiss these two as just your standard
Sherlock and Holmes spoof, these two mice end up becoming much more than that. While Dawson might
not always understand Basil’s thought process and can sometimes have a hard time following him,
he does ultimately believe in him - to the point where he helps Basil snap out of his funk when
Rattigan traps them, saving his life. Basil, in return, is also a pretty great friend. While he
can sometimes be frustrated or a bit annoyed with Dawson’s mistakes, he never looks down on
the guy or sees him as truly incompetent. After Olivia is kidnapped and Basil loses his temper,
he immediately regrets it and corrects himself, comforting Dawson and telling him that they’ll get
Olivia back. When it comes to crime solving and rescuing, these two make an excellent team, having
an obvious trust in each other. After all, Basil makes Dawson his partner at the end of the film,
showing just how strongly he’s come to care for his fellow mouse. It’s sort of funny how
this silly talking-mice cartoon can have one of the healthiest portrayals of the Holmes and
Watson dynamic, but the proof is clearly there and we just have to agree with it.
We’ve finally come to another one of the most well-known friendships in the Disney
canon - Aladdin and Genie. Now, although there’s originally a bit of a power balance issue in play,
what with Aladdin being Genie’s master and all, that dynamic isn’t really taken advantage of.
Outside a couple of small instances, Aladdin seems to see Genie as a friend and equal, which in turn
allows Genie to truly bond with him and even open up to him. This is seen in how Genie goes
above and beyond to help Aladdin, not sticking to just what he wished for. Genie’s even willing
to bend the rules a bit for Aladdin, who’s very grateful. When the two have their falling out,
we see that Aladdin instantly regrets breaking his promise to Genie and by the end of the film, he
doesn’t even hesitate to set things right. In that sense, it’s no wonder the Genie kept
coming back to him, even when Aladdin was no longer his ‘master’, still choosing to help
him out in both Direct-to-DVD sequels. Overall, these two work together well, and while Aladdin
may sometimes be a bit stubborn when it comes to Genie’s advice and actually listen to it,
their dynamic is still far from unhealthy. As such, it earns a spot just outside our Top 3.
Our Bronze Medal of Healthiness is going to our other titular relationship on this list - Lilo and
Stitch. Really, who doesn’t love the friendship between Lilo and Stitch? For the most part,
it’s absolutely adorable! Although both of them are strange in their own way,
they’re able to accept and appreciate each other’s weirdness. Through Lilo,
Stitch learns to be kinder and not nearly as mischievous or destructive.
She helps him become a better person, teaching him the true meaning of Ohana. As for Stitch, while he
can be pretty wild and can sometimes cause trouble for Lilo and Nani, he does end up genuinely caring
about Lilo and becomes extremely protective of her. What truly speaks to the power of their
friendship is just how well they work together as a team, as we see throughout not only the movies
but Lilo and Stitch:The Series as well. Their friendship isn’t perfect - in fact,
they have a pretty big fight in the movie “Stitch Has a Glitch”. But even that movie
showed that no matter the odds and no matter the conflict, they’ll still do whatever they can for
each other - with the bond they have being even stronger than the laws of science, apparently.
For our Silver Medal of Healthiness, it’s going to be going to Timon and Pumbaa. Now, on the surface,
you may think these two would be similar to a pair like Lumiere and Cogsworth.
Their personalities are pretty opposite from each other, with Timon being a bit
of a cynic and a wise guy while Pumbaa is much softer, friendlier and a bit more naive.
But instead of these differences leading to constant bickering, they end up complimenting
each other incredibly well. They may still disagree at times, but these mild arguments
don’t amount to much. Even when they briefly break up before the climax of “Lion King 1 ½”,
it takes Timon less than a day to realize his mistake, leading to him reuniting with Pumbaa and
playing his part in the final battle against the hyenas. While Timon may not be the best listener,
he still protects Pumbaa when he needs him to and Pumbaa, in return, will encourage Timon to do the
right thing. Whether they’re supporting each other, having fun or bonding over bugs, it’s
really no wonder that these Hakuna Matata bros are seen as friendship goals for so many people.
Finally, our Gold Medal of Healthiness is going to Tiana and Charlotte. While
the relationship of Tiana and Naveen may be the main relationship of “The Princess and the Frog”,
the friendship between Tiana and Charlotte plays an important role as well. From when they were
little girls to when they’re both adults trying to go after their dreams, these two are as close as
any friends can be. While they have VERY different perspectives on things like life and romance,
neither one looks down on the other for their perspective. Tiana may see wishing on a star as
silly, but she still comforts Lottie when Lottie thinks that she’s been stood up.
Lottie is also shown to be the only one of Tiana’s friends who doesn’t berate her for working too
much and instead supports her and her dream however she can. Not even being distracted by
her ‘prince charming’ stops Charlotte from being a good friend, as we see her help Tiana get a new
dress after hers is ruined at the party. But of course the biggest act of friendship shown between
these two is when Charlotte gives up being with Naveen so that Tiana can be with him, not only
because she recognizes true love but because she just wants her best friend to be happy.
Unlike the other friendships on this list, with these two we never see any arguments or moments
of friction. They not only respect each other but they also have a ton of love and affection
for each other, cheering each other on and always being supportive. For all these reasons,
we consider Tiana and Charlotte to be the gold standard when it comes to Disney Friendships.
But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our ranking,
and tell us what we should cover next! Remember to hit that notification bell
and binge more of our videos. But most importantly, stay wicked!