The Tigger Movie. Finding Dory. Lion King 1 1/2. What do these movies all have in common? They all feature a popular sidekick to the main character in their own movie. It’s nice when the stars of a film take a step back and let their friends have a seat in the limelight, and we as audiences quite enjoy the movies that come out of it.
While we loved watching Dory find her parents and Timon befriend Pumba, there are many other Pixar and Disney characters that deserve a chance to tell their own stories rather than just stay on the sidelines of their pal’s pictures. Whether it be a sequel, a prequel, or another “half” movie, viewers will take whatever form we get as long as our favorite background guys get their chance to shine. Here are ten characters from Disney and Pixar that we hope will get that opportunity:
Rex
There have been not one, not two, but four Toy Story movies over the past two decades, and in each of the films, we have met dozens of unique toys each with their own individual personalities. Pixar could make an entire series diving into every toy’s backstory, but one of the most interesting and well-loved characters is Rex, Andy’s toy dinosaur.
We’ve seen him try to be ferocious and we watched him defeat Emperor Zurg. What tyrannosaurus acts would he get up to if he had the chance to star in his own movie? We know his film would be a roaring good time.
Sebastian
Poor Sebastian, the crab from The Little Mermaid. He’s always trying to keep feisty Ariel out of trouble while also obeying the king’s every demand and keeping the ocean’s members in line. He deserves a reward for all his hard work, like his own movie, perhaps!
We could see what it’s like being King Triton’s right-hand man and hear all about Sebastian assisting in the raising of Ariel. Maybe Flounder could even join, and the two could go on an underwater journey together. That would certainly go swimmingly!
Emile
Ratatouille has a rat as the face of the movie, and we got to watch little Remy befriend Linguini and become an unstoppable chef team. What about Remy’s brother Emile, the rat who has a taste for not only food but garbage and pretty much anything else that he can get his paws on?
We have a feeling that there’s more to him than what we saw in Ratatouille, and he may just have his own undiscovered talents hidden behind his whiskers. Give him a few hours on the big screen, and we’re sure he’ll find them!
Fix-it Felix
The game Fix-it Felix is pretty popular in the arcade of Wreck-it Ralph, and Ralph is a big part of that. However, the face behind the name is none other than Felix himself, the man with the golden hammer who fixes the messes Ralph makes in their game and elsewhere. We would love to hear more about Felix’s life, especially with his new wife Calhorne.
He needs his own movie to tell us all about his adventures and what it’s like to have a magical hammer that fixes anything. Hopefully, Fix-it Felix comes to theaters soon!
Disgust
In Inside Out, we all saw Joy and Sadness work together in Riley’s mind to find their way back to headquarters and save Riley. The other emotions did an okay job holding down the fort while Sadness and Joy were gone, but they struggled with pretending to be someone they weren’t as they tried to take over Joy’s job.
We think it would be great if they had their own opportunities to be themselves, and with Riley’s teen years coming up, Disgust would be the perfect candidate for her own movie! As Joy said, Disgust keeps Riley from being poisoned physically and socially. There’s a lot to learn and go through once puberty hits, and we know Disgust will be right there to help Riley through it all.
Mushu
Everyone’s favorite mythical creature/guardian spirit is none other than Mushu from Mulan. This little dragon (not lizard - he doesn’t do that tongue thing) assisted Mulan on her journey to becoming a war hero, and he provided much needed comical relief along the way.
While he’s a bit self-centered and not too serious, Mushu has confidence greater than one would think is contained in his tiny red body, and he cares about Mulan more than it may seem. Audiences want to see him star in his own film and hear all the new jokes that he would bring to the big screen.
Edna
One of the biggest unsung “heroes” of The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2 is undoubtedly Ms. Edna Mode. She designs amazingly crafted Super costumes that can withstand extreme situations; she’s a part-time babysitter for the Parr’s youngest child Jack-Jack, and she’s also extremely intelligent and hilarious.
While she has received her own short entitled Auntie Edna, we think that she should have her own feature-length film as well. Fans seem to agree with us, as Edna has been named as The Incredibles’ breakout star and has been capturing the hearts of audiences since 2004. Our word of advice to Pixar if they make Edna’s film? No capes!
Genie
We often see films and TV shows where a person finds a magic lamp and summons the genie from within it to grant them three wishes, and it’s quite entertaining to watch the chaos that usually ensues. However, we rarely get to see these kinds of stories from the other point of view, that of the magical genie.
If there’s one genie in particular that we want to hear more from it’s the one from Aladdin. He’s flamboyant, hilarious, and he loves to sing. What more could you want in the main character? It would be great to hear more about his time as a genie and other people he has granted wishes for before Aladdin came along.
Heimlich
The circus from A Bug’s Life is made up of many different kinds of bugs - a beetle, a praying mantis, pillbugs, and even a black widow spider. However, the insect that is arguably the most adorable and won over our hearts the more than the others is Heimlich, the gluttonous caterpillar who desperately wants to become a butterfly. He did his part in helping Flick and the ant colony, and audiences loved seeing him perform his circus act with his friends.
At the end of the film, he sprouted tiny little wings, and we want to know what’s next for the beautiful butterfly. Is he still just as hungry? What are his main goals now? It’s going to bug us if we don’t find out!
Olaf
Olaf is the best summer-loving snowman who just wants to bask in the sun and give warm hugs. We got to see him and all his hilarity in Frozen, and then he got his own featurette, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. We think he deserves an entire film! Perhaps he would get the chance to finally experience summer in all it’s warm glory, or maybe he’d go off in search of Samantha!
Much of his dialogue in the first film and its sequel was actually improvised by Olaf’s voice actor Josh Gad, and Olaf fans around the world loved every minute of it. If Olaf had his own full-length feature, we know that Gad would deliver once again and bring us the comical and sweet Olaf we all know and adore.
