Disney Princesses and Their Animal Sidekicks Quiz

Answer: Flounder

Ariel is the eponymous heroine of 'The Little Mermaid' and Flounder is her cheerful and loyal fishy friend. Flounder shares Ariel's fascination with the human debris that they find at the bottom of the ocean as well as her playful nature. 'The Little Mermaid' was released in 1989 and was Disney's first feature length animation based on a fairy tale since 'Sleeping Beauty' was released some thirty years earlier. 'The Little Mermaid' was a huge commercial and critical success and is credited with kick-starting the 'Disney renaissance', a period during which Disney animated feature films were thought to have returned to their creative peak after a couple of decades of disappointing performances for the studio's animated output.

Answer: Philippe

Belle is the titular beauty from the 1991 film 'Beauty and the Beast'. Philippe is a horse who belongs to Belle and her eccentric father Maurice and is shown to be very loyal. It is when Philippe returns home without his rider that Belle realises that something awful must have happened to her father and sets out to find him, thereby ending up a prisoner of the beast in order to free Maurice. 'Beauty and the Beast' is a thoroughly delightful film with stunning animation, wonderful songs and a colourful and enchanting cast of characters.

The film achieved two notable firsts by becoming the first animated movie to be nominated for an Oscar for 'Best Picture' and by becoming the first Disney animated feature film to be made into a stage musical.

Answer: Bruno

Bruno was the name of Cinderella's canine companion in the 1950 film of the same name. 'Cinderella' features many charming and amusing animal characters including the loyal Bruno and the caring and helpful mice, led by Jack and Gus, who make a beautiful dress for Cinderella to wear to the ball before it is destroyed by her wicked step-sisters.

The film also features the evil cat Lucifer who is the pet of the villainous Lady Tremaine. 'Cinderella' is credited with having been the commercial saviour of Disney studios after a series of commercial flops which were largely attributed to the difficulty in worldwide distribution of movies during the war and which had nearly bankrupted the company.

Answer: Meeko

Meeko is a lovable and playful raccoon who accompanies Pocahontas on her adventures in the 1995 film of the same name. Pocahontas also has a pet hummingbird called Flit who is mistrustful of Pocahontas' love interest, John Smith, at first but eventually begins to warm to him.

The villain of 'Pocahontas', Governor Ratcliffe, has a pet pug named Percy who spends most of the film at war with Meeko, with Meeko generally getting the better of him, however, the two become firm friends towards the end of the movie.

Answer: Rajah

Rajah is Princess Jasmine's pet tiger in the 1992 animated film 'Aladdin'. Rajah is very gentle with Jasmine but can exhibit a more ferocious side if he feels his mistress is in any danger. 'Aladdin' is perhaps best remembered for the inimitable vocal performance of Robin Williams as the uproarious genie.

Answer: Mushu

'Mulan' was released in 1998 and tells the story of a young Chinese woman who disguises herself as a man in order to take her father's place in battle. Mushu is Mulan's delightful baby dragon. Mushu is voiced by Eddie Murphy and does his very best to assist Mulan in her army career and in fitting in with her fellow soldiers, though his advice is not always terribly sound!

Answer: Djali

Djali is a performing goat who is the sidekick of Esmeralda in the 1997 animated movie 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. Esmeralda, a young gypsy woman, is one of Disney's most inspirational heroines. She puts herself at great personal risk to protect the poor and disenfranchised in Parisian society and refuses to compromise her morals in order to save her own skin. 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is widely considered to be one of Disney's darkest animated feature-length movies dealing, as it does, with serious issues such as racism, genocide, ableism and sexual obsession but the beautiful animation, catchy songs and lively characters prevent the film from becoming too bleak.

Answer: Louis and Ray

Princess Tiana is from the charming 2009 animated film 'The Princess and the Frog'. Tiana is a resourceful young woman living in 1920s Louisiana who dreams of owning her own restaurant and who is working hard to achieve her goals when she attempts to help a prince, who has been turned into a frog by an evil sorcerer, by kissing him.

Unfortunately, the spell backfires and Tiana also becomes a frog. While Tiana and her prince are attempting to return to their human forms they meet and befriend a musical alligator called Louis and a lovesick firefly called Ray who join them on their quest. Louis and Ray are unusual animal companions because they befriend the princess while she too is in animal form, but their loyalty and bravery prove them to be stalwart friends.

Answer: Pascal

Pascal is Rapunzel's chameleon friend from the 2010 film 'Tangled' which was Disney's fiftieth animated feature film. 'Tangled' is loosely based on the traditional fairytale 'Rapunzel', telling the story of a young woman who has been trapped in a tower for most of her life by a witch who is using the magic powers of her long golden hair to stave off the aging process. Rapunzel is a resourceful heroine who is ultimately able to save both herself and her prospective prince from the witch's clutches.

Answer: Marshmallow

The inclusion of Marshmallow in this quiz may be a little contraversial since he is not strictly an animal but since he is definitely not human I hope his appearance will be forgiven. Marshmallow is a giant snow monster created by Queen Elsa of Arendelle to guard her magnificent ice palace in the 2013 animated movie 'Frozen'. Elsa is unusual amongst Disney princesses in that she actually becomes queen not long into the film.

Unfortunately, the stress of her coronation and the public scrutiny which accompanies it cause Elsa to lose control of the magic powers she has been taught to repress since childhood and she accidentally freezes the entire kingdom. 'Frozen' became a worldwide phenomenon, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time and spawning seemingly endless quantities of related merchandise.