Alternative Character Interpretation / Animated Films

Alternative Character Interpretation in Animated Films.

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The following have their own pages:

• Beauty and the Beast
• Encanto
• The Bad Guys (2022)
• The Lion King
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
• Wreck-It Ralph
• Zootopia

Other examples:

A-F

• Alice in Wonderland:
  • When the Mad Hatter and March Hare claim they will fix the White Rabbit's watch, but end up breaking it instead, were they playing a mean prank on him, or were they genuinely trying (albeit unsuccessfully) to fix the watch?
  • Presuming the story is All Just a Dream, is the reason Alice is the only sane girl that she likes taking the moral high ground? Or, considering that in reality she longed for a world where everything was nonsense, is she imagining herself as the only sane girl a way of processing her feelings of being out of place?
  • In the original book, the King always pardoned whoever the Queen sentenced to execution. However, in this movie, he reiterates her line "Off with His Head!". Is this a case of Adaptational Villainy, or is he just playing along?
• The Aristocats:
  • Was Edgar just a Jerkass who was too stupid to realise that the amount of sleeping pills he put in the cream was dangerous, or was he actually straight-up evil and trying to kill the cats? Even if he wasn't trying to poison them, he could have also planned on drowning them in the river, since he got chased away by the dogs before he could do what he intended to do.
  • Why didn't Edgar try to get rid of Adelaide as well as the cats? Is it because Even Evil Has Standards and he wouldn't want to wrong an old woman? Is it because she's old, and so he believes she'll die soon enough anyway? Or is he just afraid he'll get into trouble?
  • Did Adelaide leave her inheritance to her cats just because she's an Animal Lover? Or is she going insane (whether from losing her acquaintances, or from ordinary senility)?
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire:
  • During the Leviathan's attack on Ulysses, it briefly grabs the ship in its mandible claws and holds it up to its "eyes", close enough for Milo to watch them dilate. Considering that it doesn't attack or snap the Ulysses in half during this scene, it almost appears to be intently studying the ship. Is it analyzing the enemy for weaknesses, perhaps trying to determine whether it's a threat? Taunting the people on board with how easily it can destroy them? Lining up a kill shot for its Wave-Motion Gun? Or is it so ancient that it genuinely has no idea what the hell it has in its claws, especially since the only other mechanical constructions it's ever seen are other Atlantean vessels like itself?
  • During the same sequence, the Leviathan takes an awfully long time to destroy the Ulysses, although it clearly could have obliterated the ship and everyone on board with a single tail slap. Is this a case of Plot Armor keeping the Leviathan from killing all the main characters in five seconds, or is the Leviathan sadistically toying with its defenseless prey? Or, as suggested above, is it confused about the Ulysses and trying to figure out what it is?
  • As the Leviathan is circling Ulysses, it gives out two loud calls that the crew can't understand. Is this a Roar Before Beating, or was the Leviathan trying to communicate with the vessel?
  • Was Rourke Evil All Along or did he do a Face–Heel Turn when he realized the mission wasn't a simple "find the lost city and take valuables"? He knew about the crystal beforehand by reading or looking at the images in the book, but he didn't understand the ancient language so he couldn't know what the crystal was exactly, nor did he (or really anyone for that matter) expect Atlantis to still be inhabited. Excavating valuable artifacts from long-dead civilizations isn't evil even if you're Only in It for the Money like he seems to be, but deciding to take it from still-living people who depend on is unquestionably evil. Considering he only starts acting outright villainous after the crystal is revealed and he is given the chance to learn more about it, it calls into question if he was Evil All Along, or if learning the truth made him realize the value of it and acted on that. Dr. Sweet's statement when Rourke punches King Kashekim implies that after arriving in Atlantis, the crew (save Milo) met up and agreed upon taking the valuables, since he outright says Rourke assaulting the king was not part of the plan.
  • How much of Helga's Last Breath Bullet to kill Rourke due to a desire to do the right thing now that she no longer had any chance to profit from doing the wrong one (she did seem to be very slightly less comfortable than Rourke with their various despicable actions, though not enough to stop being The Dragon) and how much was Taking You with Me spite from him betraying and fatally injuring her the second it seemed useful.
• In Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, the number "Free" is about how Erika and Annaliese desire to be free from their restrained lives of indentured servitude and princesshood respectively. They both stand in front of a balcony and sing the lyrics "I close my eyes and feel myself fly a thousand miles away. I could take flight, but would it be right... My conscience tells me stay". The scene is supposed to be imply they want to run away but know that they shouldn't. However, the scene could also be interpreted as being about suicidal ideation.
• Bartok the Magnificent:
  • Is Zozi always trying to talk Bartok out of doing nice things or it Reverse Psychology at work?
  • In the climax, has Ludmilla lost control of her actions and become a mindless beast, or is she throwing a temper tantrum and destroying the town because she's turned into a dragon?
• Big Hero 6:
  • In the book, Hiro's Journal, Hiro calls murdering Yokai a win. Kind of makes you question his loose morals. Alternatively, this could just be the mindset of an angry, confused, and rather upset teenage boy. Tadashi's death upset him badly, and the idea that Yokai is behind it would be something anyone would be mad at, especially given how it's quickly revealed Yokai's secret identity was someone he looked up to and trusted and that someone outright said that Tadashi's death was Tadashi's own mistake. So rather than appearing like he just has loose morals, this could be argued as the thought process of a teenager who doesn't have a good outlet for his sadness.
  • The junior novelization reveals that Hiro saw Baymax as a giant battle bot. Did he actually care about Baymax's original programming?
  • Callaghan's expression at the end when he's arrested is up as a matter of debate, mainly over whether he feels guilt over his actions as Yokai or disappointment at being sent to prison and separated from the daughter he tried to avenge or possibly both.
  • With the amount of information given to the audience about the Silent Sparrow project (fairly little) it's impossible to tell if Callaghan was right about Krei cutting corners, or if Abigail was simply the victim of a horrible accident resulting from testing a hazardous new technology, and Callaghan wanted someone to blame.
  • Did Callaghan start the fire in the science fair, or did he just take advantage of it to steal the nanobots? They seem to imply he started it, but it's never officially said and he seems visibly distraught in the brief flashback to him protecting himself with nanobots.
  • If one pays attention to Hiro's behavior around Honey, you can see him blushing after she kisses him and he looks and sounds lovestruck when she demonstrates her chemistry skills. Does he have a crush on her?
• BIONICLE films:
  • Web of Shadows offers some questionable depictions of its villains, Roodaka and Sidorak. According to the backstory, they both view each other as objects and only serve Makuta to gain his favor. Sidorak wants to marry Roodaka for political reasons, while Roodaka is actively working for both Makuta and the Dark Hunters. Yet in the film, Sidorak's goals are never defined beyond wanting to marry his viceroy (and the thought makes him very jolly indeed), and Roodaka seems to genuinely have the hots for Makuta. Since the movies function in their own little universe, and the general canon adapted a No Hugging, No Kissing-rule later on, we may never know. But it's interesting to note that Sidorak's other alternative interpretation, namely that he isn't a capable, strong-handed military leader but a mere wimp who lied his way to the top, was later picked up for the rest of the story.
  • Makuta in Mask of Light comes off as a villain who commits atrocities only to keep the islanders in place and to keep the Great Spirit asleep because, as he pouts it, "sleep spares him pain" (and unbeknownst to the villagers, awakening him would destroy the island). While he does want to enforce his own will on the island, and doesn't shy away from destroying much of it to achieve this, he is very reluctant to release the highly destructive Rahkshi, he tries to force others into a deal before unleashing more, and in what is one of the movie's biggest oddities, admits that he only serves the Mask of Shadows. It's telling that defeating him requires taking off his mask, and when he merges with The Hero, the resulting fusion is wholly benevolent. Is he truly irredeemably evil, or just corrupted and misguided? According to canon, he's the former, and the second movie reinforces this. But the contents of a Bionicle CD that LEGO handed out to its workers reveal that the latter was his intended characterization. It was only in the book Time Trap, released two years after the movie, that Makuta had his personality set in stone. Prior to that, before even LEGO knew that Bionicle would be a Long Runner, his character was more malleable and had plenty room for interpretation.
• The Book of Life:
  • Did General Posada truly think he was acting in Maria's best interests when he tried setting her up with Joaquin, or was he using her as a bargaining chip to buy San Angel protection that Joaquin was already willing to provide?
  • Did La Muerte tell the detention kids this story to help them become better people, or was it so that the people of San Angel would continue to be remembered and thus remain in The Land of The Remembered?
  • Did Manolo ask to die only to join Maria, or was he also Driven to Suicide because of all the scorn he received?
• A Close Shave:
  • When Wendolene says that her dog Preston is malfunctioning, Wallace replies, "Mal-what?!" Does he, despite being a technician, not know what "malfunction" means, or is he just confused, since he thinks it's a weird thing to say about one's dog?
  • Wendolene claims to be allergic to dairy, causing Wallace to stop pursuing her in a romantic relationship, since he can't bear to be with someone who can't eat cheese. Was this true, or (assuming she knew Wallace wanted to date her) a lie?
  • When Preston malfunctioned and turned evil, was he just being greedy, or was he taking his late master's orders too far?
• Coraline:
  • Why doesn't Wybie's grandma rent to families with children, and why was Coraline an exception? Was it just because the other Pink Palace residents were elderly and Coraline was allowed due to being a preteen and thus too old to be a Bratty Half-Pint? Or was it because the grandma knew that the Pink Palace was dangerous due to her sister disappearing, and she didn't know Coraline existed until she met her?
  • The cat is certainly magical, but is he a magical cat, or a different kind of magical creature disguised as a cat? Since the Other Mother hates all cats, does that mean Cats Are Magic in general, or, seeing as she has scratches on her face, does she just tend to get scratched by cats?
  • Was the Other Bobinsky made of rats (like how the Other Father was made of a pumpkin) and turned back into them due to the Other Mother starving? Or did the rats eat him?
• Finding Nemo:
  • When Marlin asked Coral about a hook in his lip the day they met, was he teasing her about kissing, or had he always been paranoid even before the barracuda?
  • Was the whale actually taking Marlin and Dory to Sydney, or was he trying to swallow the krill? Or, combining the two, did he initially swallow them by accident in an attempt to swallow the krill, but then when Dory started speaking whale, he decided to take them to Sydney?
• Frozen:
  • Did Olaf actually know the entire time that summer heat would kill him? He did not seem surprised at all in either of the two scenes where he started melting. And during his song about summer there is a brief moment where he seems like he is about to realize heat would melt him, when he come across a puddle of water in his imagination and puddle sound like the next word of song because it would rhyme, but he ignores it. This could be interpreted as indicating that he knew all along and was just in denial. The second time he started melting he didn't even seem like he was scared.
  • The sincerity of Hans' actions when he is placed in charge has been questioned. By handing out blankets to the freezing citizens, is he just trying to make himself look good so he will be accepted as a ruler, or is he genuinely doing his best to help? Even if he's just in it for himself, there's no point in ruling a kingdom with most of the population dead, so it may be a case of Pragmatic Villainy. Heck he may have been a righteous and good ruler in his own right that just happened to want all the power for himself. Also, was he genuinely as big of a dork as Anna, or was he mirroring her dorkiness in an attempt to woo her?
  • When the Duke of Weselton commented that Elsa's powers were "dubious" and made her a "monster", and then later wanted her dead, was this because he's prejudiced against people with powers in general? Or, considering her triggering off an artificial winter did put the Arendellians at risk of dying from hypothermia, did he just wrongly believe she did it on purpose and was thus evil, and so wanted to kill her for safety reasons?
  • Some viewers interpreted Elsa telling Anna off for getting married to a man she just met as her just being wise, while others think Elsa was jealous that Anna got a boyfriend and she didn't (and felt she couldn't have one because of her powers). On the other hand, some people have interpreted that scene as pointing to Elsa being either a lesbian (interpreting her powers as an allegory for homosexuality) or aro-ace.
  • Did Elsa not know that Hans was trying to kill her, or was she suicidal because at that point, she thought Anna was dead?
  • Did Marshmallow pull a Heel–Face Turn because he got what he wanted (to be alone)? Or was it because Elsa made him when she was territorial and afraid and so he embodied the anger and fear, and thus he lost those personality traits when Elsa was no longer angry and scared?
  • Why was Olaf so keen on the idea of summer, and heat in general? Was it just because he'd never experienced it and thought it sounded exciting, was it because at the time he was created, it should've been summer (he was created during an Endless Winter that was set off during the summer), or was it a side effect of him being created to like "warm" hugs and him not knowing the double meaning of the word "warm"?
• Frozen Fever: Why was Elsa so loopy despite the fact that all she had was a cold? Did she drink the medicine Oaken gave Anna, which was laced with opium and/or alcohol? Or, since this was apparently her first cold, was it because of her weak immune system?

G-J

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame:
  • Speaking of Disney Villains, Judge Claude Frollo gets this too. Do we see flashes of guilt and torment in him that make him more sympathetic? Did he really feel nothing for killing Quasimodo's mother or did he take seriously the Archdeacon's plea to adopt Quasimodo out of guilt and a genuine fear of God? Do we see signs of him suffering and desiring to become a better person in his villain song, or is it more important that the experience makes him act even more evil than before?
  • Clopin - he seems very happy and nice, but he does call Quasi the ugliest person in Paris in a way that even the context can't completely excuse, doesn't let him hide in the "Feast Of Fools" sequence, apparently bugs out the second everything goes pear-shaped (as Frollo would likely want to arrest him for the confusion), and then expresses complete delight in hanging Quasi and Phoebus without giving them the chance to defend themselves in any way. A particularly cynical interpretation is that he wanted to expose and shame Quasi during the Feast of Fools, so his people would recognize him as an ally to Frollo and know not to trust him. On the other end, vanishing during the Feast of Fools may have just been Clopin's safest bet against the authorities, and when attempting to hang Quasi and Phoebus, he's also protecting his home, friends, and family from the most monstrous person in the country by silencing what he believes to be the man's most loyal subordinates...
• The Incredibles:
  • Helen is the true hero of the story. The first film is about Helen's realization that the shallow domesticity she has accepted is suffocating her as well as the rest of the family, and at the end of the movie she achieves happiness by accepting her true calling as not only a homemaker. This is supported by the interpretation of Violet as the second lead. Violet grows as a person much more than her brother Dash. Violet frees her family from Syndrome both in his confines as well as the explosion which kills him.
  • Also, think about what really saves the relationship between Bob and Helen. Is it Bob realizing how important his family is to him? Or is it due to Bob getting back in shape, getting (apparently) a better job, and getting the chance to shine again as a superhero?
  • Ironically, there's a deleted scene where Helen and Bob are at a barbeque and a career woman there is dismissive towards her choice to be a homemaker and Helen absolutely flips out at her. This was inspired by the director's wife being mistreated by people when she chose to quit her job and stay at home to raise her kids.
• Disney's The Jungle Book (1967):
  • Shere Khan could be interpreted as an avenger against Man, seeing how they have hunted and killed his species purely for their striped pelts. In the books, he's born crippled, meaning he finds it easier to hunt humans. This is a common explanation for many man-eating predators. The film removes his lameness, and therefore his reason for attacking humans. There's also debate on whether his apparent civility is his true personality or a lie.
  • Is King Louie's desire to be more powerful than the monkeys, which he wants to gain by being an honorary human via using fire, just playful arrogance, or is he evil (since if he used fire to rule over the animals, they'd fear him)?

K-O

• There's a scene in Lady and the Tramp where Lady's male friends Trusty and Jock offer to marry her. But why are they offering to marry Lady? The meaning behind the scene has been lost to interpretation, especially due to Values Dissonance. The most common interpretation is that Tramp got Lady pregnant during their night together, so her friends were offering to be fathers to Lady's children. Another interpretation is that they thought Lady's owners were going to abandon her, so they were offering for Lady to live with them.
• The LEGO Movie:
  • The Man Upstairs:
    • Did he allow Finn's sister, who seemed to be a toddler, to play with the LEGO as well as Finn to be fair, or (considering she seemed to be bad at playing with LEGO), was it a Cool and Unusual Punishment for playing with it without his permission?
    • Was his desire to glue all the LEGO together just a weird quirk, or did he have some mental issue, like OCD or a midlife crisis?
  • Are the LEGO figures actually Living Toys, and the things Finn imagines come alive in their world, or is it all in Finn's head? If the former, is Finn aware that the LEGO figures are alive, or does he think they're just unthinking toys?
  • Did the computer really not understand Benny's vocal requests, but recognised Metalbeard's pirate talk, or was it stalling to allow Bad Cop to capture everyone?
• The Little Mermaid (1989):
  • Ariel. Putting aside whether she's a good character/role model, many of her actions within the movie have given different fans different interpretations of her as a character:
    • Is she a brave and decisive Go-Getter Girl who doesn't let her Helicopter Parent tie her down? Or a selfish, reckless, overly rebellious Bratty Teenage Daughter who only cares about getting her own way and thoughtlessly worries or endangers those around her (whether her family or her animal sidekicks) to get what she wants? (Still a third party sees her as something of a Manipulative Bitch and Opportunistic Bastard who will jump at any opportunity to get what she wants, then acts like a doey-eyed innocent in order to manipulate those around her into going along with her whims and/or clean up her messes.) Furthermore, are her more impulsive and inconsiderate actions just the result of being a teenager, or part of Ariel as an individual?
    • Ariel's deal with Ursula. Is she just a little sheltered and naive for accepting Ursula's Deal with the Devil, or Too Dumb to Live? Furthermore, did she really not know what she was getting into, as she claims in the film? Was she truly unable to think clearly because Ursula chose to manipulate her when she was at her lowest and most vulnerable point? Or did she, on some level, know the risks going in, expected things to turn out her own way, then hastily denied responsibility when her father found out?
    • Ariel's apology to Triton near the end. "Daddy, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know!" A genuine, heart-felt apology by a remorseful daughter who fully recognizes that she made a mistake and is taking responsibility for her actions? Or a stealth Never My Fault by a child who just got caught disobeying her father and hastens to brush all responsibility off herself by claiming she "didn't know" what she was getting into after the fact? Fans still debate over whether or not this scene proves whether or not Ariel learns her lesson and/or feels remorse for her actions at the end, since it's the only scene where Ariel apologizes for or reflects on her actions and the film blows by it so quickly. It also doesn't help that a more complete scene where Ariel apologizes to her father after Ursula is defeated was storyboarded but cut for the final film.
    • Ariel's parenting in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. A serious case of Parental Hypocrisy since Ariel herself never obeyed her father's rules but expects her own daughter to obey her without question now that she's the one making the rules? Or a serious case of Character Development with Ariel's Promotion to Parent and understanding her father's fear in trying to protect a teenage daughter? Or just unbelievably stupid for trying to protect her daughter from one specific threat in the ocean (Morgana) by... choosing not to warn her about the specific threat and instead trying to keep her away from the whole ocean?
  • Triton pre-Character Development:
    • As a father: A well-intentioned father who wants what's best for his daughter but goes about it the wrong way? A borderline Knight Templar Parent and Racist Jerkass who takes his racism against humans way past the realm of reason? Or an outright abusive father who only cares about himself and makes his daughters perform in concerts to sing his praises (literally) and is more than willing to crush his innocent daughter's free spirit when she sets one fin out of line by disobeying his overbearing and unreasonable rules?
    • As a ruler: A somewhat egotistical and temperamental but ultimately fair and just king? Or an outright oppressive tyrant who randomly outlaws anything he doesn't like (music... humans...), expects all of his subjects to obey his whims, then will readily banish, execute or imprison any subject that makes him mad (like Ursula or Sebastian)? The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning has only fueled the latter interpretations, though not all fans consider it canon.
• Monsters, Inc.:
  • Waternoose:
    • When he kidnaps children to extract their voices in order to save the company, was he doing it for the good of the city, or just because he wanted to save the company for selfish reasons (since he mentions being determined to save the company because it's been in his family for three generations)?
    • Was the evil plan his idea, or Randall's? And which one of them is more evil? Seeing as Monsters University shows that Randall started exhibiting villainy long before Waternoose, could that mean Randall influenced Waternoose into turning evil, or did Waternoose turn evil of his own accord?
    • When Waternoose regrets banishing Sulley, is it because (due to their previous interactions), he sees him as close to a son? Or was he more concerned about losing a competent employee?
  • Why were the kids getting harder to scare? Some people thought the monsters were trying to scare the same kids for too long and the kids got too old, but an image on the news implies that it was because they were watching TV. Were they watching kids' shows with Benevolent Monsters, programming which claimed monsters didn't exist (that caused the kids to mistakenly believe they were dreaming when they saw the scarers) or scary news, movies, or TV shows which desensitised them?
• The My Little Pony 'n Friends movie. The witches are meant to be the villains, but they are much more developed and have far more characterization than the rather boring ponies who are meant to be the main characters. Many people considered them to be Villain Protagonists, especially since it plays the two daughters in a seriously sympathetic light.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas: Did Dr. Finklestein create Sally to be his daughter, his servant, or his wife and/or Sex Slave? Arguments will vary. One interesting aspect to this is that in an alternative ending Dr. Finklestein was Oogie Boogie, jealous that Sally preferred Jack to him and was trying to teach her a lesson. Also, back when Nightmare was a Cult Classic, many people referred to Sally's relationship to the Doctor as his companion (or, on occasion, his servant), including the 1998 edition of "Disney's Encyclopedia of Animated Characters" by John Grant. As the film got more popular as a family friendly movie, discussions began to say Sally is Dr. Finklestein's daughter, accidentally making it a case of incest. The next person the Doctor creates to replace Sally appears to be a wife, looking exactly like him and sharing half his brain.
• In Over the Moon, in-universe Fei Fei's aunts squabble that Chang'e was actually selfish and hoarded the two doses of immortality to herself by "hiding them in her mouth" while Houyi was preoccupied. Fei Fei objects to this version as she had grown up with the romantic interpretation her late mother had told her. Genius Bonus as there are lots of variation of the story with varying degrees of sympathy for Chang'e and Houyi. The two most common tellings say that Chang'e drank the immortality potions out of selfishness to make herself immortal or out of selflessness to prevent a cruel, evil man from getting it.

P-T

• Penguins of Madagascar:
  • Depending on how you see him, Dave can be a Tragic Villain, a case of Evil Is Petty, or perhaps even both.
  • Classified's interactions with the penguins are reminiscent of an adult trying to get his children under control.
• Peter Pan: In "Your Mother and Mine", was missing Mrs. Darling really the only reason Wendy didn't want to stay in Neverland? Or was it also because of the horrible luck she'd had in Neverland, such as Tinker Bell trying to have her killed and the Native Americans treating her like a slave?
• Pinocchio:
  • Did Geppetto actually want a son, or was the "wish" more like him imagining Pinocchio as a real boy? If the former, did he not adopt one because he couldn't afford it? Or because they wouldn't let him have one because of his age/and or the fact that he was single?
  • Why didn't the boys-turned-donkeys who could speak pretend not to be able to and use that to escape and stop the villains? Did they think they'd be treated more kindly or turned back if they spoke? Were they too young and/or scared to think straight? Did one of them try but couldn't stop the villains that way because the boys don't know where Pleasure Island is and/or their owner just didn't care? Or does the Coachman have a way of telling the difference between a donkey who can't talk and one who's just holding their tongue?
  • Is the Coachman just an evil man turning the boys into donkeys for profit, and he chooses the dumbest and/or naughtiest boys because they're easiest to tempt? Or is he an evil fairy (or possibly even Satan himself) who's turning the boys into donkeys as Disproportionate Retribution for their stupidity and/or misbehaviour?
  • Why was Honest John terrified when he learned that the boys who got sent to Pleasure Island "never come back as boys"? Was it because Even Evil Has Standards, or did he just not want to get in legal trouble?
• Robin Hood (1973): When Prince John says he'll have Friar Tuck publicly hanged to draw out Robin Hood, Sir His responds: "B-B-B-But, sire, hang Friar Tuck?! A man of the church?!" Was he horrified at Prince John stooping so low, or was he wary of offending the Catholic Church, one of the most powerful institutions in Medieval Europe? Or was it some combination of both?
• Shrek:
  • Was Monsieur Hood evil and trigger-happy in general, or was his attack on Shrek due to Fantastic Racism against ogres?
  • Why did Farquaad keep his promise to Shrek regarding getting rid of the fairy tale creatures, in spite of his general villainy? Is it because Even Evil Has Standards and he has some sense of honour, was it an attempt to make himself look good in front of Fiona, or was he worried about what Shrek would do if he crossed him?
  • When Fiona's curse was lifted, why did she turn into an ogre instead of a human? Was it because she was always "supposed" to be an ogre, or was it because Shrek, her true love, was an ogre?
• Shrek 2:
  • Why does King Harold hate Shrek — does he hate ogres in general, is it because Shrek was the one responsible for making Harold's daughter an ogre instead of a human, is it because Shrek reminds him of his frog form because they're both green and come from swamps, is it because he was worried the Fairy Godmother would get mad that he broke the deal that involved Fiona marrying Prince Charming and turn Harold back into a frog, was he just worried that Fiona had an unfit husband, or was it a combination of these reasons?
  • Does the Fairy Godmother hate Shrek because he stands in the way of Prince Charming becoming the King, or because he isn't a stereotypical love story protagonist? Also, was she the one who cursed Fiona, or was it actually a witch as was said?
  • Knowing that King Harold is really a frog, was Fiona actually cursed, or was the shape-shifting a side effect of her genetics? Alternatively, provided it wasn't Shrek being her true love that made Fiona's form settle on an ogre, was she actually cursed, but the genetics were why she was supposed to be an ogre and not a human?
• Sing:
  • Was Johnny's father rejection of Johnny and his I Have No Son! moment because of his contempt of singing as a career and anger at Johnny choosing a different path than with his gang or was he more angry that Johnny abandoned his post at all and inadvertently got Marcus and everyone arrested?
  • Was Mike convinced at the end to participate in the final show because he Took a Level in Kindness or just to defend his wounded ego after the watching crowd mocked him?
  • All the contestants (minus Mike) decided to forgive Buster for his deception about the prize money. Was it because Miss Crawley told them off screen about her typo and that Buster was trying to deliver on the 100 grand? Was it because in the end, Buster was a Benevolent Boss who genuinely believed and cared about them, constantly encouraging and supporting their talents? Was it because of Buster's heartbroken reaction to the ruined Moon Theatre that it cooled off their anger and resentment? Or a mix of all three?
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:
  • Snow White, depending on how you view her, is either way too trusting, naive and friendly for her own good or just plain Too Dumb to Live. Is she being a traditionalist stereotype by cooking and cleaning for the dwarves, or was she simply doing what she needed to do to try and get by, and those were the only marketable skills she had at her disposal, so she hired herself a-la-Mary Poppins? Some people have also explained her Angst? What Angst? moments as her being a Stepford Smiler.
  • Also, the Queen:
    • Unrepentant and valuing being beautiful over the life of her own stepdaughter, or an extremely dark Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds (to Kefka levels) who, after being re-exposed to mental anguish caused by her father regarding not being beautiful at all and an extremely low self-esteem left her so broken and insane that she felt that killing her stepdaughter was the only thing left to match up to her abusive father's standards of beauty. The Book Fairest of All seems to nudge to the direction of the latter.
    • Why did she choose an ugly old woman as a disguise despite wanting to be the fairest in the land? Was she just too distracted by homicidal rage to realise she was ugly? Was she using the disguise as an excuse to "cut loose"? Was she only intending to make herself look elderly and the ugliness was incidental? Did she think Snow White would take pity on her if she looked hideous? Or was she going for a disguise that was very far removed from her normal look to avoid suspicion? Similarly, her becoming more hammy and unhinged — was that just cutting loose, or had the transformation changed her personality?
  • Dopey might be an Idiot Savant, having difficulty in doing simple things but being a vastly accomplished musician.
  • Was Humbert reluctant to kill Snow White because he was a good man, or was he just trying to avoid a Succession Crisis?
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:
  • How much of a jerk was Peter B. really? Did his jerkassery begin after Aunt May died and he divorced Mary Jane? Was he "perfect" as the Peter in Miles' universe before falling under hard times? Or was he always disillusioned from the start and his loved ones simply tolerated it because they knew deep down, Peter B. was a good man?
  • Is the Prowler/Uncle Aaron a straight-up villain (with some Adaptational Nice Guy thrown in) or was he partially Forced into Evil by the Kingpin? Aaron is clearly ruthless and Would Hurt a Child but it isn't known if they were always like that or if unfortunate circumstances got them stuck under Kingpin's thumb.
    • When Aaron puts Miles's mask back on, were they briefly contemplating killing Miles and having the mask on would make the deed easier? Or was Aaron trying to protect Miles so Kingpin wouldn't see Miles's identity and knowing it would get him killed by Kingpin?
  • There are some hints that the Peter in Miles's universe was beginning to grow tired with his superhero career before his death. Or are those just instances where he is less "perfect" and is shown to be just as human as anyone else? Was he destined to go on the same downfall like Peter B. once his Aunt May died? Was his excitement at meeting Miles because he is finally not alone or was it because he found someone to train to take his place so he could retire?
• Tangled:
  • No Disney villain evokes this more than Mother Gothel. Did she only care about Rapunzel's hair and just pretended to be a doting mother, or did she come to genuinely love her in the 18 years she raised her? Rapunzel's hair is more important in the end, but Gothel does small things that make one think twice like her "I love you" "I love you more" "I love you most" game and her surprising Rapunzel by cooking her favorite food. Fans are still debating.
  • However if you pay attention, when she says "I love you most" she kisses her forehead. This could be taken that she loves her hair most.
  • Or she's just that good of an actress to fool the audience with a rather convincing performance. It helps that she happens to have a lot of very subtle hints.
  • It can also be interpreted that Gothel also wanted to take Rapunzel away forever because she was afraid Eugene would, since her plan to get Eugene to dump her failed. Still though, It's mostly for the hair.
• There is the rather amusing retelling of "Evil aliens destroy Earth, Humans find new home" in Titan A.E. The "Evil Aliens" are made of pure energy, and the humans had just invented a planet-making machine that requires a butt-load of energy to work.... Predictably, the humans do use the "evil aliens" as an energy source. But it's all right - isn't it? The aliens shot first.
  • Well, what's easier for humanity: trying to chase down a fleet of aliens who can blow up planets, or using a nearby star?
    • The aliens might not be thinking that way. They're alien, after all; our psychology doesn't necessarily apply to them. To them, blowing up the Earth might have seemed like a reasonable response to a potential threat.
    • The novel says the planet-creating "Artifact" tech was something only the Drej were supposed to have. The Queen at the time instantly decided to destroy them. Her successor regretted her predecessor's being so hasty. Ironically, if the Drej had left the humans alone, they probably would've found a star or something or used that. They would've still had the Artifact tech, but since the guy who made it is dead, and the Drej need said tech, who knows what the Drej would've done then?
• Toy Story:
  • Does Buzz really not know he's a toy? Or is he subconsciously aware, but delusional or in denial? Some viewers point to him freezing whenever humans are around as evidence for the latter, while others respond by suggesting he might have just been doing so to fit in (when in Rome, as the saying goes). It might also be because toys have base instincts to freeze around humans, but can fight off these instincts.
  • When Sid freaks out on realizing his toys are alive, is it because he's afraid they might take revenge on him? Or is he horrified at the realization that he was unknowingly torturing living beings?
• Toy Story 2:
  • Some fans believe Emily never forgot Jessie, and did have fond memories of her, but simply felt she outgrew her. It doesn't help that she doesn't get any lines, so you never learn her side of the story. Indeed, this interpretation is popular among those who had similar experiences with their toys.
  • Stinky Pete ends up in the ownership of a girl who likes drawing on her toys, at least one of whom speaks highly of her. Is the girl meant to be a Good Countepart to Sid (innovating her toys rather than deforming them) or is her doll suffering Stockholm Syndrome?
• Turning Red:
  • Why does Tyler bully Mei, exactly? Is it simply because he thinks she's an "overachieving, dork narc" weirdo with an overbearing "psycho mom" as he states in the movie, and her friends via their association with her, or does he secretly have a crush on Mei and tries to hide it through said bullying? One could also make an argument that his bullying is possibly out of insecurity given he is later shown to be a Closet Geek of 4*Town, and Mei directly calls him an "insecure jerkwad" in relation to his bullying.
  • Ming's Red Panda form in the climax. Why exactly is it so huge compared to Mei and the rest of her family's forms? Is it just naturally huge or is it huge as a result of her bottled up emotions making the form grow bigger? The film never gives a definitive answer on this, but according to Domee Shi it's actually a combination of the two.
  • Is Wu right in that the red panda transformation could potentially become permanent if Mei uses it too many times or was she making it up to scare Mei out of using the transformation? Given that Mei has had no problems with the form and by the climax, has controlled it to where she can seamlessly transform at will with no issues, and Sun-Yee can also transform between the two forms no problem, it is likely the latter. It is also possible that Wu's own transformations, and those of relatives she knew personally, were as unstable as Mei's was on her first day or nearly so; in which case she feels that the only alternative to outright sealing is forever reining her emotions in order to have any chance whatsoever at living a remotely normal life... and knows that the more someone changes the more painful/difficult/uncertain the sealing ceremony gets.
  • There's also something to be said that Wu's worry that the ritual would fail does happen, but only because Mei bails out mid-way because she decides she wants to keep it. With that in mind, and the possibility that Wu was just parroting warnings from her own parents or grandparents (despite warning that the ritual could fail after too many transformations, she apparently hasn't seen this happening herself, since she answers Mei's "Has that ever happened?" with "It cannot happen."), it's possible that said ancestors came to the wrong conclusion (or Wu misinterpreted them)—"more transformations=more difficult/possibly failing ritual", when the actual conclusion was "more transformations=closer emotional bond with the panda spirit=less likely to want to separate=more difficult/possibly failing ritual".
  • There's a small scene at the end where Ming chastizes Mei for going out partially-transformed (ears and tail only), only to relent when Mei confidently fires back with "My Panda, My Choice!". Has her previous strictness become an in-joke, or do old habits die hard and Ming needed the firm reminder?
  • Miriam is speculated to be queer based on her butch appearance and her being The Not-Love Interest to Mei in the story. With this in mind, she seems particularly stung when she learns from Mei that Ming dislikes her more than Mei’s other friends. Could Miriam already have feelings for Mei, and thus this is why she’s distressed to learn the mother of her crush doesn’t like her?
  • Ming is generally seen as a poor parent: overbearing, strict, hovering, overprotective. But it's possible to argue that she's an example of Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting. She was raised to be the perfect traditional Chinese daughter, and built her personality around that role so completely that she had no life of her own. In sharp contrast, she raised her own daughter Mei as a child of both Canadian and traditional Chinese cultures. She gave Mei an education with practical aspects (the entrepreneur-business class seen in the opening montage) as well as "book-learning". She allowed Mei to have friends and activities outside the family, even if she didn't always approve of them. Above all else, she raised a daughter with enough of an independent spirit to stand up to Ming herself and say, "I want to be more than just your perfect Mei-Mei" — and make it stick.

U-Z

• Up:
  • Russell's mother is said to love The Quiet Game. Does this mean she's a neglectful parent, or that she just sometimes find's Russell's Motor Mouth dialogue annoying at times?
  • Phyllis, who Russell mentions. All we know about her is that — A.) She isn't his mother, and B.) She tells him he bugs his father too much. She's been interpreted by viewers as Russell's stepmother, nanny, maid, or sister, or as Russell's father's secretary.
  • Why didn't Carl make more plans on how to survive in the wilderness? Was he planning on dying, or did he just get too excited to think that far ahead?
• Wakko's Wish:
  • Did Wakko specifically wish for the ha'pennies or did he wish for the means to make everyone else's wishes come true?
  • Did Yakko know that Dot was Faking the Dead, and was just crying Crocodile Tears to trick King Salazar, or was he fooled and thus genuinely crying?
  • How come King Salazar seemed happy to try to kill the Warners, but regretful about presumably killing Dot? Did he feel remorseful once he actually saw it happen, or was he just trying to save face in front of the soldiers so they wouldn't turn on him?
  • Given the reveal that the surgery Dot wanted wasn't to treat a disease, but rather to add a beauty mark, why did she have a cough? Was she Playing Sick so her brothers would think she was dying and take her to get the surgery? Was she actually sick, but only with a cold that was unrelated to the surgery? Or did she start out genuinely terminally ill, but recover when Wakko got to the wishing star and decide to get the beauty mark surgery afterwards?
• WALL•E:
  • When the CEO of BnL didn't inform the other humans about Operation Clean-Up failing, was it on purpose, or by accident?
  • Are BnL a generic MegaCorp, or were they genuinely looking out for humanity but unintentionally made them lazy?
  • When AUTO insisted that the Axiom not return to Earth, was he blindly following his programming, or was it because he knew he wouldn't be needed and would thus be turned off if the Axiom did return to Earth?
  • When WALL-E slipped into the holo-detector, was it an accident, or (since he is shown to care more about the Needs Of The Many than himself) did he do it on purpose as a Heroic Sacrifice so that it would stay open?
• Wonder Woman (2009):
  • This is pretty much written into the movie - suggesting that Hippolyta could be a massive hypocrite for cutting all her people off from the world, implying that they were never given a choice in the matter. What's more is that Hippolyta still got to raise a daughter. Would she have allowed the Amazons to leave if they wished (given the existence of the plane as a way off the island)? Steve also raises a good point that getting into an affair with the God of War was hardly an intelligent move on her part.
  • One has to wonder if Persephone really loved Ares, or was she merely latching on to the only man around? Or did she see him as a ticket off the island?
  • This version of Wonder Woman is oft criticized for being overly violent, even willing to use deadly force. But the only times she does kill is when in proximity to Ares (who, remember, casts an aura about him that increases violent/hateful feelings, and Amazons are not shown to be immune to this). Admittedly, the film does give critics some ammo in the form of Artemis, who is a full-fledged Blood Knight even outside of Ares' influence, suggesting that at least some of the Amazons probably have similar outlooks.

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