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Four Philosophy Ensemble / Film

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Films — Animated

  • The Brave Little Toaster:
    • Toaster (the Optimist), a Determinator and The Heart who gives them something to hope for.
    • Kirby (the Cynic), a Deadpan Snarker who always finds something to criticize or complain about.
    • Lampy (the Realist), can be critical or positive, takes his time before passing judgement.
    • Radio (the Apathetic), an easily distracted Cloudcuckoolander.
    • Blanky (the Conflicted), a cowardly crybaby who just wants to be loved.
  • Frozen:
    • Anna and Olaf (the Optimists) - determined, idealistic, selfless, blind faith, lack of forethought
    • Kristoff (the Realist) - decisive, adaptable, willing to bend the rules
    • Elsa (the Cynic) - cautious, critical, skeptical, prioritizes survival
    • Hans (the Apathetic) - goals tend to differ from the rest of the cast's
  • The Incredibles: The Parr family.
    • Cynic: Violet
    • Optimist: Bob and Dash
    • Realist: Helen
    • Apathetic: Jack-Jack
  • The four main characters of The LEGO Batman Movie:
    • Cynic: Batman - aloof, brooding and self-serving.
    • Optimist: Robin - pure, idealistic and kind-hearted.
    • Realist: Barbara Gordon - level-headed, pragmatic and open-minded.
    • Apathetic: Alfred Pennyworth - not involved in the main part of the plot for a good chunk of the film, only joining the other three after the halfway point; nevertheless proves to be a good authority figure towards Batman and gets along well with the others.
  • Madagascar: Alex (the Realist), Marty (the Optimist), Melman (the Conflicted), and Gloria (the Cynic).
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack (the Optimist), Sally (the Realist), Oogie Boogie (the Cynic), Zero (the Apathetic), the Mayor (conflicted).
  • The Prince of Egypt: Moses (the Realist), Aaron (the Cynic), Miriam (the Optimist), and Tzipporah (the Apathetic)
    • Moses' Adopted Family: Moses (the Realist), Ramses II (the Cynic), Seti I (the Apathetic), Tuya (the Conflicted).
  • Shrek:
    • Shrek (the Cynic), the abrasive and straight-laced Deadpan Snarker.
    • Donkey (the Optimist), the most lively and outgoing of the group who looks on the bright side the most often.
    • Princess Fiona (the Realist), the sensible one who often diffuses conflicts.
    • Puss in Boots (the Apathetic), who doesn’t join the group until Shrek 2 and has the most easygoing outlook.
  • Sleeping Beauty: Merryweather (the Cynic), Fauna (the Optimist), Flora (the Realist), Philip (the Apathetic), and Aurora (the Conflicted).
  • Turning Red:
    • Priya (the Cynic), is a lighter example than most, but she has a very no-nonsense approach to reality and often points out the flaws in the logic of others. It helps her click immediately with the goth girl.
    • Mei (the Optimist), always looks at the glass half full and accepts and embraces all labels.
    • Miriam (the Realist), is the first to reassure the others in a panic and start looking for the simplest solution to their problems.
    • Abby (the Apathetic), whose immediate takeaway of Mei's situation is how fluffy and cute she is.
    • Tyler (the Conflicted), who deep down, really just wants to fit in and have friends. He is very concerned with appearance and reputation, and he is afraid of being made fun of for being a 4*Town fan when Mei and her friends notice him at the concert.
  • Wreck-It Ralph: Sgt. Calhoun (the Cynic), Vanellope (the Optimist), Fix-It Felix (the Realist), King Candy (the Apathetic), and Ralph (the Conflicted).

Films — Live-Action

  • The Avengers: Steve/Captain America (the Optimist), Tony/Iron Man and Bruce/the Hulk (the Cynics), Natasha/Black Widow (the Realist), Thor (the Conflicted), and Clint/Hawkeye (initially Conflicted as well, later Apathetic).
  • The Big Short: the Cynic Vennett (he's even the Lemony Narrator because his worldview helps it), the Realists Shipley and Geller (just see the ordeal as an opportunity to get big bucks), the Apathetic Burry and Rickert (jaded financial experts), and the Conflicted Baum (a Jerkass who takes a while to embrace the opportunity - and even then, shows a strong worry once he realizes the economy as a whole will sink while he profits).
  • Casablanca: Rick Blaine (the Cynic), Ilsa (the Conflicted), Victor Laszlo (the Optimist), and Captain Renault (the Apathetic).
  • Ghostbusters (1984): Peter Venkman (the Realist), Egon Spengler (the Cynic), Ray Stantz (the Optimist), and Winston Zeddemore (the Apathetic).
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019): Mark Russell (The Cynic), Emma Russell (The Optimist), Madison Russell (The Realist), and Alan Jonah (the Apathetic).
  • High School Musical: Chad and Taylor (the Cynics), Kelsi and Ryan (the Optimists), Sharpay (the Apathetic), Gabriella (the Realist), Troy (the Conflicted). Each film essentially follows Troy's development into an Optimist and believing in his future with Gabriella, which Chad and Taylor criticize and Sharpay attempts to sabotage.
  • The Host (2006): Hee-hong as the Conflicted, Gang-du as the Optimist, Nam-joo as the Apathetic and Nam-il as the Cynic. Hyun-seo, who is absent from the family for most of the film, is the Realist.
  • Inception: Cobb (the Cynic), Ariadne (the Optimist), Arthur (the Realist), Eames (the Apathetic), Yusef as second Apathetic by default as he's barely part of the group, and Saito is more of a Sixth Ranger than anything else.
  • The Indiana Jones films:
  • The various James Bonds:
  • Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels: Soap (the Cynic), Ed (the Optimist), Tom (the Realist) and Bacon (the Apathetic).
  • The four main adults in Mary Poppins: Mary Poppins (the Realist), George Banks (the Cynic), Winifred Banks (the Optimist), and Bert (the Apathetic).
  • Now and Then: Sam (the Cynic), Teeny (the Optimist), Chrissy (the Realistic), and Roberta (both Apathetic and Conflicted).
  • Reservoir Dogs gives us Messrs. White (the Optimist), Orange (the Realist), Pink (the Cynic) and Blonde (the Apathetic).
  • Star Trek (2009):
    • Optimist: Kirk (ironically)
    • Cynics: Spock, Uhura
    • Realist: McCoy
    • Apathetics: Scotty, Chekov, Sulu
  • Star Wars:
    • Original Trilogy: Luke (the Optimist), Leia (the Realist), Han (the Cynic), and Chewbacca (the Apathetic).
    • Prequel Trilogy: Padme (the Optimist), Obi-Wan (the Realist), Anakin (the Cynic), and, curiously enough, Jar-Jar (the Apathetic).
    • Rogue One: Jyn Erso (the Conflicted), Cassian Andor (the Realist), K-2SO (the Cynic), and Chirrut Imwe (the Optimist).
  • Sucker Punch: An all-girl Version — Sweet Pea (the Cynic), Rocket (the Optimist), Baby Doll (the Realist), Amber (the Apathetic), and Blondie (the Conflicted).
  • Sunshine:
    • Cynical: Mace (wants to just pass the Icarus-I)
    • Optimistic: Searle (wants to board the Icarus-I) and Cassie (doesn't want Trey to die despite the cost otherwise)
    • Realistic: Capa and Trey (the only two who actually calculate and solve the Icarus-I situation)
    • Apathetic: Harvey (later prioritizes self preservation over Capa despite their actual uses)
    • Conflicted: Kaneda and Corazon (both generally neutral)
  • The Untouchables: Eliot Ness (the Realist), Jimmy Malone (the Cynic), George Stone (the Optimist), and Oscar Wallace (the Apathetic).
  • The Usual Suspects: McManus (the Cynic), Keaton (the Optimist), Fenster (the Apathetic), Hockney (the Realist), and Kint (the Conflicted).

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