Four Temperament Ensemble / Film

Films — Animated

Disney Animated Canon

• The main characters in The Emperor's New Groove: Kuzco as the sanguine, due to his energetic, confident, but self-absorbed behaviour; Yzma as the choleric, being ambitious and hardworking but vindictive; Pacha as the melancholic, playing the Only Sane Man to Kuzco and occasionally snarking at the latter's expense; and Kronk as the phlegmatic, being a sweet-natured Minion with an F in Evil.
• Encanto has Felix (sanguine), Pepa (choleric), Julieta (eclectic), Agustín (phlegmatic), and Bruno (melancholic).
• Frozen has very upbeat, active and optimistic Anna as the sanguine, her elegant and ridden with fear sister Elsa as the melancholic, laid-back, snarky-but-staunchly-moral Kristoff as the phlegmatic and ambitious, hard-working, do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-my-goal Hans as the choleric.
• A Goofy Movie: Max (choleric), Goofy (eclectic), Roxanne (phlegmatic), P.J. (sanguine), and Pete (melancholic).
• The heroic characters in Hercules: Hercules (phlegmatic), Megara (melancholic), Philoctetes (choleric), and Pegasus (sanguine).
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame:
  • Frollo is choleric (the control obsessed tyrant), Phoebus is melancholic (the morally conflicted knight), Esmerelda is sanguine (the upbeat and defiant rebel) and Quasimodo is phlegmatic (the empathetic recluse).
  • Quasimodo also has this when interacting with his gargoyle friends, again with him as the phlegmatic: Hugo is the loud and energetic Fat Comic Relief (sanguine), Laverne is snippy and hot-tempered but caring (choleric), and Victor is the neurotic, cerebral Cowardly Lion (melancholic).
• The Jungle Cubs: Shere Khan (choleric), Bagheera (melancholic), Baloo (phlegmatic), and Louis (sanguine).
• The four main dogs in Lady and the Tramp: Lady (melancholic), The Tramp (sanguine), Jock (choleric), and Trusty (phlegmatic).
• The Lion King: Mufasa is choleric (the extroverted leader who has a bit of a temper and is the most badass character in the film), Scar is melancholic (the introverted villain who is always unhappy), Simba is sanguine (the adventurous and cheery heir to the throne) and Nala is phlegmatic (the reasonable and Only Sane Man of the cast).
• The Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack Skellington (sanguine), Sally (melancholic), Oogie Boogie (choleric), and The Mayor (phlegmatic).
• Pocahontas:
  • Pocahontas' crew - Meeko (sanguine), Flit (melancholic), Grandmother Willow (choleric), Nakoma (eclectic) and Pocahontas herself (phlegmatic).
  • The British Settlers: John Smith (melancholic), Thomas (phlegmatic), Ratcliffe (choleric), Wiggins (sanguine), Ben and Lon (eclectic; mostly act as one character and go along with the rest).
• The Princess and the Frog must have read this trope before it was written. Tiana (choleric), Louis (melancholic), Ray (phlegmatic), and Naveen (sanguine).
• Robin Hood (1973): Robin Hood & Little John (sanguine), Prince John & Sheriff of Nottingham (choleric), Maid Marian (phlegmatic), Friar Tuck & Sir Hiss (melancholic).
• Tangled: Rapunzel (sanguine), Flynn (phlegmatic), Pascal (melancholic), Maximus (choleric).
• Tarzan gives us the four main non-humans: Kerchak (choleric), Kala (melancholic), Terk (sanguine), and Tantor (phlegmatic).
  • The human characters follow the same pattern, with Kind-Hearted but conflicted Tarzan (Melancholic), prim and sweet though also naive Jane (Phlegmatic), eccentric and absent-minded yet affable and passionate Archimedes Porter (Sanguine), and determined and brave yet greedy and cruel Clayton (Choleric).
• The main characters of Wreck-It Ralph: Ralph is the melancholic, being a Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold who is sad about his social exclusion by his game-mates as the bad guy of his game and wants something better out of life, Vanellope is the sanguine, being an energetic and brash Bratty Half-Pint, Felix is the phlegmatic, being the most sweet-natured of the four and is initially really gentle and docile to the point of being spineless, and Sgt. Calhoun is the choleric, being very task-oriented and emotionally distant, but nevertheless bold and diligent.

Pixar

• The Parr family from The Incredibles: Bob (choleric, prone to losing his temper and impulsively participates in vigilante work), Helen (phlegmatic, the calm, responsible matriarch of the family), Violet (melancholic, a painfully shy moody teenager), and Dash (sanguine, a cheerful, energetic prankster).
• Turning Red: Mei and her friends. Mei is sanguine (cheerful, friendly, and optimistic, but also submissive to her mother's discipline). Abby is choleric (hot blooded, bold, and assertive). Priya is melancholic (mature, stoic, empathetic, but also has a hidden sensitive side). Miriam is phlegmatic (the most patient and levelheaded of the girls, befitting her role as Team Mom).

DreamWorks

• Kung Fu Panda:
  • Po is the Sanguine to the three characters that become the most important people in his life: Tigress (melancholic), Shifu (choleric) and Mr. Ping (phlegmatic).(Oogway was phlegmatic as well.)
  • The four other members of the Furious Five: Monkey (sanguine), Mantis (choleric), Crane (melancholic) and Viper (phlegmatic).
  • The villains, as well. Tai Lung: the vengeful ambitious Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy is Choleric, Lord Shen: the brilliant, dour Broken Ace is Melancholic, General Kai: the Laughably Evil soul-stealing ghoul is Sanguine and The Chameleon: the reserved but vengeful Dark Action Girl is Phlegmatic.
• From Shrek, we have Shrek as choleric (grouchy but surprisingly brave when he puts his mind to it), Fiona as melancholic (often the Only Sane Woman to the other characters, mostly calm, sensitive and responsible), Donkey as sanguine (ridiculously talkative, fun-loving and a surprisingly loyal and open minded friend) and Puss as phlegmatic (cool-headed, suave, somewhat easily swayed).

Other studios

Films — Live-Action

Non-Character Examples (mood and setting)

• The four Alien films, not just in terms of their respectives tones but in light of their respective directors and the directors' general filmmaking styles: Alien is phlegmatic, Aliens is choleric, Alien³ is melancholic and Alien: Resurrection is sanguine.
• For another odd, non-character example, the four Brosnan-era Bond films correspond nicely in their atmosphere and tone, with GoldenEye as the choleric; Tomorrow Never Dies as the phlegmatic (or, alternatively the melancholic); The World Is Not Enough as the melancholic (or phlegmatic); and Die Another Day as sanguine.

Films in general

• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: Ron Burgundy (sanguine, a charismatic and beloved newsreader), Champ Kind (choleric, an obnoxious, misogynistic Jerkass), Veronica Corningstone (melancholic, driven, focused and a Consummate Professional), Brick Tamland (phlegmatic, a friendly, lovable, Kindhearted Simpleton), and Brian Fantana (eclectic, usually calm and rational put prone to crazy and outlandish ideas).
• Black Adam (2022): The Justice Society. Passionate to a fault and a natural-born leader, Hawkman is choleric, the introspective and deadpan Doctor Fate is melancholic, perky and adventurous Cyclone is sanguine and the lovably dorky Atom Smasher is phlegmatic.
• Descendants: The four villain kids:
  • Mal is Phlegmatic: The leader.
  • Carlos is Melancholic: analytical, anxious and more at ease with things than with people.
  • Evie is Sanguine: The heart.
  • Jay is Choleric: Headstrong and is into action but often impulsive.
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Newt and Tina are the introverts, and Jacob and Queenie the extroverts. Relatively to each other, Tina is more of a thinker and for justice (melancholic), and Newt is more of a feeler and for mercy, and he fits the "humble, thoughtful, compassionate" character (phlegmatic). Queenie is charming and quirky (sanguine), Jacob is a hard worker and goal oriented (choleric).
• Independence Day: The four main protagonists: Russell Casse (sanguine), the eccentric ex-pilot and Bumbling Dad, Captain Steven Hiller (choleric), the Hot-Blooded Military Maverick, David Levinson (melancholic), the Brilliant, but Lazy cable repairman and Almighty Janitor and President Thomas Whitmore (phlegmatic), the evenhanded president and ex-military man who was criticized for his meek approach to leading.
• Played with in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. In the real world, the teenagers are Bethany (Sanguine), Fridge (Choleric), Martha (Melancholic), and Spencer (Phlegmatic). Within the game, they play characters with opposite personalities. Bethany is Professor Shelly Oberon (Melancholic), Fridge is Franklin "Mouse" Finbar (Phlegmatic), Martha is Ruby Roundhouse (Sanguine), and Spencer is Smolder Bravestone (Choleric).
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The four Pevensies fit into this. Peter (choleric), Susan (melancholic), Edmund (phlegmatic), and Lucy (sanguine).
  • For the first half of the movie, the brothers reverse roles but for the rest of this movie and the other two, Peter is the Choleric and Edmund is the Phlegmatic.
• Mad Max: Fury Road: The wives.
  • The Dag (sanguine), the Large Ham Cloudcuckoolander.
  • Splendid Angharad (choleric), the confident, charismatic leader of the wives.
  • Toast (melancholic), the cynical, snarky, practical wife.
  • Capable (phlegmatic), The Stoic, the kindest and most softhearted wife who manages to win over Nux.
  • Cheedo the Fragile (eclectic), the youngest, regarded as Everyone's Baby Sister who is Prone to Tears.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Avengers: Tony (Choleric), Cap (Melancholic), Thor (Sanguine), Bruce (Phlegmatic), Natasha and Clint (Eclectic).
  • Guardians of the Galaxy:
    • Sanguine: Peter Quill (goofy and immature but overall one of the group's nicer members).
    • Melancholic: Gamora (a stoic and ruthless assassin).
    • Choleric: Rocket (loud-mouthed and obnoxious).
    • Phlegmatic: Groot (communicates only in Pokémon Speak and is The Heart of the team).
    • Eclectic: Drax (quiet and reserved one minute, a Laughing Mad Boisterous Bruiser the next).
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Team Pym:
    • Choleric: Hank (a Jerkass Grumpy Old Man).
    • Melancholic: Hope (a capable and no-nonsense Action Girl).
    • Sanguine: Scott (cheerful and friendly).
    • Phlegmatic: Janet (who's time in the Quantum Realm has made her very peaceful and empathetic).
• The Marx Brothers in almost all of their films:

  • Sanguine: Groucho (talkative, charmer, quirky)
  • Choleric: Chico (cynical, loyal, strongwilled)
  • Melancholic: Harpo (childlike, mischievous, non-verbal)
  • Phlegmatic: Zeppo (calm, polite, easy-going)

• Mrs. Doubtfire: The four main adults:
  • Daniel Hillard/Euphegenia Doubtfire (sanguine): The playful, comedic dad who learns the importance of responsibility, in and out of disguise.
  • Miranda Hillard (choleric): A stern, no-nonsense mom, who is the involuntary Workaholic.
  • Stuart "Stu" Dunmeyer (melancholic): A successful, rich entrepreneur with a low opinion on Daniel.
  • Mr Jonathan Lundy (phlegmatic): The tired yet open-minded CEO, who accepts Daniel's ideas, despite the actor's previous deception.
• Oliver!:
  • The adults who influence, Oliver's life:
  • Fagin & Nancy (sanguine): The playful, light-hearted pair who lift Oliver's spirits.
  • Bill Sykes (melancholic) (with hints of choleric): The Big Bad master thief who is greedy and short-tempered.
  • Mr. Bumble (choleric): Oliver's former master who serves as his caretaker, whenever trouble arises.
  • Mr. Brownlow (phlegmatic): The kindly rich Gentleman, who adopts Oliver like a father figure to his missing daughter.
• Pirates of the Caribbean:
  • The Pirates of the first three movies:
    • Sanguine: Jack Sparrow (Quirky, charmer)
    • Choleric: Barbossa (No-nonsense, goal-oriented) and Elizabeth (Strong-willed, brash)
    • Melancholic: Will (Less expressive than the above two, quick thinker)
    • Phlegmatic: Gibbs (The most meek of the five; kind-hearted)
  • The major antagonists, as well:
    • Sanguine: Armando Salazar
    • Choleric: Davy Jones
    • Melancholic: Cutler Beckett
    • Phlegmatic: Blackbeard
• Predator 2: The four main cops.
  • Wisecracking Jerry Lambert (Sanguine).
  • Aggressive Cowboy Cop Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Choleric).
  • Levelheaded yet occasionally stubborn Leona Cantrell (Melancholic).
  • Danny Archuleta, the least abrasive and most reasonable (Phlegmatic).
• Prom Night (1980):
  • The four targets: Jude is a bubbly Cute Bookworm (sanguine), Wendy is the domineering and scheming Alpha Bitch (choleric), Kelly is an uptight and nervous Catholic schoolgirl (melancholic), and Nick is reflective and levelheaded, the only one who shows any remorse for killing Robin Hammond (phlegmatic).
  • The background male students: Hormone-Addled Teenager Drew (sanguine), Barbaric Bully Lou (choleric), uptight and vengeful Alex (melancholic), and Slick is the laid-back stoner (phlegmatic).
• Pulp Fiction: Jules (choleric), Vincent (melancholic), Butch (phlegmatic), and Mia (sanguine).
• The Purge: The Sandins: James (choleric), Mary (melancholic), Charlie (phlegmatic), and Zoey (sanguine).
• Reservoir Dogs: Mr. Pink (choleric), Mr. Blonde (melancholic), Mr. Orange (phlegmatic), and Mr. White (sanguine).
• The Room is a good example of the four central characters manifesting all of the negative aspects of their respective humours, and none of the positive ones: Lisa (choleric), Johnny (melancholic), Mark (phlegmatic), and Denny (sanguine).
• Schindler's List:
  • Oskar Schindler (Sanguine): The lavish, deeply caring Entrepreneur who loves his drink, smoking and women.
  • Amon Goeth (Choleric): Easily the most violent character, a Nazi Commandant with a short temper and shorter patience.
  • Itzhak Stern (Melancholic): The worrisome Jewish Accountant, who convinces his boss to make the morally good decisions.
  • Helen Hirsch (Phlegmatic): An innocent Maid, who witnesses The Holocaust firsthand. Selected by Amon and later abused by him, only to be spared the usual fate of his victims.
• Singin' in the Rain: Cosmo Brown (sanguine), Don Lockwood (melancholic), Lina Lamont (choleric), and Kathy Selden (phlegmatic).
• The four leads of Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) fill these roles:
  • Sonic (Sanguine): the carefree daredevil who loves living life to its fullest and longs for true friendship
  • Tom (Melancholic): the competent officer who is great at what he does but wants to prove himself more
  • Maddie (Phlegmatic): the caring veterinarian who is willing to sacrifice her conveniences to help others
  • Robotnik (Choleric): the brash, arrogant, and eccentric super-genius who cares only for his machines and inventions
• Son in Law: Travis (choleric), Tracy (melancholic), Becca (phlegmatic), and Crawl (sanguine).
• Spotlight: The four person Spotlight investigative team consists of Mike (sanguine), Robbie (choleric), Matt (melancholic) and Sacha (phlegmatic).
• Stand by Me: Chris Chambers (choleric), Gordie LaChance (melancholic), Teddy Duchamp (sanguine, although he mostly displays the more negative traits, such as impulsiveness, self-indulgence and being a space case), Vern Tessio (phlegmatic).
• A case could be made for this in Star Trek (2009):
  • Sanguine: Kirk, the fun-loving fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants tactical genius.
  • Choleric: "Bones" McCoy, the grumpy-but-compassionate healer.
  • Melancholic: Uhura, the perfectionist omniglot with a nurturing side.
  • Phlegmatic: Spock, the calm, rational Vulcan scientist unless someone insults his mother.
  • Eclectic: The neutral Scotty, who loves his job as Chief Engineer aboard the Enterprise.
  • However, in the original television series, they were different: Kirk was the choleric one, Spock was melancholic, McCoy was sanguine, Scotty was phlegmatic, and Uhura was eclectic.
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: With Kirk and McCoy framed for killing the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon, and Sulu now commanding the USS Excelsior, the remaining TOS officers on the Enterprise who investigate the assassination:
  • Sanguine: Chekov
  • Choleric: Scotty
  • Melancholic: Spock
  • Eclectic: Uhura
• The film version of Starsky & Hutch switched the personalities from the TV show to fit into the typecasts of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson: Starsky (Stiller, melancholic), Dobey (choleric), Hutch (Wilson, sanguine) and Huggy Bear (phlegmatic).
• Star Wars:
  • The female leads:
    • Sanguine: Padme. Idealistic, passionate, kind, and serves as The Heart of the main trio.
    • Choleric: Leia. Aggressive, brash, defiant, and an effective leader.
    • Melancholic: Jyn. Cynical, aloof, distrustful, but not without emotion.
    • Phlegmatic: Rey. Forgiving, optimistic, stubborn, and can mediate between tasks and people.
  • The main characters of the sequel trilogy:
    • Sanguine: Rose Tico.
    • Choleric: Poe Dameron.
    • Melancholic: Finn.
    • Phlegmatic: Rey.
    • Eclectic: BB-8.
  • The Sith:
    • Sanguine: Emperor Palpatine. The over the top Sadist who hides in plain sight.
    • Choleric: Darth Maul and General Grievous. Violent and passionate natural leaders.
    • Melancholic: Darth Vader, Count Dooku and Kylo Ren. Conflicted, but driven enforcers battling their own demons.
    • Phlegmatic: Supreme Leader Snoke. Laid-back but cunning with a dry sense of humour.
• Strange Days: Mace (choleric), Lenny (melancholic), Iris (phlegmatic), and Faith (sanguine).
• Super 8: Charles (choleric), Martin (melancholic), Joe (eclectic), Cary (sanguine), and Preston (phlegmatic).
• Sushi Girl is another all-negative-no-positive example, given that all of the leads are, for the most part, soulless thugs: Duke (melancholic), Crow (sanguine), Max (choleric), Francis (phlegmatic), Fish (eclectic).
• TheThing1982:
  • Mac Ready, Garry and Windows are Choleric. Being the most passionate and rude members of the team.
  • Blair, Childs and Fuches are Melancholic. As they are the most pragmatic members of the cast.
  • Norris, Copper, Clark and Bennings are Phlegmatic. More mellow and people oriented.
  • Nauls and Palmer are Sanguine. Being more care-free and relaxed.
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: The suspected "moles" — George Smiley (melancholic), Bill Haydon (phlegmatic), Roy Bland (eclectic), Toby Esterhause (sanguine), and Percy Alleline (choleric).
• Trading Places: Louis Winthorpe (melancholic), Billy Ray Valentine (choleric), Ophelia (sanguine), and Coleman (phlegmatic).
• UHF: Harvey (choleric), Teri (melancholic), George (phlegmatic), Stan (sanguine), and Bob (eclectic).
• The Untouchables: Eliot Ness (choleric), Jimmy Malone (melancholic), Oscar Wallace (phlegmatic), and George Stone (sanguine).
• V for Vendetta has this with the main opposition to the Norsefire government: V (choleric), Finch (melancholic), Evey (phlegmatic), and Gordon (sanguine).
• Valentine: The four remaining friends after the opening scene: Genki Girl Lily (sanguine), brash and sexually forward Paige (choleric), nervous and insecure Dorothy (melancholic), and levelheaded and kindhearted Kate (phlegmatic).
• Waitress: Apart from the protagonist Jenna, the other five main characters follow this scheme. Sanguine is Becky, Earl is Choleric (showing all the negative aspects and almost none of the positive ones). Melancholic is Old Joe, despite his aloof and jerkish behaviour; Phlegmatic is Dawn, and lastly, Dr. Pomatter is Eclectic.
• The Watch (2012): Evan (choleric), Bob (sanguine), Franklin (melancholic), and Jamarcus (phlegmatic).
• Whiplash explicitly illustrates this dynamic with how the main/secondary characters feel about Andrew's quest for musical greatness:
  • Andrew himself is melancholic. He begins the film as quizzical of the directions of Nassau Band, while also construing any impertinent relationships with the other band members as his own fault for prioritzing emotional guile over practicing and being able to be on time without worry. After joining Fletcher's band, he becomes far more uptight, easily angered, and disregards the importance of personal relationships as detrimental to what he sets out to accomplish.
  • Fletcher is choleric. Unlike Andrew, his own ear for music is a passing fancy, being far more concerned with his own students' ears for music and subjecting them to ridicule and ridiculously rigid standards that no one can realistically achieve. Firmly decisive but lacking the inherent ability to psychoanalyze his students first and break them down later, his experiences with music are completely static, merely ignoring how far past his prime he may be because imagined sabotage and his own anger are the only things that need to clash in his teachings as far as he's concerned.
  • Andrew's father Jim is phlegmatic. He won't stand for being in between jobs (having quickly moved from being a writer to a high school teacher), but for him it's merely a matter of principle, and no amount of unambitiousness can wrong any rights. When his son is growing apart from him in favor of honoring the very person whose approval is not only meaningless, but actively abusive, he struggles to understand where his son would least want to be retroactively defiled, and having already supported Andrew suing Fletcher earlier on, he joins him in working without a net, striving to take away any False Reassurances that Fletcher may apply but otherwise avoiding looking for hope in any of the wrong places.
  • Andrew's ex-girlfriend Nicole is sanguine. Andrew's approval flatters her and she waits for him to warm up to her, trying to blend in as a bubbly girl from Arizona while also reading his shyness and warmly giving him the chance to just act like himself. When she sees Andrew's shift in personality, she immediately knows that his dismissiveness is going to be more wired in his brain each time he interacts with someone, and calls him out for not letting her stop him from going down the wrong path, reluctantly parting with him while happily getting a new boyfriend, not bothering him unless it's something he wants her to be there for.^note Which he does, that being the JVC Jazz Festival, albeit much later in the film.
• X-Men: First Class: A villainous example: The pragmatic Emma Frost (choleric), the somber and competent Azazel (melancholic), the quiet, silent Riptide (phlegmatic), and The Faux Affably Evil Sebastian Shaw (sanguine).
• Zombieland:
  • Sanguine: Tallahassee, the loud, short-tempered, wacky, and enthusiastic zombie hunter.
  • Choleric: Wichita, a smart and savvy con-artist girl who will do anything to survive.
  • Melancholic: Columbus, the quiet and nerdy, but secretly personally idealistic, former Hikikomori and Combat Pragmatist.
  • Phlegmatic: Little Rock, Wichita's reliable little sister/side kick.

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