Nice Mean And In Between / Film

Examples of Nice Mean And In Between in Animated and Live-Action Films.

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Films — Animation

• Beauty and the Beast
  • Out of the Beast's three main servants, there is kind and motherly Mrs. Potts (nice), stuffy and uptight Cogsworth (mean), and rebellious but charming Lumiere (in-between).
  • Out of the three men who have the biggest impacts to Belle's story, there's Maurice, her kindly and supportive father (nice), Gaston, the rude and egotistical town hero who wants to marry her (mean), and the Beast, who starts off as a wrathful and gruff Jerkass but becomes a much better person over the course of the movie, though he still has his jerkish moments (in-between).
• Brother Bear: The three human brothers Sitka (nice), Denahi (mean), and Kenai (in-between) are portrayed as this, respectively. After Sitka dies, the bear cub Koda now becomes the nice of the trio.
• Cars:
  • The three Piston Cup leaders throughout the first movie. Retiring legend Strip "The King" Weathers is the nicest of the three, being wise and openly caring to his team. Runner-up Chick Hicks is mean and rotten, not liking to lose and threatening to cheat in any way. Rookie Lightning McQueen is in-between, due to him starting out as spoiled and narcissistic, but softening over the course of the movie.
  • There's also the three leads throughout the threequel. Cruz Ramirez is nice and gentle, always willing to help train her students, help Lightning get back on top, and hopes to become a racer just like him. Jackson Storm is rude and obnoxious, acting the same way Lightning used to behave, and would taunt the other racers at will. Lightning is pretty much the same as before, not as mean as Jackson but more assertive than Cruz.
• Charlotte's three daughters in Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure. Aranea is nice and carefree; Joy is cynical and narcissistic; and Nellie is the in-between who serves as their leader.
• Chicken Run has the three supporting chickens to Ginger. Babs is dimwitted but ultimately good-hearted and kind (nice), Bunty is cynical and Hot-Blooded (mean), and Mac is mostly polite and helpful but has more Beware the Nice Ones moments than Babs has (in-between).
• Cinderella: Following Anastasia's Character Development in two sequels (Dreams Come True, A Twist In Time) , the three sisters are this. Cinderella is the nice one, for being the always caring All-Loving Hero. Drizella is the mean one, who remains as cruel as she was before, even to the point of being The Dragon for her mother, Lady Tremaine. Anastasia is the in-between one, who started off as a brat, but made a Heel–Face Turn and became a sweet, yet gruff individual who finds a love interest in the form of a baker. Drizella is the sister with the least character development, though somewhat contradictory at that. She shows concern for Anastasia's well-being in the second film, while she is eager to physically abuse Anastasia at the start of the third film.
• Coco: Miguel is nice and innocent, and apparently the polar opposite of Ernesto de la Cruz, who is harsh and secretly a fraud. Héctor stays in-between due to being humorous, but frequently argues with someone when things don't go his way.
• Despicable Me: All three of Gru's adoptive daughters are good girls. However Agnes is by far the most innocent and affectionate, Edith is a mischievous prankster, and Margo is the caring older sister, but she can be cynical and snarky.
• Downplayed in Encanto with all the "mean" examples since none of them are outright villainous, have their flaws that they do try to work on during the movie and are shown to be caring to their family.
  • The triplets: Julieta is the kindest and most soft-spoken (nice), Pepa is the most hot-headed and temperamental compared to her siblings (mean) and Bruno is a Nice Guy but has his oddities (in-between).
  • Julieta's children: Mirabel is nice (she does her best to help others despite having no gift). Isabella is mean (though it's only towards Mirabel, she gets along well with the rest of her family). Luisa is in-between (she is a hard worker but can be brusque).
  • Pepa's children: Antonio is nice (sweet, innocent and a Friend to All Living Things). Camilo is mean (he loves playing pranks with his shape-shifting abilities). Dolores is in-between (she is good-hearted but can be a busybody).
• The Great Mouse Detective
  • Out of the trio of main protagonists, we have the sweet and innocent child Olivia (Nice), the rude and abrasive Basil of Baker Street (Mean), and Dr. Dawson, who is generally kind and grandfatherly but more assertive than Olivia (In-Between)
  • Out of the three main adults, the jolly Dawson becomes the Nice and Basil, who is still rude but means well, becomes the In-Between compared to Ratigan's Faux Affably Evil-natured Mean
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame:
  • Esmeralda's suitors are shy Quasimodo (nice), corrupt and sinister Frollo (mean), and snarky but good-natured Phoebus (in-between).
  • Out of the gargoyles, Victor (Nice) is quiet and the most thoughtful. Laverne (Mean) is the most snippy, and frequently insults the other two. Hugo (In-between) is not as sensitive as Victor, but isn't as cranky as Laverne.
• Ice Age: Sid is the Nice one because, despite his Innocently Insensitive moments, he truly does mean well and helps keep the herd together. Diego is downplayed on the In-between part, since he does become nicer, but still easily comes off as the most snarky of the three. Manny is the Mean, due to having more Jerk with a Heart of Gold moments than Diego, though the two sometimes change places.
• The Incredibles: All three of the Parr children are good kids. However Jack-Jack is by far the most innocent and affectionate, Dash is a mischievous prankster, and Violet is the caring older sister, but she can be cynical and snarky.
• The Jungle Book:
  • The three antagonists fall into this. King Louie is the Nice, being the most jovial and outwardly friendly towards Mowgli; Shere Khan is the Mean, wanting to kill the boy simply for existing; and Kaa is the In-Between, for his gentle way of handling prey and for briefly feeling pity for Mowgli before deciding to eat him anyway.
  • The three main characters Mowgli, Baloo and Bagheera also qualify. Baloo is the Big Fun of the three (nice), Mowgli is a Bratty Half-Pint (mean), and Bagheera is stern but ultimately has Mowgli's best interests at heart (in-between).
• The Land Before Time: Of the original five, there is soft-spoken Littlefoot and happy-go-lucky Ducky (nice), hot-headed Cera (mean), and panicky Petrie and mute Spike (in-between). When friendly Chomper and whimsical Ruby are added to the gang, they also qualify as nice.
• The Lion King: The first movie has a downplayed example of the three royals in charge; Mufasa, Rafiki, and Zazu. Rafiki, while a little mischievous, is the most jovial and friendly (nice), Zazu is the most irritable, cranky and easiest to provoke (mean), and Mufasa is the caring and gentle leader of the Pride Lands but can also be Hot-Blooded and not above showing Tough Love to his son Simba when he does something wrong (in-between).
  • This also applies to the three main heirs to the throne. Mufasa, though can be Hot-Blooded, is the loving and gentle leader of the Pride Lands (nice), Scar is cruel, manipulative and willing to commit atrocities to gain power (mean), and Simba starts out as rather arrogant and immature in his youth but through growing up and Character Development becomes better and a stronger leader (in-between).
• The Little Mermaid: Out of Ariel's animal friends, Flounder is innocent and shy (nice), Sebastian is snooty and grumpy (mean), and Scuttle is a friendly but slightly annoying Cloudcuckoolander (in-between).
• Luca - Between the three most prominent boy characters in this movie, we have: gentle, soft-spoken Luca (nice), arrogant and intimidating Jerkass Ercole (mean) and sarcastic but friendly Know-Nothing Know-It-All Alberto (in-between)
• Monsters, Inc. has the three main male monsters: Sulley (nice) is a kind, caring Gentle Giant, Randall (mean) is a bitter, cruel Jerkass and Mike (in-between) is selfish and sarcastic, but ultimately good-hearted.
• Mulan:
  • The three soldiers. Yao is the mean one, short in temper, as he is in stature; Gentle Giant Chien-Po is the nice one; and wise-cracking Ling is the in-between.
  • Mulan's animal sidekicks. Cri-Kee is an Extreme Doormat who becomes the voice of reason in the sequel (nice), Mushu is cocky and often self-centered (mean), and Khan is more Out of Focus and has the least developed personality (in-between).
• My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks: The villainous trio of the Dazzlings. Sonata Dusk is the nicest and dumbest one. Aria Blaze is mean and grumpy, always picking on Sonata and quick to criticize Adagio. Adagio Dazzle is in-between, stopping the other two from bickering so that they can focus on their Evil Plan instead. Adagio is supposedly the most evil of the trio, but she can put on a façade of niceness if need be. She also seems to have more self-control than either of the other Sirens.
• Peter Pan: Peter's admirers are Wendy (nice), Tinker Bell (mean), and Tiger Lily (in-between). Wendy plays surrogate mother to her love interest, the possessive Tinker Bell tries to fend off other suitors through mean behavior, while Tiger Lily simply invites him to a party and dances for him.
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: The trio of Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws and Perrito qualifies, albeit slightly downplayed. Perrito is undoubtedly the nicest one due to being a Precious Puppy who serves as the The Heart of the group and doesn't have a malicious bone in his body (nice), Kitty is the most cynical and pessimistic, though she eventually warms up (mean), and Puss himself mediates between the two as he's not as happy go-lucky as Perrito but not as cynical as Kitty (in-between).
• Rio 2: Among three Blu and Jewel's chicks, Bia is intelligent, book-smart, kind and polite (nice), Tiago is hyperactive, brash, playful and hot-headed (mean), and Carla is a snarky, creative music-lover (in-between).
  • Also, Roberto, Jewel's friend, is cool-headed and laid-back (nice), Jewel's father Eduardo plays as both Boyfriend-Blocking Dad and Drill Sergeant Nasty, stern and irritable (mean), and Aunt Mimi is the spunky one, as well as the peacemaker (in-between).
• Sausage Party: Twink (nice), Mr. Grits (mean), Firewater (in-between)
• Shrek:
  • The first movie has the nice and proper Princess Fiona (nice), if a bit private and easily embarrassed; the "mean" ogre Shrek, mostly standoffish and with an uninhibited tendency to say what is in his mind; and Donkey (in-between), whose criticism comes out easily (like Shrek) but he is easily the most social of the three.
  • As Shrek 2 rolls around, Puss in Boots becomes the "In-Between" and Donkey becomes the "Nice" while Shrek retains his role as the "Mean".
• Sleeping Beauty: Out of the Three Good Fairies, we have sweet and naive Fauna (nice), impulsive and short-tempered Merryweather (mean), and calm and wise but occasionally bossy Flora (in-between).
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Of the seven dwarfs, the three most emphasized are Dopey (nice), Grumpy (mean), and Doc (in-between). Dopey is childishly naive, Grumpy's trust is hard to gain and he has a prickly demeanor, and Doc is the self-appointed leader of the Dwarfs and a bit pompous.
• The Sword in the Stone:
  • In the main trio, Arthur/Wart is polite and humble to a fault (nice), Archimedes is rude and cynical (mean), and Merlin is a helpful father figure with only an occasional tendency to be cantankerous (in-between).
  • In Arthur's family, Arthur is still the nice one, Kay is just an obnoxious Big Brother Bully (mean), and Ector is bossy and strict, but cares about Arthur's well-being more than Kay (in-between).
• Toy Story: Woody, Buzz and Andy follow this dynamic. Andy is the nice, being a good-natured child who loves his toys dearly and hardly has a malicious bone. Woody is, apparently, the mean due to being rude and jealous towards Buzz due to Andy picking the latter over him. However, he never wanted to get rid of Buzz and warmed up to him at Sid's house and he cares for his fellow friends deeply to prove he is still a good person. Buzz is the in-between being more polite than Woody, but is unaware being a toy and believing to be an actual human. He does realize he's a toy and also warms up to Woody.

Films — Live-Action

• Gina, Stevie and Jenny, The three normal kids at the reunion in the The Addams Family TV movie The Addams Family Reunion. Gina is a Shrinking Violet who gets along well with Pugsley and Wednesday. Stevie is The Bully to his cousin Gina, Wednesday, Puggsley and his own grandfather. Jenny is somewhat snotty and prefers to avoid Pugglsey and Wednesday but doesn't go out of her way to be mean to anyone the way her brother does.
• The "Mean Bees" from An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong, Sonali (nice), Tara (mean) and Jayden (in-between).
• The three other Beatles towards Ringo in A Hard Day's Night and Help!: George (nice), John (mean), and Paul (in-between).
• The Bad Sleep Well: Wada (nice), Itakura (mean) and Nishi (the real Itakura, in-between)
• The Breakfast Club: For the three main boys: Brian is a picked on friendly and smart person (nice), John Bender is an abrasive troublemaker who bullies Claire and Brian (mean) and Andrew Clark is a Lovable Jock who is regretting his bullying actions (in-between).
• The Big Lebowski: Donny is the Nice, being perpetually affable but clueless, Walter is the Mean as a paranoid wreck who's quick to threaten violence, and the Dude is In-Between, as a snarky, lazy slacker who doesn't do anything unless absolutely required, but generally decent.
• Clue:
  • Women guests: Miss Scarlet (nice), Mrs. Peacock (mean), and Mrs. White (in-between).
  • Male guests: Mr. Green (nice), Colonel Mustard (mean), and Professor Plum (in-between).
• Ghostbusters: The members of the team have 3 different reasons on why they want to bust ghosts. Ray does it for fun (nice), Peter and Winston do it for money (and getting women in Peter's case) (mean) and Egon does it for science (in-between).
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019): The three living members of the Russell family. Madison deeply admires and connects with benevolent Titans, yet she also fiercely cares about innocent lives to the point where she risks her own life and limb helping to stop Ghidorah (Nice). Emmais willing to sentence billions of people (including all her friends and her daughter's father) to death entirely of her own volition for what she believes to be the greater good, whilst emotionally manipulating her daughter into being complicit in mass murder and attempted mass genocide, and even her claims that she's serving the greater good are implied to be taking her grief out on the world in a monstrous manner (Mean). Mark is a cynical, whiny, self-pitying blowhard who rants about being entitled to see Godzilla killed, but he's aghast at the idea of letting innocent people die and at what Emma has been putting Madison through (Inbetween).
• Subverted in GoodFellas with the trio of Henry Hill, Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito. At first, it appears as if Tommy is the mean — a terrifying, violent psychopath, while Jimmy is the nice — an Affably Evil mobster who acts as a parental figure to Henry, and Henry himself is the in-between. However, Jimmy's facade of generosity slips over the course of the movie and it becomes clear that deep down, he's just as much a monster as Tommy.
• Played with in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Blondie (nice) is an Unscrupulous Hero, Angel Eyes (mean) is pure evil, and Tuco (in-between) is an Anti-Villain, a thoroughly despicable person who is by far the most human character in the whole movie, made likable by how funny and childish he is and caught between the other two outlaws, who act like forces of nature rather than people.
• The Hangover: Stu (nice) is the rational and thoughtful one of the group (though he does get hurt a lot). Phil (mean) is the foul-mouthed troublemaker who couldn't care less about breaking the law. Alan (in-between) is a (relativity) innocent Manchild whose stupidity and recklessness tend to get the group in trouble. Sometimes, especially in later movies, Phil and Alan do switch places.
• The main characters from Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey: Shadow is a wise and kind Cool Old Guy, Sassy is a sassy and sarcastic Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and Chance is loyal and friendly if immature and paranoid.
• The Host (2006): The Park siblings. Gang-du is the relatively nice one; although he occasionally disrespects his father he loves his family, shows no ill will to his siblings, whom he went through hell trying to provide for as a child, and his daughter is the world to him. Nam-il is the relatively mean one; cynical, disillusioned, rude and annoyed with Gang-du all the time, though he's shown to care about his brother. Nam-joo is the in-between; she's not as nice as Gang-du but not as mean as Nam-il.
• Iron Will: The three race sponsors and team employers, Harper, McTeague, and DeFontaine. Harper is a pleasant Self-Made Man who allows Will a chance to prove himself but also shows concern for his safety and welfare. McTeague is a rude, callous, cheating miser. DeFontaine doesn't go out of his way to be complimentary or generous toward Will, but lacks any Jerkass moments.
• In Jawbreaker, Julie feels guilt/remorse over the incident involving the death of Liz Purr and leaves the clique; Courtney is the Alpha Bitch who reigns over Reagan High and manipulated an innocent girl (Fern Mayo) into taking Liz's place; and Marcie may be a hand in Courtney's doings, but she is a fairly nice person.
• Mean Girls:
  • Out of the original Plastics, Karen is the nicest one (if only because she is too dumb to be truly malicious), Alpha Bitch Regina is the mean one, and Gretchen is in-between (fairly nice, only acting mean under the influence of Regina). When Regina leaves, Cady briefly becomes the mean one as the new Queen Bee.
  • The misfits: Cady (nice, the Naïve Newcomer who's talked into Janis' plan), Janis (mean, the embittered leader that thinks up the plan to take down Regina), and Damian (in-between, genuinely friendly though not above snarking about people).
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The three headed knight that encounters Sir Robin. The left one wants to kill him (mean), the right one wants to befriend him (nice), and the middle head is both figuratively and literally in-between.
• Motherless Brooklyn: Lionel's fellow detectives and former orphans Danny, Tony, and Gilbert. Danny is a decent man who seems to understand Lionel and helps him investigate Frank's murder early on. Tony generally mocks Lionel and cares more about making money after Frank's death. Gilbert is irritated by Lionel, but in a Vitriolic Best Buds way, and is upset by Frank's murder.
• Night of the Demons 2: Girl Posse members Bibi, Shirley, and Terri form this dynamic, especially in regards to their treatment of Melissa/Mouse. Bibi is friendly toward Mouse, speaking up for her, complimenting a dress she made and going back to the house to save her. Shirley is the Alpha Bitch and pulls a particularly cruel prank targeting Mouse at Hull House. Terri talks about what happened with Mouse's sister without much tact or rectitude and sometimes insults her or shows amusement when Shirley does, but seems to understand Mouse's Freak Out at going to Hull House, wasn't in on Shirley's prank (which she's clearly unsettled by), and helps comfort Mouse a little bit afterwards.
• The Night of the Generals: The three generals. Kahlenberge is a highly honorable man, Ganz is a cold-hearted Blood Knight, and Gabler is an opportunist, albeit not an unfeeling one.
• The Other Woman (2014) did this with Amber, Carly and Kate. Downplayed since the three women are all reasonably kind individuals, but Amber would be the Nice as the clueless but bubbly one of the trio, Carly would be the Mean as the most sardonic and most cynical of the group, and Kate would be the In-Between as she's generally nice but also overly dependent, emotionally immature and somewhat pushy.
• Raiders of the Lost Ark has the three main antagonists: Belloq is Affably Evil (nice), Toht is a sadistic Torture Technician (mean), and Colonel Dietrich is simultaneously an Officer and a Gentleman and Politically Incorrect Villain who serves as the leader (in-between).
• The Rock: Among the three primary FBI characters, Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (nice, the only one who believes in Capt. John Patrick Mason), FBI Director James Womack (mean, Obstructive Bureaucrat who lies and hides details from the others), FBI Special Agent Ernest Paxton (in-between, stern though still serves as a mediating figure between the other two and even goes along with Goodspeed's cover story for Mason's escape.)
• Scream: The original trio of the first four films (Dewey, Gale and Sidney). Dewey is the nice one, as he is friendly, soft-spoken and a Reasonable Authority Figure, Gale is the mean one as she starts off as a self-centered Jerkass who only cares about her fame and fortune with little to no regard on how it might effect others (though she eventually Took a Level in Kindness) and Sidney is the in-between, she is a Nice Girl but also a very moody Broken Bird due to the death of her mother and the numerous Ghostface encounters she had experienced throughout the years.
• Seraphim Falls: The three bank robbers. Cousin Bill is unaggressive and solemn when talking about the war (nice). Evan is quick to threaten Gideon, is mentioned as having shot a teller during a bank robbery and only decides not to fight Gideon out of pragmatism (mean). Virgil is cheerful when he first meets Gideon, offering him whiskey, and later refusing to shoot a man in the back, but all the same is quick to decide that a potential witness must be killed (in-between).
• SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods: The Daughters of Atlas. The youngest Anthea doesn't want to hurt humans and ends up falling for one of the heroes. The middle sister Kalypso thirsts for vengeance against humanity, going as far as betraying her own sisters to obtain it. The eldest Hespera merely wants to restore the former glory of the gods yet, despite willing to kill for it, objects to Kalypso's fury and helps defeat her at the end.
• Spider-Man Trilogy: Peter (nice) is kind-hearted and does whatever it takes to save innocents from evil. Harry (mean) is quite a self-centered jerk who often dismisses his own faults and takes advantage of Peter and MJ; he even becomes a temporary villain due to a misunderstanding. MJ (in-between) is a sweet but assertive Girl Next Door.
• Star Wars tends to have this dynamic among the core Power Trio of the films:
  • The Original Trilogy: Luke (nice) is noble and idealistic, Han (mean) is a roguish, selfish and snarky (if charming) Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and Leia (in-between) is hot-headed and bickering, but also a kind and loving person as well as a responsible rebel leader.
  • The Prequel Trilogy: Padme (nice), Anakin (mean), Obi-Wan (in-between).
  • The Sequel Trilogy: Finn (nice), Poe (mean), Rey (in-between).
• Superbad: Evan (nice), Seth (mean), Fogell (in-between).
• The Three Stooges: Curly (nice), Moe (mean), Larry (in-between).
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: Howard (nice), Dobbs (mean) and Curtin (in-between)
• ¡Three Amigos!: Ned Nederlander (nice, the idealistic Amigo who proposes actually becoming their onscreen personas), Lucky Day (mean, the most intelligent but also most irritable Amigo), Dusty Bottoms (in-between, not as nice as Ned and also the least intelligent Amigo).
• Wicked Spring: Harrison is a kind-hearted man who longs to return to his fiancee and befriends the Union soldiers. Hogg is a Jerkass and Blood Knight who is even willing to threaten his comrades. After Stand keeps to himself, but considers Harrison's proposal to release their prisoners.
• Zardoz: The three main Eternals are May (nice), Friend (mean), and Consuella (in-between).
• Zombieland: Columbus (nice) is a friendly guy who keeps his group together. Wichita (mean) is a distant con-artist who is rude to both Columbus and Tallahassee, though she does eventually grow out of it. Tallahassee (in-between) is a snarky Anti-Hero, but is the most Jerk with a Heart of Gold next to Witchita.
  • The main girl trio of the second film: Madison (nice) being a sweet Dumb Blonde, Wichita (mean) being as snide and nasty as usual, and Little Rock (in-between) being snide like Wichita but less nasty.

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