Deconstructed Character Archetype in Animated Films.
- Aladdin deconstructs Benevolent Genie once the Genie ends up in the hands of Jafar. Though Genie does not want to help Jafar take over Agrabah, he's simply too nice of a person to try and be a Literal Genie to Jafar, not to mention the rules he has to follow as a Genie. As a result, when Aladdin tries to convince him not to help Jafar, Genie can only apologize as he completes Jafar's orders.
- The Bad Guys (2022):
- The Bad Guys are a deconstruction of the Big Bad Wannabe. They — especially Wolf — aspire to become the greatest criminals of all time. But in truth, they had all only lead criminal lives because that had been the expectation placed on them by society, not because they had wanted to. Their plot to cement their legacy by faking their reformation blinds them to the red flags that Marmalade was setting them up as patsies for his own heist, and ultimately leads them to pull a Heel–Face Turn when someone finally shows them moral support.
- Mr. Wolf is somewhat of a deconstruction of the entire concept of Evil Is Cool. Make no mistake, Wolf is a suave badass, a brilliant leader and a charming Gentleman Thief, but he uses his exagerated skills and swagger to hide his deep unhappiness in life. It's clear that, to him, being a cool villain is only the second best thing to being a good guy, an option that the world never gave him. Due to this, he goes out of his way to envoke Evil is Cool as much as possible with his stylish suits, smooth exterior and flashy heists, his want to live the awesome villain life sometimes making him go out of his way to make things riskier for himself and his gang. Being a cool villain is all he has, so he's beyond enraged when Diane successfully and mercilessly pinpoints the Bad Guys' hidden insecurities and flaws, to the point where Wolf decides to steal the Golden Dolphin, pretty much a suicide mission for criminals, so as to prove Diane wrong and so his gang and him are seen as cool again. Throughout the film, he understands that being good feels much better than being a badass, but ultimately unhappy bad guy, and he quickly picks the good side once Diane genuinely gives him the option for the first time in his life.
- To contrast Wolf's own Deconstruction, Diane is a deconstruction of the Reformed Criminal. Her Heel–Face Turn was very genuine, and she truly has become a repentant virtuous person committed to doing good for the world, if to a fault, having gained a sense of piousness and antipathy towards other criminals despite her own past. Also rather than actually seeking forgiveness, Diane straight up never confessed or took responsibility for any of her crimes, and has lingering shades of Evil Feels Good, particularly in tacitally gloating what a better criminal she was than the Bad Guys, essentially making her a Smug Snake Hero Antagonist in the early points of the film. As a result, while Diane does become a Positive Friend Influence, she has to defrost a second time round first, and by the end of the film is clearly humbled and thankful towards the Bad Guys for influencing her in turn and being the first true support she had since her reformation, particularly in taking the fuller road to redemption she skipped to cover for her.
- Beauty and the Beast: Gaston serves as a deconstruction of two character specific tropes.
- The Hopeless Suitor. Even without Belle meeting the Beast, Gaston still wouldn't have had a chance with Belle because of his narcissistic personality repelling her. Even after she makes it very clear that she doesn't like him, he refuses to respect her wishes and attempts any other means to get her to marry him, which includes trying to send her father Maurice to an Asylum and eventually trying to murder the Beast.
- A more blatant deconstruction Gaston delivers is the typical Disney male hero seen in most films up to that point. Gaston is handsome, physically well-built, and very popular in his hometown. All these traits would normally belong to a character serving as the hero and would have been Belle's love interest. However, because Gaston has all these traits, he has an ego larger than the town and believes he deserves Belle simply because she's the most beautiful girl around and not for anything having to do with her as a person, even when she doesn't like him. Basically, Gaston looks like he'd be the stereotypical Disney hero, but his personality is nothing like one.
- Brave deconstructs the Rebellious Princess. Merida is one such princess who has no time for her mother's lessons and only wishes to spend her days doing riding and archery. She also decides to Screw Destiny and rejects an Arranged Marriage... only to nearly start a war with the families of the princes she rejected. And the war is prevented by Merida using the lessons her mother taught her in the first place.
- Cinderella III: A Twist in Time: Anastasia deconstructs both the Wicked Stepsister and the "False Bride" characters common in fairytales, showing that she is just as much a victim of the Wicked Stepmother's abuse as the heroine, albeit in a different way. Underneath it all, she's motivated by a genuine desire to be loved, which leaves her feeling conflicted and guilty even as she bows to her mother's wishes and goes along with her Bride and Switch plot. And even though she can use magic to look exactly like Cinderella, Anastasia doesn't share Cinderella's personality, so her relationship with the Prince is awkward and loveless and he quickly realizes something is off about the situation. All of this leads to Anastasia averting the typical fate of these character archetypes by going through Character Development and making a Heel–Face Turn, ultimately deciding she wants to find her own happy ending rather than be miserable trying to live out someone else's.
- In Coco:
- Almighty Mom manifests itself in Imelda as stubbornness, pride and inability to let go of past grudges and wind up being her Fatal Flaw where this trope causes problems for her and her family. Her efforts to Unperson her husband and ban music cause endless trouble generations later for Miguel and unintentionally nearly cause Héctor to undergo the final death. And once it's revealed that Héctor didn't willingly abandon her and their daughter, she's horrified by her actions.
- While it's common in many films for a Mysterious Parent to not be present in the protagonist's life with little consequence, here the missing parent is a crucial point as it devastated the Rivera family and caused a ban on music that lasted for generations. The film explores the death of the parent, the consequences of their disappearance, and how the family coped with it, for better or for worse.
- Miguel Rivera deconstructs the Kid Hero. He's talented, plucky, Street Smart, but he still needs a ton of help from the adult characters to get him by.
- Encanto:
- Alma Madrigal:
- Alma deconstructs Big Good and Almighty Mom. She tries to live up to the responsibility of being worthy of the miracle. She serves as the matriarch of her family who follow her without question and she maintains a tight hold on them to remind them to always use their gifts for the good of the community. However this takes a heavy toll on all the family members as Alma's toxic perfectionism creates expectations that none of them can meet.
- She also deconstructs Doting Grandparent. She dotes especially on Isabela and she more than anyone else calls Isabela perfect. However, this attention causes Isabela to feel a crushing responsibility to keep her grandmother happy above her own happiness. It also disturbs the balance of the household since the rest of the grandchildren all live under the shadow of the golden child. And as seen with Mirabel, prior to finding out that Mirabel did not receive a gift, Alma was just as loving towards Mirabel. But afterwards, she becomes Mirabel's harshest critic, making her love towards her granddaughter seem very conditional when Mirabel was unable to match Alma's high standards.
- Isabela Madrigal:
- Isabela is a deconstructed version of The Ace. On the surface, she's, as Mirabel puts it, the golden child, with great looks, a useful gift and she's betrothed to the most handsome guy in town. However, under the surface, Isabela resents the fact she has to be so perfect all the time as it causes her extreme amounts of stress and she's not actually in love with the guy she's supposed to marry, only doing it because that's what everyone expects from her. All of this has caused her to somewhat resent her gift as she can't do what she wants with it because everyone expects her to be perfect.
- Of the Proper Lady. Isabela is initially presented as the "perfect golden child"; beautiful, graceful, dressed in stunning flowing skirt, and has the gift of creating beautiful flowers whenever she pleases. It is taken for granted that she will marry the most handsome man in town and bring a new generation of magic blessings to the family. However, as the story deals with the unspoken dysfunction that is present in the family, it is revealed that Isabela is sick of being pretty and perfect, tired of using her gift to only create beautiful flowers, and was only going to marry Mariano because of her feelings of family obligation. Her character development sees her rejecting perfection, giving herself a makeover that reflects her artistic spirit, and expanding her gift to be able to work with plants beyond pretty flowers.
- The Un-Favourite is taken apart through two generations as between neglecting certain members and imposing increasingly high expectations on others is shown to slowly suffocate the family to the point the miracle begins to leave. Bruno's gift of getting visions of the future causes Alma to favor her two daughters as Bruno's visions were not taken well by the townspeople and often upset his own family. Her perfectionist attitude and harsh expectations led to Bruno convincing himself that he will never be an asset to the family, leading to him to run away from home. Mirabel is the only member to not receive a gift, leading certain family members to follow Alma's example and distance themselves from her and not wanting her to participate in family events. Meanwhile, Mirabel is desperate to find some way to contribute to her family and she tends to make rash and impulsive decisions in order to do so.
- Alma Madrigal:
- Frozen:
- Elsa is a deconstruction of the Emotionless Girl. Her whole life she's been taught to suppress her emotions and "conceal, don't feel" to prevent her ice powers from getting the best of her. Eventually, she boils over, losing her temper and running away, which leads to her not realizing her Power Incontinence is nearly destroying the kingdom. Only when she embraces her emotions does she truly learn how to handle her powers — and she's much happier for it.
- The movie also deconstructs Thinks Like a Romance Novel with Anna. Anna was locked away at a young age and didn't get much socialization, to the point that she ended up turning to paintings for conversation, so her idea of love ends up rather storylike. She believes in Fourth-Date Marriage if it's "true love", which she thinks describes her relationship with Hans after one day. He turns out to be a Gold Digger manipulating her so he can get closer to the throne, and Anna moves on to the more sincere Kristoff, who's proven himself true — and they take things more slowly.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame: The movie has a few.
- Esmeralda deconstructs the Dude Magnet. While all the men, including Quasimodo, are attracted to her, she also draws the unwanted attention of the Big Bad, Frollo. The different types of attraction run the gamut in the film to aid in the Deconstruction: the crowd in Paris find her attractive; Frollo is driven insane over his lust for her and is convinced that she's some kind of hellish temptress; Quasimodo sees her as a perfect "angel" (his love for her doesn't appear in the least bit sexual) because she was the first person in his life to show him kindness. Only Phoebus is willing to both acknowledge her beauty and recognize her as a human being, flaws and all; that's probably why she ends up with him in the end.
- Phoebus deconstructs the Knight in Shining Armor. While he is a noble knight (who wears golden armor), he is still a soldier first and foremost and serves the authority even when the authority orders him to arrest innocent people or let others suffer for things that aren't their fault. Reconstruction, however, when Frollo orders him to burn down a house with an innocent family inside, which Phoebus refuses to do. After escaping from Frollo's wrath, he joins the heroes and helps the people that he once aided in oppressing.
- The Knight Templar and The Fundamentalist tropes are deconstructed through Judge Claude Frollo.
- For The Fundamentalist: As far as he's concerned, Frollo thinks he's Holier Than Thou than others, and so, anything he does, no matter how horrible it is, is justified by default. On top of this, he'll repeatedly use Psychological Projection to blame others for all of his issues. Ironically, he's not the pious Christian he thinks he is, and repeated attention is drawn to his hypocrisy. Plus, add some creepy lust for Esmeralda and things go downhill.
- It's important to note that his Holier Than Thou attitude is the book definition of the Sin of Pride within Christianity. No human is truly virtuous or sinless, and to think otherwise is a good way to damn oneself since it prevents them from repentance.
- For Knight Templar: He believes that All Crimes Are Equal, the punishment for every single one is dead, and assumes the gypsies are an Always Chaotic Evil race who cloud people's minds with "unholy" thoughts. While the gypsies have committed crimes, they have not done anything to bring this kind of punishment down on them. He even torches a barn, even though its inhabitants didn't even know about the gypsies. It causes Phoebus to turn against him, and Frollo to try to kill him in return. Frollo demonstrates why a Knight Templar, logically and realistically, would be a horrible person, especially if they're an authority figure.
- Kung Fu Panda: Tai Lung is one for the traditional Kung-Fu Hero that is exiled or imprisoned by his enemies and returns to claim what is his. While Tai Lung was imprisoned by his father figure, it was for a good reason as Tai Lung would do anything to get the Dragon Scroll and attacked his mentor/father figure without mercy and showed he would go to extreme lengths to get what he wants. Tai Lung believed he was the chosen one due to his guardian raising him into becoming the best student from the temple. While in most Kung-Fu stories, he would be the chosen one, the nature of the Dragon Scroll renders that belief meaningless and indeed, anathema to the purpose of Kung-Fu. Being raised to crave outside validation for accomplishments was detrimental to Tai Lung's personal growth, who instead needed to look to himself rather than others. While Tai Lung was very much The Ace and a prodigy, learning 1,000 scrolls worth of techniques, he only looked to the physical and technical aspects of Kung-Fu and never focused on spiritual enlightenment or peace within himself. Lastly, while Tai Lung was let down by Shifu for not supporting Tai Lung in the ways that mattered most, and for leaving him to rot in prison for 20 years without trying to reach out to his son or helping him in a way that could have given Tai Lung a chance at redemption, Tai Lung had become so bitter and selfish that even when Shifu admits his faults and apologizes, Tai Lung still ignores him and not only attacks Shifu but is also harming innocent people. While Shifu was at fault for some of the wrongs that resulted, Tai Lung became a cold and brutal beast willing to destroy anyone and anything to get what he wanted.
- Emmet from The LEGO Movie is a deconstructed Blank Slate; he has so little self-characterization that his peers have very little to say about him, let alone remember him by. One of the mini-figures who are interviewed about Emmet even name-drops the trope, and it's clear throughout the movie that he's genuinely upset whenever he's reminded of how average he is. However, it's later reconstructed as the blankness of Emmet's mind gives him the limitless potential to create anything he wants. It also helps him hide because his face is so nondescript that every possible face in the LEGO universe fits his profile.
- The titular character in Lightyear deconstructs the Determinator. Buzz is so determined to fix his mistake that left them stranded in the first place that he keeps testing rocket after rocket, not caring that he's losing years each time thanks to time dilation. He watches his best friend move on with her life and she eventually dies from old age with him not even being there for her final moments, and when the new commander decides to simply make the new planet their permanent home he steals the ship for one last try. This trait leads an alternate timeline version of himself to become the Big Bad Zurg, who's determined to go back in time and fix his mistake, even if it erases everyone who was ever born as a result of said mistake.
- Megamind:
- Hal Stewart is a deconstruction of an Endearingly Dorky Dogged Nice Guy. At first, Hal seems to be a genuinely lovable nerd who's trying his hardest to get the girl he likes to like back, only to be stonewalled every step of the way. As the film goes on, however, it becomes clear that Hal is a Yandere whose dorky nature covers up a Psychopathic Manchild who can't take no for an answer, doesn't take responsibility for any of his mistakes, and lies constantly to make himself look better, all for a woman who doesn't like him back. Once he gets his powers, this serves to make him a deconstructed Ascended Fanboy as well: other dorky characters in comics would become ideal superheroes (Spider-Man is a standout example) but here Hal's sociopathic tendencies come to the forefront and he almost destroys the city in a superpowered temper tantrum.
- Megamind and Metro Man are both deconstructions of the nigh-invincible superhero and persistent supervillain deal. In addition to his powers, Metro Man grew up with every luxury imaginable, leaving him doubly unable to empathize with the populous he's meant to be protecting because he's that far above them in every category, leaving him with an ultimately fake and uncaring attitude. On Megamind's end, he was ostracized as a child, at first because of his appearance and eventually for a few glitchy gadgets of his that were taken as being done out of malice, leading to a Then Let Me Be Evil realization. Being totally invulnerable, Metro Man becomes bored and burned out on their little game, while Megamind remains overly invested in it because it's the only sense of purpose he is ever likely to have. Megamind's dependency on the status quo is ultimately what drives the main plot, as when he finally wins (or rather when Metro Man lets him win so he can find a new career), he has no idea what to do next. In response to how the humans initially treated each of them, it also can't be ignored that the favored alien, Metro Man, is a superficially pretty Human Alien while Megamind seems to be an amalgamation of The Greys and the Na'vi.
- Mulan's father is a Handicapped Badass and Retired Badass who remains skilled with the sword but old age, his injured leg, and implied heart problems make him incapable of fighting like he used to for more than a minute. This influences Mulan's decision to disguise herself as a man and takes his place in the war when the law drafts a man from every family to fight off the Huns’ invasion of China.
- ParaNorman: This is a repeated theme with much of the main cast.
- Norman's openness about his abilities leaves him ostracized from the rest of the town, who think he's either lying for attention or genuinely crazy for talking to ghosts that no one else can see.
- Alvin is a pretty stereotypical example of The Bully. Unlike other examples where the bully is still popular regardless, everyone sees Alvin as a complete loser who's not much higher on the social ladder than Norman because of how rude he is to everyone. Even his victims think he's pathetic.
- Mitch is your standard popular Dumb Jock, but his popularity seems to come in part from being a nice person. And rarely for the trope, he expresses fear and distrust of socially outcast groups, despite being a member of one such group himself, showing that even members of socially discriminated groups can still be fearful and prejudiced against other groups.
- Judge Hopkins is a deconstruction of the Hanging Judge, as he legitimately did what he thought was best and his decision wasn't motivated by sadism or cruelty, but by a values system that all the people of Blithe Hollow agreed with. He's also a deconstruction of the stereotypical zombie characters, as he and his fellow zombies have come to regret their actions over the hundreds of years they've been dead, and in the climax, it's the zombies who flee in terror from the hordes of bloodthirsty townspeople.
- The Witch is not an evil old crone practicing black magic, but a scared little girl with abilities neither she nor the townsfolk understood who was executed by the townspeople for something she had no control over, which is much closer to what the Salem Witch Trials were in real life. Moreover, while her Freudian Excuse is sympathetic, it's still only an excuse — she's a scared, angry child lashing out in the only way she knows how, and Norman forces her to understand that her violent cursing of the town and its people is understandable, but still not justified or the right thing to do.
- The townspeople of Blithe Hollow are shown to be similar to the zombies, reacting to their appearance with extreme violence and aggression, and with shots of their attacks deliberately paralleling iconic zombie attack scenes. Thanks to modern technology and a massive numbers advantage, the townspeople pose far more of a threat to the slow-moving, shambling zombies than the zombies do to them. Their lynch-mob mentality gets so bad that they actively try to kill Norman, who's only a child, just for being different — exactly like the zombies when they were alive.
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
- Puss in Boots is a deconstruction of the Showy Invincible Hero. Puss' devil-may-care, irresponsible, and self-celebrating lifestyle is taken apart from different angles in The Last Wish. For one thing, he's blown through eight of his lives and now needs the Wishing Star for them to be restored if he wants to keep being an adventurer. Not to mention the many careless and outright stupid ways Puss has died along with his claim of "laughing in the face of death" literally pisses Death off to the point where the Grim Reaper wants to personally end his final life. Meanwhile, it's also revealed that Puss and Kitty Softpaws were to marry, but they both got cold feet and never showed up at the church: Puss because the responsibility scared him, and Kitty because she felt Puss could never love her or anyone else as he does his own legend. She therefore wants the Wish for someone she can count on. Puss eventually comes to realize just how sad his situation is when confronted with images of his lost lives.
- The Ethical Bug is a deconstruction of The Conscience. The Ethical Bug tries to convince Horner to reflect on his actions and reform. While admirable, he fails to realize that Horner is Beyond Redemption until Horner commits a truly irredeemable act, after which he eventually contributes directly to Horner's death, realizing that the man needs to be taken down.
- The Wolf is a deconstruction of the Knight of Cerebus. Make no mistake; being the literal embodiment of Death itself in the Shrek franchise, the Wolf is a genuinely chilling antagonist that instils pure fear into even Puss in Boots himself, a quality fully Played for Drama. However it's this very element that drives Puss' Character Development and causes Puss to drop his arrogance to face him. Realizing this, the Wolf drops the act and even briefly throws a comical tantrum. It's implied afterwards by that sudden show of normality that he’s in fact a snarky amicable guy just doing his job, but making it personal with Puss and going full-on with the scary and sadistic villain act actually ruined his opportunity to take his final life rather than empowering him in any way.
- Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure: Sir Leonard Loonie seems like a standard (if exaggerated) example of the Plucky Comic Relief, as he plays pranks on people just to be funny and sees that as his way of showing affection. However, the protagonists don't find his pranks funny at all. Instead, they get annoyed with his pranks at first, then they get scared because he won't leave them alone and stop pranking them, and it leads them to run away from him.
- Princess Amber in the Sofia the First Pilot Movie Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess is a deconstruction of the Evil Stepsister. Amber has spent her whole life trying to live up to the image of the ideal princess, giving her deep-seated insecurities about being anything less than perfect which she masks with a haughty Alpha Bitch demeanor. She's instantly jealous of and threatened by Sofia when their parents get married, and feels the need to put Sofia down or embarrass her at every turn because everyone (including, she fears, her father and brother) likes Sofia more despite her not coming close to Amber's standards, not understanding that people like Sofia because she's nice and friendly and doesn't act like she's better than other people. She does eventually realise the error of her ways and accepts Sofia's offer of friendship when Sofia reaches out to her at her lowest moment.
- Trolls World Tour: Poppy is this to Wide-Eyed Idealist. She's convinced that all Trolls are the same deep down and that she can befriend the Rock Trolls and bring all the tribes together. Unfortunately, this viewpoint leads her to dismiss her friends' views to the contrary out of hand. The Funk Trolls' king even points out that their differences are what make the tribes what they are, with the implication that Poppy's belief in treating them all like they're the same is more insulting than inspiring.
- Turning Red:
- Ming Lee
- Ming is a deconstruction of My Beloved Smother. Ming is a perfectionist and she forces this trait to her own daughter Mei, expecting Mei to be the person she wants her to be. While Ming has good intentions for Mei, her being a helicopter parent turns her into a paranoid Control Freak who over-reacts to any perceived threat to her daughter. This causes Mei to become sneaky and do things like lie to her mother and hide her personal interests and hobbies from her mom. Mei eventually gets fed up and calls Ming out for smothering her so much.
- Ming is also a deconstruction of Mama Bear. Repeatedly throughout the movie, she aggressively acts to protect or defend her beloved Mei-Mei, but in every case Mei was never actually in danger, and Ming's actions make things worse for her daughter instead of better.
- Mei herself is a deconstruction of "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl. She's trying so hard to be Ming's "perfect little Mei-Mei" that she has major issues with setting boundaries with her mother. She has to constantly lie to her mother, sneak around and do things behind Ming's back. It comes to a head when Mei willingly throws her friends under the bus when Ming accuses her friends of doing the things that were actually Mei's idea. This does eventually get reconstructed when Mei gets fed up and stands up to her mother later in the film.
- Ming Lee
- Charles Muntz, the Gentleman Adventurer from Up, is one for The Determinator. Sixty years ago, when he brought back the skeleton of a rare gigantic flightless bird from Paradise Falls, his academic peers accused him of making a fake skeleton, and the humiliated Muntz vowed to return to Paradise Falls and capture another such bird alive. By the time of the present day, such an unrelenting mindset has turned Muntz into a murderously-obsessive paranoiac. He kills anyone who shows up at Paradise Falls, thinking they're after the bird as well. And once Carl and Russell learn about Muntz's darker side, Carl loses all respect for his childhood hero, declaring him to be a madman. And Muntz only goes more insane as the film wears on since even after he captures the bird alive, he now seeks to ensure that it stays like that whatever happens. Even more jarring, Muntz's efforts prove to be All for Nothing: in the time he's spent living in Paradise Falls, all his detractors have died of old age, and no one remembers him. Ultimately, his obsession with capturing the bird costs Muntz his sanity, his respect, and finally his life.
- Zootopia: Nick is a deconstruction of the Foul Fox. Nick maybe is a con artist, but the reason he acts like one is only because many Zootopians regard foxes as shifty, untrustworthy lowlifes, which makes him so cynical that he sees no point in being anything else. A flashback shows that he Used to Be a Sweet Kid until he was bullied just for being a fox. He’s even capable of being an honest citizen when given the chance.
