Quiz: Can You Identify These Disney Movies by the Animal Sidekick Alone?

Animal sidekicks are as much a part of the Disney formula as the fairy tales and princesses that people most associate with it. Nearly every successful Disney movie has at least one animal who helps the hero work through their problems and push back against their villains.

But while there are some animal sidekicks that Disney lovers can identify with the slightest clue, others are harder to pin down. Test your Disney knowledge with this 15-question quiz to see if you can match each animal sidekick with the movie or franchise they come from:

How did you do? While some of these characters are iconic, others are harder to identify by name. Read on to see what role each animal sidekick played in their respective films, along with a video clip to refresh your memory.

More Disney Quizzes:

Animal Sidekicks and Their Iconic Moments

1. Mushu

Mushu is the little dragon who helps Mulan when she goes to war. He was originally the Fa family guardian but was demoted due to a past failure, only accompanying Mulan after he accidentally destroyed the Great Stone Dragon that was supposed to guide her.

Though he was not originally tasked with helping her, Mushu ends up providing Mulan with a lot of assistance over the course of the film. In addition to helping Mulan blend in with the men, Mushu serves as a key source of comic relief to keep both Mulan and the audience's spirits up during the film's darkest moments.

2. Abu

Abu is Aladdin's pet monkey, who has a mischievous personality, stealing for fun in addition to survival. He has far more personality and agency than many of Disney's sidekicks, which makes him memorable despite occasionally hurting Aladdin in the process.

Abu is the one who tries to steal something from the Cave of Wonders, which nearly traps them both inside, but he is also the one who got the lamp away from Jafar and began the film's more overtly magical events. In later Aladdin-themed media, Abu is often paired up with Jafar's sidekick Iago for their own side plots.

3. Sven

Sven is Kristoff's pet and best friend at the start of Frozen, staying by his side from childhood onward. Though he is unable to speak, he has a strong personality and convinces Kristoff to help Anna. As the story goes on, he tries to get Kristoff to acknowledge his feelings for Anna, serving in the same role that a best friend might in a standard romantic comedy.

Throughout the first film, Sven has only one goal outside of helping Kristoff: he wants to eat Olaf's nose. This bit was actually at the heart of Frozen's first teaser trailer, but it was abandoned as the franchise continued in favor of Sven teaming up with Olaf on sidekick missions.

4. Jiminy Cricket

Jiminy Cricket and his song "When You Wish Upon a Star" are both iconic bits of Disney history that come from the movie Pinocchio. Jiminy serves as both the movie's narrator and a character within it. When the Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio to life, she tells him that he must remain "brave, truthful, and unselfish." Jiminy is then appointed the boy's conscience to help him do so.

However, Jiminy's nagging is unsuccessful in helping Pinocchio, so he repeatedly abandons the boy to his worst instincts. As the story goes on, Jiminy does his best to keep Pinocchio out of trouble until the story's climax, where the boy has to decide between keeping himself safe and rescuing his father.

5. Sebastian

Sebastian, like The Lion King's Zazu, is an initially unwilling animal sidekick, as he disapproves of Ariel's actions. But when he is tasked with keeping her out of trouble, he ends up having to follow her onto the land. There, he tries to help her get her true love's kiss from Eric.

When he realizes that Ursula has also come ashore, Sebastian rushes back to the sea to get King Triton's help. He is horrified to learn that Ariel has been captured in his absence and, after Ursula is defeated, urges Triton to let Ariel pursue her own life and love. In the sequel, he serves a similar role for Ariel's daughter, Melody.

6. Iago

While Iago is technically an antagonist in Aladdin, serving as Jafar's henchman, he ends up switching sides in later stories and eventually becomes a sidekick for the heroes alongside Abu and Carpet. Unlike Abu, Iago is capable of speech, making snarky comments throughout the first film despite willingly working for Jafar.

Due to his size and flight, Iago is the one who retrieves the Golden Scarab piece at the start of the film and gets the lamp away from Aladdin to ensure Jafar's victory. Because of his allegiances, Iago also ends up trapped in the lamp at the end of the film. However, he earns a redemption arc in future Aladdin media once he realizes that Jafar doesn't actually care about him.

7. Jaq

Cinderella receives assistance from multiple animals in her film, but the primary ones are Jaq and Gus, who communicate with each other and with the other animals in Mouse Latin. Jaq and Gus are the latest mice that Cinderella takes in, and they appear to be the most loyal. While Gus is eager to help Cinderella, Jaq is clearly the brains of the operation.

Although the Fairy Godmother gets a lot of credit for transforming Cinderella's life, the mice are the ones who truly do the most work. They help make her first dress early on in the movie and later steal Lady Tremaine's keys to set her free. In addition to their primary role as helpers for Cinderella, Jaq and Gus have frequent confrontations with the family's cat Lucifer, who is intent on eating them.

8. Meeko

Pocahontas has two main animal sidekicks: a hummingbird named Flit and a raccoon named Meeko. While both serve as confidants for her, Meeko has the more active role in the story, serving as an intermediary between Pocahontas and John Smith. John is kind to Meeko, which is what convinces Pocahontas to try to get to know him.

Throughout the film, Meeko has a rivalry with Governor Ratcliffe's dog Percy, but they are eventually able to put their differences aside in a small-scale version of the later Native-settler ceasefire.

9. Pascal

Pascal is Rapunzel's primary companion in Tangled, both before and after she leaves the tower for the first time. He is a chameleon who, although incapable of speech, communicates with and plays with Rapunzel while Mother Gothel is away. According to later Tangled media, Rapunzel saved his life after a snake attack in his childhood, which bonded the two together.

At the beginning of the film, Pascal is the primary figure pushing Rapunzel to leave the tower. While he is initially suspicious of Flynn, he quickly warms up to the man when he sees how well he cares for Rapunzel. He cannot do much to help her during the story's climax, but he is the one ultimately responsible for sending Mother Gothel out the window, and he continues to assist her throughout all future Tangled spinoffs.

10. Valentino

Valentino is a young goat that Asha cares for in the movie Wish. Thanks to his desire to be understood by Asha and her friends, he gains the ability to speak to humans from Star. This bridges the gap between the silent and speaking animal sidekicks that exist in other Disney films.

Like many other sidekicks, he primarily serves as comic relief for the story, with a special emphasis on how his jarringly deep voice clashes with his adorable baby goat appearance.

11. Nana

While most people focus on the magic and adventures in Neverland, Peter Pan's main animal sidekick actually comes from the Darlings' home in London. Nana is a St. Bernard with a nursemaid hat that takes care of the Darling children. While she is a minor character in the story as a whole, Nana is an enjoyably weird part of the household before anything overtly magical begins.

Though Nana is likely the most responsible figure in the Darling house, she is blamed for the children's antics and is exiled to her doghouse by George Darling. She is distraught when the children begin to fly away, and though she was given fairy dust to let her follow them, her leash kept her trapped at home. In the original novel, George felt so upset by his treatment of Nana that he chose to literally live in the doghouse as penance.

12. Pua

Pua was initially intended as a major character in Moana, but he was removed from the majority of the film fairly late in the process to make Moana feel more isolated. While he is her closest animal confidant, Heihei the chicken gets a larger role in the first film.

Moana took care of Pua from a young age, and he quickly became one of her strongest supporters, especially when it came to her love of the ocean. He joins her on her first attempt at voyaging but runs away after nearly drowning. However, he is excited to see her when she returns at the end of the film and joins her on her adventures in Moana 2.

13. Ray

Ray is a firefly who befriends Tiana after her transformation in The Princess and the Frog. Though she and Naveen had attempted to eat him, Ray decided to help them out by bringing them to Mama Odie. Despite his size, he also fights against frog hunters and Dr. Facilier's spirits to keep them safe.

While Ray is a less prominent character than Louis the alligator, he is incredibly memorable for his romance arc. Ray is in love with a star that he calls Evangeline. While Tiana mocks him for this love after getting hurt by Naveen, it is eventually revealed that fireflies become stars when they die, giving Ray the chance to join his love in the night sky.

14. Timothy Q. Mouse

Timothy Q. Mouse is a character based on the idea that elephants are scared of mice, though he ends up being a friend and protector for Dumbo once the young elephant gets past his fear. He approaches Dumbo shortly after his mother was taken away and offers to be his friend and manager, in the hopes of reuniting the mother and son.

Timothy goes to the Ringmaster and plants the idea of Dumbo as the star of their circus. He repeatedly turns antagonists into supporters, building Dumbo up until he has the confidence to fly, becoming a celebrity, and giving his mother a better life.

15. Archimedes

Archimedes is one of the few Disney animal companions to come directly from their source material. In both the book and Disney movie, Archimedes is an owl who serves as Merlin's familiar. He is a grumpy sidekick, often needing some level of coercion to agree to help Merlin and Wart.

Despite his reluctance, he does help the pair on multiple occasions, eavesdropping on other characters for information and rescuing Wart from a giant fish. Archimedes also takes an active role in Wart's education, teaching the boy to read and fly. When Merlin abandons the boy near the end of the film, Archimedes chooses to stay behind, seemingly transitioning from Merlin's familiar to Wart's sidekick as he finally comes into his power.

Keep testing your movie and TV knowledge with Mental Floss quizzes.