15 of the Best Disney Movie Sidekicks and Supporting Characters, Ranked

Despite their differences, a red fox named Tod and a hound dog named Cooper are able to remain friends throughout their lives thanks to a special lady named Widow Tweed. She is the true hero of this film! After saving Tod when he was little, Widow Tweed tries to save Tod from being shot by a neighboring hunter, so she releases him in a game preserve. This brings him some trials but also gives him the opportunity to meet his true love. Later, the hunter changes his mind about shooting Tod, and Widow Tweed is there to nurse him back to health, modeling that same kind spirit that makes all the animals love her.

She's gorgeous, funny, and incredibly caring to her cat Duchess and her three kittens — Madame Adelaide Bonfamille is one of the best! She decides to leave her great fortune to the cats when she dies and selflessly adopts the alley cat O'Malley at the end of the movie as a thanks for saving her missing cats. She even establishes a charity foundation to house all the stray cats in Paris. What a stand-up woman!

Snow White is so lucky; she has seven best friends when most people are happy to find one. This OG Disney princess befriends Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy, and Dopey, who take her into their cottage to escape from the evil queen. They sing and dance with Snow to distract her from feeling scared. Later, the animals warn the dwarfs that Snow is in trouble, so they leave work immediately and confront the queen, who ends up falling off a cliff. They think Snow is dead, and, overcome with grief, they bury her in the most beautiful glass coffin, making her look serene and keeping her safe until the prince comes to wake her with a kiss.

Not only is Jiminy Cricket Pinocchio's best friend, but he also serves as Pinocchio's conscience, helping the puppet-turned-real-boy stay on the right path. He is stylish, funny, and loyal. Although he does lose his patience a few times with Pinocchio (who can blame him?), he always comes back to help. In the end, he sets aside his differing opinions and helps Pinocchio fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a real boy. That's pretty stellar behavior if you ask us!

These three fairies are all so delightful, I couldn't choose just one. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are awesome best friends to Aurora. When she's born, they each give her priceless gifts, then volunteer to raise Aurora in a hidden cottage to keep her protected. After Aurora is cursed, the fairies place the entire kingdom under a sleeping spell (if Aurora can't be awake, no one can!), then they help Prince Phillip defeat Maleficent. Yeah, they are pretty wonderful.

He may seem more like King Triton's best friend at first, but Sebastian has Ariel's back in the end. After all, he's only negative because he is trying to protect Ariel from harm! Later, when Ariel makes a deal with Ursula and trades her voice for human legs, Sebastian is there to help her set a romantic mood and encourage Eric to kiss her, ultimately helping her find true love. (OK, this storyline could be a little more feminist, but it was 1989.)

The movie may not be named after her, but Lilo and Stitch's iconic friendship (and many adventures) would never have happened without Nani. This caring character is Lilo's older sister and legal guardian, who raises Lilo and works really hard to financially take care of her. She feels bad that Lilo doesn't have any friends, so she offers to adopt her a dog — and they accidentally come home with Stitch instead. She protects her family, she sacrifices her dreams to put Lilo first, and she helps Stitch rescue Lilo. At the end, she graciously accepts Stitch into the family.

If it's been a while since you've seen the movie, Pocahontas is the princess of the Powhatan tribe and is betrothed to Kocoum against her will. Nakoma tries to encourage Pocahontas to give him a chance by mentioning how great and good-looking he is. Throughout the movie, she is shown as the voice of reason to her more free-spirited friend, often pushing her to speak to her father about different things and telling her to stop seeing John Smith. However, when Pocahontas runs off with John, Nakoma lies for her friend to protect her. After Kocoum dies, Nakoma helps Pocahontas once again by sneaking her into John's tent. Her friendship is truly priceless.

Dory drops everything to help Marlin find his son, Nemo, who is captured by scuba divers. Although Dory is a blue tang who has short-term memory loss (causing her to completely forget who her friends are and what just happened every few seconds), she works hard to remember the address on the scuba diver's discarded goggles to help lead them to Nemo. She's also consistently forgiving Marlin's mean outbursts, willingly going into dangerous situations with him, and helping Marlin and Nemo reunite in the end. Dory is such a good friend to Marlin that she ended up getting her own sequel!

At the beginning of Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph feels rejected by the other characters in his game because he is never invited to the afterparties and he never gets a trophy. But Fix-It Felix Jr. just wants to make everyone happy, so he invites Ralph in. When Ralph goes off on his own adventure, Felix chases after him and, once again, helps clean up Ralph's messes. He is the eternal nice guy, super charming and beloved, who never shows an evil streak. His trials going after Ralph help him to realize how hard it is to be neglected, and they end up building a solid friendship when Felix helps Ralph protect Vanellope.

The adorably awkward duo Timon and Pumbaa are the best friends you wish you had when things get tough. They keep Simba feeling positive, and they teach him one of the most iconic songs in Disney history, "Hakuna Matata." This meerkat and warthog save Simba from the vultures when he's a young cub; later, they help Simba defeat Scar to become King of Pride Rock. Their friendship is so solid, Simba invites them to stand with him at a special ceremony, where he shows off his newborn lion cub to the animals. They are funny and loyal — the perfect combination.

From childhood besties to adult best friends, Lottie and Tiana's friendship is a true inspiration story. Even though they have totally different personalities and come from different backgrounds (Lottie is an energetic Southern belle with a rich father, whereas Tiana is a more reserved daughter of a seamstress), they remain true and loyal friends throughout the movie. Lottie gives Tiana a large sum of money to cater her costume ball so Tiana can buy her own restaurant, and she is supportive of Tiana marrying Prince Naveen even though it was always her dream to marry royalty. She is a beautiful representation of a woman supporting another woman, no matter what.

When the Genie sings, "You ain't never had a friend like me," well, he isn't wrong. This magical blue best friend is high on our list for many reasons: he is hilarious, he can literally make your dreams come true, he is a great wingman, he offers sound moral advice, and, oh yeah, he will break the rules to save your life in a pinch — like when he saves Aladdin from the bottom of the sea when he is unconscious and can't use one of his three wishes. Need we say more?

Piglet is probably the most loyal Disney best friend there is. He is timid and nervous, but he doesn't let his anxiety get in the way of following his best friend, Winnie the Pooh, on adventures. He also can read things for Pooh and explain things to him in a different way, and he stands by Pooh's side no matter what. Once, on the Blustery Day, Piglet goes through a terrible windstorm to save Pooh, and later, he nicely offers to let Pooh stay with him when Eeyore moves into Pooh's house. Definitely friendship goals.

This is the only best friend on the list who is literally created by the main star. Elsa uses her magical ice powers to make the perfect companion for her and her sister, Anna, when they are kids. When they grow up and Elsa storms off and makes an ice palace in the forest, she re-creates Olaf. He helps Anna find her sister and makes her laugh along the way. Later, he tells Anna, "Some people are worth melting for," when she is worried about him sitting too close to the fire — which he was only doing to keep her warm and protect her from dying. He even tells Anna that the charming Kristoff is in love with her, helping her realize her true feelings for him as well.

He becomes such an important part of the story that Elsa creates his own personal snow flurry at the end so he can stick around through every season. His positive attitude and hilarious jokes make him No. 1 on our list!