There is never an end to learning. From the moment you are born till the very last breath, on a voyage of life, every young to old, every minor to major incidents teach you alot of things. There is never an ‘I am done learning’ stage in your life.
At school, home, amongst friends, or even while at your leisure, every minute teaches you something or the other; you just need an eye for learning. Our childhood cartoon characters, with whom we have grown up, also had very deep and vital values to inculcate within us.
The movies were just not for mere fun and entertainment is what I understand now, years after my childhood days. We remember watching Snow white and Cinderella back to back for days, enacting them at home and unconsciously we had started to follow Snow White’s ideology and Cinderella’s patience in my day to day life. Toy Story taught us not to envy anyone and to always lend a helping hand to the one in need; to befriend someone with complete honesty. This was the impact of these characters that remained immortal with us forever.
On the occasion of teacher’s day, here are top 10 inspirational characters from the animation genre, who have taught us something or the other to enrich our lives.
Dory
Remember dory… the cute chirpy amnesiac blue fish? This one bubbly blue character takes us back to our childhood days reminding us of how she taught us to never be gloomy and drown in our own fears rather to always be happy and cheery no matter how much ever worst situations life has in store for you. Disney this time has finally come up with an entire movie just revolving around her life in ‘Finding Dory’. This shall be a sequel to the superhit flick, ‘Finding Nemo’.
Woody
Ever felt talking your heart out to a bestie; having someone to boost your morale while you are really low on confidence; well in short don’t you feel like having a ‘Woody’ in your life?
This zero-sized, cowboy Woody who envied Buzz Lightyear to infinity and beyond just because he thought his own popularity was fading away amongst his toy buddies; also left behind his bitterness when it was time to act as an ‘aid and pillar of strength’ to his foe turned friend, Buzz.
Popeye
Popeye the sailor man! I am Popeye the sailor man..! We all remember our mothers having to chase us around the living room whenever it was time to have our ‘Greens’, but this cartoon character actually went onto became every mother’s knight in shining armour, as he gulped down a box of raw spinach and gained immense strength to fight against Bruno and all the other odds to save Olive and impress her.
He taught all the toddlers the importance of the green leafy vegetable. And we are certain such incidents have been a part of everybody’ life during their innocent days.
Cinderella
The pretty damsel in distress, whose troubled life made us hate her stepmother and her two ugly, witchy sisters Anastasia and Drizella. Cinderella taught us to be calm and warm while also being patient. She taught us to be nice and sweet with everybody; be it humans or even animals. ‘Love is the cure for all problems’ was what we learnt from the beautiful lady.
Jerry
You think of this cute little tiny brown mouse and you realise that you have already started to smile. This killer combination of cuteness amalgamated with sheer notoriousness gave away a lot of laughter riots. Jerry taught us to tackle all problems smartly. (In his case, the forever problem of his life was ‘Tom the cat.’).
The wittiness and quickness with which he dealt with his ‘life-threat -Tom’ taught us to be fearless and also to face all our troubles not only with courage, but also with a smile on our faces.
Simba
Hakuna Matata! It means no worries!! ‘Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase!! Hakuna Matata…’
Did you just hum it rhythmically in your head?! Well that was exactly what the hilarious duo,Timon and Pumbaa taught not only Simba but also all of Lion Kings fans. They taught us not to worry and panic in any situation of life rather to embrace them with a smile. After all ups and downs is all a part and parcel of life.
The journey of Simba right from Pride Rock as a prince to Pride Rock as a king brought to us an amalgamation of tears, chuckles and a lot more cute moments. But behind all these aww moments, every character in the movie had an intense message to convey to the audiences. Mufasa, while teaching Simba the cycle of life also taught us to be nice to all right from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope while his son and the successor of Pride Rock taught us that it is never too late to fight for the right; to fight for justice against all the odds.
Donald Duck
One of the most adored characters of Disney and also Mickey’s close buddy, Donald Duck taught us to have a very positive approach towards things and also never to lose hope. He taught us that being lazy is fine, but once you decide to achieve something, never leave any stone unturned in its accomplishment; to always put your best foot forward.
Winnie the Pooh
Remember the cute little ochre yellow bear whose soft voice made and gentleness with his acquaintances made us love him even more. Winnie the Pooh taught us to be nice and kind to everyone. He taught us to keep the innocence alive within us forever.Winnie’s nature of selflessly lending a helping hand to all of his friends was what made him among the sweetest and kindest of all the cartoon characters. Pooh was loved by one and all because of the way he was affectionate with Piglet, Tigger, Eoyre and of course, Christopher Robin.
Tom
Okay okay! Don’t rack your brains to figure out what value did this funny antagonist teach us! So what if he was Jerry’s threat to life in a way? How can one forget his ‘never give up attitude’? Well just taking you back to the series, remember how Tom’s every plan of catching Jerry would eventually backfire at him because of Jerry’s tantrums and wittiness. But even after having failed in working out even a single plan to catch hold of Jerry, Tom never gave up. He kept racking his brains even more and would come out with newer plans every time. So here’s the lesson; ‘Never give up on what you truly desire, no matter how difficult the task maybe.’
Po
Po, the Kung Fu warrior panda taught us a lot of things. He taught us never to be sceptical or embarrassed to be the real you. Your outward appearance, your size, looks don’t matter; all that matters is the person inside you; the confidence that you have. Po, also taught us how important it is to keep that curve on your face; to keep smiling and laughing no matter how difficult the situations are.
Happy Teachers Day!