Disney Men as Damsels In Distress?

[ToliBera]

I was having The Discourse with some online friends, when the topic naturally turned to Disney, about the gender dynamics of it always having to be a man having to save a woman. (Mulan and Shang were brought up in passing.) however it got me wondering if there were other men in the Disney canon that exist purely to be rescued by the protagonist.

For this I would nominate Geppetto, aside from carving the protagonist, and make the wish that the Blue Fairy acted upon, it seems his whole purpose in the film is to cause Pinocchio enough Man Pain to turn in to a real boy.

What other Disney dudes fit the bill? either from the canon proper, or from the expanded Pixar/Marvel/Touchstone/Miramax universe?

 

[Helvetica]

Ariel has to keep saving Prince Eric. She saves him from drowning (twice), she saves him from being disintegrated by the trident and she saves him from being raped by Ursula.

I guess it could be argued that Eric only exists to give Ariel something to do.

 

[ToliBera]

@Helvetica but he's also the one who kills ursula officially and saves Ariel at the end. what with the ship impalement and such.

 

[MeridaAnn]

I think Naveen definitely takes this role in Princess and the Frog - he absolutely needed to be saved by Tiana.

A bit more obscure, but Doctor Doppler in Treasure Planet would probably count with Captain Amelia (although she's not the protagonist). Bernard in the Rescuers with Bianca. Oliver in Oliver and Company with Jenny.

And Kuzco in Emperor's New Groove is saved by another man, but he definitely still fits the "damsel in distress" stereotypes.

 

[Helvetica]

@Helvetica but he's also the one who kills ursula officially and saves Ariel at the end. what with the ship impalement and such.

Yeah, but he'd be dead if Ariel didn't save him from getting shot a few minutes before and in the same scene he would have drowned if it wasn't for Ariel's sidekicks. With the vortex, Ursula would have been impaled by a ship without any sort of intervention. Growing gigantic and starting a vortex in a ship graveyard wasn't a good plan. Letting him "steer" the ship prevented him from being completely useless. Even though, realistically, the rudder would have been broken and turning the wheel, which shouldn't have moved, would have had no impact on the direction of the ship.

Ursula was on the edge of the vortex (dumb), so that's where all the ships were going. Without Eric, Ursula would still be dead. Without Ariel, Eric would be dead many times over.

 

[lunasea]

Kuzco is 100% a damsel in distress. If it wasn’t for Pacha he would be dead.

 

[old lady]

You forget Flint and how Leia saved Luke and Hans when they were supposed to be saving her.