15 Disney Characters That Start With A You’ll Love

Here Are the Disney Characters That Start With A!
This photo of Ariel was taken by Michael for Countdown to Magic

Whether they are sidekicks, villains, or heroes, Disney characters have been described as awesome, adorable, and amusing.  Here are some of the absolutely amazing Disney characters that start with A.

The Best Disney Characters That Start with A

Aladdin (Aladdin, 1992)

Aladdin is a character from Disney starting with A
This photo of Aladdin was taken by Michael for Countdown to Magic

The main character and hero of Disney’s hit movie of the same name, Aladdin is a great example of a “rags to riches” character. He’s an orphan who has been living by his wits on the streets of Agrabah. He’s a thief, but not malicious about his illegal activities. He steals to survive and is known to share food with hungry children on occasion.

Living as a “street rat” in the city means that Aladdin has become very clever and quick-witted. In spite of how difficult his life is (until he meets the magical Genie), he has a positive and optimistic personality. 

He is also a little insecure; believing that his lower social status means he isn’t worthy of being loved by someone like Princess Jasmine.  Once he is transformed into “Prince Ali” by the Genie, he gains some self-confidence while retaining his naturally charming and fun personality. How could the Princess not fall for him?

Abu (Aladdin, 1992)

Abu is Aladdin’s monkey sidekick and fellow thief. While Aladdin steals to survive, Abu seems to be a genuine kleptomaniac. He seems to feel a compulsion to take whatever object catches his eye and can be a bit greedy. Aladdin’s kind heart and compassion do have a positive influence on him, though. He is fiercely loyal to Aladdin, and can even get a little jealous of Aladdin’s feelings for Princess Jasmine.

Abu’s antics are a driving force in the story. He is the one who frees Aladdin from the Sultan’s dungeon, and who first meets the magic carpet. Unfortunately, it’s Abu’s greed that causes the Cave of Wonders to collapse when he grabs a jewel from a monkey idol. 

But being the skilled thief that he is, he manages to steal the magic lamp back from Jafar just before they become trapped in the collapsing cave. Without Abu, Aladdin might never have met the Genie and become the romantic hero of the story!

Alice (Alice In Wonderland, 1951)

Alice is a Disney character that begins with A.
“Alice in the UK” by HarshLight licensed under CC BY 2.0

Alice is a pretty, sweet young girl living in what is (presumably) Victorian England. She’s learning to be a proper young lady, in spite of being prone to daydreaming during her academic lessons. She’s very courteous and sweet, even when her patience is tested by the chaos she encounters in Wonderland.

She’s also very curious and adventurous, as evidenced by how she couldn’t help but follow the White Rabbit down the hole into the strange realm of Wonderland. In spite of the unexpected adventures and strange characters she meets there, she behaves as a proper young lady and never fails to be courteous and friendly as much as possible.  

Eventually, though, the constant nonsense of Wonderland becomes too much for her when she is put on trial for a misunderstanding during a game of croquet with the Queen of Hearts. Her escape from Wonderland ends with the seeming revelation that her crazy adventure was actually a dream; a product of her beautifully creative imagination.

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Alma Madrigal (Encanto, 2021)

Alma Madrigal (usually referred to as simply “Abuela”) is the matriarch of the magical Madrigal family. When her husband lost his life battling marauders during a war, she prayed for a miracle to keep herself and other refugees safe. From her strong faith, her candle became a source of magic that granted a safe place to build a village for her people, a sentient house, and magical powers for her family members.

Alma became so focused on her own expectations for her family members, that she unintentionally isolates and hurts them. When the miracle of the magical house begins to fail and the magic powers of her family begin to weaken, it takes an outburst from her granddaughter Mirabel to make Alma see how her pride has hurt them.

Ironically, both Alma and Mirabel don’t have a magical gift, but they both have an unusually strong connection to the magic Casita (house). Alma is a source of conflict in the story, but she’s not a villain. She’s a proud woman who has lived through extraordinarily harsh times and personal tragedy.

Even though she’s strict, her heart is in the right place. She insists that the family use their magical gifts to help the people of the village, and is grateful for the miracle they’ve been granted. She also doesn’t hesitate to apologize to her family members after a heart-to-heart talk with Mirabel. 

Anastasia Tremaine (Cinderella, 1950)

Anastasia is the youngest of Cinderella’s two stepsisters. She usually wears clothes in shades of pink and violet, accented with ribbons and bows. She has dark eyes and long red hair.

Although the Tremaine sisters are often described as “ugly” and “wicked”, Anastasia is really best described as “plain” as opposed to ugly. While she was certainly mean to Cinderella, it was solely at the urging of her Mother, and later Anastasia makes amends with Cinderella, who helps her find true love for herself.

In “Cinderella II: Dreams Come True” (direct to video sequel to Cinderella), Anastasia falls in love with the town baker, much to her Mother’s disapproval. For the first time in her life, she rebels against her mother and – with Cinderella’s kind help – pursues a relationship with the baker. It’s refreshing to see a character that was originally a nasty villain eventually realize that she doesn’t have to be mean to people to get what she wants from life. 

Andy (Toy Story, 1995)

When we first meet Andy in Toy Story, he is an imaginative six-year-old boy with blue eyes and brown hair who likes to wear a red cowboy hat. By the time of his last appearance in Toy Story 3, he’s on the edge of adulthood as he prepares to leave for college.

Even as he grows from an adorable little boy through his teenage years, he always takes good care of his toys and it is obvious they hold great sentimental value to him. At the end of Toy Story 3, he donates his beloved toys to his neighbor Bonnie. He even kindly takes time to play with her for a while before leaving.

Andy is talked about by the toys more than he is ever seen on screen. They all love him and want him to be happy playing with them. It’s sweet to think that favorite toys care about their children as much as the kids love them right back.

Anger (Inside Out, 2015)

Anger is one of the five personifications of emotions that live in the mind of 11-year-old Riley Anderson. He’s a short, squat guy that is bright red and has a head that bursts into flames when provoked.

Anger has a very strong sense of fairness, and is quick to overreact. He is also very impatient.  His sense of outrage is obvious when Riley’s family orders a pizza with broccoli as one of the toppings. Well, who wouldn’t get a little angry at that?!

Even though Anger’s ideas aren’t the most rational or well-planned, his actions always come with Riley’s best interest in mind. 

Anita Radcliffe (One Hundred And One Dalmatians, 1961)

Anita is the wife of Roger Radcliffe, and owner of the female Dalmatian, Perdita. It was Perdita and Roger’s male Dalmatian, Pongo, that helped Roger and Anita meet and fall in love.

Anita is very sweet and completely devoted to her husband and their dogs. She is also childhood friends with the villainous Cruella De Ville. In spite of Roger not liking Cruella very much, Anita describes Cruella as simply “eccentric”. 

Cruella is the first one Roger suspects of being the thief when their puppies are stolen, but Anita has such a kind and loving heart that she just can’t imagine that her old friend could do something so despicable. Anita’s sweet and generous nature is again displayed at the end of the film when all the dogs return home, and she doesn’t hesitate for a minute to want to keep all one hundred and one of them!

Anna (Frozen, 2013)

“Untitled” by Theme Park Tourist licensed under CC BY 2.0

We first meet Anna as a young Princess in Frozen, although in the 2019 sequel “Frozen 2”, she is crowned Queen Anna of Arendelle. Being the younger sister of Elsa wasn’t easy for Anna. She was isolated from her beloved big sister for years after a mishap with Elsa’s powers. 

Then when the two of them reconciled for Elsa’s coronation Anna falls for the dishonest Prince Hans, Elsa’s powers go out of control again, and the Kingdom of Arendelle gets buried in a seemingly endless Winter.

In spite of all the challenges that come her way, Anna manages to stay optimistic and courageous. She is also fiercely loyal to her sister, never once believing Elsa to be the “monster” that she is accused of being. Her impulsive and adventurous spirit is what leads her to restore both her relationship with her sister and the well-being of her kingdom.

Anton Ego (Ratatouille, 2007)

Anton Ego is a highly regarded, albeit somewhat harsh, food critic. He is known for his scathing restaurant reviews and cold personality. Although he is famous and highly respected, he also inspires fear from the staff of any restaurant he visits.

Although it is rare for him to give a positive restaurant review, he is quite passionate about food and cooking. He explains this by saying “I don’t like food, I love it”, also claiming that he doesn’t swallow any food he doesn’t like. That probably explains why he is so very thin.

Early in the film, Anton makes of point of disagreeing with Chef Gusteau’s philosophy of “anyone can cook”. This attitude changes when he tastes Remy’s expertly prepared ratatouille; a dish that reminds him of his mother’s cooking.

The scene where the single bite of the dish brings a wave of nostalgia and a tear to Anton’s eye perfectly portrays what “comfort food” is all about!  This scene also makes him realize that it is true that anyone can cook, as his mother’s home cooking was just as enjoyable to him as the food in fancy gourmet restaurants. 

Archimedes (The Sword In The Stone, 1963)

Archimedes is the pet owl of the wizard Merlin. He can talk, and never hesitates to voice his opinion!  He can be a little bit cranky (especially when he gets woken up!) and quite sarcastic. He is loyal to Merlin, but isn’t afraid to let the wizard know what he perceives to be the wizard’s shortcomings. He also seems to have an extensive magical education.

When Merlin turns young Arthur into a sparrow, Archimedes volunteers to give him flying lessons, and even saves him from a hawk. Although it took a while, Archimedes becomes quite fond of young Arthur and helps to look out for his well-being.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid, 1989)

Princess Ariel is the seventh and youngest daughter of King Triton and Queen Athena, rulers of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica. This beautiful red-haired mermaid is passionate, adventurous, and (like most teenagers) a bit rebellious. She is also a true romantic, who experiences “love at first sight” when she rescues Prince Eric during a storm at sea.

She’s also impetuous, as demonstrated by her willingness to give up her voice in exchange for human legs in a deal with the Sea Witch Ursula. In spite of not being able to talk, she adapts to the human world fairly quickly and is charming enough that Eric begins to fall for her. In spite of Ursula’s interference and manipulations, love does conquer all, and eventually, Eric and Ariel are happily wed, with the blessing of King Triton. 

Arthur (The Sword In The Stone, 1963)

Arthur (who has the unfortunate nickname of “Wart”) is a young orphaned boy who eventually becomes the legendary King Arthur. He’s friendly, polite, and always eager to please. He dreams of one day becoming a brave knight like his foster brother, Kay.

On a hunting trip, Arthur runs off to find one of Kay’s lost arrows and ends up having tea with the wizard Merlin in his cottage. Merlin sees that there is something special about Arthur, and therefore appoints himself as the young boy’s tutor.

Eventually, Arthur is appointed as a squire to the newly knighted Kay, much to Merlin’s disappointment. When Arthur forgets to bring Kay’s sword for a New Year’s Day Tournament, he rushes off and finds a sword stuck in an old churchyard. When he easily pulls the sword from the stone it was embedded in, it is revealed that this magic sword could only be pulled by the rightful King of England! 

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty, 1959)

Princess Aurora began life as a lovely little baby that became cursed during her christening party. Thankfully, there were three good fairies in attendance to help her out. These sweet fairies raised Aurora away from the palace (giving her the name Briar Rose), so she might escape the curse cast by the evil fairy, Maleficent.

In spite of such a dark and ominous origin, Aurora grew up to be a sweet, elegant, and loving young woman. She also has a romantic imagination, as she innocently daydreams about someday finding the man of her dreams. When Prince Phillip accidentally meets her in the woods near her cottage, the two are instantly smitten.

Aurora is also intelligent and loyal. When her “Aunties” (the good fairies) inform her of her true identity as being a Princess, and that she is engaged to an unknown Prince, she accepts her responsibility to her family and her kingdom.

Imagine how overjoyed she must have been when she awoke from a sleeping curse to find out the “stranger” she met in the woods was actually the prince she was betrothed to!

Auguste Gusteau (Ratatouille, 2007)

Chef Auguste Gusteau is the founder of the five-star Parisian restaurant, Gusteau’s.  He was a passionate and talented chef whose personal motto was “anyone can cook”. In fact, he wrote a best-selling book by that name.

When the restaurant critic Anto Ego published a review that resulted in Gusteau’s losing a rating star, Chef Gusteau died of what was reportedly a broken heart.

Even though Chef Gusteau has already passed away at the time of the movie, he appears to the talented rat-chef Remy as a sort of ghost/conscious that offers him advice.

When Remy is captured by the current unscrupulous owner of the restaurant, it is the apparition of Chef Gusteau that inspires Remy to not give up on his dream of being a chef. Once Remy escapes and returns to help Alfredo Linguini create a memorable meal for Anton Ego, Gusteau doesn’t appear to him again.

It is revealed that Linguini is actually the son of Auguste Gusteau. Linguini’s mother, Renata, shared a romantic relationship with Chef Gusteau in the past, which makes Linguini the first Disney character to have parents that were not married to each other.

This article was written by Kimberly and edited by Michael.

Michael has been visiting Disney World since he was a kid. He's also been to Disneyland and sailed on the Disney Dream. Michael is the owner and editor of Countdown to Magic.

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