10 Biggest Clichés Of The Disney Renaissance

10. The Hero’s Transformation

When artist Glen Keane designed Ariel, he set a precedent for all other Disney renaissance protagonists to follow. In short, make them really good looking. Even historically ugly bugly characters like Quasimodo got a shot of the adorbs factor injected into them.

But unlike old school characters such as Peter Pan and Pinocchio, who wore the same smelly garments throughout the duration of the feature, the heroes of the renaissance always have more than one costume change.

This helps to show the hero's progression, becoming something more than what they were at the start of the movie. It also means more toys.

You still want to retain some marketability, as these are characters that’ll not only serve as movie mascots but also as the faces of the spin-off video games, books, animated series and beyond. So two main outfits seemed to be the sweet spot. See Aladdin in a fez and Aladdin in a turban.

The transformation can take place through magic, like Ariel getting her two legs, a Rocky-style training montage like Hercules, growing up with a brief awkward mohawk phase like Simba, or just a simple swap of togs, like Belle and her ball gown.