7 Disney Characters Who Are Probably Vegan

Posted by Bridget on June 12, 2023

Many Disney characters we know and love have one thing in common: They’re really kind. And kind people have empathy for others, including animals.

We can’t say for certain that these characters are vegan, but if you look at the clues, it’s highly likely. Cases in point:

1. Ethan Clade (From Strange World)

Ethan is a 16-year-old who grew up on a farm, which helped him develop a deep respect for nature and animals. He also comes from a family of explorers, so he has a curiosity for life outside the farm. When his dad heads off on a crucial mission, Ethan sneaks along despite having been told to stay back. Rebellious teenager or world-saving vegan hero? Keep reading.

Ethan’s admiration for animals draws him to Splat, a creature who befriends Ethan after he treats a burn on one of his tentacles. Splat’s species typically sees humans as threats, but Ethan’s kindness opened him up to a new friendship.

When the expedition team starts to kill the creatures, vegan king Ethan doesn’t want to kill any sentient beings, so his father says, “Don’t think of it as killing. We’re just exterminating some pests.” Ethan still doesn’t think it’s right, which is shown to be valid when he discovers the creatures’ true purpose.

We don’t want to give any spoilers about this excellent film, so we’ll just say this: With Ethan’s help, the expedition team decides to destroy their greenwashed invention of ease and comfort to save the heart within them and their planet.

At the end, Ethan says, “[T]hough we can’t live like we did in the past … we’ve now given ourselves a better chance at a future,” and the family adapts, growing produce instead. We stan young, queer, and (probably) vegan Ethan Clade!

2. Snow White (From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

First of all, only a vegan would find an apple from a witch who looks positively ghastly to be that irresistible.

And let’s not overlook that all sorts of woodland animals are Snow White’s BFFs. They even help her clean the house, so this friendship is deep.

She also persuades the Huntsman not to kill her. Vegan outreach much? He was literally about to tear her apart with a knife! This girl has had practice defending herself. When everyone thought she was dead, many animals showed up to pay their respects, despite inclement weather. They wouldn’t have been sad about her supposed death if she’d been responsible for killing animals. So, yeah, Snow White has to be vegan.

3. Jasmine (From Aladdin)

By refusing to marry anyone her dad tries to set her up with, Jasmine shows that she has a voice and she’s not afraid to use it. “The law is wrong,” she says. She thinks for herself and doesn’t blindly accept the status quo. Sound like anyone you know … like maybe … a vegan?

Remember when she casually liberates all those birds? Or how she talks to Raj, her companion tiger, as though he’s a person—because he is a person. Jasmine just gets it. (Humans should never interact with tigers IRL, only in cartoons.) It makes sense that she fell in love with Aladdin, a monkey-loving apple-eater. She’s def vegan.

4. Ariel (From The Little Mermaid)

Disney’s original 1989 animated film shows that fish, like Ariel’s best friend, Flounder, are intelligent animals who experience pain, just as we do. While the fish in The Little Mermaid are fictional, they’re depicted as having personalities, emotions, and relationships, like real fish. Ariel would never eat her marine friends, and Halle Bailey, the actor who plays her in the new 2023 live-action movie, feels the same way—she’s been vegan for several years.

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5. Belle (From Beauty and the Beast)

Belle is constantly reading, and I’m willing to bet that she’s read at least one book on animal rights, considering that she’s read every book in the library. Guess who probably doesn’t wear UGGs:

Belle also detests Gaston, a hunter. But she’s really nice to Beast—who looks exactly like an animal. She even went so far as to fall in love with him. If she’s not an advocate for animals, I don’t know who is.

6. Cinderella (From Cinderella)

Cinderella doesn’t really chill with anyone but mice. Mice are her entire life.

If she’s that tight with rodents, surely she understands that pigs, cows, and chickens also deserve respect. And even though she’s really busy being forced to clean the entire house all the time, she still finds time to make clothing for the mice—little tiny clothing. It’s so cute. Who else but a vegan would make shirts, shoes, and hats for mice? And look—here she is being kind to a dog:

What is she doing, feeding chickens? OMG, such a vegan.

Now she’s petting a horse. Typical.

Even her clothes are animal-free. Vegan leather pumps weren’t super-available during her era, so what does Cinderella do? She gets custom-made glass slippers. Those could not have been comfortable—that’s dedication. And can we talk about the way she rolled up to the ball in a pumpkin? She’s totally making a statement here: I’m vegan, y’all!

7. Pocahontas (From Pocahontas)

Pocahontas is no stranger to vegan outreach. She basically spells out to John Smith that she’s an avid vegan in her “Colors of the Wind” solo—and why he should be, too:

But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

Rocks and trees? Like … she’s even more vegan than most vegans.

You think the only people who are people

Are the people who look and think like you

But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger

You’ll learn things you never knew you never knew

Clearly, Pocahontas knows that animals of all species are individuals with thoughts, feelings, and personalities. Here, she’s urging John to commune with nature:

Come taste the sunsweet berries of the earth

I’m pretty sure “sunsweet berries of the earth” are vegan.

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers

Animal agriculture is the leading cause of ocean dead zones and water pollution. Pocahontas is def not into destroying her beloved brothers.

The heron and the otter are my friends

Nonvegans eat birds, but Pocahontas is friends with them. She’s also friends with a porcupine, a possum, a raccoon, a rabbit, a skunk, and other forest animals.

How high does the sycamore grow?

If you cut it down, then you’ll never know

Animal agriculture is the leading cause of Amazon rainforest destruction, as 80,000 acres are cut down each day to make room for raising animals to be killed for food. Pocahontas clearly would not be cool with that.

We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

I mean … this whole song is basically just Pocahontas saying we need to end all forms of oppression, including racism, colonialism, and speciesism.

Honorable Mention: Moana (From Moana)

Moana might not be fully vegan (yet), but she’s certainly a friend to animals! There’s a lot to love about her, from the girl power that she shows during her journey to save her island and her people to her friendship with Pua the pig and Heihei the chicken.

Pua and Heihei are her sidekicks and best friends on her island home. When Moana is eating and says, “That is some good pork,” Pua hears her and gets very sad when he realizes that she’s eating a pig—who was just like him. And that makes Moana sad, too.

Pua isn’t the only animal in the movie who helps the human characters learn that animals are friends, not food. Heihei does, too. He’s pretty silly, but did you know that chickens are actually very smart? They can solve problems, and they know that things hidden from view still exist.

Moana’s kindness to animals doesn’t stop with her animal BFFs. She got her powers from the ocean when she helped a lost baby sea turtle get back to his home. She shows that good things happen when we’re kind to animals. She’s always doing everything she can to help her animal friends. She saves Pua from drowning, and she makes sure Heihei is safe in the boat on their trip. We should all be more like Moana and stand up for animals! If she isn’t vegan yet, she’s definitely on her way there.

*****

If you’re kind and forward-thinking—like these characters are—the only lifestyle that makes sense for you is a vegan one. Imagine if Ariel went to a lobster boil or Pocahontas ate her animal friends. It wouldn’t be right.

Some of these movies came out a pretty long time ago—when being vegan wasn’t nearly as convenient as it is now—and these characters still pulled it off. Today, there’s a vegan version of everything, making compassionate living accessible to everyone. Release your inner Disney icon by trying vegan today!