Super Bowl Has Disney Fans Showing Love for Underrated Characters

Disney’s new Super Bowl ad may be the “GOAT” itself.

An easy contender for best commercial during the 2022 Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, Disney Plus hit all the right notes with its ad featuring Awkwafina – and more than 30 goat guest stars.

Yes, Disney used goats to demonstrate that the streaming service hosts a myriad of shows, movies and documentaries that many would consider the “greatest of all time’ (or “GOAT”).

But these weren’t just any goats. No, these were goats dressed up like classic Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars characters, which has many fans looking at other Disney goats that have gone under the radar.

The advert promotes Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s focus on streaming service Disney Plus, with goats dressed as fan-favorite characters including Chewbacca, Captain America, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Bart Simpson.

Awkwafina, star of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), walks around the Disney Plus office with these goats dressed in Disney movie costumes.

In a fun game of spot the Disney character, Disney fans can see goats dressed as characters from The Lion King (1994), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Star Wars (1977), Up (2009), The Simpsons, Loki, and Toy Story (1995) among others.

You can watch the hilarious Disney Plus commercial below:

One major question we have at Disney Tips is who made all the Disney goat costumes? There are some pretty epic costumes in the advert, from Marvel favorites Loki and Hulk to modern icons like Mirabel from Encanto (2021) and Emma Stone’s Cruella.

Something the quirky Super Bowl ad has done is highlight underrated characters in Disney’s movie portfolio, from those in Disney classics to those in animated Renaissance favorites.

Many fans immediately think of Djali from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). The loyal Djali is always alongside his owner, Esmeralda, and marked by a tendency to be feisty toward Frollo and Phoebus.

In Hercules (1997), Philoctetes (or Phil) is the sassy Satyr (half-man, half-goat) trainer of heroes in Ancient Greece—most notably Achilles and the demigod protagonist, Hercules. Voiced by Danny DeVito, Phil proved to be an amusing and heroic sidekick character, showing strong character growth in the animated movie.

In The Sword and the Stone (1963), powerful wizard Merlin educates Arthur and shapeshifts into a goat during a Wizard’s Duel with Madam Mim. Merlin turns into a turtle, a rabbit, a caterpillar, a walrus, a mouse, a crab, and a goat, keeping his blue color throughout. Merlin wins the duel by cleverly transforming into a germ, disarming Mim’s dragon transformation and forcing her to stay in bed for a few weeks.

And, of course, there are even famous goats in Disney’s theme parks! Disney Guests at Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disneyland can speed through a haunted mine alongside some mischievous goats – which are the basis of a fun trick aboard the ride.

Billy the Disney Goat is a character found at all four versions of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, one of the many animatronic animals populating Big Thunder Mountain.

At Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Billy is located on one of the rooftops of Tumbleweed, while in Disneyland Paris, he is joined by another goat chewing on a clothesline. In Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, he can be found perched on one of the hoodoos chewing a stick of dynamite, bleating at passing trains near the top of the second lift hill.

Billy is central to the Disneyland “Goat Trick”, an infamous trick known to Guests and Cast Members that provides riders with an extra boost of G-Force.

When you go up Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain second chain lift, you will notice a goat with dynamite in its mouth.  As the ride descends, follow this goat with your head and never take your eyes off of him. Staring at the goat in this way will lead you to feel pressure “pulling” you, which will make it seem like you’re going much faster than you really are.

Remember, from February 14 to February 18, 2022, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be closed for routine maintenance at Walt Disney World in Florida.

In Disney’s Contemporary Resort, the Grand Canyon Concourse mural designed by Mary Blair (the artist behind the concept art for many Disney films and the character designs for “it’s a small world.”), features a 5-legged goat. The quirky goat serves as a reminder that human error exists.

So, not only has Disney Plus seemingly won the Super Bowl commercial game, but also brought some new-found love for all things goat at Disney!