The magic of Disney is something that is felt all around the world, and we all had a favourite Disney character growing up. From the classic characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, to the new favourites like Elsa and Moana, each strong Disney Princess, adorable animal sidekick or handsome prince is somebody in the world’s favourite.
But which character is the most loved of all? Who has been featured in the most movies, given the most cameos in films, television shows and video games? Who has greeted the most adoring fans as part of a park attraction?
We have taken a deep dive into the data to bring you the ultimate list of the world’s favourite Disney characters!
RANKED #1
Despite the popularity of more recent characters, it is Mickey, the official mascot of the Walt Disney Company who is the most beloved. One of the world’s most recognisable characters, Micky features in 23 feature films, and has been mentioned in over 10 million posts on Instagram.
Instagram
Posts
Global
Searches
Gifs
Feature
Films
Short
Films
Television
Programmes
Video
Games
Theme Park
Attractions
RANKED #2
The second most popular character is Donald Fauntleroy Duck, with his iconic sailor shirt and cap. People the world over are quackers about this longstanding character, and he has been featured in park attractions 20 times, as well as 18 feature films, and 26 video games. People also love a Donald Duck gif, as there are 8,240 in the Giphy library!
Instagram
Posts
Global
Searches
Gifs
Feature
Films
Short
Films
Television
Programmes
Video
Games
Theme Park
Attractions
RANKED #3
Winnie the Pooh, aka Pooh Bear, is one of the most iconic and popular children’s cartoon characters in the world. With a love for honey, and an attitude towards self-love and friendship that can inspire us all, he is the world’s third most popular character! He has been featured in 19 feature films, 5 short films, and 9 television programs, as well as being featured in plenty of park attractions and video games over the years.
Instagram
Posts
Global
Searches
Gifs
Feature
Films
Short
Films
Television
Programmes
Video
Games
Theme Park
Attractions
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Rank |
Character |
Instagram |
Global Search |
Gifs |
Feature |
Short |
Television |
Video |
Theme Park |
Overall |
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We took a source list of Disney characters from the Disney Shop.
We then counted for each character:
The number of images under the character hashtag on Instagram.
The number of gifs for each character on Giphy.
The global search volume for each character on Ahrefs.
The number of times each character appeared in a feature film, short film, TV show, video game or Disney park attraction using the Disney Fandom wiki.
We then gave each character an overall score, using a ranking formula which gave each attribution an equal ranking weight.
