Top 10 Smartest Disney Animated Characters

This list is for characters who are extremely intelligent or can easily outwit their opponents. Either way, these characters have shown their intellect in one way or another.

Whether they use it for evil purposes or to stop a villain, they demonstrate intelligence in some way.

The Top Ten

Hiro Hamada (Big Hero 6)

Hiro Hamada is the main fictional character in the 2014 Disney animated film Big Hero 6, which is based on Marvel Comics. In the original comics, his surname is spelled Takachiho, but in the film it is rendered as Hamada. He is a young robotics prodigy who forms a superhero team to fight crime and protect... read more
Jane Porter (Tarzan)
Lewis "Cornelius" Robinson (Meet the Robinsons)
Phineas Flynn (Phineas and Ferb)

Phineas Flynn is one of the two titular protagonists of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. He is voiced by Vincent Martella and was created and designed by Dan Povenmire. Phineas first appeared, along with the rest of the main characters, in the pilot episode "Rollercoaster."... read more
Ferb Fletcher (Phineas and Ferb)

Ferbs "Ferb" Fletcher is a British character on the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. He is voiced by British actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster. The character was created by Phineas and Ferb co-founders Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and first appeared in the pilot episode, "Rollercoaster... read more
Tadashi Hamada (Big Hero 6)

Tadashi Hamada is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 54th animated feature Big Hero 6. The film is inspired by a Marvel comic book of the same name. Tadashi is the older brother of the film's protagonist, Hiro Hamada, and is the creator of the inflatable healthcare robot... read more
Stitch (Lilo & Stitch)

Stitch is a fictional alien character from Disney's Lilo & Stitch franchise. Also known as Experiment 626, Stitch was created through genetic engineering to be a destructive force. However, he finds a new life and family in Hawaii, where he learns the importance of love, friendship, and belonging.

This guy's smarter than a supercomputer. He could send all of these guys running for cover, except for maybe Hiro and Phineas.
Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb)

Perry the Platypus, also known as Agent P or simply Perry, is an anthropomorphic platypus from the animated series Phineas and Ferb. He leads a double life as a secret agent for O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym). The series originally aired from 2007 to 2015 before returning with a fifth... read more
Scar (The Lion King)

Scar is the main antagonist of Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. He is the younger brother of Mufasa and the paternal uncle of Simba. Scar serves as Simba's arch-nemesis and is also Mufasa's rival, having once led the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed.

I think Scar is the smartest because his plan actually worked. If he had fed the hyenas, he could have kept ruling.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

Belle is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991) and the live-action remake Beauty and the Beast (2017). She is the intelligent and selfless daughter of an inventor who does not conform to the norms of her small-minded village... read more

The Newcomers

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Evelyn Deavor (Incredibles 2)
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Isabel (Elena of Avalor)

The Contenders

Flynn Rider / Eugene Fitzherbert (Tangled)

Flynn Rider is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th animated feature film Tangled and its short film Tangled Ever After. His real name is Eugene Fitzherbert, and he serves as the film's male lead and the romantic interest of Rapunzel. The character is voiced by actor... read more

He stole intelligently and survived daily.
Mulan (Mulan)

Fa Mulan is a fictional character inspired by the legendary Chinese heroine who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' Mulan (1998) and its direct-to-video sequel Mulan II (2004). She is voiced by Ming-Na Wen, and her story follows her disguise as a male soldier to save her father and bring honor to her family... read more

Defeated an entire Hun army with only one cannon fire. That, ladies and gentlemen, is true intellect in action.
Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

Snow White is a fictional character from Disney's first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937. She is Disney's first official Disney Princess. Snow White is also the only Disney Princess to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Basil of Baker Street (The Great Mouse Detective)

The Great Mouse Detective himself. Inspired by the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Rapunzel (Tangled)

Rapunzel is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th animated feature film Tangled (2010) and its short sequel Tangled Ever After (2012). She is voiced by actress and singer Mandy Moore. Rapunzel is officially recognized as the tenth Disney Princess and is the first to... read more
Rafiki (The Lion King)

Rafiki is a fictional character from Disney's 1994 animated feature film, The Lion King He also appears in the film's sequels and spin-off TV series. In the franchise, he serves as a shaman and royal advisor to the lions of Pride Rock.

Smartest character ever for convincing Simba to reflect on his past and learn from it. That's why The Lion King is the best movie ever.
Mother Gothel (Tangled)

Mother Gothel is the main antagonist of Disney's 2010 animated feature film Tangled. She is a wicked crone who retains her youth for hundreds of years through the healing properties of a magical golden flower. She kidnaps Rapunzel as a baby to exploit the flower's power within her hair.
Doc (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

The... the dwarf? Whose name stands for... D-doctor?
I'd imagine he's smart.
Jumba Jookiba (Lilo & Stitch)
Aladdin (Aladdin)

Aladdin is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin. He also appears in two direct-to-video sequels, The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves. Aladdin is portrayed as a kind-hearted diamond in the rough who uses a magic lamp to transform... read more

He manages to pull a fast one on both the Genie and Jafar. Definitely a street-smart kid.
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb)

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the animated television show Phineas and Ferb. He was created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and is voiced by Povenmire. Doofenshmirtz is the eccentric and often inept leader of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.
Elsa (Frozen)

Queen Elsa of Arendelle is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen (2013) and its sequel Frozen II (2019). She is voiced by Idina Menzel, and her innate ability to create and manipulate ice and snow is central to the films' narratives. Elsa's signature song Let It Go... read more

At some point throughout the movie, she states that you shouldn't get engaged to someone you just met.
Pabbie (Frozen)
Jasmine (Aladdin)

Jasmine is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures' 1992 animated film Aladdin. She is the spirited princess of Agrabah and one of the official Disney Princesses. Jasmine is voiced by Linda Larkin, with Lea Salonga providing her singing voice.

She is clever, cunning, and tricked Aladdin into revealing his true self.
Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Esméralda, born Agnès, is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. She is a beautiful Romani street dancer in Paris who captures the attention and obsession of several men, including the archdeacon Claude Frollo and the hunchbacked bell-ringer Quasimodo. Her character... read more