9 Nicholas Sparks Leading Men and Their Disney Counterpart
Charming. Handsome. Generous. Kind. Open. Lovable. These are adjectives that depict two of our favorite categories of movie characters: the leading men in Nicholas Sparks movies and the male, animated Disney characters we grew up with. Admit it: Both are reasonable guilty pleasures. We love watching a Nicholas Sparks couple fall in love against a Southern beach backdrop just as much as we adore classics like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. So why not morph the two together?
These are the leading male characters of everyone’s favorite Nicholas Sparks movies and their animated Disney character counterparts.
Alex as Prince Eric
Alex from Safe Haven isn’t a prince who lives in a fancy, waterfront castle, but the parallels between Josh Duhamel’s character and Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid are uncanny. Alex a widow, a store owner, and a single dad to two kids, fell in love with a strange girl with a mysterious past, just as Eric did. These two should form a discussion group to go over their similar romantic plots!
Logan Thibault as Hercules
In The Lucky One, Zac Efron plays Logan, an ex-marine who is disciplined, dedicated, strong, kind-hearted, and brave, which makes it next to impossible not to compare him to Hercules. The titular character of the animated Disney movie moves through his life with one goal: To be a hero. And Logan is a hero. Both guys are smart and brave and would do anything for the people they love. (Not to mention, Logan has his trusty steed in his well-trained German Shepard and Hercules has his in Pegasus!) We could totally see these two being friends if their universes collided.
Noah as Aladdin
Noah is the ultimate Nicholas Sparks leading male character. (Probably because we'll never get the image of Ryan Gosling delivering the infamous line spoken to Allie, “I want all of you forever every day. You and me everyday" out of our heads. Swoon.) If ever there were a Disney counterpart to Noah, it’s totally Aladdin from the film of the same name. Both guys fell hard for their gals and weren’t afraid to pull out the big guns to attract their attention (and affection). For Noah, that meant hanging one-armed from the top of a Ferris wheel while asking Allie out on a date. For Aladdin, that meant using a genie’s magical powers to transform him into Prince Ali of Ababwa. Ironically, Jasmine and Allie both reacted in a pretty similar way… But that's another story.
Travis as Prince Naveen
In the latest Nicholas Sparks romance-book-turned-movie, the leading male character is Travis, an unfailingly charming man who doesn’t exactly hit it off with his leading lady Gabby right away. Just like Prince Naveen in The Princess and the Frog, Travis’ charm comes across as conceit in the beginning, a trait which strained both of these guys’ romantic relationships at first. All Travis needed was a ukelele and he’d basically be a walking, talking Prince Naveen… without the whole magically-turned-into-a-frog plot line bit.
John Tyree as Tarzan
The way that John looked at Savannah in Dear John… It’s enough to make your heart liquefy to mush. We recall witnessing a similar gaze between Tarzan and Jane as they met for the first time on a jungle tree branch in the rain. Sure, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight, but just like Jane and Tarzan, Savannah and John were so unbelievably different from each other. Opposites attract, both of these famous couples prove that, and not only do they attract, they can also sometimes be perfect for each other.
Luke Collins as Robin Hood
When we think of Robin Hood, we think of his good deeds in the name of doing the right thing, not necessarily his romantic pairings. But it’s hard to watch The Longest Ride and not see the comparisons drawn between Luke Collins and RH. Both are good men. Both put the needs of people around them before their own. Someone throw Luke a bow and arrow and we’re good to go!
