Character Discussion: King Fergus

[LQstudiesPixar]

What is your impression of the Bear King? I find him a fun man who can be serious and a loving father and husband at the same time. I I also like his Song of Mor'du and do a voice impression of him. Any thoughts on Fergus?

[Leirin]

I really liked Fergus. I definitely don't think he gets enough credit. Granted the movie is focused on the mother-daughter relationship, but I liked the dynamic Merida has with her father as well. I thought he was likable and really fun. Heck, I wouldn't mind the DVD short being about him

[ObsessedWithPixar]

I really really love Fergus! He provided such an element of warm fatherliness/husbandliness (I don't think those are words ) alongside real strength. And he made me laugh several times with his boisterous personality and... perfect imitation of Merida! I admire that Pixar made him about as fun and charismatic as a modern-day dad instead of making him, say, a stereotypical "proud, wise king" dad. Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se; I just like that if you put Fergus in modern-day America, the only thing that would make him stick out at, say, a Super Bowl party, is his outfit (and probably the peg leg, too, but that's not the point!)
And Leirin, that really would make a good short!

[pixarmilan]

I think he's a great character, I would've liked to see a bit more of him in the film if I'm honest. I really enjoyed Billy Connolly's voice acting.

[WheezysBestBud]

He's a good character, but what I didn't understand was

Spoiler: show

why didn't he believe Merida when she said the Queen was a bear when it was clearly established that he had a very strong relationship with Merida?

?

[ObsessedWithPixar]

^ Well, considering it looked like a bear had killed Elinor, I think that it would rather be hard to believe that it was due his daughter's mistake. I certainly would've had a hard time believing it, even it was someone I was extremely close to.

[Nausicaa]

He's a good character, but what I didn't understand was

Spoiler: show

why didn't he believe Merida when she said the Queen was a bear when it was clearly established that he had a very strong relationship with Merida?

?

Remember the scene at the start of the movie where Merida tells him she saw the wisps, and he doesn't believe her? That foreshadows his disbelief later. Fergus doesn't believe in magic at all, so Merida's story about the bear sounds too outlandish to him.

I liked Fergus. He was funny but at the same time you could see him being a fearsome warrior. I liked how he and Elinor seemed to share ruling duties (well, she seemed to be better at it in some respects).

[WheezysBestBud]

I liked Fergus. He was funny but at the same time you could see him being a fearsome warrior. I liked how he and Elinor seemed to share ruling duties (well, she seemed to be better at it in some respects).

I thought it was refreshing to see a 'king' character let down his hair and have fun. If you think about it, the last time that was seen in a Disney film was "Sleeping Beauty".

[Nausicaa]

Yeah, it was cool to see a fun 'king' character. Even some of the more comedic 'kings', like the Sultan in Aladdin weren't actually having fun themselves for much of their movies.

It was cool to see a royal family in the days before the 'rules' of royalty and nobility were fully established. So Fergus gets to rule AND sing drinking songs about killing bears. I think that the depiction of royalty is this film sets itself apart from Disney princess movies in that it is depicted more realistically, even if the film does take historical liberties. The castle is impressive, but not exactly wish-fulfillment material for little girls. The family are well-off, but having that power requires certain responsibilities, like keeping the other clans happy. When Merida wants to go against tradition, there are some actual stakes involved.* (As a sidenote, I did like how the three suitors all agreed that they didn't want to marry her.)

*If I remember correctly, in Aladdin Jasmine is told by her father that it the law for the princess to marry a prince at her age. But then at the end of the movie he's just like "Nevermind, you can marry whoever you want". In real life royal arranged marriages weren't done for no reason- they were used to secure wealth and allies and power. Even though I like Aladdin, it always seemed a bit silly that the Sultan was so set on marrying her off even though the only thing at stake was whether or not they were following a law that he could have changed anyway.

[WheezysBestBud]

*If I remember correctly, in Aladdin Jasmine is told by her father that it the law for the princess to marry a prince at her age. But then at the end of the movie he's just like "Nevermind, you can marry whoever you want". In real life royal arranged marriages weren't done for no reason- they were used to secure wealth and allies and power. Even though I like Aladdin, it always seemed a bit silly that the Sultan was so set on marrying her off even though the only thing at stake was whether or not they were following a law that he could have changed anyway.

I will grant you that the ending does seem ultra-convenient, but in a way, Sultan acted like that all throughout the film.

[Nausicaa]

Yeah, to be fair for most of the movie he was established to be kind of silly and easily influenced by Jafar. I suppose the ending was character development for him, because he finally took control like a real leader. I still prefer Brave's handling of the topic though

[IncredigirlVirginia]

Fergus is one of my favorite characters. He was definitely the funny one to me.

[albinotanuki]

I DO like King Fergus, though I think his obsession with bears has pretty much clouded his much of his common sense.

[IncredigirlVirginia]

I think he's a really interesting character.

[evspixarfan2012]

Isn't that King Fergus just hilarious?

^I don't want to get married! I want to stay single and let my hair flow through the wind as I ride through the glen, firing arrows into the sunset.^