Have you ever wondered what film your course might correlate with? Why not take a trip back to your childhood with this carefully compiled list of animated characters and find out.
Philosophy – You may know your Plato and Aristotle, but did you know that Jumbo Pictures created a series of 101 Dalmatians for the American Broadcasting Company? Joining the animated cast was a fellow philosopher, Cadpig.
Voiced by Kath Soucie, this blue-collared runt of the pack used her knowledge on new age philosophies and psychoanalysis to spread goodwill around the world. Her interventions were usually uninvited, which you may end up being if you don’t stop asking deep philosophical questions over dinner.
Theatre – Do you consider yourself a star in the centre spotlight? Ever find yourself needing to escape the burdens of real life through the fiction of a script?
In 2008, Walt Disney Pictures introduced a loveable character who did both. Bolt, voiced by John Travolta. Though everyone’s favourite White Shepherd wasn’t the most traditional performer, he embodied everything that makes a good actor: ambition, confidence, and the complete inability to distinguish real life from fantasy – okay, maybe not.
Look after yourselves, actors, and remember to conduct regular reality checks. You don’t want to wind up in the middle of New York thinking you’re a super-powered canine.
Criminology – If you fancy going into the criminal law sector, your spirit animal is Judy Hopps from Zootopia (2016). Just like you, she’s fueled by a desire to make the world a better place.
Luckily, our students don’t have to face the ruthless prejudice of the Zootopian Police Department. Here, anyone can be a criminologist, no matter whether you’re a hamster or a cheetah – or human, of course.
Plus, when she wants some downtime from her course, this boisterous bunny would definitely have been busy making friends at Lancaster Criminology Society, discussing the most recent Netflix true crime release with like-minded animals.
Honestly, we still don’t understand why she picked the big city when she could have come to Lancaster.
Engineering – With your impressive mathematics and drawing skills, only the brainiest character could parallel your level of expertise. Such a character would only be found in eggscellent film, Chicken Run (2000).
Specializing in aerodynamics, measurements and mechanics, Mac is the head chicken’s right-wing lady, helping the brood escape from Mrs. Tweedy’s farm in a gigantic makeshift aeroplane. If only Mac had hatched as a human, she might have been working on some very exciting projects in the UK’s travel industry.
English Literature – Most people will associate My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2012) with middle-aged ‘bronies’ sat in their rooms singing songs composed by Daniel Ingram, but the fact that Twilight Sparkle is one well-read horse must be acknowledged by our resident bookworms.
We think that this purple-coated pony would make the perfect English Literature student, brightening up the lectures and bringing the cheer to seminars. You might need to return that affection by telling her to take breaks from studying, as you’ll rarely find her outside of the Canterlot Library, where she lives under the lease of her own private landlord, Princess Celestia.
Politics and International Relations – In 1954, a famous animated film contained a rather obnoxious black and white pig with the motto: four legs bad, two legs better. You guessed it, Napoleon of Manor Farm.
While we’re sure you’re not a power-obsessed pot-bellied pig with a thirst for apples, cow’s milk and whisky, you’ll likely be learning about political leaders such as himself. Soon, you’ll be able to understand social systems and how to apply yourself at a good graduate job.
Here’s a line of wisdom though: whilst all animals are equal might sometimes be an unrealistic statement in our culture, just remember not to follow in his hoofsteps if you ever find yourself in a position of power.
Biology – If you have dreams of working in a laboratory, look no further than Rowf and Snitter. These two characters experienced animal research centre horrors in the 1982 film The Plague Dogs.
We’re not saying you too will run away from your job; you’ll be experiencing lab research in a much more pleasurable way than these mutts were. But if not, maybe it is time to head for the moorlands, and call the police whilst you’re at it.
Architecture – We have another German Shepherd for our list, and his name is Mr. Shag. This furry fellow is an animator dating back to 1992, who spent every day and night drawing his fictional counterpart, private detective Ace Hart.
Fact, he is the only character on this list who isn’t hand-drawn.
As his name suggests, Mr. Shag is, instead, a hairy puppet straight from Jim Henderson’s workshop. A fusion between live action and 2D animation, Dog City was the product of the man behind The Muppets, working in collaboration with Nelvana Limited, and featured a wide range of motley anthropomorphic dog characters living in a nostalgic canine metropolis.
Like Mr. Shag, you’re particularly fond of buildings, and find expansive city backgrounds mesmerizing.
Ecology – You love ecosystems just as much as Jane Porter loves wild men raised by monkeys – or gorillas, to be more precise. This progressive Victorian ethnologist dates as far back as 1914, making her first appearance in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel Tarzan of the Apes before making her way to Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1999.
Now might be the time to embrace your inner wild side, as your passion for animals will likely take you on many adventures in your career. Who knows – you too might find yourself a dashing monkey man a third year field trip.
Mathematics – You’re a master of algebra and formulae. Great! Now, let’s go back to basics and talk about Numberjacks. Yes, the 2006 CBeebies show for pre-school children. Who doesn’t love a cast of anthropomorphic numbers from zero to nine living in a sofa, saving the day from – evil spoons?
It might be a bit easy for you, but back in their prime, these 3D animated creatures won the Best Schools Programme for under 5s category in the 2007 Royal Television Society Educational Television Awards. No wonder they continued to teach our nation how to count until 2018!
