‘Year of the Tiger’: Top 3 Disney Tigers in Honor of Lunar New Year

February 1, 2022, marks the start of the new lunar year: “The Year of the Tiger.” While nations, and families all over the world begin the two-week celebration, let’s take a moment to celebrate the best Tigers Disney has given us over the years.

But first, let’s look at the characteristics of a Tiger.

According to chinesenewyear.net,

People born in years of the Tiger are fiercely independent and possess strong self-esteem. They like to act alone and are not very gregarious. They are most likely optimistic and enthusiastic by nature, and always seem to have endless energy, especially at work. Their energetic presence and intense eyes are the greatest charm of Tiger natives. Their vitality is apparent to anyone at a glance, and people are instinctively drawn to this larger than life quality in them.

Tigers are lively and cheerful, and they love freedom and independence. They are a zodiac sign that absolutely must have their personal space. Tigers usually have a keen sense of justice. When faced with injustices, whether against themselves or others, you can be sure Tigers will not stand aside. However, Tigers may also appear unrefined or thoughtless in the way they handle things. In a less developed person, these traits can easily turn into ignorance or foolhardiness.

In general, Tigers possess great tenacity. They are loyal, quick and the center of attention in everything they do. However, a king needs a domain to be truly in possession of their power. 

This already sounds like our Top Three Disney Tigers, so let’s bring them out!

#3: Shere Khan – The Jungle Book

At number 3, we have one of the fiercest animals in the Disney Canon, Shere Khan. Walt Disney’s 1967 animated adaptation and Jon Favreau’s 2016 live-action/CGI remake show two different sides of the striped coin. Disney’s animated Shere Khan conveys a comedic Bond-villain-type charm while his CGI counterpart, voiced by Idris Elba, is all about fear and intimidation.

As the zodiac description states, Shere Kahn is fiercely independent and fights to keep the power of his domain. But most significantly, Shere Khan had a near-blind sense of justice. “Man is forbidden in the jungle,” and the tiger did not stand for what he saw as an injustice. He had what seemed like “endless energy” in his work to kill the Mowgli, the man cup, and his drive for justice cost him his life. Shere Khan’s passion makes him one of the best Disney villains of all time.

#2: Rajah – Aladdin

Aladdin is arguably Disney’s best movie ever when it comes to the amount of unforgettable non-human sidekicks given to Fanatics, and one of those characters was the pet of Princess Jasmine, Rajah.

Extremely sassy and protective, Rajah exhibits intense loyalty to Jasmine, though it often appears quite unrefined, as the description suggests. Rajah also refuses to stand for any “injustice,” which, in his case, is the parade of insufferable princes knocking on his mama’s door every other day.

#1 Tigger (“That’s T-i-double G-er”) – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

While our #1 pick may have his own unique way to spell, Tigger is undoubtedly the best Disney Tiger we’ve had yet, and the best overall fit for the zodiac description: Independent, energetic, vivacious, loyal, and thinks the world of himself.

Richard and Robert Sherman’s song sums up Tigger’s endless energy, independence, vitality, self-esteem, and cheerfulness their lyrics:

The wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is Tiggers are wonderful things!
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs!
They’re bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is
I’m the only one

So, there you have it! The Top Three Disney Tigers. To all of our fellow Disney Fanatics who were born in the Year of the Tiger, we hope that this year truly is YOUR year!

The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, will be celebrating the Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure Park until February 13, 2022.