My Top 10 Favorite Animated Pairings

Animated couples from both cartoon shows and movies. I told you before I wasn't much of a shipper. But that's not stopping me from making a top ten list of my favorite couples in animation. You see the thing is I only like couples if they have actual chemistry with each other, because unlike most people who support pairings, I like pairings for the way the couple are compatible to each other rather than how "cute" they are together. I mean sure pairings can be cute, but that's not the only reason I like couples. I also like couples for the way their personalities complement each other, and it's very superficial to support a couple just for how cute you think they look together. Also, I'm more partial with couples who actually show equilibrium, time, and improvement. So here are a few rules

1. I'm excluding Disney princess/prince couples for the purpose of this list. Don't get me wrong now. I like most of those couples as well (at least the ones where both characters have personalities), but I have to give room for the other animated couples to make this fair.
2. I'm also excluding pre-married couples as well. In other words, any couple that is already married since the beginning is also excluded. I might make another list of Top 10 Married Couples if I could though.
3. I don't like pairings where a character is a satellite love interest for the protagonist. That makes it difficult for me to determine if that person is the right one for the protagonist since we never get to see what that character's personal traits are.
4. The pairings have to be genuine. I'll only list pairings in which both characters have mutual feelings for each other. So one-sided pairings are officially out of the question. I might do another list on that though.

Before I get started, here are some other couples I like, but just missed being on my list

Shrek x Fiona (Shrek)
Carl x Ellie (Up)
Fry x Leela (Futurama)
Darkwing Duck x Morgana Macawber (Darkwing Duck)
Bobby x Connie (King of the Hill)

So without further ado, I'll get started on the list.

10. Danny x Sawyer (Cats Don't Dance)

This has got to be one of the most underrated couples in animation from one of the most underrated films as well. I was six when this film dropped and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. The chemistry between Danny and Sawyer was surprisingly interesting. Danny is ambitious, optimistic, clumsy, and full of comedy, yet also mild-mannered and kind-hearted. Sawyer is more sophisticated and beautiful, yet sassy and snarky. The film starts off as Danny accidentally causing Sawyer's accidents, which almost alienates her once she discovers that she's working with him during a play. What I like about this relationship is that at first, Sawyer wasn't fond of Danny, what with all the problems he caused her during the beginning of the film, but gradually warmed up to him throughout the rest of the film when Danny tried to persuade Sawyer to join him and the other animals to follow their dreams to make it big in Hollywood after being rejected just because their animals (which at first ends up in failure thanks to that demon Darla Dimple). After the animals would finally make up for what got ruined for them by performing a musical on stage, Sawyer finally supports Danny as a successful Hollywood star and reciprocates her feelings for him due to his determination on reaching his goal. I also like how Danny's optimism rekindled Sawyer's passion for dancing after she was relegated as a secretary thanks to that double standard "animals can't act in Hollywood" regulation. Why did that guy had to interfere with the two's impending kiss? That would've made the ending a little better. These two really benefit each other in a way, which is why I picked this couple in my top 10 on this list. Sure we didn't see much of these two together throughout the whole film, but they did have good moments with each other. Seriously, this couple needs more love.

9. Ginger Foutley x Darren Patterson (As Told By Ginger)

This is an interesting pairing. Ginger and Darren started off as close friends, with Darren being somewhat introverted  Ginger is an average teenage girl with an affinity for writing and a gift for poetry, not to mention academically outstanding, whereas Darren is a calm, reliable guy with a rough family life, what with his father and older brother roughening him up thinking he's "too soft". Both characters are equally unpopular, with Darren's headgear pretty much putting a subversive strain on his popularity. They also gradually developed as characters since Ginger was befriended by popular girl Courtney Gripling while Darren became more social and handsome after getting his headgear removed. The two eventually got together, and even though they broke up sometime during their freshmen high school year, they eventually rekindled their relationship with each other and...well, you'll have to watch the finale to see what happens at the end. Point is I like how both of them started off as two average preteens who aren't very popular to becoming more accepted in society and ended up together. It's just so unpredictable and well-written. This couple is very underrated.

8. Manolo Sánchez x María Posada (The Book of Life)

I gotta be honest. I never thought I would actually like this movie to begin with. But it actually engrossed me once I took a quick look at the intro. And I gotta say. This movie was surprisingly good, and the plot was well-written. And this couple really engrossed me. Manolo is a brave young man who, unlike the other guys in his family, is much more interested in following his dreams as a musician rather than bullfighting. María is a rebellious and independent young woman who, unlike many stereotypical sophisticated women, can actually stand up for herself and is pretty proficient at Kung Fu and fencing. She also has a passion for reading poetry. The two started off as best friends during childhood and played together along with Joaquin. I actually thought Manolo would be the better choice for María since he can be as self-confident as María and would assist her with a second thought. María was also the one who gave Manolo a guitar as a gift before moving to Europe and Manolo even promised her to wait for her return, which would eventually happen a decade later. You can tell through her teasing that María truly had feelings for Manolo due to his songs and gestures. It was pretty unique how their relationship ended up. Manolo finds that María has been bitten by a snake and was willing to die for her, only to find out that María was in a coma. So in order to resurrect himself, he crossed the Land of the Remember and Land of the Forgotten and eventually reunited with María at the end. I also like how Joaquin was willing to finally accept María's true feelings for Manolo and put María's happiness before his own because he doesn't like marrying a woman who isn't truly in love with him. Now that's called being a good friend. Overall, I really like this couple, and it's definitely earned a spot in my top ten.

7. Danny Fenton x Sam Manson (Danny Phantom)

These two were friends since the second grade and even before they got together, we could actually see the hints that they like each other. It was very obvious that they had mutual feelings. But Sam's feelings for Danny was slightly stronger since she took offense of Danny not considering her as pretty as Pauline. And let's be honest. While Pauline was indeed pretty, she was also pretty shallow and wasn't the right match for Danny to begin with.  I really like how even though they weren't as close as Danny was to Tucker, they still valued each other, and as their friendship got stronger, their mutual feelings for each other became less latent and more open. They had their arguments and differ in personality somewhat, with Danny being more of an average friendly guy who is pretty clumsy and struggles to keep his ghost powers dormant whereas Sam is more passionate, strong-willed, and level-headed, yet pretty dogmatic and pretty hypocritical. Their relationship actually grew pretty well since, in spite of their occasional quarrels, they eventually make up and reveal their true feelings for each other, and it ended with a very heartwarming moment.

6. Kim Possible x Ron Stoppable (Kim Possible)

These two battle partners have known each other since preschool and has become friends since. I really like how distinctive their relationship is throughout the show and how their opposites cover each of their natural personalities. Kim is the intelligent and independent leader while Ron is the clumsy and bumbling sidekick. Ron seems to have a balance on Kim's ambition and has encouraged her to be a little less smug and not take things too seriously while he himself becomes more competent during the times he played a role as Kim's sidekick. I like how it took their senior high school year to finally become an official couple after all this time, because it gave them the time for their relationship to grow during their years as children and heroes. The writers really did a great job at making their feelings for each other as subtle as possible. Because during the earlier episodes, there wasn't so much of any tiny hints that they really had mutual feelings for each other. It developed pretty well to say the least.

5. Jack Skellington x Sally (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

I know most people find this pairing unorthodox, but from what I've seen in the movie, these two actually work well together. Created by Dr. Finklestein, Sally is a ragdoll who barely has any freedom and tries to escape her creator's sight. Sally seems to be one of those stalkers with a crush on the main protagonist. However, unlike most stalkers (two of which I'm gonna render nameless during this discussion), Sally is actually kind and approaches her love for Jack in a more benevolent manner. She loves Jack for who he is, yet is too diffident to release her feelings for him, which, in turn, inspired her to dedicate a song about this, as well as sending him gifts anonymously. While Jack's reasoning can be questioned at times, and he seems to enjoy frightening others, he's really a calm and kindhearted man and has too much morals to ever harm others, and even though he causes problems with his actions throughout the movie, he does come to his senses eventually. So yeah. Both characters have flaws that can comprise a great couple. I like how Sally finally gains the confidence to open up to Jack and the latter finally tells her how he feels about her. What I really like about this couple is the fact that it was inverted. Usually, the guy is the one who's nervous of revealing his true feelings for the girl he loves. It's rarely done with the female characters. But here, it was done without force and actually took time before the execution. It's so amazing how two creepy-looking characters can make such a compatible couple.

4. Sonic the Hedgehog x Sally Acorn (Sonic SatAM)

Oh man. This couple was surprisingly written well. These two actually have very good chemistry, which it what I like in a pairing. Sonic and Sally have known each other since they were children, five to be exact, and developed a strong bond with each other as they grew older. They also dealt with loss during their childhood (Sonic's uncle gets roboticized and Sally's father gets trapped in a void) and fought by each other's side to stop their old foe Robotnik. Whenever one is hurt, the other tries to coax the other and vice-versa. Another thing that makes this couple good is that they each balance each other out. Sonic is the arrogant goofball who learns from Sally to be more meticulous and less reckless, whereas Sally is the pragmatic down-to-earth girl who learns from Sonic to live more lively and not take things too seriously. Also, Sally balances out Sonic's irresponsibility as the voice of reason while Sonic balances out Sally's seriousness with his light-heartedness, which also combines their serious romance with each other with a little bit of levity and comedy as well. And even with their opposites, they combine them with the things they do have in common (their love for adventures, their loyalty for their friends). Their feelings are also mutual and neither one of them have loved anyone else but each other (in a romantic sense that is). And I also like how both of them actually love each other for who each of them are rather than what they can do (the latter of which is incidental) and grew to accept each other's personalities, and it's done in a way where it isn't forced. I know there are plenty of fans who prefer Sonic to stay single since he doesn't slow down for relationships and all, but his relationship with Sally developed in a rather unique fashion, and that's what really engrossed me about these two. In other words, these two make a balanced couple.  It's a shame those sadistic writers of Archie (who's names I will not mention) had to deliberately butcher their relationship in the comics just for gratuitous drama, because before that one issue (you should know what I mean), these two's relationship was working well. In spite of that, however, no other girl in the Sonic franchise has balanced the blue blur out the way this tomboy princess has. I can't see these two being together with anyone else but each other. Their love for each other just seems more natural.

3. Robin x Starfire (Teen Titans)

Man, has this couple really grown on me. Teen Titans came out when I was twelve, and besides the cool action the main heroes get in during missions, another thing that really engrossed me was the relationship between Robin and Starfire. It's funny how when these two first met, Starfire would kiss Robin in order to translate the human language since she's, you know, an alien, and the two would get into arguments. After the Titans finally made up and got together as a team, Robin and Starfire began having a much closer relationship. Despite what superficial haters think, Starfire is definitely NOT an airhead. She's just naive and doesn't understand the earth too well since she's from another planet. Honestly, I got nothing against anyone who might not like her, but I'm tired of folks bashing her just for her naivety. I thought the episode "Troq" would clear things up with blind haters. But I digress. I like how Robin is actually one of the few characters who tries to understand Star's feelings and shows genuine concern for her sake. Just look at the respect he's lost for Val-yor once he discovers how the latter has treated Starfire. No matter how effervescent and exuberant the cute alien girl comes across, Robin likes her for her, and Starfire's feelings for him is just as mutual. Case in point, their disparities, like the couple behind it, complement each other. While Robin can be an arrogant hothead, and while Starfire can be somewhat of a cloudcuckoolander (as TV tropes would describe), Star serves as Robin's moral purpose when the latter faces his inner demons while Robin teaches Star the life in earth for her to learn. In conclusion, this couple really worked well in the show, and it's a damn shame the writers eventually dropped their relationship in the Go! series. Then again, considering how arbitrary and otherwise corny the humor is in the Go! series, it's best not to have their mutual relationship's rep destroyed in that show.

2. Aang x Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

I really liked Avatar when it came out during my teenage year, and one of the things I liked about this show was the relationship between Aang and Katara. I mean I really liked Zuko and Mai as well, but Aang and Katara was just a better couple to me. They just had that chemistry that seemed engrossing to me. While Aang was the more naive and fun-loving of the two, Katara had a more serious demeanor (in which the loss of her parents played a hand in) as she is caring, compassionate, and never turns on anyone who needs her assistance. Also, Aang has the personality of the exuberant child, but also the heart of a young warrior, whereas Katara has the mind of a wise, mature adult, but is still a young woman at heart.  She developed an attachment to Aang, believing he was special to her. The two start off as close friends and got to know each other during all the times they spent together. Katara was the only person who Aang has divulged his troubled past to and since the two were close, Katara began to support Aang emotionally. Despite her latent feelings for Aang, and the fact that she told him she wasn't sure about her own feelings, there has been more than just several hints of romance she had for him. She was pretty awkward around him and had a very strong and confident connection with him. I thought it was very realistic and moving how Katara saw Aang as a close friend at first and later started to see him as a different person. In the end of the war, however, the two finally divulged their feelings for each other and started a long-term relationship. Seriously, I really love the combination of Katara's passion and Aang's serenity. Their relationship throughout the whole series was just heartwarming to say the least. I have to also say, I was pretty engrossed to see how their relationship would turn out and was waiting for them to finally spit it out to each other, and man, that wait was well worth it. I know people are gonna say that they support Katara with Zuko instead, but let's face it. Katara's relationship with Zuko isn't the slightest bit different from how she interacts with her goofy brother Sokka when you actually re-watch the show. Neither one of them had any romantic feelings for each other no matter how much others support them as a romantic couple. So I honestly don't see why people ship Katara with Zuko. Katara truly has feelings for Aang instead, and that's a fact.

1. Simba x Nala (The Lion King)

I'm surprised this couple hasn't been discussed much since The Lion King is one of the most talked about movies of Disney. I know before that I said I was gonna exclude Disney princess/prince couples for the purpose of this list. Well that's because while I do like those Disney couples (Belle x Beast and Aladdin x Jasmine are in my top 5 in terms of Disney princess/price couples), it's just too predictable to be discussed. The Lion King came across a different approach. Instead of the prince and princess love story we saw from the Disney predecessors, it was a film from Disney that had the couple start off as close friends from childhood. Simba and Nala were different from any couple we saw in the Disney films prior to this. These two started off as young, mischievous cubs who love to go on adventures and rough each other up (Nala always pins Simba of course). Simba is the curious, foolish cub who seems to have bravery confused with mischief while Nala is more rambunctious and doesn't stop herself from turning down fun. So both of them were pretty equal as cubs. Then came adulthood, where she grew up more responsible and mature. When she and Simba meet each other when they grow older, they start developing a real relationship with each other after years of being apart and Nala and the others thinking he was dead. While they did have just one spat regarding Simba's decision during that moment, the latter finally comes to his senses and returns home, in which Simba fights for his right to the throne and succeeds in the end, where he and Nala are eventually betrothed and become the ruling couple, just like how Simba envisioned it as a cub. Also, nothing's more romantic than seeing them developing their feelings through the most memorable romance song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". This is what got me into the couple. I really don't think I could say much else about this couple. Seriously, I just noticed that 60% of the couples on this list were once friends as children. What is it about childhood friend romance that makes me so supportive of couples like those? I guess it has something to do with the fact that the couples actually started off as playful children who learn more about each other and realize that there is no one who understands them more than that one person they've known since childhood.


Man, I have really got to start learning to make my descriptions more concise. I'm typing too much. I'm sorry if the descriptions seem too tedious for you folks to read. I just have a habit of verbosity when I explain things comprehensively. It's one of my idiosyncrasies. I'll try to explain my points more succinctly in my next memes. Well anyway, much credit to SerenEvy for making this meme for all of us. Leave a comment below if you like.

P.S. I don't own any of the pictures. They were selected through google images.