Disney has a long history of drag, in fact the villain Ursula is heavily based of a drag queen
But far more often it is used as either disguise (for a main character), or as a distraction (for sidekicks). Drag, by definition is, to dress in clothing of the opposite sex for the sake of entertainment. This is done within Disney via traditional means, as well as shape-shifting, and is done by both good guys and villains for several different purposes. It is often comedic, but can actually drive the action as well as function as a plot device.
So, now you get the gist, and without further ado...
Disney in Drag: Top seven Disney Drag Queens.
Honorable Mentions:
Fidget
So I would like to give a shout out to one of the more underrated of the Disney films, The Great Mouse Detective, and the main villain sidekick, Fidget. Fidget is only an honorable mention because his Drag performance last for about a second, just long enough to really freak out Dr. Dawson and Basil, as well as several innocent children watching the film.
Pleakly
Now I will admit, Pleakley from Lilo and Stitch may need to switch places with number seven on this list, but the only reason he is down in Honorable mentions is because, while he tends to solely wear female clothing, that is mostly shown within the TV series, not the movie, and being an alien with an interesting body type he doesn't have many options to the contrary. If this was a Disney drag in TV list he would be very very high on the list.
Hugo
This is from Hunchback of Notre-Dame, one of Quasimodo's only friends, dressed as his love interest, for absolutely no reason what so ever...
No, seriously, this is not important to any part of the movie at all, it only facilitates people's ability to type in the words drag and Disney in the search window and pull up photos of this weirdness.
Yeah, anyway....
On to the List!
7.
Mr. Toad from Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Remember where I said a main character will dress in drag to facilitate the plot?
Well in the Wind and the Willows the main character Mr. Toad is arrested for supposedly stealing a Motorcar. With everyone else believing him guilty he decides to turn over a new leaf.
That lasts about a minute before one of his only remaining friends gives him another idea; Dress as an old woman to break out of prison. This leads to a wild chase with trains and flying bullets, all while Toad is wearing a dress, a bonnet, and heels.
6.
Timon from The Lion King
As mentioned above.
Timon's incident with drag is possibly the most iconic in Disney lore, mostly because he shouts "What, you want me to dress in Drag and do the hula?!" as Simba tries to get him to play live bait. There's even a small song and dance number accompanying it, which can be viewed above. Despite this being so exceptionally iconic it is only sixth on the list because the actual event is not a very exceptional example of the character in drag.
But don't worry, it gets better...
5.
Kuzco from Emperor's New Groove
Yes, that is a lama, dressed in drag.
This is another example of a main character facilitating the plot by dressing in Drag. Kuzco is the emperor of the Inca empire, who was turned into a Llama, who is trying to get back to the palace so he can be returned to normal. Now why is he in drag? Because he's pretending to be his companion's wife so they can eat lunch. Yeah it's just as weird as it sounds.
4.
Robin Hood and Little John from Robin Hood
Now this is a interesting case, because, while main characters usually only use Drag for disguise, these two main characters are following the more sidekick reasons, distraction. Yep, Robin Hood and Little John intend to use all of their 'feminine wiles' to trick the villainous Prince John and his minions out of their gold. John even goes so far as to seduce one of the treasure guards with his rather... er... enhanced assets...
3.
Pain and Panic from Hercules
You might be wondering why the above picture is some off breed of My Little Pony, well how about this?
Yeah, this is why you should never pick up some random woman in a bar; this happens... kinda sorta...
The first use of shape-shifting for Drag, Pain and Panic, Hades henchmen, use this ability to draw away Hercules' partner, Pegasus, so their master can drain Herc's powers. In the process they traumatize both Pegasus, and most if not all young girls watching this scene.
And yet when I was younger I always hoped they'd make a toy of this...
2.
Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po from Mulan
You expected Mulan didn't you?
While Mulan is a convicted cross-dresser, since she is female she does not qualify for the title of Drag Queen.
That doesn't mean there aren't others from her movie that do qualify. Example: these three.
Soldiers who form a friendship with Mulan when they think she's a man named Ping, they quickly come to her aid when she alerts them to an imminent attack on the Emperor of China. So, for their equivalent of king and country, they trade in their man-cards for fans, sashes, and dresses, disguising themselves as some of the Emperor's concubines...
Yes, I said Concubines.
They seduce, then beat the crap out of the Huns guarding the Emperor, allowing Mulan to get in and save him. They spend the entire rest of their time on screen still dressed as concubines,
and they are Fabulous!
Honestly this entire movie is a study in cross-dressing, but saddly it didn't make top spot, that spot is reserved for...
1.
Genie from Aladdin
There is no possible way you can beat the Genie in the Drag Queen game, simply because he does it
All...
The..
Time!
And don't even get me started on all the sequels. Seriously, don't...
But the Genie is the absolute Queen of Drag, using his shape-shifting to great effect,
and the kicker...?
He does it for absolutely no reason but comedy!
Genie fulfills the entire definition of Drag Queen to its fullest, and all as he is making our sides split with laughter. I mean, who can forget in the Prince Ali number when Genie bursts out on a balcony and immediately begins to practically belly-dance?!
It sticks with you.
There's no doubt Genie takes top spot on this list.
