Once upon a time, heroes were men in tights leaping off tall buildings, or women in ball gowns singing to woodland creatures. But in Britain today, the cape has slipped, the tights have laddered, and the real badge of honour is… kindness.
According to a brand-new survey commissioned by Disney On Ice, the nation’s children are quietly rewriting the dictionary definition of “hero.” While 57% of youngsters still blurt out “superhero!” when asked who saves the day, almost 40% now point straight to Mum and Dad. Teachers rank higher than influencers (mercifully), and emergency service workers outrank the entire Kardashian clan combined.
In short, our kids have their heads screwed on.
Bravery, Helping Others… and a Dash of Kindness
When 2,000 parents and children aged five to eleven were quizzed, they put bravery (57%) at the top of the heroism chart, followed by helping others (44%) and, strikingly, kindness (28%). Only after that came the more traditional power-fantasy traits of raw strength (41%) and lightning speed (18%).
So yes, Superman may be able to outrun a bullet, but he’d better learn to help with the groceries if he wants to make the grade with British schoolkids in 2025.
Disney’s Magic Still Holds
This is, after all, research commissioned by Disney On Ice, and it turns out the House of Mouse hasn’t lost its shine. A reassuring 81% of parents still believe Disney characters help their children understand what being a hero is all about.
When asked to crown the most heroic Disney figure, today’s children named Moana (22%) their undisputed champion. She was praised for her bravery, guts, and refusal to quit, which are qualities perhaps more relatable than a bloke in spandex. Elsa, meanwhile, skated into second place, still cool under pressure.
Ice, Sweat and Tears
To really hammer home the message that bravery doesn’t only belong on the big screen, Disney On Ice roped in TV personality and former sprinter Montell Douglas and fitness coach Zack George. The touring cast threw the pair quite literally onto the rink and subjected them to balance drills, lifts, and sprints.
Douglas later reflected:
“As a young athlete, I was inspired by the people around me coaches, teammates, and family who showed resilience and drive every day. Taking on something new like skating with Disney On Ice reminded me how important it is to embrace challenges, even if you stumble along the way.”
The spectacle was half PR stunt, half genuine reminder: courage isn’t about being flawless. It’s about wobbling, falling, getting up, and preferably doing so with some dignity intact.
Curtains Up: A Season of Heroes
The results are a warm-up act for Disney On Ice presents Find Your Hero, which tours the UK from 29 October 2025 through 4 January 2026. Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Belfast, Manchester, Sheffield and London are all on the itinerary, with Mickey and Minnie leading a cavalcade of familiar faces.
The show promises to weave together Disney’s classic tales of courage with the sort of dazzling on-ice choreography that makes parents whisper, “Worth every penny,” as they fork out for popcorn. Tickets are now on sale at disneyonice.co.uk.
Why This Matters
In a culture where celebrity influencers can be “made” overnight by a viral dance move, the survey found that only 9% of children see fame as heroic and a cause for quiet celebration. Even better, just 16% of kids said social media personalities deserved the hero label.
Instead, their heroes are the everyday people in their lives, parents juggling school runs, teachers holding classrooms together, paramedics and police officers stepping into danger without fanfare.
If you ask me, that’s a far sturdier definition of heroism than anything Hollywood has managed to CGI in the last decade.
The Verdict
There’s a kind of poetic justice in the fact that, in the middle of a digital and distracted world, Britain’s youngest citizens are anchoring themselves to the oldest, simplest truths. Heroism isn’t found in a filter or in who has the most likes. It’s found in kindness, bravery, and the everyday resilience of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
And if Moana and Elsa can help stitch that message into a child’s imagination, then Disney On Ice is serving up something far more valuable than twirls and sequins.
By Charmaine Lu
