Upon hearing the familiar strains of the “Chinese Dance�? from Tchaikowsky’s famed “Nutcracker Suite�?, one cannot help but envision these frolicking fungi, alternately hopping or hunching over to their own rhythmic interpretations. And on the outskirts, frantically trying to keep up, is the tiny Hop Low, dubbed the “Dopey of Fantasia�?.

“A-ten-hut!�? Growing up, every little boy had these action figures (in various poses!), a whole battalion of olive drab soldiers to do your every bidding. It was the collective memory of bargain basement toys such as these that made their appearance here such a delight … and their feet joined to their melded plastic bases simply cinched the deal.

All hail the doofus: unlike any other Disney character before him, Kronk (brilliantly voiced by Patrick Warburton) is a lovable lug full of contradictions. With the body and mind of a punch-drunk pugilist, Kronk has the heart and soul of a poetic pastry chef, lost in his own world that he is more then happy to be a resident of. Let the silliness begin!

He either enjoys wallowing in his own self-deprecating self-pity, or he simply needs a good dose of mood stabilizers; the ever-gloomy Eeyore nevertheless appeals to the inner donkey in all of us. What better way to explain his popularity in this, our Prozac Nation? (Voiced here, as in the three shorts that make up this feature, by storyman Ralph Wright.)

Delectably dingy and inarguably one of the best performances of the year, Ellen DeGeneres’ instills an effortless whimsy and a wide-eyed optimism into the role of the blue tang Dory that transcends a simple summation of her character (a fish with a short-term memory problem) into one of the great comedic roles in film, animated or not.

Remember when I said these ‘MVPs’ deserved their own spin-offs? Well, this wacky odd couple of the Serengeti got theirs, and then some, including their own TV show, theme park attraction and breakfast cereal. As voiced by Broadway vets Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, ol’ T & P are legends in their own time, “hakuna matata�? and all.