Spring Sprite

The Spring Sprite is a character from Disney's Fantasia 2000. She appears in the Firebird Suite  or L'oiseau de feu sequence, inspired by the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, as the main protagonist.

Background
The Sprite was created by two gods at war, when they created the Firebird. She sealed the firebird away with her water powers. She was raised in a forest near Mt. Saint Helens by the sky, the sprite's foster mother. The Sprite formed the oceans and waves encircling her forever sealing herself away to shelter. She slept all thru every spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Personality
The Spring Sprite is a benevolent force of life and creation. She loves the forest and its creatures, and is happy to bring spring every year. As mentioned, she is a force of creation, and thus has a creative and artistic side, seen when she forms a flower, rethinks, and turns it into a dazzling sight, and a barren tree into a tree covered with gorgeous blossoms. As a being of water, she is grateful that her friend, the Elk saved her in order to awake.

She is also a curious being, as she was puzzled as to why she could not make flora grow on Mt. Saint Helens, and investigated, only to unintentionally unleash her polar opposite, the Firebird, a living primal force of destruction, and horrified by the destruction that followed.

Once the disaster ceased, she was crippled with grief at the loss of so much life, and guilt-ridden for causing it by awakening the Firebird. The Elk, however was able to cheer her up and give her hope when she saw her tears began to heal the land, and rejoiced when she was able to restore the forest.

All in all, the Spring Sprite is truly a loving being of creation and life, and found strength and hope in realizing that no matter how much is lost to Destruction, Creation is limitless, as is the constant renewal of Life.

Physical Appearance
The Sprite is an attractive young woman-like creature. In her most common form, she has light green skin and long bushy hair, that flows down her back to the ground, of the same color. Her eyes have the color that stands between yellow and light orange, and above them are thick black eyebrows. She is slender. Sometimes, between her hips and arms is a kind of curtain made ​​of leather, that she uses to make flight easier, but she can remove it if she want. Her size varies, but she usually the size of a young girl. Considering she is a nature spirit, she has no clothing and walks around naked.

Depending on her surroundings, she can take on various forms and colors; in water form, she is blue, in ice form, she is brighter blue, in rain form, she is light blue, in nature form, which is her most commonly used form, she is green, and in ash form, she is dark gray. When in ash form, if smoke is around, she is light brown, and when fire is around, she is Red, after the forest is destroyed, she is cool gray, and while she cries, she slowly turns dark blue.

History
The Sprite first appears in the sequence where snowmelt drips down in a hidden pool. In the form of a Water Sprite, she merges from the pool to meet the Elk and he leads her out of the hidden alcove and she gets to work, her body turning green and melting the snow away for the coming of the Spring season, covering the forest in fresh foliage. Going up a nearby mountain though, her abilities aren't following her up the slope. Curious as to what's going on, she looks inside the massive crater of the mountain at a small volcanic stone. Touching the stone, it awakens the Firebird, who rises from the ash, smoke and magma to attack the Sprite and destroy the forest. Running for dear life from the flames and lava flows, the Firebird eventually chases her up a tree where the monster rises up for one final attack. Cutting to the aftermath where the landscape has turned grey and ash-covered, the Elk finds a burnt out and grey Sprite, in Ash form. The Elk helps her up and gives her a ride on his antlers as the Sprite cries from the destruction she unleashed. Soon she realizes her tears are healing the land and takes back to the sky in a Rain form, bringing a healing shower down upon the valley. Continuing her work, she bring the plant life back to the forest, restoring the trees and finally covering the volcano in a fresh layer of grass, her confidence fully restored.

The Elk
The Elk and the Sprite bonds a very close relationship, because the Elk has a responsibility to protect her. The Elk awakening or saving her, whenever she's dispirited or sealed away, is her favorite hobby. She thanks the Elk for bringing her back from the pool. When disaster struck, and the Elk found her dispirited, he'll stay by her side at all times.

The Firebird
Since the very first time the Spring Sprite encountered the firebird after her creation, she sealed him away using her water powers. Sadly, after she was raised by her foster mother, she sealed herself away, too. Also, unfortunately, after she reawakened, and when she couldn't bring a life a spring to Mt. Saint Helens, she accidentally reawakened him. And the Firebird chased the sprite, ruining the forest, causing serious total destruction, chaos, and disaster.

Quotes

 * "I have dreamt in my life, dreams that haves stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind."
 * "I am the Daughter of Earth and Water, and nursling of the sky. I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores. I change, but I cannot die."
 * "...and into the forest I go to Loose my mind and find my soul, to the rest of my heart and hope, I find my piece of mind."
 * "I have many names, but "Useless" is not one of them."
 * "I know that night must end... and that the sun will rise."
 * "The Earth has music for those who listen."
 * "That's the path I believe in... And I know time will heal it."
 * "And life goes on."
 * "What's left behind can grow back"

Trivia

 * The Spring Sprite is voiced by Helena Bonham Carter.
 * The original ending of the sequence had the Sprite taking on a Sun form and shining over the valley.
 * The Spring Sprite behaves in ways similar to animals by the various ways she moves. Sometimes she soars like a bird, floats like a fish or mermaid, climbs like a squirrel, and runs upright like a human, and even moves in a flowing motion akin to water.
 * Interestingly, the spring sprite bears an extremely vague resemblance to Miriam, Moses' sister from Dreamworks' The Prince Of Egypt and Merida from Disney/Pixar's Brave according to a few remarks.
 * The Spring Sprite has been communicating with numerous creatures of her forest, like birds, frogs, fish, butterflies, dragonflies, honey bees, ladybugs, mosquitoes, beetles.
 * The Sprite is similar to Ariel (Curious about new things, not able to speak like Ariel in one point of the movie, but can also swim.), Jane, and Rapunzel (Artistic, and creative).