Jaq

Jaq is a character from the Castle of Dreams in the prequel game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and from Kingdom Hearts Union χ. He is from Walt Disney's twelfth animated feature film, .

Kingdom Hearts Union χ
In the data version of Castle of Dreams, Jaq and the Player worked together to gather materials for Cinderella's dress to the ball.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Jaq is first present when Ventus has been shrunk to mouse size and is trapped in a mouse cage. He informs Cinderella so she can rescue him. After he is released, Ventus teams up with Jaq to collect materials to make a dress for Cinderella so she can attend the royal ball. When Ventus steals a pearl from Lucifer, he gets cornered and Jaq saves him by throwing yarn balls at the cat. When Lucifer knocks him down from the dresser he is standing on and corners him, Ventus comes to his rescue. After the cat's defeat, they are able to make the dress for Cinderella in time and let her dream come true. Jaq and Ventus later sit by the window, observing the Castle of Dreams in front of them, discussing their dreams.

During Aqua's visit, she gets shrunk to a mouse's size by the Fairy Godmother after Lady Tremaine trapped Cinderella in her room and meets Jaq who is with the key and making his way to Cinderella. He recognized Aqua's Keyblade and informs her that Ventus had helped him with Cinderella's dress, but left to look for Terra. When he gets cornered by Unversed, Aqua defends him, allowing him to get the key to Cinderella and free her before the Grand Duke leaves.

Some time after the battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, Jaq and the Fairy Godmother watch Cinderella and Prince Charming share a romantic dance from a balcony in the ballroom.

Design
Jaq is a small brown mouse with a long tail and two large front teeth. Thanks to Cinderella, he wears miniature clothes specially crafted by her for him; Jaq's custom outfit consists of a cap, shoes, shirt and overshirt, which are all shades of red. In mouse form, Jaq has a noticeably high-pitched voice to suit his small stature. In addition, Jaq and his mouse friends occasionally let slip a minor speech quirk, referring to Cinderella as "Cinderellie" and Lucifer as "Rucifie".

Personality
Jaq is a natural leader who takes charge of the mice in Cinderella's care, often taking it upon himself to welcome newer mice to the group, such as Gus. He is extremely clever, and takes great enjoyment in using this cleverness to outwit Lucifer, the cat of the Tremaine household who longs to eat Jaq and his friends. Out of all the mice, Jaq seems to have the strongest relationship with Cinderella; she often monitors his leadership and expects that he keeps an eye on the other mice.

Abilities
Although Jaq's abilities in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep are not fully displayed, in the film, he is shown to be clever and stealthy, traits which help him during his constant run-ins with Lucifer. Being a mouse, he can also access tight spaces and areas not accessible to humans.

Origin
Jaq first appears in Walt Disney's film classic film, Cinderella. The film was, in turn, inspired by the Charles Perrault fairy tale, , which was published in 1697. In Perrault's tale, the mice were only included with the purpose of being turned into horses for Cinderella's carriage. For the film, the mice's roles were expanded, turning them into friends for Cinderella, and some of them were given distinct personalities; thus, Jaq became the lead mouse. Also, in the film, Jaq is constantly seen partnered with his best friend, Gus, a fatter and slower mouse who is equally as brave and loyal to Cinderella.

Trivia

 * Jaq was the first new Disney character featured in promotional pictures and footage of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.
 * The fast-paced, high-pitched, unintelligible language spoken by Jaq in Cinderella was dubbed "Mouse Latin" by Disney story man Winston Hibler. Because Jaq's use of the language was carried over into Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, subtitles that appear on the screen do not match what he actually says. However, there are some instances where this occurs, such as when he speaks to Ventus in a mouse trap and uses his trademark phrase, "Zugk-Zugk". Ironically, if Ventus returns to Castle of Dreams and speaks to Jaq in Cinderella's Room, Jaq's dialogue in the text boxes are spelled exactly as how he says it; for instance, "Ven-Ven" and "Flinderelly" are used.