Dark Disney
by dgranger | created - 16 May 2022 | updated - 6 months ago | PublicWe are not talking about lighting here. We are talking about subject and content matter about evil, racism, prejudice, cruelty, murder, greed, hatred, insanity, death, and etc.. It has always been in Disney films since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) in order to drive the narrative and provide some adult content to interest them in a children’s film. Thank God, Walt Disney knew when to pull back and not go too far even though he was good at scaring kids and knew exactly how to do it. But some of the latest films, after his death, have gone particularly dark. (I could list some examples here but that would bias the poll.) The dark parts are generally the intense, scary, and not funny parts. So, I’m not asking you which one is your favorite. I’m asking you, “WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK IS THE DARKEST?”*
I’m starting this poll off with ones that I think went straight to black or pretty much the worst. But I’m leaving the rest to you to suggest some that you think went dark. Bring them to the light here for inclusion. Just make sure they are rated over 6.0. I confess that I haven’t seen all of the Disney films but I have seen a lot.
* That was typed deliberately for emphasis.
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1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Approved | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Exiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.
Directors: William Cottrell, David Hand, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell
Votes: 215,402 | Gross: $184.93M
Jealousy, hatred, vanity, THE QUEEN IS THE FIRST ANIMATED CHARACTER IN HISTORY TO DELIBERATELY PLAN AND EXECUTE AN ATTEMPTED MURDER TWICE, black magic, and evil witch.
2. Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
PG | 107 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.
Directors: Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Paul Briggs, John Ripa | Stars: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Izaac Wang
Votes: 171,765 | Gross: $54.72M
Within minutes after the start of the movie, the movie tells you is it going to go very dark with the talk of betrayal, revenge, greed for money, greed for power, jealousy, stereotype racism, distrust, and keeping secrets.
3. Zootopia (2016)
PG | 108 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
Directors: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush | Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate
Votes: 546,232 | Gross: $341.27M
Hatred, bigotry, stereotyping, racism, drugs, mafia, crime, murder, and an attempted coup d’etat. Zootopia is supposed to be a utopia when, in reality, it is not.
4. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
PG | 95 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
In a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk.
Director: Jack Clayton | Stars: Mary Grace Canfield, Richard Davalos, Jake Dengel, Jack Dodson
Votes: 10,614 | Gross: $8.40M
This is a fantasy/science fiction horror tale in which the Autumn people of Mr. Dark's Pandemonium Carnival are not human but a vampire-like creatures that grant your deepest desire in return for seizing your soul and make you live in misery or death. They feed on misery. Mr. Dark’s words say it best, “We are the hungry ones. Your torments call us like dogs in the night. And we do feed, and feed well”, “And butter our plain bread with delicious pain.” and “ We suck that misery and find it sweet. We search for more always.”
5. The Black Cauldron (1985)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy and a group of misfit friends embark on a quest to find a dark magic item of ultimate power before a diabolical tyrant can.
Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich | Stars: Grant Bardsley, Freddie Jones, Susan Sheridan, Nigel Hawthorne
Votes: 40,731 | Gross: $21.29M
Raising the dead
6. The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
PG | 84 min | Family, Horror, Mystery
When a family moves to a country home, the young girls experience strange happenings that have a link to an occult event years past.
Directors: John Hough, Vincent McEveety | Stars: Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, Carroll Baker
Votes: 7,065 | Gross: $5.00M
A ghost story that involves an occult ritual.
7. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
G | 75 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
After being snubbed by the royal family, a malevolent fairy places a curse on a princess which only a prince can break, along with the help of three good fairies.
Directors: Les Clark, Clyde Geronimi, Eric Larson, Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske | Stars: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton
Votes: 160,866 | Gross: $51.60M
Maleficent (the character’s name is a word “ adj, causing harm or destruction, especially by supernatural means”), Maleficent is a vengeful evil dark fairy who plots a murder because her pride was wounded. She is sadistic and delights in the evil she does. And in fact quite lazy by send out others to do her searching instead of doing it herself. She is a class bigot. She delights in taunting her victims as shown in her speech to Prince Phillip (which was actually written for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” (the extras on my dvd for SWatSD has the recording of that scene that was edited from the picture).
8. Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)
G | 97 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Two mysterious orphan children have extraordinary powers and are chased by a scheming millionaire. But where do these kids really call home?
Director: John Hough | Stars: Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence, Kim Richards
Votes: 11,352 | Gross: $20.00M
Kidnapping and exploiting children.
9. Frozen (I) (2013)
PG | 102 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.
Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee | Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad
Votes: 663,749 | Gross: $400.74M
The brutal fact in the day in which the story was set, many people didn’t marry for love, but for what they could get out of the marriage. Some works by Shakespeare (“The Taming of the Shrew”) and Charles Dickens (“Our Mutual Friend”) can attest to that fact. And the use of hatred, greed, and superstition too.
10. Frozen II (2019)
PG | 103 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient, autumn-bound forest of an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa's powers in order to save their kingdom.
Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee | Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff
Votes: 194,584 | Gross: $477.37M
It carry on the themes of hatred, fear, bigotry, and superstition.
11. The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
G | 77 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
R.A.S. agents Miss Bianca and Bernard race to Australia to save a little boy and a rare golden eagle from a murderous poacher.
Directors: Hendel Butoy, Mike Gabriel | Stars: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, John Candy, Tristan Rogers
Votes: 47,263 | Gross: $27.93M
Illegally killing animals for money (poaching) and torturing them. The main villain delights in killing and mocks the kid.
12. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
PG | 104 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer
Votes: 216,813 | Gross: $156.45M
The film is an animated live action hybrid film noir hard boiled detective story with the lurid tale of adultery, money, greed, and murder. And adult sex jokes was supposed to go over the kids heads but ….
13. Fantasia (1940)
G | 124 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A series of eight famous pieces of classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and interpreted in animation by Walt Disney's team of artists.
Directors: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe Jr., Norman Ferguson, David Hand, Jim Handley, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Corey Burton
Votes: 103,978 | Gross: $76.41M
The “Night on Bald Mountain / Ava Maria” and “The Rites of Spring” segments.
14. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.
Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 978,803 | Gross: $289.92M
The film talks about fear. The film’s plot contains the villains kidnapping children and bleeding them dry of their screams in a mechanical vampire-like way so that society that the monsters live in somehow can convert the children’s screams into electrical power. It also talks about how children are more desensitized today than in the past because of the easier access to mass media.
15. Oliver & Company (1988)
G | 74 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A lost and alone kitten joins a gang of dogs engaged in petty larceny in New York City.
Director: George Scribner | Stars: Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan
Votes: 52,948 | Gross: $74.15M
justifying stealing to survive, kidnapping, cruelty to kids, jealousy, sadism (Sykes delights in torture, cruelty, and in a phone call, he wants to hear the details on how someone was tortured), and attempted murder. Sykes’ vicious dogs
16. The Rescuers (1977)
G | 77 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Two mice of the Rescue Aid Society search for a little girl kidnapped by unscrupulous treasure hunters.
Directors: John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, Art Stevens | Stars: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page, Joe Flynn
Votes: 69,905 | Gross: $71.22M
Kidnapping, child abuse and child endangerment.
17. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
G | 91 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A deformed bell-ringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Demi Moore, Jason Alexander, Mary Kay Bergman, Corey Burton
Votes: 171,653 | Gross: $100.14M
Obsession, racism, bigotry, superstition, fanaticism, brutality, and quite literally, in the book, the most humane character is the most physically deformed character in the story, Quasimodo!
18. Fantasia 2000 (1999)
G | 75 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
An update of the original film with new interpretations of great works of classical music.
Directors: James Algar, Gaëtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Eric Goldberg, Don Hahn, Pixote Hunt | Stars: James Levine, Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Quincy Jones
Votes: 41,424 | Gross: $60.66M
(“The Steadfast Tin Soldier” and “The Firebird” segments.)
19. Pinocchio (1940)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A living puppet, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy.
Directors: Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Dickie Jones, Christian Rub, Mel Blanc, Don Brodie
Votes: 159,848 | Gross: $84.25M
The Coachman, Stromboli, Pleasure Island, and Monstro the whale
20. Pocahontas (I) (1995)
G | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
An English soldier and the daughter of an Algonquin chief share a romance when English colonists invade seventeenth century Virginia.
Directors: Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg | Stars: Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Christian Bale, Joe Baker
Votes: 202,985 | Gross: $141.60M
Fear, greed, racism, lying, invasion, betrayal, and let’s face it, Governor Ratcliffe tricks his own people into slavery (indentured servitude) by promising hope of a new life, and then turns the tables on them when they land in the “New World”.
21. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Doctor Strange teams up with a mysterious teenage girl who can travel across multiverses, to battle other-universe versions of himself which threaten to wipe out the multiverse. They seek help from the Scarlet Witch, Wong and others.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong
Votes: 478,029 | Gross: $411.33M
(Suggested by Pencho15) “has murders and dead bodies coming back to life, besides a beloved character turning quite dark.”
22. Dumbo (1941)
G | 64 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Ridiculed because of his enormous ears, a young circus elephant is assisted by a mouse to achieve his full potential.
Directors: Samuel Armstrong, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen, John Elliotte | Stars: Sterling Holloway, Edward Brophy, Herman Bing, Billy Bletcher
Votes: 142,060 | Gross: $1.60M
(Suggested by Mariojacobs) The story is about prejudice, making fun of people who are different, and cruelty to children. Greed and cruelty when all but one of the clowns don’t care if Dumbo gets hurt in a dangerous stunt. Also, alcoholic hallucinations. It is what it says about people that gets dark.
23. Bambi (1942)
G | 69 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
The story of a young deer growing up in the forest.
Directors: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, David Hand, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Norman Wright, Arthur Davis, Clyde Geronimi | Stars: Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Bobette Audrey, Peter Behn
Votes: 154,067 | Gross: $102.80M
Man is the villain here. The film deals seriously with death and guns as the mother is shot by hunters.
24. The Black Hole (1979)
PG | 98 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole.
Director: Gary Nelson | Stars: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms
Votes: 27,984
(Suggested by TheOldJalapenoman) insanity, experimenting on humans, lobotomy (too magnify the horror, cutting into the thinking portion of the brain), turning humans into robotic cyborg zombie slaves.
25. Brother Bear (2003)
G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.
Directors: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Jason Raize
Votes: 123,777 | Gross: $85.34M
Fear, anger, hate, refusal to take responsibility for his actions, unjustified murder, and then he is forced to face all the consequences his actions.
26. The Lion King (1994)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg
Votes: 1,142,203 | Gross: $422.78M
(Suggested by Breumaster) “The murder of Mufasa by Scar, and Scar's dark conspiracy with the hyenas to overtake the kingdom.” And … “The conspiracy scene is a hint on any fascistic reign or dictatorship in humankind”
27. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
Approved | 68 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
An animated adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" followed by an adaptation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
Directors: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney | Stars: Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore, John McLeish
Votes: 17,885
Added October 13, 2023, (yeah Friday the 13th for 2023) . Do I need to tell you how dark the famous horror story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is?
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