Disney may be known for magic and wonder, but these animated moments are anything but child's play. Join us as we explore the darkest, most haunting scenes that have left viewers shocked and traumatized throughout Disney's cinematic history.
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00:00I'll get more grasshoppers and be back next season, but you won't."
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the grim scenes
00:08from animated Disney films that still haunt us to this day.
00:12"-Help! Help! Somebody help! I've been framed! Help! Please, you gotta help me!"
00:21Number 30. Marlon's Tragedy. Finding Nemo.
00:24It's frightening how fast life can change.
00:26Marlon and Coral are excited about becoming parents to 400 children.
00:30However, a ferocious barracuda approaches, ready to make a meal of the eggs.
00:34"-Coral, don't. They'll be fine. Just get inside. You, right now."
00:39Coral dives to protect the nest, and Marlon is knocked unconscious by the predator.
00:44When he awakens, the only ones left are him and a single egg, Nemo.
00:48"-There, there, there. It's okay. Daddy's here. Daddy's got you."
00:55Since that day, Marlon swears to protect his only son from harm.
00:59He may be a little too protective, but given how his life was changed in a flash,
01:03can you really blame him? And it all happened in the opening scene, no less.
01:07"-I promise I will never let anything happen to you. Nemo."
01:12Number 29. The Story of the Curious Oysters. Alice in Wonderland.
01:17Have you ever wondered why your parents told you not to talk to strangers?
01:20A young family of oysters learns the hard way when they meet a seemingly
01:23friendly walrus and carpenter.
01:25"-Oh, uh, oysters, come and walk with us. The day is warm and bright."
01:31The walrus leads them out of their oyster bed for a fun walk along the beach.
01:35Sadly, the fun ends when he leads them to a makeshift seaside restaurant,
01:39where it turns out the oysters are the special of the day.
01:42"-Now, if you're ready, oysters dear, we can begin the feed."
01:51We can't help but shudder at how the walrus devours his innocent prey without a second thought.
01:56Beyond that, he didn't even leave any for the carpenter. How despicable can you be?
02:00"-And this was scarcely odd, because they'd been eating everyone."
02:06Number 28. The Mob Song. Beauty and the Beast.
02:09To save her father, Belle reluctantly tells the villagers about the beast.
02:13"-My father's not crazy, and I can prove it."
02:15She insists that he's kind and means no harm, but no one will listen to her.
02:20They're more interested in Gaston's fear-mongering instead.
02:23He rallies the townsfolk into Storming Beast's castle.
02:25"-So it's time to take some action, boys. It's time to follow me."
02:36What makes this scene really scary is the haunting melody they sing while they march
02:40through the woods. The chilling tune exposes how hate-filled its singers are.
02:45Nothing will stop them until the supposed enemy is wiped out of existence.
02:49Gaston is easily the most sinister of the bunch for riling everyone up,
03:00once again painting a clear image of who the real monster is.
03:03Number 27. Rourke's End. Atlantis, The Lost Empire.
03:08While seeing the dark side of Milo's expedition team was disheartening,
03:11at least the majority of them had a change of heart near the end.
03:14Commander Rourke, on the other hand, remained rotten and greedy to the core.
03:18"-Well, I have to hand it to you. You're a bigger pain in the neck than I would have ever thought
03:22possible."
03:23During the final battle, karma finally catches up to him as Milo wounds him with a shard of
03:27mystical glass. His skin slowly turns to crystal as he twists in agony. Just when you think he's
03:33had enough, he emerges as a crystal lava monster and is shoved through the ship's propellers and
03:38shredded to pieces. It might seem like overkill, but given how he terrorized Milo and the Atlanteans,
03:44we think it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
03:47"-Thank heaven."
03:48Number 26. The Evil Queen's Transformation. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
03:53So much for the fairest one of all.
03:55"-Magic mirror on the wall. Who now is the fairest one of all?"
04:01In an effort to dispose of Snow White, the Evil Queen is willing to disguise herself as an old
04:06hag in this classically haunting scene. She gathers some creepy ingredients to craft her
04:10disguise potion and drinks the creation in one gulp.
04:13"-Now, begin thy magic spell."
04:19The animation adds to the dark tone as each ingredient sends a shiver down our spine.
04:24The transformation is quick but eerie, as her hair turns white and her skin withers with age.
04:30It's fitting how her outer appearance as a horrid witch reflects her bitter jealousy and ugly schemes.
04:35"-A perfect disguise."
04:39Number 25. Oogie Comes Undone. The Nightmare Before Christmas.
04:43Throughout this holiday mashup film, Oogie Boogie is a ghoulish presence.
04:47His powerful snazzy voice alone is enough to send shivers down our spines.
04:50"-You're joking. You're joking. I can't believe my eyes."
04:55But his demise is what sticks with us. During the final battle,
04:58Jack has had enough. He pulls on a loose thread,
05:02causing Oogie's burlap body to come undone, revealing a colony of insects underneath.
05:07"-Now, look what you've done! My bug! My bug! My bug! My bug!"
05:18The insects begin falling into the fiery pit, screeching in torment.
05:22The terror finally ends when Santa squishes the very last bug,
05:25literally stamping out the eerie hive mind. It's satisfying but still shudder-inducing.
05:30"-Forgive me, Mr. Claus. I'm afraid I've made a terrible mess of your holiday."
05:37Number 24. Olivia's Abduction. The Great Mouse Detective.
05:41Everything seems normal in this scene as Basil, Dawson, and Olivia
05:45investigate a toy store for clues about a scheme by the villainous Rattigan.
05:48"-Someone has taken the liberty of removing the clockwork mechanisms from these toys."
05:54But the darkness creeps in when we see a sinister figure watching them from the shadows.
05:58Rattigan's henchman, Fidget, gives Olivia and us a fright when he pops out and snatches
06:02the young mouse. He stuffs her into a bag and bests Basil and Dawson using the toys at his
06:10disposal. The innocent setting of the toy store makes for a creative but creepy scene.
06:15"-Olivia, Olivia, she...she's gone, Dawson!"
06:20It's only fitting for the work of a criminal mastermind and his dastardly assistant.
06:24Number 23. Shan Yu's Message. Mulan. Shan Yu may be a villain of few words,
06:29but the ones he chooses are definitely impactful. In this scene,
06:33the Huns have invaded China and have captured two Imperial scouts.
06:37"-Nice work, gentlemen. You found the Hun army."
06:41Shan Yu tells the two scouts to deliver the message of his arrival,
06:44but he has one more menacing trick up his sleeve. It only takes one man to deliver a message.
06:49"-How many men does it take to deliver a message?"
06:52His archer takes aim, and the screen cuts to black. It's not too hard to imagine what happens
06:58next, and the smash cut heightens the evil implications. This moment, along with the
07:02villain's introductory scene, cements Shan Yu's status as one of the most intimidating
07:07Disney villains of all time. Number 22. Tadashi is Blown Up. Big Hero 6.
07:13Disney certainly isn't shy when it comes to killing off family members,
07:16but Tadashi's death is particularly violent. After a fire breaks out at the university,
07:21Tadashi tries saving Professor Callahan by rushing into the burning building.
07:25"-Tadashi, no!
07:31Callahan's in there. Someone has to help."
07:34Unfortunately, the building explodes while he's inside,
07:37and the shockwave knocks Hero to the ground.
07:44The death of a close family member is already tragic and traumatic.
07:48What makes this even worse is that it happens right before Hero's very eyes.
07:53At least Tadashi went out of Hero, no pun intended.
07:56Number 21. The Firebird. Fantasia 2000. This sequel came a full 60 years after the iconic
08:03original. Like 1940's Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 combines animated segments and classical music.
08:10The final segment of the movie is scored to Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird,
08:14and as the name suggests, it is absolutely terrifying.
08:19In the short, a forest sprite proceeds to a volcano and awakens some type of violent volcanic spirit,
08:31who proceeds to wreck the nearby forest. The spirit takes the form of a massive,
08:35fire-breathing bird with yellow eyes, before turning into a lava flow that sets fire to the
08:41forest. The visuals are haunting enough, but it's Stravinsky's music that really gives the
08:53scene its horrific tone. Number 20. The Ghost of Christmas Future. Mickey's Christmas Carol.
09:04Who are you? Are you the Ghost of Christmas Future?
09:10The Ghost of Christmas Future is always pretty terrifying. Disney continued the tradition with
09:15Mickey's Christmas Carol, a short animated featurette that sees beloved Disney characters
09:19acting out a Christmas Carol. The Ghost of Christmas Future is portrayed by Mickey Mouse's
09:23nemesis Pete. Pete first appears shrouded in a hood, before taking it off and throwing Ebenezer
09:29into the grave. Whose lonely grave is this?
09:38Why yours, Ebenezer? The richest man in the cemetery.
09:44A flaming coffin opens and spews fire towards Ebenezer, and Pete laughs as hellish red smoke
09:50swirls around him. It's a haunting and sinister sight for the kids who are at home watching on TV.
10:00Number 19. Hellfire. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The 34th animated Disney movie tends to get less
10:08love than the other classics of the Disney renaissance, but it contains one of the all-time
10:13great villain songs in Hellfire. It's sung by Judge Claude Frollo, who is fighting his lustful
10:19and obsessive feelings towards Esmeralda. The subject matter itself is dark and mature,
10:30and reportedly made Disney executives quite nervous. It also nearly cost the movie its G rating,
10:36as the MPAA was considering a PG. And that's not surprising considering the hellish imagery,
10:46mature subject matter, and lyrics like...
10:55Number 18. The Headless Horseman. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Serving as one of
11:00Disney's package films, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad contain two individual segments,
11:05one based on The Wind in the Willows, the other on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
11:10The story is well known for containing one of the most famous villains in literature,
11:14the Headless Horseman. Disney did not shy away from the character's scarier aspects,
11:24as he appears with a terrifying laugh, a horse with red eyes, a billowing purple cape,
11:30and a flaming skull. The resulting chase is the stuff of nightmares, complete with the horseman's
11:36shrieks, sword attacks, and unsettling music composed by Disney veteran Oliver Wallace.
11:44Number 17. Facilier is Dragged into the Spirit World. The Princess and the Frog. Facilier is
11:56one of the more entertaining Disney villains. He's perfectly played by the always excellent
12:01Keith David, and Friends on the Other Side is a great bit of jazz pop. Facilier's villain
12:06song is later reprised when he's taken to the voodoo spirit realm. The scene is extremely
12:20unsettling, as creepy purple-eyed spirits and shadow figures emerge to surround Facilier,
12:24who's then dragged into the glowing green mouth of a giant voodoo mask. The imagery is like
12:29something out of a surreal nightmare, and the pulsing drums add an ominous tone to the proceedings.
12:34The spirits ask Facilier if he's ready, but no one could possibly be ready for this.
12:47Number 16. Frollo Tries to Kill Quasimodo. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This is certainly
12:52one of the darkest Disney films, and it opens in a deeply disturbing manner.
12:56Judge Claude Frollo is instantly depicted as one of the nastiest Disney villains of all time,
13:08as he kills a Romany woman and attempts to do the same to her baby by throwing it down a well.
13:18Had it not been for the intervening Archdeacon, Frollo would have done it.
13:22Disney movies are often perceived as fun, light-hearted entertainment for children.
13:26The Hunchback of Notre Dame begins with cold-blooded murder on the steps of a church,
13:30creepy choral music, and trying to send a baby to hell. Frollo's words, not ours.
13:39Stop! cried the Archdeacon. This is an unholy demon. I'm sending it back to hell.
13:44Number 15. Night on Bald Mountain. Fantasia. As vicious as the fight between the T-Rex and
13:50Stegosaurus is in the Rite of Spring segment, Chernabog and his minions are on a whole other
13:55level. This one closes out Fantasia on an unsettling note.
14:05Set to Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, this segment sees Chernabog and evil spirits
14:10running amok on a mountain in the middle of the night. Chernabog's mountain lair is imposing,
14:15as is his physical design, complete with a gargoyle-like appearance and yellow eyes.
14:21The floating skeletal figures are even creepier, and the scene eventually escalates into an all-out
14:26fever dream. It's artistically brilliant, but also very, very creepy.
14:41Number 14. The Horned King's Army. The Black Cauldron. This movie was the first to receive
14:47a PG rating owing to, quote, some scary images, according to the MPAA.
14:57The rating undoubtedly comes from the Horned King and his personal army known as the Cauldronborn.
15:04Together, they make for some of the most formidable and frightening antagonists in the Disney canon.
15:09The scene where the Horned King summons the Cauldronborn still sends chills down our spines.
15:14The first thing we see emerge is a wide-eyed, screaming head that melts into a skull.
15:19It then turns into a green mist that raises the dead. The bump from G to PG really isn't surprising.
15:35Number 13. The Maleficent Dragon. Sleeping Beauty. Throughout Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent is
15:40portrayed as creepy and imposing, what with her black and purple robes, horns, yellow eyes,
15:46and green skin. But that sinister exterior is hiding something far more threatening.
15:55At the climax of the movie, Prince Philip storms the castle with the Sword of Truth
15:59and Shield of Virtue, and Maleficent turns into a massive dragon to confront him.
16:11Even watching it over a half-century later, this scene still terrifies.
16:18The prince's bewildered and frightened face says it all.
16:22Number 12. The Burnt-Down Village, Mulan. Mulan contains one of the most surprising
16:27and abrupt tonal shifts in the Disney canon. As the soldiers set out, they sing the cheerful
16:33A Girl Worth Fighting For. It's quite a fun song, and it shows the soldiers at their chummiest.
16:38And just when the viewer is relaxing and enjoying the cute song,
16:41the movie throws a wicked curveball.
16:49The characters come across the site of a massacre, complete with burnt-out buildings,
16:53raging fires, a sea of corpses, and worst of all, a cuddly doll that once belonged to a child.
17:00It is an unexpected depiction of the unimaginable horrors of war.
17:09Number 11. Aurora Gets Hypnotized, Sleeping Beauty.
17:13The Maleficent dragon wasn't the only scary scene in Sleeping Beauty.
17:16Aurora is lulled into her famous sleep after being hypnotized by Maleficent
17:21and made to prick her finger on the cursed spindle.
17:29The entire sequence is eerie, with Maleficent unleashing a green light from the fireplace,
17:34which Aurora follows in a wide-eyed trance.
17:37The scene also owes a lot to the foreboding music that plays as Aurora climbs the stairs.
17:48It is a masterpiece of tension-building,
17:50and it remains every bit as effective as it was in 1959.
17:57Number 10. The Furnace, Toy Story 3.
18:00Woody and the gang find themselves out of the frying pan and into the fire
18:04when they escape Sunnyside Daycare, only to find themselves at the landfill.
18:08As they slowly head towards the incinerator, they plead for Lotso to help them,
18:12only for the underhanded bear to smugly leave them to die.
18:15Where's your kid now, Sheriff?
18:21The toys grab hold of each other's hands and await their fiery demise.
18:25After everything these toys have been through,
18:27it's both terrifying and heartbreaking to watch them just accept their fate.
18:31Thankfully, they're rescued at the last minute, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
18:45Number 9. The Bear Attack, The Fox and the Hound.
18:48In this movie based on a 1967 novel, a heartwarming friendship takes a dark turn.
18:53When Todd, a red fox, becomes best friends with Copper, a hound dog,
18:57he thinks their friendship will last forever.
19:00Unfortunately, though, Copper is a hunting dog,
19:03and when the two reach adulthood, Copper turns on him.
19:11During the chase, however, hunter Amos Slade becomes the hunted,
19:15when a massive bear with glowing red eyes attacks.
19:21What follows is a tense and scary sequence,
19:24in which Copper and Todd team up to defeat the much larger predator.
19:28For young kids, this scene proved more than a little frightful.
19:36Number 8. Giant Ursula, The Little Mermaid.
19:39Basically, everything about Ursula is blood-curdling.
19:42Her octopus bottom half and gangly trapped souls are positively chilling.
19:47Her final gigantic form, however, is particularly nerve-wracking,
19:51especially the image of her massive head rising from the water.
19:59Giant Ursula is the stuff of nightmares, complete with accompanying lightning and thunder,
20:04and the hollow, echoey voice that makes her sound demonic.
20:08And while villain demises are always quite satisfactory,
20:11Ursula's is more than a little disturbing, as she's violently impaled on a ship's bowsprit.
20:23Of all the places for The Little Mermaid to go,
20:26Kraken Ursula was a surprising turn of events.
20:29Number 7. Pink Elephants on Parade, Dumbo.
20:32Disney knew exactly what they were doing with the pink elephants.
20:35Seeing pink elephants is a euphemism for alcohol-related hallucinations,
20:40used since the early 1900s.
20:43When Dumbo and Timothy get drunk on champagne, the euphemism becomes literal.
20:47And it's actually really creepy.
20:57Known as Pink Elephants on Parade,
20:59the scene sees Dumbo and Timothy experiencing disturbing visions,
21:02including multiplying pink elephants that play instruments,
21:06step on each other, and smash each other in giant cymbals.
21:09And that's just in the first minute!
21:11And to think, this predated the psychedelic era by 20 years.
21:23Number 6. The Shoe Dip, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
21:26Blending live-action and hand-drawn animation,
21:28Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a monumental success, grossing $329 million
21:35and winning a Special Achievement Academy Award for its groundbreaking visuals.
21:39It also contains what is undoubtedly the scariest scene in a live-action Disney film.
21:44To frighten the toons into compliance,
21:46Judge Doom decides to make an example of a poor defenseless shoe
21:49with a concoction known as the dip.
21:51Remember how we always thought there wasn't a way to kill a toon?
21:55Well, Doom found a way. Turpentine, acetone, benzene. He calls it the dip.
22:00He slowly dips the shoe into the liquid,
22:03forcing audiences to watch it panic and squirm around in pain as it slowly melts to death.
22:09Needless to say, this scene is firmly ingrained in the memories of 80s kids the world over.
22:22Number 5. Hopper and the Birds, A Bug's Life
22:26After years of oppression, the ant colony finally stands up to Hopper
22:29and prepares to send him flying off their hill.
22:33But the plan starts to come undone as rain begins falling.
22:37The villainous Hopper confronts Flick.
22:39You think it's over?
22:40No, no, no. I can explain.
22:42But before he can cause any more harm,
22:44Hopper finds himself face-to-face with his worst fear, a hungry bird.
22:48The grasshopper tries to flee, but the bird snatches him up and feeds him to her chicks,
22:53finally ending his reign of terror.
23:03While we don't see him being chomped up, the ant's horrified expressions and the
23:07POV shots of him being lowered to his doom tell us all we need to know.
23:11Number 4. Clayton's Demise, Tarzan
23:14As seen throughout this list, Disney isn't afraid of depicting some rather grim and violent ends.
23:19But Clayton's death in Tarzan may prove a little much owing to its eerie realism.
23:24I can use a challenge because after I get rid of you,
23:28rounding up your little ape family will be all too easy!
23:32After chopping his way through vines, Clayton falls from the treetops and
23:36accidentally hangs himself when a vine wraps itself around his neck.
23:40While viewers don't actually see the hanging itself,
23:43they do see the shadow of Clayton's dangling torso and legs,
23:46an upsetting image punctuated by thunder and lightning.
23:59It makes for gorgeous animation,
24:01but is definitely a dark and disturbing moment that lingers in your memory.
24:05Number 3. Lampwick's Transformation, Pinocchio
24:09The Pleasure Island segment of Pinocchio is incredibly twisted.
24:13It depicts children enjoying adult vices, including gambling, drinking, and smoking.
24:19They are then punished by being turned into donkeys.
24:22Oh yeah, and the donkeys then become slaves and are sent into salt mines and the circus.
24:30Lampwick's transformation is particularly frightening.
24:33Things begin funnily enough with Lampwick growing ridiculous ears and a tail,
24:38but then things get downright horrifying,
24:40with a terrified Lampwick begging for help as he transitions into a braying donkey.
24:45The creepy music and sound effects certainly do not help.
24:56Number 2. Bambi's Mother Dies, Bambi
24:59The death of Bambi's mother is still considered one of the saddest scenes in movie history,
25:04and for good reason.
25:05For many kids, the movie was their introduction to the very idea that one day they would lose
25:10their parents, or even that death was a part of life. Bambi and his mother are simply foraging
25:15for food and minding their own business when the unnamed man shows up and shoots Bambi's mother,
25:20leaving Bambi grieving and alone.
25:23We made it, Mother! We...
25:28Mother!
25:33Mother!
25:35It's extremely dark material for a children's movie.
25:38Your mother can't be with you anymore.
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26:03Number 1. Scar Kills Mufasa, The Lion King
26:06Simba's father's demise takes everything that was tragic about Bambi's mother's death
26:11and multiplies it by about a million, with a terrifying stampede and some cold-blooded
26:16fratricide. After the nail-biting stampede sequence, things look up when both Mufasa
26:21and Simba escape. That is, until Scar digs his claws in and pushes Mufasa to his death.
26:38The murder itself is tough to watch,
26:40but it's Simba's reaction to Mufasa's body that has everyone shedding tears.
26:44Dad? Dad, come on. You gotta get up. Dad, you gotta go home.
26:56It's enough to traumatize younger audience members, and to have adults hitting fast
27:01forward to skip the scene. Scar later suffers a gruesome fate when the hyenas turn on him,
27:06in another surprisingly dark scene.
27:08Friends? I thought he said we were the enemy.
27:11Yeah, that's what I heard.
27:14Ed?
27:20No, no, let me explain.
27:23Which Disney scene still chills you to the bone? Let us know in the comments.
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