Despite being a company which prides itself on making kids' movies, Disney is responsible
for some of the most disturbing death scenes in cinema history.
From tragic family loss to straight-up body horror, these are the Disney deaths that traumatized
us as children.
Considering so many Disney characters tend to be orphans, The Lion King’s Simba could
be counted as lucky, this little lion cub has got a loving mom and his father Mufasa
is protective, gentle and understanding.
Until he gets trampled to death, that is.
In the film's darkest moment, Simba finds himself trapped in a gorge, desperately trying
to outrun a herd of stampeding wildebeest.
Just when it looks like he’s going to wind up as a Pride Land pancake, Mufasa comes to
the rescue, leaping into the horde of hooves and horns to save his kid.
But while Mufasa gets Simba to safety, climbing out of the gorge proves to be too difficult
for the mighty king.
Fortunately, his dear old brother Scar is there to help.
“Long live the king.”
While the film makes clear that Mufasa has never been on great terms with his brother,
there’s still a look of genuine betrayal on his face when Scar tosses him down to his
doom.
But the real heartache comes when Simba tries to get his dad to wake up, nuzzling his lifeless
body before finally relenting and heading into exile.
Back in 1994, between the 1967 animated classic and the 2016 remake, Disney released a live-action
version of The Jungle Book.
The plot of the film has Mowgli forced to lead a band of British soldiers to a stash
of hidden treasure.
But as Mowgli and his sadistic captors head into the jungle, this PG kids' flick slowly
transforms into a genuine horror movie.
One villain falls from a cliff, another is mauled by a tiger, while the big bad eventually
ends up in a watery grave, before being finished off by a gigantic python.
At one point, a British bully falls into a pit of quicksand, and, despite his friends'
best efforts, slowly sinks into the muck, crying in terror all the way down.
Another baddie finds himself caught in a temple tramp, left helpless as the roof seals shut
and the room fills with sand, entombing him for all eternity.
Not exactly the bare necessities, is it?
Despite the occasional moment of levity, The Hunchback of Notre Dame isn’t afraid to
get dark.
With that said, it should come as no surprise that when the villainous Claude Frollo meets
his end, it comes in the most disturbing way possible.
In the film's big finale, Frollo is chasing the hunchback Quasimodo and his love Esmeralda
through the halls of Notre Dame, hoping to catch and kill the object of his desire.
The chase eventually leads to the cathedral's balcony, and after a brief showdown, this
happens:
Even kids can probably understand the hellish metaphor on display here, and while Frollo
does deserve his fate, watching him fall into the flames is still enough to make anyone
fear for their immortal soul.
The folks at Disney know there's nothing scarier for a kid than the idea that their mom could
die.
That’s one of the reasons why Bambi is basically the saddest animated movie ever made, and,
over sixty years later, Pixar followed in Bambi's hoof prints by traumatizing a whole
new generation with Finding Nemo.
The movie opens on a hopeful note, with expectant parents Marlin and Coral moving into their
oceanfront anemone home.
The two clownfish have over 400 little eggs waiting to hatch, and they couldn't be more
excited about their future.
That's when Marlin notices an approaching barracuda, staring straight at the parents
and their unhatched kids.
When the barracuda moves in for the kill, Marlin does his best to ward off the beast,
but is knocked unconscious.
When he wakes up, Coral is gone, and every egg save one has been devoured.
Although we don't actually see anyone get eaten, we do see poor Marlin mourn his dead
wife and unborn children.
His heartbreaking sobs, coupled with the idea you really could lose your mom at any moment,
would have made so many kids feel completely adrift while watching the movie.
Davy Jones is arguably one of the great Disney villains, thanks in large part to a CGI face
that still looks amazing years after his appearance in the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels.
With his lobster hand, tentacled chin and supernatural crew, Jones was a force to be
reckoned with, until the East India Trading Company got hold of his heart.
Stashed away in a wooden chest, the heart gives the villainous Cutler Beckett and his
henchman Ian Mercer the ability to control the pirate lord.
Near the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, however, Mercer finds out
why you should never play with a buccaneer's heart.
During the film’s climactic sea battle, a cannonball kills Mercer's men, leaving him
alone with the octopus pirate.
Seizing the chance to reclaim his heart, Jones kills Mercer in the slimiest, gruesomest way
possible.
It honestly might be the most gruesome death in any Disney film ever.