Which Disney film is "the Darkest"?

[DDMAN26]

Pinocchio is the darkest film in terms of content, but it's also the best Disney film ever.

[wizzer]

i just chose sleeping beauty on a whim because the part where milificent (sp) says that she is going to kill the newborn baby just kind of set in as very dark and evil to me. but i suppose black cauldren or the demon from fantasia are a bit more uh dark maybe.

[Chernobog]

I voted for Snow White.

It may seem strange to vote for it, amongst the more obvious selections that are famous for their dark side (granted, I've never seen Black Cauldron or Hunchback, but I don't think it'll change my view). But I honestly feel it takes the cake.

The jealosy of the Queen is so raw and so hateful, she would do anything to kill Snow White. She dominates the film - everything that happens is because of her. Her transformation into the old hag is frightening, and the final result is just plain scary. The art itself in these parts is literally bleak and depressing.

It makes it even more dark in contrast to the light side of the film. I've felt for a long time that a film is only as dark as its light side. The more happy one part of it is, the more scary and dark its other half is, and the darkness hangs over the light parts in the back of the audiences mind.

IMO, Snow White is the perfect example of that.

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU!!!

[Prince Phillip]

My vote went to Pinocchio. It is not only dark, but it is highly disturbing... I really don't care for this movie

[AwallaceUNC]

I think they are all dark to a degree. I went with Black Cauldron, b/c it's subject matter seems to be the darkest. However, in terms of being presented with a dark overtone, I think Snow White takes the cake. The darkest villainry probably lies with Sleeping Beauty, and the darkest songs goes to Hunchback.

-Aaron

[SNERWW22785]

I'm kind of surprised that "The Lion King" has garnered no votes, although it is probably because it is remembered as much for its funny, breezy, colorful tones as it is for the darkness which Scar evokes. I mean, the whole Hamlet angle and then the "goose-stepping" hyenas, it surely was one of the most evil takes that Disney has ever had.

Having said that, though, that's why it isn't necessarily bad to be "dark", because the hero gains meaning only in relation to the villain. You need an opposition who is as dark and sinister as the hero is righteous and good. This is another element of the great Disney films.

[Disney Guru]

The darkest Disney Film is not an animated feature It is a live action feature

The 2 darkest Disney Films were Watcher In The Woods, and Return From Witch Mountain

[Just Myself]

The Rescuers is known to be one of the darkest Disney films, I wonder why you didn't add it to the list. Anyway, I would vote for it, since it is really the one that scared me when I was little.

I don't think the first one was too scary, but McLeach scared the hell out of my when I was young(from TRDU).

[Tangela]

The Rescuers is known to be one of the darkest Disney films, I wonder why you didn't add it to the list. Anyway, I would vote for it, since it is really the one that scared me when I was little.

I don't think the first one was too scary, but McLeach scared the hell out of my when I was young(from TRDU).

McLeach? He didn't scare me, but I didn't like him either. I thought Medusa was a bit more sinister:

Penny: Please pull me up!
Medusa: Not until you get the diamond.

That part shows that Medusa doesn't care about Penny's life being threatened...

[Littlemermaid28]

I think its a tie between the black cauldron and lion king. I mean, black cauldron is the more obvious one since it lacks songs or an abundance of cute characters and comedy. but Lion king still freaks me out, I watched it last weekend on tv and the whole scar thing totally freaks me out. Come on what is freakier than a bunch of Hyenas and a Lion being compared to Nazis? there is so much symbolism of communists and dictators in that and its quite disturbing.

[Tangela]

Well, I nobody can change my mind and I think Medusa is more evil than Maleficent, or the Evil Queen. I mean, The Evil Queen wants to get rid of Snow White because of jealosy and Maleficent, because she wasn't inveted to Aurora's ceremony, but Medusa would let Penny drown just to get a diamond, now that's evil:

Penny: "The Water's coming in, please pull me up!"

Medusa: "Not until you get the diamond."

So with this kind of enviroment, villain, and plot involving a small little girl in danger, I mean the other ones were older princesses and pig keepers and lost princesses, but we are talking about a young girl facing 4 horrible creatures, no way José! The Rescuers is the darkest.

[Jack]

Well, I nobody can change my mind and I think Medusa is more evil than Maleficent, or the Evil Queen. I mean, The Evil Queen wants to get rid of Snow White because of jealosy and Maleficent, because she wasn't inveted to Aurora's ceremony, but Medusa would let Penny drown just to get a diamond, now that's evil

The Evil Queen deliberately tried to kill Snow White because of jealosy.

Maleficent deliberately tried to kill Aurora because of hate.

Medusa was going to allow Penny to die because of greed.

I don't see how that makes Medusa much more evil than the other two. Oh well, you're entitled to your opinion.

[Tangela]

Well, I nobody can change my mind and I think Medusa is more evil than Maleficent, or the Evil Queen. I mean, The Evil Queen wants to get rid of Snow White because of jealosy and Maleficent, because she wasn't inveted to Aurora's ceremony, but Medusa would let Penny drown just to get a diamond, now that's evil

The Evil Queen deliberately tried to kill Snow White because of jealosy.

Maleficent deliberately tried to kill Aurora because of hate.

Medusa was going to allow Penny to die because of greed.

I don't see how that makes Medusa much more evil than the other two. Oh well, you're entitled to your opinion.

Well, Penny is just a little kid, I mean, I'm pretty evil, but I have soft spot for little kids. Probably The Queen and Maleficent wouldn't care about children either, specially Maleficent, since she cursed Aurora when she was still in a cradle... I don't know, leave me alone...

[toonaspie]

I voted for The Lion King

Yes Hunchback is clearly dark but too easy

I think most of the Disney films anyway are dark in their own way for different reasons. The thing that really gets me about The Lion King is the family betrayal business and the manipulation of child for personal gain.

I'm surprised btw that BAMBI is not on this list. Did you know that TIME (i think it was TIME) had Bambi listed as one of the top horror movies ever made? Seriously!

Think about these two films differently if the characters in Bambi were human it makes the image a lot more intense. These characters grow up in an environment were they can be easily killed by intruders they have no power over. It's kinda like a Zombie flick except the animals cant really fight back.

And Lion King...just imagine Hamlet and there ya go!

[Goliath]

Definitly *not* The Black Cauldron! That was sooooo in-your-face, obvious and overdone, that it seems like a parody on an actual mature, dark film. And I even like the film. But dark, it wasn't. Grotesque is a better word for it.

I vote for HonD.

[Lazario]

Agreed with Goliath on The Black Cauldron. I liked it too, because of what I assumed was it trying to be more action-packed, or light or fast-paced. It was a fun ride. But not dark in any real sense.


Dark as in...

Most overtly disturbing? Bambi. Or Beauty and the Beast, just because of how offensive it is. Or, Fox and the Hound - because of how anti-Bambi it is. Not willing to look at the dark side of hunting. Instead making the issues surrounding it, at its' most confrontational: emotional and sappy. Whereas Bambi only got sappy when it came to romance and dealt with hunting the way it ought to be. Like it's HELL. And associating / sympathizing / empathizing with the victims. Just about the one strong thing I can say about Bambi in terms of story.

Having the most adult subtext? Pinocchio. But I didn't vote for it. It should have ended up being the most dark. However, mood must remain dark to me. And Jiminy Cricket played too many comic lines, too friendly to the audience. A constant tension reliever.

The most tonally brooding and darkest mood? Sleeping Beauty. Which I did vote for. The only time the 3 good fairies ever played in Jiminy Cricket mode was during Prince Phillip's escape from Maleficent's castle. Most important to me is that they were as scared as everyone else was of Maleficent. And there is a constant atmosphere of dread, mystery, and unease throughout the entire film. Nowhere feels safe. And the main character, Aurora, in a sense as clueless as the ultra-naive Pinocchio, is actually placed more in harm's way and became more susceptible to evil than almost any other Disney main character.

[Giygas]

Or Beauty and the Beast, just because of how offensive it is.

Beauty and the Beast was offensive?

[Scarred4life]

I voted for the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Definitely the most darkest. And it's so real. It's something you can actually see happening, not like The Black Cauldron, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Show White, etc.

[ajmrowland]

To me, it's Pinocchio. I never saw BC, and HBND has a few interruptions, while pinocchio illustrates every young person's fears of being forced to grow up.

[IagoZazu]

I voted for Hunchback because of its realism. Frollo represents the bad christian who thinks what he's doing is right and everything he did throughout the movie could have actually happened. Hunchback expresses the power of religion and how it could be used for good or evil, and it also expresses discrimination among different groups of people and Quasimodo. Also, you can't get a more sinister villain song than "Hellfire."

The Black Cauldron is dark too, but in a fanasty sense. The Horned King and his minions can freak you out, but all of that is based around magic and sheer menace. Despite that, I still say HOND is the darker film.