What Disney Scenes Scared You to the Bone?

[Disney Duster]

I always got the feeling the whole film was haunted and the characters couldn't go too far out into the forest or the castles alone.

Thinking back, the movie is rather creepy. I'm sorry to say I never was truly scared by it(that I can remember), but I think you're right. A scene that I think gives me this haunted feeling you speak of most would be when Prince Phillip rides through the castle to tell his father about "the peasant girl". The horses hoofbeats are echoing, and at the end, when the prince leaves, King Hubert calls after him, "Philliiipp!!", and it echoes, and then he sits there, alone. The whole castle actually feels vacant and lifeless, with the people just standing around. I know that was the style, to have the people in the background motionless and feature-less, but it gives off a lifeless feeling(of course, this is not the case when they are "hailing the princess Aurora"). The movie was meant to be like a moving medieval tapestry. It was the dark ages, and if you ever look at paintings and works from those times...well, I never got a cheerful feeling from them.

Aside from the whole movie having that feeling, the scenes with Aurora in a dark tower only lit up by a green light, flashing unpredictably, the scenes in Maleficent's domain, and...did you ever carefully watch the part where Maleficent places her curse on the princess? Bats and demons spinning out of her staff! And to top it all off, an image of our dead heroine lying on a bed(or coffin?!) just as she says, "and die!!!" Pretty creepy stuff. If was truly disturbed by the movie at all, though, it might have been when she finally pricks her finger, and the room fills with green mist. It covers the screen and your like, "What's going on?!" You never see her falling...you only see her afterwards on the floor.

[Evil Genie Jafar]

As I remember Pinochio... not sure what exaclty, as I've only watched it as a kid. But I do remember being scared by it.


Also, was very disturbing the scene in The Little Mermaid between Ursula and Ariel in the "Poor Unfortunate Souls" segment. Particularly the faces Ursula made when Ariel signed the contract and the way she reacts when Ariel gets her legs and starts drowning.

[slyslayer3000]

I never knew whales could be THAT vicious...Pinocchio is definitely one of Disney's darker films.

[Lazario]

...did you ever carefully watch the part where...

Yeah I did. It's my single favorite Disney film. I've watched the entire movie very closely. And every scene (with the possible exception of the final main hall dancing / dress-color changing sequence) has an extraordinarily creepy feel to it. I can't believe I forgot before to mention that scene where the 3 fairies are alone in the castle talking about the newborn Princess Aurora. I believe they go in on it from a dissolve of the image of the castle fullview as smoke billows from the burning pile of spinning wheels into the sky (a continuing series of dissolves accompanying that unsettling narration), and we're just getting to see how their quirky personalities interact usually. So they start talking about what they should probably be doing, getting us into that rhythm- but unbeknownst to us, Maleficent or any unit of scores of her evil minions could be watching, listening to, or otherwise observing them at that very moment! "Ssh! Even the walls have ears." When Flora mentions it, the music begins to hint at it, and then of course the adventure / dark uncertainty elements of the film kick in. I don't know about anyone else, but all I could think about as a kid was- they're in danger right now. And it's a good thing to play with, it really keeps the audience off-guard I think.

A scene that I think gives me this haunted feeling you speak of most would be when Prince Phillip rides through the castle to tell his father about "the peasant girl" ... King Hubert calls after him, "Philliiipp!!", and it echoes, and then he sits there, alone.

Yeah. What I was trying to say was that you really get the feeling that no one is safe in this story. First of all, there is absolutely no method to Maleficent's wrath, she freely exhibits evil and cruelty to any and all in her path, and she doesn't recognize many distinguishing features from one of her victims to the next. She kidnaps Phillip with no fear of what his father and his armies could do to her or her castle, plus we don't see too much of her so we can just safely assume that she would eventually 'get' every/anyone in the story. But also everyone in the film is constantly isolated, even when they're in a group, the group itself is isolated somewhere where no one else is around or likely to turn up Announced. Then, the music is always suggesting that anything unexpected could happen at any moment.

The whole castle actually feels vacant and lifeless, with the people just standing around. I know that was the style, to have the people in the background motionless and feature-less, but it gives off a lifeless feeling (of course, this is not the case when they are "hailing the princess Aurora").

The entire movie has a life versus lifelessness feel to it, I think. Which is exactly what makes the music and art design look so creepy or sinister. It's more than just the people doing nothing, it's that if they were featured anywhere, their heads would have been cut off. The movie didn't blend their features into the background, it purposefully didn't show the people with any faces at all. Just a few times did we ever see the expression on the faces of groups of people not comprised of any main characters - when Maleficent vanishes after King Stefan shouts, "seize that creature!", we see the faces of the castle guards in 2 shots and that's like it. Then again, I'm talking after only ever seeing the film in pan and scan. But the peasents / villagers were really just a chorus for the music cues following the narration's telling of the story. The narrator of this film is really the composer of fear! All other elements of the film follow his suggestion.

[Disney Duster]

It's my single favorite Disney film...

I didn't want to quote your entire post, but I just wanted to say I never realized how subtley unnerving the "plotting of the fairies" scene was! It's almost a wonder so many people didn't like the movie when it first premiered. It has good story-telling with compelling action, a sense of thrill and danger, and great direction! Not to mention the most amazing and beautiful art for any animated film ever(in my opinion). I guess it was the underdevelopment of the characters, though Prince Phillip is so much more developed than the princes in the Disney films before it, and certainly shows personality when he talks to his horse. But that's another issue. I just agree with a lot of what you said and wanted to let you know that you have enlightened me on how subtlely scary Sleeping Beauty is. I think it's the scariest of the Walt Era animated features.

[dvdjunkie]

I think that the story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman from Disney "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" is one of the more scary films in the Disney collection. I remember watching certain scenes from between my fingers which were covering my eyes at the time.

I don't see what is scary about "Pinocchio" or most of the others mentioned. Unless your definition of scary is different from what I truly think scary is.

[Lazario]

Pinocchio is very intense, and intensity can unnerve or put off anyone, so just imagine what a kid would think. I don't remember what I thought. But the Monstro's attack scene in particular has been cited by several film scholars as one of the first scenes in film history to define the cinematic fear factor. It kept audiences on the very edge of their seat and I've heard reports that some people screamed when they saw this scene in theaters. I think that's the sort of thing Disney would forget but horror and thriller film historians revel in (and I think generally is very interesting). That scene isn't even scored in what became known as the traditional Disney fashion. Musically, it's very quiet. Just a lot of panic and noise, some strings / brass (I think / if so, very little), and a lot of drums (if I remember correctly). Watch it again. I watched the movie at least 3 times about 5 months ago, and every time this scene comes up, it just really plays with your insides. Besides, except for westerns, there weren't many action flicks back then and I don't even remember that being a genre until the 50's or very late 40's. So the fact that Monstro was trying to kill Pinocchio and his family was enough to fuel the audience's fear. Plus, remember that this is a very epic movie (no I'm not kidding). So everything is done at least twofold. Twice the excitement (which equaled scary back then). But anyway, watching the scene again very closely, this whale was enraged to the point where he was the only animal character onscreen that was purveying that ruthlessly vicious animal instinct to eat and/or kill it's prey (prey of course being anything smaller than it that had the instinct to chase), it was the only character without human qualities. Plus, Monstro was incredibly relentless. It just kept coming and coming, and each time it failed to kill, it was angrier, and louder, and made bigger waves. There was little else for the audience to think other than this whale is a killer, can wipe out these characters we care about, and isn't going down easy.

Then, the Lampwick transformation scene I've heard a lot of people mention they feel is one of the most disturbing scenes from a Disney film. The scene makes a real point to document the extreme paranoia a character would go through in that situation... only they speed up the process, make him 'a donkey' faster and he doesn't have time to think about what's happening to him - he just knows he was a boy but is now a donkey. And it makes it very realistic - Lampwick is driven to what we can only assume is insanity and becomes completely psychotic, which the music and the shots respond to with loud, frightened music and very loud sound effects (not to mention a fearfully violent reaction from Lampwick's character), which lead to Pinocchio's impulse to run away, which the music responds to even more, the shots get faster, and it all culminates with the first cliff jumping. Remember that when Pinocchio and Jiminy climb up on the rocks afterward, their voices are the only thing we here / the music is silent. This movie really knew what it was doing, and I definitely think they tried to put the audience off-guard. Which often leads to that feeling of being a little shook up (or generally scared).

[KubrickFan]

To kick this topic, some of my experiences.
According to my parents (I have no recollection of it at all) I was scared sh*tless by Beaty And The Beast on video, when The Beast steps into the light, when Belle asks him. I jumped up, and hid behind the couch . What makes it much stranger, is that I wasn't scared at all by the scene, when I saw it in the movie theatre.
I also didn't like the opening scene from The Great Mouse Detective. Olivia hiding in the cupboard, while her father was kidnapped. That was scary to me.
And the last. I was also scared by the crocodile in Peter Pan. That ticking, Captain Hook getting all nervous, and the music didn't help either.
I am glad to say that I have overcome all my fears, and that I can watch these movies normally again .

[Disney Duster]

To kick this topic, some of my experiences.
According to my parents (I have no recollection of it at all) I was scared sh*tless by Beaty And The Beast on video, when The Beast steps into the light, when Belle asks him. I jumped up, and hid behind the couch . What makes it much stranger, is that I wasn't scared at all by the scene, when I saw it in the movie theatre.

Maybe it's that when you were watching it at home, you were able to get closer to it. Either you were up close to it so the scary Beast was right in front of you, or you had more of a feeling that the Beast could come out of the screen and get you in reach, unlike in the theater where you can't get close to the screen...?

I'm just throwing guesses. If I haven't told you before, I love your signature. Next to the two other very evil animals, especially green-highlighted Scar, Lucifer looks super more evil than he usually seems. His name is kind of funny, his owner names him something that is clearly "The Devil"!

[Disney-Fan]

The first time I went to see Aladdin, we actually walked out 15 minutes into the movie because I couldn't deal with the Cave of Wonders. Go figure. I braved Pinnochio, Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King etc... but a cave freaked me out.

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, I've never been "frightened," but:

1.) When Mufasa's thrown from the cliff. There's nothing remotely "scary" about it, but chills run down my back everytime I watch that scene. Especially because of Scar's eyes. They're just intense.

2.) The Rite of Spring. In fact, most of Fantasia creeped me out.

3.) When Ariel's being transformed into a polyp. There's something very pitiful about that look she gives Triton. Nothing of Ursula ever scared me about the film; she was always my favorite part to watch.

[akhenaten]

i was scared to shoits by the skeleton dance and the headless horseman.

[candydog]

Wow Lazario!! I know you posted those last year, but i THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading your comments on Sleeping Beauty, you identified one of the many unique features of that film that I knew was there, but just couldn't quite put my finger on. This is one of the reasons that I didn't like the Enchanted Tales DVD, we lost the haunting essence of Sleeping Beauty. Yes Maleficent is dead and gone, but it all just seemed too mundane to me. Aurora was just helping the ordinary villagers over rather trivial problems. There was no longer a deserted, lonely atmosphere, no castles looming in the mist, no silent forests that sadly echo Aurora's songs. It was really just a "happy village" set up.

Everything about the original contained so much depth, every word spoken had a hidden meaning. The storyline of the Enchanted Tales segment was just too shallow for my liking.

One particular relationship which I found significant in the film was definitely the relationship between the fairies and Aurora. Did she know they were fairies? Did anyone else see the look of desperation in their eyes as they saw Aurora disappear into the fireplace? When she reaches out to touch the spindle, Merryweather's voice echoes up the stairs: "Don't touch anything....", she hesitates for a moment, before Maleficent's cold clear voice instructs her to touch the spindle, a confirmation of Flora's words at the christening: "Maleficent's powers are far too great."

It really is a very deep movie.

Anyway, back on topic. One scene that scared me when I was little was the scene where Mufasa appears in the sky in The Lion King. It was just creepy how he appeared as a ghostly figure in the sky.

[Sky Syndrome]

I remember Ratigan in the battle on Big Ben scene scared me badly as a kid. I refused to watch the movie to avoid seeing that scene for the rest of my childhood. In teenhood, I didn't think about GMD at all but if I did, I would have wanted to watch it. Man, has it really been over a decade since I've last watched GMD? I must see it again soon. I like the "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" song.

Not sure if this counts but...
Everything about the evil toon in Who Framed Roger Rabbit scared me the crap out of me as a kid too! Especially his voice and red eyes! I must have had nightmares about him.

[KubrickFan]

Maybe it's that when you were watching it at home, you were able to get closer to it. Either you were up close to it so the scary Beast was right in front of you, or you had more of a feeling that the Beast could come out of the screen and get you in reach, unlike in the theater where you can't get close to the screen...?

That could be it, yeah. I always thought 'He's bigger in the cinema, so it should be scarier for me'. But at home I normally sat close to the screen, so that makes sense.

If I haven't told you before, I love your signature. Next to the two other very evil animals, especially green-highlighted Scar, Lucifer looks super more evil than he usually seems. His name is kind of funny, his owner names him something that is clearly "The Devil"!

Well, I always thought Lucifer was really evil. He's only evil for the sake of being evil. There's no other goal for him like world domination to be evil, like the other two. That's what I like about Lucifer (and he's superbly animated). But we're going off-topic now, I guess.

[Barbossa]

Maybe not a whole classic but the following sequences scared me:
Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia
Pete pushing Scrooge into the grave in Mickey's Christmas Carol
The Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod in Sleepy Hollow

[Disney Duster]

Not sure if this counts but...
Everything about the evil toon in Who Framed Roger Rabbit scared me the crap out of me as a kid too! Especially his voice and red eyes! I must have had nightmares about him.

GOOD ONE! I don't remember being too frightened by him, but he definately was scary. Actually, what did frighten me was a picture, a huge, enlarged, two-page picture of a close-up of his face with the red eyes (In the book The Disney Villain). In fact, I purposely tried to make sure I skipped that page when I was younger and borrowed it from the library!

Yes, Kubrick Fan. It's been said that Lucifer hunts and kills (well, tries, the mice have to live) just out of sport, because he does, after all, have everything he could want (a loving owner, a big house, a servant who has to take care of him). The Nine Old Men featurette (on Cinderella's DVD) had them reveling about how well he was animated. I keep saying that cat can fly without magic.

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

Night on Bald Mountain.
Scenes with Maleficent, Jafar(snake) and Ursula(giant) and almost every single scene with the Horned King. Frollo when the red caps appear during his song and when he tries to kill Esmeralda in the end...and of course his death: he gives devil a hug.

[UmbrellaFish]

The Lion King. Stampede scene. Ghosty Mufasa. Rafiki. Scar. Scary.

[Prudence]

None.

Hopefully this doesn't count as spam, but my opinion is the same.

I find that very odd, considering how as a toddler, I was extremely afraid of the three big trains in the book "The Little Engine That Could." o__O I dropped the book and ran out of the room whenever they came into the story.

Oh, good grief. Pictures of lazy trains scared me and Disney movies didn't. My mind must have been so very logical.