MovieChat Forums > Moana (2016) Discussion > Disney films not as scary as they used t...

Disney films not as scary as they used to be...


So I recently re-watched 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937) with my niece, and the villain, the Queen, in that was a very dark and menacing villain. When she changes her appearance to look more old and disfigured... it was a very chilling scene, especially for a "children's movie".

The same thing with 'Pinocchio' (1940), 'The Black Cauldron' (1985) (which wasn't that good) and 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1996). Then there's Dr. Facilier in 'The Princess and the Frog' (2009).

Ever since 'Tangled' (2010), a lot of today's Disney films have been better for the most part than what they used to do in the 2000s... but, they do seem to lack a dark and scary villain. Gothel from 'Tangled' for example, was a dark character, but she never had a scary and chilling moment. The "Mother Knows Best" song was very bouncy and ironic... but it was never chilling.

These are not criticisms, but are observations... I feel like Disney should go back to those dark and scary, almost horror-like villains. They were what made those films stand out the most.

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I don't know about that. King Candy/Turbo who came out recently from 'Wreck it Ralph' was freshly dark and menacing. His reveal as the sadistic Turbo was a very chilling shock, and then his transformation into a monsterous horror-like cy-bug creature made the situation even more dark and scary.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vutd9k6MAE

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3zk3l11na04

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Yeah, Turbo was kinda scary... but that only lasted so long before he got defeated. Then again, I'm the guy whose favorite Disney movie is 'Beauty and the Beast' (1991), where the villain is some buff guy...

But you know, Maleficent, Ursula, Jafar, Scar and Frollo had their awesome moments...

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I'm the guy whose favorite Disney movie is 'Beauty and the Beast' (1991), where the villain is some buff guy...

Gaston was an okay villain for that movie, but I prefer Maestro Forte from 'Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas' who seems more on line with being the more traditional dark and menacing villain you were talking about. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0a6rKT4YzK4

So you want villains who have that dark, scary, and provoking presence throughout the entire film? Tamatoa in this 'Moana' movie is something that I would consider to be a start in bringing those kind of villains back in the near future, even though his time was brief he had a great, sinister villain song.

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I'm sure Tamotoa will be great... and who knows? Maybe we'll get to see darker and scarier villains in future movies!

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It could be that you're getting older. Sure nothing from a Disney movie that has came out within the last 20 years scared me, but that's not to say some of this stuff wouldn't of scared me if I saw it when I was four. For example I'm sure Turbo from Wreck It Ralph would have scared the living bejeezus out of me if I was five.

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I thought Idris Elba's Shere Khan in the Jungle Book remake was genuinely intimidating.

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