A Darker Disney

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs aired on ABC Family tonight (followed by Enchanted, which I love) and I realized how very dark Disney animated films were. Kellie and I discussed Pinocchio in the same light - boys being lured to an island of eternal fun (including cigars!) and then turned into donkeys? That's some dark stuff.

Snow White has a Queen who tries to cut out Snow White's heart, a really ominous brewing of poisons (both the transformation one and the apple) and the Queen cackling about her being buried alive. She also falls off a cliff and gets squashed by a boulder.

So, once upon a time, Disney told stories that were dark and had actual scary elements to them. Even The Little Mermaid was not to nice - remember Ursula getting a schooner through her abdomen? It's hard to pinpoint, but I think the change came with Pixar. Beauty and the Beast, Alladin and The Lion King all contained pretty dark elements, though Scar wasn't nearly as scary as the previous villains. But Toy Story? Monsters, Inc.? Finding Nemo? Fantastic movies, but they lack the evil element.

What is the purpose of this? A different style of storytelling, certainly. But maybe it's a move towards realism. The reason for really dark elements of fairy tales is to scare children into behaving and to provide a really dark side so that the happy elements are that much brighter. But the dark elements in Cars is Lightning McQueen's own ego and some competition at the racetrack. More true to reality, but not nearly as dramatic. We do get a villain in The Incredibles, but it lacks evil.

I love the Pixar movies and own several of them. They are great movies. But I miss the evil and dark of the original Disney animated films.