Disney movies captivate audiences with magical worlds, but there are many instances where magic has led to interesting plot holes. While there’s something to be said for leaving the scope of magic to the imagination, one recurring byproduct of inconsistent magical rules is that it can sometimes foster confusion in the narrative. Despite these inconsistencies, there’s still nothing wrong with embracing the enchantment, choosing to suspend disbelief, and being immersed in the incredible worlds Disney creates.
In the vast majority of cases, these gaps in the narrative can even reinforce a fan’s love for a given story. These plot holes add to the story’s endearing charm. They serve as a reminder that the very best stories don’t need to be perfect in order to be breathtaking. Embracing the quirks and mysteries within these magical tales often deepens the connection, allowing audiences to appreciate the creativity and imagination woven into these imperfect, yet captivating, worlds.
10 Beast’s Curse Inexplicably Suspends The Aging Process
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
While Beauty and the Beast remains one of the most beloved fairy tales of all time, one curiosity in the story revolves around the fact that the titular Beast doesn’t age. As the story goes, Beast is transformed into a monster and must convince someone to fall for him before his twenty-first birthday in order to break the curse. Enraged by his predicament, he destroys his bedroom, which includes a portrait of the person he was before. The portrait is seen again later when Belle goes snooping around the castle’s West Wing. Only when the spell is finally broken, the prince doesn’t seem to have aged at all.
9 Cinderella’s Glass Slipper Should Have Disappeared
Cinderella (1950)
When Cinderella flees from the ball according to her fairy godmother’s instructions, everything enchanted by the spell begins to revert to its original form, but her glass slippers remain intact. There are quite a few bizarre elements to mull over regarding Cinderella’s slippers that the story fails to explain. One possibility is that the whole event was orchestrated by the godmother with the express intention of Cinderella losing the shoe by the end of the night. While it certainly doesn’t cheapen the fairy tale’s legacy or thematic impact, it continues to be a mystery that, like the slippers themselves, just never goes away with time.
8 Hades Doesn’t Know Hercules Is Alive
Hercules (1997)
If Hades is indeed the god of the underworld, there’s no reason he shouldn’t know that Hercules is still alive throughout the film. In Disney’s version of this mythological story, Hades plans a coup that would see him as the absolute ruler of Olympus. Unfortunately, the Fates tell him that he will fail if Hercules is still alive at the time. Hades sends his minions to kill the child, but while they ultimately fail at killing him, they succeed in stripping him of his godhood. Of course, this narrative gap allows for Hades to become blindsided by Hercules later in the film. It still doesn’t make sense, though.
7 Captain Hook Could Have Made His Ship Fly At Any Time
Peter Pan (1953)
Despite knowing that Tinkerbell’s pixie dust can grant him flying, Captain Hook never uses it to gain the upper hand against Peter Pan. Even though Captain Hook is obsessed with getting his revenge for what Peter did to his hand, he doesn’t level the playing field and fly just like his adversary. While it’s possible that the story never intended for adults to have access to magic, the fact that he uses pixie dust in the second film now makes that unlikely. At best, this gap suggests a significant strategic oversight by the tormented captain, but in all likelihood, it’s an oversight the narrative can no longer explain.
6 Aladdin Should Have Become A Real Prince
Aladdin (1992)
When Aladdin makes an intentional wish later to have Genie turn him into a prince, the assumption is that his wish is granted and that’s what he becomes. The assumption is validated moments later when Prince Ali storms the palace to petition the sultan for Jasmine’s hand in marriage. In spite of this, Aladdin spends most of the film struggling with his dilemma of needing to tell Jasmine the truth about who he is. Of course, Aladdin’s inner turmoil covers one of the film’s central themes. That said, nothing explains why Aladdin’s best buddy, Genie, fails to transform the street rat into a legitimate prince.
5 Ariel Should Be Able To Communicate To Eric By Writing
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Against her father’s wishes, Ariel strikes a pact with the sea witch Ursula, trading her voice in exchange for legs. An important detail often missed by their bargain is Ariel signing her name at the bottom of the contract. With Ariel’s ability to write overlooked, it raises some interesting questions regarding her struggle to communicate with Prince Eric. One possibility is that her pact with Ursula robbed her of the ability to read and write. However, it isn’t addressed in the story, leaving viewers to wonder why Ariel wouldn’t use such a powerful tool to communicate with the man she gave everything up for.
4 The Ocean Should Help Moana, Not Hinder Her
Moana (2016)
Moana’s relationship with the ocean’s consciousness is often a source of guidance in the film, but on more than one occasion it gets in her way. As Moana embarks on her quest to rescue her people from an impending environmental disaster, the ocean’s motivations aren’t always very clear. While it does keep her safe on a handful of occasions, on at least as many occasions, it stops her right in her tracks. The ocean’s intentions for Moana become much clearer by the end of the film, but it still leaves a lot to be desired as it spends most of the time yanking her around.
3 Arendelle Shouldn’t Need An Ice Master
Frozen (2013)
Elsa promotes Kristoff to the Official Ice Master of the Kingdom of Arendelle, which seems both superfluous and redundant since she can effortlessly creates snow and ice with a simple wave of her hand. This incongruity creates a narrative gap, since the story makes a point of showcasing Elsa’s extraordinary powers from the very beginning. In fact, her power over ice is central to the plotlines of both movies. That being established, there’s simply no need for Arendelle to have an Official Ice Master, and if it does, the story fails to explain why. Elsa can handle that all by herself with minimal effort.
2 Snow White’s Prince Has No Conceivable Reason To Kiss Her
Snow White (1937)
While viewers know that Snow White’s slumber is the result of eating an apple given to her by a strange old woman, the Prince of the story has no reason to think kissing Snow White would break the witch’s spell. This quirky plot hole begs a number of questions of Snow White’s true love, and they aren’t easily explained away simply because she is the fairest maiden in all the land. In the end, the story fails to explain the Prince’s motives, which leaves the somewhat cringy possibility that he simply wanted to kiss a pretty woman in a coma.
1 Rapunzel’s Magic Hair Is Inconsistent
Tangled (2010)
Mother Gothel rapidly aging is definitely satisfying at the end of the film, and yet it’s puzzling as a consequence of Rapunzel’s hair being cut that no one else in the story seems to struggle with. As a villain, Mother Gothel was a fairly superficial antagonist–and that’s probably for the best since she’s effectively a kidnapper. She clearly values her youth far more than her morals, so rapidly aging into a crone and then dissolving certainly feels like an appropriate end for her. That said, Rapunzel’s magical hair in the Disney movie heals many people as the story progresses and it fails to explain why their benefits don’t get stripped away as well.
