10 Movies That Would’ve Been So Much Darker If Disney Hadn’t Made Them

Disney tends to produce movies that are family-friendly, and consequently, many of its stories become much more light-hearted than they might have been had another studio produced them. Disney’s focus on producing content that is enjoyable for adults yet appropriate for children has always been a hallmark of the company, and while this has led to some classic movies, it can often water down the original story or premise the movie is based on. Some of these films are hard to imagine without Disney’s family-oriented touch, but they often conceal much darker themes than might be expected.

Disney’s animated classics are well-known for their tendency to clean up old fairy tales and give them brighter themes or happier endings, but the same can be said of several live-action films in its extensive catalog. While they may not be based on fairy tales, some of Disney’s most famous movies could have turned out much darker if they were approached from a different angle by a different production company. Ten of Disney’s movies in particular stand out in this regard, whether they are iconic animated films or major movie franchises.

10 Cinderella (1950)

Based on a dark Brothers Grimm story

Cinderella is a classic example of a cleaned-up Disney fairy tale that is based on a much darker story. Cinderella began one of the most important Disney princess trends, but before it could do that, the film had to make some drastic changes to the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale. While the bones of the story remain mostly the same in the 1950 animated Cinderella and its 2015 live-action remake, the original tale from the Brothers Grimm is much darker in its telling.

A prime example of this is the way the Grimm’s evil stepmother forced her daughters to cut off their toes and heels in an attempt to make the famous slipper fit onto their feet. Had this movie been produced by another company, it’s very possible the darker elements, like cutting off toes, would have been included. This would’ve resulted in a darker film, largely unrecognizable from the idealistic children’s movie audiences know and love today.

9 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The original Snow White had a far more sinister villain

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is another animated classic by Disney that is based on a much darker story. Disney made a villain change in Snow White, which is a major part of the changes made to the original story. In the fairy tale that inspired Snow White, the evil queen is far more sinister, attempting to kill the princess and her dwarf companions on numerous occasions. The evil queen is eventually killed by a lightning strike, and presumably, eaten by vultures shortly thereafter. A different take on this iconic story could easily have ended up being more of a horror story than a fairy tale.

8 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996)

Disney leaves out Quasimodo’s grim fate

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, which is one of the darkest, most tragic love stories of its time. Some of the best moments in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame never would have happened if the story followed the novel more closely, and the ending would have been unrecognizable. Victor Hugo’s novel ends with Esmeralda being hanged and Quasimodo disappearing until his deformed skeleton is found clutching the skeleton of Esmeralda. A more direct adaptation of this ending would have made the whole story much darker.

7 Sleeping Beauty (1959)

The original Sleeping Beauty tale is extremely disturbing

Sleeping Beauty is based on one of the darkest fairy tales ever written. The story that inspired Sleeping Beauty sees the sleeping princess impregnated by a king. She then gives birth to twins, who awaken her by sucking the splinter from her finger, which has been keeping her in an enchanted sleep. Once she awakes, the king’s wife finds out about the children and orders them to be killed, cooked, and served to the king. The queen ends up failing in this and is burned alive. It’s hard to imagine a more morbid story, and it’s safe to say another company other than Disney could have adapted it in a far darker way.

6 The BFG (2016)

Giants eating children is a recipe for a dark movie

The BFG, or Big Friendly Giant, is a story that is much darker than its tone implies. The core of the story is an attempt to stop giants from eating little children. It is played rather innocently in the film, but this premise seems much darker when considered on its own. Further, the BFG himself gives the orphan girl, Sophie, nightmares on purpose, trying to get her to stay with him instead of venturing out where she could be eaten by one of the less benevolent giants. The BFG‘s premise seemingly could have been used for a horror movie if it had been produced by a company other than Disney.

5 One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961)

The story carries dark themes of animal cruelty

One Hundred and One Dalmatians is another iconic Disney animated movie, but some aspects of the story are darker than they seem at first glance. The movie’s antagonist, Cruella de Vil, is obsessed with using the fur of dalmatians to make fur coats, which carries some morbid implications. She is also kidnapping dogs from people’s homes, which could come off much scarier than it does in Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, especially considering she has presumably stolen around a hundred of them.

4 The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad (1949)

Disney leaves the story’s dark ending more ambiguous

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad are based on two separate stories, but it’s the one about Ichabod Crane that is the darker of the two. Ichabod Crane’s story begins with his attempts to win over a young woman with a rich father, so he can take their money. It ends with him being hunted through a dark forest by the Headless Horseman, who may or may not catch Ichabod at the end of the story. This spooky tale could have been told with a much different tone that would’ve changed the whole movie drastically.

3 Pirates Of The Caribbean (2003)

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise began in 2003, and if it had been produced by another company, it’s easy to imagine this story containing far less humor and much more gore. Pirates in this area of the world could be hardened people with extremely cruel and violent tendencies. A real pirate crew would have none of the light-hearted camaraderie of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so if the films had been produced with more realism in mind, the franchise could have ended up being much more morbid.

2 Maleficent (2014)

Maleficent’s darkness is still watered down by Disney

Maleficent tells the story of Sleeping Beauty through the eyes of the antagonist rather than the princess, and while it is much darker than Sleeping Beauty, it still does not compare to the original story. Maleficent could easily have been used to provide a more gruesome take on Sleeping Beauty, and while it is tonally much darker, it still doesn’t use much of the cruel violence found in the original. A more adult version of this story could easily have become one of the most jarring movies of the past decade.

1 Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023)

Harrison Ford’s last outing could have had more mature themes

After Disney acquired LucasFilm in 2012, it began developing the next Indiana Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny, which easily could have turned out darker if another company had produced it. The Indiana Jones movies have never been extremely dark, but Disney’s family-friendly touch is an undeniable part of the final installment in the series. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny had the potential to tell a much darker story with more mature themes, especially as the planned final installment in the film series, but Disney chose a lighter route for Harrison Ford’s last outing as the titular adventurer.