Despite being aimed at a younger audience and keeping a family-friendly tone, many Disney animated movies have included a couple of jokes for a mature audience that, in most cases, were pretty rude. Although Walt Disney Pictures has made movies from different genres, in a variety of styles, and for all viewers, the studio is best known for its animated movies for children. Thanks to them, Disney became a powerhouse in animation, but not all of its animated movies have been entirely kid-friendly.
Many Disney animated movies deal with obscure or sensitive topics that make them less kid-friendly than expected, but what most viewers wouldn’t expect from these Disney movies are rude and mature jokes. Various Disney animated movies managed to sneak a couple of jokes that only a mature audience would catch, and though most of them are subtle enough for kids to not see why they are rude, that doesn’t make them any less surprising, and, in some cases, a bit awkward.
10 Judy & Multiplication In Zootopia
A type of multiplication that had less to do with math.
Zootopia seized that its main character is a bunny, named Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), to make a joke about rabbits and how fast they reproduce and the many babies they can have. When trying to convince Nick (Jason Bateman) to help her, Judy says she’s just “a dumb bunny”, but that her people “are good at multiplying”. This will be seen by young viewers as Judy talking about her math skills, but for grown-up viewers, Judy is referring to bunnies’ reproduction rather than how good they are at math.
9 Mushu’s Powers In Mulan
Mushu could have ruined Mulan’s plans.
Mushu ended up becoming Mulan’s sidekick and one of the most memorable companions in Disney animated movies, but he was close to ruining Mulan’s plans when he was bragging about his powers. Mushu tells Mulan, who was already dressed like a warrior and posing as one, that his eyes could see through her armor, prompting Mulan to cover her breasts and slap the dragon. Mushu couldn’t really see through Mulan’s armor, but her reaction was completely understandable.
8 Aladdin & The Brothel
The women at the brothel knew Aladdin.
Aladdin was a charming and goodhearted street urchin and thief, and because of this, he was well-known in the streets of Agrabah – and perhaps a bit too well-known by some. During the musical number “One Jump Ahead”, Aladdin ends up inside a building with three well-dressed young women and an older woman who doesn’t seem too pleased to see him. The young women are nice to him, and it’s clear they know him well, but the older woman ends up kicking him out. It’s clear to mature viewers that this was a brothel, and Aladdin seemed to have been a regular there.
7 Kronk’s Tent In The Emperor’s New Groove
A visual joke for adults.
When Kronk and Yzma are camping out for the night in The Emperor’s New Groove, there’s a visual joke that most likely went over the heads of young viewers, but adults surely caught it. Yzma has a large tent for herself, but Kronk only gets a very small tent that he uses to cover his private parts. It’s a funny difference between Yzma’s huge and comfortable tent and Kronk’s tiny one, but it’s also a visual representation of the expression “pitch a tent”, and while the scene doesn’t go further than that, it’s a subtle joke not for young viewers.
6 Anna & Foot Size In Frozen
A subtle but mature joke.
Anna and Prince Hans wasted no time in getting engaged, but Hans’ plans were stopped when Anna set out on a journey to find Elsa. During this mission, Anna met Kristoff, and he had a couple of questions about Hans. Among those questions is one about Hans’ foot size, to which Anna calmly replies that “foot size doesn’t matter”. This can pass as Anna simply dismissing a question that wouldn’t be important about her fiancé, but it’s also about the belief that a man’s foot size indicates the size of other male body parts.
5 Lilo’s Blue Period In Lilo & Stitch
Lilo’s struggles with depression were toned down with an art joke.
Despite living with her older sister, Nani, Lilo was a lonely child who struggled to get along with other kids while she also dealt with grief over the death of her parents. This is why Lilo asks a shooting star (that was actually Stitch’s ship crashing on Earth) for a friend, but when she adopts Stitch, they have a hard time adapting to each other’s habits.
When Stitch arrives at Lilo’s room, he starts destroying things, including a painting that Lilo says is from her “blue period”. This is a reference to Pablo Picasso’s “blue period”, during which he mostly used shades of blue and blue-green in his works as a result of the severe depression he was dealing with.
4 Shady Ads In Ralph Breaks The Internet
The internet can be a wild place.
Ralph and Vanellope’s journey onto the internet was as wild as expected, and while they came across some cool things and characters, they also faced parts of the uncomfortable side of the web. Ralph encountered pop-up ads while exploring the internet, with one offering him “sassy housewives ready to meet you!”, which to any person who has ever surfed the internet will be very familiar, as this type of pop-up ads (though more aggressive and explicit) can surprise anyone, anywhere.
3 Oedipus Name-Drop In Hercules
Hercules was understandably shocked by Oedipus.
Hercules got many things wrong about Greek mythology, but it sneaked in a joke that, even though wasn’t explicit, wasn’t toned down either, and mature viewers will understand what it’s about. After a day with Meg, Hercules comments on the play they just watched, which turns out to be Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. In it, Oedipus fulfills a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius, and marry his own mother, Jocasta, so it’s understandable that Hercules was confused and shocked at the same time after watching the play – and Oedipus definitely had bigger problems than Hercules did.
2 Scuttle’s Weed Pipe In The Little Mermaid
Scuttle’s pipe had a specific purpose.
Ariel took all the human artifacts she found to her friend Scuttle, who was a supposed expert on “human stuff” but he always got everything wrong. Among the objects Ariel found was a pipe, which Scuttle was very excited to see, as he hadn’t seen one in years, and called it a “snarfblatt”. Scuttle explained that, in prehistorical times, humans used to sit around and stare at each other, and as it was very boring, they invented the “snarfblatt” to make music, and proceeded to blow into it. A bunch of weed came out of the pipe, in a subtle reference to real-world pipes used with certain plants.
1 Genie’s Honeymoon Joke In Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Genie delivered an unbelievably mature joke.
Aladdin’s Genie delivered some pretty smart and funny jokes in his debut movie, but in the direct-to-video sequel Aladdin and the King of Thieves, he made a joke that wasn’t kid-friendly at all. During the wedding ceremony of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, the Forty Thieves appeared, causing the ground to shake. Genie then said “I thought the earth wasn’t supposed to move until the honeymoon”, which definitely would have gone over the heads of kids but not grown-ups, who surely got a giggle out of it.
