It’s hard not to associate the name Disney with all things bright and colorful. After all, that’s practically what the name was built upon. Princesses, heroes, and animated animal antics are all part of the game, but it’s shocking to believe how many beloved films didn’t start out that way.
Many favored Disney flicks originally had much darker origins, and the studio often swept these drafts under the rug. But skeletons don’t like closets very long. So have a look at these ten Disney flicks with dark first drafts.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Even though it was released under their Touchstone banner, Disney still didn’t want the project to become too creepy for kids. This was accomplished by cutting several elements that were deemed to macabre in the script. The original draft featured a hockey game with severed heads, and a very angry Santa Claus. Not exactly something kids would warm up to, at least the younger ones anyway.
Mulan (1998)
The main thing altered from Mulan’s original first drafts was mainly the intensity of Shan Yu. The original scripts saw the leader of the Huns committing several atrocious Acts including burning down a village and killing civilians on screen.
This was done to show the cruelty and ferociousness of the character, but it was utterly deemed too intense for younger viewers. The result, most of Shan Yu’s presence was cut from the film.
Cars (2006)
this little nugget from Pixar is probably the last thing one would expect on a list like this. That being said, there were several dark instances that were cut from Cars. It’s not so much that the script was dark then it was a good handful of scenes. These scenes included McQueen getting his “brain” put in another vehicle’s body, and even a haunted forest with the corpses of dead cars. Not exactly Pixar material, right?
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
If it’s one thing any Disney fan knows, it’s that the original story of Stitch is not the one that made it to theaters. The original version of the character was much more antagonistic in a little bit sadistic who even went as far as to kill Lilo’s fish friend, Pudge.
Along with several other story elements that were ultimately scrapped, the two versions are noticeably unrecognizable. Thank Walt fans got the version they know and love today.
Frozen (2013)
Before she was the queen of Disney merchandise she is today, Elsa almost had a very different story. The Disney Studio has a long history wanting to adapt Hans Christian Andersen, so it makes sense that they would want to stick close to one of his most famous works. The original script saw Elsa as a villain with an army of snowmen and “Let It Go” as an ironic Disney villain song. Probably not the most marketable royal.
The Lion King (1994)
Before it was the classic it is today, The Lion King was a bit of a mixed bag in the production room. Different original scripts had different outcomes, but a few of these versions were excessively dark.
At one point, Simba was defeated and only triumphed when his uncle was burned alive, Scar made physical advances on Nala, and Timon and Pumbaa were non-existent. It was unanimously not the success it became.
Toy Story (1995)
If there’s one thing fans of Disney and Pixar don’t like to talk about, it’s the Black Friday Reel. For those not in the know, the Black Friday Reel was an original draft of Toy Story depicted Woody, not as the lovable cowboy, but as a jealous tyrant of Andy’s Room who literally and purposefully throws Buzz out the window. Woody was much more of an antagonist than he was ever meant to be, so the draft was thankfully scrapped.
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Walt Disney always wanted to make Alice in Wonderland. He said that it needed to be a cartoon first in the movie second, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to make a more accurate version.
The original drafts of Alice were not only book-accurate but completely insane! The art style was dark and at times disturbing, some sequences were absolute nightmare fuel, and an original ending had Alice being executed by the Queen of Hearts!
Zootopia (2016)
Before it was the beloved buddy film of 2016, Zootopia was uncharacteristically dark and disturbing. At first, it was a spy Thriller starring talking animals, then it became a not-so-subtle societal commentary that featured shock collars and predator/prey discrimination. Scenes with Nick essentially being brutally conditioned made it all the way to rendering before the production changed. The ASPCA would have had a field day with it.
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Every Disney fan worth their salt knows this piece as the black sheep of the Disney name. However, it was also the film that almost killed the animation studio. The original script of this dark fantasy was so violent and disturbing, the final product would have warranted an R rating! Jeffrey Katzenberg notoriously cut around 14 minutes of the film fans received, resulting in the movie’s less-than-favorable reputation.
