The Naughty Truth Behind Your Favorite Disney Classics
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
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In an early version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman is seen walking under a woman’s skirt, and briefly points his finger up towards her underwear. I mean come on, Disney. This was edited out of the DVD release for obvious reasons.
The Lion King
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Does the word “Sex” appear in The Lion King? After Simba kicks up some dust, the word “sex” appears in the sky, and your childhood is basically ruined. But according to Disney, the word isn’t a subliminal sexual message. It’s just a shout out to the special effects department. The animators say, “It doesn’t say ‘sex.’ It says special effects. It’s SFX.”
Beauty And The Beast
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“For who could learn to love a beast?” In Beauty And The Beast, Belle appears to develop sympathy for her captor throughout the movie — even believing that she understands him. In her mind, perhaps he isn’t as bad as everyone thinks. Bestiality aside, the entire theme of the movie surrounding Stockholm Syndrome is perfectly fine as long as the weird, pretty girl falls in love with her reclusive, angry captor.
Ratatouille
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In Ratatouille, Linguini makes an embarrassing confession that doesn’t go over the way he intended. When trying to come clean about his “tiny…little…” transgression to love interest Colette, her quick glance at Linguini’s belt line is a hard indicator to misunderstand (no pun intended). This one went right over my head, too.
Mulan
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In Mulan, Mushu makes a blatantly dirty joke that suggests his powers allow him to see “straight through” Mulan’s armor. As a kid, it sounds pretty innocent until you notice Mushu’s gazing at her breast, which implies he really can see Mulan in all her nakedness. She then proceeds to slap him, rightly so.
Dumbo
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The flock of crows who initially tease Dumbo, but eventually help him, have faced accusations of racially stereotyping African Americans. This is not helped by the fact that the head crow is literally called Jim Crow (referring to the Jim Crow laws which enforced racial segregation). People have noted that all but Jim are voiced by African-American actors, but nonetheless in 2019, they just wouldn’t do it.
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
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No matter how much we love the movie Aladdin and wanted to find out what his life with Princess Jasmine would be like, we’re not sure a sequel or a third movie was needed. In the third Aladdin movie, Aladdin and Princess Jasmine FINALLY get married. During the ceremony, an earthquake abruptly erupts causing worry and concern for everyone. Leave it to Genie to crack a joke: “I thought the Earth wasn’t supposed to move until the honeymoon.”
Cars
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A slightly tamer — but still very much a sexual reference — came in Cars (2006) when Lightning McQueen gets ‘flashed’ by two fans. Shockingly enough, in typical male fashion, Lightning says “I love being’ me.” This is one subtle joke that isn’t so subtle.
Pinocchio
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Pinocchio is the misbehaving, lovable puppet who just wants to be a real boy. Except, that is, when he travels down to Pleasure Island — where you see the young puppet smoking a cigar and getting drunk with the other boys. Kids using these substances makes for one of the more controversial scenes we’ve seen come out of a classic Disney animation.
Peter Pan
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Arguably the most racist moment in a mainstream Disney film takes place in Peter Pan when a seemingly innocent tune explains why Native Americans are “Red.” The movie gives them big noses and shows them passing the peace pipe to Peter Pan and his friends. Once the film was syndicated on television, this scene was usually taken out. Future renditions of the story have also removed the characters altogether.
Frozen
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You probably wouldn’t think there’d be a crude joke in Disney’s Frozen. That is, until you consider Anna’s off-color exchange with Kristoff. Upon discovering Anna’s engagement to Hans, the man she just met, Kristoff tests her on the things she should know about Hans. When asked about Hans’ foot size — a typical sexual innuendo — Anna responds, “Foot size doesn’t matter.”
Oops.
Tarzan
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At the end of Tarzan, the villain (Clayton) becomes trapped in vines and falls to his death. This is often how Disney movies kill the antagonist: They just kind of fall off camera. This way, Disney can kill the character without showing kids the body and scaring them for life. Except Disney totally does show us the body.
Yikes.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
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Frollo, the Archdeacon of Notre Dame, has a legitimately creepy obsession with heroine Esméralda. Esmerelda is the Gypsy dancer who befriends poor old hunchbacked bell ringer Quasimodo in the film. But in one scandalous scene, as Frollo sings into his fireplace, Esmerelda appears in the flames dancing. For just a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-them frames, she does it apparently completely nude.
Beauty and the Beast
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During Gaston’s song in Beauty and the Beast, the brute sings, “Every last inch of me is covered in hair,” while baring his hairy chest. To us, the very insinuation that every inch of this man’s anatomy is covered in hair is not so age-appropriate for a Disney flick. At the very least, it feels like an unnecessary anecdote.
Hercules
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Hercules confronts the centaur Nessus after he attempts to capture Meg, the former’s love interest, by delivering a blow to the beast’s head that sends him into the sky. When a bruised Nessus finally lands, a peculiar bump develops on his head that oddly resembles a *cough* penis *cough*. Innocent act of heroism or yet another deliberate peen joke inserted by Disney? I’ll let you decide.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
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When you really think about it, everything about the plot of Disney’s 1960’s “family film” One Hundred and One Dalmatians is truly gruesome. Here you have Cruella de Vil, the movie’s noted villain, trying to capture Dalmatian puppies for the sole purpose of skinning them for their fur. Also, “De Vil” is a conjugate for the Dutch word “Villen” and “Vil,” which means skinning. [Insert your screams here]
The Great Mouse Detective
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Everything about this bar scene in The Great Mouse Detective is wrong for kids. It’s hard to believe that it made the final cut in the film. In this scene, a lady mouse sings and gives a striptease (yes, you heard right) to an impatient crowd. The mouse sings, “Hey fellas, I’ll take off all my clothes,” and even flashes her behind at one point.
Aladdin
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We all wondered about it when we were kids. Just who are those sexy women who despise Aladdin in his introduction scene? Well, we’re all adults now, so let’s not beat around the bush any longer. Those women are prostitutes, and our boy Aladdin is in a brothel. Yikes, Disney.
Toy Story
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Perhaps even more so than parent company Disney, Pixar has a history with innuendos intended just for the adults in the room. In the very first Toy Story, one of Sid’s toys had a very X-rated name, which probably went straight over the heads of any ’90s kids out there. Legs, so christened by Woody, is a pair of Barbie doll legs with a fishing rod for a body. That would make ‘Legs’ a walking hooker (which isn’t subtle). It definitely got the job done as a visual gag aimed squarely at the grown-ups.
The Little Mermaid
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Is it just us, or does the poster and home video cover art for The Little Mermaid look happy to see us? The tip of the castle looks like the tip of, um, something that belongs to a man. I’m not going to spell it out for you, so just use your imagination. According to a longstanding rumor, a ticked-off Disney animator inserted the penis intentionally after being sacked.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out in 1988. While it might not be as talked about as Cinderella or The Lion King, it’s still popular. After a cartoon car crash in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit is thrown from the vehicle and it appears that her “nether regions” are exposed. Due to this, later editions of Roger Rabbit were reportedly digitally altered to give Mrs. Rabbit appropriate coverage.
Alice in Wonderland
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What’s the subliminal message hidden in Alice In Wonderland (aka the super crazy movie about a girl who falls down a rabbit hole and winds up in a land of tea parties and talking flowers)? Don’t take substances that are going to alter your mind. Yup, this movie is basically a PSA against taking unknown substances. After all, Alice literally shrinks and encounters talking animals.
The Rescuers
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Approximately 38 minutes into the film, as Bianca and Bernard fly through the city in a sardine can, the image of a topless woman can be seen in two different frames. Disney claims the images were not placed in the frame by their animators, but were inserted during the post-production process. This reportedly led to a major recall of the film.
Aladdin
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While having some trouble with Rajah, Aladdin seems to say, “Good teenagers take off your clothes.” You can hear it as Jasmine opens the curtains. It’s at that moment that your pre-teen self would giggle and hit the rewind button over and over. According to the Aladdin director’s commentary, the line is actually an ad-lib to extend the scene. It’s supposed to say something like, “Good tiger. Take off. Scat. Go!”
The Little Mermaid
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Truly, what is wrong with The Little Mermaid? Most viewers probably missed this since we were too focused on the fact that Ursula was marrying Prince Eric… and that completely broke our hearts. The bishop seems like he enjoys weddings a little too much. A close look at the man during the marriage scene in Little Mermaid appears to show him getting an erection.
