My Top 10 Heartbreaking Disney Moments

Don't get me wrong, nobody necessarily enjoys feeling sad and heartbroken, but sometimes those moments in a Disney film, where the characters are going through something really difficult can make us as fans feel a little bit better. This is because they remind us that everybody will go through some hard times, but as long as you're willing to push through them and say Hakuna Matata!, you can come out with your own happy ending.

So here's a list of my most Heartbreaking Disney moments, I know everyone has their own personal ones that get to them the most for different reasons, but these are just a couple of my own.

10. Perhaps it's since my nephew has been born that I've become so much more upset by things to do with children in peril, but the scene in Aladdin with the street children looking for food in dumpsters has become much more heartbreaking for me than ever before. The saving grace for this moment is of course that Aladdin gives them the loaf of bread he took from the marketplace. Also, when I thought about it, I thought because Aladdin married Jasmine and became part of the rulers of Agrabah, he more than likely made rulings and decisions that helped the poor people of the city, I find that quite a satisfying way to think about the end of the film.

9. As I've previously said, I really adore Dogs (or ruppies as I call them), in fact I think I prefer Dogs to most humans! This could be a large part of why the scene from Bolt where he thinks his owner Penny is calling for him and she is actually calling for his replacement on his show is so agonizing to see. I feel like the animators did an excellent job at showing in Bolt's face, the look a real life dog gives when he is confused and distressed about something which helped towards making this moment so effective. 

8. I saw Tarzan in the cinema when I was 8 years old and right away I found the opening sequence in which his parents are killed and he is rescued by his gorilla mother Kala to be a really intense moment and extremely sad in parts. In particular when Kala and Kerchak's baby is killed by Sabor the leopard, the same one that murdered Tarzan's parents. All those elements mixed with the backing of Phil Collins epic soundtrack are really potent

7. One of the best Disney movies I have scene in the past few years is Moana. I previously posted a review about how fantastic I thought it was. There is a scene in the final sequence of the film that really caught me off gaurd with just how emotional it was. That is the "Know Who You Are" scene in which Moana tells the sea to part so that she can confront the Lava Witch who turns out to be Te Fiti who's heart she must restore. The song in this scene is absolutely mesmerizing and made me so teary eyed in the cinema. The lyrics are amazing and I feel could be applied to anybody's life when they are feeling like a bad person or that they are not good enough, because they know deep down that as the song goes "this does not define you, you know who you are". 

6. An extremely underrated movie that I absolutely loved as a kid is Oliver and Company. The movie has really adorable characters and an exciting plot with fun jokes and catchy songs, in particular "Why Should I Worry" sung by Billy Joel. The opening of this movie always gets me, seeing a box of really cute kittens being adopted one by one by passersby until the final one (our protagonist Oliver) is left alone on a wet cold night in New York city. It always is difficult for me to watch and I think Huey Lewis' "Once Upon A Time in New York City" is a wonderful song and really suitable for the opening sequence and the theme of the movie.

5. When Toy Story 2 came out here in Ireland I was straight away begging my uncle to take me and my little cousin, and When Jessie and her side kick horse Bullseye appeared on the screen, I immediately fell in love with them. This is probably why the scene where Jessie recounts the story of how her former owner abandoned her, my heart actually sank. With an unforgettable song by Sarah McLachlan and the touching story telling that Pixar do so well through their imagination, this scene has continued to make me well up over the years to this very day. 

4. Along with the amazing Moana, another brilliant Disney film that came out last year was of course the Oscar winning Zootopia (or Zootropolis depending where you're from). At the time of seeing the movie, my sister was pregnant with a little boy, so when the scene came on with Nick Wilde the fox as a little boy fox attending the scouts with his friends and he is ridiculed and tormented by his fellow scout members for being a "sly fox", that was it for me, holy moly I was gone. I have always, as many have, hated people being bullied and scenes that portray little kids being bullied whether animated or otherwise are always going to be difficult and really heartbreaking to watch. Thankfully, the rest of the movie is really fun and everything winds up ok for our boy Nick in the end.

3. One of the few Disney movies I don't actually enjoy watching much anymore is Dumbo. My reason for that is because I'm not a supporter of having animals in circuses and I do find it quite an upsetting movie to watch, although I did absolutely adore it as a child and I think it does teach a good lesson to kids of how badly animals are treated at circuses without scaring them too much. That being said, Dumbo happens to have one of the most heart warming yet sad scenes in all Disney history and that is the scene in which Dumbo's mother cradles her son in her trunk and the super sweet song "Baby Mine" plays, while we get to see the other animals with their little ones also. It brings me to tears every single time.

2. If you ask most people about what movie moment makes them cry the most, a good percentage would say when Mufasa dies in The Lion King. This is of course with good reason, because we as kids and adults also we truely loved the characters of Mufasa and Simba and their loving father son relationship. Also, many people may have lost parents at a young age so they can probably really relate to Simba's sadness and complete heartbreak on seeing his father die. The moment where he says "Somebody, Anybody? help" would put a lump in the toughest person's throat. Truely a sad moment.

1. When I was 15, my cat Mike ran away and we later found him dead in the lane behind our house. At the time that he went missing, I watched The Fox and the Hound for the first time in years and I was in floods of tears when the scene in which Tod the fox is taken by his owner to the woods to be set free because his life has been threatened by her hunter neighbour. The lyrics to the song featured in this scene are so unbelievably beautiful and easy to relate to for so many people that have had to let go of a pet that they love or perhaps even a person they love. 

My Top 10 Disney Villains

I decided to compile a list of my ultimate Disney Villains. I'm basing this list purely on my own personal favourites so I really apologize to anybody's who favourite I didn't include. What qualifies for me as an amazing Disney villain is one with great character attributes for somebody villainous such as a sinister disposition, an intimidating demeanor and an evil plan. I've also based this list on the jokes, songs etc... the villains have in their movies that I love. So be prepared, because here they are

10. Gaston (Beauty and the Beast, 1991)

When Disney's imagineers made this Best Picture Oscar nominee and all time animated classic, they included one hell of a bad guy. Gaston is arguably one of the most vain Disney characters ever created (the other being of course The Evil Queen) and he displays that throughout the entire movie. In fact, his vanity leads to his complete disbelief and enraged attitude when he realizes Belle has fallen for a Beast instead of him which is why he becomes the villain of the story. His most evil moment to me is when he encourages the town's people to "Kill the Beast" and storm his castle, that moment is so effective and one of the most dramatic moments of all Disney films.

9. Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmations, 1961)

For one of the most adorable Disney movies ever, they had to include a villain to counteract all that cuteness, and they did a mighty fine job doing it. What's could be more opposite from a group of sweet and innocent little puppies than a mean, cranky middle aged woman obsessed with fur? On a personal note, I can't stand people wearing real fur and the production of it so I truly despised Cruella as a child and still do to this day. I think most people feel that way and could never imagine harming such lovely little animals. Which is why, when Cruella gets her just desserts at the end of the movie, every audience member rejoices with happiness and relief for the pups and Roger and Anita.

8. Shere Khan (The Jungle Book, 1967 and The Jungle Book, 2016)

As a child, The Jungle Book was spellbinding to me, the music, the animation. However, it also scared the absolute bejesus out of me whenever Shere Khan appeared on screen. I'm not sure what it was about the animation of him and his voice mixed with his intentions to murder Mowgli but it all combined to frighten me so much. The feeling has still stayed with me and I still get a shiver whenever Shere Khan eagerly nods his head listening to Bagheera and Colonel Hathi discuss Mowgli being alone in the man village. When I saw Jon Favreau directed live action version over the past summer, I thought it was fantastic and I think choosing Idris Elba as the voice of Shere Khan was a stroke of genius and the character displayed a lot of violence and evil than the original. 

7. Chernabog (Fantasia, 1940)

Anybody who views the Night on Bald Mountain sequence from Walt Disney's 1940 Musical feature Fantasia and isn't filled with a sense of fear is a much braver person than me! I have to admit, I have never been a massive fan of the movie. I get what the animators and imagineers were trying to do and what they accomplished was very unique and will go down as a great peace of animation. That being said, it isn't the easiest film to sit through, with the exception of this eery terrifying scene featuring the winged demon Chernabog. Music in any movie can be very effective and that certainly is the case when it comes to Chernabog's appearance on screen, his movements put in time with the score works so well that I feel it may have been the inspiration for many horror movie maker's that followed.

6. Captain Hook (Peter Pan, 1953)

Many a feminist would be completely against liking Captain Hook due to his controversial views such as "a jealous female can be tricked into anything" (Even though he's not totally wrong!) and many a sailor and lost boy wouldn't be his biggest fan either. That being said, I think he's hilarious. The duo of Captain Hook and Mr. Smee in the movie makes for some excellent comedic moments such as the shaving scene in which Smee shaves a bird's bum while a stunned Captain Hook is almost taken by the crocodile that ate his hand. When you also think of the fact that Captain Hook's main aim is to murder a young boy and make several small children walk a plank to their deaths, it makes you realize just how depraved the character is, and you can see why it was so feared by readers of the original stories. 

5. Lady Tremaine (Cinderella, 1950)

A nightmare for any girl is to have a wicked stepmother who forces you to live in the worst room in the house, wear old rags and do all of your sibling's chores as well as all the housework. Not only does Lady Tremaine meet that criteria, she also tries to lock Cinderella in a room and keep her from her true love. That is the ultimate fairy tale no-no. The characterization of this evil matriarch by her animators is so well done, two moments that will never cease to give me a shudder are when she yells "do them again" at Cinderella regarding doing her chores and the moment in which she realizes that it was Cinderella she saw dancing and charming the Prince at the ball and she squints her eyes menacingly as it occurs to her what has happened. Chilling stuff

4. Ursula (The Little Mermaid, 1989)

Ursula the Sea Witch has one of the most undeniably catchy and well written songs of any Disney character in "Poor Unfortunate Souls". The song was written by music geniuses Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. She is also extremely witty and fun to watch while being a despicable witch who takes people's souls and keeps them in a garden at her lair when they don't pay her back quickly for spells she's cast for them. From facts I have read, her appearance was inspired by the actor drag queen Divine from John Waters films and you can definitely see the inspiration in her actions too. In the final sequence of the movie where Ursula tries to become Queen of all the Ocean by taking King Triton's staff and crown, she makes herself a giant octopus and I found it truly terrifying as a child. This final sequence wouldn't be out of place in a live action adventure movie and it's genuinely entertaining, that's mainly due to the movie's diabolical Sea Witch. 

3. The Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)

Having read a not so great book about the "back story" of the Evil Queen, I was worried it would dampen my love for this character and film, but thankfully it didn't. She is the original Disney villain and she is also one of the most petrifying of all of them for me. The idea behind her story is pretty shocking when you really think about it. A woman is so jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty that she sends a man into the woods with the girl to murder her and that not being horrifying enough, she insists he bring back the girl's heart as proof of her murder. When she finds out the girl is still alive, it's not enough to have her living away and out of site, she has to murder her and this time, she'd do it herself. That whole plot put together with her amazing transformation into the old peddler woman with the insane grin makes for a really blood curdling villain.

2. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty, 1958 and Maleficent, 2014)

She has had her own movie where she was portrayed by Angelina Jolie, one of the world's most famous actresses. That alone displays that she is one of the most well known and popular Disney villains ever. I'm not really sure what it is about her that makes her so wicked and devilish but she just is an amazing character. Her back story in the 2014 movie wasn't executed as well as it could have been, however it was extremely interesting and it does make you somewhat empathize with her. Of course Angelina Jolie is a wonderful actress, but her portrayal was never going to come close to the voice characterization done by Disney great Eleanor Audley (who also voiced Lady Tremaine). Her voice acting was just amazing in this role. The best scene for me of Maleficent is when she appears in the beginning of the infant Aurora's birth celebration and places the curse on her, her evil cackle and disappearance in a cloud of dust is an iconic Disney villain moment.

1. Scar (The Lion King, 1994)

An amazing story, beautiful animation, humour, romance and of course a diabolical villains in all of movie history. I don't think anybody who watched The Lion King has ever gotten over Scar's killing Mufasa and trying to kill Simba and basically ruining the pride lands. All of these things make him an unforgivable character. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) his voicing, done by the stellar Jeremy Irons, his show stopping "Be Prepared" number and his witty sarcastic comments make him hard to resist watching. He stands out to me as the pinacle of all the Disney villains and one they gave real depth to. I also adore his animation and how he moves so slouchily and slyly in comparison to his regal brother Mufasa. He may not have lasted as the King of the Pride lands but his is my ultimate personal favourite Disney Villain.