They’ve come in many guises over the years, from the monarchical to the Machiavellian, monsters to muscle men, sorcerers, schemers and step-parents. And they have shown levels of genius, incompetence and everything in between in their efforts to thwart our heroes. But they are always without fail ambitious, self-serving and strangely compelling.

In a world of promoting good virtues to children, good must always triumph over evil. And so, Disney villains can’t be left to return and cause havoc another day (unless it’s in an inconsequential direct-to-video sequel) and so usually meet their maker in one of a variety of inventive and sometimes gruesome ways.

If the Disney Princess is the most merchandisable element of the Disney canon, then the villains are a close second and inspire even more fervour among adult fans, perhaps because they’re usually more flawed and interesting than the heroes and especially when so many are (intentionally or not) queer-coded, fabulously designed and played with gusto by talented voice actors giving it their all. 

For this edition of Ranked, we at The Film Magazine have taken every significant villain to be found in Disney animation and ordered them in terms of wickedness, memorability and the threat they represent to our heroes and heroines. So practice your diabolical laughter, rehearse your evil monologue, dust off your best purple attire and enjoy Animated Disney Villains Ranked. 

Follow @thefilmagazine on X (Twitter).

36. King Candy – Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

The ruler of arcade racing video game Sugar Rush who is actually Turbo, the resentful title character of a long-disconnected game.

Alan Tudyk has been Disney’s good luck charm in recent years and delivers a manic performance here as a mascot-gone-wrong, but the vocals have to do most of the work to enliven a baddie who’s just not interesting enough to match the heroes.

Demise by: Destroyed by the collapse of Diet Cola Mountain with the addition of Mentos.

35. Prince Hans – Frozen (2013)

A seemingly classic Prince Charming who is actually conspiring to eliminate both heirs to the Arendelle throne and claim it for himself.

Hans is a duplicitous, generic British-accented baddie revealed in the film’s final act, who gets some bonus evil points for taking advantage of Princess Anna’s emotions the way he does, purely to advance himself.

Demise by: Survives but is arrested and banished for his treachery.

Recommended for you: Best Animated Feature Oscar Winners Ranked

34. Alameda Slim – Home on the Range (2004)

An evil cattle rustler and conman who plans to cheat every rancher he can find out of their land.

Randy Quaid’s growling delivery and the character’s hilariously unconvincing Inspector Clouseau-level disguises aside, what makes Alameda Slim stand out is that he’s a rare villain who uses a combination of theft, foreclosure and cow-hypnotising yodelling to get what he wants.

Demise by: Survives, but his schemes and true identity as a rustler are exposed and the reward for his arrest is claimed.

33. Dr Jumba Jookiba – Lilo & Stitch (2002)

An alien mad scientist on the hunt for his dangerous but cute creation on Earth on the orders of the council who imprisoned him for his work.

Dr Jumba is probably the only character who never underestimates the cute blue title character because he was the one who genetically engineered “Experiment 626” and is fully aware of his destructive capabilities. He finds himself lower down this list for being bumbling and for having a late change of heart, eventually helping to protect Stitch when the council’s military arrives to complete his mission with extreme prejudice.

Demise by: Survives to live a fairly happy exile alongside Stitch on Earth.

Yen is perhaps best known for his martial art based roles, including the popular Ip Man films. Yen has also become a worldwide star, appearing in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which grossed over $1billion at the global box office, and more recently the live-action remake of Mulan. No details surrounding the film’s plot are currently known, but Yen is said to be playing an old friend of Wick’s, sharing a similar history and mutual enemies. Fans will surely be excited by the supposed teaming up of two popular action stars.

Of the new casting announcement, director Chad Stahelski had this to say: “We are very lucky to have Donnie Yen join the franchise. I am looking forward to working with him in this exciting new role.”

Stahelski co-directed the first film with David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Hobbs and Shaw) before taking over the franchise independently.

Producer Basil Iwanyk added: “Donnie Yen will bring a vibrant and powerful energy to the franchise. We were determined to bring him on board to John Wick 4 and are thrilled for the opportunity to have such a major talent to collaborate with Keanu.”

This casting comes not long after Lionsgate announced that singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama would also join the film, starring alongside Reeves. However, unlike with Yen, her character’s details are being kept secret.

John Wick 4 is scheduled to shoot this summer in locations such as France, Germany and Japan, showing that this instalment has no intention of shying away from the multi-cultural settings of the previous entries.

The film is eyeing a May 2022 release date.

Of the ten highest grossing films of 2020, nine of them were released prior to the first UK national lockdown in March. The only post-lockdown film to make the list is Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet, earning a respectable £17.4 million, resulting in third place.

The highest grossing film of the year was 1917 from director Sam Mendes. The Film Magazine described the Oscar nominated film as having “technical dazzle and no-nonsense characterisation” that resulted in one of the strongest war films in recent years. It seems audiences felt the same, with the war epic grossing twice as much as its runner up. 1917 made $44 million in the UK, a nice feather in the cap of distributor eOne, usurping the top position from Disney who’ve reigned at the top for each of the last four years.

The only Disney film to crack the top ten was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was released in December of 2019. In an ordinary year, this list would likely have swayed heavily in Disney’s favour. Some of the studios biggest tentpoles, such as Marvel’s Black Widow, have been pushed back to 2021 while other big hitters like Mulan and Pixar’s Soul were moved to streaming service Disney Plus.

Coming in fourth is the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence vehicle Bad Boys For Life. This film was the highest grossing English language film worldwide, making $426.5 million, so its high placement on the UK domestic list falls in line with the worldwide trend.

Oscar and BAFTA Best Picture winner Parasite placed eighth on the list with £12.1 million, making it the only foreign language film to make an appearance. Its awards success and critical buzz no doubt secured it a well deserved place on the list. Earlier in 2020 the film became the highest grossing foreign language film ever released in the UK.

Finally, Sonic The Hedgehog made £19.3 million, placing second on the list. This is a victory for video game movies which have typically performed poorly at the box office. A sequel is currently in development.

The full list of films can be seen below:

1. 1917 – £44.0 million (eOne)

2. Sonic The Hedgehog – £19.3 million (Paramount)

3. Tenet – £17.4 million (Warner Bros)

4. Bad Boys For Life – £16.2 million (Sony)

5. Dolittle – £15.9 million (Universal)

6. Little Women – £15.3 million (Sony)

7. The Gentlemen – £12.2 million (Entertainment)

8. Parasite – £12.1 million (Studiocanal)

9. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker – £11.3 million (Disney)

10. Jumanji: The Next Level – £11.0 million (Sony)

While little is known of the circumstances surrounding the possibility of such a decision effecting markets outside of the United States, people within the US will be able to stream any new Warner Bros release via the HBO Max app on the same day as the film is available to watch in multiplexes and independent movie theatres.

Currently, Warner Bros is scheduled to release a large number of highly anticipated films, including Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation, the fourth Matrix movie, Godzilla vs Kong and James Gunn’s Suicide Squad. 

HBO Max, named in conjunction with Warner Media’s premium television channel Home Box Office (HBO), is the streaming service owned by Warner Bros’ parent company AT&T, and is set to host Wonder Woman 1984 from 25th December 2020 (the same date as it is available in cinemas), as well as the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League in Spring 2021.

The current price of subscription to HBO Max is $14.99 per month, though most HBO pay-TV subscribers can access the app through their already existing subscription. Wonder Woman 1984 will be available on the platform in 4K resolution at no extra cost to the subscriber. This is in opposition to Disney’s decision to charge $29.99 (on top of their existing $6.99 Disney Plus subscription cost) to watch 2020 blockbuster Mulan – a decision that reportedly earned Disney $200-300million.

Fellow studio Universal were the first to announce a plan to stream new releases the same day as they were released in cinemas, but major cineplex group AMC (Odeon in the UK) forced the Comcast owned studio to back down by removing all Universal films from their hundreds of international cineplexes. Eventually, the two parties settled on an exclusivity period of 17 days in favour of the theatres.

With cinemas worldwide still closed due to governmental restrictions and the ongoing effects of the global pandemic, Sarnoff believes “moviegoers who may not have access to theatres, or aren’t quite ready to go back to the movies, [will have] the chance to see our amazing 2021 films”, adding that the move is “a unique one year plan”.

While the language of Sarnoff’s statement seems to indicate a sorrow at not committing to the theatrical experience, framing the move as a necessary one for the financial viability of individual projects and the studio as a whole, this decision is bound to be earth-shaking to an exhibition industry that already seemed to be on the verge of collapse following months of closures and every major studio choosing to postpone their 2020 releases until 2021.

While little is known about how Warner Bros’ 2021 releases will be laid out on HBO Max – whether it will adopt the same “no extra charge” strategy as Wonder Woman 1984 or adopt a Premium VoD model – remains to be seen, but the effects of this decision are likely to be felt for years to come.

Mulan (2020)
Director: Niki Caro
Screenwriters: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Elizabeth Martin, Lauren Hynek
Starring: Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Gong Li, Jet Li, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao

After many months of release date-wrangling, Disney’s latest live-action remake/reimagining is finally here. Mulan sees a talented female director given a mega budget and an all-Asian cast to bring a classic story to life once more, and it’s about time all those dominoes lined up.

When her ailing father is conscripted to the Imperial Army to defend China from invaders, Hua Mulan (Yifei Liu) disguises herself as a man and goes to war in his stead. But can an act of deception ever bring her family honor?

Mulan’s father (Tzi Ma) probably wanted a son who turned out just like his eldest daughter did – bold, decisive, prodigiously talented. He still seems very proud of the family he has and profoundly guilty that he can’t let Mulan fly free and fulfill her true potential because of her gender. As he sadly tells her, “Your chi is strong, but chi is for warriors, not daughters… I say this to protect you, that is my job. Your job is to bring honour to the family”.

The main story beats are broadly the same as Disney’s first take on this Chinese legend, but characters and their motivations are altered to better speak to a modern international audience. You can probably put money on a certain section of the internet labeling Mulan as a “Mary Sue”, but it is refreshing to have such a powerful heroine excelling in a stereotypically masculine world.

Quite unlike the original Disney version where Mulan was made to fit the Disney Renaissance clumsy outcast mold and achieved what she did through practice and determination, Mulan here is the best from the start and must hide her born talent to avoid drawing too much attention, which, inevitably, draws even more attention. This could be argued to be more in-keeping with the Chinese folk tale, where Mulan was famed for her fighting prowess.

The most noticeable change from the animated film, aside from the path of Mulan’s character growth, is the portrayal of the villains. Jason Scott-Lee plays the new barbarian warlord Bori Khan, but his secret weapon is Xian Lang (Gong Li), a powerful shape-shifting witch who supports him and his army in order to gain a position “where your powers are not vilified, a place where you are accepted for who you are”. In short, this is the same thing Mulan wants. Both are mistrusted and feared by men because they know they are smarter, more skilled and more dangerous than them, that they will not easily be controlled.

Niki Caro’s direction is incredibly dynamic, from the camera that inverts mid-battle to follow the plane of action, to the delicate little time lapse montage setting out the essentials of Chinese matchmaking etiquette. The fight choreography is slick and the floaty Wuxia wirework stunts are eye-catching as well, it’s just unfortunate the editing is sometimes too choppy to follow everything in frame. The horseback stunts on the other hand are something else, with the camera placed far back enough to process them in full, particularly an eye-catching move where a rider drops and flips around the saddle to allow them to fire backwards at pursuing enemies.

There are some arresting sequences dotted throughout the film, such as when Mulan engages Xian Lang on unstable volcanic sulphur flats, or when she and her allies must use their various unique fighting skills to reach the heart of the occupied Imperial City in the final act. The $200 million budget (making it the most expensive film ever made by a female director) is all up on screen, and the use of locations (New Zealand standing in for Northern China) and massive sets helps everything feel epic.

This isn’t a musical but there are pleasing references to the Disney songs in the score. The most rousing of all is hearing the melody to “Reflection” as Mulan rides to battle, shedding her armour and disguise en route.

The performances, particularly the charismatic born star Liu, shine brightly. Tzi Ma’s turn is poignant, and Donnie Yen and Gong Li bring a little nuance to characters that could have been broad and simplistic. Unfortunately Jet Li doesn’t get to do a lot as the Emperor, sitting on a golden throne for most of the film before getting to dispatch a couple of invaders just prior to being tied up and taken as a beardy damsel in distress.

It is admittedly annoying that the writers seemingly had little faith in their audience to follow the key themes of this story. Explaining what characters are going though using poetic turns of phrase is one thing, but re-stating the same information in increasingly on-the-nose dialogue in successive scenes does grate after a while.

Aside from a few instances of over-explanation and a slightly underwhelming final fight on bamboo scaffolding, Mulan is a triumph. Like Disney’s more successful reimaginings (Pete’s Dragon; The Jungle Book), this is a fairly fresh new take on familiar material and its presentation is truly impressive. It’s just tragic that after all this time a blockbuster so important for diverse representation won’t be seen by a good percentage of the film’s worldwide audiences on a big screen for the foreseeable future. Disney may well be looking at a re-release in cinemas worldwide next year, belated justice for Niki Caro who deserves to use this film as her calling card for making future blockbusters.

18/24

Mulan (1998)
Directors: Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft
Screenwriters: Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, Raymond Singer
Starring: Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong, Miguel Ferrer, James Hong, Harvey Fierstein, Pat Morita, George Takei

Disney’s latest animated classic to receive the extravagant live-action remake treatment is Mulan. Back in 1998, Mulan was something pretty special. Disney’s first East Asian lead character in a vibrant adaptation of a Chinese folk tale starred the cream of Hollywood Asian talent… and Harvey Fierstein. Disney has come a long way since then and, looking back, the template for these films is obvious, but Mulan is still a very enjoyable watch.

Fa Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) disguises herself as a man to fight in a war against the invading Huns in the place of her injured and ageing father. With the help of the devoted family guardian Mushu (Eddie Murphy) she seeks to bring her family honour.

Mulan hits a lot of points on the Disney Renaissance checklist. You can check off a clumsy outcast as a protagonist, highly merchandisable animal sidekicks and a stunt cast star comedian straight away. You also know exactly which story beats will be hit and where, but then again you generally don’t look to Disney classics for twists and turns, you look to them for the memorable characters, the big emotions and the catchy songs.

The largely Asian cast do fine work throughout, Ming-Na Wen’s uncertain but resilient lead, BD Wong’s sensitive captain with everything to prove and James Hong’s oily Imperial advisor being particular highlights. Eddie Murphy does precisely what he was hired by Disney to do – his family comedy “thing”. Not every one-liner hits the mark, and the negative criticism the character received in China for cultural insensitivity is understandable, but when Mulan and her group of tagalongs are at their lowest ebb and confessing their failings to each other, Mushu asking Khan the horse “And what are you, a sheep?” always prompts a chuckle.

The villains are less well-served, both in design and characterisation – the Huns have to be threatening enemies, but did they need to be yellow-eyed, fanged, borderline “Yellow Peril” looking monsters? Miguel Ferrer isn’t given much interesting to do as their leader Shan-Yu, and (from what we’ve seen) it looks like the antagonists have been given a serious and much-needed overhaul for the remake.

The 90s Disney features paid particular attention to varying their art styles and taking influence from whatever culture their given stories were drawing from. Just as Hercules references Greek pottery designs, Mulan often looks like a Chinese watercolour painting in motion, the colours rich and the lines confident and defined.

The score by Jerry Goldsmith is also East Asian influenced in its orchestration, though the lyrics perhaps lean a little too heavily on Western stereotypes about Asian cultures (a very dangerous drinking game you could play is taking a shot every time someone says “Honour”). That said, “Reflection” is perhaps the best and most moving of the 90s Disney “I Want” songs, and “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is the catchiest of earworms and a great Karaoke option.

It’s easy to forget that for all its typical Disney musical numbers and slapstick routines, Mulan is also a war movie with a real body count. We don’t see many people die, but we see the aftermath of battle and what it costs. There’s even the rare sight in a Disney film of a little bit of visible blood at one point. Brutal warfare is admittedly an apt metaphor for gendered societal oppression – Mulan gladly rides into battle in place of her father rather than surrender to the subservience of marriage in Ming Dynasty China.

Much like the technological leaps forward necessitated by previous Disney animated blockbusters like The Lion King (computer randomised movements for massed animals) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (convincing background crowd movements), for Mulan a new programme fittingly dubbed “Atilla” was developed to simulate thousands of Huns charging down a mountain in the film’s most breathtaking image among many.

Mulan may not be as groundbreaking as it was in the late 90s, but it still holds up for the most part thanks to its visual flair and well-judged vocal performances. If the remake is going even bigger, drawing on historical epics and Wuxia films to bring this timeless tale to life for a new generation across the world, it could be something very special indeed.

19/24

In this edition of Ranked, what follows is The Film Magazine’s ranking of Disney’s cinematic output over the decade 1989-1999, known as the Disney Renaissance.

Honourable mention: A Goofy Movie (1995)

While my fellow millennials might feel a bit sore that A Goofy Movie isn’t included on this list, here’s the rationale…

While it was produced during Disney’s Renaissance period, it was made by Disney’s B team as a follow-up to Goofy’s TV series and did not have the studio’s full creative weight thrown behind it, nor the budget. It’s still a cute and heartfelt movie about growing pains and daddy issues, but not a game-changer like all the other films on this list.

10. Pocahontas (1995)

Very loosely based on historical figures, the daughter of a Powhatan chief falls for an English soldier and must chose a side in a war against her people.

I think they were going for earnest with Pocahontas, but unfortunately they ended up coming across as patronising. John Smith really is the worst isn’t he?

Quite aside from how unpalatable a personality Gibson has become over the years, his character here mansplains the concept of civilisation to an indigenous woman. That’s much worse than the actual villain who’s just egotistical and greedy.

The animal sidekicks are cute, but this ends up being stuck halfway between merchandisable entertainment and aiming for prestige.

Animation game-changer: Disney’s first lead character from an indigenous people and their first story inspired by the lives of real people as opposed to fairy tales.

Magical moment: Pocahontas’ efforts to humble the arrogant John Smith and his narrow worldview with undeniable earworm “Colours of the Wind” is gorgeously animated, transitioning between vignettes of nature in harmony linked by living watercolour.

We always think we are great judges of character. The truth is, however, that more often than not all of us have been deceived by a shiny exterior. As we go about our everyday lives, we witness the existence of many people. Some of them have a constant presence in our peripheral vision, while others are fleeting glimpses of a hand, a hair flip, or a smile.

We evaluate people by the way they carry themselves; their tone of voice, their attitude and their clothes. Programmed as we are, we have to assess our surroundings to experience life, or in extreme cases, determine whether there is a possibility of immediate danger.

Considering that we go through the same process when we meet fictional characters, filmmakers had to discover a way of introducing their protagonists and antagonists to compel their audiences to keep watching. After all, that first impression is the basis of a viewer’s position toward a character, and possibly toward the film itself. Of course, finding a character’s introduction intriguing doesn’t equate that one will empathize with the character; it will only lead to the viewer wanting more.

There is a magnitude of different ways in which a character can be introduced to a spectator in order to establish a link between the two.

In this list, we’ll take a look at 5 of the very best examples of this for 5 of the Best Character Introductions in Movie History.

1. Patrick Bateman

American Psycho (2000)

Early on in the 21st century, Patrick Bateman, played excellently by Christian Bale, waltzed onto our screens and threw our intuition off in every way possible through a masterfully crafted introduction.

We meet Bateman as he is having dinner with his colleagues at a posh restaurant. Significantly, while we have been accustomed to recognize a protagonist due to his/her distinctiveness in relation to his/her immediate environment, that’s not the case with Bateman; early on he’s at one with the mass. The film’s opening scene is making a statement about collective identity and how it has distorted this group of men’s sense of self. After all, Bateman’s need to “fit in”, as he says, is the cornerstone of his life, because underneath that cool and collected exterior lies a coldblooded serial killer.

It is only after a female bartender is slightly rude to him that Bateman’s psychopathic predispositions come abruptly to the surface. He goes from reacting with a charming smile, to very graphic descriptions of violence in a split second, and that’s when we truly meet Patrick Bateman. Then, as if it isn’t clear at this point, in comes the morning routine sequence which brings to the fore the next important aspect of the character: his fixation with his image. It’s here that we see the real Bateman; his obsessive exercising, and the monologue about the exhaustingly time-consuming system he follows to maintain an illusory image of perfection, point back to his narcissism. It’s all perfectly summed up in Bateman’s words: “there is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me, only an entity; something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel my flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can sense our lifestyles are probably comfortable, I simply am not there.”

Significantly, this performance of success and tranquility that Bateman has developed over the years has granted him the reputation of normalcy; he is “the voice of reason. The boy next door”. The irony of these labels works on two levels here: firstly, it’s clear that Bateman isn’t “the voice of reason” and secondly if Bateman is the sane one, we are forced to question the very nature of sanity or, better yet, how capitalism has redefined sanity to begin with.

2. Captain Jack Sparrow

The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Prior to the 2016 scandals, Johnny Depp, known to this day for his numerous portrayals of an Outcast character, landed the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in Gore Verbinski’s The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).  We saw before how a character can be introduced through a use of a diction, but now we move on to how a character can be constructed through his reactions to external stimuli non-verbally.

Sparrow’s first scene begins with him on a ship; a ship that will inevitably sink. Being fully aware that the ship cannot be saved, Sparrow goes to a best case scenario mode and is determined to keep it afloat for the remaining time he needs to reach the dock. There’s no panic or despair; he trusts himself to utilize the means he has at hand to succeed. And so he does. Sparrow finds land moments before his ship gives in to the waves with an expression of a grandiose confidence that we’ve become accustomed to by now.

Notably, amidst this chaos, he sees the corpses of three hanged pirates and salutes; it’s evident, therefore, that Sparrow has a code of honor even if it’s not a conventional one. Of course, it’s not only that he pays tribute; it’s also the way in which he does that sheds more light to who he is. Sparrow, most probably because he’s played by Depp, is sort of a caricature. We see a playful attitude in everything he does, even if that entails showing respect to the dead.

Overall, Sparrow might be the “worst pirate [one] has heard of”, as James Norrigton (Jack Davenport) once said, but he has a purpose, and that purpose is regaining his stolen ship The Black Pearl. Even if we don’t know that from the very beginning, we instantly understand that nothing will stand in the way of him achieving his goals, and that’s the essence of the character’s most visual introduction.

There is, however, a darker side behind those oversized mouse ears, and every now and then a smidgen of macabre seeps through the cracks. Even if only for a scene, there will always be a bit of Dickensian in the Disney. What did we expect from a studio that famously stakes its claim on Grimm’s fairytale adaptations?

So, steamboat your willies and bibbity bobbity brace yourselves, as The Film Magazine counts down the most depressing Disney movie moments.

Have an opinion? Let us know in the comments!

1. Simba Wishes His Dad Dead

The year was 1994 when a sandy coloured lion cub named Simba stole our hearts with his sticky juice-smeared forehead.

We felt for his plight when evil Uncle Scar convinced him to run away from home.

We rejoiced when he found solace from his misplaced guilt in two unlikely friends, Timone and Pumba.

We whooped and hollered victoriously when he took his rightful place on the Iron Throne… I mean Pride Rock.

Unfortunately, this baby cat had pulled a Britney over our Spears, as it turns out he’s not so innocent. Remember the catchy ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’ ditty? Yeah, well, it’s really an ode to his father’s death.

Think about it for a second, there ain’t no abdicating from a lion pride. All Simba wants is to be the “main event, like no king was before” but this childish wish fulfilment fantasy takes on a life of it’s own when you look into the dynamics of how lions become king of a pride.

Younger males are driven out by their parents. During this time of self-discovery they grow stronger, until one day they’re strong enough to return and kill the king. Also, a quick Google search has told me that male lions don’t have a great life expectancy… they tend to die a lot from fighting their dad.

That tragic stampede moment we’ve all been crying about was built on a big pile of putrid murderous deception.

How could you do this Simba? It hurts my childhood.

Recommended for you: The Lion King (2019) Review

2. Elsa’s Parents Push Her Into A Mental Breakdown

Disney’s very own metaphor for depression herself, Princess Elsa, was always going to make a top-ranking appearance on this list. ‘Let It Go’ already…

Blessed with the magical gift of conjuring ice whenever she pleases, one might say Princess Elsa was born with a natural frosty persona. However, when she accidentally hurts her little sister Anna by blasting a beam of ice into her skull (her skull), Elsa is locked away leaving her persona to go liquid nitrogen.

Elsa’s parents come up with the perfect brainwashing motto “conceal, don’t feel.” A curious message that leaves her exasperated when she can’t do either of those things, and eventually brings on anxiety attacks. You’d think that powers heightened by emotions need to be harnessed differently, but instead a hormonal and lonely Elsa must shut off her humanity to avoid shaming the family.

Princess Freak (as she may as well be called) lost connection with her sister as a result of this imprisonment, and was tormented on a daily basis by her confused sister’s torturous song ‘Do You Wanna Build A Snowman’.

Imagine that. Your emotionally fraught younger sister at the door singing about hang time, but you’re confined to a room, numbed to all emotion thanks to your dead parents.

When you put all that into perspective, the song “Let It Go” is basically a musical suicide note.

(That splat sound was my mind blowing wide open and all my happy memories hurtling themselves at the wall screaming “the vessel is impure”.)

Number 30: Hercules becomes a God –Hercules (1997)

‘Hercules’ at 25 – Review

Number 29: Higitus Figitus. Merlin works his magic – The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Number 28: The Evil Queens evil plan – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Number 27: Pink Elephants on Parade – Dumbo (1941)

Recommended for you: Tim Burton Movies Ranked

Number 26: Copper saves Todd – The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Number 25: Ohana means family – Lilo and Stich (2002)

Number 24: Mulan gets ready for war – Mulan (1998)

Mulan (1998) Review

Number 23: Ray is united with Evangeline –Princess and the Frog (2009)

Number 22: Pocahontas meets John Smith –Pocahontas (1995)

Number 21: Under the Sea – The Little Mermaid (1989)

Number 20: Alice goes down the rabbit hole – Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Number 19: True love’s kiss – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Number 18: 101! – 101 Dalmations (1961)

Number 17: Aladdin wishes Genie to be free – Aladdin (1992)

Number 16: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo – Cinderella (1950)

Number 15: Steamboat Willie – Steamboat Willie (1928)

Number 14: Everybody wants to be a cat – The Aristocats (1970)

Number 13 – I’m a real boy – Pinnochio (1940)

Number 12: The Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book (1967)

Number 11: Bambi goes ice skating – Bambi (1942)

Number 10: Let It go – Frozen (2013)

Recommended for you: 4 Most Depressing Disney Moments

Number 9 – The Circle of Life – The Lion King (1994)

Number 8: Ariel gives up her voice – The Little Mermaid (1989)

Recommended for you: The Evolution of Disney Dads

Number 7: The Floating Lights – Tangled (2010)

Number 6: Off to Neverland – Peter Pan (1953)

Number 5: Maleficent crashes the party – Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Number 4: Bella Notte – Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Number 3: Mickey’s dancing brooms – Fantasia (1940)

Number 2: Long Live The King – The Lion King (1994)

Number 1: The Dance – Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Recommended for you: Disney Renaissance Movies Ranked

What are your favourite Disney moments? Let us know in the comments and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on more articles like this one.