These Disney movies are full of clever foreshadowing. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most shocking and interesting bits of foreshadowing in Disney films.
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00:00 "All was well another day saved when his cape snagged on a missile."
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most shocking and interesting
00:11 bits of foreshadowing in Disney films.
00:21 Number 20.
00:22 An old witch, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
00:25 Look at Disney hitting us with foreshadowing bangers right out of the gate.
00:29 Serving as the first film in the canon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs offers up a great
00:33 bit of foreshadowing at the hands, or rather, the mouth, of Grumpy.
00:37 Snow White pleads with the dwarfs not to send her away, claiming that the Queen will kill
00:41 her.
00:42 In response, Grumpy calls the latter an "old witch."
00:45 "If you do, she'll kill me."
00:46 "Kill you?
00:47 Who will?"
00:48 "Guess who?"
00:49 "My stepmother, the Queen."
00:50 "The Queen?
00:51 She's what?"
00:52 "She's bad."
00:53 "She's finey-beam.
00:54 She's an old witch."
00:55 For first-time viewers, this may have seemed like an offhanded remark about the Queen's
00:58 temperament.
00:59 But as everyone knows by now, the Queen does indeed turn into an old witch after poisoning
01:04 the apple.
01:05 "To mix it well.
01:06 Now, begin thy magic spell."
01:07 He may be grumpy, but he's also very smart.
01:18 Number 19.
01:19 A Mother's Love - Ratatouille
01:22 A brilliant movie about art and passion, Ratatouille follows Alfredo Linguini, a garbage boy turned
01:27 chef who learns the ropes in an esteemed French restaurant.
01:31 Linguini is taught by Colette Tatou, who serves as the restaurant's roast chef, or "rotisseur."
01:36 Colette displays an abrasive attitude and tells Linguini that he can't cook "like mommy
01:41 in the kitchen," meaning he has to adopt the timing and exactitude of a professional chef.
01:55 This brief remark makes an emotional comeback in the film's climax, when Remy makes Anton
01:59 Ego the titular Ratatouille dish.
02:02 The usually harsh critic is won over by the food, as it reminds him of his mother's home
02:06 cooking.
02:07 In other words, Remy saved the restaurant by cooking like mommy in the kitchen.
02:12 "Nothing less than the finest chef in France.
02:16 I will be returning to Gusteau soon, hungry for more."
02:22 Number 18.
02:23 Burning Esmeralda, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
02:26 Based roughly on Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is, shall we say,
02:31 one of the darker Disney films.
02:34 Its story is rooted in themes of tyranny and prejudice, not to mention Judge Claude Frollo
02:38 is a wicked old man who does some truly messed up things, like burning Esmeralda at the stake,
02:43 for instance.
02:44 This attempt at murder is foreshadowed on not one, but two separate occasions.
02:49 The lyrics of Hellfire contain a very explicit reference as Frollo sings,
02:53 "Be mine or you will burn!"
02:58 Well, it certainly wasn't an empty threat.
03:02 Later, Frollo chides Quasimodo for helping Esmeralda escape and burns the sculpture he
03:06 made of her.
03:07 It's a lot of fiery imagery, and it all pays off in horrifying fashion.
03:11 "Never you mind, Quasimodo.
03:13 She'll be out of our lives soon enough.
03:17 I will free you from her evil spell.
03:19 She will torment you no longer."
03:22 17.
03:23 Dash's Wisdom - The Incredibles
03:26 Despite coming off as more of a jock, Dash is one smart cookie.
03:30 He displays a strong sense of philosophical wit when he's in the car with his mom.
03:34 When Helen tells him, "Everyone is special," he has this to say,
03:37 "Which is another way of saying no one is."
03:40 This statement is not only wise beyond his years, but it nicely sets up the motive for
03:45 the movie's antagonist syndrome.
03:47 He hopes to sell advanced weapons on the market, thereby turning everyone into a superhero.
03:52 "And when everyone's super, no one will be."
03:59 It's a sentiment that closely mirrors Dash's words, and it's a great way of connecting
04:03 the heroes with the villain as well as humanizing him to an extent.
04:08 16.
04:09 Bruno - Encanto
04:10 When you've got a family full of people with magical powers, it's difficult to keep secrets.
04:15 While Bruno is said to have disappeared from the family, Dolores foreshadows his nearby
04:19 presence on more than one occasion.
04:22 While singing "We Don't Talk About Bruno," she mentions that she,
04:25 "Fruit of love and fear, Bruno's fluttering or stumbling.
04:27 I can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling.
04:30 I associate him with the sound of fallen sand."
04:34 She also tells Mirabel that the only ones worried about the magic are her and the rats
04:38 talking in the walls.
04:39 "The only one worried about the magic is you and the rats talking in the walls."
04:45 These probably aren't the rats, but Bruno, who we later learn is living in the walls
04:49 of the house among the rats.
04:51 15.
04:53 Playing Dead - Zootopia
04:54 Talk about foreshadowing.
04:56 The very beginning of Zootopia sets up the ending, and these bookends provide a beautiful
05:01 and well-realized structure to the film.
05:03 The movie opens via flashback, with young Judy performing in her school play.
05:08 Her character is attacked by a tiger and dies in a rather dramatic fashion.
05:24 While a funny scene in and of itself, it also foreshadows the climax of the film.
05:28 Nick pretends to go savage and "attacks" Judy in front of Bellwether.
05:32 Her acting has clearly improved since she was a child.
05:35 Well, until it's time to give up the ruse, at least.
05:39 14.
05:41 Hector's Guitar - Cocoa
05:49 Disney and Pixar are so good at foreshadowing that they even include examples in minute
05:53 visual details.
05:54 Miguel obtains - fine, steals - the guitar of famed musician Ernesto de la Cruz.
06:00 "Our family thinks music is a curse.
06:02 None of them understand, but I know you would have.
06:06 You would have told me to follow my heart, to seize my moment."
06:10 This guitar is beautifully designed, and the headstock resembles that of a stylized skull.
06:16 Completing this skull are a set of teeth, one of which is gold.
06:19 Viewers may notice that Ernesto does not have a gold tooth, but you know who does?
06:24 Miguel's great-great-grandfather Hector, whom Miguel meets in the Land of the Dead.
06:28 We later learn that Ernesto killed Hector and stole his guitar and his songs, meaning
06:33 that the gold-toothed headstock perfectly matches that of its true owner.
06:37 "That's my mama Cocoa.
06:39 That's my mommy Melda.
06:42 Is that...you?"
06:45 13.
06:47 Prince Naveen's Transformation - The Princess and the Frog
06:50 Disney is weirdly unapologetic about turning characters into animals.
06:54 In this case, it's poor Prince Naveen, who's turned into the titular frog.
06:59 This transformation is repeatedly foreshadowed in the gleefully ominous Friends on the Other
07:03 Side sequence.
07:04 "I got voodoo, I got voodoo, I got things I ain't even tried.
07:05 And I got friends on the other side."
07:06 "He's got friends on the other side."
07:15 For one, on the back of Fassilier's tarot deck, there's a frog motif in the corners.
07:20 For another, Prince Naveen's "future card" shows a prince lying on a pile of money, in
07:25 the shape of a lily pad.
07:26 Fassilier also references the transformation in his lyrics, telling Naveen,
07:30 "You just wanna be free, hop from place to place, but freedom takes green."
07:35 And,
07:36 "It's the green, it's the green, it's the green you need.
07:37 And when I look into your future, it's the green that I see."
07:44 The green is understood to reference money, but the double entendre is clear after you
07:49 know what happens.
07:50 #12.
07:51 Gaston's Cheap Shots - Beauty and the Beast
07:54 Gaston certainly has an ego, but seriously, who boasts about taking cheap shots?
08:00 In the song "Gaston Reprise," Gaston and LeFou plot the imprisonment of Belle's father, Maurice.
08:06 This reprise carries a much bleaker tone than the original song.
08:09 While that one was full of harmless boasts, this one is far darker, with lyrics like,
08:14 "No one, lots like Gaston, takes cheap shots like Gaston,
08:20 plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Gaston."
08:23 The former is particularly important, as it foreshadows the climactic battle between Gaston
08:28 and the Beast.
08:29 Gaston takes the cheapest of cheap shots, stabbing the Beast in the side while his back
08:34 is turned.
08:35 "You came back."
08:42 That arrow to the back in the castle was also pretty cheap.
08:45 Two for two, Gaston.
08:47 #11.
08:48 Marlon Meets a Turtle - Finding Nemo
08:50 Pixar has released some bangers throughout the years, but Finding Nemo is on another
08:55 level.
08:56 It's a tight and brilliantly executed script that contains some great bits of foreshadowing.
09:01 On the first day of school, Nemo asks his dad if he's ever met a shark.
09:04 His reply is no, and that he doesn't plan on it.
09:07 "Dad, maybe when I'm at school, I'll see a shark!"
09:10 "I highly doubt that."
09:12 "Have you ever met a shark?"
09:13 "No, and I don't plan to."
09:15 Well that doesn't exactly last for long, does it?
09:17 "In my time, I have to find my son."
09:22 "Hello."
09:23 Nemo's follow-up question is about how old sea turtles are.
09:29 Marlon sarcastically answers that he'll ask one.
09:31 Wouldn't you know it, he later meets a sea turtle named Crush, and after hitching a ride,
09:36 asks him his age.
09:37 "Oh, Nemo would have loved this."
09:38 "Ha!
09:39 Oh!
09:40 Hey, Crush!
09:41 Crush, I forgot!
09:42 How old are you?"
09:43 "150, dude!
09:44 And still young!"
09:48 It's too bad Nemo didn't also ask him about winning the deep sea lottery that morning.
09:53 Number 10.
09:54 Banishment and the Abominable Snowman - Monsters, Inc.
09:57 "It's too late!
09:58 We're banished, genius!
09:59 We're in the human world!"
10:02 Monsters, Inc. is full of, well, monsters, and the legendary Abominable Snowman is one
10:07 of them.
10:08 Before he tries to charm the protagonists with his yellow snow cones, he's actually
10:12 mentioned by Mike.
10:13 "Just think about a few names, will ya?
10:15 Loch Ness, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman.
10:17 They all got one thing in common, pal.
10:20 Banishment!"
10:21 While Mike and Sully are sneaking Boo into the factory, Mike lists off some banished
10:25 monsters, including the Snowman, and declares that they could be next.
10:29 Later in the movie, Mike and Sully are indeed banished by Waternoose, and the two meet up
10:34 with none other than the Abominable Snowman.
10:36 "Take my buddy Bigfoot.
10:38 When he was banished, he fashioned an enormous diaper out of poison ivy, wore it on his head
10:43 like a tiara, called himself King Itchy."
10:46 It's not only a cute little instance of foreshadowing, but a clue that the Snowman may have once
10:51 been an employee at Monsters, Inc.
10:52 "I'll have you know tampering with the mail is a crime punishable by banishment!"
10:57 "Yes, sir!"
10:58 "We're right on it, Mr. Snowman!"
10:59 Number 9.
11:00 You're a Beast - Brave
11:02 "You're never there for me!
11:04 This whole marriage is what you want!
11:06 Do you ever bother to ask what I want?"
11:09 There are actually two scenes that foreshadow the exact same plot point.
11:12 In the opening scene, Merida's mother Eleanor chases the young Merida and declares that
11:16 she's going to eat her like some kind of dangerous creature.
11:19 "I'm going to gobble her up when I find her!"
11:23 "Oh!
11:24 Ha ha ha!
11:25 I'm going to eat you!"
11:27 Later in the movie, when Merida's all grown up, she calls Eleanor a beast during a heated
11:32 argument.
11:33 "You're acting like a child."
11:34 "And you're a beast!"
11:35 "That's what you are!"
11:39 She had no idea how right she was about to be.
11:42 Following the argument, Merida is given a spell by a witch and in turn gives it to Eleanor,
11:46 turning her into a bear.
11:50 "M-mom?"
11:53 And while she originally retains some semblance of humanity, she slowly transitions into a
11:58 violent beast throughout the movie.
12:00 "No, dad!
12:01 Don't hurt her!"
12:02 "Get out of here!"
12:05 Number 8.
12:06 Ernesto's Talent - Coco
12:07 "I hoped you would."
12:10 "My boy, with a talent like yours?
12:15 How could I not listen?"
12:16 If we would have listened to Hector from the beginning, we would have found out exactly
12:20 who Ernesto de la Cruz is.
12:22 At one point in The Land of the Dead, Hector tells Miguel that he taught Ernesto everything
12:27 he knows.
12:28 "You told me you hated musicians.
12:29 You never said you were one."
12:30 "How do you think I knew that?"
12:31 "I'm not going to tell you."
12:32 "How do you think I knew your great-great-grandpa?
12:33 We used to play music together.
12:35 Taught him everything he knows."
12:36 Later, he states that while Ernesto's songs are pretty good, Ernesto himself is of little
12:41 talent.
12:42 "The greatest musician of all time?"
12:43 "Oh, you're funny.
12:44 Greatest eyebrows of all time, maybe, but his music?
12:45 Not so much."
12:46 "You don't know what you're talking about."
12:52 This may seem like the ramblings of a jealous bandmate, until Miguel learns the truth.
12:56 "Hector, please."
12:57 "Those were my songs you took.
12:59 My songs that made you famous."
13:01 "What?"
13:02 Hector is actually the genius behind the songs, and Ernesto murdered him and passed the songs
13:07 off as his own.
13:08 Turns out that Hector truly did teach Ernesto everything he knows, except for, presumably,
13:13 cold hard murder.
13:14 "Remember me.
13:15 No, I have to say goodbye.
13:16 Remember me!"
13:17 "Remember me!"
13:18 "Remember me!"
13:19 "Remember me!"
13:20 "Remember me!"
13:21 "Remember me!"
13:22 Number 7.
13:23 The Smoke Wolves - Pocahontas
13:25 "Prowl the earth like ravenous wolves, consuming everything in their path."
13:33 Even Disney's magnificent visual imagery contains deeper meanings.
13:36 Near the beginning of Pocahontas, Kikato warns the village about the coming settlers.
13:41 "These are not men like us, but strange beasts with bodies that shine like the sun."
13:49 During his speech, he waves his staff over the fire and creates some smoke wolves who
13:53 in turn surround Kokuum.
13:55 They then rush towards the Palutene chief before dissipating.
13:59 Using the wolves as a metaphor for the settlers, the scene foreshadows the fate of two of its
14:03 characters.
14:04 By enveloping Kokuum, the scene signifies his eventual death at the hands of Thomas.
14:13 By nearly attacking the Palutene chief but dissipating before the consumption, the scene
14:17 foreshadows his near death at the hands of Ratcliffe.
14:27 Number 6.
14:29 The Sun Will Set On My Time Here - The Lion King
14:31 "So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide
14:37 you."
14:38 During the scene in which Mufasa and Simba gaze out over the wonderful landscape, Mufasa
14:43 tells Simba that the sun will eventually set on his reign and will rise with Simba's.
14:48 "A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun.
14:52 One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new king."
15:00 This initially seems like beautiful, symbolic language, and it certainly is, but there's
15:05 also a little more going on here.
15:07 Simba finds Mufasa's body near sundown, signifying the setting of his reign.
15:15 "We gotta go home."
15:19 At the end of the movie, Simba takes his mantle on Pride Rock at sunrise, and we then see
15:24 the scene transition from night to day.
15:26 The sun has officially risen on Simba's reign, just as Mufasa predicted.
15:37 Number 5.
15:38 King Candy's true nature - Wreck-It Ralph
15:46 Near the end of Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope's glitching reveals that King Candy is actually
15:50 Turbo, a rogue character who abandoned his arcade game.
15:55 "What the?
15:57 Who are you?"
15:59 "I'm Turbo, the greatest racer ever!"
16:00 However, the true nature of King Candy was foreshadowed many times throughout the movie.
16:05 Near the beginning, an avatar of Vanellope can be seen on the side of Sugar Rush riding
16:10 the king's cart, signifying her true role as the main character.
16:14 His age also signifies that he doesn't belong in the game, as he's much older than the other
16:19 racers.
16:20 "And thank you to today's avatars.
16:21 It was a wonderful day of racing."
16:24 Finally, Ralph comments on Candy's unmanly pink palace, once again showcasing that it
16:29 doesn't actually belong to Candy, but to Princess Vanellope.
16:33 "So you're a fan of pink?
16:35 Salmon!
16:36 Salmon, that's obviously salmon!
16:37 What are you doing here?"
16:39 Number 4.
16:40 Doug's phone number - Zootopia
16:42 "So fluffy!"
16:43 "Hey!"
16:44 "Sheep never let me get this close."
16:45 "You can't just touch a sheep's wool!"
16:46 "It's like hot candy."
16:49 Zootopia is absolutely littered with foreshadowing, but perhaps the best and most subtle instance
16:54 of all is Doug's well-hidden phone number.
16:57 "Well, this is so exciting, actually.
16:58 I mean, well, you know, I never get to do anything this important."
17:01 While Judy and Nick are using Assistant Mayor Bellwether to locate Manchus, you can briefly
17:06 see a Post-it note on her desk with the name "Doug" and a phone number written on it.
17:10 Doug, if you don't remember the name, is the chemist and sniper Bellwether employs to turn
17:15 the predators of Zootopia savage.
17:16 "Yeah, looks like old Doug's cornered the market on night howlers."
17:19 Later, when Judy and Nick are in his lab, we even see him take a call from Bellwether
17:28 informing him of his next target.
17:30 "What's the mark?"
17:31 "Cheetah and Sahara Square.
17:32 Got it.
17:33 Serious?
17:34 Yeah, I know, they're fast.
17:35 I can hit 'em."
17:36 Clearly, she had that Post-it handy.
17:37 "Run."
17:38 "Get them."
17:39 Number three, Edna doesn't do capes.
17:40 The Incredibles.
17:41 "I see.
17:42 This is a hobo suit, darling.
17:43 You can't be seen in this.
17:44 I won't allow it."
17:45 While Edna is creating Mr. Incredible's new suit, she tells him that she doesn't make
17:58 capes.
17:59 And lists various superheroes who were thwarted by theirs.
18:01 "A cape and the boots."
18:02 "No capes."
18:03 "Isn't that my decision?"
18:04 "Do you remember Thunderhead?"
18:05 Thunderhead's cape was caught on a missile, while others were sucked into a vortex or
18:06 caught on an elevator.
18:07 But perhaps the scariest story she tells is of a superhero who was sucked into a jet turbine.
18:08 "Gretel Gale, April 23rd, '57.
18:09 Cape caught in a jet turbine."
18:10 "Hmm.
18:11 I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get out of this."
18:12 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:13 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:14 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:15 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:16 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:17 In the climax of the movie, Syndrome's cape is caught in such a turbine, and he's subsequently
18:33 sucked in and shredded.
18:34 Turns out that Edna was right not to give Mr. Incredible a cape.
18:35 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:36 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:37 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:38 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:39 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:40 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:41 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:42 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:43 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:44 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:45 "I'm going to have to get you out of here."
18:46 Not to give Mr. Incredible a cape.
18:48 No capes!
18:49 Number two, the landfill.
18:51 Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.
18:53 "I don't think that's daylight."
18:55 The furnace scene in Toy Story 3 is undoubtedly one of the most dramatic
19:04 scenes of any animated movie.
19:12 If only we had some sort of warning so we could brace ourselves.
19:16 Oh wait, there was.
19:17 In Toy Story 2, Stinky Pee tells the toys that they will eventually be forgotten and rot in a landfill.
19:23 "Idiots! Children, destroy toys! You will be ruined!
19:27 Forgotten! Spending eternity rotting in some landfill!"
19:31 In Toy Story 3, the toys are indeed forgotten by Andy and taken to a daycare,
19:36 where they in turn make their way to a landfill and are almost turned into burnt debris.
19:41 [Music]
19:48 We can't say that the writers intended the story to go in this direction all along,
19:52 but that is still one fine piece of continuity.
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20:20 Number 1. Love is an Open Door - Frozen
20:24 "Okay, can I just say something crazy?"
20:26 "I love crazy."
20:28 Love is an Open Door is chock full of foreshadowing. When Han sings,
20:32 "I've been searching my whole life to find my own place."
20:36 he signals towards the kingdom, a subtle nod to his true intentions. There's also the line,
20:42 "You and I were just meant to be," wherein Anna is made into the pronoun on both occasions,
20:47 signifying her unrequited love. There's also the line,
20:51 "Say goodbye, say goodbye to the pain of the past."
20:56 which applies to both Anna and Hans. Finally, there's the ending where Anna makes the base
21:01 of the heart and Hans follows, almost as if he's one step behind in trying to keep up with the
21:06 lovey-dovey charade. "You won't get away with this." "Oh, I already have."
21:13 Did you catch any of these foreshadowing moments on the first watch? Let us know in the comments.
21:18 "That was totally wicked!"
21:20 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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21:31 [Music]