From Nazi-fighting witches to lewd photos in the background of a beloved animated movie, these Disney films hit a little different when you rewatch them as an adult.
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00:00From Nazi fighting witches to lewd photos in the background of a beloved animated movie,
00:05these Disney films hit a little different when you rewatch them as an adult.
00:09The story of Pinocchio is kid-friendly enough.
00:12Geppetto is a kindly toymaker who carves a wooden boy named Pinocchio with the wish that
00:16he become a real boy.
00:18His wish is partially granted when a blue fairy arrives and gives the wooden figure
00:22life, promising to turn him into a human if he proves himself worthy enough.
00:26However, Pinocchio and his friend Jiminy Cricket are soon whisked away by the conniving,
00:31honest John and Gideon, who send him to Pleasure Island for a so-called vacation.
00:36Upon arrival, Pinocchio and other hoodlum boys engage in all sorts of underage debauchery.
00:42From child-human trafficking to underage drinking to the transformation of young boys into anthropomorphic
00:47donkeys against their will, there's a lot wrong with this narrative that young audiences
00:51must have surely missed upon their first viewing.
00:54While the film doesn't exactly glamorize these behaviors either, the whimsical animation
00:58style makes Pinocchio's kidnapping and the events of Pleasure Island look much sillier
01:02than they would be in actuality.
01:04This problem is partially remedied in the recent live-action remake, which amplifies
01:08things like the donkey transformation to a whole new level of grotesque.
01:11That's just the trouble with the world today.
01:14Dumbo is a sweet young elephant whose major flaw is his overly big ears, making him the
01:19clumsiest performer in the traveling circus he and his mother are a part of.
01:23In turn, his mother is extremely protective of him and does whatever she can to fend off
01:27assailants who pick on her son.
01:29However, while trying to protect Dumbo, she gets into trouble with the circus's ringmaster,
01:34who locks her in a cage.
01:36This leaves Dumbo to fend for himself.
01:38Luckily, with the help of a friendly mouse and the murder of rowdy crows, he's able to
01:42find his true gift and become the star of the circus.
01:46In many ways, Dumbo is one of Disney's most heartwarming stories, and for good reason.
01:51Its animation and memorable songs combine to deliver a sweet story about finding your
01:55inner strength.
01:57But remember those crows?
01:58Watching that scene where they help Dumbo to fly now, it's obvious that they were incredibly
02:03insensitive depictions of Southern black people.
02:06Making the scene even more uncomfortable is the fact that the over-the-top accents were
02:10provided by white voice actors.
02:12Luckily, the crows' appearances are mostly confined to one sequence.
02:16Still, while the film can be seen on Disney+, it does come with a disclaimer about their
02:21inclusion.
02:23After King Stefan and his queen proudly welcome their daughter, Princess Aurora, into the
02:27world, they arrange for her to marry a young prince from another land when she's grown.
02:32While in her cradle, Aurora is visited by four fairies.
02:35Three of them kindly bless her with magical gifts, while the fourth curses her so that
02:40at the age of 16, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and cease to live.
02:45Luckily, the three good fairies manage to alter the curse so that she won't die, but
02:49instead fall into a deep sleep from which she can only be awakened by the kiss of her
02:53true love.
02:54Of course, in true fairytale fashion, all of these events come to pass as prophesied.
03:00Prince Philip slays the villainous Maleficent in dragon form and arrives to kiss Princess
03:04Aurora to awaken her and live happily ever after.
03:07While the narrative is supposed to be romantic, hindsight shows that a man kissing a sleeping
03:12woman is anything but romantic.
03:15What's worse is that Aurora was betrothed to Philip when she was a baby and has had
03:19absolutely no say in her fate thus far.
03:22Disney at least tried to lighten up on the troublesome aspects by having the two meet
03:25and fall for each other before that meddlesome kiss.
03:28However, like many classic fairy tales, the story remains an uncomfortable remnant of
03:42an even more inappropriate source material that has aged poorly over the years.
03:47Up's legendary opening montage depicts Carl Fredricksen as a young boy who looks up to
03:51famed explorer Charles Muntz.
03:54One day, he meets the adventurous Ellie, and the two embark on a love story that puts even
03:59Shakespeare to shame.
04:00Over the course of decades, Carl and Ellie get married, move into a house that they fix
04:05up together, and while away the hours watching the passing clouds.
04:09Over the years, they save up money for a trip to Paradise Falls, but must contend with various
04:13mishaps that set them back financially.
04:16By the time Carl decides to surprise Ellie with tickets for their dream vacation, Ellie
04:20is already suffering too heavily from illness to embark on the trip.
04:24Ellie's untimely passing is obviously heartbreaking, but there's another tragic little detail that
04:29many of us probably didn't notice when we were young.
04:32The happy couple suffers a miscarriage while trying to build the perfect family life together.
04:37This revelation is given to us in only one shot, that of Carl consoling a crying Ellie
04:43in the doctor's office.
04:44Since this moment has no dialogue, kids would likely miss this tragic detail, but it's one
04:49that many parents would instantly understand.
04:52While this heartbreaking circumstance packs an emotional punch that makes the film relatable
04:56for viewers of all ages, director Peter Docter told Yahoo! that even Up's filmmakers were
05:01hesitant to include such a heavy scene in a kid's movie.
05:04Quasimodo is the hunchbacked inhabitant of Notre Dame's bell tower, cut off from the
05:09rest of the world due to his abnormal appearance.
05:12He was placed there as a baby after his mother was killed by the brutal Judge Claude Frollo,
05:16who plans to exterminate Paris' Romani population.
05:20One of the Romani, a beautiful woman named Esmeralda, rescues Quasimodo from public humiliation
05:26in a rare instance of kindness from an outsider.
05:28The two become close friends, along with Captain Phoebus, who has defected from Frollo's guard.
05:34Quasimodo helps Esmeralda escape, but not before she gives him a map that leads to a
05:38Roma haven.
05:40Meanwhile, Frollo gets ready to begin his attack on the Romani people.
05:44As if this G-rated film wasn't mature enough, there's a scene in the film where Frollo sings
05:48a song about how his lust for Esmeralda conflicts with his duty and his religion, putting his
05:54soul at risk of eternal damnation.
05:56The song is accompanied by some appropriately grim imagery, including towering flames and
06:01a congregation of faceless, shadowy-robed figures.
06:04The film's co-director, Kirk Wise, told The New York Times that while there was some trepidation
06:09among filmmakers around exploring Frollo's sexual fascination with Esmeralda, it was
06:13too important to exclude.
06:15He explained,
06:16We knew that was going to be a really delicate topic, but we also knew we had to tell that
06:21story, because it's key to the central love rectangle.
06:24Inspired by Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from 1001 Nights, Aladdin tells the story of the
06:30eponymous dashing vagabond as he's manipulated by the power-hungry Jafar into retrieving
06:35a mystical lamp for him from the Cave of Wonders.
06:38However, Aladdin ends up keeping the lamp for himself, releasing a genie who promises
06:42to grant him several wishes.
06:44Three wishes to be exact, and ixnay on the wishing for more wishes.
06:48Aladdin uses his first wish to become a prince in an attempt to win the heart of Princess
06:52Jasmine, but Jafar is determined to become sultan and will stop at nothing to steal back
06:57the lamp and marry Jasmine himself.
06:59In many ways, Aladdin was a spiritual successor to the classic Disney animation films of the
07:031940s and 50s, and even though this film came out in 1992, it was still marked by some controversial
07:10elements like its predecessors.
07:12The opening musical number featured lyrics sung by a traveling man from a so-called faraway
07:16place, which his song depicts as a violent environment where the people are described
07:20as barbaric and cruel.
07:22The lines didn't sit well with the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which believed
07:26that it portrayed Arabs in a negative manner.
07:29Subsequent releases of the film featured lyrics that removed the more insensitive elements
07:33of the original song.
07:35Miss Bianca and Bernard are intelligent mice and members of the Rescue Aids Society.
07:40The two are assigned a case to look for a young orphan girl named Penny who's been kidnapped.
07:44After paying Penny's orphanage a visit, Miss Bianca and Bernard learn of a suspicious woman,
07:49Madame Medusa, and her previous attempts to whisk Penny away.
07:52The minuscule detectives track down Medusa and discover that, in addition to kidnapping
07:57Penny, Medusa and her partner, Mr. Snoops, are also planning to acquire the world's largest
08:02diamond.
08:03Upon discovering Penny's whereabouts, Miss Bianca and Bernard team up with an albatross
08:07named Orville to foil Medusa's plan and rescue the orphan.
08:10While The Rescuers may be overshadowed by some of Disney's other films, it's still a
08:14strong entry in their impressive animated canon.
08:17However, if you saw the film as a child before 1999, you may have witnessed something that
08:22definitely was not meant for your innocent eyes, a two-frame depiction of a nude woman
08:27in the background of a scene where Miss Bianca and Bernard are flying through the city on
08:30Orville's back.
08:32Granted, because it was only two frames in the background, it's highly likely that even
08:36the most eagle-eyed viewers wouldn't have spotted the offending image that someone snuck
08:40into the film without pausing it.
08:42Unfortunately for those adults curious enough to try to hunt down this controversial image,
08:47Disney recalled over three million copies and censored all future releases of the film.
08:53Set in England during World War II, Bedknobs and Broomsticks tells the story of three young
08:56siblings who are sent away from their home in London during an attack to be looked after
09:00by an eccentric woman named Miss Price.
09:03Unhappy with their new home, the children decide to return to London, but change their
09:07minds when they discover that Miss Price is an aspiring witch hoping to use her powers
09:11in the fight against the Nazis.
09:13She offers to transport the children back to their original home via an enchanted bed,
09:18but she needs the final part of a spell before she can do that.
09:21So, Miss Price and the children embark on a whimsical adventure featuring magical lands,
09:26talking animals, animated household objects, and, unfortunately, Nazis.
09:31The movie barely mentions World War II for most of its duration, focusing on the story's
09:36more lighthearted elements instead.
09:38However, there's a jarring reminder of the Third Reich when a platoon of Nazi soldiers
09:43attempts an invasion of Miss Price's home, forcing her to bring some ancient relics to
09:47life with an invisible army to fight off the Goose Steppers.
09:50The Nazis' atrocities aren't mentioned in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, but older audiences
09:55are well aware of them, adding a tinge of grimness to an otherwise silly fantasy movie.