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“Which Disney Movie Has The Worst Message?”: 30 People Don’t Hold Back
Interview With Author
Someday, my prince will come… Well, probably not. But according to the films I grew up on, I just need to wait a little longer! Or I might turn into an evil villain soon.
I love a good Disney movie as much as the next person, and there’s no doubt that some of them have incredible soundtracks. But once we grow up, we’re able to look at these stories a bit more critically. And it turns out that they don’t all have the best messages.
Redditors have recently been calling out Disney movies that convey questionable themes to kids, so we’ve gathered some of their valid critiques below. Keep reading to also find a conversation with the person who started this thread, and be sure to upvote the replies that you can’t help but agree with!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I love the movie, but Mrs. Doubtfire.
The dad is and acts unhinged for no reason other than to play pity party. He throws a huge birthday bash that gets the cops called, property damage, and breaks a boundary with his wife. Apparently, he has a history of doing that so his wife is rightfully fed up with all of it AND having to clean up the mess/keep it together financially (because he quit another job due to his "morals").
The he gets hissy when he finds out his wife was completely serious in divorcing him. He gets more upset when he doesn't get joint custody (even though at the time, he had no job or decent place to live). He is motivated to get a place but doesn't bother cleaning it up for his children (you could argue the Chinese dinner scene is right after moving, but it is still s****y by the time the social worker comes).
He gets an absolute insane scheme of dressing up as a woman and lying to get close to them. Then sabotaging her dates with a nice man so he... can... win her back?? Exact revenge?
Meanwhile, the wife is trying to keep it together and take care of her kids (who are turned against her because dad is so fun and cool while she is a rule person). SHE buys the clothes. SHE buys the food and entertainment. SHE sets the school expectations, but she is a b***h for parenting?? For finding a guy who has his c**p together like an adult??
Then the kids find out and are on Dad's side because "dad is so fun and he does this insane c**p because he loves us!!!" But at no point does anyone say to him "why don't you... idk... work on your issues and clean your damn place??? Go to work and get some responsibility beyond party?"
He does get promoted (by luck) and gets caught. The judge rightfully condemns him. Dude is crazy. He was a step away from killing those kids and killing himself - that whole speech in the courtroom screams "I am mentally unstable." The mom feels bad (yeah, she made rude comments out of anger, but she DID HER PARENTING RIGHT) and gives him what he wants.
Moral of the story: act unhinged towards everyone and everyone will understand that you are right to be unhinged and give you stuff.
Susie Elle 3 months ago
Almost all movies in the 90's and 00's had a 'nagging mom who doesn't know how to let up' and a 'cool but unhinged dad who knows how to have fun!' and as a kid you always side with dad, but as an adult you start to see that mom actually had a very valid point and if that's not reflective of everyday life I don't know what is.
RELATED:
#3
I have a running joke with my wife that Aladdin is about a young man who lies to and gaslights a woman, but she doesn't care because he has a cool car.
dremetrius 3 months ago
To be fair, I'd tolerate a lot of s**t for access to a flying carpet. OTOH I wouldn't have bothered tolerating it for long, what with this total stranger who showed up out of nowhere that nobody cares about suddenly pops in to offer me a ride and now I have a fast, portable corpse disposal unit where I can drop a body literally anywhere in the world He doesn't even tell anyone else about it. And he clearly snuck in to see her, so nobody knows where he is or expects him back.
To find out how this thread started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user Nebraskabychoice, who posed the question, "Which Disney movie has the worst message?"
"I started the conversation because I felt that Disney movies had the reputation of just being good entertainment for kids, and I wanted to see what people's opinions were," they told Bored Panda. "Specifically, a bad message can be disguised with pretty visuals."
#4
Not sure if it still holds but for the longest time, all Disney hero’s had American accents and villains had foreign accents. Even when they were from the same culture. Remember kids - foreigners are scary.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 months ago
Ain't that the truth. This isn't just a Disney trope though. Maybe it's a throwback to WWII but you see a character with a German accent, they the bad guy.
#5
Live Action Mulan: Be born special and just be better than everyone else by default. That's the only way you can succeed as a woman.
BladeSoul69:
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the 2020 Mulan remake ruin the original message that a woman can be the same as a man with the same training by making her naturally gifted with Chi.
No more hard work, you just have to be born special.
#6
For me it's The Little Mermaid. Change everything about yourself for a guy? No thanks.
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
For a guy who doesn't even have the slightest idea that you existed in the first place...
We were also curious to know which films the author believes share questionable messages.
"I think the worst messages, unfortunately, can be found in the older movies. Racism in Song of the South or the Jim Crows in Dumbo are obvious, but even the superficiality of Snow White - saved by a prince because she is pretty - sends unfortunate messages," they shared. "Similarly, the live action Mulan remake removed the original good message of hard work and ingenuity."
Raya and the Last Dragon is another that many readers commented on, but Nebraskabychoice noted that they haven't seen it.
#7
The Little Mermaid - an underage girl with body issues is trafficked by an older woman and objectified by an older man.
#8
The Lion King is my favorite movie about running away from your life's problems until you are old enough to k*ll your uncle.
Susie Elle 3 months ago
Also "My uncle killed my dad!" Timon and Pumbaa: "Have you tried just not worrying about it?"
#9
Cinderella.
Poor woman with no hope in sight meets rich man, spends part of an evening dancing with him, neither of them have any idea who the other person really is, but when he finds her again, they are instantly married and just when the real story and character development could take place, that's the end, of course happily ever after.
Boys: your goal is to be a wealthy provider, and then you'll be happy because you'll have a pretty woman...
Girls: find a rich, charming man and he will take care of you and you'll be happy the rest of your life.
And neither are going to do well in relationships if they internalize this message.
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
Who the hell cares about the dance and the glass shoe?? The disfuncional family is sickening! And blame the evil stepmother. Not any single kid will even try to accept dad's new wife because of this.
On the other hand, we wanted to know which Disney movies convey the best messages.
"I enjoy the movies Mulan and Princess and the Frog," they shared. "[Their] messages show the value of honor, hard work and ingenuity. I also enjoy Beauty and the Beast because it shows how people can change and the value of kindness. My favorite Disney film remains The Lion King, but that is really just a retelling of Hamlet with stellar visuals and an amazing voice cast."
#10
I'm going to make a very controversial pick and say "Inside Out". But with a heavy caveat. Only in regards to boys/men. The emotions of women when shown are complex and deep. The male counterparts were gag jokes and stereotypes.
Susie Elle 3 months ago
I so agree, especially at the end where Riley bumps into a boy and his emotions are all ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION GIRL GIRL GIRL, while she just shrugs, as if girls that age all have it figured out or can't be heavily interested in boys as well.
#11
They had to repeatedly assure people the message of The Hunchback of Notre Dame was not, "Be grateful for the pretty girl's friendship and step aside for your handsome friend, because that's clearly the best you can hope for."
TotallyNOTAFox 3 months ago
I wouldn't see how it would be better if they came together, the way it goes makes his character development so much better (he risks his life to save her despite there being no romantic reward at the end)
#12
"Wish", easily.
copper-feather:
I believe this movie would have worked better if they had tried to go with the message "Not every wish should be granted".
Instead they went with the message "There are no bad wishes, only bad genies".
GhostlySnail (she/her) 3 months ago
That movie was so sad to see. The animation was bland, none of the side characters (like the friends) were memorable or interesting, so the main character had no interesting interactions. The main character (what was her name again?) had a personality copy-and-pasted from pretty much every other princess, except she had no backstory or explanation for why she was the way she was. The king was like “I see how you care about those around you” but it never even showed how she fit into that community at all, and when she had her whole dramatic song about wanting something more, all that had been shown of her life was pretty much great. Also the villain was barely evil. It makes me sad because it could have been so much better as well, they just played it safe and didn’t include anything “bad”. I’m not a Disney hater, I love disney and wish they would do better.
As for what Nebraskabychoice thought of the replies to their post, they enjoyed most people's reasonings.
However, they added that a lot of people missed the point of certain movies. "In Beauty and the Beast, there is no Stockholm Syndrome as we understand it. Rather, this movie is about the Beast learning and changing until he becomes loveable."
"Similarly, The Princess and the Frog is not about Tiana's need for a rich boyfriend, but about her balancing her ambition with human connections," the author explained. "And similar to Beauty and the Beast, the prince is not loveable until he learns the value of work."
#13
I'm not a fan of the end of Encanto, where the message seems to be forgive your narc Abuela even though she made everyone miserable.
Kiki’sNotLookingBack 3 months ago
UPVOTE IF YOU THNK ABUELA IS THE REAL ANTAGONIST OF ENCANTO!
#14
Though it was my fav growing up, Sleeping Beauty should probably be on this list.
Takeaway messages:
A) The gifts the fairies are bestowing upon infant-Aurora are all superficial (until the last one). Being pretty > being smart, kind, healthy, etc
B) It's a-ok for a dude to kiss an unconscious woman. In fact, it makes you a real man, a hero even.
#15
Sleeping Beauty for making it seem like the princess’s only role is to be rescued by a prince, which can feel pretty outdated.
Finally, Nebraskabychoice added, "I think first of all, these movies are meant to be entertaining. Disney did not create the message of Snow White but used pre-existing folk tales. But in the context of creating entertainment, I think it is important to be aware of what is being put into the world."
#16
Does Rise of Skywalker count?
After Last Jedi set up a message of "It doesn't take being born special or being part of a certain bloodline to make a difference," Rise of Skywalker went "LOL NEVERMIND, ONLY THE SUPER SPECIAL PEOPLE BORN INTO THE SUPER SPECIAL FAMILIES CAN BE COOL, AND PEOPLE WILL ONLY LISTEN TO THE FAMOUS CELEBRITIES IF YOU NEED HELP!!!"
God what a sh**show of a movie.
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
Yeah, forget about learning journey and auto sacrifice for a great cause... Just born special and you automatically deserve everything because of your special breed, blood, and race. Great
#17
A lot of them are bad, but I've always struggled with The Princess and the Frog.... *Amazing* hard working woman, so close to achieving her dreams, has to learn to....calm down on her bad*ss work ethic to make room for a guy who hasn't worked a day in his life? Don't love it. I *expect* the classics to be awful. It's more jarring when the main character is fully competent and prepared to make her dreams come true without a man.
Susie Elle 3 months ago
Doesn't she tell him so? That he's a freeloader who never did anything except chase girls and spend money, and that's what makes him step up and better himself? In the end, she DOES make her dreams come true without Naveen, he's just there on the sideline if I remember correctly.
#18
Pinocchio. People think the message is “don’t lie,” but Pinocchio is punished for lying when he’s actually telling the truth as he understood it. Meanwhile, people are luring children, then trafficking them as slaves after turning them into donkeys. That guy doesn’t get punished, neither does the man who tries to abduct Pinocchio for his traveling puppet show. People won’t believe you and the world is filled with criminals who will exploit you and get away with it. That’s the message. Later, Pinocchio saves Gapeto from a fish, thereby proving his selflessness and the blue faire turn him real. The message there is clear. The only way you’ll be rewarded is to obey your parents even if you have no clue how the world works, and don’t expect anyone to guide you, especially not a useless cricket.
#19
Not really a message, but Parent Trap was just creepy to me.
A couple is married and the wife has twins. Then they get divorced soon after the births. Each gets custody of one child and move far apart from the other. Not only do the girls have zero contact with their other parent, they aren’t even told they have an identical twin sister.
#20
Individually the messages of Wreck It Ralph and Wreck It Ralph 2 are fine. Together it's incoherent. Why does Ralph have to learn to accept his position in life but Vanelope get to live her dream in a different game? The two movies have diametrically opposing messages and it drives me insane.
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
Because Venelope is a princess. She DESERVES to get her dreams come true. Who cares about anyone else?
#21
Everyone's going for the classics, here's a more recent one:
Raya and the Last Dragon.
You should have faith and trust everyone, even the woman who stabbed you in the back and has shown repeatedly that she cannot be trusted.
MysteryGirlWhite:
Raya was apparently "you have to learn to trust others", even though the movie has her being betrayed over and over again
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
I don't think that was the message. The message was that everybody is governed by fear and distrust. Villains are not just evil people. They are normal people who happen to be on the other side of a dispute. In order to really understand the world, you have to recognize that about each other, and be able to see the world from the other person's perspective.
#22
Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, what a mean girl bully.
Lost Penny 3 months ago
She hangs out with Peter, who is an a*****e. I'd be surprised if she were kind & friendly.
#23
Little Mermaid.
She left her family and her world and sacrified too much for someone she didn't even know because he was handsome.
Lost Penny 3 months ago
She was 15 (originally; she was 16 according to Disney). Acting the way she did was in her job description.
#24
Beauty and the beast. Stockholm Syndrome at its finest.
glowworm2 3 months ago (edited)
It's NOT Stockholm Syndrome though. Belle starts to genuinely like the Beast after he rescues her from the wolves--which he did because he was worried about her, not because she ran away. He also starts (unknowingly) changing for her because he genuinely cares about her. An abductor wouldn't do that. Also, Belle comes back to save him because she really did love him. She was also being blackmailed into something she didn't want from Gaston, but she still came back to save him afterwards.
#25
Wasn't Cars 2 the one where the disabled were the villains?
Lisija123:
Yes, the "lemons" were demonized throughout the entire movie for using fossil fuel. Even though that's not their fault, that's just how their body works. They didn't choose to be born (built?) as lemons.
#26
Coco and Encanto tells you that your family will immediately and substantially change their negative behaviors if given logic information.
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
I didn't get that from either of those movies. Maybe I am stupid though
#27
Hot take, but Encanto.
People who are mistreating you are simply under pressure, misunderstood, and/or doing what they think is best for everyone. Redemption and forgiveness is always possible.
As someone who has lived for far too long around families like this, I can tell you that Abuela's character arc was completely unrealistic and unbelievable. If they replaced Abuela with Mother Gothel from Tangled, it would be such a better movie.
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
It is not. I think it is the second best Disney movie right after the original Mulan
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Paul Rabit 3 months ago
I've always said that the most unbelievable thing about this movie regarding a magical candle family is that Abuela would ever EVER have apologized and come around - at least never that quickly. You can't be that engrained in your mission and just heel-turn like that.
Sarah Léon 3 months ago
I hear you but you have to admit it took her 50 years, one son, all her family's magic, a yelling son-in-law AND the total destruction of her house to finally admit she may have a problem to her runaway grand-daugther...
Load More Replies... #28
Oliver and Company: The best way to free yourself of money payments is not to learn how to be better with handling money but to k*ll your creditor. You just gotta make it look circumstantial.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 months ago
It's a cartoon version of Oliver Twist and I have no problem with unaliving (love that BP censorship) predatory money lenders. Plus the Huey Lewis centered sound track slaps.
#29
I love, love, love Up, and think it has great messages about love, unlikely friendships and giving people a chance. But just lately, “scientists are the villains” didn’t do the world any favors. Also, trophy hunters were right there if they needed a villain who hunts the last rare bird.
#30
Blank Check.
bruingrad84:
Taught me to spend all my money fast before the authorities take it back…. The dumb And dumber philosophy.
How important is it for Disney movies to have a positive message for kids?
Alewa 3 months ago
To be fair, most Disney movies are rip offs of old folk tales from around the world. Big surprise, we might not agree with the morales from 500 years ago.
Mystery Kitteh 3 months ago
OMG. These are movies for little kids. Not psychology majors. Vibrant colors, cute characters and some semblance of a story line. Kids are not looking to analyze a movie made for them. Back off you pretentious, "look at me I'm so woke" adults. I've watched all these movies as a child and as an adult. They are for entertainment.
Marnie 3 months ago
If you analyze it, you're not going to be affected by it. Kids learn from every single thing they see and hear and experience.
Load More Replies...
Bilja M 3 months ago
Some of these movies are indeed 60+ year old so those were different times. And some of them are based on stories that are even older, dating from early 1900 and earlier. It just wasn't possible to make them any better. Original Cinderella story is so horrible it scares the c**p out of me. they did what they could but it was still just bad.
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
Most of the Grimm tales also made ZERO sense. Hey buddy, turn yourself into a church so we can hide from this crazy guy. Sure no problem, one church coming right up. Eat this pigeon's spleen and turn invisible, makes sense to me. Also, in Grimm stories the evil characters can win, and the "good guy" might just end up dead. I remember one where the Devil makes a deal for a guy's soul, and while dude wins his soul back from the Devil, he does so by providing him with two other souls. Who really won that one?
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Tucker Cahooter 3 months ago
I guess Disney should just put out a movie of paint on a wall drying
firecrackershrimp 3 months ago
But what color paint ? And how fast can it dry? Do we intercede with a fan ? How did we afford the paint and fan ? People will always take the simplest things and turn them into controversy.
Load More Replies...
evelyn rabitor 3 months ago
They are just movies. They are learning much worse from all the news and other things
Randy Mertl 3 months ago
Wow. That’s the problem with people today, you always want to look for the bad instead of just trying to enjoy what was made to be good. Soo many karens.
Mark Kelly 3 months ago
ok, with Mrs Doubtfire, the premise is so ridiculous no one will think it teaches a bad lesson.
John Jameson 3 months ago
This whole post was because Adelaide Ross has a hate for Disney. It ignores the millions and millions of people who love the stories and the animation. It is a collection of Karens that want to nit-pick and create hate where none exists. Most normal people do not view a Disney move and think, "OMG, was that princess so duped! The prince was perv and the king reminded me of my father, what a douche." I will get down voted and maybe banned by the gods of BP. But is because there is more hate here than love or understanding. If you think that your daughter comes out of Beauty & the Beast or Chicken Little questioning their future decisions in life, then it is you that has the problem. Not your daughter.
Spencer's slave no longer 3 months ago
You obviously don't watch many Disney movies then. They're not all animations of "fairy stories" from centuries ago. Good grief.
Load More Replies...
Richard Rice 3 months ago
How important is it for Disney movies to have a positive message for kids? The problem today is whose message?
Pam 3 months ago
I don’t know I saw most of these 40 to 50 years ago and I was looking for life lessons in them. Then were just entertaining. Why is it so bad now to just let kids be kids. This of course only applies to all movies except Song of the South. All the copies of that racist trash should be burned and if the creators are still alive they should be lined up and slapped.
Aaron Parker 3 months ago
🤣 Imagine a handful of geriatrics being lined up to be slapped
Load More Replies...
Mark Kelly 3 months ago
I watched all these. In hindsight you can find fault but I'm not a lying, narcissistic, a*****e even though I watched these.
Marnie 3 months ago
I banned my son from watching the Disney channel around age 8. Too much violence, bias, stereotypes, tropes. The channel was full of shows of kids misbehaving and the end of the show was the parents realizing the kid misbehaved because the parents were human and not perfect, so the parents apologized and everything was good. (I absolutely believe parents should apologize to their kids when they really mess up, but that's not what this was.)
Alewa 3 months ago
To be fair, most Disney movies are rip offs of old folk tales from around the world. Big surprise, we might not agree with the morales from 500 years ago.
Mystery Kitteh 3 months ago
OMG. These are movies for little kids. Not psychology majors. Vibrant colors, cute characters and some semblance of a story line. Kids are not looking to analyze a movie made for them. Back off you pretentious, "look at me I'm so woke" adults. I've watched all these movies as a child and as an adult. They are for entertainment.
Marnie 3 months ago
If you analyze it, you're not going to be affected by it. Kids learn from every single thing they see and hear and experience.
Load More Replies... Bilja M 3 months ago
Some of these movies are indeed 60+ year old so those were different times. And some of them are based on stories that are even older, dating from early 1900 and earlier. It just wasn't possible to make them any better. Original Cinderella story is so horrible it scares the c**p out of me. they did what they could but it was still just bad.
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
Most of the Grimm tales also made ZERO sense. Hey buddy, turn yourself into a church so we can hide from this crazy guy. Sure no problem, one church coming right up. Eat this pigeon's spleen and turn invisible, makes sense to me. Also, in Grimm stories the evil characters can win, and the "good guy" might just end up dead. I remember one where the Devil makes a deal for a guy's soul, and while dude wins his soul back from the Devil, he does so by providing him with two other souls. Who really won that one?
Load More Replies... Tucker Cahooter 3 months ago
I guess Disney should just put out a movie of paint on a wall drying
firecrackershrimp 3 months ago
But what color paint ? And how fast can it dry? Do we intercede with a fan ? How did we afford the paint and fan ? People will always take the simplest things and turn them into controversy.
Load More Replies... evelyn rabitor 3 months ago
They are just movies. They are learning much worse from all the news and other things
Randy Mertl 3 months ago
Wow. That’s the problem with people today, you always want to look for the bad instead of just trying to enjoy what was made to be good. Soo many karens.
Mark Kelly 3 months ago
ok, with Mrs Doubtfire, the premise is so ridiculous no one will think it teaches a bad lesson.
John Jameson 3 months ago
This whole post was because Adelaide Ross has a hate for Disney. It ignores the millions and millions of people who love the stories and the animation. It is a collection of Karens that want to nit-pick and create hate where none exists. Most normal people do not view a Disney move and think, "OMG, was that princess so duped! The prince was perv and the king reminded me of my father, what a douche." I will get down voted and maybe banned by the gods of BP. But is because there is more hate here than love or understanding. If you think that your daughter comes out of Beauty & the Beast or Chicken Little questioning their future decisions in life, then it is you that has the problem. Not your daughter.
Spencer's slave no longer 3 months ago
You obviously don't watch many Disney movies then. They're not all animations of "fairy stories" from centuries ago. Good grief.
Load More Replies... Richard Rice 3 months ago
How important is it for Disney movies to have a positive message for kids? The problem today is whose message?
Pam 3 months ago
I don’t know I saw most of these 40 to 50 years ago and I was looking for life lessons in them. Then were just entertaining. Why is it so bad now to just let kids be kids. This of course only applies to all movies except Song of the South. All the copies of that racist trash should be burned and if the creators are still alive they should be lined up and slapped.
Aaron Parker 3 months ago
🤣 Imagine a handful of geriatrics being lined up to be slapped
Load More Replies... Mark Kelly 3 months ago
I watched all these. In hindsight you can find fault but I'm not a lying, narcissistic, a*****e even though I watched these.
Marnie 3 months ago
I banned my son from watching the Disney channel around age 8. Too much violence, bias, stereotypes, tropes. The channel was full of shows of kids misbehaving and the end of the show was the parents realizing the kid misbehaved because the parents were human and not perfect, so the parents apologized and everything was good. (I absolutely believe parents should apologize to their kids when they really mess up, but that's not what this was.)
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