While Disney is known for its quintessential happy moments, that’s not to say that things can’t get dark from time to time.
Take character deaths, for example (Bambi’s mom, anyone?), or any one of the many times evil villains tried to wreak havoc.
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There are also lots of behind-the-scenes secrets that would make you weep. Here are 10+ of the saddest ones.
Disney is one of the most powerful companies in the world, thanks to their movies and television shows.
They make some of the most powerful, joyful, and magical films that the world has ever seen.
They know how to make a movie work, that much is for sure.
But as much as we love their movies, there are a ton of things that fans don’t know about them.
And some of these facts are actually super depressing! So get those tissues ready!
They are unpleasant.
1. There’s a psychological disorder called a “bambi complex.”
When you think of Bambi , the first thing that probably comes to mind is when Bambi’s mother gets shot and killed ( cries ; we’re still not over it).
So, if you have the Bambi Complex disorder, this means that you are very sympathetic towards wildlife and wild animals.
It does go a step further, though.
People who have this complex are known to be very against hunting, controlled fires, and any type of inhumane treatment towards animals — especially the cute ones.
#JusticeForBambi!
2. There are other psychological conditions inspired by Disney as well:
A popular one is Peter Pan Syndrome, which is when men simply won’t emotionally grow up (so, our ex?).
Anther is Rapunzel Syndrome, which is an intestinal condition that comes from eating too much of your own hair…
3. *Sleeping Beauty* was a box office flop:
It only made $36 million . This may sound like a lot, but it was a lot less compared to other Disney films.
Since the movie flopped, the studio didn’t even make another princess movie until 30 years later when they created The Little Mermaid .
4. There’s a reason why Carl wears a bow tie to Ellie’s funeral In *Up*:
Get ready to bawl your eyes out.
He wears the bowtie since Ellie was always the one to tie his ties. How are we supposed to go on when we now know this emotionally devastating information??
4. *Toy Story 2* almost never happened:
It was all deleted thanks to one line of code.
“First, Woody’s hat disappeared. Then his boots. Then he disappeared entirely,” recalled Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull in his book, Creativity Inc.
“Whole sequences—poof!—were deleted from the drive.”
“To reassemble the film would have taken thirty people a solid year,” Catmull recalled.
In the end, the crisis was solved thanks to Galyn Susman, the supervising technical director. She kept a file of the film at home!
5. Mulan is based on a terrifying fairytale:
This is actually the case with most Disney movies. Things were originally very, very dark.
In Mulan’s case, the movie is loosely based on the ancient Chinese tale of Hua Mulan.
In the fairytale, Mulan returns home to find that her mother is remarried and her father has passed.
When her identity as a woman is revealed, she faces a harsh punishment: she must become a concubine.
But in the end, she decides to take her own life.
6. *The Aristocats* is the last Disney movie to be approved by Walt Disney before his death:
The Disney magnet sadly passed away on December 15, 1966 from lung cancer.
Since the feline movie was his last , this meant that it was also the last movie to end with the line, “A Walt Disney Production.”
7. *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* caused one theatre a *lot* of money:
The Radio City Music Theatre in New York City had to reupholster all of their seats in 1937 since kids’ peed in their seats during the movie.
We guess that witch was just too scary!
8. There’s a reason Belle wears blue in *Beauty in the Beast*:
She was the only one in her village to wear the color since it symbolized her being an outcast. How sad!
This is also why the Beast is wearing blue when she first met him; he was an outcast, too.
9. *Finding Nemo* pushed clownfish to the brink of extinction:
If that isn’t depressing, I don’t know what is.
“I think a lot of people fell in love with the character Nemo and they wanted one for their aquarium,” one researcher told The Huffington Post .
“There’s nothing wrong with owning a marine fish in an aquarium but I think a lot of people didn’t realise 90 percent of clown fish sold are taken from the wild.”
A lot of people were also in the market for a rat who can cook since sales increased after Ratatouille came out.
But just like a lot of people abandon black cats after Halloween, a lot of people likely got rid of those poor rats after the ” Ratatouille effect” wore off.
10. Andy didn’t have a dad in *Toy Story* since his parents are likely divorced:
That’s right, folks. He’s not a deadbeat dad, after all!
He’s just living in another town, according to Toy Story 4’s director and producer, Josh Cooley and Mark Nielsen.
They told *Vanity Fair*: “We treated Woody as a father figure to Andy throughout all the films. In terms of his dad, though – being dead? That’s taking it pretty far.”
“I’d like to think that maybe [Andy’s parents] split up, maybe he’s still alive and living somewhere in another town.”
Do you know of any other sad Disney facts that others may not know about?
If you do, let us know what they are down in the comments below!
If you don’t know any, let us know which fact was your favorite! We would love to hear from you.
