20 Beloved Disney Movies That Actually Had Horrible Messages For Children

Disney movies might seem like harmless fun, but when you really think about the messages they send, it’s a bit questionable.

Take The Little Mermaid—an underage girl gives up her voice, literally, to chase a guy she just met. Or Beauty and the Beast, where falling in love with your captor is somehow romantic? Don’t even get me started on Cinderella—meet a guy at a party, and boom, happily ever after with no questions asked.

It’s easy to overlook these things because, hey, it’s Disney, right? But these movies often promote outdated ideas about gender roles, relationships, and self-worth. They can make kids believe that true love solves everything, or that changing who you are is the way to get what you want. While they’re fun to watch, maybe it’s time we think twice before taking their messages at face value.

In a recent thread on Reddit, people shared the Disney movies they grew up with that, in retrospect, had some pretty bad messages for kids.

Keep going for the best responses.

1. Mrs. Doubtfire

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”).

Then 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 cp 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.

2. The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid – an underage girl with body issues is trafficked by an older woman and objectified by an older man.

3. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

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.”

4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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.

5. Any movie which pushes marrying someone you just met.

6. Beauty and the Beast.

Stockholm Syndrome at its finest.

7. Wish

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”.

8. The Princess and the Frog

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.

9. Aladdin

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.

10. 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.

11. Sleeping Beauty for making it seem like the princess’s only role is to be rescued by a prince, which can feel pretty outdated.

Sleeping Beauty for making it seem like the princess’s only role is to be rescued by a prince, which can feel pretty outdated.

12. Wreck It Ralph and Wreck It Ralph 2

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.

13. Live Action Mulan

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.

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.

14. The Lion King

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.

15. Encanto

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.

16. The Parent Trap

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.

17. All the classic Disney villains and heroes

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.

18. Inside Out

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.

19. 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 fairy turns 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.

20. Raya and the Last Dragon

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.

Raya was apparently “you have to learn to trust others”, even though the movie has her being betrayed over and over again.