10 Beloved Disney Characters Who Had Serious Mental Health Issues

1. Ariel - The Little Mermaid

Disorders: kleptomania. Body dysmorphic disorder Snow White might shack up with seven complete strangers and sing to woodland creatures, a disturbing trait she shares with Princess Aurora. But neither have anything on Ariel, a sea-born kleptomaniac who has some serious issues with her body image and a complete lack of personal identity. Rather than live the life of a princess in the royal court of King Trident, Ariel spends her time stealing treasures from the ship wrecks of poor men and women lost at sea. We're sure they didn't imagine their prized treasures would be hoarded up in a sea cave by a mentally unstable half girl, half fish. But thieving from the dead is the least of Ariel's issues. Her body dysmorphic disorder means she believes her body is defective and needs to be 'fixed' in order for her to be whole again. It's for this reason she becomes fixated of humans, and Eric in particular, She goes as far as to indulge black magic to fix herself, ridding herself of her tail fin in favour of legs. She's a human trapped in a mermaid's body and she goes to extreme measures to correct herself. Let's hope someone picks up on her identity issues and kleptomania now that she is married to Eric, otherwise she'll find herself not belonging anywhere. There you have it. Childhood films destroyed with the harsh reality of our beloved character's fragile mental states. That's not to say these disorders are any laughing matter; they are serious mental health issues. But for these heroines and villains, it's clear to see that there is an explanation to some of their more extreme personality traits.