9 Disturbing Origin Stories Behind Famous Disney Characters

In a landscape filled with talking animals and dancing candlestick holders, there's scarcely a more child-friendly mass media company than Disney. From the theme parks to the video games, just about everything related to Walt Disney represents the whimsical, the fantastical, and the outright joy that the human imagination can create. And sure, some of the most revered animated Disney films feature a little bit of heartbreak and sadness, but that's only incorporated so that children can absolutely lose their sh*t an overwhelming sense of glee once that sadness is rectified by the film's end. Bambi's mom has to die in order for the little deer to learn how to be brave and realize that family is what you make it. But that doesn't mean they're going to draw Bambi's mom being slaughtered and turned into jerky by a proud hunter. Disney is sad. But it is not gruesome. There's a key distinction there. Unfortunately, if you trace the lineage of most Disney movies back far enough, that distinction becomes quite blurry. Yes, it seems that most of the true origin stories of the most beloved Disney characters are ten times more disturbing than the whole freak show that was Fantasia. And if they didn't have the good sense to tone down the more psychologically damaging aspects of those origins, suffice it to say there might be an additional few million serial killers in the world today.