10 Horrific Truths Behind Your Favourite Disney Movies

Disney left out the part where Ariel commits suicide and turns to foam, apparently.

Once upon a time, there was a place where Disney didn't exist yet. Children couldn't rifle around their VHS collection to keep themselves entertained. So they instead read storybooks filled with torture, unplanned pregnancies and eye gauging.

No, these weren't horror novels... they were everyday fairytales.

And these fairytales eventually evolved into some of your favourite Disney classics! Really, it's a wonder any of these movies were made in the first place if you consider the source material. These original tales range from gruesome to violent to just plain depressing. They'll really make you appreciate the sickeningly sweet Disney-fied versions even more than you might have before.

So here are 10 of the most disturbing origin stories of your favourite Disney tales. Warning: these are not for the faint of heart...

10. Ariel Doesn't Get the Prince (And Then She Dies) - The Little Mermaid

Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures

Hans Christian Anderson's original version of The Little Mermaid was a lot more gruesome than Disney's own. Yes, the Little Mermaid rescues a prince and goes to a Sea Witch to gain legs so she can win the prince's heart. But instead of just losing her voice, the Sea Witch cuts out her tongue. And when she walks, it feels like she's walking on sharp knives. And then the prince falls in love with another princess.

In the end, the Little Mermaid either has to kill the prince after marrying another so she can turn back into a mermaid, or she will die by jumping into the ocean and turning into sea foam. She chooses the latter.

Contributor
Contributor

Holland Baker is based in New York City, where she is an editor, writer and co-host of Whatever It Takes: A Degrassi Podcast. In her free time, you can find her searching for bodega cats, eating mass amounts of pizza and using humor as a defense mechanism.