12 Horrifyingly Dark Tales Behind Your Favourite Disney Movies

The majority of us grew up on a diet of Disney movies, telling us not to worry as there's always a happy ending at the credits for anyone who is good and kind.

Most of our favourite Disney animated movies are well known to have been adapted from centuries old fairytales. These original stories are typically dark and terrifying, usually filled with things that wouldn't typically be considered suitable for a younger audience and certainly NOT made for bedtime reading.

There's suicide, rape, mutilation and murder to name but a few of the twisted things that can be uncovered in these seemly nice stories. So many were often tales of woe, where the Princess didn't always get her man, and if she does it never ends well for everyone. In some cases you're lucky if anyone ends up alive let alone with a smile on their face!

Disney movies like to tell us that the beautiful and thoughtful girl will eventually fall in love with her Prince, they will get married and live happily ever after. It seems, however that Disney were forced to change quite a few details in order to make the outcomes just a bit more upbeat. Well actually, a lot more upbeat.

Once you know the truth behind these classic films, you will never look at a Disney movie the same way again...

You've got to love the ending to The Little Mermaid. Ariel quite literally sails off into the sunset with her Prince. Unfortunately, Hans Christian Anderson had another fate for her.

The story begins the same, she saves the Prince from drowning and makes an agreement with the Sea Witch to trade her tongue for legs, but if she doesn't convince him to fall in love with her she will be turned into sea foam (because it turns out mermaids don't have a soul).

With her new legs, the Little Mermaid feels like she is walking on knives with each step. Despite her amazing dancing ability, the Prince is all set to marry a Princess from a nearby town. Although the Prince does like the Little Mermaid, he believes that this other Princess saved him from drowning, so marries her instead.

It is then that a different deal is struck with the Sea Witch - she can keep her life if she kills the Prince and lets the blood drip on her feet. The Little Mermaid refuses and she turns into foam, but rather than fading away, she becomes a daughter of the air as she refused to kill the Prince to save herself.

A pretty bleak ending for our favourite red-headed mermaid.