3. Ray - The Princess And The Frog
The Princess And The Frog is one of the more emotionally loaded Disney films of recent years - it deals with a lot of adult issues, from social climbing, to financial strain and body issues, but the most profoundly affecting is the brief but harrowing portrait of death. The film is all about sacrifice, and harsh realities, and the death of Ray the fire fly is one of the most brutally harsh in Disney history, as well as probably the most graphic deaths the Mouse House has ever put on screen. He is unceremoniously stomped on, punished for his selfless act of attempting to help the frogs out in their quest, and in the process a thousand tiny hearts broke. Ray's death might mean something, but there is something horribly realistic and callous about the way he is killed off, with no more reason than to extend the mythology and the impact of the villain, and it's hard for that image not to be the most enduring of the entire movie.