10 political messages you didn't realise were hidden in Disney movies

Part of Disney's appeal is its universality: you enjoyed The Lion King when you were eight, and let's be honest, you are still enjoying it twenty years later.

But the older you get, the more controversial some Disney movie themes and stories seem - Screen Rant reckons it has identified ten pretty political and some downright disturbing subliminal messages in (mostly) Disney films you definitely didn't pick up on as a kid:

1. The Jungle Book (1967)

Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book can be seen as a massive metaphor for Britain’s view of India with Mowgli in Britain’s role and the animals as Indians.

Mowgli eventually ends up leaving the animals who raised him, opting instead to live with humans. The message seems to be: stick with your own kind, and in a post-colonial Britain, it's a tad too close to home.

2. Lion King (1994)

He took the name ‘Scar’ so that he would never forget how anger and jealousy almost cost him an eye.

Mufasa was named after an actual Bagada king, but what is not as well known is that Scar’s original name was Taka, which in Swahili, means dirt, or filth.

If your parents literally named you after rubbish, is it any wonder you turn out completely deranged?

3. The Secret of Nimh (1994)

The movie is one big warning about what medical research can create if the ones in charge go too far.

“Nimh” is actually the National Institute of Mental Health.

Not to mention the graphic animal testing scenes, in which rats are violently prodded by needles and rabbits stuffed in cages tremble in fear.

4. All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989)

If there’s a doggie heaven, there’s a doggie hell. Kids might see this as a bad dream but the lava, the demonic doggie devil, and even the hell hounds tearing at Charlie’s hair are pretty grim for a movie with such a ‘sweet’ message.

5. The Good Dinosaur (2015)

The heroes start to bond over an intense drug trip. After eating some fermented fruit they start hallucinating.

So casual drug use forms the basis of a relationship?

6. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Every kid learns about Alice’s journey down the rabbit hole sooner or later and when every one of them sees it again as an adult, it’s hard to believe that it’s basically all one big drug trip.

Let’s forget for a moment the implications with eating cake that makes you tall and drinking something that makes you small... but how do you explain the perpetually high drowsy smoking caterpillar? The floating cat? The insane man with crazy eyes and a top hat?

7. The Little Mermaid (1989)

It’s a chance to tell a serious cautionary tale or at least it would be if the movie didn’t end with the evil witch murdered and Ariel living happily ever after. Basically teaching kids that selling your soul is a bad idea – if you don’t do the smart thing and kill the one you sold it to.

Not only is the premise questionable – girl gives up everything to be with boy she loves – it also advocates making ridiculously bad choices, without the risk of consequence.

8. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

In the video game universe it doesn’t really matter if you want to be a hero or a villain; things only work if everyone plays their role.

The message is disturbingly twofold: first, that comformity is good, even if it may go against your nature, and second, that someone who is bad can also be good…but is really still bad.

9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)

Nothing is as important as being beautiful... being beautiful saves lives.

She’s so beautiful that Prince Charming can’t help but kiss her when he lays eyes on her lifeless body.

Beauty is everything. Apparently. He also definitely hasn't done his consent homework.

10. Zootopia (2016)

A strange new drug... starts turning everyday animals into out-of-control maniacs.

The premise is bad enough, and then you add this little caveat:

It’s only minorities turning feral…with the police suggesting that they are biologically prone to violence.

Biological determinants that 'confirm' inferiority of one group of people over another group of people? That... doesn't sound good.

Here's the full video, in case your childhood still isn't dead:

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