Disney's 10 Most Gruesome Death Scenes

Because Disney isn't always ball gowns and fairy godmothers. In order from least to most horrific.

*Please keep in mind; this list is NOT emotionally traumatic deaths (hello, Up or Bambi, duh)... just the gory ones.

10. Sleeping Beauty

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A fire breathing dragon is stabbed in the heart with a magic sword and disintegrates into a smoky darkness. This proves that edges of cliffs are a common downfall for many Disney villains.

9. Mulan

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Mulan pins Shanyu to the top of a roof and shoots a firework at him which causes the Leader of the Huns to literally explode. It's not difficult to watch because he's pure evil and there are some lovely fireworks in the night sky...but still.

8. The Great Mouse Detective

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If you haven't seen this lesser known animation, you may want to remain ignorant and blissful. It ends with a rat chasing a mouse through the dangerous mechanical cogs of The Big Ben clock; after a struggle they both tumble through the glass into a stormy night.

7. Finding Nemo

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Eaten by a barracuda. The last thing Nemo's mom would have seen were some razor sharp teeth. What a horrific way to go for anyone, let alone this soon-to-be mother.

6. The Lion King

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Mufasa's death is possibly the saddest, most traumatic death of all Disney characters, yet his isn't even the most grim in The Lion King. Scar is blocked in by a wall of fire and is surrounded by his old posse of hyenas who have been starving under his reign. Through the shadows of the flame you see them attack and consume him.

5. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

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A cracked gargoyle comes to life and throws Frollo off of a massive cathedral into a street filled with molten copper. Ummm, are we sure this is a children's movie?

4. Tarzan

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Tarzan's parents have already suffered a ghastly death five minutes in (look for bloody paw prints and crumpled corpses in the corner). However, the main focus here is Clayton. He gets himself tangled in some vines, and frantically chops away all of them except the ones around his neck, which lead to his fall and suspension in the air. A flash of lightning reveals his hanging body. *Shudder.*

3. Tangled

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Mother Gothel's death is just plain difficult to watch. She begins to age at an impossibly fast rate, ultimately turns into a corpse, trips out of a tower window, and becomes a pile of dust. It's not pleasant.

2. The Little Mermaid

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One of the most graphic deaths, with little left to the imagination. Amplified to a massive size, Ursula is rammed by the shards of a sinking ship that ultimately electrocute and sink her.

1. Snow White

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When the evil witch meets her end, she is first struck by lightning, then proceeds to fall off a cliff, get crushed by a boulder, and finally get eaten by vultures. This early Disney classic wins first prize for outlandish gore.