Disney has developed a reputation for family-friendly entertainment and many of their animated films are enjoyable for both kids and adults alike. However, not everything about Disney movies is squeaky clean. Everybody knows how traumatic it was to see Bambi's mom get shot or to see Mufasa trampled to death by those wildebeests, and those were the good characters! The villains in Disney movies tend to get it even worse. Quite a few simply fall to their deaths, like Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (pause at the right moment, and you'll see skulls in his eyes as he falls to death) or the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Then there are those villains who simply get a much worse death than just falling to oblivion. Today, we're going to look at those villains who got some of the most violent deaths in Disney history.
7 Sleeping Beauty - Maleficent Gets a Sword to the Chest, and We See the Blood
Maleficent is one of the best villains Disney has ever created. A self-proclaimed "mistress of all evil" who certainly lives up to that title, she curses the infant Aurora to an early death, all because she wasn't invited to Aurora's christening. Talk about petty. Maleficent gets a climactic showdown with Prince Phillip, who gets some much-needed assistance from the three good fairies, especially after Maleficent calls upon the powers of hell and transforms into a fire-breathing dragon. The sound of her fire breath, by the way, was provided by a World War II-era flamethrower. The fairies enchant Phillip's sword, which gets plunged right into Maleficent's chest. What makes it so violent is that we see blood dripping as the killing blow is struck. One does not typically think of blood and gore when they think of Disney, but that's not the case here.
6 The Princess And The Frog - Dr. Facilier is Quite Literally Dragged to Hell
Dr. Facilier has made a deal with his "friends on the other side," evil voodoo spirits, to take over the city of New Orleans. If Facilier can't hold up his end of the bargain, his "friends" will find a way to make him pay. His demise comes when protagonist Tiana, who has been turned into a frog, gets her hands on a very important talisman. After temporarily changing her back into a human and trying to talk her into giving it back, Tiana resists his temptations, gets turned back into a frog, but breaks the talisman. Facilier absolutely loses it, and rightfully so, as his "friends on the other side" have to come to collect. Have we mentioned this scene takes place in a cemetery? Because what happens next can only be described as voodoo spirits popping out of the gravestones and dragging Facilier into a grave. That horrified look on his face carved into his gravestone, says it all.
5 Oliver & Company - Sykes Gets Hit by an Oncoming Train
Oliver and Company is basically Oliver Twist set in New York City, but with singing cats and dogs. The main villain, Sykes, is a loan shark who kidnaps a young girl named Jenny, intending to ransom her off. In the course of trying to rescue her, Sykes and his car pursue our heroes onto the tracks of the subway. Sykes' Doberman henchmen don't get off easy, either. One of them gets electrocuted after failing onto an electrified rail. However, after Jenny gets rescued, Sykes gets hit by an oncoming train. If you've ever seen the aftermath of a train collision, then you know how grisly Sykes' death truly is.
4 The Rescuers Down Under - McLeach Goes Over a Waterfall
Percival McLeach is a poacher wanted by the Australian Rangers. His crimes not only include poaching, but kidnapping and attempting to feed a young boy to crocodiles. It's during his attempt to do that last one that he meets his demise as our heroes tangle not only with McLeach, but his pet goanna, Joanna. After chasing Bernard, Joanna accidentally knocks McLeach into a crocodile-infested river, which would be a bad enough death on its own. However, McLeach manages to fend off the crocodiles, but doesn't see until it's too late that he's about to go over a waterfall. Even Joanna knows how doomed he is.
3 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - Frollo is Sent Into a Fiery Pit
The finale of The Hunchback of Notre Dame rightfully takes place at the titular cathedral, right after main villain Frollo has attempted to burn Esmeralda alive. Luckily, she's rescued by Quasimodo, but that still doesn't stop a fire from breaking out around the cathedral. Frollo chases Quasimodo and Esmeralda, even pulling out a sword at one point. The chase heads outside, with Quasimodo doing his best Spider-Man impersonation and leaping from one gargoyle to another as Frollo swings his sword, trying to kill him. Eventually, Frollo ends up on one of the gargoyles, holding his sword above his head and proclaiming, "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!" Right after he says that, the gargoyle he's standing on breaks apart, even coming to life and roaring at him as Frollo falls into the flames below. At least Frollo wasn't wrong when he said the wicked would be plunged into a fiery pit.
2 The Lion King - Scar Gets Eaten Alive by His Hyena Henchmen
Scar got his hyena henchmen to back him by promising them (in one of the best villain songs ever done, no less), that they would never go hungry again. While Scar proved effective as seizing power, his record as a ruler is... not so great. There's still a hunger crisis and many on Pride Rock would love a change in leadership. They get that when Simba challenges Scar for the throne. In the process, Scar throws his hyena henchmen under the bus, something they don't forget when Simba tosses him off Pride Rock. The hyenas all decide Scar looks pretty tasty and dogpile on him, ripping him to pieces. We only see the shadows of the first few hyenas leaping on Scar and taking him to the ground; but there's no doubt what his fate is, and it is not a pleasant one.
1 Tarzan - Clayton Accidentally Hangs Himself
The final fight between Tarzan and Clayton begins with Clayton climbing some trees to get at Tarzan. After a brief tussle, Tarzan manages to get Clayton's gun and destroy it. Clayton pulls out a machete and starts hacking wildly at Tarzan, who throws an assortment of vines at him, which wrap around his arms and legs, slowing him down. Unfortunately for Clayton, some of those vines wrap around his neck. To make matters worse, those are the ones he goes for last, unaware of the makeshift noose tightening around his neck. We see Clayton fall, screaming, and then a shot of a vine tighten. Tarzan lands on the ground, and we get a lightning flash revealing a shadow of Clayton's lifeless corpse hanging in midair. The shadow is only there for a few seconds, but it is very unsettling to see.