As parents, it’s our job to keep the monsters out of our children’s lives. But, if you let your children watch Disney movies, for every hero or princess that is introduced, you have to also let the villains in as well. As an adult, I have to admit that I like some of the villains better than the heroes, but I know there isn’t a monster in my closet waiting to power its city with my screams. I doubt my brother will try to take me out with a herd of antelope. As for dragons, I don’t think they exist.
But, one night I put a Disney movie on and went in to make some popcorn. There were previews for upcoming Disney DVD releases before the feature presentation. When I came in from the kitchen, my three year old daughter had her blanket over head and her hands over her eyes. But, what Disney villain could scare my daughter like that? The answer may surprise you. But first, my top five suspects …
Monsters Inc. – Pick a monster. I thought any monster in this movie could scare a three year old child. After all, that’s their job at the beginning of the movie. But, like Boo, my daughter loves Randall, Sully and Mike. In fact, my one year old son sleeps with a Sully stuffed animal in his crib. Not a major scare factor in our house. It’s probably why they switched to laughs instead of screams now that I think about it.
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Again, even the good guys in this movie are supposed to be scary. Jack’s song even sets a visual for his hometown when he sings “there’s children throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads, they’re busy building toys and absolutely no one’s dead.” Throw in Oogie Boogie and I thought for sure Tim Burton’s movie had scared her.
Ursula. Not the scariest Disney villain in my opinion, but my daughter loved Aerial at the time. Everything in her room was themed with The Little Mermaid. Could the villain of her favorite princess be to blame for the sudden fear?
Scar. How does a three year old see a lion who kills his brother and then smoothly lays a guilt trip on his nephew in order to take over the pride? Throw in the three menacing hyenas and it could be a recipe for childhood nightmares.
Hades. The devil himself. He’s my favorite Disney villain ever (especially with Pain and Panic), but did my daughter see something to fear in the god of the dead?
The answer … The wicked witch from Snow White. Not the evil queen, but what she turns herself into in order to give Snow the apple. What made her so scary? Was it her cackle? Her old, hideous look? The fact that she gave out apples and not candy? I’ll never know. But I do know that, that witch was the reason I slept on the floor in my daughter’s room for a week. Chalk one up for the villains this round!