Character deaths are all too common in Disney films, even though it's a pretty family-friendly company. Whether they move the story forward, teach a character a critical lesson, or both, death is a powerful narrative device throughout Disney's films. Many of these deaths provide insight into the world audiences find themselves in and reveal larger messages about the story being told. But some deaths, even if they set the film in motion, come out of nowhere.

Death is an impactful storytelling choice when threaded into the story properly, and there are many Disney films that exhibit this. However, there are also plenty of Disney films that utilize death in a shaky way that may have the intention of moving the plot along or instilling something in a character but ultimately come across as a poor balancing of narrative arcs. Audiences can't help but wonder where the trajectory of the film...