Top 10 Disney Movies With Important Hidden Lessons:
Disney movies are a huge part of all our childhoods. Each movie is a great story with an even better lesson at the end. Whether we realize it or not Disney has taught us quite a few important lessons. This list consists of a few movies that are classics yet also have some pretty powerful morals being taught behind the scenes. However, even though Disney movies are directed towards children these lessons aren’t only for children, their for everyone! because anyone can learn a thing or two from Disney movies.
10. WALL-E
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Lesson: The importance of taking care of our earth.
In the movie WALL-E, we are shown why we must value our earth. A robot named Wall-e is a garbage collecting robot who was left on earth after the humans could no longer inhabit it. He eventually meets Eve, another robot sent down by the humans to see if Earth could be habitable again. This is a warning to mankind that the earth could become the way it had been described in Wall-e. This lesson is important because it is up to us as humans to take care of our planet. Remember the planet doesn’t need us, we need it.
9. Dumbo
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Lesson: Animal cruelty exists.
In the classic Disney movie Dumbo, a young elephant with big ears discovers his ability to fly. He lives in the circus and is treated unfairly. This movie highlights the environment that caged animals have to be in. The torture they have to endure and how it can affect the animals. This is super important for us to know as human beings because we should not allow animal cruelty to occur. The movie uses personification (Dumbo having human feelings) in a way for us to sympathize with the situation better.
8. Brave
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Lesson: You are in charge of your own destiny/path in life.
In the movie Brave, Merida is a princess who defies a certain custom and unleashes a great curse. This curse leads to lots of trouble. However she is able to use her skills to break it and show everyone that she can be in charge of her own life. She is a great example of someone who took charge of her life. She wanted to be her own person and not be tied down by an arranged marriage and being a proper princess. She shows others that you should strive to be who you want to be. There will be obstacles in the way, not the same ones she faced because we aren’t in a super dramatic disney movie, but she does teach us how to overcome them.
7. Ratatouille
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Lesson: Discrimination
In Ratatouille, A rat named Remy has a dream of becoming a great chef. However the humans fear rats and see them as gross creatures which means his dream must remain a dream. The society in which Remy lives in is filled with many rat-phobic people. However at the end Remy puts his talent of cooking good food into running a restaurant. In this situation Remy is representing minorities and how minorities were/are excluded in society and how minorities are slowly being more accepted. His journey can be looked at as someone’s fight against racism and their inclusion into society eventually.
6. Inside Out
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Lesson: Sadness is an important emotion.
In the movie Inside Out, Riley is a young girl who moves to a new town, she is dealing with lots of negative emotions. All the things that make her happy are disappearing. Not many people acknowledge that sadness is a very important emotion. In the the movie sadness and joy have to work together a lot. This is because without sadness you cannot be happy. Both emotions are very important, of course everyone wants to be happy but you can’t be happy all the time.
5. Bugs life
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Lesson: Don’t follow the crowd, you are powerful too!
In Bugs life the ants are all bullied by the grasshoppers who demand they gather food for them. However they eventually realize that they are the ones with more power in the situation because the grasshoppers are relying on them for food. This movie is great at showing how the powerful can abuse their power. This also is a great example of how oftentimes the abused do not recognize their own power in the situation. In the movie one brave ant goes against it all and he ends up saving his fellow ants because he was able to put his own power to use.
4. Coco
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Lesson: You can do anything you put your mind to, don’t let others dissuade you.
In the movie Coco, Miguel is a young boy who loves music and playing the guitar. He accidentally travels to the land of the dead where he finds courage in his music. Miguel wants to pursue music however he is told several times by others that it won’t happen. However at the end of the movie he is able to show people his talent and do what he really wants to do. Miguel is a great example of someone who never gave up even when those closest to him doubted his abilities.
3. Finding Nemo
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Lesson: “Just keep swimming” even though we have many challenges we must persevere and strive to overcome them.
In Finding Nemo, Dory is a deaf fish who helps Marlin on his quest to find Nemo. Dory suffers from short term memory loss and uses the phrase of “just keep swimming” as a motivation to keep going even when nothing goes right. This message is very powerful because it tells you there will be challenges but you should never give up.
2. Lilo and Stitch
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Lesson: Treat everyone fairly.
In the movie Lilo and Stitch, Lilo is a young girl, she deals with not fitting in. All the girls in her class think she is weird but she still teaches her friend Stitch who is also considered an outcast that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. This lesson is very important because human beings are naturally judgmental beings. We can’t stop ourselves from judging others, but it is always important to keep an open mind.
1. Mulan
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Lesson: No matter your gender you can change the world.
In the movie Mulan, Mulan is a young girl who is living in China, she takes her fathers place in the army pretending to be a man. At this time women were not allowed to be in the army. She works tirelessly to prove herself and eventually ends up getting an award for her bravery and hard work. This movie is a great example of defying gender norms/stereotypes. It teaches others that no matter who you are you can do anything. A great quote this reminded me of Mulan was, “She believed she could so she did” – Kathy Weller.