Top 10 Shocking Reveals in Animated Movies

“Meet the Robinsons” is one of Disney’s most ambitious and underrated animated movies. It begins as a tale about Lewis, a geeky inventor orphan longing for a family. But it soon becomes a madcap caper through time, with plot twists coming out of its ears. Wilbur, for instance, turns out to be the young protagonist’s future son. But the strangest revelation is the true identity of the sinister villain in the bowler hat. It’s Goob, Lewis’s roommate, turned bitter and twisted by circumstance. He stole one of Lewis’ time machines as an adult, and began seeking revenge on his old friend, blaming him for the state of his life. The bowler hat gave him the idea though - she’s the true villain of the piece.

The biggest movie twists often tend towards the dark or dramatic, but sometimes they make for tender and moving moments. In “Onward,” we meet two siblings named Ian and Barley, who are given the opportunity to resurrect their father for one day. However, their quest to find a jewel that will complete the visitation spell doesn’t go as planned, and it’s not looking like they’ll succeed. Heartbroken, Ian blames his big brother. However, he ultimately realizes that Barley has been there for him all along, and did everything a dad would. As if that wasn’t touching enough, he then lets his big bro have the last moment with their father.

The major betrayal by Mike and Sulley’s boss, Mr. Waternoose, is one of “Monsters Inc.”’s most dramatic moments. He’s previously depicted as a kindly figure, so his involvement in Randall’s evil scheme comes as a shock. However, a bigger surprise is still to come. We might have guessed at Waternoose’s corruption. But we doubt anyone had Roz from the office pegged as the head of the CDA! The Child Detection Agency is mentioned in the story, but Roz’s status as number 1 isn’t revealed until the final act. Her interactions with Mike make us laugh throughout the movie, but it turns out she really was always watching.

The early Disney movies went to some dark places, and “Pinocchio” has one of the studio’s most disturbing reveals. Jiminy Cricket stumbles onto a truly frightful sight at Pleasure Island. We learn that the kids are lured in by cigars and pool, among other things. And their bad behavior causes them to become actual donkeys. The creatures are then thrown into crates marked “salt mines” or “circus.” It’s meant to be a cautionary tale, and Pinocchio ultimately avoids meeting this fate. But we do see his friend Lamwick’s horrifying metamorphosis. And we never really find out what happened to Alexander and the other children who were crying for their mothers…

In this 1986 Don Bluth animation, the mice are heroes and the cats are villains. Fievel and his family of Russian-Jewish mice travel to America, as they believe it will provide a haven from their feline foes. Of course, this turns out not to be the case. The cats are lurking in even the most unexpected places. Warren T. Rat is a crook running a protection racket, tricking the mice into paying him while lying about keeping them safe. But as Fievel unwittingly discovers, Warren isn’t a rat at all, but a cat who’s concealed his true form. It’s a bizarre twist, but a memorable one. Although the fake nose probably should’ve given it away.

Children’s movies often employ the death of a parent for the emotional gut-punch, but “Brother Bear” took this trope to another level. The story is told from the perspective of Kenai, a human who has been transformed into a bear. It’s a coming-of-age buddy-movie, where our hero learns to care about others by befriending a bear cub named Koda. We know the latter character’s mother is gone. But we only learn the full story after the pair’s friendship is firmly established. When Koda describes what happened to his mom, we realize that his new friend is responsible for her passing. It’s the worst case scenario, especially as Kenai has won the little bear’s trust and must now tell him the heartbreaking truth.

Wallace and Gromit’s first feature spoofs horror movies in a fun, kid-friendly way. The eponymous Were-Rabbit torments the townsfolk by raiding their gardens prior to the big vegetable show. So the iconic duo set out to capture the monstrous pest. But there’s a small problem. A trail of dirty footprints leads Gromit straight to Wallace, and he discovers the alarming truth. The Were-Rabbit is in fact Wallace, who is completely unaware of his nighttime outings. The secret is out when the inventor is confronted by the evil Victor and changes into his rabbit form. The moment where we first witness the transformation is equally shocking and funny.

Lotso being a cruel monster blew our minds, but Stinky Pete was the “Toy Story” franchise’s original surprise dastardly villain. Woody meets the Prospector in the second film, along with Jessie and Bullseye. Together, they make up the cowboy’s “Roundup” gang, forming a collectible set. Woody is excited to meet the family he never knew he had, and Stinky Pete takes on the role of a benevolent mentor. However, his master plan is really to manipulate the sheriff into joining him and his friends in a museum. When Buzz snaps Woody out of it, the Prospector turns nasty. He exposes himself as a real bad guy, with a tragic back-story and a determination to win. We didn’t see it coming, and it hurt.

“Shrek” sets up an odd-couple romance between the beautiful princess and the smelly ogre. But as it turns out, they’re not such a strange match after all. When the sun goes down, Fiona becomes a big green version of herself. But the audience isn’t privy to her secret at first. We only discover the truth when Donkey accidentally walks in on her after her nightly transformation. It’s hard to remember a time before we knew about Fiona’s curse, but we’ll never forget how surprised we were when we found out. The scene in which she explains herself to Donkey is a stand-out moment. And the fact that her ogress self is the one that sticks following true love’s kiss is the cherry on top.

Of all the villain reveals in the Disney canon, Prince Hans was the most jarring. It should be suspicious that he proposes to Anna after only one meeting. But the tradition of the handsome Prince Charming is so deep rooted that we automatically trust him. It appears to be love at first sight, and he even gets to sing a romantic and catchy duet. So who would ever suspect that he was actually planning to take over the kingdom? Although “Wreck It Ralph’s” King Candy reveal did pre-date “Frozen,” Hans fully took things up a notch. The revelation scene comes at the most dramatic moment possible, and it still sends shivers down our spines.