Top 10 Uses of Foreshadowing in Disney Movies

 
“Monsters, Inc.” is full of… well, monsters, and the legendary Abominable Snowman is one of them. But before he tries to charm the protagonists with his yellow snow cones, he is actually mentioned by Mike. While Mike and Sulley are sneaking Boo into the factory, Mike lists off some banished monsters, including the Snowman, and declares that they could be next. Later in the movie, Mike and Sulley are indeed banished by Waternoose and the two meet up with none other than the Abominable Snowman. It’s not only a cute little instance of foreshadowing, but a clue that the Snowman may have once been an employee at Monsters, Inc. 


 

 
There are actually two scenes that foreshadow the exact same plot point. In the opening scene, Merida’s mother Elinor chases the young Merida and declares that she’s going to eat her like some kind of dangerous creature. Later in the movie, when Merida is all grown up, she calls Elinor “a beast” during a heated argument. She had no idea how right she was about to be. Following the argument, Merida is given a spell by a witch and in turns gives it to Elinor, turning her into a bear. And while she originally retains some semblance of humanity, she slowly transitions into a violent beast throughout the movie.


 

 
In the Land of the Dead, the 12-year-old Miguel comes across the distressed Hector, a man who once played with Miguel’s musical idol Ernesto. Héctor tells the amazed Miguel that he taught Ernesto “everything he knows.” Later, Héctor states that while Ernesto’s songs are pretty good, Ernesto himself is of little talent. This may seem like the ramblings of a jealous bandmate, until Miguel learns the truth. Héctor is actually the genius behind the songs, and Ernesto murdered him and passed the songs off as his own. Turns out that Héctor truly did teach Ernesto everything he knows. And then some.
 
 

 
Even Disney’s magnificent visual imagery contains deeper meanings. Near the beginning of “Pocahontas”, Kekata warns the village about the coming settlers. During Kekata’s speech, he waves his staff over the fire and creates some smoke wolves who in turn surround Kocoum. They then rush towards Powhatan before dissipating. Using the wolves as a metaphor for the settlers, the scene foreshadows the fate of two of its characters. By enveloping Kocoum, the scene signifies his eventual death at the hands of Thomas. By nearly attacking Powhatan but dissipating before the consumption, the scene foreshadows Powhatan’s near death at the hand of Ratcliffe. 
 
 

 
During the scene in which Mufasa and Simba gaze out over the wonderful landscape, Mufasa tells Simba that the sun will eventually set on his reign and will rise with Simba’s. This initially seems like beautiful, symbolic language, and it certainly is, but there’s also a little more going on here. Simba finds Mufasa’s body near sundown, signifying the setting of his reign. At the end of the movie, Simba takes his mantle on Pride Rock at sunrise, and we then see the scene transition from night to day. The sun has officially risen on Simba’s reign, just as Mufasa predicted.
 
 

 
Near the end of “Wreck-It Ralph,” Vanellope’s glitching reveals that King Candy is actually Turbo, a rogue character who abandoned his arcade game. However, the true nature of King Candy was foreshadowed many times throughout the movie. Near the beginning, an avatar of Vanellope can be seen on the side of Sugar Rush riding the King’s cart, signifying her true role as the main character. His age also signifies that he doesn’t belong in the game, as he is much older than the other racers. Finally, Ralph comments on Candy’s unmanly pink palace, once again showcasing that it doesn’t actually belong to Candy, but the feminine Princess Vanellope.


 

 
“Zootopia” is absolutely littered with foreshadowing, but perhaps the best and most subtle instance of all is Doug’s well-hidden phone number. While Judy and Nick are using Assistant Mayor Bellwether to locate Manchas, you can briefly see a post-it note on her desk with the name “Doug” and a phone number written on it. Doug is the chemist and sniper Bellwether employs to turn the predators of Zootopia savage. Later, when Judy and Nick are in his lab, we even see him take a call from Bellwether informing him of his next target. She must have had that post-it handy.


 

 
While Edna is creating Mr. Incredible’s new suit, she tells him that she doesn’t make capes and lists various superheroes who were thwarted by their capes. Thunderhead’s cape was caught on a missile, while others were sucked into a vortex or caught on an elevator. But perhaps the scariest story she tells is of a superhero who was sucked into a jet turbine. In the climax of the movie, Syndrome’s cape is caught in such a turbine and he is subsequently sucked in and shredded. Turns out that Edna was right not to give Mr. Incredible a cape.


 

 
The furnace scene in “Toy Story 3” is undoubtedly one of the most dramatic scenes of any animated movie. If only we had some sort of warning so we could brace ourselves. Oh wait, there was. In “Toy Story 2,” Stinky Pete tells the toys that they will eventually be forgotten and rot in a landfill. In “Toy Story 3,” the toys are indeed forgotten by Andy and taken to a daycare, where they in turn make their way to a landfill and are almost turned into burnt debris. We can’t say that the writers intended the story to go in this direction all along, but that is still one fine piece of continuity. 
 


 

 
“Love Is an Open Door” is chock-full of foreshadowing. When Hans sings, “I’ve been searching my whole life to find my own place,” he signals towards the kingdom, a subtle nod towards his true intentions. There is also the line, “You and I were just meant to be,” wherein Anna is made into the pronoun on both occasions, signifying her unrequited love. There’s also the line “Say goodbye to the pain of the past,” which applies to both Anna AND Hans. Finally, there’s the ending where Anna makes the base of the heart and Hans follows, almost as if he’s one step behind and trying to keep up with the lovey-dovey charade.