Top 20 Uses of Foreshadowing in Disney Movies

Look at Disney, hitting us with foreshadowing bangers right out the gate. Serving as the first film in the canon, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” offers up a great bit of foreshadowing at the hands (or rather, the mouth) of Grumpy. Snow White pleads with the dwarves not to send her away, claiming that the Queen will kill her. In response, Grumpy calls the latter “an old witch.” For first time viewers, this may have seemed like an off-handed remark about the Queen’s temperament. But as everyone knows by now, the Queen does indeed turn into an old witch after poisoning the apple. He may be grumpy, but he’s also very smart!

A brilliant movie about art and passion, “Ratatouille” follows Alfredo Linguini, a garbage boy turned chef who learns the ropes in an esteemed French restaurant. Linguini is taught by Colette Tatou, who serves as the restaurant’s roast chef, or rôtisseur. Colette displays an abrasive attitude and tells Linguini that he can’t cook “like mommy in the kitchen,” meaning he has to adopt the timing and exactitude of a professional chef. This brief remark makes an emotional comeback in the film’s climax, when Remy makes Anton Ego the titular ratatouille dish. The usually harsh critic is won over by the food, as it reminds him of his mother’s home cooking. In other words, Remy saved the restaurant by cooking “like mommy in the kitchen”.

Based roughly on Victor Hugo’s novel, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is, shall we say, one of the darker Disney films. Its story is rooted in themes of tyranny and prejudice – not to mention Judge Claude Frollo is a wicked old man who does some truly messed up things… like burning Esmeralda at the stake, for instance. This attempt at murder is foreshadowed on not one, but two separate occasions. The lyrics of “Hellfire” contain a very explicit reference as Frollo sings, “She will be mine or she will burn!” Well, it certainly wasn’t an empty threat. Later, Frollo chides Quasimodo for helping Esmeralda escape and burns the sculpture he made of her. It’s a lot of fiery imagery, and it all pays off in horrifying fashion.

Despite coming off as more of a jock, Dash is one smart cookie. He displays a strong sense of philosophical wit when he’s in the car with his mom. When Helen tells him “everyone is special”, he has this to say: “which is another way of saying no one is”. This statement is not only wise beyond his years, but it nicely sets up the motive for the movie’s antagonist, Syndrome. He hopes to sell advanced weapons on the market, thereby turning everyone into a superhero. “With everyone super, no one will be.” It’s a sentiment that closely mirrors Dash’s words, and it’s a great way of connecting the heroes with the villain as well as humanizing him to an extent.

When you’ve got a family full of people with magical powers, it’s difficult to keep secrets. While Bruno is said to have disappeared from the family, Dolores foreshadows his nearby presence on more than one occasion. While singing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” she mentions that she “can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling.” She also tells Mirabel that the only ones worried about the magic are her “and the rats talking in the walls.” These probably aren’t the rats, but Bruno, who we later learn is living in the walls of the house among the rats.

Talk about foreshadowing. The very beginning of “Zootopia” sets up the ending, and these bookends provide a beautiful and well-realized structure to the film. The movie opens via flashback, with young Judy performing in her school play. Her character is attacked by a tiger and dies in a rather dramatic fashion. While a funny scene in and of itself, it also foreshadows the climax of the film. Nick pretends to go savage and “attacks” Judy in front of Bellwether. Her acting has clearly improved since she was a child… Well, until it’s time to give up the ruse, at least.

Disney and Pixar are so good at foreshadowing that they even include examples in minute visual details! Miguel obtains (fine, steals) the guitar of famed musician Ernesto de la Cruz. This guitar is beautifully designed, and the headstock resembles that of a stylized skull. Completing this skull are a set of teeth, one of which is gold. Viewers may notice that Ernesto does not have a gold tooth. But you know who does? Miguel’s great-great-grandfather, Héctor, whom Miguel meets in the Land of the Dead. We later learn that Ernesto killed Héctor and stole his guitar and his songs, meaning that the gold-toothed headstock perfectly matches that of its true owner!

Disney is weirdly unapologetic about turning characters into animals. In this case, it’s poor Prince Naveen, who is turned into the titular frog. This transformation is repeatedly foreshadowed in the gleefully ominous “Friends on the Other Side” sequence. For one, on the back of Facilier’s tarot deck, there’s a frog motif in the corners. For another, Prince Naveen’s “future” card shows a prince lying on a pile of money…in the shape of a lily pad. Facilier also references the transformation in his lyrics, telling Naveen, “You just wanna be free, hop from place to place, but freedom takes green,” and “When I look into your future, it's the green that I seen.” The “green” is understood to reference money, but the double entendre is clear after you know what happens.

Gaston certainly has an ego but, seriously, who boasts about taking cheap shots? In the song “Gaston (Reprise),” Gaston and LeFou plot the imprisonment of Belle’s father Maurice. This reprise carries a much bleaker tone than the original song. While that one was full of harmless boasts, this one is far darker, with lyrics like “[no one] takes cheap shots like Gaston” and “[no one] plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Gaston”. The former is particularly important, as it foreshadows the climactic battle between Gaston and The Beast. Gaston takes the cheapest of cheap shots, stabbing The Beast in the side while his back is turned. That arrow to the back in the castle was also pretty cheap. Two for two, Gaston.

Pixar has released some bangers throughout the years, but “Finding Nemo” is on another level. It’s a tight and brilliantly-executed script that contains some great bits of foreshadowing. On the first day of school Nemo asks his dad if he’s ever met a shark. His reply is no, and that he doesn’t plan on it. Well, that doesn’t exactly last for long, does it? Nemo’s follow-up question is about how old sea turtles are. Marlin sarcastically answers that he’ll ask one. Wouldn’t you know it, he later meets a sea turtle named Crush and, after hitching a ride, asks him his age. It’s too bad Nemo didn’t also ask him about winning the deep-sea lottery that morning.

“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.

If we would have listened to Héctor from the beginning, we would have found out exactly who Ernesto de la Cruz is. At one point in the Land of the Dead, Héctor tells Miguel that he taught Ernesto “everything he knows.” Later, he 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…except for, presumably, cold hard murder.

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 the Powhatan Chief 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 the Powhatan Chief but dissipating before the consumption, the scene foreshadows his near-death at the hands 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 to 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, if you don’t remember the name, 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. Clearly, she 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 theirs. 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 to 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.