Disney can get so creepy...

There are a lot of creepy, or downright gruesome, deaths in the Disney pantheon of "children's" films. I had intended to create a list of some of my favorites, but Cracked already did that. So I just wanted to include a screenshot of something they forgot to mention under #3. Gaston, likely because they didn't know they were looking for it. I have been an avid fan of Beauty and the Beast for as long as I can remember,* but I never noticed what I am about to show you until a friend pointed it out. It took me a lot of fiddling with the pause and rewind buttons before I was able to capture this exact moment (and it really is only a moment, which is why you usually miss it). Just in case anyone thought Gaston may have survived his terrible fall off the castle, Disney's animators made sure to include this single frame:

Seriously, Disney? Be a little more morbid. I can't help but wonder how many of us saw this bit of subliminal messaging in our childhoods and incorporated it into our subconsciouses in strange and upsetting ways. Actually, no, I'd rather not wonder that. I'd rather just think about the funny singing candlestick.


*My grandmother used to tell a charming tale about going to see it with me in the movie theater when I was three, and because I had already seen it, I would cover her eyes during the scary parts. I was adorable.