On the eve of Halloween, we can remember those who passed away and forever traumatized our childhood psyche. Here is a list of the most brutal character deaths in Disney animated films. Of course, we can't cover them all, but let's recall and try to categorize the most popular and unusual ones.

Fall from a Height

Professor Ratigan ("The Great Mouse Detective"), Gaston ("Beauty and the Beast"), Claude Frollo ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame"), the Evil Queen ("Snow White"), Mother Gothel ("Tangled"), Mufasa ("The Lion King")

Since Disney has always been afraid to show cute and innocent protagonists killing someone with their own hands, falling from a height naturally leads in the number of victims. And if we also count deaths from Pixar, which is part of the Disney conglomerate (though we don't really want to bring Pixar into this), the list would grow even more.

Professor Ratigan's fall from Big Ben, Gaston's from the castle tower, or Frollo's from the cathedral can be considered "pure" fall deaths, but all the other representatives on the list have some distinctive feature. For instance, we are not clearly told what the direct cause was in each individual case: the fall or a huge boulder (flying off the cliff after the Queen) / the curse of old age (which caught Gothel mid-flight) / a herd of antelopes (whose hooves clearly didn't help Mufasa). But they certainly fell epically.

Blame the Predator

Scar ("The Lion King"), Bambi's mother ("Bambi"), Tarzan's parents ("Tarzan"), the oysters ("Alice in Wonderland")

If I say "killed and mauled by predators," you're unlikely to think of cute films from the magical studio. But that's exactly what happens there. The death of Bambi's mother at the hands of a bodiless hunter alone made more than one child cry bitter tears back in the day.

On the big screen, we were shown hyenas attacking Scar to tear apart their former leader, or even the lifeless bodies of Tarzan's parents, mauled by a bloodthirsty leopard. And have you ever wondered about the grim fate of the cute little oysters that were devoured without a second thought by the Walrus in the lovely children's film "Alice in Wonderland" from the kind Disney studio? And he probably poured vinegar on them too.

Into Tiny Pieces

Shan Yu ("Mulan"), Bill Sykes ("Oliver & Company"), Captain Rourke ("Atlantis: The Lost Empire")

Imagine your burned or frozen body being torn into a thousand tiny pieces. Imagined? That's exactly the fate that awaited the antagonists listed above (though I can't say they didn't deserve it).

Bill Sykes' death after a head-on collision with a train was at least extremely quick. Captain Rourke, on the other hand, likely suffered in agony as his body turned into crystal and then was shattered by the blades of an aircraft. Shan Yu probably also realized that being at the epicenter of a fireworks explosion didn't bode well for him. But at least it was spectacular, right, Disney?

Disney Stabs

Ursula ("The Little Mermaid"), Maleficent ("Sleeping Beauty")

This is a rare case where the antagonist's death comes at the hands of a positive character—in both cases, the romantic interest of the main heroines.

Maleficent, in dragon form, was struck by a magical flying sword straight through the heart and didn't suffer much. Ursula wasn't so lucky. Imagine your body being impaled on an old rotting mast, somewhere in the abdomen, not even near the heart. Imagined? Well, I don't want to—especially considering that the entire scene haunted my nightmares for a while.

Drag Me to Hell

Dr. Facilier ("The Princess and the Frog"), Hades ("Hercules")

An extremely atypical situation occurs in Disney films twice! Although in Hades' case, one could argue whether it's possible to kill a god and whether his recreational cruise among the souls of the dead counts as death. But considering that even his minions Pain and Panic use the phrase "IF he gets out," there are some doubts about the subsequent functionality of the god of the underworld.

Dr. Facilier's demise fits the theme a bit better—he is dragged straight to hell by his voodoo friends from the other side. Combined with the sinister animation, not so typical for Disney, and the genuine terror in Facilier's eyes, the scene creates an extremely oppressive yet surprisingly mesmerizing impression.

Earth in the Porthole

Mr. Arrow and Mr. Scroop ("Treasure Planet")

Probably the most unusual character death on our list. The captain's first mate, Mr. Arrow, is sucked into space due to one of the pirates—and we know that death from the unpleasant consequences of being in a space vacuum is extremely cruel.

The only thing that can sweeten the pill of Mr. Arrow's demise is that his killer, Mr. Scroop, ultimately shared his fate. So you can take comfort in the thought that somewhere among the stars drifts the lifeless, possibly bloated body of a cruel pirate. Or maybe not.

Hanging in the Air

Clayton ("Tarzan")

An astonishingly brutal and unique death befell the main antagonist of the film "Tarzan." In sadistic detail, we are shown a man tangled in vines trying to free himself with a machete, not noticing a treacherous noose forming around his neck.

Judging by the fact that Clayton doesn't struggle much when we see his limp hanging shadow, he likely died from a broken neck. So it was at least quick and without prolonged agony. But still, brrr.

Maybe we forgot a death that particularly stuck with you from childhood? Or can't get a work from another animation studio out of your childhood memories, not limited to Disney? Write in the comments!