Disney cut an accidental ‘erection’ from The Little Mermaid… and 11 other shocking secrets you NEVER knew about your favourite childhood films
You'll be gobsmacked when you see the naughty references and cheeky innuendos tucked away in the background
By Hayley Richardson
By Hayley Richardson
MANY of us have grown up with Disney.
Their classic animated films are stalwarts of our childhood and are still loved by kids today.
But it turns out some of their "Universal-rated" flicks are harbouring some pretty "X-rated" secrets.
On close inspection, certain scenes in favourites like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast contain some shocking phallic references, while a short film starring Donald Duck features an edition of Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf.
Here we run through 12 of the most shocking secrets you never knew about your beloved Disney films.
The Little Mermaid
The most startling rude reference in the film actually appears on the original cover of the VHS.
Even for the most eagle-eyed amongst you, it's tricky to spot, but once you've clocked it, it can't be unseen.
Concealed within the golden palace behind Ariel and Eric is what appears to be a proud, erect, sparkling penis.
Rumours circulated that the phallus was deliberately drawn onto the castle in a final act of defiance by a Disney artist who was miffed at being laid off.
But apparently the person who created the cover didn't actually work for Disney and admitted the penis was a total accident.
The willy references don't stop there.
Towards the end of the film Eric has fallen under evil sea witch Ursula's spell and is about to marry her as she's disguised as a beautiful brunette.
At the ceremony aboard Eric's boat, the priest at one point appears to have an erection.
Disney has denied the bulging claim, arguing it was his knee, though they did still take it out. You be the judge.
Hercules
Hercules is yet another Disney classic to contain a hidden todger.
After the son of Zeus punches the River Guardian, a horseshoe hits him on the head, causing a distinctly phallic-shaped bump to arise.
It continues to grows into a fully-fledged willy shape - made all the more rude by his eyebrows seemingly morphing into what resembled a pair of testicles.
Bless my soul!
Beauty and the Beast
The suggestive placement of this "willy" on Lefou's head won't be lost on some people familiar with his character.
While he sings to his master Gaston about how wonderful he is in the town tavern, his fellow publicans reach out to pull him back - but if you pause it at the wrong moment, you'll notice a cheeky penis shape form from their arms and his nose.
The Rescuers
Blink and you miss it, but as Bianca and Bernard fly past the city in their sardine can, the image of a topless woman can be seen in two different frames.
According to former Disney animator , the x-rated picture was put in their during post-production.
He told the that the nudey photo appeared in the first Rescuers and went on to explain that when there was a re-edition of the movie, a lot of the original executives who produced the video tape had left.
Being unaware of the naked image, the new execs used the original negative from 1977 in the re-edition, which reportedly . Oops.
The Lion King
In this poster for Disney's 2002 re-release of film, eagle-eyed viewers spied the image of a scantily-clad woman concealed within the lion's face.
Can you make it out?
During the film there's a moment when adult Simba kicks a load of dust which scatters into the air and appears to spell out the word 'sex'.
But Sito claims it says "SFX" and is a shout out to the special effects team. Hmm.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
In one scene, Jessica Rabbit is thrown from a car after it hits a lamp post.
As she spirals out of the vehicle her dress flies up and it appears she's not wearing any knickers. Saucy.
Later editions of the film were reportedly .
In another scene Baby Herman walks under the skirt of his nanny and is seen extending his middle finger appearing to point at her nether regions.
Though the finger was edited out of the DVD release of the film.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
During her "dance of desire", heroine Esmerelda's curvy body at one point turns into flames.
While some frames show her still wearing clothes, in others her body looks completely naked.
Mickey Mouse: Bladid
Yet another phallic shape appears on the cover art of Euro-Disney's cartoon Bladid.
While Mickey has his arm innocently around Minnie's body, it looks like he's gripping an enormous blue penis.
He's one of the most famous Disney characters - but did you know Donald Duck was once portrayed as a Nazi?
In 1942 - mid-way through the Second World War - Disney made an American animated propaganda short film called Der Fuehrer’s Face.
During the flick Donald Duck has a nightmare in which he is forced to deal with Nazi food rations and go through a tough day’s work in a factory where weapons are made.
Although the cartoon won an Academy Award, it was not generally released as a result of its controversial subject matter.