Entertainment

Disney Movie Plot Holes That Change Everything

by Kaitlin Reilly

When it comes to Disney Movies, I prefer to suspend my disbelief than over-analyze every single frame. After all, the world of Walt Disney is one where both elephants and carpets can fly — these movies aren't exactly a depiction of real life. But even though I know that's true, it doesn't mean that I'm okay with letting every plot hole slide — especially this huge one from The Little Mermaid. As the Huffington Post reported, Disney fan Mary Falls realized something we all totally missed about Ariel that would have totally changed the Little Mermaid forever. Here it is: Ariel knows how to read and write.

We see Ariel sign a contract with Ursula that promises the sea witch her voice. Why is that important? Well, Ariel must get Prince Eric to fall in love with her, which is obviously a challenge when you can't speak to your beloved (though I guess Sleeping Beauty didn't really have this problem, but whatever). But if Ariel could read and write this entire time, all she had to do was pen a note to Prince Eric about how she was the one who saved him from the shipwreck, thus making him see his half-fish friend in a whole new light. Heck, she could have basically written the words "Wanna make out?" on a piece of paper and he'd do it, thus breaking the curse forever.

It looks like someone messed up... Ariel.

Of course Ariel's mistake isn't the only Disney plot hole to plague these iconic movies. Here are other things that the Disney writers completely overlooked — and would have changed the movies forever.

THE LION KING: Why Doesn't Scar Kill Simba?

Scar wants to become the king of the lions, and his only way to do that is to kill his brother and anyone else next in line for the throne. Scar isn't exactly squeamish about murder, yet he decides to let Simba go free after secretly murdering Mufasa. Why not just off Simba right then and there? We know that no one else was around to witness that conversation — Scar could have easily murdered Simba in that moment and made the entire thing look like a tragic stampede accident. Instead, Simba runs away and is able to thwart the hyenas Scar sends after him, ruining Scar's plan forever.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Why Doesn't Anyone Remember The Beast?

We know that the Beast doesn't live far from Belle's village — it takes the villagers like, twenty minutes to walk to this castle with a hole bunch of weapons to take the monster down — so how come no one thinks about who lives in that castle five or less miles away? The Beast is a prince with a huge staff — wouldn't someone from town know at least one person with a connection to the castle?

CINDERELLA: Why Did No One Question The Shoe Plan?

As we all know, Cinderella is the story of a woman who gets a man to fall in love with her by wearing really awesome shoes. When Cinderella loses her glass slipper at the ball, her prince searches the kingdom for the woman with... the same size foot? I get that glass slippers are probably designed for the specific shoe-wearer, but it's not like feet really vary all THAT much. If Cinderella wore a size 7, there's a good chance that another lady with a size 7 foot would have fit into the slipper just as well. Even if Cinderella had particularly tiny feet, the prince really had no way of knowing that — he was just really, really hoping that the first lady who fit into the shoe was THE lady. Ridiculous plan.

TOY STORY & TOY STORY 2: Do Woody And Buzz Have An Identity Crisis?

In Toy Story, we learn that Buzz Lightyear has no idea that he's a toy — he assumes that he's really a space commander on a mission as soon as Andy opens his box. Yet, whenever human Andy enters the room, Buzz freezes — just like all of the other toys. Wouldn't he behave like a "real" space commander when Andy was in the room? We know that the toys don't automatically freeze in the presence of humans, which is how the toys were able to observe Andy's birthday party and later pull that trick on the bully Sid.

Woody also seems to have some inconsistencies. We learn in Toy Story 2 that he's a rare collectible from the '50s, which means that Woody must have had a previous owner before Andy, right? That brings up another point about boxed toys, like Woody and Buzz. If Woody was sitting in a box for 50 years, would he have remembered those years? Buzz clearly has some false memories, but what about Woody? When did he start making memories?

FROZEN: Why Does Everyone Forgive Elsa?

Yep, even the beloved Frozen has its plot holes — like, say, the final act. Why would the villagers stop being afraid of Elsa after they were freaking the hell out about her powers only days earlier? Because she built them an ice rink? Because Anna said so? I mean, don't get me wrong, Elsa's cool and all, but she also almost gave an entire population hypothermia... maybe she needs to do more than just keep Olaf the Snowman alive.

We need answers, Disney. ANSWERS.

Images: Buena Vista Pictures; Giphy (6)