Top 10 Most BRUTAL Deaths In Animated Movies
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Most Brutal Deaths in Animated Movies. For this list, we’ll be looking at the darkest & most violent ways animated film characters met their end, though we won’t be including any Anime films on this list. Beware of major spoilers ahead. Which of these vicious deaths shocked you? Share with us in the comments!
#10: The Blender
Top 10 Terrifying Deaths in Animated Movies
“The Brave Little Toaster” (1987)
“The Brave Little Toaster” is one of the more distressing animated movies of the ‘80s. It follows five home appliances as they venture into the real world in search of their owner. Along the way, the group faces several dangerous threats. One of the film’s most disturbing moments comes when the group ends up in a shop that sells appliance parts. As the owner removes a blender motor for a buyer, the others watch in terror. The scene feels like something from a horror movie, from the clever shadow to the spine-tingling score. The fact that the blender can feel everything that’s happening in this “surgery” is utterly disturbing. It still unnerves us all these years later.
#9: Oogie Boogie
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993)
No one wants to mess with the Boogeyman, but it turns out the Boogeyman shouldn’t have messed with Jack Skellington. The literal sack full of bugs nearly drops Sally and Santa Claus into lava before Jack comes to the rescue. During the ensuing fight, one of Oogie’s threads can be seen dangling. Skellington takes advantage of this, and reveals him in all his creepy crawly glory. The sight of the skinless villain is appropriately gross, but it also spells his demise. As he crumbles, the bugs fall into the lava, screaming and melting. That’s got to be a painful way to go. Adding insult to injury, one of the critters almost gets away…until Santa squishes it underneath his boot.
#8: Clayton
“Tarzan” (1999)
It’s pretty easy to despise “Tarzan’s” animal-hating Clayton. But man, is his death disturbing. During the climax, as Tarzan fights Clayton in the trees, the hero gets the upper hand on the traitor and breaks his weapon. The villain isn’t so easily dismayed, and swings back wildly with a machete. Even though he’s caught up in vines, he refuses to stop. This leads to his literal downfall, choked by the long plant. The realization of what he’s done as he falls and screams like a madman is almost as unnerving as his body’s silhouette, cast against a tree with a lightning strike. We see Disney villains die all the time, though not often by their own hand.
#7: Grigori Rasputin
“Anastasia” (1997)
Don Bluth’s films are full of dark moments, but it’s hard to top this villain’s demise in “Anastasia.” In this fictional tale based on a real-life legend, Anastasia is pursued by the evil sorcerer, Rasputin. The latter gained his power by selling his soul to the devil, an act he eventually comes to regret. During their final confrontation, Anastasia breaks his reliquary, which is his source of magic. The demons that break free from it quickly turn on the antagonist. His skin and organs melt into a nasty pile of green goo while his skeleton turns to dust. Sure, he had it coming, but that doesn’t make it any less gross.
#6: The Green Lantern Corps
Top 20 Best DC Animated Movies
“Justice League Dark: Apokolips War” (2020)
Once DC’s animated movies began moving into “Rated R” territory, we knew we’d get some gnarly deaths. “Apokolips War” follows several DC super teams as they band together to try and stop Darkseid. Throughout the 90-minute runtime, a slew of characters meet their end. But it’s the destruction of the Green Lantern Corps that made the heroic cause seem most hopeless. In the midst of demolishing the planet Oa, Darkseid easily takes down multiple Lanterns. He pops Arkkis Chummuck’s head with Omega Beams and snaps Kilowog’s neck like it’s a twig. The death that stings most, of course, is that of John Stewart. Darkseid transports magma from Earth to Oa, burning Stewart away and destroying the planet’s power battery in the process.
#5: Slaughter in the Kitchen
“Sausage Party” (2016)
This raunchy animated comedy explores a simple yet unnerving concept: what if our groceries were sentient? And one scene in particular makes us feel bad every time we make a meal. Believing that people will transport them to a perfect ‘Great Beyond,’ some grocery store items are horrified to uncover the truth. In quite possibly the most unsettling meal-prep sequence of all time, a tomato is cut in half, baby carrots are eaten alive, and an uncorked bottle has its wine sprayed like blood across sausages. Bonus points for showcasing nachos as some sickening, Frankenstein-like creation. There are a lot of shocking moments in “Sausage Party,” and this scene is chief among them.
#4: The Horned King
Top 10 Terrifying Deaths in Disney Movies
“The Black Cauldron” (1985)
“The Black Cauldron” may be the most disturbing movie in Disney’s animated catalog. It follows a band of heroes attempting to stop an evil emperor, the Horned King, from gaining a mystical cauldron that will help him take over the world. It reportedly underwent major edits after children in test audiences found it too scary. Yet somehow, one of its most brutal moments made the cut. During the climax, the Horned King has his plans foiled and is sucked into the cauldron he covets. First goes his cloak, then his skin, and then his bones are set on fire for good measure. We can’t un-hear his wailing. “The Black Cauldron” flopped at the box office, but this moment undoubtedly scarred kids who saw it.
#3: Multiple Rabbits
Top 10 Movies Told Through Multiple Perspectives
“Watership Down” (1978)
This adaptation of Richard Adams’ revered novel has a reputation for being downright horrific in its depiction of character deaths. You only need to watch it once to immediately understand why. The movie follows a group of cute bunnies in search of a new home after one of them has an apocalyptic vision. Unfortunately, things are far from easy for them, and we see numerous highly upsetting scenes play out. The harsh journey is filled with violent and devastating deaths at the hands of hawks, hunting dogs, and even other rabbits. Though it may be animated, “Watership Down” confronts the viewer with the unfortunate reality of the food chain and environmental destruction.
#2: Quan Chi
“Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge” (2020)
For some reason, we didn’t get an R-rated “Mortal Kombat” movie until 2020. But at least it more than lived up to the franchise’s reputation. It followed a similar plot to the games; Earthrealm warriors competed in the titular tournament to save their home. But it also chronicled Scorpion’s hunt for vengeance for the deaths of his loved ones. When he finds out that Quan Chi was responsible, their fight is absolutely vicious, with Scorpion getting insanely savage. He notably rips his rival’s arms off, does his signature violent summoning move, and leaves him headless. It’s devastatingly macabre and brutal, and it’s everything we want from “Mortal Kombat.”
#1: Kenny McCormick
Top 10 Kenny Ortega Dance Numbers
“South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” (1999)
The 1999 “South Park” movie takes everything the show is known for and dials it up to 11. That includes one of its longest-running jokes. After being inspired by the latest Terrance and Phillip movie, Kenny tries to prove Cartman wrong about whether or not farts can be lit on fire. This of course leads to another brutal death for the perpetually dying child. He’s set ablaze, has a truckload of salt dumped on him, is ripped apart by incompetent surgeons, and has his heart replaced with a baked potato. Oh, and it then explodes out of his chest. That is one nasty way to go. But it’s made even worse when Kenny thinks he’ll get into Heaven before plummeting straight to Hell.
