History DarkerAndEdgier / AnimatedFilms

*** ''The Black Cauldron'' as it was based on Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain, which is itself based on the {{Literature/Mabinogion}} of [[Myth/CelticMythology Welsh Mythology]], was known for its heavy use of darker fantasy concepts, such as the undead, and (attempted) ritualistic sacrifice, as well as the antagonist being a [[OurLichesAreDifferent lich king]] rather than a normal human overlord, and ''very'' mild gore mixed in with heavy violence. In short, it was the first Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon movie to get a PG rating.

*** ''The Black Cauldron'' was known for its use of darker fantasy concepts, such as the undead, and was the first Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon movie to get a PG rating.

** Raya And TheLast Dragon'' features a post-apocalyptic setting for the first time since the aformentioned DINOSAUR, the protagonist using bladed weapons, the horrors of the shadow demons known as the Drunn, selfishness, and warfare, the sight of skeletal corpses laying in a ruined temple, an entire tribe wiped out by panicked warfare, the Accidental Murder of Sisu, and a climax that kills off every main character... temporarily, of course.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}'', Disney's first post-apocalyptic feature, involves several on-screen deaths, a Social Darwinist of an Iguanodon, a lack of Infant Immortality, scenes of meteoric destruction and starvation, and an overall photorealistic art style (with live-action backgrounds!), along with a darker soundtrack than usual

** ''WesternAnimation/Raya And TheLast Dragon'' features a post-apocalyptic setting for the first time since the aformentioned DINOSAUR, the protagonist using bladed weapons, the horrors of the shadow demons known as the Drunn, selfishness, and warfare, the sight of skeletal corpses laying in a ruined temple, an entire tribe wiped out by panicked warfare, the Accidental Murder of Sisu, and a climax that kills off every main character... temporarily, of course.

** The Fox and The Hound may at first seem like an adorable tale of interspecies friendship, but Big Mama’s warning that Tod and Copper are natural enemies lingers over the entirety of “The Fox and the Hound” until it finally comes to fruition. In the end, these two can never be the best of friends, because one has been bred and trained to kill the other.
** Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs was Disney's darkest work by far when it was created. It focused far more on drama than comedy, had quite a few legitimate scares, and its antagonist was a very evil, very dangerous character played completely seriously.

** WesternAnimation/The Fox and The Hound may at first seem like an adorable tale of interspecies friendship, but Big Mama’s warning that Tod and Copper are natural enemies lingers over the entirety of “The Fox and the Hound” until it finally comes to fruition. In the end, these two can never be the best of friends, because one has been bred and trained to kill the other.
** WesternAnimation/Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs was Disney's darkest work by far when it was created. It focused far more on drama than comedy, had quite a few legitimate scares, and its antagonist was a very evil, very dangerous character played completely seriously.

** "WesternAnimation/The Fox and The Hound" may at first seem like an adorable tale of interspecies friendship, but Big Mama’s warning that Tod and Copper are natural enemies lingers over the entirety of “The Fox and the Hound” until it finally comes to fruition. In the end, these two can never be the best of friends, because one has been bred and trained to kill the other.
** "WesternAnimation/Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs was Disney's darkest work by far when it was created. It focused far more on drama than comedy, had quite a few legitimate scares, and its antagonist was a very evil, very dangerous character played completely seriously.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}'', for the time, deviated from the Disney norm of warm sing-along-filled movies. It has a subplot where a meteor destroys the lemur's once-lived lands, the musical tone is dark and the movie is about survival.

** ''WesternAnimation/RayaAndTheLastDragon'' qualifies to some extent too, since we get to see a princess who actually fights with bladed weapons, as opposed to the stereotypical [[GirlyGirl Girly Girl]] princesses we've seen in past movies.

* The WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies is a line of animated movies aimed for older comic fans. Tellingly, [[WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday the first movie out of the gate]] was an adaptation of ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman''. At times, the AnimatedAdaptation [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns of]] ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' got darker than the comic it's based on, and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheKillingJoke''[[note]]which takes after the 20th Anniversary UpdatedRerelease in its more subdued coloring, Batman lacking the yellow oval around the batsymbol on his costume, and Joker crying TearsOfBlood during his first laugh[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamByGaslight'', ''WesternAnimation/SuicideSquadHellToPay'', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDarkApokolipsWar'', ''WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseBatmanDeathInTheFamily'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanSoulOfTheDragon'', part two of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheLongHalloween'', and''WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseConstantineTheHouseOfMystery'' all got rated "R".

* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', compared to the [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros games]]. Mari is less sure of himself and every reference to death that would be [[NeverSayDie replaced with a euphemism]] in the games ''isn't'', and one character explicitly [[DeathSeeker wants to die]], but it's just as cheerful and upbeat as the games otherwise.

** While it has its hilarious moments, ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' is the film that started the more serious and emotional line of films that Creator/DreamWorksAnimation would go on to produce in the future, being an action comedy with some pretty serious drama going on, as well as the comedy being a bit darker and dropping the pop-culture jokes that [=DreamWorks=] is known for using. In fact, any of [=DreamWorks=]' major franchises will fall subject to either this or CerebusSyndrome at one point:

** ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', being released shortly after ''Kung Fu Panda'', wasn't ''that'' dark or edgy, but it was still more serious compared to most of [=DreamWorks=]' other films. [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2 The sequel]], on the other hand, takes it further. Here, the BigBad is an AxCrazy warmonger who wants to enslave all dragons, there is a battle with a gigantic ice dragon and [[spoiler: Stoick dies. To make matters worse, it was the titular dragon, who was BrainwashedAndCrazy, that killed him]]. [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld The third film]] is no better, with the BigBad, Grimmel the Grisly, being an AxCrazy BloodKnight and a [[HunterOfMonsters dragon hunter]] who's fixated in carrying out [[FinalSolution a mass genocide on all dragons]]. [[spoiler:The film ends with the Vikings and dragons deciding to separate permanently]].

** ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', being released shortly after ''Kung Fu Panda'', wasn't ''that'' dark or edgy, but it was still more serious compared to most of [=DreamWorks=]' other films. [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2 The sequel]], on the other hand, takes it further. Here, the BigBad wants to enslave all dragons, there is a battle with a gigantic ice dragon and [[spoiler: Stoick dies. To make matters worse, it was the titular dragon, who was BrainwashedAndCrazy, that killed him]]. [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld The third film]] is no better (in fact it's '''''much''''' darker than the previous films), with the BigBad, Grimmel the Grisly, being an AxCrazy BloodKnight and a [[HunterOfMonsters dragon hunter]] who's fixated in carrying out [[FinalSolution a mass genocide on all dragons]] (as well as the implications that he's the GreaterScopeVillain of the previous films) and will stop at nothing to carry out his incredibly heinous and horrific atrocities. Not only that, but there are much more serious themes that are presented in the film, and [[spoiler: most importantly, there's a BittersweetEnding that's a massive TearJerker]].

** ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'' is darker than [[WesternAnimation/PussInBoots2011 the previous film]] and the darkest film in the ''Shrek'' franchise overall. While the first film was a conventional swashbuckling adventure with character development and backstory moments, ''The Last Wish'' depicts Puss being forced to come to terms with his mortality. This is emphasized during his first fight with the bounty hunter Wolf, who manages to cut him with his sickle, and [[WhamShot blood drips down Puss's face]].

* Among the ''Animation/TheMindsEye'' series of videos, there's ''The Gate to the Mind's Eye''. While the others showcase a number of different animation segments with a wide range of atmospheres and subjects, the beginning of ''The Gate'' goes for the jugular with depictions of an advanced civilization at war, decimation of the environment, implications of death by the millions (called "River of Souls" for a ''very'' good reason), dark and gritty imagery in general, and a Satan-like being who likes to loom in the sky using the moon as a headrest. The music for these sequences features OminousLatinChanting and a downtrodden piano solo. Naturally, the first of these sequences is called "Armageddon". The rest of the video remains about as sombre until "Nuvogue", where it picks the whimsical and fun-loving tone back up.