History DarkerAndEdgier / AnimatedFilms

** Poked fun at in ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' when Helen complains about her new "angsty looking" monochromatic super-suit. It also serves as a TakeThat to dark superhero redesigns. As for the movie itself, it is substantially grittier and much bleaker than the first film, featuring much more violence and action, as well as the presence of complex and mature themes that outdo some of the first film's already dark themes (including heavier family issues, the death of someone's parents, PTSD, hatred, bigotry, dictatorship, grey morality, among others), plenty of intense and scary moments, a few seizure-inducing scenes, the presence of swearing, and an incredibly scary villain. In a nutshell, this film goes more on par with a PG-13 rating than a PG one.

* In the first ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' film, when the girls were taken by Vector, things just got really serious. [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2 The sequel]], on the other hand, averts NeverSayDie multiple times, and the villain's plans for global domination are to [[spoiler:set the BrainwashedAndCrazy minions (who are turned into [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal maniacs]] as a result of the PX-41 serum) onto the major continents if world leaders don't hand over control to him. And he wants Gru to help him]].

** Despite being considered a BreatherEpisode by some, ''Cars 2'' is a lot more intense than the first one. Its plot focuses on [[GeniusDitz Mater]] accidentally getting mixed up on a spy mission, and there's a lot of violence and character deaths to be seen along the way, in spite of the wackier narrative and protagonist trying to moderate it. Several brutal on-screen deaths occur, such as a character being crushed into a cube, a character being blown up alive, and some characters being crushed alive.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'': Parodied. Bricksburg has become a ''Franchise/MadMax''-like wasteland where almost everyone has a grungy, battle-tired aesthetic... except Emmet, who looks and acts almost exactly the same as in the last film, bar some new scratches on his uniform's shiny stripes. And the town's citizens deliberately chose the wasteland look in order to fend off the Duplo aliens. The reason for this of course is that Finn is now a teenager and is trying to create a more "mature" narrative with his LEGO sets based on the movies meant for older audiences he's become familiar with in the years since the first film.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' was generally quite lighthearted, but still was darker than an standard Disney film. Most of the film's action sequences (aside from the baboon chase and Kala's fight with Sabor) are rather serious, with rare funny moments, it deals with themes such as identity and adoption, blood is shown onscreen and [[BloodierAndGorier messily]] and three characters receive [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath rather dark goodbyes]]: Kala and Kerchak's son is mauled off-screen by Sabor, who also killed Tarzan's biological parents (whose bodies are actually briefly seen, alongside Sabor's ''bloodied pawprints''), and Clayton, the film's BigBad, ''hangs himself'' after cutting off all the vines Tarzan trapped him in, except for the one tangled around his neck.

** Poked fun at in ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' when Helen complains about her new "angsty looking" monochromatic super-suit. It also serves as a TakeThat to dark superhero redesigns. The movie itself is substantially grittier and much bleaker than the first film, featuring much more violence and action, as well as the presence of complex and mature themes that outdo some of the first film's already dark themes (including heavier family issues, the death of someone's parents, PTSD, hatred, bigotry, dictatorship, grey morality, among others), plenty of intense and scary moments, a few seizure-inducing scenes, the presence of swearing, and an incredibly scary villain. In a nutshell, this film goes more on par with a PG-13 rating than a PG one.

* 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/{{Tarzan}}'' was generally quite lighthearted, but still was darker than an standard Disney film. Most of the film's action sequences (aside from the baboon chase and Kala's fight with Sabor) are rather serious, with rare funny moments, it deals with themes such as identity and adoption, blood is shown onscreen and [[BloodierAndGorier messily]] and three characters receive [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath rather dark goodbyes]]: Kala and Kerchak's son is mauled off-screen by Sabor, who also killed Tarzan's biological parents (whose bodies are actually briefly seen, alongside Sabor's ''bloodied pawprints''), and Clayton, the film's BigBad, ''hangs himself'' after cutting off all the vines Tarzan trapped him in, except for the one tangled around his neck, which gets even more disturbing if you count [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises his eyeballs widening dramatically]] and [[EyeScream popping out]] [[FridgeHorror from the sockets]].

** Speaking of Blue Sky, the first ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' film is this in comparison to the sequels, with a sombre colour palette, constant references to death and/or dying, and a serious depiction of life during the Ice Age and the fight for survival between humans ''and'' animals. And let's not forget that [[BigBad Soto's]] main goal throughout the entire film is to eat a human baby alive out of spite, whilst Diego constantly manipulates his own allies to help accomplish that goal.
*** While not as heavy and dramatic as the first film, ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeTheMeltdown'' has quite a bit more peril, as now there's a threat to ''all'' of the cast, main and background, the threats ranging from being eaten by reptiles to being killed by explosive geysers.

** Poked fun at in ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' when Helen complains about her new "angsty looking" monochromatic super-suit. It also serves as a TakeThat to dark superhero redesigns.
*** Speaking of the movie itself, though, ''Incredibles 2'' is substantially grittier and much bleaker than the first film, featuring much more violence and action, as well as the presence of complex and mature themes that outdo some of the first film's already dark themes (including heavier family issues, the death of someone's parents, PTSD, hatred, bigotry, dictatorship, grey morality, among others), plenty of intense and scary moments, a few seizure-inducing scenes, the presence of swearing, and an incredibly scary villain. In a nutshell, this film goes more on par with a PG-13 rating than a PG one.

** Speaking of Blue Sky, the first ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' film is this in comparison to the sequels, with a sombre colour palette, constant references to death and/or dying, AdultFear, and a serious depiction of life during the Ice Age and the fight for survival between humans ''and'' animals. And let's not forget that [[BigBad Soto's]] main goal throughout the entire film is to eat a human baby alive out of spite, whilst Diego constantly manipulates his own allies to help accomplish that goal.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' is this to Creator/BlueSkyStudios' [[WesternAnimation/{{Robots}} other]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Rio}} films]]. As Blue Sky stuck mainly with comedies, this is their first film where the action is pushed to the forefront. Characters die, and a few have major daddy issues.

* 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'', part two of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheLongHalloween'', and''WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseConstantineTheHouseOfMystery'' ''WesternAnimation/BatmanSoulOfTheDragon'' all got rated "R".

* 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'', and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanSoulOfTheDragon'' all got rated "R".

** Despite being considered a BreatherEpisode by some, ''Cars 2'' is a lot more intense than the first one. Its plot focuses on [[GeniusDitz Mater]] accidentally getting mixed up on a spy mission, and there's a lot of violence and character deaths to be seen along the way, in spite of the wackier narrative and protagonist trying to moderate it.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' are considered to be among Disney's darkest.

** Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' is tamer than the above, but still dark both literally and metaphorically. There's a few really horrifying sequences such as the scene [[spoiler: where a boy is seen turning into a donkey, made even worse when we see tons of other boys being turned into donkeys who are either sold to the salt mines or kept to pull the carriage to take more boys to the island to meet the same horrifying fate]]. Even more unusual for a Disney film, there are four different villains, including a duo, and [[spoiler:all but one of them get away with the things they do, including the ruthless Coachman who kidnaps boys and turns them into donkeys]].

*** While not as heavy and dramatic as the first film, ''WesternAnimation/IceAge2TheMeltdown'' has quite a bit more peril, as now there's a threat to ''all'' of the cast, main and background, the threats ranging from being eaten by reptiles to being killed by explosive geysers.

*** ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', despite getting a G rating, is just as dark. The whole story is driven by the villain's sexual obsession with one of the female protagonists, and a number of darker themes -- including lust and [[TheFundamentalist religious fanaticism]] -- are shown. For that matter, [[BigBad Frollo]] tries to ''drown baby Quasimodo'' (pictured above) solely because of his deformities, right after killing his mother early in the film, as well as having a lust for Esmeralda and later on, plotting a genocide against the Gypsies. Even though it takes away some of the more explicitly adult themes, it also manages to be significantly darker than [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame the original book]], which never brought up infanticide and Gypsy genocide.

%% Always remember to use the DarkerAndEdgier label sparingly, so as to avoid diminishing it when it really applies.
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[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_man_and_a_monster_0.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:T'was the tale of a man... and a '''monster'''.]]

%% Always remember to use the DarkerAndEdgier label sparingly, so as to avoid diminishing it when it really applies.

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'': In the first film, when the girls were taken by Vector, things just got really serious. Especially [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2 the sequel]], NeverSayDie is averted multiple times, and [[spoiler: the villain's plans for global domination are to set the BrainwashedAndCrazy minions (who are turned into [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal maniacs]] as a result of the PX-41 serum) onto the major continents if world's leaders don't hand over control to him. And he wants Gru to help him.]]

** ''Franchise/{{Trolls}}'' has to hit this yet, but it seems that it's aleadry on the way with the overall context and depths that ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'' had established.

* [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Sanrio Animation's]] second ''Manga/{{Unico}}'' movie starring the titular character ''Anime/UnicoInTheIslandOfMagic'' from 1983 has a darker story compared to the 1981 movie ''Anime/TheFantasticAdventuresOfUnico''. While the movie does share it's lighthearted tone as the 1981 film. It doesn't include musical numbers and the tone is more serious. Even posters for the sequel reflects the film's darker tone showing [[https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNDA5MTkyODctMWU0ZC00OTRlLTlkZmItYjg2OWFjNGJiZTY3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzUwMTgwMw@@._V1_.jpg an angry Unico and a silhouette of the film's main antagonist]] compared to the previous film's posters reflecting it's [[https://pics.filmaffinity.com/The_Fantastic_Adventure_of_Unico-108346495-large.jpg whimsical]] and [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3b/9d/6d/3b9d6de9a0bed8a797623892a9843488.jpg mysterious tone]].

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' was generally quite lighthearted, but still was darker than an standard Disney film. Most of the film's action sequences (aside from the baboon chase and Kala's fight with Sabor) are rather serious, with rare funny moments, it deals with themes such as identity and adoption, Blood shown onscreen and [[BloodierAndGorier messily]] and three characters receive [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath rather dark goodbyes]]: Kala and Kerchak's son is mauled off-screen by Sabor, who also killed Tarzan's biological parents (whose bodies are actually briefly seen, alongside Sabor's ''bloodied pawprints''), and Clayton, the film's BigBad, ''hangs himself'' after cutting off all the vines Tarzan trapped him in, except for the one tangled around his neck, which gets even more disturbing if you count [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises his eyeballs widening dramatically]] and [[EyeScream popping out]] [[FridgeHorror from the sockets]].

** Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' is tamer than the above, but still dark both literally and metaphorically. There's a few really horrifying sequences such as the scene [[spoiler: where a boy is seen turning into a donkey, made even worse when we see tons of other boys being turned into donkeys who are either sold to the salt mines or kept to pull the carriage to take more boys to the island to meet the same horrifying fate]]. Even more unusual for a Disney film, there are three different people, including a duo, who serve as villains (four if you count Monstro), and [[spoiler:all of them get away with the things they do, including the ruthless Coachman who kidnaps boys and turns them into donkeys]].

*** ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019'' is all of the lion-fighting violence and child witnessing his father's death (and being made to think he caused it) of the original that Ebert though might be too much for young children, now with photo-realistic animals, many of the jokes that took the edge off the intensity of the original film removed, and a subplot re-purposed from the Broadway show in which Scar tries to make Simba's mother his queen.

** While it's not as dark as the first movie, ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water]]'' still has its moments compared to [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants the show]]. A major example being that the Bikini Bottom Apocalypse is actually played rather seriously, especially in the [[spoiler:sacrifice scene]].