Okay let's summarize everything that Cody, an eight year old boy, went through over the course of the film: firstly, he falls off of a cliff and is only caught at the very last second by Marahute. Not an hour later he falls into a poacher's trap, has a shotgun pointed at his head, and is promptly kidnapped by said poacher and used as a source of information for McLeach to poach more animals. How does McLeach attempt to get this information? By tying Cody to a chair and throwing knives at him; a pre-adolescent child. He then spends the night locked in an animal cage with a bunch of talking creatures who explicitly tell him they're all here to be murdered and sold, is tricked into thinking that Marahute is dead — it's a feat in and of itself that this is arguably the least traumatic thing McLeach does to him — and giving up her eggs, after which McLeach decides to "tie up some loose ends"; by dangling Cody off of the hook of his truck by a rope and feeding him alive to crocodiles, all the while cackling and clearly having a great time. This plan comes so dangerously close to working that Cody almost drowns and is swept off of the same waterfall he just watched his kidnapper go over, only to again be caught at the last second by Marahute and returned home. That kid's gonna need some therapy...
Don't forget that he was attacked by Joanna at one point, when she noticed he had a mouse on him. He was lucky he wasn't bitten- there's a saying that a goanna's bite never truly heals.
And then there's McLeach himself. A twisted and violently insane poacher with absolutely no redeeming qualities. Makes his Karmic Death all the more satisfying to watch.
George C. Scott's voice for McLeach also qualifies, making him sound just as terrifying on the inside as he is on the outside.
Most of the other Disney villains were terrifying and evil in their own right but McLeach trumps the majority of them since in the same vein as Lady Tremaine and Frollo's he is very, very normal and realistic. He has no magic powers, no minions, no nothing. He's just an Ax-CrazyEvil Poacher played straight.
It gets better. The chances of you getting attacked by an evil queen, a sorcerer, a sea witch or a pirate are slim-to-none. But are there violently derangedpoachers out there in real life who take delight in seeing their prey getting hurt and/or killed and has no qualms about murdering and mulitating their targets? You bet your biscuits!
His rendition of "Home on the Range" sang through his truck's sound system is one part hilarious and two parts this.
Home, home on the range
Where the critters are tied up in chains
I cut through their sides
Then I rip off their hides
And the next day I do it again! EVERYBODY!
A particularly chilling moment: After he sees that Cody has one of Marahute's feathers, he cheerfully pulls out a more ragged looking feather and says "I already got the father!" and then uses it to make a Throat-Slitting Gesture. It's at that point when you realize just what happened to Marahute's mate...
McLeach's "Eureka!" Moment right when he's chewing out Joanna for eating all his eggs. When he realizes that Cody must be protecting Marahute's eggs as well, his eyes go red as the lighting suddenly changes and the background darkens. The accompanying close-up of his face combined with the haunting music cue only makes his Slasher Smile that much more unsettling.
McLeach: Joanna, I give you platypus eggs, I give you snake eggs; why, I'd give you eagle eggs, but I want you to stay away from my... The eagle's eggs! That's it! That's the boy's weak spot!
Speaking of which, the way McLeach treats Joanna. During that scene in particular, he's clearly about to beat her with the egg box and her terrified reaction implies that this isn't the first time he's straight up beaten her for making him mad either. Not to mention in his Establishing Character Moment after Joanna jumps on Cody and accidentally knocks McLeach into his own trap, he rambles for a moment about how he's finally going to kill her and aims his rifle at her, prompting her to immediately cower in fear of him only to suddenly perk up when he changes his mind. This, coupled with Joanna still retaining Undying Loyalty to McLeach despite the way he treats her, going so far as to sadly wave goodbye to him before his death, makes her come off as an eerily realistic depiction of someone who's going through an abusive relationship.
McLeach: Are you ready, boy? It's time you learn how to fish for crocs! They like it when you use live bait. And you're as live as they come. (singing as he lowers Cody toward the crocs) You get a line, I'll get a pole, matey. You get a line, I'll get a pole, friend! You get a line and I'll get a pole, and we'll go fishing in a crocodile hole; yes, buddy ol' pal o' mine!
When the evil poacher actually lowers Cody into the water, then quickly hoists him back up just to take his time torturing the boy; and possibly to make the crocodiles more desperate.
McLeach: Nothing personal, boy, but I wouldn't wanna disappoint the rangers. They was looking so hard for ya. And now, they're gonna FIND YA!
What were the nurse mice going to do to Wilbur with that chainsaw? Whatever it was, let's just be happy that it didn't happen.
The mere fact that Cody can apparently talk to animals. When Faloo the kangaroo calls him via improvised didgeridoo, he instantly asks about who's been caught. This means that it is not the first time Cody is summoned by the animals to help rescue somebody; in fact, it must be a common occurence seeing as they have a very established way of communicating if need be. One wonders, how many times has Cody seen an animal die in a trap? How many times was he too late to save or rescue it? And how many times was the caught animal a friend of his? Cody must be carrying a lot of traumas...
Cody's Flight is a beautifully animated and scored scene. However, if you're someone who is afraid of heights, it's also four minutes of nausea-inducing anxiety.
is a beautifully animated and scored scene. However, if you're someone who is afraid of heights, it's also four minutes of nausea-inducing anxiety.