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Disney Studios is famous for its entertaining stories, which have been enchanting kids and adults alike for generations. Disney Channel has been a perennial source of light-hearted, family-friendly entertainment for those who can't get enough of the movies. However, some Disney Channel cartoons had dark and disturbing characters who didn't quite belong in a cheery children's show.

Related: 10 Disney Channel Sitcoms That Were Surprisingly Dark

Some dark Disney Channel characters were terrifying villains with huge goals or even tragic heroes with complicated backstories. Characters like Aladdin's Mozenrath and Gravity Falls' Bill Cipher had dark personalities that added an edge to some Disney cartoons.

Updated on 8th June 2023 by Fawzia Khan: Even though Disney's most renowned villains are from the movies, the animated shows that aired on Disney Channel had some of the most fearsome characters. Even if they seemed benign on the outside, they were quite insidious in their actions.

Ming Lee is one of the most significant characters in Pixar’s coming-of-age gem Turning Red, and the actor her voice belongs to is a prolific and recognizable star of movies and television. Turning Red is a cinematic metaphor for puberty in which a 13-year-old girl named Mei who, thanks to a curse she inherited, transforms into a giant red panda every time she experiences a powerful emotion. The heart of the movie is Mei’s relationship with her overprotective mother, Ming Lee. Ming Lee is aware of her daughter’s panda curse, but she’s more concerned about her rebellious plan to attend a boy band’s concert.

Turning Red’s maternal character falls into the familiar parental archetype of coming-of-age movies. Ming Lee is an overbearing mother who won’t accept anything less than perfection from her daughter, making her the closest thing that Turning Red has to an antagonist.

If you came of age in the aughts, you likely grew up watching a very specific set of cartoons -- ones that haven't yet gotten their big nostalgia moment alongside the "remember the '90s" crowd. After the "Kim Possible" era and before the "Phineas and Ferb" generation, shows like "Dave the Barbarian" and "American Dragon: Jake Long" briefly took over the Disney Channel with high-concept hi-jinks and lovable characters.

The latter series only lasted two seasons, but with talented voice and screen actor Dante Basco in the lead, a theme song covered by The Jonas Brothers, and a Chinese-American protagonist juggling everyday life with superpowers, "American Dragon: Jake Long" was impossible to forget. Over 15 years since the series drew to a close, /Film's Rafael Motamayor spoke with series creator Jeff Goode about bringing the story back to life. Along the way, Goode revealed that "American Dragon: Jake Long" was...

"American Dragon: Jake Long" came at the right time for The Disney Channel. Though not their first fantasy-adjacent show, it felt like Disney's answer to both "Harry Potter" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender," which came out the same year. This was a hero's journey cartoon about a boy who discovers he's a key part of a massive fantasy world filled with magical creatures, cool villains, and more.

The show followed the titular Jake Long, who is assigned the role of the American Dragon and uses his ability to transform into a dragon to protect the magical creatures that inhabit New York City. Though he still has to find time to go to school and be a normal teenager, he spends his afternoons fighting the evil Huntsman, who wants to kill all magical creatures.

The show was created by Jeff Goode, marking his first animated project as a creator and executive producer.

(Welcome to My Most Ridiculous Note, a series of interviews in which animators talk about the weirdest and funniest notes they received from studio executives.)

The early to mid-'00s was not a good time for Walt Disney Animation, with the failures of "Treasure Planet" and "Home on the Range" all but killing traditional animation on the big screen. On the TV side of things, however, it was an exciting time. The studio was producing a slate of cool high-concept cartoons as it began producing animation for the Disney Channel, with shows like "American Dragon: Jake Long," "Brandy & Mr. Whiskers," and "The Replacements" offering a good blend of family sitcom and genre hijinks.

In this period, there was arguably no show as consistently weird and funny as "Dave the Barbarian," a cartoon perhaps best remembered for its anachronistic jokes and fourth wall breaks (like the construction of a medieval megaphone...

2Nd Update, 7:21 Pm: A Washington State judge issued a $100,000 warrant for the arrest of Kyle Massey, after the former Disney Channel star failed for a second time to appear for his arraignment.

The actor, who once starred in series such as That’s So Raven and Cory in the House, was charged with one count of immoral communication with a minor in June. He stands accused of sending pornographic material to a 13-year-old girl.

Massey’s court date was was originally scheduled for late June in King County. It was pushed to the morning of July 12, when the actor first failed to appear.

Previous Update, June 29, with attorney statement: Kyle Massey, who co-starred on Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven and Cory in the House, is facing a felony charge of immoral communication with a minor in King County, Wa.

According to TMZ, which first reported the news,...

Sad news as Clarence Williams III has died at the age of 81. The news was confirmed by the Harlem-born actor's representative that The Mod Squad actor died on Friday following complications with colon cancer. While best known for his role in the ABC show, he also appeared on the big screen in Purple Rain, Half-Baked, Sugar Hill, and Tales From the Hood just to name a few.

Born in 1939 in New York, Williams was the only child of professional musician Clay Williams Jr and actress Eva Taylor. He was also the grandson of jazz pianist and composer Clarence Williams. He served in the US Army for two years before deciding to pursue a career in acting. He made his professional debut on stage in The Long Dream on Broadway in 1960. He went on to appear in several other Broadway productions over the next 8 years, including William Hanley's Slow Dance on The Killing Ground,...

It’s time to play the music and it’s time to light the lights. Why? Well, it’s almost time to meet The Muppet Show on Disney+ tonight.

Disney+’s list of new releases for February 2021 features a handful of intriguing original movies and TV shows. But it’s a blast from the past that’s making the most waves. All five seasons of The Muppet Show will arrive on Disney+’s stream on Friday, Feb. 19. And just like that, 2021 is a brighter place.

February 2021 also sees the back half of WandaVision carry on. Disney+ only mentions each release as being a “new episode” but if our calculations are right, February should feature episodes 5 through 8 of the series. That just leaves the finale for the first Friday in March.

The other major Disney+ original is Flora & Ulysses on Feb. 19. This movie starring Alyson Hannigan, Ben Schwartz, and more...

After a successful Kickstarter campaign from earlier this year, actor/producer Dante Basco has unveiled his new Hook prequel short film entitled Bangarang, named after his Hook character Rufio's signature catch phrase. This 17-minute short film shows what happened to this young boy, before he became leader of The Lost Boys, when he was just an orphan like Peter Pan himself. Here's the official description of the 17-minute short film from the Kickstarter campaign page.

"This is the story about Rufio, before the mohawk, before Neverland, before he was The Pan. Roofus is a 13-year-old kid who is destined to be more than he is. After his mother is forced to put him into a foster home, he and his rag-tag group of best friends, a Jamaican boy named Julani and a bright-eyed latina force of nature named Ella, find a way for Roofus to escape his ill fate, find...

If you are in the St. Johns University area and attending Borough Con this weekend make sure to stop at one of Comic Uno's panels she will be taking a part of. Below are the days and times when Kat's panels will be taking place.

Friday 3:45-4:45 - Indie Comic PublishingSaturday 2:15-3:15 - Comics in the Internet Age

Superhero, animation and gaming fans will soon converge on Utopia Parkway for a four-day celebration in a park-like setting.

St. John’s University will host BoroughCon, a new pop culture convention, over Memorial Day Weekend 2017, May 26-May 29. The event, which is expected to draw up to 20,000 attendees, will appeal to enthusiasts of heroic stories in film, television, gaming and graphic formats, as well as to those who enjoy anime and manga –animation and comics, respectively, in the Japanese tradition.

BoroughCon programming will include panels and autograph sessions with celebrities,...

Here we go again. Entertainment Weekly just announced that Marvel and Netflix have found their Iron Fist. Finn Jones (Game of Thrones) has been tapped to play Danny Rand in the upcoming series Iron Fist. I enjoy Jones’ take on Loras Tyrell but I’d be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed by this choice. Disappointed, but not surprised. Marvel has made a stab at diversified casting when it comes to black characters — including changing Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Heimdall (Idris Elba), and Baron Mordo’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) race, adding Falcon to the line-up and the introduction of Luke Cage. They’ve even made attempts to include Latino culture with Luis (Michael Peña) and Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). But for some reason, they keep fumbling at the one-yard line when it comes to representation of Asian cultures. We have Skye (Chloe Bennet), Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) and Madame...

Some people can never escape their signature roles -- just ask "Hook" star Dante Basco.Though he's done voice work for "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and starred on the Disney show "American Dragon: Jake Long," Dante is best known for playing Rufio, the mohawked leader of The Lost Boys in the 1991 flick.In a new video for Funny or Die, Dante plays himself auditioning for "A Streetcar Named Desire" ... but it doesn't exactly go according to script. Last time we checked, Stanley never called Stella a "fart factory."Check out the video above -- plus see what the rest of the cast of "Hook" looks like today in the gallery:  Read more...

I have to admit from the start that the popularity of Dancing with the Stars completely eludes me. It was an interesting bit of fun the first time around, but mainly for its novelty value. There was a nice combination of showcasing famous people, and giving them something to do that was mildly entertaining without being embarrassing simply for the sake of being embarrassing.

The second and third seasons had a few moments of interest, even if the biggest tune-in sell was watching people who weren’t any good, rather than watching any “talent” take shape. Now, however, I just don’t get it anymore. Much like the Circus of the Stars of days gone by, the novelty is over, “Stars” is becoming more and more loosely defined, and we are thus at a point where we have to come clean and admit we’re watching ballroom dancing. And, much...