Disney Tropes

Plenty of Disney's animated fare are retreads of familiar fairy tales, with varying degrees of accuracy. From Show White to Tangled, there is no void of animated features detailing the lives of princesses, princes and fantasy characters. In fact, Snow White helped Disney out when they needed money, even when during production, people dubbed it "Disney's folly."

As such, there is little surprise they share a few tropes in common. In fact, they even named a few tropes (at the time of this writing any case - this may change). So, here are a list of tropes to look out for, with a bit of commentary as to why they may or may not work.

Disneyfication: Disney is prone to adapting fairy tales into softer versions of themselves. It isn't the first and likely won't be the last. The basic idea is the company removes any material they feel would be objectionable to the target audience (in this case, minors - or perhaps more accurately, the parents of minors). If done properly, it can be quite entertaining and serve as the antithesis to the other extreme, which undeniably would horrify some audiences. This isn't to say they won't try to sneak adult jokes past the censors of course, but generally they won't try it as often. There will of course be people who remember the bloodier versions of the tale and bemoan any attempts to lighten it for the sake of a story; in their defense. As such, be careful when attempting this. It's relatively easy to fall into the trap of assuming kids won't notice mistakes and thus not give a crap about fixing anything. Just remember that children love a good story as much as we do, even if it is true they are more forgiving, shall we we say.
Disney Acid Sequence: Oh dear, we're in strange territory now. Yes, Disney is known for including peculiar scenes that may or may not be drug-induced and may never be referenced again. It isn't difficult to see these scenes as fueling nightmares and prone to showing what animation can do where live action may not (which won't necessarily help quell nightmares, ironically). They may help teach a lesson, even if it gets broken in the process. Overall, this can be a tricky trope to implement. Make sure it suits the story and doesn't become to jarring that it slips into Nightmare Fuel territory, thus losing its intended effect (although combining this with Fridge Logic does a fine job as well). Of course, these also may not age well or come across the same way over time - think of the pink elephant sequence in Dumbo. Attitudes towards alcohol have changed and while it's true that anything in excess usually turns out wrong, in moderation it isn't nearly what Dumbo made it out to be.
The Good Guys Always Win: This perhaps goes without saying. It's classic Disney to let the good guys win in the end, similar to how Star Wars wound up the same way. Expect a happy ending where the heroes receive their just rewards and the villains (and it isn't uncommon for villains to be obvious villains in Disney films) will receive their comeuppance. This can sometimes lead to Nightmare Fuel, as is the case with Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, though it isn't always true. Subverting this can be tricky as it's easier said than done - especially if the death of a popular character is involved.
Scenery Porn: This may be a consequence of Disney's much-aped styles: the artists put some extra time into developing the scenery, giving us something that's aesthetically appealing. This can be particularly problematic if you spend more time describing/showing the scenery, to the point of halting the plot. Be sure to remember the Law of Conversation of Detail and, you know, the plot to curtail this.