Studies show that the number one leading cause of death of all Disney villains aged 35-80 is a swift fall from great heights to certain doom. If you, or someone you know, is affected by Falling, please call 1-800-555-SPLAT to see if you’re eligible for a claim in this year’s class-action suit.

No, but really, for many, many years now, it appears that the most common way for Disney to depict the demise of a villain on screen is to have them fall to their deaths. Sometimes the villains are shown on screen afterward, but often they are not and the death is implied without the upsetting visuals for whatever little ones in your household might be watching. The reasons are obvious; you don’t want kids watching movies to go to bed with nightmares, but you want them to have closure knowing that the baddies got what was coming to them.

After all, despite a dark period of live-action films in the 80s, most of Disney’s animated repertoire is standard good-vs-evil fare, with most plot lines adhering to the “setup, conflict, resolution” formula. The falling isn’t just limited to death scenes, mind you. Sometimes, a bad guy just gets a nice little punch and flies overboard a ship, only to be dealt with and punished in accordance with kingdom laws. (I’m looking at you, Frozen’s Hans, you slimy d-bag.)

The round-up of falling scenes is still an interesting look at the many times this particular plot device has been used over the years. I would venture to guess that there are a few big falls that were omitted from the video for the sake of timing. Feel free to use the comments below to list your own favorite Disney comeuppance scene that was featured, or list one that the video (by ChiefBrodyRules) might’ve missed!

HT: The High Definite