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I think that Walt understood that children LIKED to be scared...after all, isn't it what we all remember as adults? And the scares were delicious ones, ones that really rattled our cages and stayed potent long after the film itself fades. Snow White was about a pure as snow girl who dies. Not one post on any Disney thread here mentioned her trilling "Some Day My Prince Will Come" or even the seven dwarfs. Oh, but the witch and evil queen and her magic mirror have been mentioned quite a bit. Why? Because we secretly love them.

Take Darby O'Gill, for example. The banshee and headless driver scenes have been cited all the way through this thread. They've been termed "traumatic," but aren't they really just "memorable?" Would we even be discussing Darby O'Gill at ALL, if it hadn't been for those scenes?

As for the dark side weakening when Walt died, it's no secret that the company lost its way for a LONG time after he passed away. They really didn't find their footing until 1984 with Splash and 89 with The Little Mermaid. That's twenty years after Walt's departure! And they tried everything to find their footing--especially in the late 70's and early 80's--and they all failed. Finally, through some glitch of luck, they hit with Splash. Then Little Mermaid resurrected the animated film and set it on the course we see today. Were there dark scenes in the newer films? Yes. Ursula the sea witch is presented as a crafty, sly but definitely evil character, and her death scene is quite frightening. The Hunchback of Notre Dame contained a scene where a baby is thrown down a well (or at least that's threatened). The Beauty and the Beast has a vicious stabbing and attack by wolves that is quite scary. The death of Simba's father was tragic, etc. The darkness is still present...but let's face it, we're not children anymore, and those scenes are absorbed much more easily when you're an adult. As a child, however! Whoa.

Rod

Watched Darby O'Gill and the Little People last night and was more traumatized by seeing Sean Connery with REAL HAIR than anything else Disney has ever had to offer!

The banshee is indeed a frightening spectre but one that can obviously be dispelled by hitting it with a shovel or throwing a lantern its way. The effect itself looks like some kind of negative and is not animated, as Bill pointed out. I tried to make out the face, which is either an old woman or someone made up like an old woman--and it has a tendency to swoop around like a chromakey effect, which isn't always to "effective." It looked best when suspended high above the action. As for the ghost coach, it was a sublime effect. Loved it! Especially how the driver's shoulders were built up to disguise the head of the actual person.

Rod