Top 10 Animated Disney Movie Characters with The Saddest Backstories

The Top Ten
1 Quasimodo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Mother is killed by Frollo and was nearly drowned until Frollo was guilt tripped into being his legal guardian who then has him locked away in the bell towers of Notre Dame for most of his life.

The way they treated him was wrong in the wrongest way possible.

2 Jessie - Toy Story 2

Jessie was disowned by her old owner

3 Lilo - Lilo & Stitch

In addition to the death of her parents, her sister has to prove that she can take care of her to Child Protective Services.

Both her parents died in a car accident which left her alone with her sister acting as her legal guardian.

4 Jim Hawkins - Treasure Planet

His father abandons him and his mother when he was little.

5 Marlin - Finding Nemo

Literally in the first scene of the movie Marlin's wife and all but one of his kids is eaten with only Nemo being the only survivor and from then on he is fearful of anything bad happening to Nemo.

6 Hector Rivera - Coco

As its later revealed Hector is actually Miguel's great great grandfather who was a musician who left his family to go tour with his childhood friend Ernesto Del La Cruz but after being gone from his family for so long Hector decided to return home to his family until Ernesto not willing to let him leave since it was his songs that brought them success and not wanting to lose that he poisons him and steals his songs including "Remember Me" which he had written for his daughter Coco, and since he never returned his family thought he had abandoned them and completely forgot about him all expect for Coco the only one who still remembers him and according to the laws of the land of the dead if a person is completely forgotten about them then they cease to exist and because great grandma Coco is the only one who still remembers him and when she goes so will he.

The most messed up about it was he was murdered by Ernesto because he valued his family over being a musician.

Pretty hot for a skeleton

7 Anna - Frozen Princess Anna of Arendelle is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 53rd animated film Frozen.

For reasons that make no sense after getting injured by Elsa they decide to wipe out any knowledge of her having ice powers from Anna's memory and making things worse their parents split the two up and continue to keep Anna in the dark about why she can't have any contact with Elsa.

8 Elsa - Frozen Queen Elsa of Arendelle is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 53rd animated film Frozen.

Was born with ice powers and during her childhood she accidentally hurt Anna and because of this she fears that her powers will harm those around her and her parents after getting some help from the trolls decide to try and hide her powers from not only from the world but even from her own sister Anna, though its really a sad backstory for both of them as both are kept apart with Anna not knowing why she and Elsa can't be together since they erased all knowledge of Elsa's ice powers from her for no good reason as their parents try everything to help her keep control of her powers which is basically keeping her locked away which only made the problem worse over time especially since both parents die during a storm and both Anna and Elsa are left on their own with no guidance.

I hate how they're going to butcher it in "Frozen II" (so they can force yet another "heart tugging goodbye", this time between Anna and Elsa).

9 Oliver - Oliver & Company

An orphan who was left abandoned in a box on the side of the street after all the other kittens were adopted leaving him all alone then on a rainy day the box breaks apart after being filled with water and Oliver nearly falls into the sewer drain before finally making it to safety.

10 Nick Wilde - Zootopia Officer Nicholas Piberius "Nick" Wilde is a male red fox and the deuteragonist of Zootopia. He is the son of Mrs. Wilde. He was voiced by actor, Jason Bateman.

Was prejudiced by prey, and even muzzled when all he wanted to do was become a scout.
- TheDuttyGyal

The Contenders
11 Bambi - Bambi Bambi is the title character in Felix Salten's 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods and its sequel Bambi's Children, as well as the Disney animated films

Even though it was offscreen it kills me that his mother gets shot.

12 Lewis - Meet the Robinsons

His own mother abandoned him as a baby and lewis does not change the past when he has the chance to now that is Sad.

13 King Triton - The Little Mermaid

Though not much is known about King Triton's backstory in the original Little Mermaid its not until the prequel Ariel's Beginning where we learn that after witnessing the death of his Queen and Ariel's mother after being crushed to death at the hands of humans who crahsed their boats into her while she was trying to retrieve the music box he gave to her and because of it he banned all music from Atlantica for a while and its also why he has such hared towards humans and why he fears for Ariel's safety and not wanting for her to go to the surface.

14 Koda - Brother Bear
15 Doc Hudson - Cars

Was once a great racer until the day he was involved in a crash and as a result he was kicked to the curb and was replaced by another rookie standing in line to take his place.

16 Wreck-It Ralph - Wreck-It Ralph
17 Vitani - The Lion King

This is MY headcanons for Vitani's story. I am not saying they are canon.
Vitani's real mother died of blood loss
Vitani's adopted mother, Zira abused her
Vitani was bullied
Her adopted brother, Nuka died
Zira died
Vitani was forced to kill her best friend
Vitani's true love, Kumon (NOT KOPA) died while she was pregnate
Vitani's son, Timber was washed away by a rushing river
Her daughter, Kay ran away and got killed
Vitani's new mate, Kion gets killed
Vitani kills herself

Should be number 1

18 Penny - The Rescuers

She was orphaned and always rejected on adoption day. Then she's kidnapped by Madame Medusa and Mr. Snoops so they could use her to find the Devil's Eye. She is saved by Bianca, Bernard and the swamp critters of Devil's Bayou. Thankfully, she finally gets adopted by the end of the movie.

19 Sid Phillips - Toy Story Sid Phillips is a fictional character in the Toy Story franchise. He serves as the primary antagonist of the original Toy Story film.

Sid really isn't the villain we perceive him to be. And I think there are 3 reasons behind his actions:
1.) Lonely with no friends that we know of
2.) Active imagination
3.) Not much of a home life
While Sid was a brat, he was simply a product of his environment. Thanks to the scene when Buzz realizes he is a toy we can see his father is somewhat of a slob and a drunkard. It's obvious he didn't have a positive relationship with his mother either as she allows him to do whatever he wants and he gets no discipline from it. I think Sid just wanted some attention. And being that he didn't know toys were sentient and can feel pain, he can't be considered a true villain.

The only human in that universe who knows the truth

I blame his parents.

20 Stinky Pete - Toy Story 2 Stinky Pete, also known as The Prospector, is a fictional character in the Toy Story universe. He serves as a primary antagonist in Toy Story 2 (1999) and is voiced by Kelsey Grammer.

The more I think about it Stinky Pete's backstory is more tragic than Jessie's.
I mean, Stinky Pete never had an Emily or Andy in his life, thus never knew what it was liked to be loved by a child. Spending his life confined in a box watching space toys getting bought whist nobody wanted him was enough to make anyone bitter.

21 Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert - Tangled Flynn Rider is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th animated feature film Tangled, and its short film Tangled Ever After.
22 Dory - Finding Dory Dory is a major character from the film, Finding Nemo and its sequel, Finding Dory. She is a blue tang known for her short-term memory loss and tends to forget almost everything, even the fish that she knows personally. This makes the mission to find Nemo even more difficult for Marlin.

Dory was abandoned by her parents

23 Simba - The Lion King Simba is a fictional character who appears in Disney's The Lion King franchise. Introduced in Walt Disney Animation's 32nd animated feature film The Lion King (1994), the character subsequently appears in its sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1½ (2004).
24 Mufasa - Lion King Mufasa is a major character in Disney's 1994 animated feature film, The Lion King. He is Simba's father, Sarabi's mate, Scar's older brother, and was King of the Pride Lands until his death. He is voiced by James Earl Jones.
25 Lotso - Toy Story 3 Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear ("Lotso" for short) is the main antagonist of Toy Story 3. He takes over Sunny Side Day Care and makes all the other toys work for him.
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