7 Disney Moments When Bad Luck Amazingly Led to Something Good

By Megan Deppe

Friday the 13th is upon us, so we’re avoiding ladders and handling our mirrors oh-so-carefully—because who wants bad luck in their life? You might feel like the odds are weighted against you today, but if you let Disney movies serve as your guide, you’ll see that sometimes bad luck leads to something even better. And to give everyone an extra dose of good luck on this most superstitious of days, we’ve rounded up a lucky seven examples!

1. Pit Stop (Cars)
When Lightning McQueen fell out of the back of Mack, he thought his world was ending—all he cared about was getting to California for the biggest race of his life! To him, it was his bad luck to end up in in the middle of nowhere, Radiator Springs. That turned out to be exactly what Lightning needed to get his priorities in order and learn what’s really important in life. Who could imagine Lightning never meeting Mater, Doc Hudson, or Sally?

2. An Icy Flight (Iron Man)
“Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk.” Tony Stark lived to regret those words, at least a little bit, when he flew for the first time in the Iron Man suit. Since he hadn’t tested everything before taking flight, he ended up freezing his suit and going into free fall and nearly colliding with traffic. Tony turned this bad luck into a lesson: He fixed his suit and later tricked Obadiah Stane into flying high enough to freeze himself, giving Tony the upper hand in their battle.

3. Off the Hook (Moana)
After Moana and Maui retrieved the demigod’s hook, they figured their quest to Te Fiti would be smooth sailing. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Maui’s lack of confidence and his years without the hook made it difficult for him to shapeshift into the forms he actually wanted, and he eventually turned himself into a half-shark. But this obstacle created an opportunity for Moana and Maui to bond—not to mention how much fun we had watching Maui regain his confidence.

4. Scare Tactics (Monsters University)
All Mike Wazowski ever wanted was to be in the Scare Program at Monsters University, but he had some bad breaks—culminating with an argument with Sulley during their final exam, when their roars cause Dean Hardscrabble’s prized scream canister to fall and break. Both monsters are dropped from the Scaring Program. However, that devastating moment ultimately led Mike (and Sulley) to join Oozma Kappa, where they both would find out what it truly means to be a monster, and (most importantly), become best friends. What’s one moment of bad luck compared to a payout like that?

5. The Garbage Will Do (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Rey, Finn, and BB-8 were in a tight spot as they tried to escape Jakku—there were Stormtroopers on their tail, and most of the nearby ships weren’t in the best shape. At first, Rey directed the trio towards a ship that she was confident she could fly, but that turned out to be the next ship blown up by passing TIE Fighters. Only one option was left: the ship Rey deemed to be “garbage”—which turned out to be none other than the Millennium Falcon.

6. 23-19! (Monsters, Inc.)
Poor George Sanderson, his life seems to be marred by bad luck. When we first meet the monster, it’s with a sock stuck to his back—prompting a 23-19 call signifying he’d been contaminated by humans! This happens again to George when Sulley crams all of Boo’s toys into George’s locker, and when Sulley runs George over when upon his return from banishment. Thankfully George’s story ends happily on the Laugh Floor, when—after it’s discovered that humans aren’t toxic after all—the monster finds his calling amusing kids, rather than scaring them.

7. Wolf Attack (Beauty and the Beast)
It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which a wolf attack would could ever be construed as a positive thing, but hear us out… Belle, frightened by Beast in the West Wing, tries to run away from his castle but is cornered by a pack of wolves. She thought she’d escaped, but now she’s in serious trouble! To combat this perilous twist of fate, Beast swoops to save Belle from the wolves and she sees a different side to Beast. As Belle takes care of the injuries Beast received in the fight, there seems to be something there that wasn’t there before.