Walt Disney knew the way to rake in the big bucks was to cater to kids with all of your products, and even though Disney flicks are kept kid friendly we remember scenes from them for the rest of our lives.
Now if Disney movies received a hard R rating instead of a soft G they'd be remembered for radically different reasons, and we would have gotten to see a little too much of the Beast.
In retrospect I think I like Disney movies just the way they are, because as this comic by Paul Westover shows when Disney characters earn a hard R they lose their charm and gain a bad reputation. Why Goofy, WHY?!!!
See If Disney Moves Were Rated R at CollegeHumor (NSFW language)