We remember kids' movies as lighthearted and entertaining, but most of us have forgotten, or repressed, that there are some intense and sometimes traumatizing moments in children's movies.
We remember kids' movies as lighthearted and entertaining, but most of us have forgotten, or repressed, that there are some intense and sometimes traumatizing moments in children's movies.
Over at r/AskReddit we were reminded of the most fucked up kids' movies ever created.
1
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The boat scene alone qualifies it to be here. Who the hell thought a bad acid trip belonged in a kids’ film? u/Brilliant_Tourist400
2
TOYS. With Robin Williams. The back half of that movie gets all sorts of dark. u/amandamaniac
3
Watership Down. I'm damn near 50 and still processing the damage this one did to me.
4
Jack Frost is such an existentially terrifying movie. Imagine if your dead dad came back as a fucked up snowman. Imagine being the dad and just having to deal with the body horror of being a snowman. And then he's just going to melt so you have to deal with the trauma of losing your dad TWICE. What the fuck jesus christ. u/ashleejune
5
We're Back! You like dinosaurs like every other kid? Lets just crank em into 151 proof nightmare fuel. You'll be fine. u/BruTangMonk
6
E.T. The scene where Elliott watches E.T. die is all kinds of traumatizing. Never mind the Christlike resurrection afterward, the damage is still done. u/BrilliantUTourist400
7
First 10 minutes of Disney's Tarzan. A baby gorilla was eaten alive by a panther, even if it was off-screen. u/SuvenPan
8
Iron giant. It looks fun from the trailer, but don’t be fooled- it’s the saddest thing you will ever see. u/SnooRecipes5815
9
Milo and Otis, not the plot of the movie itself, but the backstory and production is terrible. So many animals were harmed in the making of such an innocent kids movie. u/JRMars17
10
I remember FernGully freaking me out. Specifically Tim Curry's character. Robin Williams was in it and I would just skip Tim Curry's parts so I could watch Robin Williams. I was obsessed with him as a kid. u/WickedLilThing
11
Goonies Murderous psychotic family on the loose chasing kids who are almost getting themselves killed by an array of horrible booby traps. u/ImWhatTheySayDeaf
12
I always thought the Parent Trap was super fucked up. Who separates twins like that with each parent and doesn’t tell them?! How could the parents be ok with loving one kid?! Fuckin wild lol u/sumsbums13
13
Dumbo. The animal abuse, neglect, and let's not forget the 'Elephants on Parade' scene when Dumbo gets drunk. u/ArtisanalMagi
14
Brave Little Toaster. Suicide and abandonment all around. u/SkuzzleJR
15
The Transformers animated movie from 1986. Kids growing up in that era played with all the toys. And in the movie all these characters you loved all died in like the first few minutes, all killed off like it was nothing. u/ConvenienceStoreDiet
16
Chicken Run. An animated movie about chicken trying to escape a farm before they get killed. Funny but dark. u/Teni96
17
Hunchback of the Notre Dame, I'm pretty suprised noone wrote this. It's based on a pretty dark book for adults, the idea of making a kids' movie from a book whose plot is basically about a priest (judge in the movie) and a crippled man both creepily obsessed with a young girl is mind boggling to me. u/trzcinacukrowa
18
Is The Last Unicorn even a kids movie? It's super scary. u/horschdhorschd
19
The Never Ending Story. u/zaney2017
20
The Fox and the Hound. Still traumatized to this day. u/asayle88
21
The Cat in the Hat is something out of a back rooms nightmare in my opinion. u/hbombgomer12
22
Monster House. The movie is literally about a man living in a house possessed by his dead wife and the house literally eats living creatures so id say that's what fucked me up as a kid. u/Supa_saint
23
I'm surprised I was never traumatised by Disney's Pinocchio as a child, because watching it as an adult, there are moments that are straight up nightmare fuel. u/neohylanmay
24
All Dogs Go to Heaven. Our hero is released from prison, only to be MURDERED by his former boss via vehicular homicide. Then that dog eventually winds up being continuously tortured by demon dogs in Hell. u/Diwari
25
Land Before Time, without a doubt. Jurassic Park made me see the T-Rex as this big badass who let humans know why she was queen of Nublar. Sharptooth, though? Just this glorious bastard that took twisted pleasure in killing and tormenting little dinosaur children. LBT is the film that made me scared of rexes for a little while, but JP got me to respect them again u/ResponsibleCandle829
