18 Traumatising Moments from Kids Movies Which Have Scarred Us For Life
It’s bad enough looking back on these creepy moments as an adult, but as a kid they could keep you up for a week.
Either the script writers were slightly sadistic or they had a very sinister sense of humour and enjoyed the thought of grown adults wincing at a kids film from behind a cushion.
Either way, I’m not happy with how uncomfortable this list makes me feel. I hope you can all muster up the courage to read through this list and relate so I don’t feel like I’m alone in being a complete wimp…
1) The psychedelic tunnel scene in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Does this scene serve any purpose at all other than to freak you out? Rumour has it that Gene Wilder was the only cast member to know that this scene was coming up and it was completely improvised- which is why the rest of the cast look so genuinely creeped out. Trippy.
2) The Siamese twins from Lady and The Tramp
The creepy synchronised tails at the beginning. The evil eyes peeping out of the box. The way they sneak around every corner with their evil little demon faces. They’re just horrific. There’s nothing that scared me more as a kid than these freakin’ terrifying cats. WHY DISNEY, WHY?!
3) When Mrs Trunchbull comes back to her house whilst Matilda and Mrs Honey are inside
Probably the most tense moment in cinema history- there, I’ve said it. Forget Silence of The Lambs, Alien or Jurassic Park- Matilda takes the crown for the most tense, traumatising, edge of your seat moment ever. Mrs Trunchbull take a bow, you big, scary freak.
4) The flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz
These flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz are the stuff of nightmares. I’m still terrified of flying monkeys now, but thankfully I haven’t encountered any yet. The prospect of these randomly flying through my window at night is still too much for me to cope with. THEY ARE DISGUSTING.
5) The Spider in Toy Story
Satan himself would probably look at this disgusting thing and say ‘I think that’s a bit too far’. We know that Disney has it’s dark moments and the odd sexual innuendo- but c’mon- this scarred us all for life. No word of a life- I’ve never owned a doll since.
6) When Tweety Bird turned from a sweet, lovable little bird into this terrifying monster
It was just so unexpected. His un-proportioned body and that huge monobrow is enough to keep even the bravest of us up at night. I still can’t fully remember the reason WHY Tweety Bird suddenly morphed into this monster- but I don’t think I want to know to be quite honest.
7) When Pingu got chased by a giant walrus
Look at it’s erratic, manic face and weirdly flat hands. It’s horrible. Pingu I don’t blame you for crying into your mothers arms even if it was just a dream- I’m crying right now looking at it from behind the safety of my screen. This is not suitable for kids, okay?!
8) When Bear from Bear in The Big Blue House used to put his nose right up to the camera
Is there any need Bear? Haven’t you ever heard of respecting people’s personal space? It was made even worse when he’d combine it with saying ‘I can smell you!’. Stick to what you know and sing goodnight to the moon from your balcony, you’re scaring the children.
9) Pinocchio- when the little boys would transform into donkeys
If reincarnation does in fact exist and we all transform Pinocchio style like this, we’d prefer to come back as something better than a jackass. Thanks. Also, there isn’t anything particular scary about donkeys- but for some reason within the combines of Pinocchio, they make us want to throw up with fear.
10) Watership Down
It basically shows the violent death of cute rabbits. Seriously, what were they trying to do to us? Brutal. I didn’t even have to pinpoint this down to a particular scene, because if you’ve seen Watership Down, there’s no chance that you’re forgetting THAT scene anytime soon.
11) The Fireys in Labyrinth
Their freakishly long fingers and erratic leg movements still make me super uncomfortable. Although it scares the life out of me- it still has one of the best soundtracks EVER, so I will watch it again and again. I may just skip past the part with the Firey’s…
12) The Winged Devourers from The Beastmaster
What even was these guys backstory? They just appeared with their grasping wings and vomit that turned men into mush without any real explanation. This is what I mean when I say the writers of these films must have been slightly sadistic or disturbed- WHAT EVEN IS THE DEAL WITH THIS PLEASE?!
13) The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
There’s two things that still terrify me about the child catcher. One- obviously his devilish face and haunting, unnerving voice. Two- the fact that I’m a grown adult and would still find it incredibly difficult to turn down free candy. Seriously though, there isn’t much I wouldn’t risk for free chocolate.
14) When Arnold from Hey Arnold sees his grandfather decomposing at the back of the bus
His jaw fully fell off in front of his grandson and he casually started to decompose in front of his eyes. Not disturbing at all. Now not only has this image burned into Arnold’s memory forever- but EVERY SINGLE kid (and adult) who watched this episode. *shudder*
15) The death of Bambi’s Mom
So, this isn’t exactly scary. But it sure is traumatising. Has anybody on the planet ever got over the death of Bambi’s Mom? It is HEARTBREAKING. If you didn’t cry at this poor little deer losing her life to a mean old huntsman- then you are dead inside.
16) The Care Bears Movie- The Cannibal Tree
Between the rainbows and hugs and adventures of Share Bear, Grumpy Bear, Funshine Bear and all the rest, you forgot that the tree from Poltergeist tried to eat the little critters, didn’t you? Jeez, we’re all for artistic development- but this is just plain weird and creepy. Not cool.
18) Return to Oz- Multiple Scenes
The scene where the lovable, iconic Dorothy is almost subjected to electric shock therapy in a mental institution. The talking decapitated heads. The Wheelers. It’s not exactly Frozen, is it? Kids these days have it so easy. They don’t know how lucky they are to not be subjected to such horrors!
