Kids' moviescan sometimes greatly overestimate how much they can get away with, as many of them push the limits of family friendly with some shockingly intense or creepy scenes. For the most part, movies aimed at children are quite tame, though the occasionalhorror movie for kidsdoes crop up now and again.
However, children’s movies can sometimes get shockingly dark despite not even having an overtly spooky theme or premise, especially older films from decades past. From their unsettling imagery to their eerie tones and evenhard-hitting jump scares, some movies supposedly aimed at children have a myriad of frightening elements lurking beneath their thin veneers of kid-friendliness.
Sometimes, it’s a single horrifying scene that can ruin the reputation of an otherwise sunny kids movie. Based on the book by Ian Fleming ofJames Bond seriesfame,Chitty Chitty Bang Bangis a marvelous tale of whimsy and spectacle for the most part. But the child-like wonder comes to a screeching halt with the introduction of the childcatcher.
The childcatcher acts like a dogcatcher in a land in which the mere presence of children is illegal. From his frightening, witch-like face to the way he eerily tempts children out of their hiding spots with lollipops, the child-catcher has just a bit too much in common with actual child predators be make sense in a film supposedly meant for young viewers.
The Wizard of Ozcertainly had its fair share of unsettling imagery buried beneath the glitz and glamor of the fantasy, from the Wicked Witch of the West’s melting scene to her freakish flying monkeys.Return to Ozleaned even heavier on these frightening elements, telling the story of Dorothy’s return to the magical land of Oz years later.
The initial set-up of the film is scary enough, with the real-life horrors of institutionalization being inflicted upon Dorothy as a result of her obsession with Oz. When she does manage to return, she runs intothe Wheelers, terrifying ruffians that zip around on wheeled stilts. Between the Wheelers' threats and Dorothy’s internment,Return to Ozis downright horrifying.
Despite being a kid-centric Christmas tale, the Robert Zemeckis filmThe Polar Expressis coated in an uneasy film. Much of the inherent uncomfortable nature of the film can be attributed to its eerie photorealistic animation, giving every character agnarly uncanny valley effect.
The train ride to get to the North Pole is full of pulse-pounding dangers like iced-over rails and hobo ghosts that haunt the cast, and when they finally do arrive, they’re met by raspy-voiced elves with proportions made all the more unsettling by the art style.The Polar Expresstries to be whimsical, but just comes off as plain creepy.
As beloved as a children’s author Roald Dahl may be, there’s no denying that many of his tales have a frightening bent to them that tests the limits of children’s bravery. The originalWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factoryis a testament to this, refusing to mince the words of Dahl’s original vision for the sake of broad appeal.
In truth, Willy Wonka’s tour is nothing more than a series of brutal industrial accidents glazed over with just enough candy coating to make them edible to child viewers. That’s not even always necessarily the case, as Charlie and Grandpa Joe are nearly chopped to bits by an industrial-grade fan. That’s not even to mention the infamous, nightmarish tunnel ride sequence.
Considering thePee-Wee’s Playhouseis almost as squeaky clean as it gets for child entertainment, it’s a shock that the previous Pee-Wee project is as spooky as it is. But being the directorial debut of Tim Burton’s filmography, it’s no wonder thatPee-Wee’s Big Adventurecan’t help but attempt to scare the snot out of its under aged viewers.
Though there is an unsettling air that pervades the film thanks to retrospective knowledge ofactor Paul Reubens' controversial arrest, the true scares come from the film’s two non-sequitur horror scenes. One of them is a nightmare featuring killer clown doctors and literal demons, but the worst is easily truck driver Large Marge’s sudden claymation jump scare.
There’s something about stop-motion animation with characters made of clay that can quickly become very upsetting, with certain viewers being particularly repulsed by it. No movie makes this phobia easier to understand than 1985’sThe Adventures Of Mark Twain,which is one of the most audacious cases of a terrifying movie getting away with a G rating in the 80s.
In particular, it’s the segment that adapts Mark Twain’sThe Chronicle of Young Satanthat remains so infamously haunting.Lucifer himself shows up to terrify the child protagonistswith his horrific shifting mask face, raspy voice, and vicious powers that make playthings out of the lives of small sentient clay people.
Robert Rodriguez’sSpy Kidsseriesis still a fan favorite for those that grew up with it, combining 007 super spy antics with more relatable child protagonists. However, Rodriguez’s roots in bloody action movies occasionally pop through in the oddest places, resulting in the firstSpy Kidsbeing quite scary at times.
In particular, one of the main villains of the first film makes for some horrifying imagery. The mad genius and kids' show host Fegan Floop is responsible for all sorts of aberrations, from the unnerving thumb-thumbs to the downright body horror of the mutated Fooglies, who scream about their torture in backwards speech.
Leave it to a kids' movie from the 80s to extend a theological discussion on the horror of the Christian afterlife via friendly talking dogs. The entire plot ofAll Dogs go to Heavenrevolves around the fact that some dogs, in fact, do not, as protagonist Charlie B. Barkin is expelled from the pearly gates after stealing a heavenly artifact to return to his old life.
Of course, the film terrifies younger viewers with a spooky sequence where Charlie is condemned to dog Hell, peppering in some visual horror to go with the esoteric dread and crime elements of the plot. That’s not even to mention the bizarre singing alligator that suddenly derails the plot for a concerning musical number.
It’s no secret that manyDisney movies have dark origins, pulling source material for adaptations out of bloody Brothers Grimm fairy tales or classic dark fantasy books. Among the media giant’s takes on these iconic tales,Pinocchiois easily the closest they come to faithfully adapting the frightening story book to include its more macabre elements.
Far and away the most upsetting part ofPinocchiois the Pleasure Island scenes, where young boys eager to indulge in smoking, drinking and gambling are slowly turned into donkeys to be sold for slave labor. The terrifying prospect of being horrifically morphed into an equestrian animal before being shipped off to a life of toil puts a heavy damper on the film’s lighthearted tone.
Some kids' movies are burdened with a scary scene or two that puts a freakish spin on the rest of the simple plot, butThe Brave Little Toasterfeels like it’s trying to scare away its viewers with every other scene. It turns out that giving sentience to various household objects and appliances comes with some terrifying concessions.
These non-human characters go on to be subject to death, depression, and hopelessness as a result of their circumstances. Throw in a nightmare sequence where the titular courageous kitchen appliance dreams of a firefighter clown that whispers “Run” through clenched teeth, and it’s hard to believe thatThe Brave Little Toastergot a G-rating as akids' movie.
