22 Kids' Films That Were Actually Really Fucking Traumatising
"Please tell me why this was in the kids' section at Blockbuster, and furthermore why my parents let me watch the whole thing."
We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the films that scarred them as children. Here are some of the best responses.
1. When the Child Catcher tempted kids into his trap in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
"That always scared the shit out of me and gave me nightmares. I had to leave the room or I hid behind the couch until that part was over. Even now as an adult I cringe at that part."
– Heather, Facebook
2. When we saw E.T. for the very first time.
"Elliott was in the dark cornfield with just a flashlight, and he’s following E.T.’s footprints. Elliott parts the corn stalks, and BAM! There’s E.T.’s horrifying face."
"I screamed and fell off the back of the couch when he popped out of the corn."
"I was so terrified of E.T. that I couldn’t see other movies at that time because they would show previews for E.T."
"I saw the movie and immediately had a nightmare where I thought my mom was coming up our steps to say goodnight, but then her shadow morphed into E.T.’s and it flew up the steps and strangled me."
3. Every goddamn thing that happened in Return to Oz.
"Dorothy getting electroconvulsive therapy, Mombi the headless witch, Jack the Pumpkinheaded Thing, and the Wheelers...
"I saw it in the cinema when I was 5. Nightmares for years to come."
– Maggi, Facebook
4. When The Witches all removed their wigs at once.
"And shortly thereafter when they give the little boy the potion to turn him into a mouse, and they're all closing in on him. Nightmares for YEARS. I blame this movie for my fear of crowds in enclosed spaces."
– Becky, Facebook
5. When Lampwick transformed from a human into a donkey in Pinocchio.
"Disney's Pinocchio terrified me as a kid. Even as an adult, it's still one of the most fucked-up movies I've ever seen."
– Caroline, Facebook
"It scared the hell out of me when I was a kid! It took me so many years to get over it, but whenever I watch it I still get the chills."
6. When the Army of the Dead appeared like this in The Black Cauldron.
"It still creeps me out to this day."
"The entire beginning of that movie scared me so badly as a child, I couldn't finish the movie."
7. When Alan (Robin Williams) started to sink into the floor, which turned into quicksand, in Jumanji.
"I was so traumatized, I don’t even want to watch the remake despite the good reviews."
8. Then there's Matilda, especially when the TV exploded.
"My mum had to get rid of the VHS tape because I was so scared of it."
9. Oh and when the horse died in The Neverending Story. :(
10. When Charlie went to hell in All Dogs Go to Heaven.
"To this day I don’t actually know the plot. I just remember things were on fire and I was terrified."
– shannaa2
11. When Large Marge temporarily transformed into this creature while telling a scary story during Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
"I always used to watch the movie right up until that part."
"To this day, I can still remember my heart dropping into my stomach as the sight of that face burned a place into my brain for the first time."
12. Practically everything about The Grinch in any film featuring him, especially this smile.
"When the cartoon Grinch would do that really big smile where it hair curl splits. Can't even look at it now."
13. Just about everything that happened in Labyrinth.
"Labyrinth scared the living daylights out of me. The 'helping hands' basically ruined my sleep for a solid year."
14. As well as Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal
"The Dark Crystal is the devil’s movie and I’ll stand by that for as long as I live."
"I don’t remember any of the plot because I was in third grade or something but I saw the first half hour and it terrified me beyond belief."
"Still haven't seen it all the way through as a 27-year-old."
15. Many people said that Coraline was not a kids' movie.
"Coraline is the most disturbing kids' movie ever made."
"I had nightmares for weeks. I hardly slept, and when I did, I had all the lights on. I still have the occasional nightmare that consists of a door appearing in my wall and two people coming for my eyes with buttons in their hands."
16. Then there's the terrifying Big Ben scene towards the very end of The Great Mouse Detective.
"When I was little I would hide the tape so my sister wouldn’t put it on."
17. Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a rather uncomfortable watch for many.
"It scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. Think it was due to the fact that he would not care what happened to those children and would just simply stand back and smile or laugh. Still cannot watch it to this day without feeling completely and utterly weirded out by it."
18. Then there's the bit where Judge Doom gets flattened by a steamroller and then pops right back up in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.
"When Christopher Lloyd starts turning into a toon. BYE."
– Cassie, Facebook
"It was the scariest moment ever to be in a kids' movie."
– kcas15
19. Every. Hyena. In. The. Lion. King.
"I kept was having a reoccurring nightmare of invisible men painting this scene and as soon as they finished the hyenas would attack me like they did with Simba."
– shadyw
20. And that intense dancing elephant scene in Dumbo.
"To this day, I still can't watch that movie."
21. Not forgetting when this rather intense (yet helpful) toy crawled out from underneath Sid's bed in the first Toy Story.
"THIS thing from Toy Story!"
– daricec
22. This list could not exclude Watership Down, an apocalyptic British film about rabbits that somehow was deemed suitable and shown to children.
"I think I was about 6 or 7 at the time and needless to say, it scarred me for life. Please tell me why this was in the kids' section at Blockbuster, and furthermore why my parents let me watch the whole thing."
"I’m 36 now and still can’t watch it."
– foxy81
"This film 100% has made me not trust rabbits."
– roxyhart
BONUS: And finally, the goddamn THX opening sound effect, which you used to hear before a film started.
View this video on YouTube
"THAT GODFORSAKEN THX LOGO."