When we think of children's movies, we may think of harmless fun.
But that doesn't mean there isn't some seriously messed up content in those films.
Like ever notice at least one parent is almost always dead—or dies!—during every Disney animated film?
Don't even get us started on Old Yeller.
Anyway...
Redditor Inflatabledartboard4 was curious about others' childhood cinematic trauma and asked:
"What is the most f**ked up kids' movie?"
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."
"The giant demon dog filling the town with blood red smoke at the end is some pretty terrifying imagery."
‐ Diwari
GiphyBrave Little Toaster
"Suicide and abandonment all around."
- SkuzzleJR
"The air conditioner haunted my nightmares."
- Longjumping_Fold_369
"For some reason the part when the vacuum tried to eat its cord really freaked me out as a kid."
- ThoriatedFlash
"There’s a lot of scary stuff in that movie but the flower might be the worst."
"I remember feeling like, despair for the first time as a child seeing that."
- purplefirefly6102
"The blender getting killed onscreen. I first saw Brave Little Toaster when I was around six, but I knew from the atmosphere of that scene what was really going on when you see the shadow of that wire getting cut."
"I was kind of horrified, and the the very next scene is another customer coming in asking for radio tubes and Radio is put on the chopping table but survives at the last second."
- EeSeeZee
GiphyMonster 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 I'd say that's what f**ked me up as a kid."
- Supa_saint
"Not just that, the dead wife was a circus freak and hated kids because they would always taunt her. So they move into this house and she dies."
"The husband who actually loves kids, now has to keep everyone away from the house or his wife will kill them."
"And then at the end the husband has to kill his wife aka the house."
"Too f**ked up for a kids' movie."
- whskid2005
Coraline
"Coraline scares me so much more as an adult than it ever did when I was a kid."
"I still love the movie and watch it several times a year, but somewhere between childhood and adulthood I got way more scared of dolls and puppets and sh*t, and I don’t actually know why."
"Like nothing happened to make them scarier."
- Writing_Nearby
"I loved Coraline as a kid. I still do!"
"And the books are actual nightmare fuel, but I highly recommend giving them a read because the lore is really interesting and the story is different."
- SimplyAurallz
GiphyPinocchio - Disney animated version
"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."
- neohylanmay
"When the boy who is with Pinocchio turns into a donkey, he cries out for his mother. I can’t."
- MLAheading
"Ugh, watched it for the first time with my partner and two kids, during that scene all I could do is look at the two kids and wonder how they were not crying while I was on the brink of tears..."
- NurseJessisStressed
Peter Pan - Disney animated version
"The racism in Disney's animated Peter Pan is pretty f**ked up."
"Princess Tiger Lily and the song 'What Made the Red Man Red?' is just gross if you're an Indigenous kid watching it."
- LakotaGrl
GiphyThe Cat In The Hat
"The Cat in the Hat is something out of a back rooms nightmare in my opinion."
- hbombgomer12
"I literally just watched this, and I’m still questioning if I actually saw a movie, or just tripped out for 2 hours."
- LaMorak1701
The Last Unicorn
"Is The Last Unicorn even a kids movie? It's super scary."
"BTW I loved it as a kid and I still do. The whole Mommy Fortuna part was really dark, though."
- horschdhorschd
"I watched it in the last couple years. I never understood Molly Grue’s meltdown at realizing she was with a unicorn. That scene hit hard as an adult. Missing out on the things you wanted in your youth only for opportunities to come by too late. I cried."
- cats_and_vibrators
"Super scary and way more sexual than I remember from when I was a kid."
- lovemyneighbor
The Last Unicorn Skeleton GIF by MauditGiphyThe Fox And The Hound
"The Fox and the Hound. Still traumatized to this day."
- asayle88
"That move absolutely wrecked me as a child, and I refuse to watch it ever again."
- droopingcactus25
"My best friend and I wept in that movie."
- CraftyRole4567
E.T.
"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."
- Brilliant_Tourist400
"The bit where the kids find him in the ditch looking like a piece of fine Italian deli meat.."
"Also the feds in biohazard suits crashing through the kid's house scared the f**k out of me at 7 years old"
- feeb75
"Having your home invaded is terrifying enough....seeing it through the eyes of the kids and the mother screaming 'This is my home!' Sends chills down my spine."
- LaCroixBoy89
Sci-Fi Movie GIF by MANGOTEETHGiphyWhere The Red Fern Grows
"Where the red fern grows. My grade 5 teacher made us read it then watch it. I remember thinking she was an absolute b*tch before the movie. As an adult I’m 100% sure she hated children."
- DesperateFunction179
"My 5th grade teacher made us read the book and watch the movie too. She cried during the end of both."
- BadBackNine
"I read and watched this in 5th grade also. Shudder sobbed through most of it. Added it to my list of things that made me an overly empathetic adult"
- maiden-of-might
Dumbo — Disney animated version
"Dumbo. The animal abuse, neglect, and let's not forget the 'Elephants on Parade' scene when Dumbo gets drunk. Have not been able to watch this movie as an adult."
- ArtisanalMagi
"I have a friend who made the mistake of showing it to a kid she was babysitting overnight. The moment the Baby Mine scene came up the kid was done. I think the night was unsalvageable."
- lowercase_underscore
"I was a really sheltered kid and never picked up on how awful it was. So then I have a kid and I’m like “oooo let’s watch Dumbo!” What in the actual f**k?!? I turned it off. I honestly don’t know if my kid ever watched the rest of it."
- littlescreechyowl
GIF by tomcjbrownGiphyBridge To Terabithia
"One of a few movies that have actually made me cry. I went in expecting some Narnia like thing and I was wrong. I still get mad thinking about that movie"
- KickittoHester
"My mom has still not forgiven me for asking to see it in theatre’s as a kid. We all bawled our eyes out. Same damn thing with Marley and me being shown on Christmas Eve, why did we go and why did they think that was an appropriate release to make people cry 😅"
- Troll101Catz
"I was having a terrible depression a few years ago, and decided to put on and watch a kids film to cheer me up. It couldn't have gone any worse tbf."
- BobbOShea
Watership Down
"This god forsaken movie was literally the source of ALL of my childhood nightmares. Deadass. Grandparents brought it over when I was 4. I was not ready."
"I don't blame them though, they didn't know lol"
- Flaminmallow255
"I've always been fascinated by this because I read the book quite young (I think I was seven or eight) and loved it instantly. I don't recall finding it upsetting at all, and it's remained my favourite novel into adulthood through many rereads (I've obviously come to appreciate the themes more as I've gotten older). The movie, alternatively, while pretty faithful to the book, I've always found pretty unsettling, even though I didn't watch it until I was an adult. I don't want to say it's not an appropriate story for kids, but there's just something about that movie..."
- VictoriaBells
"I saw it in the times before my memories form. Just uttering the title gives me chills."
- Sensitive_Ladder2235
GiphyWhile no one was hoping to traumatize kids with these films—we hope!—there were some really messed up moments described here.
So what's your most f*cked up kids' movie?
Giphy
Redditor xk543x was curious to hear what tasteless, or inappropriate things people tend to notice, but look the other way, leading them to ask:
"What is something f*cked up that we just ignore?"
Your body is your temple.
"Everyone’s poor eating and sleeping habits."- macaronsforeveryone
Can NOT be ignored.
"Slavery is still a thing."- Pbjabsandwich-
"Child slave labor to make some of the developed countries' goods I'd imagine."- Akira282
Why people don't feel inclined to smile.
"How much dental work costs and the fact that dental insurance covers next to nothing."- OkCat9433
Bryan Cranston Seinfeld GIF by HULUGiphyEnd the stigma
"Mental health."
"As in the regular kind."
"We are overworked and don't have enough time these days to ourselves and our loved ones."- Jackster22
Who can afford to live ANYWHERE?!
"The living cost not being even near matched to the majority of peoples incomes, in the UK anyways."
"The government have advised people that they should use things like gas and electric as sparingly as possible this coming winter if they want to still afford their bills and other necessities."
"Food, petrol, clothes, rent etc."- princessr444
overdue relapse records GIF by Red FangGiphyHeartbreaking
"Children dying of hunger."- laperuana
Information traveling at the speed of light... but at what cost?
"The internet's impact on society."
"Most people prefer to go with the grain on common behavior or opinions due to natural human herd mentality, and independent thinking not being very common."
"The problem is the internet gives rise to destructive, toxic, harmful, discriminatory, illogical, and ignorant cultures and ideologies."
"The majority of people who spend lots of time on social media will take influence from social media to fit in without even thinking about what they’re doing, or reflecting on whether what they’re are viewing is good, bad, true, or false."- nsfwcontentthrowaway
Do you know where that came from?
"How everything is made."
"Plastic leagues beyond what our recycling could ever offset, illegally sourced components and materials mined at the expense of local ecosystems."
"Child and essentially slave-labor."
"The list keeps rolling, but I just buy them because I like how the shoes look and I can afford it."- Rip3456·
Some might be genuinely unaware of these things, while others might choose to ignore them.
But these all remain very real problems.
Next time we become aware of something like this, rather than just thinking "that's so f*cked up", maybe we can take some time to research how we can help?
Every little bit counts.
Fun Dip! Anyone we remember Fun Dip?! Flavored sugar consumed on a sugar stick. Yeah that sounds smart. LOL. I LOVED IT!
From the Bottle
Luke Drinking GIF by Australian SurvivorGiphy"Not me, but my best friend used to eat bullion cubes and drink worcestershire sauce straight from the bottle. (Haha, every single reply assumed my friend is a man. This was a twelve year old girl.)"
ChatGarou
Green
"When I was a kid, I did anything my dog did, including eating grass. One day I realized the grass I ate was also the spot where he peed."
Wabisabi_girl
"Dog pee on a blade of grass once, versus chewed gum spat onto public sidewalks from the mouths of strangers with God knows what diseases multiple times? I'm not gonna pretend that either is appealing, but I think a single experience with dog piss grass is less awful than multiple wads of stranger gum."
hakamamalo
nibbles...
"Horse biscuits. They were green, rather hard and delicious. There was nothing on the packet to say they were not suitable for human consumption, and all the ingredients sounded innocuous. So my best friend and I had a test nibble whilst feeding our horses. After that I regularly pinched a biscuit. Very yummy. And no ill effects."
CountessCraft
'cook'
"My sister and I when we were too young to be left alone in the kitchen decided to 'cook' and make something. We took grapenuts cereal, sugar, peanut butter and cola and mixed it up. We thought it was the best thing ever. Today clearly i think the idea is disgusting but I can still remember how it tasted. I also remember eating saltine crackers with sliced of 'government cheese' melted in it in the microwave for lunch often because we were poor but I liked it."
Tricky5342
Anything
mug sip GIF by Steven KraanGiphy"I remember when my buddy was broke, he'd get a bunch of coffee creamers, ketchup packs and crackers from the condiment bar of a cafeteria and make tomato soup in a mug."
CantTakeMeSeriously
That last one made me ill. I need a minute.
SPOONED
baby fail GIFGiphy"I used to eat frozen concentrated orange juice out of the container with a spoon."
justflush*t
Pizza?
"One time my dad made a 'pizza' with unseasoned tomato paste and sliced hotdogs."
Erberderbadoo
"A friend growing up was Korean and his parents would make us 'hot dog soup' which was just hot dogs sliced up into a spicy pepper soup base, maybe gochujang. To be fair, it was pretty tasty, as a young kid."
dcux
The Bell
"Taco Bell hot sauce packets. Not on or with anything, just a straight shot of hot sauce. Like 10-20 of them in a row sometimes."
DelphicProphecy
"There was a guy like a year ago or so, who was snowed in his car for 5 days and he survived on nothing but taco bell sauce packets."
DrDeuceJuice
"My high school job was Taco Bell in Southern Oregon. For a while there was a .39 burrito day. Each time we had this special a 'very large man' would order 20 burritos with red sauce and 20 burritos with green sauce. He would sit and eat all 40 burritos and downed a hot sauce packet with each burrito. RIP that dude, no way he’s still alive."
PacoMahogany
White Stuff
"I would routinely grab a handful of fresh, powdery white snow then head to the curb of my street and slop a big glop of slushy, grey, gritty, curb slush right on top and eat it like a cupcake. Tasted nice and salty. I was probably between the ages of 6 and 8 when I did this."
Rokuformula
Straight Up Raw
Awkward Oops GIF by I Can’t Believe It’s Not ButterGiphy"I had two favourite snacks as a kid. Butter straight out of the tub or onions. Raw onion."
Sienna-hart
Not much choice...
"Ketchup sandwiches."
PolyDrew
"I had a friend who ate ketchup sandwiches. Other kids would make fun of him for it. But his family was poor and he didn't have much choice. He grew up to be one of the hardest working guys I've ever known. House has enough food in it to survive a zombie apocalypse. Because he doesn't want his kids to ever worry about their next meal."
kalgary
Tough Times
"This isn't what you were probably expecting but my siblings and I basically grew up on game meat. My parents were starring down the barrel of some really dark times so my dad bought some game tags every year and we ate elk and dear every day for six years. It was one of those situations where the fact that my brother and I could fish everyday without getting a ticket meant that our dad sent us fishing every day since we were 6."
"We eventually pulled through and there were times there was something other than whatever we caught, shot, or trapped, but in hindsight it really put into perspective just how fucking hard times got for us."
anothersatanist89
Love it Today
“'Cheesy peas' were one of my favorites. It was just plain green peas with a slice of melted American cheese stirred in. I didn’t realize it was just one of many struggle meals my parents fed us until I mentioned it to friends later and they were all completely aghast. I'd still eat it today though."
tsuto
Eat Anything
Dog Ate My Homework School GIF by Guava JuiceGiphy"I ate a fist sized ball of Saran Wrap when I was 12. I also ate construction paper and would label them different flavors."
bitis_gabonica
INSTANT REGRET.
"We would get a short little cup, pour in a mound of sugar, and dip strawberries in. Usually there was a little sugar left over and we would wet our finger, stick it in, and suck on sugar straight. Well. One day after sucking on strawberries and sugar I went down into the basement."
"I noticed a little mound of white sugar crystals to the side of the top stair! I wet my finger, stuck it in, and sucked on it. INSTANT REGRET. so I poked my head out of the basement and said 'HEY this sugar tastes gross!!' And my parents had me drink lots of orange juice."
JohnHowardBuff
Earth's Menu
"Dirt."
Freddy704
"My mom did this as a kid, and also ate the walls which were made of dirt. The smell of moist earth was delicious to her. She told us this while laughing. I was like, mom... you were suffering from malnutrition."
Patomaxe
"I ate dirt, grass, and other such stuff as a kid. I also had pinworms once, however I don't get sick very often and I think it's cuz I built my immunity up by doing such things as a child."
TFlo904
Delish?
Excited Winnie The Pooh GIFGiphy"Bread, butter, and sugar. I thought it was a treat. Turns out we were broke."
Crazy-Leadership-634
Jacks
"My mom was an addict and on weekend I was at her house she would regularly disappear for hours. Sometimes she’d not have electricity. Sometimes no gas. Almost always little to no food. One time I was starving and the only option was super stale Apple Jacks and half and half. She also had mice, so I try not to think about what else was in that box. 30 years later, I still can’t eat Apple Jacks."
ohidontthinks0
Make better diet choices. Our bodies are going to seek revenge!