Emotionally Scarring Children's Movies of the '80s

I think the only one of those movies I've ever seen was "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," which my parents took me to see in theatres when I was about three and I apparently screamed my head off during the steam-roller scene. It was traumatic enough that I actually remembered the scene, and was convinced it was the most terrifying movie ever made, until I went back and re-watched it at age 11 or 12.

Bookewyrme said:

I think the only one of those movies I've ever seen was "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," which my parents took me to see in theatres when I was about three and I apparently screamed my head off during the steam-roller scene. It was traumatic enough that I actually remembered the scene, and was convinced it was the most terrifying movie ever made, until I went back and re-watched it at age 11 or 12.

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That movie scared the crap out of me as a kid. When the villain's face began melting or deforming or whatever the hell it was doing in the end, I was freaked out.

"The Dark Crystal" also happened to be a movie that creeped me out. When one of the evil guys fell apart in that movie, I was terrified. Not to mention what happens to the female main close to the end of the movie - yikes.

"Animal Farm" counts for me, too. The blood writing on the wall changing the rules. Holy crap.

I am really surprised nothing by Sid & Marty Krofft made the list. I suppose those were mostly TV shows. But they were scary.

The Dark Crystal disturbed me. The Garbage Pail Kids movie gave me nightmares.

Anything with Muppets of any kind. Evil bastards. Dark Crystal is a good one.

Howard the Duck, which I'm not sure was actually a kids movie, scarred me, too.

Thread title reminded me of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44e-Y08_B-0

A coupe of years ago, I was dating a guy who had never seen Labyrinth. When I tried to make him watch it, he kept pausing the DVD to say, "You do realize this is completely messed up, right?"

Kathleen42 said:

A coupe of years ago, I was dating a guy who had never seen Labyrinth. When I tried to make him watch it, he kept pausing the DVD to say, "You do realize this is completely messed up, right?"

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Oh man, I love Labyrinth. Granted, I didn't see it until I was a teenager for the first time, but still. Fun movie, in that over-the-top-80s sort of way.

Wow, I've actually seen all of those. None of them were nearly as disturbing as:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Baron_Munchausen

As a child of the 80s, I don't see anything wrong with any of these movies.

Except the Hugga Bunch. That didn't actually exist.

Bookewyrme said:

Oh man, I love Labyrinth. Granted, I didn't see it until I was a teenager for the first time, but still. Fun movie, in that over-the-top-80s sort of way.

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I first saw it when I was 8 and I do really love it. Brian Froud and Jim Henson were just an AMAZING team.

Just for interest's sake, Robert William Berg did an incredible review of the movie.

I've seen all those too--except the Mother Goose one; what was that?

But I must be somewhat older. My childhood was emotionally scarred by Ring of Bright Water, The Red Balloon and Kingdom in the Clouds.

Celia Cyanide said:

I am really surprised nothing by Sid & Marty Krofft made the list. I suppose those were mostly TV shows. But they were scary.

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Remember Mama Cass in a bathtub full of fruit? That was scarring.

Kathleen42 said:

Just for interest's sake, Robert William Berg did an incredible review of the movie.

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Wow, that guy really knows his Labyrinth.

The Brave Little Toster, a film I literally blocked out of my memory....until right now. Thanks for that, assholes.

Zoombie said:

The Brave Little Toster, a film I literally blocked out of my memory....until right now. Thanks for that, assholes.

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Read the shortstory. Disch was a genius. A crazy racist genius toward the end, but a genius nontheless.

I'm hiding under my blankets with my laptop.

these are nowhere near children's movies but the 2 movies that scarred me as a child were A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Shining (the bathtub scene) I couldnt watch the shining again until I was around 17 but it is now my favorite horror movie.

Why did I watchthe Land Before Time clip?

But yeah, most of those I'd never heard of. And the subtitled scene in Goonies is far more scarring. Labyrinth though, good film. Anyone here ever see Krull?

sunandshadow said:

Wow, I've actually seen all of those. None of them were nearly as disturbing as:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Baron_Munchausen

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Pffft. Munchausen was a great film, not in the least disturbing. Now, being allowed to watch Brazil as a kidlet. That was disturbing.



City of lost children was another one.

I watched most of those movies on the list as a kid. I guess that explains a lot.
None were as bad as watching, The Wall. It's no wonder after I saw all the kids marching in to the meat grinder, I never wanted to go to school again.

JohnnyGottaKeyboard said:

Read the shortstory. Disch was a genius. A crazy racist genius toward the end, but a genius nontheless.

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I didn't know Disch wrote the story. I've read "The Priest," which was a great read and decidedly not for kids...

Not an eighties movie, but the original 1939 Wizard of Oz gives me nightmares to this day .

The Brave Little Toaster may well be responsible for my paralysing fear of clowns.

I'll agree with Labyrinth. Saw it when I was...7 maybe? I probably shouldn't have.

Dark Crystal? Yeah, that's another nightmare inducing one.

But the one that REALLY got me, was Watcher in the Woods.
(no offense to Bette Davis...but she was scary in that)

JohnnyGottaKeyboard said:

Read the shortstory. Disch was a genius. A crazy racist genius toward the end, but a genius nontheless.

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I read the story when it was in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Never saw the cartoon; I'd be surprised if the right tone came through.

Celia Cyanide said:

I am really surprised nothing by Sid & Marty Krofft made the list. I suppose those were mostly TV shows. But they were scary.

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The referenced list is specifically about the 1980s; most of the freaky Krofft stuff was in the '70s, when I was a kid. H.R. Pufnstuf; Lidsville; The Bugaloos. Oh, Jesus Christ, here comes the Bugaloos song in my head. 40 merciful years of not thinking about that, shot to Hell.

Seriously, I think Sid & Marty were doing acid.

As for the rest of the list -- some of that stuff wasn't bad. When did people get the idea that anything for kids wasn't supposed to have any truly scary or disturbing elements? Return to Oz was a lot closer in tone to the Baum books than the 1939 movie.

For a kid, losing his mother is a primal fear. He needs to confront that and know that it's not the end of everything. Because it's going to happen (unless he dies first, leaving his mom to cry and cry).