Really interesting, and yes, I could remember some of those harrowing moments. The child catcher yes, of course!
There are some pretty harrowing moments in Dumbo, where Dumbo and his mum are separated and the circus masters are mean to her. Sob!
I was occasionally allowed to stay up and watch some of the late night horror films when I was nine, and so was genuinely freaked out for good reason by some of those, especially The Haunting. I read Shirley the Jackson novel it's based on a while ago (The Haunting of Hill House), and that helped dispel any residual trauma!
Did you see the tv series of The Haunting of Hill House? My (too) early horror was Nightmare on Elm Street and, in certain moments, I still catch myself on high alert for Freddie 😂
That scene from the NeverEnding Story absolutely wrecked me as a kid!
For me it was also when Little Foot’s mother dies in the Land Before Time and when you see Jim Carrey’s Grinch for the first time. I saw the Grinch in theaters when I was 4 or 5 and ran out of the theater screaming within the first five minutes!
The image of Alive! has come to mind. My father watched it at home when I was a kid and, neither of us knowing what would be coming, I stayed up to watch it as well. If I could only turn back in time!
I would like to see The Society of the Snow, which is a new version and according to reviews made with great taste and sensibility, but I still have PTSD from its precedesor 🥲
Oh my god Pinocchio 100%. I refused to watch it as a kid because of the turning into a donkey scenes.
Some of my other childhood traumas involve: the bat in a stroller reveal from The Great Mouse Detective and some obscure little mermaid short film where Ariel goes to the bottom of a pit because she lost her bracelet and there is this terrifying monster sucking everything in.
'Watcher in the Woods' was terrifying. I had no idea until years later that it was widely considered a bad movie, I just remembered being scared by the very scenes you described. They were intense and creepy as hell.
I'd like to add the Japanese 1978 'Little Mermaid' to this list, as that animated movie ended on such a dark and tragic note, something as a kid I didn't think was possible until the ending hit me like a ton of bricks. I was expecting something akin to the Disney cartoon, not this.
For sure! I don’t think people paid attention to plot issues as much until the mid-2000s. And even then I think Watcher might work as a nightmare logic movie. I keep recalling the little sister inexplicably writing ‘Karen’ backwards and then acting all aloof about it. Makes no logical sense if you think about it but still works, imo.
And if you are interested in The Little Mermaid, you can stream it on Amazon Prime or Tubi.
Aw thanks for the shout out! I was speaking to a friend the other day who was wondering if Oliver! Was going to be too dark for their 7 year olds. And I was thinking..I was watching the Oliver Reed version by the time I was 5 I’m sure! The creepy stories are the best ones I think!
The bit that stands out in my memory is when they steamroller Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Also the boat scene in Willy Wonka & the chocolate factory. Yikes.
Oh yes to Roger Rabbit! And when they put the little boot toon in the Dip!!
I was definitely watching Oliver! from when I was really young - I think the violent Oliver Reed parts somehow went over my head. Too busy wondering if I could make it as a pickpocket.
I was the odd kid that didn't care for family or children oriented movies. I was never a fan of anything Disney or sanitized movies with a moral lesson at the end. Even though I was (still am?) a scary cat, I gravitated towards the macabre in both live-action and animated movies. This is why one of the first movies to really leave a psychological mark was The Last Unicorn. Although an animated fantasy, I wouldn't say that the movie is for young children. Most of the character designs are quite grotesque and there are multiple gruesome deaths that mostly happen off screen. The one that has stayed with me is the witch that was mauled to death by a harpy or mutated vulture.
I always thought Pinocchio was a horror film.
Confirmed.
Really interesting, and yes, I could remember some of those harrowing moments. The child catcher yes, of course!
There are some pretty harrowing moments in Dumbo, where Dumbo and his mum are separated and the circus masters are mean to her. Sob!
I was occasionally allowed to stay up and watch some of the late night horror films when I was nine, and so was genuinely freaked out for good reason by some of those, especially The Haunting. I read Shirley the Jackson novel it's based on a while ago (The Haunting of Hill House), and that helped dispel any residual trauma!
That scene with Dumbo’s mum was brutal!
Did you see the tv series of The Haunting of Hill House? My (too) early horror was Nightmare on Elm Street and, in certain moments, I still catch myself on high alert for Freddie 😂
That scene from the NeverEnding Story absolutely wrecked me as a kid!
For me it was also when Little Foot’s mother dies in the Land Before Time and when you see Jim Carrey’s Grinch for the first time. I saw the Grinch in theaters when I was 4 or 5 and ran out of the theater screaming within the first five minutes!
Thank Land Before Time 😱 What is it with animations and the death of parent characters? And yet I still watched it over and over.
I didn’t ever see the Grinch but the vision of a creepy green guy crawling around my house would have had me running out too!
The image of Alive! has come to mind. My father watched it at home when I was a kid and, neither of us knowing what would be coming, I stayed up to watch it as well. If I could only turn back in time!
I can picture the scene with your dad as things unfolded 🫣😄 I didn’t see until much later and even then I remember the tough moments!
I would like to see The Society of the Snow, which is a new version and according to reviews made with great taste and sensibility, but I still have PTSD from its precedesor 🥲
Yes, I read about this one too, but yet to see. Thanks for the reminder.
Oh my god Pinocchio 100%. I refused to watch it as a kid because of the turning into a donkey scenes.
Some of my other childhood traumas involve: the bat in a stroller reveal from The Great Mouse Detective and some obscure little mermaid short film where Ariel goes to the bottom of a pit because she lost her bracelet and there is this terrifying monster sucking everything in.
These sound like perfect trauma candidates! 😄
I’m sure I’ve seen the great mouse detective but I don’t remember the bat reveal… I’m sure it’s tucked away in my brain somewhere!
Haha yes your memory probably erased it. It's terrifying 😨
Watership Down should have come with a warning! I still have not been able to go back and watch it.
I’ve only seen still images from it - but it looks terrifying. Another kids’ classic 😅
'Watcher in the Woods' was terrifying. I had no idea until years later that it was widely considered a bad movie, I just remembered being scared by the very scenes you described. They were intense and creepy as hell.
I'd like to add the Japanese 1978 'Little Mermaid' to this list, as that animated movie ended on such a dark and tragic note, something as a kid I didn't think was possible until the ending hit me like a ton of bricks. I was expecting something akin to the Disney cartoon, not this.
Glad to find a fellow Watcher in the Woods survivor 😄 isn’t it so interesting how we must have missed major plot holes, we just accept it as it flows.
I’ll need to look up this version of The Little Mermaid - wondering if the end follows the original fairy tale as reading that was awful too! 😂
For sure! I don’t think people paid attention to plot issues as much until the mid-2000s. And even then I think Watcher might work as a nightmare logic movie. I keep recalling the little sister inexplicably writing ‘Karen’ backwards and then acting all aloof about it. Makes no logical sense if you think about it but still works, imo.
And if you are interested in The Little Mermaid, you can stream it on Amazon Prime or Tubi.
Thank you, I will find it!
Aw thanks for the shout out! I was speaking to a friend the other day who was wondering if Oliver! Was going to be too dark for their 7 year olds. And I was thinking..I was watching the Oliver Reed version by the time I was 5 I’m sure! The creepy stories are the best ones I think!
The bit that stands out in my memory is when they steamroller Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Also the boat scene in Willy Wonka & the chocolate factory. Yikes.
Oh yes to Roger Rabbit! And when they put the little boot toon in the Dip!!
I was definitely watching Oliver! from when I was really young - I think the violent Oliver Reed parts somehow went over my head. Too busy wondering if I could make it as a pickpocket.
OMG, yes, my daughters were traumatised by the steamroller in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. And so was I, actually!
I was the odd kid that didn't care for family or children oriented movies. I was never a fan of anything Disney or sanitized movies with a moral lesson at the end. Even though I was (still am?) a scary cat, I gravitated towards the macabre in both live-action and animated movies. This is why one of the first movies to really leave a psychological mark was The Last Unicorn. Although an animated fantasy, I wouldn't say that the movie is for young children. Most of the character designs are quite grotesque and there are multiple gruesome deaths that mostly happen off screen. The one that has stayed with me is the witch that was mauled to death by a harpy or mutated vulture.
The banshee in "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" freaked me and my brother out as kids!