The filmmakers said it was not a kids film, but what could be so dark about animated bunny rabbits? Well, the rabbits in the movie are searching for a home to replace the one destroyed by encroaching humans. They also fight bloody battles against other rabbits.
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While witches may seem like typical characters for kids' stories, the witches in this movie take evilness further. They plot to rid the world of children!
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Audiences love Jim Henson and hoped The Dark Crystal would be a cute, Muppet-like experience. Instead, kids were freaked out by the darkness and the Skeksis, a race of vulture/dragon bad guys.
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The only thing in Harry Potter movies as scary as Voldemort is a dementor. Normally guarding the wizarding prison Azkeban, the dementors in this film are stationed around Hogwarts. They suck happiness and intelligence from their victims, something that would frighten any child.
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Fawn Bambi and his mother would live a beautiful life in the forest if they were not always living in fear of hunters. Kids are already traumatized from the beginning, and then Bambi's mother gets shot.
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The NeverEnding Story is a classic of many childhoods. Even in the '80s, it was a beautiful adventure that we all wished we could take. Well, it wasn't all fun and games. There's a part in the movie where the hero's adorable horse, Artax, gets stuck in the Swamps of Sadness. Artax begins to sink into the swamp as Atreyu pulls the reins, but his beloved friend just sinks and sinks. The scene blacks out as only the horse's head is visible and comes back to the hero sitting alone. The scene was definitely a surprise considering it was targeted for children.
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In 1980, Disney made a horror movie targeted to younger audiences. Kids were scared by Bette Davis' creepy character, the idea of something watching kids from the woods, and a doppelganger from the past.
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Not content will just being a cute movie about mice, this film scared children with scenes of rats attacking and stabbing each other. Additionally, the movie featured animals being experimented on at the National Institute of Mental Health.
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A curious girl named Coraline feels neglected by her parents and finds an alternate world with more attentive versions of them. The alternate mother turns out to be an evil entity that steals children and takes their eyeballs and souls.
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Dick Van Dyke stars as Caractacus Potts, who along with his kids, has adventures in a flying car named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It gets dark when they meet the Child Catcher, who catches and imprisons children in the manner of a dog catcher. This is the point where children should avert their eyes.
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The main dog in this movie, Charlie B. Barkin, dies and goes to heaven. Not finished on earth, he returns there despite being told he won't be able to go back. To make it scarier, Charlie has a vivid dream about going to hell.
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The idea of a brave little toaster sounds mild enough, but this toaster and his appliance friends meet horrors that have scarred kids for ages: clowns, fire, and the possiblity of being squashed in a junkyard.
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There are many dark elements in Disney's first feature film, but the scariest part is that Snow White's stepmother orders her heart to be cut out.
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Many people think the hallucination-filled boat ride through the tunnel is the scariest part of this film. The idea that the children keep meeting with accidents and are being eliminated one by one is even creepier.
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The makers of The Wizard of Oz's sequel must have felt the need to top the evil flying monkeys from the original. They succeeded with a film full of creepiness, including Dorothy receiving electroshock therapy and a collection of disembodied heads.
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Do you remember the pink elephants? Now, it looks like the scene was written by writers that were on LSD, but for kids, it’s super terrifying. That’s just one part. “Baby Mine” was also a heart-breaking scene that sticks with any kid because Dumbo can’t be with their mom. Even now as an adult, it’s hard not to tear up a little.
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How could the Lion King be dark? Well, it isn’t other than the fact that Scar had his brother, Mufasa, trampled to death in a stampede while his son watched. Looking back, there’s a lot of psychological manipulation in the movie, but it isn’t too much of a surprise since it’s based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
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It may have been a cartoon, but the subject matter of The Plague Dogs was incredibly dark. In this movie, two dogs are test subjects in a lab. Their adventure starts when they figure out how to unlock their cages, which seems pretty uplifting, but think again. They struggle to survive and despite their hopes for a better life, they’re going to die because the government spread rumors that they were infected with the plague. Nothing like a sweet movie about two cute dogs starving to death.
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Disney tried their best to stop being heartbreaking, but they didn’t quite shed their dark roots. Most of Tarzan is fine, but near the end, Tarzan fights his nemesis Clayton. After stealing his gun, Tarzan ties Clayton up in vines to subdue him (from hacking him up with a machete). The last part of that scene is watching Clayton fall to his death. His neck snaps and he’s left hanging in the tree. Lightning strikes, and you can see his lifeless body hanging in the tree.
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Kids often read Lord of the Flies in school and then watch the movie afterward. It starts out innocent enough as a tale with a bunch of kids that need to survive together and make fun nicknames for each other. However, things get dark when the “civilized” boarding school students are willing to commit murder and do whatever it takes to survive.
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