Top 20 Movies We Can't Believe We Watched as Kids

This might be an ode to vintage cartoons, but it’s also full of some terrifying images. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” features some unsavory characters that commit crimes like in a classic film noir. There’s also more than a few suggestive references to go along with the adult storytelling. It’s also safe to say that most of the children watching aren’t going to understand homages to darker mysteries like “Chinatown.” This doesn’t even count Jessica Rabbit’s entrance and her entire presence in this story. Judge Doom alone could cause nightmares with his evil behavior, bringing together some diabolical looks and an eye-popping reveal. The finale features plenty of violent material that feels more at home in a horror movie.

Throughout this Roald Dahl adaptation, there’s a degree of menace and irreverence that you rarely find in a modern kids’ movie. The trickster chocolatier invites children to tour his factory. It sounds pleasant enough until you realize that the title character doesn’t do anything the easy way. Throughout the adventure, Willy Wonka doesn’t mind frightening them – or even maiming them – in order to teach a lesson. He’s also happy to send his guests down a psychedelic tunnel, forcing them to watch disgusting images as he screams. It’s not exactly the happiest tour with its countless surprises and hard lessons about greed. Capped off by Wonka’s angry speech, this film is much more disturbing than you’d expect.

How could a movie about cute household items be so adult? Five characters embark on a dangerous journey, tackling themes such as abandonment in a real way. This isn’t a simple fairytale either, considering that the appliances risk their parts and lives for their master Rob. Along the way, the toaster and friends face down threats from humans and rival technology. The life lessons here are much more blunt and depressing than your average kids’ film. More than once, you’re convinced that these heroes won’t survive their trek from treacherous waterfalls to junkyard crushers. Even as an adult, you might find this hard to watch.

Is this Tim Burton film a kids’ movie? It’s hard to argue that the story about a dead couple haunting their old house is made for a younger audience. The morbid plot and title character’s raunchy personality doesn’t exactly scream family-friendly. However, it seems to be an influential experience for most kids that watch it. It isn’t afraid to take on the concept of death from many imaginative angles. “Beetlejuice” also lets Michael Keaton run wild with a politically-incorrect character that steals every scene he’s in. Burton’s blend of dark humor and whimsical fantasy lures in curious kids, freaking them out and maybe even making them laugh by the end.

From the mind of Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is an unconventional look at the holiday season. Jack Skellington and his Halloween Town cohorts hatch a plan that almost ruins Christmas. With plenty of inventive stop-motion, the movie blends its creepy atmosphere with conniving characters. The fact that Santa Claus gets kidnapped might be traumatizing enough. It’s a film that boldly plays with sacred traditions surrounding the December holiday, upending young viewers’ beliefs and innocence. While it might be a musical, this gothic tale doesn’t mind twisting two fun holidays into one scary concept.

It’s maybe the most famous fantasy film in Hollywood history. The musical is full of colorful characters, beautiful set pieces, and classic songs. “The Wizard of Oz” also features a villainous cast that’s scared generations of children. A wicked witch with green skin and a gravelly voice might be one thing, but there’s also her notable henchmen. The flying monkeys are ruthless and nothing short of creepy, swooping in to wreak havoc on the heroes. What those evil creatures do to the Scarecrow alone could haunt your dreams for decades. It might all take place in a mythical land, but this story still features antagonists that jump off the screen with their visceral nature.

With names like Roald Dahl and Jim Henson associated with this project, you might expect something more kid-friendly. You’d be wrong given the central plot of “The Witches.” It’s all about sorceresses that blend in with society in order to transform kids into mice. Needless to say, if you don’t already have an aversion to the rodents, you might after watching this movie. The witches pretty much loathe children, which makes for some frightening sequences and wild chase scenes. Thanks to great acting from the likes of Anjelica Huston, this story comes alive with spooky imagery to make your younger self freak out.

When Bastian finds a strange book, he learns about a world where the young warrior Atreyu tries to defeat The Nothing. It’s a memorable fantasy plot that also features many exciting and difficult moments. There’s more than a few reasons to be unsettled throughout this adventure, with frightening creatures around every corner. In one of the film’s most upsetting scenes, the horse Artax dies while his young master is unable to help. “The NeverEnding Story” also has much to say about life and death. Through the sadness and the weight of this universe, the audience is forced to face some of their worst fears.

With Don Bluth as a director, this animated film is full of excitement and visual splendor. It’s also tackling serious topics such as grief, sickness, and mortality. It might be full of animals and imaginative creatures, but “The Secret of NIMH” truly puts them to the test. The terror for some people might begin with Dragon and continue all the way to the climactic duel. Bluth’s vision makes younger audiences confront these evil forces through indelible scenes, watching as characters battle to the death. His art style also lends itself to creating nightmares with all kinds of never-before-seen images.

Before projects like “Labyrinth,” Jim Henson explored fantasy worlds in “The Dark Crystal.” He also used animatronics that were simultaneously believable and disturbing. On the surface, this film seems like a straightforward story of good and evil. But it features some darkly moody scenes and scary surprises courtesy of the filmmakers’ incredible talents. Jen and Kira encounter several obstacles on their way to the titular crystal, including fearsome villains such as the Chamberlain, the General, and the High Priest. With this film, Henson pushes the limits of what could be considered kid entertainment, showing that he wasn’t just “Sesame Street” or “The Muppet Show.”

Buttons for eyes? No thanks. Based on the 2002 novel of the same name, “Coraline” is just one of those kids movies that’s tailor-made to give you nightmares. We’re sure you all remember it just fine – yes, we all share the same trauma – but, in case you don’t, we’ll give you a refresher. Our protagonist, Coraline, wishes she had adults around who cared about her more. This wish is ultimately granted when she discovers a portal to a parallel universe. As is the narrative standard, there’s always a catch. Unsurprisingly, there’s something more sinister at play in this world – and we’re not just talking about the button eyes! The movie is also comprised of stop-motion animation, which perfectly fits its creepy vibe.

Dogs are great. It’s hard to imagine wanting to see anything bad happen to them – which is what makes this next movie so difficult to watch. Don Bluth’s “All Dogs Go to Heaven” follows Charlie, a dog whose life is taken by his best dog friend. That’s already wild as it is, but then Charlie decides to cheat death so he can return to earth and murder his murderer. Yeah, dark stuff. The movie is actually quite poignant and has a lot of say about the nature of life and death – but it’s still a tough pill to swallow either way when you’re about ten years old. There’s one sequence in particular, where Charlie dreams about Hell, that still gives us nightmares to this very day.

You probably associate Roald Dahl with a lot of your favorite kids books – “The Big Friendly Giant,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and “Matilda,” to name a few. You can also probably draw a line directly back to him from the things that scared you most as a child – including this movie. Dahl co-wrote the screenplay for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” and while we have no proof, the Child Catcher feels like something straight out of his brain. “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” has some normal, family-friendly musical moments, but the Child Catcher totally scared the ever-loving “chitty” out of us when we were kids!

This film is a wonderful coming of age movie. Having said that, it might be best to wait a little while before you show it to your kids. “Stand By Me” follows four boys who set out looking for a dead body, hoping it will garner them some positive attention from their town. The movie explores themes of death, growing up, and friendship, and has some genuinely beautiful moments between the four boys on their adventure. But, the moment where they actually discover the body is quite jarring, and definitely had us losing sleep after we saw it. Again, this is a great movie that deserves to be seen – maybe just at a bit of an older age.

Harrison Ford! Adventure! Historical relics! What could go wrong? The first installment in the Indiana Jones franchise is one of the best films to come out of the past 50 years. It may offer swashbuckling adventures for viewers of all ages, but it certainly has its fair share of scarring moments too. Throughout the film, Indy is trying to recover the ancient Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do. The Nazis eventually take hold of the Ark and open it to discover its power – much to their detriment. The level of face-melting that takes place on screen is kind of crazy, even for those of us years beyond our coloring book days. Let’s face it, though, we all watched this when we were way too young.

The 1939 “The Wizard of Oz” is one of the most beloved children’s movies of all time. Sure, it has its scary moments but, for the most part, it introduces kids to a magical, colorful world of enchantment. If you don’t want to ruin that for yourself, we suggest skipping out on “Return to Oz.” In the movie, Dorothy finds herself in a very different, much more terrifying version of Oz. This Oz is ruled by the evil Nome King, and everything Dorothy remembers – the Yellow Brick Road, Emerald City, the lively citizens – has fallen into ruin. And it’s not just Oz that’s scary, no. The film opens with Dorothy in a sanitarium because her aunt and uncle don’t believe her stories about Oz. Big yikes all around.

Christmas is usually a time of cheer… Usually. And, while the gremlins in this movie might start out as cute little furby-looking things, they certainly don’t end up that way. This 1984 classic follows Billy, who receives a very unusual, very alive present from his father for Christmas. He names the creature Gizmo, and his father tells him three very specific rules for Gizmo’s care. No light, no water, and absolutely NO feeding after midnight. Of course, rules end up broken and Gizmo and his ilk end up terrorizing the town over the holidays. These cute little guys quickly become the stuff of nightmares.

Disney sure has a knack for inadvertently scaring kids out of their wits, and “Pinocchio” is probably its worst offender. The story of a puppet who wants to be a real boy is known to all, but we, for one, have blocked out the more terrifying details of this 1940 children’s film. Throughout the course of the movie, one of Pinocchio’s adventures takes him to Pleasure Island. At Pleasure Island, little boys are allowed to drink, smoke, and gamble. As if that’s not enough, the island is also cursed. In a horrifying sequence, the boys are turned into donkeys and sold off to work in salt mines. There’s also a monstrous whale, fittingly named Monstro of all things, at the end of this movie. You know, for kids.

Most people love rabbits. If that’s how you feel about the cuddly little animals, we suggest you skip this one. “Watership Down” follows a group of rabbits on their search for a new home. Along the way, they face peril, destruction, and death (yep, death for the kiddos, why not!). The film might be animated, but that doesn’t stop it from feeling nauseatingly realistic. “Watership Down” has it all – blood, guts, and violence galore. The contrast between the gore on screen and the 2D animation style is really difficult to reconcile. More than anything, the film is just extremely unsettling – and we’re saying that as adults.

With muppets creator Jim Henson and “Star Wars” creator George Lucas at its helm, you might think that “Labyrinth” would be perfect for kids. Think again! In the film, Sarah (played by a young Jennifer Connelly) wishes that her baby brother would disappear. The Goblin King – played by David Bowie – suddenly appears and makes her wish come true. He gives her 13 hours to find and save her brother but, to do so, Sarah has to solve horrifying riddle after horrifying riddle. Some of the visuals are absolutely petrifying, solidifying this movie as one of the craziest we ever watched as kids.