When we were children, we all watched a movie that we found disturbing and we remember the scene or the character to this day. However, sometimes watching your favorite childhood movie might backfire, especially if it scarred you for life when you were a kid.
Here are the movies that absolutely traumatized us as kids:
WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Based on the beloved children’s book by Roald Dahl, the 1978 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory brought every child’s dream to life by imagining what would happen if you magically inherited a giant, fantastical candy factory. Most of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is pretty easygoing, but there are a few scenes that basically turn the film into a horror movie. Things only get eerier from there, as one kid turns into a blueberry and Charlie faces death from the blades of a terrifying fan. For the most part, Willy Wonka is a feel-good movie, but every so often, the film gives an unsettling feeling.
E.T
Steven Spielberg’s beloved 1982 classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial might have left some children scarred, despite the fact that it remains one of the most acclaimed films of all time. While there are some people who will happily argue that E.T. is a terrifying movie — and even some that present a theory that Spielberg intended E.T. to be a horror movie about a malicious alien, most audiences weren’t frightened by E.T. With that said, the movie is definitely an intense emotional journey for any young child, from E.T. and Elliott’s apparent shared death to the moment where E.T. leaves his human counterpart behind.
THE WIZARD OF OZ
There are a few scary moments in The Wizard of Oz. Who can forget when Dorothy’s house landed on the witch and her feet curled up? Or when the flying monkeys popped up? Or anything the Wicked Witch said or did? Plus, the bike riding scene with that spooky music is etched in our minds forever. It makes a lot of sense that the film is considered a cursed movie, because it was pretty creepy.
BAMBI
Many Disney movies kill off the moms, but one of the saddest depictions of this trope came in the film Bambi. When his mother gets shot by a hunter, it’s truly so tragic especially because we know that this does actually happen in real life to real deer. Even the happy-go-lucky rabbit Thumper can’t take away the emotional pain this movie wreaked on all the children watching.
DUMBO
One of Disney’s most beloved animated classics, Dumbo was released in 1941 and has apparently been frightening generations of children ever since. Dumbo might seem like a sweet story about an elephant who succeeds despite the odds, but there are several traumatizing moments scattered throughout this movie. For example, there’s the scene where Dumbo and Timothy drink some water spiked with champagne, and as a result, they suffer some pretty intense hallucinations where they watch a bunch of pink elephants on parade.
JUMANJI
Released in 1995, Jumanji stars the late, great Robin Williams as Alan Parrish. When he was a boy, Alan discovered the titular game, and though it seemed fun at first, it was definitely more immersive than Alan anticipated, especially after he was sucked in and trapped in the game for two decades.
Jumanji might remain a childhood favorite for many, but from Alan’s imprisonment in the game (which is terrifying in its own right) and Sarah’s obvious post-traumatic stress disorder to man-eating vines and a full-on stampede, it’s also pretty unsettling.
JAWS
Any child who’s ever been afraid to go into the ocean has one movie to thank for that: Jaws. Steven Spielberg’s story of the scariest summer ever was released in 1975, and it stars Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss as a police chief and marine biologist tasked with protecting Amity Island from vicious shark attacks during a busy summer at the beach. All these decades later, it’s still regarded as one of the most exciting films ever made, but it’s definitely a terrifying watch for any kid who likes to go swimming.
