This month E.T the Extra-Terrestrial turns 40 years old, and even though its release was over four decades ago, it is still considered a must-watch classic for cinephiles. The alien that phoned home made its way to the hearts of many viewers and it's ed for its heartwarming story, but also for its disturbing scenes.
Children's movies are usually thought out to have characters, stories, and scenes that are simple and friendly for any viewer. Most families expect to see talking animals, happy endings, and fantasy worlds, among other things that are usually depicted in the genre. However, there are some kid's movies that caught audiences off guard with their very scary scenes that seemed to be taken out of a horror movie, and Redditors recalled many of these traumatizing moments.
Child Catcher - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
LeaveItToYourGoat commented "My default answer to this is always the child-catcher scene from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It still creeps me out more than any horror movie I've seen." and a deleted added, "Specifically when they're hiding in the basement, and he looks through the bars in the window."
The Child Catcher by itself is depicted in such a cartoonish way that he is not scary. Nevertheless, the scene mentioned by the deleted Redditor uses all the correct cinematic language to creep out any viewer. The shot frames the villain amongst the shadows, which translates his sinister motives effectively, and also cuts his body in a very unnatural way that makes the head look like it's independent of his body. It's odd to the eye and therefore scary for children.
E.T Dying - E.T The Extra-Terrestrial
Redditor Steven Spielberg's best movies, but E.T. itself is plain creepy.
In the movie, young Drew Barrymore was most relatable when she screamed in fear at his acquaintance. But adding the pale skin, some scary-looking astronauts, and government forces made it the perfect scene formula for horror. The movie has just the right amount of elements to scare any innocent child who is only accustomed to seeing animated animals and princesses.
Large Marge - Pee-wee's Big Adventure
A Beetlejuice.
There is no doubt as to why this particular scene scared many children in the 80s. It's not only the gigantic eyes, the stuck-out tongue, and the saw-like teeth, but it was absolutely unexpected, and therefore counts as a G-rated jumpscare. The dark lighting that emphasizes the most terrifying aspects of her face also makes it much worse.
Babyface's Entrance - Toy Story
Redditor the scariest monsters of Silent Hill, and director John Lasseter knew it.
That is why Babyface's entrance resembles any horror film encounter with a ghost or monster. The darkness, the small amount of light the lamp provides, the sudden turn of her head, and her terrifying creak could not have achieved anything besides horrified kids that trembled right along with Woody.
Anjelica Huston's Transformation - The Witches
MedschoolgirlMadison said, "the whole movie especially when Anjelica Huston peeled her face is so scary." Prosthetic make-up offers realism that CGI can barely achieve, and that is why this scene where Eva Ernst reveals her true form is so convincing and grotesque. It's chilling enough to see a woman peeling her face off little by little, but Eva's final form is absolutely monstrous.
Children who are used to associating witches with old ladies could never have expected to see an actual disfigured and scary monster. That's not the only scene that's terrifying in this film though, as the same Redditor recalls "The Erica part getting trapped in the painting scared me too and back then I will wave at paintings with people just in case someone was trapped there too." which just shows how much impact scary scenes like this can have on everyone's childhood.
Coachman - Pinocchio
Pinocchio still shocks many with its adult themes and disconcerting content. A deleted chose the scene "In the Pinocchio movie when he goes to the Coachman who wants him to find boys to take to 'Pleasure Island'". The Coachman has a very creepy shot where his facial features become very exaggerated and devilish, and undoubtedly it scarred many childhoods. However, his scary looks do not come close to the most terrifying aspect of this character.
The Coachman is not a witch or any other monster that only exists in fantasy, he is real. He is a child trafficker and Pinnochio only magnifies all the aspects of how kids are lured, kidnapped, and exploited in the real world. The scenes with the children that are transformed into donkeys make a really strong and haunting metaphor, not only for kids, but for all audiences.
Swamp Of Sadness - The NeverEnding Story
Yet another mentioned a scene that was horrifying even for adults. Redditor sataniuppy commented "Neverending Story...The bit in the marsh." which is one of the rare scenes in children's movies that terrified and brought audiences to tears at the same time.
The moment is absolutely devastating, and viewers are caught up in fear, suspense, horror, and deep sadness as Artax the horse starts sinking slowly into the mud and cannot move. The screams of Atreyu begging his friend to make an effort to keep going are absolutely heartbreaking. The scene as a whole is nerve-wracking, but it takes another level of depth when thought of as a metaphor, given that the swamp represents sadness and Artax surrenders to it.
Button Eyes - Coraline
Redditor the scariest stop motion animation movies instead.
When it comes to horror and suspense, this movie is brilliant and effective, and therefore not suitable for all children. The button eyes are chilling and make "the other family" look sinister from the beginning, but the transformation of the other mother into her true form proved why stop motion will always be the most successful technique for disturbing animation.
Pink Elephants On Parade - Dumbo
Redditor Dumbo drinks alcohol with Timothy Q. Mouse, both start hallucinating very creepy elephants who play, dance, and perform a very dark and haunting song.
cielofunk added, "That scene was even scarier in Spanish because for some reason they thought it would a good idea to change the lyrics to creepy references to ghosts and satan." And if Disney dub companies from Latin America thought it was appropriate to add those lyrics, it was because the visuals matched the content.
Many Scenes - The Brave Little Toaster
The movie was released in 1987 and tells the story of domestic appliances that look for their missing owner. The synopsis sounds harmless and even adorable, but as Redditor nalc pointed out" There's some surprisingly f****d up stuff in The Brave Little Toaster". and reminded many of the multiple scenes that were not only visually disturbing but that also touched very dark subjects.
Spheros added, "You mean the scene where Toaster literally causes a flower to die of despair? Or the evil homicidal firefighter clown? Or the air conditioner killing itself by overheating? Or the old cars being killed by a giant magnet and getting turned into cubes?" which summed up the twisted and unsettling nature of the movie. No one could have expected a cute-looking toaster, vacuum, and lamp to bring chills to their spines.
