Every generation has its own list of films, books, and events that caused significant scarring and trauma. In recent years, movies have caused no end of childhood trauma, ranging from absolutely heartbreaking scenes to horrifying imagery. Sometimes, the creators intended it that way, while other times it’s safe to say they did not anticipate how children would react to their creations. That is sometimes worse, as parents would innocently grab a film, thinking it’d keep their kids busy and quiet for a few hours, only to pay a much bigger price later. People from the ’80s and onward can all agree on a specific set of movies that still cause them pain to this day.
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Most people can agree that seeing a horror movie before one is ready can cause a lot of problems down the road, but this isn’t the only root of the scarring people have faced. We’ve all had our fair share of surprising and tragic deaths, thanks largely to Disney’s passion for killing parents in the earliest parts of a film. Likewise, a child’s imagination can take something magical, like fantastical makeup, and turn it into a horrifying face. The worst traumas are the ones that come out of left field.
1) Secret of NIMH (1982)
Directed by Don Bluth, Secret of NIMH is based on the novel written by Robert C. O’Brien, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Truthfully, the novel and the films (including the sequel) are masterpieces, but that doesn’t negate the traumatizing effects they had. The story has several hard-hitting elements, from Mrs. Brisby’s desperate moves to save her children, to the horrors a group of rats and mice faced at the hands of NIMH. Then there’s the animation style, which is compelling and haunting. It’s not hard to understand how this film might have caused a few nightmares in children and adults alike.
2) Watership Down (1978)
So many parents saw the cover of Watership Down, noticed the cute bunnies, and assumed it was the perfect movie for children. And thus, generations of pain and trauma were born. Watership Down is based on a novel of the same name, written by Richard Adams. While the film was recently remade, it’s the 1978 version that was a source of much trauma for most audiences, largely because parents had no idea what they were showing their kids. At least we know better now, mostly.
Watership Down is designed to help children understand death, and it does so, perhaps a little too well. It tells the adventures (and many deaths) of rabbits, as they try to escape their warren and find a new safe haven. So many bunnies died on screen, it’s hard to decide which one is the most upsetting. Can we just say all of them?
3) All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
All Dogs Go to Heaven may be billed as a comedy-drama, but it should probably also have come with a warning label. Any animal lover would be brought to tears with this adventure, which includes a German Shepherd (Charlie B. Barkin, voiced by Burt Reynolds) first getting murdered by his owner and later finding a new human worth protecting. It’s not just the abuse this precious dog receives, as the whole film is deeply emotional. The finale cuts to the quick, with Charlie being forced to say goodbye to his newfound human best friend, Anne-Marie. While kids at the time were unaware of this, there is a real-life tragedy tied to All Dogs Go to Heaven, as the voice actress who played Anne-Marie, Judith Barsi, was murdered before the film’s release. There’s a song, ‘Love Survives’, played in tribute to her.
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4) Bambi (1942)
It’s hard to believe that Bambi came out in 1942, but it would certainly explain how this film traumatized so many generations of viewers. The film, which follows the titular character Bambi, is about a young white-tailed deer who lives his life in the forest. He makes many friends along the way, including Flower, Thumper, and Friend Owl, but it’s safe to say the heartbreaking scene is probably the best-remembered scene from this film, for good or for ill. We’re talking about the infamous scene in which Bambi’s mother is shot by a hunter. The forest fire doubles down on the fears children were experiencing, giving us plenty of reasons to feel uncomfortable and sad when remembering this movie.
5) The Land Before Time (1988)
The Land Before Time was first released in 1988, but at some point, it became a running joke that the franchise was never going to end, as so many movies and shows continued to pop up. That said, the very first movie hit viewers right in the feels, and that’s partially because we never saw it coming. The movie follows a small group of young dinosaurs: Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike, and their found charge, a baby Tyrannosaurus rex named Chomper. Their story pulls at our heartstrings as they face many perils throughout one single film. Of course, the real gut-wrenching scene happened when Littlefoot’s mother died on-screen, creating a tsunami of tears.
6) The NeverEnding Story (1984)
The NeverEnding Story is based on a novel of the same name, written by Michael Ende. The story is a magical adventure about a young warrior and a daring task (to stop the Nothing from devouring all of Fantasia). However, it’s also rife with small details that leave children scarred for life. Some kids were uncomfortable with the dragon, Falkur, as something about its design screamed “wrong.” Then there’s the core premise, as the Nothing is a disease that causes people to simply give up – their dreams, their lives, everything. But let’s be real, by far the most traumatic part of this movie stems from a single scene – the slow death of Artax in the Swamp of Sadness. This is a scene that multiple generations will never get over.
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7) The Fox and the Hound (1981)
The Fox and the Hound is another Disney movie, this one based on a novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. It’s meant to be this heartwarming tale of friendship against all odds, as a little red fox and a hound dog become the best of friends. However, there’s no denying the somewhat scarring nature of some parts of this film. To start with, the story wouldn’t have happened if Tod, the red fox, hadn’t been taken in by humans before being left to fend for himself in the woods. Abandonment is a theme that hits pretty hard, especially when animals are at the forefront of it. The trauma continues as Tod and Copper are aggressively tracked by hunters, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand how poorly that could have gone.
8) The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
Is anyone sensing a secondary theme here? The Brave Little Toaster is an animated movie based on a novel of the same name, written by Thomas M. Disch. The movie follows a group of household items and appliances, which sounds more silly than anything else, which is probably how the story managed to surprise so many people. Toaster, Radio, Lampy, Blanky, and Kirby are five characters waiting for their human, Rob, to return home. Only things take a drastic turn when they learn they’re set to be sold. In classic Homeward Bound style, this group sets off to find their owner and get things back to normal. Honestly, there are so many scarring scenes we could cite here, from the suicidal air conditioner (yes, really!) to the time Blanky was almost eaten alive by mice. It’s a lot.
9) Old Yeller (1957)
Old Yeller is set in post-Civil War America and follows a boy and his loyal dog. Anybody who has heard even the basics of this film knows exactly how upsetting the ending is. Much like Bridge to Terabithia, the ending hits harder to those who don’t see it coming, which is everybody, the first time around. Had the internet been a thing when this movie was released, the website “Does the Dog Die?” would have been founded years earlier.
10) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a live-action sci-fi film about an alien and the human friends he made along the way. Obviously, it’s quite a bit more than that, as it was hailed as a groundbreaking film at the time. It’s one of those Spielberg magic movies that people still cite to this day. However, not everyone was enchanted by this film, as many kids walked away with months of nightmares. A lot of people were really freaked out by E.T.’s design, and never quite understood why so many people called him a cute or friendly alien. Then there are the tear-jerker scenes, as this movie did a great job of capturing the emotional depth each character was dealing with.
