Scary Children's Movies from late 70's/early 80's
 

So I was reading this article on cracked.com the other day, titled: The 10 Best Animated Movies for (Traumatizing) Kids [http://www.cracked.com/article_15070...ing-kids.html] and while they had several disney movies on the list (no surprise there) and a anime about racoons with giant testicles (not kidding), they also had Watership Down.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...rship_down.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...rshipdown3.jpg

By the above still alone, I can see why my parents never let me watch it.

This time period of the late 70's/early 80's also fell between the end of the Production Code and beginning of the PG13 rating, so I think filmmakers got away with a lot darker themes than today.

So that got me thinking about the children's movies that they DID let me watch:

Like Disney's The Black Cauldron
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...s/f-blackc.jpg

Check out the Horned King: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w_cnIuP8JI

Attempted torture/beheading, creepy skull guy with horns...you can see why Disney is a little embarrassed about this movie. Of course, I thought this was still pretty cool as a kid, even my parents liked it.

So what are some of your favorite scary children's movies, that filmmakers would never get away with in today's censored market? What makes them scary?

Well, Labyrinth would be one, I think. It's about a baby kidnapped by goblins. It also has David Bowie in tights- how much scarier can you get?

Don't forget his awesome 80's hair :p

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2..._labyrinth.jpg

I thought the Dark Crystal had some scary creatures like the Skeksis' here:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...s/skeksis2.jpg

The Neverending Story I and II scared the hell out of me. Specially the first.
But it's from the 90's.

Actually The NeverEnding Story is from 1984

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory terrified me when I was a kid. All the bright colors and the fact that I figured this must surely be hell got to me. Also kinda scary was the Abbott and Costello Babes in Toyland. That has some freakyass makeup.

I'm not sure that I'd consider watership down a childrens movie at all...

I remember finding willow, the dark crystal, caravan of courage, and return to oz all disturbing/scary for what they were.
Something wicked this way Comes, I was enticed, but also scared by.

I also thought the last unicorn had some pretty dark subject matter...

You're right, my mistake.


That scene where he has to go through the two giant heads and can't be afraid or they'll kill him did it for me. That or the swamp crossing, very spooky :|

Legend!!!!!!!!!!

The Wizard of Oz could be scary to a small child....I'm not saying me...but someone else maybe.






OK.....THE FLYING MONKEYS FREAKED ME OUT

70s & 80s people........

figured we were just kind of generalizing now.

No. ;)

Though Return to OZ was 1985 and even though it didn't have winged monkeys, there were deranged doctors, a witch who collected heads, guys with wheels for hands and feet, etc., which if you think about it, is kind of messed up.

Disney really hasn't put out anything as dark since then (The Black Cauldron was also 1985).

the big nosed dude from chitty chitty bang bang scared the shit out of me when i was a youngin

I took a notion to watch Watershipdown recently. I watched it as a child and it did scare me. However I did grow up to read the book and enjoy the film. I like that Watershipdown shows that, rabbits are not all fluffy and cuddly and that there is hardship and death in the world. Perhaps not suitable for a young child though, due to some scenes. The Gull was funny though lol.

Return to Oz - Wheelers freaked me out. Probably still do actually lol.