Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • The Bachelor
    • The Last of Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • You
    • The Masked Singer
    • Yellowstone
    • Saturday Night Live
    • Outer Banks
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Fast and the Furious cast: Where are they now?

      The Fast and the Furious cast: Where are they now?

      Catch up with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and the rest of your favorite stars from the film that kicked off the hit franchise. Read More
    • How Grant Gustin runs The Flash — and the Arrowverse — across the finish line 

      How Grant Gustin runs The Flash — and the Arrowverse — across the finish line 

      The actor explains why he decided to end the CW’s last remaining Arrowverse show after nine seasons, and teases what to expect from next week’s epic series finale. Read More
    • Michelle Yeoh on the significance of American Born Chinese and her 'respectful' goddess action scenes

      Michelle Yeoh on the significance of American Born Chinese and her 'respectful' goddess action scenes

      The Academy Award winner previews the Disney+ action comedy series rooted in Chinese mythology: “Our culture, our heritage, is so steeped with history and beauty." Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • The Bachelor
    • The Last of Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • You
    • The Masked Singer
    • Yellowstone
    • Saturday Night Live
    • Outer Banks
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. 17 Surprisingly Scary Kids' Movie Moments

17 Surprisingly Scary Kids' Movie Moments

''Wizard of Oz,'' ''Dumbo,'' ''Pinocchio'' -- these and other classic family flicks all serve up some frights weaved in with their delights
By EW Staff Updated August 10, 2012 at 03:00 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Bambi (1942)

Bambi | Little is seen in the sequence when Bambi's mother is killed, but so much is felt. Her desperation to get him away is so palpable…

Little is seen in the sequence when Bambi's mother is killed, but so much is felt. Her desperation to get him away is so palpable that as a child it worked up serious anxiety. —Abby West

1 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo | Big flashes of teeth and then silence. Leaving so much to the imagination was almost worse than actually seeing Nemo's mom's demise.— Abby West

Big flashes of teeth and then silence. Leaving so much to the imagination was almost worse than actually seeing Nemo's mom's demise.—Abby West

2 of 17

3 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Pinocchio (1940)

Pinocchio | It's all fun and games until somebody gets turned into donkeys. Seriously, as a kid you're wondering if that's a real thing. Really? I misbehave…

It's all fun and games until somebody gets turned into donkeys. Seriously, as a kid you're wondering if that's a real thing. Really? I misbehave and that's what happens?!—Abby West

3 of 17

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | Stranger danger! Stranger danger! As a kid, ''The Child Catcher'' was utterly terrifying. ''Lollipops! Ice cream! Chocolate! All free today!'' Not a chance. Nothing is…
Credit: Everett Collection

Stranger danger! Stranger danger! As a kid, ''The Child Catcher'' was utterly terrifying. ''Lollipops! Ice cream! Chocolate! All free today!'' Not a chance. Nothing is ever free.—Abby West

4 of 17

Advertisement

5 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory | Gene Wilder's creepy Willy Wonka, with his solitary life spent mostly with the Oompa Lumpas, always seemed a little too... off for me as a…
Credit: Everett Collection

Gene Wilder's creepy Willy Wonka, with his solitary life spent mostly with the Oompa Lumpas, always seemed a little too...off for me as a kid. And that loopy ride on the boat only cemented it. —Abby West

5 of 17

6 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Wizard of Oz | ''I'll get you my pretty! And your little dog too!'' Some of the scariest words in movie history. And clothed monkeys flying and chasing you?…
Credit: Everett Collection

''I'll get you my pretty! And your little dog too!'' Some of the scariest words in movie history. And clothed monkeys flying and chasing you? Come on!—Abby West

6 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jumanji (1995)

Kirsten Dunst, Jumanji | A world where a violent game comes to life, animals stalk you, and a mad man tries to kill you. Yeah, I never watched Jumanji…
Credit: Everett Collection

A world where a violent game comes to life, animals stalk you, and a mad man tries to kill you. Yeah, I never watched Jumanji without a parent in the room because I feared that that might actually happen.—Breia Brissey

7 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Annie (1982)

Annie (Movie - 1977) | All that singing and dancing meant nothing when Annie was climbing to get away from her fake parents. It seemed so possible that she could…
Credit: Everett Collection

All that singing and dancing meant nothing when Annie was climbing to get away from her fake parents. It seemed so possible that she could die. —Abby West

8 of 17

Advertisement

9 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Land Before Time (1988)

The Land Before Time | Sharptooth. How can you not be afraid of a giant mom-killing dinosaur with a name like Sharptooth? — Abby West Editor's note: The typo in…

Sharptooth. How can you not be afraid of a giant mom-killing dinosaur with a name like Sharptooth? —Abby West
Editor's note: The typo in the scary dinosaur's name has been corrected.

9 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Mickey and the Beanstalk (1947)

The appearance of the giant loomed ever large. Pun intended. — Abby West

The appearance of the giant loomed ever large. Pun intended. —Abby West

10 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Little Mermaid | The moment Ariel loses her voice seriously bothered me when I was a kid.— Erin Strecker

The moment Ariel loses her voice seriously bothered me when I was a kid.—Erin Strecker

11 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Sound of Music (1965)

Kym Karath, Julie Andrews, ... | Fun escape time in the mountains got a little real as the encroaching Nazi regime forced the von Trapp family to make a run for…
Credit: Everett Collection

Fun escape time in the mountains got a little real as the encroaching Nazi regime forced the von Trapp family to make a run for it. —Abby West

12 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Brave (2011)

Brave | Who hasn't wished something bad on a parent in the heat of the moment. But to have your mom actually turn into a bear... who…

Who hasn't wished something bad on a parent in the heat of the moment. But to have your mom actually turn into a bear... who then tried to eat you? [Shudder] —Abby West

13 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Matilda (1996)

Matilda | The idea that you could be made to stand in a tiny box with sharp objects sticking out the walls, waiting to poke you was…

The idea that you could be made to stand in a tiny box with sharp objects sticking out the walls, waiting to poke you was just too horrid to accept.—Abby West

14 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Dumbo (1941)

Dumbo | When Dumbo got drunk and saw pink bubble elephants on parade, you know it should have just been funny but it was so trippy that…

When Dumbo got drunk and saw pink bubble elephants on parade, you know it should have just been funny but it was so trippy that it could often be unsettling. —Abby West

15 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

16 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Return to Oz (1985)

Jean Marsh, Fairuza Balk | In this fever dream of a movie, Dorothy, diagnosed by psychiatrists as having gone totally ''over the rainbow,'' is given electro-shock treatment. She then escapes…

In this fever dream of a movie, Dorothy, diagnosed by psychiatrists as having gone totally ''over the rainbow,'' is given electro-shock treatment. She then escapes into an Oz of decrepit ruins, frightening wheel-men, and, most terrifyingly, a headless villainess with a designer collection of interchangable crania. Flying monkeys ain't got nothing on this. —Keith Staskiewicz

16 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

17 of 17

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Hercules (1996)

Hercules | Watching the River Styx do its life-sucking thing to Meg injected the stuff of nightmares. — Abby West

Watching the River Styx do its life-sucking thing to Meg injected the stuff of nightmares. —Abby West

17 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By EW Staff

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 17 Bambi (1942)
    2 of 17 Finding Nemo (2003)
    3 of 17 Pinocchio (1940)
    4 of 17 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
    5 of 17 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
    6 of 17 The Wizard of Oz (1939)
    7 of 17 Jumanji (1995)
    8 of 17 Annie (1982)
    9 of 17 Land Before Time (1988)
    10 of 17 Mickey and the Beanstalk (1947)
    11 of 17 The Little Mermaid (1989)
    12 of 17 The Sound of Music (1965)
    13 of 17 Brave (2011)
    14 of 17 Matilda (1996)
    15 of 17 Dumbo (1941)
    16 of 17 Return to Oz (1985)
    17 of 17 Hercules (1996)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab Do Not Sell My Personal Informationthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    17 Surprisingly Scary Kids' Movie Moments
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.