Five Traumatic 80s Cartoons That Might Have Scarred Me For Life

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Being an 80s kid sure had its perks. I mean, we had it good. The heyday of consoles, some of the best geek movie franchises in history, and of course, some of the most amazing hand-drawn animation to ever hit the screen.

But that’s not to say everything was good. In fact, if you were a Disney Channel aficionado like I was, or happened to have parents who couldn’t tell a good cartoon from a bad one (or anime from Looney Toons) you may have stumbled across some of these cartoons that may well have scarred me for life. I was a very imaginative kid, and while some of these films certainly influenced me as a writer, they also made room for some pretty enduring nightmares.

5) The Hobbit (Rankin-Bass) – Sure, now we laugh at this movie. In contrast to Peter Jackson’s films it somewhat pales in comparison in its rendering of Middle Earth. But the Rankin-Bass version, at the time I saw it in the mid-80s, was like a long, drug-induced fever dream. Not that I knew about drugs, but I swear I could feel it. It was in Gollum’s eyes, and the gaping throats of those horrific Orcs. I recall many nights laying awake in bed, unable to shake the visions (and the songs) from my mind. While technically a late 70s movie, I think the aftershocks of this film were felt well on into the 80s. Especially for those of us who got to relive the story over and over again with LPs and storybooks!

4) Gallavants – So I’m going to say right off that there’s not much about this film I recall. But I do remember this: the main character went on a journey, and he needed to have a “kabump” appear on his butt. Seriously, it was a rite of passage. Oh, he tried to fake it for a while when all his friends got their kabumps, with a piece of fruit. But eventually everything got figured out… except my sanity. I spent years wondering if this film was a hallucination or just a half-remembered dream. Turns out it actually existed, and somehow that makes everything worse.

3) The Last Unicorn - Don’t get me wrong, I love this film. I love Peter S. Beagle. But as a child, man. There was no terror like the terror of The Last Unicorn: talking skeletons, well-endowed trees, horrifying birds, and of course that indomitable red bull. The weird thing about this film was that, in spite of my absolute fear of it I never could stop watching. I mean, it has unicorns. And pretty princesses. Even if they did haunt my dreams for years to come. (Although, I think this is where I can trace my propensity for crushing on nerdy wizard types; Schmendrick is so dreamy. Or something.)

2) The Sea Prince and the Fire Child – This 1981 anime is real. I know this now. My cousins know this. My sister knows this. For some reason it was the film my parents rented every time they came over to the house. There’s something about old gods, fire and water, star crossed lovers, eclipses, and a little horned merman named Bibble who frakking dies. (Spoiler?) Bibble’s death was a black mark on my childhood, shaking me to my very foundations. It really is a beautiful film, however—just at the time, my raw, emotional response to it was off the charts.

1) Unico. Okay, this may be a little obscure. But there is nothing as terrifying as Unico. Nor will there ever be. Now we have Wikipedia to chronicle our 80s traumas, but when I was in college I remember mentioning Unico to a friend in passing, who stopped me and gasped. “Oh my God!” he nearly shouted. “Someone else in the world has seen Unico! I thought it was just me… oh my God.” Unico was adapted from a manga, I’ve since learned, and the first film (yes there are more than one) was released in 1979. There’s all kinds of nightmarish stuff in those films, though, including a deranged puppet, vengeful gods, and of course bricks made out of real people. Not to mention that Unico himself looked like a creepy little unicorn crossed with a cat with a human child’s face.

So, that’s my top five. Any of you experience films that left an indelible mark on your soul for decades? Share the trauma!

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262 Responses to Five Traumatic 80s Cartoons That Might Have Scarred Me For Life

  3. Title should read 80's Cartoon movies…if you include all 80's cartoons then Spartacus and the Land Beneath the Sea should be in this list (awesome theme song, but having children watch this is treating the imagination to LSD!

    • if your gonna list traumatic 80s cartoons you should have listed watership down that has to be the most morbid cartoon movie i ever watched as a kid.. never watched it again…was a cartoon movie on HBO in the 80's

  4. Title should read 80′s Cartoon movies…if you include all 80′s cartoons then Spartacus and the Land Beneath the Sea should be in this list (awesome theme song, but having children watch this is treating the imagination to LSD!

  5. Oh…my…wow…

    I have to say, I used to have these very extremely faded memories of a "kids" manga cartoon. As I got older, from time to time the memory would come back and I could never for the life of me remember what that movie was called, what it was about, what happened in it, or if I was just reliving a dream.

    But now…this article has given me the name of that cartoon. After checking on YouTube, sure enough, Unico was that film.

    Now things are falling back into place: The little blue guy throwing a fit, the all white chick, the end sequence….It's a weird feeling to have all that suddenly snapped back into place.

    Thanks for bringing me closure of what that memory was all about. This is a fact I will probably never forget again.

  6. Oh…my…wow…

    I have to say, I used to have these very extremely faded memories of a “kids” manga cartoon. As I got older, from time to time the memory would come back and I could never for the life of me remember what that movie was called, what it was about, what happened in it, or if I was just reliving a dream.

    But now…this article has given me the name of that cartoon. After checking on YouTube, sure enough, Unico was that film.

    Now things are falling back into place: The little blue guy throwing a fit, the all white chick, the end sequence….It’s a weird feeling to have all that suddenly snapped back into place.

    Thanks for bringing me closure of what that memory was all about. This is a fact I will probably never forget again.

  9. I still adore the Hobbit, just watched it again a week ago! I'm not sure I wasn't an easily traumatized kid or just strange. Although, the music did always get stuck in your head, along with the crazy silted movement when bad guys were about to do something bad thing.

  10. I still adore the Hobbit, just watched it again a week ago! I’m not sure I wasn’t an easily traumatized kid or just strange. Although, the music did always get stuck in your head, along with the crazy silted movement when bad guys were about to do something bad thing.

  12. Amazingly enough, I just talked about the Ant one the other day… when I tried to describe it my friends looked at me like I had made it up! As for other scary childhood films… secret of nihm always got me

    • Secret of Nymh always scared the crap out of me. But my sister loved it so of course I had to watch it!! Now I don't mind it so much but as a child it was creepy!!

      • Oh my god… You woke a long forgotten memory of me reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH around the 3rd grade… I hadn't realized, but you reminded me of the existence of Nimh, so I went to Wikipedia and there were the names: Jeremy, and Timothy, and Necodemus! Our teacher used to play us this audiobook tapes, and we would follow the reading.

  13. Amazingly enough, I just talked about the Ant one the other day… when I tried to describe it my friends looked at me like I had made it up! As for other scary childhood films… secret of nihm always got me

  14. Watership Down still haunts me to this day. I can't even watch it again to see if it really is as horrifying as I remember.

    • Yes, Watership Down had it all – violence, sex, more violence, sudden death, slow death, torture, the main character dies, choking to death, coming back from the dead, acceptance of death, rape….death by dog, death by rabbit, death by train, etc. etc.

      WOW…looking back on it, maybe this movie should have received an x rating.

      And it's all done with rabbits. Still Watership Down has a very special place in my heart. I read the book in a few hours as a kid. th.

  15. Watership Down still haunts me to this day. I can’t even watch it again to see if it really is as horrifying as I remember.

    • Yes, Watership Down had it all – violence, sex, more violence, sudden death, slow death, torture, the main character dies, choking to death, coming back from the dead, acceptance of death, rape….death by dog, death by rabbit, death by train, etc. etc.

      WOW…looking back on it, maybe this movie should have received an x rating.

      And it’s all done with rabbits. Still Watership Down has a very special place in my heart. I read the book in a few hours as a kid. th.

    • Yes, Watership Down had it all – violence, sex, more violence, sudden death, slow death, torture, the main character dies, choking to death, coming back from the dead, acceptance of death, rape….death by dog, death by rabbit, death by train, etc. etc.

      WOW…looking back on it, maybe this movie should have received an x rating.

      And it’s all done with rabbits. Still Watership Down has a very special place in my heart. I read the book in a few hours as a kid. th.

      • yes! Although I was a child of the 90's, I grew up watching 80s cartoons, and I still remember Watership Down. I actually remember loving it…even as a (slightly morbid???) child. Although, the amount of blood and death did creep me out.

      • And…speaking of morbid cartoons…has ANYONE heard of Freddie the Frog????? I always liked Watership Down, but DAMN, Freddie the Frog was SO SAD. The frog's entire family gets eaten by a myriad of creatures, like a bird and a cat and fish i think…and then he, freddie, the sole survivor, meets a turtle that lays eggs, that get stolen by (i dont remember what animal it was), that tricks her and thinks they are ping pong balls or something…idk the babies all end up dying. Pretty much everyone dies or gets everything taken from them, and everyone else is a complete a-hole except Freddie and that girl frog..and the characters that die. I mean, goddamn!!

    • yeah, that's the same movie that scared the shit outta me as a kid… and i never managed to watch it again… i hated this movie!

    • The first part of LOTR was animated by genius Ralph Bakshi, using animation-over-live-action that was groundbreaking.

      The Rankin-Bass follow-up movie was a horrible let-down after that.

    • I still have the story book for the Lord of the Rings cartoon…those nazguls still give me the creeps when I look at it today….

  19. the last unicorn – now that scared the crap out of me — and that film about those rabbits where theres that really fat scary one :0

  20. the last unicorn – now that scared the crap out of me — and that film about those rabbits where theres that really fat scary one :0

  21. For me, it will always be The Black Cauldrun. That disney movie will forever leave an indelible mark on my soul. A mark of fear and terror.

    I still can't think of that movie without chills going down my spine.

    • Well, I'll be damned!!!!

      Someone else saw it, too!!!!

      Everyone thinks I'm crazy for remembering a movie about a pig holding his chin over a cauldron!!!!

      • Oh god, That movie. The dog-thing with the apple. I still have that movie on VHS in a box somewhere around here. ANd oh my effing god, not a cartoon. but the Gremlins. Scared me. To death. And the last Unicorn. I mentioned it to my brother yesterday and he was like "What the HELL is that?" But I loved it anyway. Secret of Nihm, and james and the Giant Peach, loved Secret of NIHM. I hatej JAtGP though, the part with the skeleton pirates haunts me to this day.

  22. For me, it will always be The Black Cauldrun. That disney movie will forever leave an indelible mark on my soul. A mark of fear and terror.

    I still can’t think of that movie without chills going down my spine.

    • Well, I’ll be damned!!!!
      Someone else saw it, too!!!!
      Everyone thinks I’m crazy for remembering a movie about a pig holding his chin over a cauldron!!!!

      • Oh god, That movie. The dog-thing with the apple. I still have that movie on VHS in a box somewhere around here. ANd oh my effing god, not a cartoon. but the Gremlins. Scared me. To death. And the last Unicorn. I mentioned it to my brother yesterday and he was like “What the HELL is that?” But I loved it anyway. Secret of Nihm, and james and the Giant Peach, loved Secret of NIHM. I hatej JAtGP though, the part with the skeleton pirates haunts me to this day.

    • Well, I’ll be damned!!!!
      Someone else saw it, too!!!!
      Everyone thinks I’m crazy for remembering a movie about a pig holding his chin over a cauldron!!!!

    • The Black Cauldron was the very first PG movie my parents allowed me to see. (I was born in '86, so I was more a child of the late eighties/early nineties.)

      I realized around the age of fifteen that it had shaped my nightmares for years.

      • I still have nightmares about The Black Cauldron…but yet I continue to watch that and The Last Unicorn. And, another not mentioned here, The Thief and the Cobbler, anyone? Even though that one is from the 90′s. Scared the heck out of me.

      • I still have nightmares about The Black Cauldron…but yet I continue to watch that and The Last Unicorn. And, another not mentioned here, The Thief and the Cobbler, anyone? Even though that one is from the 90's. Scared the heck out of me.

  24. I love The Hobbit so much. That and the animated LOTR trilogy used to be my favorite movies of all time, and look how I turned out. …ok, maybe you've got a point.

    • The LOTR actually won awards for it's groundbreaking animation techniques. It was the meshing of live action shots that were then colorized (or something) into the rest of the animated film seamlessly. That was amazing stuff for when it was made. That technique paved the way for many animated film that otherwise could never have been made.

  25. I love The Hobbit so much. That and the animated LOTR trilogy used to be my favorite movies of all time, and look how I turned out. …ok, maybe you’ve got a point.

    • The LOTR actually won awards for it’s groundbreaking animation techniques. It was the meshing of live action shots that were then colorized (or something) into the rest of the animated film seamlessly. That was amazing stuff for when it was made. That technique paved the way for many animated film that otherwise could never have been made.

    • The first part of LOTR was animated by genius Ralph Bakshi, using animation-over-live-action that was groundbreaking.

      The Rankin-Bass follow-up movie was a horrible let-down after that.

    • I still have the story book for the Lord of the Rings cartoon…those nazguls still give me the creeps when I look at it today….

  29. I agree a bit with The Last Unicorn, that tree was yikes! The one that always haunted me however was the Black Rabbit from the animated Watership Down. I think I've always kept that in mind as what Death looks like when it comes to take you.

    That, and the part in the beginning when the tunnels were bulldozed. That was just disturbing.

  30. I agree a bit with The Last Unicorn, that tree was yikes! The one that always haunted me however was the Black Rabbit from the animated Watership Down. I think I’ve always kept that in mind as what Death looks like when it comes to take you.

    That, and the part in the beginning when the tunnels were bulldozed. That was just disturbing.

  32. I remember the Hobbit, the Last Unicorn, and especially Unico, both of them. in fact, Unico was the favorite of my oldest daughter, and when we found an old copy on Ebay, she made me buy it for her. She is grown with her own children now, but she still has it, on VHS. weird stuff!

    Personally, I don't think any cartoon ever really bugged me.

  33. I remember the Hobbit, the Last Unicorn, and especially Unico, both of them. in fact, Unico was the favorite of my oldest daughter, and when we found an old copy on Ebay, she made me buy it for her. She is grown with her own children now, but she still has it, on VHS. weird stuff!
    Personally, I don’t think any cartoon ever really bugged me.

  34. My aunt had us watch the hobbit on vhs… it was (from a 7 yr old's point of view) very disturbing. I couldnt even open my eyes when Gollum was on

  35. My aunt had us watch the hobbit on vhs… it was (from a 7 yr old’s point of view) very disturbing. I couldnt even open my eyes when Gollum was on

  38. I'm amazed that more 80s kids haven't seen Unico! A little odd and sad but still pretty awesome. Remember when that creepy sorcerer guy gets Katie the Kitty Witch — who had to be, like, 12 years old — totally drunk? Classic kid movie right there. God, they'd never allow that stuff for kids these days. :)

    The movie that freaked me the hell out I don't think was meant for kids. All I remember is that it had these weird armies of wizards and fairies prostituting themselves to dwarves in taverns.

    What I want to know is, HAS ANYBODY OUT THERE SEEN MR. ROSSI?! Best cartoon movie series ever, and I've never met another soul who watched it as a kid. It was originally Italian and aired on Disney. It was about a sad man who worked in a cubicle. Except he had an incredible imagination and a talking dog who wore spats, named Harold. I still get the songs from that series stuck in my head.

    • Yes, I remember Mr Rossi from repeats in the UK! Loved the theme tune.

      Mark me down as another for whom Watership Down scared the willies out of.

    • @ Eline.

      The movie you described in the 2nd paragraph sounds a lot like "Wizards". I love that old cartoon movie!

      I was in high school during 1981-84, so the movies mentioned didn't completely whig me out. "Watership Down" was pretty dark, though.

      I think copies of "Wizards" can still be found. It's actually very funny for adults! The Fritz scene is especially comical.

  39. I’m amazed that more 80s kids haven’t seen Unico! A little odd and sad but still pretty awesome. Remember when that creepy sorcerer guy gets Katie the Kitty Witch — who had to be, like, 12 years old — totally drunk? Classic kid movie right there. God, they’d never allow that stuff for kids these days. :)

    The movie that freaked me the hell out I don’t think was meant for kids. All I remember is that it had these weird armies of wizards and fairies prostituting themselves to dwarves in taverns.

    What I want to know is, HAS ANYBODY OUT THERE SEEN MR. ROSSI?! Best cartoon movie series ever, and I’ve never met another soul who watched it as a kid. It was originally Italian and aired on Disney. It was about a sad man who worked in a cubicle. Except he had an incredible imagination and a talking dog who wore spats, named Harold. I still get the songs from that series stuck in my head.

    • Yes, I remember Mr Rossi from repeats in the UK! Loved the theme tune.

      Mark me down as another for whom Watership Down scared the willies out of.

    • @ Eline.
      The movie you described in the 2nd paragraph sounds a lot like “Wizards”. I love that old cartoon movie!

      I was in high school during 1981-84, so the movies mentioned didn’t completely whig me out. “Watership Down” was pretty dark, though.

      I think copies of “Wizards” can still be found. It’s actually very funny for adults! The Fritz scene is especially comical.

  44. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Unico as a kid, and none of my friend had ever heard of it. It was a bit creepy in parts though, and I had a few nightmares about it, I just couldn't stop watching it over and over again.

  45. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Unico as a kid, and none of my friend had ever heard of it. It was a bit creepy in parts though, and I had a few nightmares about it, I just couldn’t stop watching it over and over again.

  48. welll I didnt grow up watching this but the character Uni from the Dungeons and Dragons TV series… well it didnt really scare me so much as it filled me with rage.

    ah well. was this comment relevant?

  49. welll I didnt grow up watching this but the character Uni from the Dungeons and Dragons TV series… well it didnt really scare me so much as it filled me with rage.
    ah well. was this comment relevant?

  50. Oh god, I remember the Ant one now. Why did you bring that up? Yes, and then his kabump rolled around and he chased it or something. But now that I know that wasn't a hallucination of my young mind, it gives me hope that I'll find the movie I've searched for so long. I also thought I dreamed it up.

    • I HAVE THAT VIDEO, THE GALLAVANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      My weird ex-husband bought the tape for my daughter. My God, I don't do drugs, but that was the closest thing I ever experienced to a "trip"!

  51. Oh god, I remember the Ant one now. Why did you bring that up? Yes, and then his kabump rolled around and he chased it or something. But now that I know that wasn’t a hallucination of my young mind, it gives me hope that I’ll find the movie I’ve searched for so long. I also thought I dreamed it up.

    • I HAVE THAT VIDEO, THE GALLAVANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      My weird ex-husband bought the tape for my daughter. My God, I don’t do drugs, but that was the closest thing I ever experienced to a “trip”!

    • Plague Dogs! I saw that in the theater, scarred me for life. Hevey Metal also bummed me out a bit.

    • I was wondering when someone would mention plague dogs.

      Though they maybe traumatizing for children, watership down 1978 and plague dogs 1982(I was 10 for this one) were both incredible movies. Children are more resilient than today's society give them credit for. We turned out just fine, right? I think.

    • Plague Dogs! I saw that in the theater, scarred me for life. Hevey Metal also bummed me out a bit.

    • I was wondering when someone would mention plague dogs.
      Though they maybe traumatizing for children, watership down 1978 and plague dogs 1982(I was 10 for this one) were both incredible movies. Children are more resilient than today’s society give them credit for. We turned out just fine, right? I think.

  59. Fritz the Cat… a psycho trip… but definitely Watership Down… great movie… but NOT for kids.. at least not young ones… The Devil and Daniel Mouse… creepy… American Pop… too real to be taken lightly…. Rock and Rule… another crazy one (I was a child of late 70's and 80's cartoons)….

  60. Fritz the Cat… a psycho trip… but definitely Watership Down… great movie… but NOT for kids.. at least not young ones… The Devil and Daniel Mouse… creepy… American Pop… too real to be taken lightly…. Rock and Rule… another crazy one (I was a child of late 70′s and 80′s cartoons)….

  62. Dark Crystal and Flight of Dragons!

    Anyone seen Flight of Dragons? That movie was trip, with James Earl Jones doing the voice of the Red Wizard Omadan. Who was bent of destroying everything. Flashes of nukes going off!

    But far worse, although not technically animated, was the Dark Crystal. That was by far the scariest movie ever.

    I still think both were my two favorite movies as a kid. Scary at times, but just plain awesome.

    • I remember "Flight Of Dragons"! I LOVED that movie! I especially relished the description of how feasible dragon flight & breathing fire could be. I have it as a companion piece for "The Last Unicorn", a movie I DESPERATELY loved as a teenager.

  63. Dark Crystal and Flight of Dragons!

    Anyone seen Flight of Dragons? That movie was trip, with James Earl Jones doing the voice of the Red Wizard Omadan. Who was bent of destroying everything. Flashes of nukes going off!

    But far worse, although not technically animated, was the Dark Crystal. That was by far the scariest movie ever.

    I still think both were my two favorite movies as a kid. Scary at times, but just plain awesome.

    • I remember “Flight Of Dragons”! I LOVED that movie! I especially relished the description of how feasible dragon flight & breathing fire could be. I have it as a companion piece for “The Last Unicorn”, a movie I DESPERATELY loved as a teenager.

  64. Don't remember much though but there was this anime movie about space ships and stuff really scary with centipede-like creatures from another planet..another would be dumbo: the flying elephant, an episode of looney toons where tweety becomes a frankenbird and grew to 10 feet tall not to mention alice in wonderland..geez i really really hate the cat..what is it with the smile? y does it have to appear first..used to keep me up all night just staring at the window (shivers)

  65. Don’t remember much though but there was this anime movie about space ships and stuff really scary with centipede-like creatures from another planet..another would be dumbo: the flying elephant, an episode of looney toons where tweety becomes a frankenbird and grew to 10 feet tall not to mention alice in wonderland..geez i really really hate the cat..what is it with the smile? y does it have to appear first..used to keep me up all night just staring at the window (shivers)

  66. I loved Unico when I was little. I watched it again recently and decided that I must have been a weird little kid.

  67. I loved Unico when I was little. I watched it again recently and decided that I must have been a weird little kid.

  68. Lol I have not only seen almost all of the movies mentioned in the article and the responses, I have sought out and purchased many of them in my adult life. I guess I enjoy my trauma. My favorites are Watership Down(the rabbit movie) Plague Dogs(by Richard Adams the same man who wrote Watership Down) Flight of Dragons, The Ringing Bell, and many more. Also I cannot find the full version of Gallavants, for some reason it was remade in the mid 90s to make it more politically correct, how dumb. If you were weird enough to like that movie I doubt you're really that worried about pc.

  69. Lol I have not only seen almost all of the movies mentioned in the article and the responses, I have sought out and purchased many of them in my adult life. I guess I enjoy my trauma. My favorites are Watership Down(the rabbit movie) Plague Dogs(by Richard Adams the same man who wrote Watership Down) Flight of Dragons, The Ringing Bell, and many more. Also I cannot find the full version of Gallavants, for some reason it was remade in the mid 90s to make it more politically correct, how dumb. If you were weird enough to like that movie I doubt you’re really that worried about pc.

  70. Until I read this I had NO idea what the name of the movie was that I watched in 4th grade with the evil rabbits, so thanks everyone for reminding me that Watership Down was the scariest movie I saw as a kid… I remember having nightmares about those evil little creatures.

  71. Until I read this I had NO idea what the name of the movie was that I watched in 4th grade with the evil rabbits, so thanks everyone for reminding me that Watership Down was the scariest movie I saw as a kid… I remember having nightmares about those evil little creatures.

  72. Okay,movies that were my favorite that also terrified me: THe Black Couldron, The Last Unicorn, The Secret of NIHM, I'm sure there are others.

  73. Okay,movies that were my favorite that also terrified me: THe Black Couldron, The Last Unicorn, The Secret of NIHM, I’m sure there are others.

  74. Yeah watership down was bad, and plague dogs too. But you know what really creeped me the hell out? Fantastic planet (La planète sauvage)…with that creepy blue chick with no shirt on manipulating that poor little human baby, talk about "animal cruelty". That movie still gives me nightmares

  75. Yeah watership down was bad, and plague dogs too. But you know what really creeped me the hell out? Fantastic planet (La planète sauvage)…with that creepy blue chick with no shirt on manipulating that poor little human baby, talk about “animal cruelty”. That movie still gives me nightmares

  76. I think the makers of these films hated children, haha. I was traumatized by ALL the movies listed except for Gallavants, never watched it but I think I'd enjoy it merely for the unintentional butt humor. Don't get me started on The Last Unicorn, it was a frightening experience only to end tragically, one zombie unicorn left.. I cried over my mind being blown. Watership Down was horrifying, the bloody death scenes and the black shadow, CRAP! I liked Unico, but I remember feeling REALLY uneasy watching it.

    Did anyone see a pre-disney Little Mermaid? Blonde hair, didn't get a kiss from the prince in time so she turned into sea foam at the end? Awful.

    This was a cool idea for a post, It's good to know I wasn't lame for being afraid of these movies.

  77. I think the makers of these films hated children, haha. I was traumatized by ALL the movies listed except for Gallavants, never watched it but I think I’d enjoy it merely for the unintentional butt humor. Don’t get me started on The Last Unicorn, it was a frightening experience only to end tragically, one zombie unicorn left.. I cried over my mind being blown. Watership Down was horrifying, the bloody death scenes and the black shadow, CRAP! I liked Unico, but I remember feeling REALLY uneasy watching it.

    Did anyone see a pre-disney Little Mermaid? Blonde hair, didn’t get a kiss from the prince in time so she turned into sea foam at the end? Awful.

    This was a cool idea for a post, It’s good to know I wasn’t lame for being afraid of these movies.

    • I did see that version of the little mermaid. I actually watched it after the disney version, so the disney version had washed away my knowledge that it ended badly.

      I cried for hours.

  78. I'm glad I didn't dream these films up. I have a couple that I can't remember the names of, but I can half way dreamishly describe them:

    One was an anime I believe of a little ninja kid with a big fat guy side kick. He helps the fat guy to lose weight by putting him in a box so he'll sweat the weight off and ends up fighting another ninja kid with glasses who can turn into anyone he wants to…any ideas?

    The other one is about these ant like alien creatures with glowing eyes that (I think) can control minds.

    It would be great if someone could help me remember these. While they may not be as scary as Watership Down and the like, they affect my memory for some reason.

  79. I’m glad I didn’t dream these films up. I have a couple that I can’t remember the names of, but I can half way dreamishly describe them:

    One was an anime I believe of a little ninja kid with a big fat guy side kick. He helps the fat guy to lose weight by putting him in a box so he’ll sweat the weight off and ends up fighting another ninja kid with glasses who can turn into anyone he wants to…any ideas?

    The other one is about these ant like alien creatures with glowing eyes that (I think) can control minds.

    It would be great if someone could help me remember these. While they may not be as scary as Watership Down and the like, they affect my memory for some reason.

  80. has anyone seen the movie little nemo: adventures in slumberland that was a trip and a half man i freaked out watching that movie espically when the started getting him ready for the corination and that fat lady with huge breasts practically suffocateded him with her tits LoL

    • OMG! I have vague memories of seeing that cartoon as a kid, but then couldn't remember what it was called. I'm so glad that someone else has seen it!

  81. has anyone seen the movie little nemo: adventures in slumberland that was a trip and a half man i freaked out watching that movie espically when the started getting him ready for the corination and that fat lady with huge breasts practically suffocateded him with her tits LoL

    • OMG! I have vague memories of seeing that cartoon as a kid, but then couldn’t remember what it was called. I’m so glad that someone else has seen it!

  82. For me, it was The Ringing Bell or "Chirin no Suzu" in Japanese. I don't know how my parents found this movie at the video store, but I am sure they saw the cute little lamb on the cover, and thought it would be fine. I cannot watch that movie to this day without feeling its effects! Oh, and Unico was awesome!

  83. For me, it was The Ringing Bell or “Chirin no Suzu” in Japanese. I don’t know how my parents found this movie at the video store, but I am sure they saw the cute little lamb on the cover, and thought it would be fine. I cannot watch that movie to this day without feeling its effects! Oh, and Unico was awesome!

  86. I remember an animated film titled Puff the Magic Dragon. It starred a huge dragon and a little boy named Jacky Paper. It seemed like just a cute little movie until I discovered the true meaning behind the cartoon. Now it all makes sense. Kind of..

  87. I remember an animated film titled Puff the Magic Dragon. It starred a huge dragon and a little boy named Jacky Paper. It seemed like just a cute little movie until I discovered the true meaning behind the cartoon. Now it all makes sense. Kind of..

  88. I always remember this freaky cartoon called The Wuzzles it wasn't scary but it always seems the only people who remember it are me and my brother. And for some reason it and The Gummy Bears was the only cartoons that really stick out in my memory. The bad guy on Gummy Bears was named Dookie! Omg really! And The Wuzzles was alot of combined animals.

    • The bad guy from the Gummi Bears was Duke Igthorn, and so his ogre assitant (Toadie) called him "Dukey" because he was a Duke, not "Dookie" as in…well…#2. Hope that clears things up.

      I remember the Wuzzles too. I liked them. I even had a plastic figurine of Butterbear. The only episode I remember involved a money tree and the characters wanting to buy Halloween costumes.

  89. I always remember this freaky cartoon called The Wuzzles it wasn’t scary but it always seems the only people who remember it are me and my brother. And for some reason it and The Gummy Bears was the only cartoons that really stick out in my memory. The bad guy on Gummy Bears was named Dookie! Omg really! And The Wuzzles was alot of combined animals.

    • The bad guy from the Gummi Bears was Duke Igthorn, and so his ogre assitant (Toadie) called him “Dukey” because he was a Duke, not “Dookie” as in…well…#2. Hope that clears things up.
      I remember the Wuzzles too. I liked them. I even had a plastic figurine of Butterbear. The only episode I remember involved a money tree and the characters wanting to buy Halloween costumes.

    • i loved the wuzzles! In my parents house packed in a box somewhere I still have several Wuzzles stuffed animals. I always was strange, though. I was also very young when I watched it.

  90. I have to agree with the Dark Crystal as possibly the most scarring thing I saw as a kid. I watched it again about a year ago and i STILL wasn't prepared for the combination of acid, LSD, and mushroom quality trip courtesy of Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Seriously, I was frightened when I watched it recently, so I can only imagine how that messed me up as a kid!!! P.S. get ready for the sequel, Power of the Dark Crystal, coming out in 2011. God help us all

  91. I have to agree with the Dark Crystal as possibly the most scarring thing I saw as a kid. I watched it again about a year ago and i STILL wasn’t prepared for the combination of acid, LSD, and mushroom quality trip courtesy of Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Seriously, I was frightened when I watched it recently, so I can only imagine how that messed me up as a kid!!! P.S. get ready for the sequel, Power of the Dark Crystal, coming out in 2011. God help us all

  94. I agree with the Dark Crystal mainly for the bit where the bad guys are draining the life force from those innocent little guys.

    I'm surprised no one has mentioned Disney's Pinoccio! That one always bothered me, such a twisted morality play of a movie, kids turning into donkeys, etc. If I didnt know any better I wouldn't be able to tell if that one came from folklore or from the mind of a druggie.

    Likewise, Who Framed Roger Rabbit – the scene with the bad guy slowly dipping the little cartoon squeaky shoe into the 'toon-destroying dip' traumatized me when I saw it in the theater, I must have been around 10 yrs old, and I still don't think that scene is appropriate for that age!

    • I totally agree – that one really messed me up. I also had to hide during the Bells scene in the California Raisin's Christmas show. The one with the mentally challenged bell. That really creeped me out. So did claymation in general.

      The Dark Crystal was really scary, too. WTF was the dog? And for non animation, hands down (or up?) is Labyrinth. Man, the 80's sure was a scary ass time for kids.

    • The "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" scene where the bad guy gets run over by the steamroller freaked me out as a kid. I don't think that it was appropriate for a kids' movie.

  95. I agree with the Dark Crystal mainly for the bit where the bad guys are draining the life force from those innocent little guys.
    I’m surprised no one has mentioned Disney’s Pinoccio! That one always bothered me, such a twisted morality play of a movie, kids turning into donkeys, etc. If I didnt know any better I wouldn’t be able to tell if that one came from folklore or from the mind of a druggie.
    Likewise, Who Framed Roger Rabbit – the scene with the bad guy slowly dipping the little cartoon squeaky shoe into the ‘toon-destroying dip’ traumatized me when I saw it in the theater, I must have been around 10 yrs old, and I still don’t think that scene is appropriate for that age!

    • I totally agree – that one really messed me up. I also had to hide during the Bells scene in the California Raisin’s Christmas show. The one with the mentally challenged bell. That really creeped me out. So did claymation in general.

      The Dark Crystal was really scary, too. WTF was the dog? And for non animation, hands down (or up?) is Labyrinth. Man, the 80′s sure was a scary ass time for kids.

    • I totally agree – that one really messed me up. I also had to hide during the Bells scene in the California Raisin’s Christmas show. The one with the mentally challenged bell. That really creeped me out. So did claymation in general.

      The Dark Crystal was really scary, too. WTF was the dog? And for non animation, hands down (or up?) is Labyrinth. Man, the 80′s sure was a scary ass time for kids.

    • The “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” scene where the bad guy gets run over by the steamroller freaked me out as a kid. I don’t think that it was appropriate for a kids’ movie.

  96. For me, heh, it was always "The Princess and the Goblins". That movie scared the living daylights out of me as a child. And even creepier, the movie features a live-action version of the princess, who, for some reason, was equally as creepy. So terrifying…all these flashbacks!

  97. For me, heh, it was always “The Princess and the Goblins”. That movie scared the living daylights out of me as a child. And even creepier, the movie features a live-action version of the princess, who, for some reason, was equally as creepy. So terrifying…all these flashbacks!

  98. I went around for years mentioning Unico to people and all I got for the most part were very puzzled looks. When I saw this list I thought on a lark that he might be on here…but to have him in the #1 spot…you have validated not only the memory but the crazy disturbed feeling its left me with all these years…Thank You!

  99. I went around for years mentioning Unico to people and all I got for the most part were very puzzled looks. When I saw this list I thought on a lark that he might be on here…but to have him in the #1 spot…you have validated not only the memory but the crazy disturbed feeling its left me with all these years…Thank You!

  100. There was this movie that I kept remembering in dreams (more like nightmares) and I couldnt figure out what it was called. It involved this creepy evil black goop that tried to take over some kingdom and there were lots of other scary things too. Plus there was a creepy green hobo/clown person. I found out recently that it was called Little Nemo:Adventures in Slumberland. That movie scarred me for life.

  101. There was this movie that I kept remembering in dreams (more like nightmares) and I couldnt figure out what it was called. It involved this creepy evil black goop that tried to take over some kingdom and there were lots of other scary things too. Plus there was a creepy green hobo/clown person. I found out recently that it was called Little Nemo:Adventures in Slumberland. That movie scarred me for life.

  102. i so remember gallavants. i think it was one of the many VHSs my grandma thought my sister and i needed. i still remember the tune of that song that band played at the club or whatever. and now that i think about it, it was a really weird movie. haha

  103. i so remember gallavants. i think it was one of the many VHSs my grandma thought my sister and i needed. i still remember the tune of that song that band played at the club or whatever. and now that i think about it, it was a really weird movie. haha

  104. There was one I saw call "Water Babies". It seems like it may have been British? Starts out live action, then this kid (kids?)fall in a river and it goes to animation. Anayway, haven't seen it since I was young, but have memories of it being really creepy.

    Watership Down would be No. 1 on my list for sure, with the Bakshi LOTR as 2.

  105. There was one I saw call “Water Babies”. It seems like it may have been British? Starts out live action, then this kid (kids?)fall in a river and it goes to animation. Anayway, haven’t seen it since I was young, but have memories of it being really creepy.

    Watership Down would be No. 1 on my list for sure, with the Bakshi LOTR as 2.

  106. There was one I saw call “Water Babies”. It seems like it may have been British? Starts out live action, then this kid (kids?)fall in a river and it goes to animation. Anayway, haven’t seen it since I was young, but have memories of it being really creepy.

    Watership Down would be No. 1 on my list for sure, with the Bakshi LOTR as 2.

  107. Okay, though I think it's a 90's film. I think the PageMaster HAS to be mentioned. THat movie was terrifying to me as a kid. The scene with Jekyll/Hyde always freaked me out. And don't get me started on that dragon. It was on tv last week and I checked the rating. G! If that was a movie coming out now it would definitely be at least PG. -shudder-

  108. Okay, though I think it’s a 90′s film. I think the PageMaster HAS to be mentioned. THat movie was terrifying to me as a kid. The scene with Jekyll/Hyde always freaked me out. And don’t get me started on that dragon. It was on tv last week and I checked the rating. G! If that was a movie coming out now it would definitely be at least PG. -shudder-

  109. Holy crap no the absolute worst 80s kids movie was All Dogs Go to Heaven. The hell scene messed me up for YEARS!! Even now I have trouble with that movie. Really, putting a scene about HELL in a KIDS movie???

  110. Holy crap no the absolute worst 80s kids movie was All Dogs Go to Heaven. The hell scene messed me up for YEARS!! Even now I have trouble with that movie. Really, putting a scene about HELL in a KIDS movie???

  111. I think Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland takes the cake. It seems that everyone that saw it as a kid only remembered it as nightmares and stuff of their own imagination… I think it really says something when a movie literally buries itself in your subconscious and scares you to friggin' death, then makes you forget about it. I've heard the same story from a handful of other people…

  112. I think Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland takes the cake. It seems that everyone that saw it as a kid only remembered it as nightmares and stuff of their own imagination… I think it really says something when a movie literally buries itself in your subconscious and scares you to friggin’ death, then makes you forget about it. I’ve heard the same story from a handful of other people…

    • Agreed.
      I had forgotten about Little Nemo until reading this, but I remember being terrifed by it. Watership Down as well.
      Those were really the only two cartoons I remember being seriously afraid of.
      Kinda makes me want to watch them again as an adult and see what I think. xD

  113. How about "The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T". If anyone remembers this one, I will be very impressed. Not a cartoon, but a sick live action Dr. Seuss story with lots of strange images, child abuse and insane piano teachers.

  114. How about “The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T”. If anyone remembers this one, I will be very impressed. Not a cartoon, but a sick live action Dr. Seuss story with lots of strange images, child abuse and insane piano teachers.

  115. felidae, an incredibly disturbing movie….I realize that it's not from the right time set, but it's disturbing none the less.

  116. felidae, an incredibly disturbing movie….I realize that it’s not from the right time set, but it’s disturbing none the less.

  117. Yeah, most stuff was pretty trippy in the 80's but the one thing that keeps me screeming in my sleap to this day is "Dumbo", especially that scene where he gets drunk. Until a couple of years ago it was just recurring nightmare but then I saw it on TV and I was just chocked, I cried for twenty minutes.

  118. Yeah, most stuff was pretty trippy in the 80′s but the one thing that keeps me screeming in my sleap to this day is “Dumbo”, especially that scene where he gets drunk. Until a couple of years ago it was just recurring nightmare but then I saw it on TV and I was just chocked, I cried for twenty minutes.

  119. help! I have a traumatic cartoon mystery.

    half-remembered synopsis:

    dystopian future world (earth?) dying of food shortage

    hero (young man australian accent?) with an anthropomorphic hen with a large (gaming) dice on its neck.

    somehow a jean gray phoenix story is woven into the love interest.

    saw this a few times on TV growing up.

    this article solved my unico problem. (the human bricks got to my inner-most soul)

    help! ideas?

  120. help! I have a traumatic cartoon mystery.

    half-remembered synopsis:

    dystopian future world (earth?) dying of food shortage

    hero (young man australian accent?) with an anthropomorphic hen with a large (gaming) dice on its neck.

    somehow a jean gray phoenix story is woven into the love interest.

    saw this a few times on TV growing up.

    this article solved my unico problem. (the human bricks got to my inner-most soul)

    help! ideas?

    • This is unreal. I thought I dreamed the human bricks and I've been trying to find evidence to the contrary for years. Do you know what terms one has to Google to do this? It's awful. Truly awful. The human bricks still give me the willies. I don't know if I feel better or worse now. Thank you, though.

  121. I really could have gone my entire life without reliving Unico. I had pushed that horror to the back of my mind and thought of as an old nightmare or some such until now.

  122. I really could have gone my entire life without reliving Unico. I had pushed that horror to the back of my mind and thought of as an old nightmare or some such until now.

  125. if your gonna list traumatic 80s cartoons you should have listed watership down that has to be the most morbid cartoon movie i ever watched as a kid.. never watched it again…was a cartoon movie on HBO in the 80′s

  126. I would add Milo and Otis and The Brave Little Toaster. I don't remember why Milo and Otis bothered me so much, though. The Hobbit never bothered me that much.

  127. I would add Milo and Otis and The Brave Little Toaster. I don’t remember why Milo and Otis bothered me so much, though. The Hobbit never bothered me that much.

  128. I love Unico, but then I didn't see it till I was like 20. My boyfriend had it on tape from his childhood. His sister hated the movie and she still does. She really hates when I go "Toooby", creeps her out. That's why if I ever have a son I shall name him Toby.

  129. I love Unico, but then I didn’t see it till I was like 20. My boyfriend had it on tape from his childhood. His sister hated the movie and she still does. She really hates when I go “Toooby”, creeps her out. That’s why if I ever have a son I shall name him Toby.

  130. Secret of Nymh always scared the crap out of me. But my sister loved it so of course I had to watch it!! Now I don’t mind it so much but as a child it was creepy!!

    • Oh my god… You woke a long forgotten memory of me reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH around the 3rd grade… I hadn’t realized, but you reminded me of the existence of Nimh, so I went to Wikipedia and there were the names: Jeremy, and Timothy, and Necodemus! Our teacher used to play us this audiobook tapes, and we would follow the reading.

  131. I know it came out in 1973 but the weirdest animated movie I've ever seen has got to be Fantastic Planet, hands down. VERY weird stuff.

  132. I know it came out in 1973 but the weirdest animated movie I’ve ever seen has got to be Fantastic Planet, hands down. VERY weird stuff.

  133. I know it's not a cartoon, but has anyone ever seen 'The Peanut Butter Solution', my mum rented it for me when I was sick once and it freaked me out.

    A kid who gets scared by a ghost and his hair falls out, then the ghost gives him the solution and his hair doesn't stop growing, then his evil teacher kidnaps him to make magic paint brushes out of the hair.

    Very weird.

    I absolutely loved Flight of Dragons and Last Unicorn and i'm now off to see if I can find a copies of Unico and Wizards because they both sound great.

  134. I know it’s not a cartoon, but has anyone ever seen ‘The Peanut Butter Solution’, my mum rented it for me when I was sick once and it freaked me out.
    A kid who gets scared by a ghost and his hair falls out, then the ghost gives him the solution and his hair doesn’t stop growing, then his evil teacher kidnaps him to make magic paint brushes out of the hair.
    Very weird.

    I absolutely loved Flight of Dragons and Last Unicorn and i’m now off to see if I can find a copies of Unico and Wizards because they both sound great.

    • Most terrifying movie ever. For YEARS, I thought I had made it up or it was a very vivid nightmare.

  135. Yes…the live action Little Mermaid! So sad! I would mention that when the Disney movie came out, but nobody ever knew what I was talking about!

    Dark Crystal- terrifying.

    Watership Down- I only have vague memories of being scared out of my mind when I think of this movie.

    Pinochio- boys turning into donkeys = recurring nightmare!

    And…lest we forget the old standby, the creepy movie that started it all way back in 1939…The Wizard of Oz! The flying monkeys scarred me for life and the Munchkins resulted in my "discomfort" around little people.

  136. Yes…the live action Little Mermaid! So sad! I would mention that when the Disney movie came out, but nobody ever knew what I was talking about!
    Dark Crystal- terrifying.
    Watership Down- I only have vague memories of being scared out of my mind when I think of this movie.
    Pinochio- boys turning into donkeys = recurring nightmare!
    And…lest we forget the old standby, the creepy movie that started it all way back in 1939…The Wizard of Oz! The flying monkeys scarred me for life and the Munchkins resulted in my “discomfort” around little people.

  137. There was this French/Swiss/Hungarian/German movie, "Les Maîtres du temps", that was awfully scary.

    A group of space travelers arrive to this scary planet, and they are all killed except for a baby. He adopts a microphone as his only friend.This microphone sends signals so that a group of colonizers detect them from out there in space and decide to come and save the child. At the same time, a super-race has decided to conquer the planet (called Perdide). Then there's this old man with a metal plaque on his head, and he has been in the movie all along because he is part of the team looking for the child (Piel)… but in a very very creepy and weird and scarring-for-life turn of events (SPOILER), he turns out to be the baby they are looking for… 60 years after he was saved. So he ends up helping to save himself. There is also this horrible scene where the baby is attacked by some humongous hornets, and he loses a part of his skull to them… which forces his saviors to put a metal plaque on his head.

    I saw that on TV once in my life, when I was around 7 or 8 years old… and I could never forget it. Freaking scared me, gave me nightmares.

  138. There was this French/Swiss/Hungarian/German movie, “Les Maîtres du temps”, that was awfully scary.
    A group of space travelers arrive to this scary planet, and they are all killed except for a baby. He adopts a microphone as his only friend.This microphone sends signals so that a group of colonizers detect them from out there in space and decide to come and save the child. At the same time, a super-race has decided to conquer the planet (called Perdide). Then there’s this old man with a metal plaque on his head, and he has been in the movie all along because he is part of the team looking for the child (Piel)… but in a very very creepy and weird and scarring-for-life turn of events (SPOILER), he turns out to be the baby they are looking for… 60 years after he was saved. So he ends up helping to save himself. There is also this horrible scene where the baby is attacked by some humongous hornets, and he loses a part of his skull to them… which forces his saviors to put a metal plaque on his head.

    I saw that on TV once in my life, when I was around 7 or 8 years old… and I could never forget it. Freaking scared me, gave me nightmares.

  141. This is a good list, but where is "Water Ship Down" and Peter J. Solmo's "Jack and the Beanstock"? These are two films form my childhood that left me with a bad case of the willies. Watership down offered such kid-friendly imagery as a bunny being snatched up and killed by a hawk, evil nazi bunnies, graphic rabbit fights complete with blood and some ghostly grim reaper type rabbit. Of course my mom innocently sat me down to watch this film because, hey its about bunnies how bad could it be?

    Jack and the Beanstock not only offered an array of tripped out and bizaar imagery, but also featured such a hodge-podge of animation styles that it made yoru eyes spin in one direction while you head spun in the other. I mean the princess was clearly anime, Jack looked like someone who ought to be on Charlie Brown's baseball team and I kept expecting them to pull a mask of the giant, Tulip and him exclaim "I'd have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those snooping kids and their dog!"

  142. This is a good list, but where is “Water Ship Down” and Peter J. Solmo’s “Jack and the Beanstock”? These are two films form my childhood that left me with a bad case of the willies. Watership down offered such kid-friendly imagery as a bunny being snatched up and killed by a hawk, evil nazi bunnies, graphic rabbit fights complete with blood and some ghostly grim reaper type rabbit. Of course my mom innocently sat me down to watch this film because, hey its about bunnies how bad could it be?

    Jack and the Beanstock not only offered an array of tripped out and bizaar imagery, but also featured such a hodge-podge of animation styles that it made yoru eyes spin in one direction while you head spun in the other. I mean the princess was clearly anime, Jack looked like someone who ought to be on Charlie Brown’s baseball team and I kept expecting them to pull a mask of the giant, Tulip and him exclaim “I’d have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those snooping kids and their dog!”

  143. I was bord in the 90s… But I read the manga Unico when I was little (my first step in the otaku world, actually) and I swear I've never been more terrified… Thanks for giving me the opportunity : UNICO, I HATE YOU !

    Well, I'm feeling better now.

  144. I was bord in the 90s… But I read the manga Unico when I was little (my first step in the otaku world, actually) and I swear I’ve never been more terrified… Thanks for giving me the opportunity : UNICO, I HATE YOU !
    Well, I’m feeling better now.

  145. Oh my God…Yes! to the Hobbitt…Yes! to that damned Red Bull(i couldn't even look at the screen when he'd come out)….and I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAW UNICO TOO! NO ONE KNOWS OF THAT MOVIE!!! (Not from childhood anyway so they can't relate)…..thank you, thank you, THANK YOU(!) for this lol I seriously thought i was the only one who was so bothered by these movies……another one i have to add because i have the chance: THE DARK CRYSTAL!!! OH MY GAWD……I only saw a part of that movie once(the part where the main elf creature thing was being hypnotized by the crystal or something and i stopped the VHS and threw it behind my bed cause i was NOT havin' it LOL you have just made my day….Thank you! :-D (and have a good one all)

  146. Oh my God…Yes! to the Hobbitt…Yes! to that damned Red Bull(i couldn’t even look at the screen when he’d come out)….and I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAW UNICO TOO! NO ONE KNOWS OF THAT MOVIE!!! (Not from childhood anyway so they can’t relate)…..thank you, thank you, THANK YOU(!) for this lol I seriously thought i was the only one who was so bothered by these movies……another one i have to add because i have the chance: THE DARK CRYSTAL!!! OH MY GAWD……I only saw a part of that movie once(the part where the main elf creature thing was being hypnotized by the crystal or something and i stopped the VHS and threw it behind my bed cause i was NOT havin’ it LOL you have just made my day….Thank you! :-D (and have a good one all)

  147. I've always enjoyed the Hobbit and the Last Unicorn never bothered me. I think I remember something about the Gallavants, but maybe it's because of a movie no one mentioned yet that I don't have a problem with these.

    The Mouse And His Child, it's actually a cartoon from the late 70's, but I watched it at a friends house in the mid 80's. It's a trip and a half. I could only remember bits and pieces and I knew this cartoon had scarred me, but I don't like unknown fears so I made it a goal to find it again. Turns out it was a novel first of the same title. It's about a Mouse and his son who are one toy joined at the hands. They go on a journey, after being thrown out, to become self-winding, are enslaved by rats, escape, yada yada. One of the trippiest parts is a reoccurring dog food can with a label of a dog holding a can of dog food of a dog holding a can of dog of a dog holding a can of dog food, etc. It has a torturous dismemberment scene too.

    One film I can't pinpoint though is about a boy (live-action, at first) who gets in a little car and drives into a stand-alone doorway/tollbooth and is transported to a cartoon world, where he's met by a dog, of some sort, who then accompany's the boy on his way. And I think, but I may be experiencing a memory mash-up of cartoons, there's a part where they get stuck in a candy world, that has a sea of caramel or something. Or maybe that was from a Raggedy Anne and Andy movie, I can quite remember. But I'm still working on finding that one, and figuring out why it's affected me so.

    • The one that begins live-action about the boy getting to a cartoon world through a tollboth is called "The Phantom Tollbooth." It's based on a book by the same name by Norton Juster, which I enjoyed when I was younger. I also enjoyed the cartoon.

      The sea of caramel sounds like a Raggedy Ann and Andy movie that I vaguely remember called "Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure." They were in the taffy pit, home of the Greedy. He sang a musical about looking for a sweet heart. It was strange.

  148. I’ve always enjoyed the Hobbit and the Last Unicorn never bothered me. I think I remember something about the Gallavants, but maybe it’s because of a movie no one mentioned yet that I don’t have a problem with these.

    The Mouse And His Child, it’s actually a cartoon from the late 70′s, but I watched it at a friends house in the mid 80′s. It’s a trip and a half. I could only remember bits and pieces and I knew this cartoon had scarred me, but I don’t like unknown fears so I made it a goal to find it again. Turns out it was a novel first of the same title. It’s about a Mouse and his son who are one toy joined at the hands. They go on a journey, after being thrown out, to become self-winding, are enslaved by rats, escape, yada yada. One of the trippiest parts is a reoccurring dog food can with a label of a dog holding a can of dog food of a dog holding a can of dog of a dog holding a can of dog food, etc. It has a torturous dismemberment scene too.

    One film I can’t pinpoint though is about a boy (live-action, at first) who gets in a little car and drives into a stand-alone doorway/tollbooth and is transported to a cartoon world, where he’s met by a dog, of some sort, who then accompany’s the boy on his way. And I think, but I may be experiencing a memory mash-up of cartoons, there’s a part where they get stuck in a candy world, that has a sea of caramel or something. Or maybe that was from a Raggedy Anne and Andy movie, I can quite remember. But I’m still working on finding that one, and figuring out why it’s affected me so.

    • The one that begins live-action about the boy getting to a cartoon world through a tollboth is called “The Phantom Tollbooth.” It’s based on a book by the same name by Norton Juster, which I enjoyed when I was younger. I also enjoyed the cartoon.
      The sea of caramel sounds like a Raggedy Ann and Andy movie that I vaguely remember called “Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure.” They were in the taffy pit, home of the Greedy. He sang a musical about looking for a sweet heart. It was strange.

  149. Brain Games – which used to air betweeen movies on HBO was absolutely terrifying. A man with an egg for a head and with mechanical parts will give terrifying cartoon trivia. One of them involved the history of using leaches as medicine. And he would end each segment with a tortured sounding "Brain Games is now over……."

  150. Brain Games – which used to air betweeen movies on HBO was absolutely terrifying. A man with an egg for a head and with mechanical parts will give terrifying cartoon trivia. One of them involved the history of using leaches as medicine. And he would end each segment with a tortured sounding “Brain Games is now over…….”

  151. not sure of the years on these Labrynth and the Hugga Bunch Movie, that purple doll was truly terrifying.

  152. not sure of the years on these Labrynth and the Hugga Bunch Movie, that purple doll was truly terrifying.

  153. Watership Down is still traumatizing for me. Bunnies don't beat each other up, with blood visuals in very distrubing bright shades of red.

  154. Watership Down. Secret of Nihm. Maybe this is a man/woman thing. Or something about vermin. I dunno, but these films scarred me in a beautiful way.

    Also, Purple Rain kinda effed me up, because I was six and I just did not get it.

  155. Number 1 needs to be the claymation horror The Adventures Of Mark Twain.
    I think it was only aired once, Legions of Hell feared this dark masterpiece.

  156. OMG Get over it already.Let blame spider man that use to give me terrors because i was afraid of being bitten by spiders and feard ppl crawling up the wall and stairing in at me.When will we quit blaming every oen else for our own actions and learn to be accountable:(

  160. I rather enjoyed all these films back when i was a kid, went back and watched them all a couple of years ago and realized how really deep and in some cases adult they were. The music in the Hobbit was great.

  161. I've only seen one of those movies, and that was The Hobbit. And that was when I was about 17 and had already read LOTR and The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, so of course, at that age, I wasn't traumatized by it.

  162. Unfortunately, the movie from my childhood that has most haunted me is one that I CAN'T REMEMBER THE TITLE TO.

    It still drives me crazy to this day. I go through phases every few years, driving myself insane doing research to try to rediscover the title of this one film, all to no avail.

    Perhaps some other geek remembers it, though? It was about dragons. One dragon, I believe it was blue, was a main character. Along with a little girl who I think wore her hair in pigtails. Red? The scene I remember most is the little girl sitting next to train tracks, on a fencerail, waiting for the dragon, who never comes. I want to say she died, and that's why it's so tragic. And then there's lots of flying dragons.

    Bah, now I'm going to go into research mode early!

  163. I would love to say that I used to get really emotional about alot of the cartoon shows I saw as a child (be them animated or claymation) but it's not "used to" – I still do. I can't even hear the theme song for Disney's Nativity story called "Small One" without getting beyond mildly weepy (even as I'm typing this, goosebumps, welling eyes, the whole nine). Same goes for the claymation Christmas show (what is it with the Christmas shows playing on every single sad bone you've got?) "Nester the Long Eared Donkey". I rapidly change the channel or avoid it altogether if I see that will be on anytime during the Christmas season.

    But as for a traumatizing cartoon (which I couldn't get enough of, btw and also firmly believe created my fear in snakes, which is still paralyzing to this day) is "Ricky Ticky Tavy". It's a story about a mongoose that lives with this little boy (oddly in like Morocco or some such thing) and has to defend him against a cobra that sneaks into his room at night and tries to kill him. Yeah, there's a good nightmare inducing cartoon for a child.

    • Thank you I was just trying to remember this one! I kept thinking it was rin tin or something. Rikki-Tiki-Tavi & Wizards where two that got me when I was a kid, I'm going to have to re-watch them.

  164. YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I can't use enough exclamation points to emphasize that, so I won't even try. Just know that you have my ceaseless and unending gratitude, redundancy and all.)

  165. I've dressed up as The Last Unicorn…and I adore UNICO and am yet still scarred by it. You failed to mention that crazy evil spirit that comes out of the book in the Care Bears movie that tries to kill people. Nuts!

  168. You are all so helpful I am hoping you will fix my brain as well.

    My particular movie also incorporates a dragon. The only scene I can remember (even though my parents rented it for me and my sister every month) is a little asian boy lying next to a dragon that dies. The dragons body fades away to reveal the boys mother. That is ALL I remember. I don't remember if the mother comes to life or not. PLEASE HELP ME! It haunts me. I've thought about it at least once a month since I was a kid and I am over 30 now!

    • I'm really trying to remember the name of a cartoon that I think was set in the future. It mustve been around 86/87, and I'm not sure if it was a film or a series. I remember seeing these worms/leeches maggots burrow up through the soil (the ground was cut away so you could see them as they dug). They dug up and attacked some people at the top. I remember being utterly terrified, and I turned it off. I had nightmares for ages!

    • yeah shit, i think i´m looking for the same. wasn´t he working for some kind of witch in a ricefield?

  169. The Last Unicorn is one of my all time favorite movies. I have it on DVD and I usedto watch it all the time as a kid. My mother teased me mercilessly because it always made me cry. Why? Because ‘the unicorns are so beautiful’. Surprised the Dark Crystal isn’t on here, way scarier than the Last Unicorn and also a favorite I own on DVD. ^_^. The hobbit was truly horrifying. They showed that to us in school!

  170. the black cauldron still gives me the heebie jeebies! I've also completely blocked out the Gallavants, but now that I am remembering it, I feel icky inside. Great post!

  174. Hey! You left out Secret of NIMH! You can't list Last Unicorn and Hobbit without Mrs Brisby and the Rats of NIMH.

  175. Though not animated – The Neverending Story – where the horse goes into the swamp and that Tasmanian Devil type thing …. TERRIFYING!

  176. The Last Unicorn is one of my all time favorite movies. I have it on DVD and I usedto watch it all the time as a kid. My mother teased me mercilessly because it always made me cry. Why? Because 'the unicorns are so beautiful'. Surprised the Dark Crystal isn't on here, way scarier than the Last Unicorn and also a favorite I own on DVD. ^_^. The hobbit was truly horrifying. They showed that to us in school!

  179. I was born in '91, but I've still seen some of these. I rented Watership Down–HOLY SHIT. As I grew older I came to be very interested in disturbing things (art, books, movies, etc.–still am), and when I read the book I was disappointed. It was almost kind of boring. I really think I had repressed memories for a long time from that movie, though. For real. I could remember this dark shadow of a bunny and this heavy feeling of fear.

  180. Shoot, I guess I'm too old to play. The only one of the five I've even *heard* of is that Hobbit flick, and after about 10 minutes I decided it was far too insipid to waste my time watching.

    I don't recall anything animated traumatizing my childhood. What did it for me was that classic old b&w War of The Worlds. For YEARS afterward I had screaming nightmares about those eerie manta-ray-shaped craft and their archetypal Martian Death Rays(tm), and huddling in the trenches with the army guys while the tanks melted and people ran screaming and died… (*shudder*)

  181. I appeal to the wisdom of the internet. I'm a 70s kid, and I saw this animated film on TV, so it's a 70s or 60s film. I think it might be Eastern European based on what I remember of the style and other films I've seen since.

    The plot: A gang of kids are riding in a jalopy style car. They come across (¿break down in front of?) an isolated tower house which at first seems deserted. As the movie progresses, monsters crawl out of the shadows and the kids start disappearing one by one. As the last kids fight the monsters, it is revealed that the monsters are the missing kids. I think there is a cauldron in the topmost room, and there may be a witch, though it's possible all the monsters are those the kids brought with them. I think the film ends with only two of the original group restored to human form and riding off into the sunset.

    What is the name of this film? I've wanted to see it again for nearly 30 years.

  182. I saw a crazy futuristic film about mushroom like people (for some reason i think they are called ameobas). One of them becomes psychic and has trouble sleeping and staying sane because he can hear everyones thoughts. There is a war on and our anti hero psychic mushroom is the lowest rank in his race of people. He is grey and i think the higher ranked people were black. Its so not a kids film, scared the pants off me. Anyone know what its called or did i make it up?

  183. hello yeah iv seen like all these movies as a child  the last unicorn and the  unico`s  where some of my all time fave cartoons.a pretty crazy cartoon that got me is called the white seal
    also i have been  racking my brain for years now about a cartoon made in the 70`s 60`s or early 80`s  about roman or  greek gods and goddesses and it tells all there storys  as it go`s on
    the artisty  kinda looks like Precious Moments its really crazy  so if anyone could help me out and  put my mind  to rest that would help

  184. I gotta say The Secret of Nimh, TOTALLY underrated cartoon movie.

    and Dumbo had it's scary parts, especially the psychedelic drunk scene when he falls in that barrel of suds!