8 "kids" movies that were way more creepy than we realized

Kids movies have a special place in our hearts. The wave of nostalgia an old film provides can put us right back on our parents' couch, eating whatever candy we wanted without a care in the world. But if you've ever caught one of these films in adulthood, you probably saw that our beloved memories obscured moments in these movies that were creepy, weird or flat out terrifying. Open your eyes, though they may be peeking through your fingers, at these eight flicks and scenes from our days of yore that are way more terrifying than we first realized.

The Neverending Story

Looking back, even just the story here seems far too daunting for a child to handle, from the kid finding the mysterious book, the world of Fantasia being cursed by the Nothing, Atreyu's quest and the endless stream of outrageous characters. As wild as the plot becomes, there's no more difficult moment than when Atreyu's horse, Artax, slowly gets sucked into the (appropriately named) Swamp Of Sadness. It's a huge move to kill off a kid's horse in a kid's movie, but when it's done this heart-wrenchingly slow, it becomes a new form of cinematic torture.

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

Based on the Roald Dahl novel, which packs a significant punch of it's own, there are plenty of disturbing elements in what is essentially an eccentric man's sugar-filled version of The Hunger Games. The colourful candy world presented makes it easy to ignore the darkness that sits just below the surface. Most prominent is the above tunnel scene, which heavily nods to a surreal, LSD-like experience. But above all else, the most unsettling is Willy Wonka himself, played deeply by Gene Wilder. The moment you see his face, you know he brought a level of darkness to the character that went far beyond the screen. His expert ability to terrify, lure and berate before snapping back into a charming and wistful man makes his portrayal all the more dangerous.

The Witches

Alright, so Roald Dahl just loves terrifying children. Another one of his novels-turned-films, The Witches has many shades of Hansel and Gretel in the modern world, with plenty of commentaries on society along the way. The scene we all remember is when the head witch (played by Anjelica Houston) reveals her true form, which is one of the most horrifically effective uses of makeup in cinema. We've all seen classic horror "face removals" before, but this scene teases us with the human face getting stuck half way, and makes no subtleties in revealing and reveling in true grotesqueness that no child will soon forget.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Great movies succeed in emotional manipulation. The genius in one of Spielberg's greatest works is that he makes you fall in love with the alien and fear the human. The majority of the movie is about humanizing E.T., seeing his endearing qualities of friendship, curiosity and compassion. So when the government arrives and acts as cold and inhuman as possible (even the astronaut above is portrayed as a faceless monster), it's alarming to witness their lack of  compassion toward an alien you know posses the trait. It's an expertly shocking scene that is as uncomfortable as it is crafty.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Pee Wee's Big Adventure is mostly structured as a classic family film, but there are some very creepy curveballs along the way. We all remember the treacherous tale (and shocking face) of Large Marge, but there is another scene that is even more unsettling. Lamenting over his lost bike, Pee Wee has a stylized dream in which his broken bike is captured by evil clowns (because we need more evil clowns) and boiled in a pot by his arch nemesis Francis dressed as the devil. This is Tim Burton's first feature film and his mark is evident — skewed set pieces, a maddening Danny Elfman score and the delicate dance between funny and scary, all left a lasting impression here.

The Snowman

You may never have seen The Snowman, a British, Academy Award Nominated animated short, but if you have, you haven't forgotten it. Adapted from a children's picture book, it tells the tale of a boy who befriends a snowman and goes on adventure to the North Pole. While not terrifying content, the scene where the boy and snowman start flying plays to a song titled Walking In The Air. Though it opens beautifully, it proceeds to be pretty creepy-sounding tune all on its own. The song actually climbed the charts in the UK, which is baffling considering you couldn't play it in your car without getting chills.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

A beloved animated film for sure, but it's creepy on so many levels. Firstly, the concept itself; let's outwardly remind our children that all dogs will die (Marley & Me has nothing on this). A classic combination of bright colours, funny voices and the looming question of our own demise. Also, the movie really hits the ground running, opening with the backstabbing murder of Charlie, the main dog character. Though Charlie returns to Earth, his next demise leaves him with a choice between Heaven and Hell (so yeah, the title is a little misleading), and there's no better way to depict the struggle than by another stylized dream of Charlie going to Hell. Tornadoes, lightning, fire, lava and gigantic demons chase Charlie to create his own Dante's Inferno and strike fear into the hearts of kids who simply just like dogs.