That the old Disney movies are terrifying!

[Herecomethehotstepper]

Dc are 3 and 5 and we've spent a lot of lockdown watching movies on Disney+. They love the newer films like Frozen and Moana but I will occasionally sneak in a classic movie.

The movies I grew up watching seem so scary compared to the modern ones! We watched Pinocchio last night and the creepy man that kidnapped little boys away to pleasure Island 😮 Last week DD had a nightmare after the forest scene in Snow White when all the trees are coming to life. It made me wonder whether we are too soft on kids now or if they were too hard back in the 30's and 40's.

[FraughtwithGin]

I remember my mother telling me that she and my grandpa went to see Bambi together, when it first came out, and that grandpa was really affected by it!
For some reason we were never taken to Disney films as children.

[ZeldaPrincessOfHyrule]

I remember Snow White being in cinemas and my cousin being utterly terrified of the forest bit. I think she was about 5 at the time, didn't sleep for weeks. YANBU!

[DurhamDurham]

My two year old granddaughter didn't seem bothered by the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but she ran for cuddle when Truly and Caractacus dressed up as those musical dolls, she hated that part.

[Coughsyrupsucks]

I did notice Disney+ wasn’t showing ‘Watcher in the Woods’. I made the mistake of getting it on DVD for my DD when she was about 10. She’s still not forgiven me

[pennylane83]

I think all disney films are quite dark really - in almost all of them either one or both parents of the main character are dead.

[Ishihtzuknot]

They’re all quite dark especially the originals pre Disney, but I loved them growing up and my dds do now. Kids these days are definitely more sheltered and wrapped in cotton wool than 20 plus years ago

[Mittens030869]

I remember that Jungle Book was quite scary as a child, with the python Carr and Sheir Kahn the tiger. But the humour and songs made up for that.

[Mittens030869]

Excuse the spelling, I can't remember off-hand the correct spelling.

[EmpressSuiko]

I’m always complaining that the new disney movies are too soft and fluffy! 😂
The only disney movies that ever freaked me out were Pinocchio (When they turned into donkeys) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (child snatcher!)
I was mad about nightmare before Christmas and also loved non Disney movies like Secret of Nimh (it’s still one of my favourites now and my kids love it too!)
We actually prefer studio Ghibli in our house though, their movies are visually stunning and the stories are so interesting, I grew up on them as well and my youngest is mad over Nausicaa as he loves bugs!
Luckily my dc have never been scared of any movies, we are bit movie mad in our family, nothing beats chilling in the evenings with a good movie!

[Inextremis]

The 'Night on Bare Mountain' part of Fantasia totally scared me when I was a kid - though the Ave Maria after it did calm me down. I still love it though - one of my favourite films of all time. Made in 1940!

[SchrodingersImmigrant]

You should read the Grimm's tales. Not some modern version.

Fairy tales weren't originally supposed to be "awwwwww". They were there to warn and also to help work through child's fears in a safe environment. But that needs parental input and talking about it.

[The4ks]

DP is still scared of Ursula the sea witch in the little mermaid!!

[Hopeful57]

SchrodingersImmigrant

I agree. But it makes (at least to me) a major difference whether it's an orally told story or a film. Idk why but my brain seemed to process things in a manner that was appropriate for my stage of development. I remember having one single nightmare due to a book in my entire life.

But it's just different with movies. Even now, as an adult... 🤷‍♀️

[GinWithASplashOfTonic]

I was terrified of the wicked queen in Snow White when I was little. Oh and the pleasure island / whale scene in Pinocchio are scary too

[Pelleas]

The original story (written) of Cinderella frightened me as a child - the step sisters slicing up their feet to get the slipper on.

I cried over 'The Little Match Girl' - the supposedly happy ending of her being in heaven with her grandmother didn't strike me as much consolation for freezing to death on the pavement.

And 'The Red Shoes' - more feet being chopped off!

[BlessYourCottonSocks]

15 yo DS has never watched Snow White all the way through. I traumatised him as a 5 yo by putting it on as all I could remember was the happy soprano singing and the cute animals doing housework.

The witch is terrifying!

[Ginger1982]

There's so much parental death in these films. As someone who lost a parent in their teens, I'm not keen to expose DS to that!

But then, The Lion King is probably the one that affected me most and it's relatively recent!

[Hopeful57]

I don't think I managed to explain what I mean...

If it's a book it's obviously my own mental voice and quite obviously written down (and not oral). But it's still my own voice, my own imagination etc.

Similar with the stories my parents read to me when I was little.

The processing is just a bit different in the case of films. Or maybe that's just me. 😅

[s113]

@pigsDOfly I remember feeling traumatised about the witch being burnt in the oven at the end. But oddly enough, I didn't mind about Hansel being locked in a cage and holding out a bone at all: in fact, I kept pretending to be him, shutting myself in cupboards or dog crates, holding out a bone for the witch.

[fluffedup]

DM told me that when Snow White first came out, the ADULTS in the cinema were terrified by the wicked witch, not just the children.

[catzrulz]

DS who is now 25 still talks about the time we watched Fantasia, he absolutely hated it.
He also cried and cried at Peter Rabbit stories too as he was scared Mr McGreggor would eat the Rabbits.

[Hazelnutlatteplease]

If you think Disney is scary, you should read some of the originals!! Peter Pan is seriously disturbing!

Yes we very much shelter our children compared the the past

[wanderings]

The Wizard of Oz has those scary apple trees which come to life; but perhaps the adults would be traumatised by their appalling grammar. "How would you like it if I came along, and picked something off of you?"

The Happy Prince wasn't exactly terrifying, but my mum couldn't bear it. We had the Ladybird book and tape of it, which said (with sad music) "A policeman saw two boys huddled under a bridge to keep warm, and told them to go home. He did not know that they had no home to go to. They just went out, hand in hand, into the rain..."

[Hopeful57]

Hazel

I actually used to love the originals. Still think Disney is scary. (the eyes. The voices. The story lines are sometimes even worse than the originals... Also, seriously. The eyes!!)

[Augustgirl]

The hunchback of Notre Dame , when frollo is singing at the fireplace, and when esmerelda was being burnt at the stake were quite creepy for me. I also was really scared of the witch in the wizard of oz as a child.