To be shocked watching back kids movies from my childhood with DD

[Picklepower]

DD is 6 and we watch quite a few films together, mixture of old and new. Last Halloween I was so excited to watch a film from my childhood, decided against hocus pocus but went with Casper. Well, turns out not once but TWICE Eric idle's character shouts BITCH at Carrigan. (She's is tbf but a bit much for a Pg film).

Just sat down to watch Charlie and the chocolate factory (from 2005!) and mike teevee says 'even a retard could figure it out'. What the hell!

Any other corkers you've come across watching back your childhood films?

I do not remember women in fishnets acting sexy in thriller video! Mind you it was a long time ago I saw it. I just remember zombies.

Yes, yes I was going to say Plague Dogs! Didn’t think it was well known though as wasn’t very mainstream. Pretty messed up film and the ending was heartbreaking, made me cry!

I later found out as an adult that there was an end scene right at the very end of the end credits (well after any kid would have reasonably watched til) that offered some hope for the two dogs. That was very mean of the writers as the film clearly ‘ended’ tragically

The Brave Little Toaster is f'ing brutal. I saw it for the first time in my late twenties and that was bad enough. I actually don't think it should ever have been pitched at children. It's one thing to gently introduce the concept of death to children in a way they can assimilate, but The BLT is like unrelenting 'LISTEN UP KIDS, LIFE IS ABOUT DEATH, DEATH AND MORE DEATH, SO GET USED TO IT!'

I think I read somewhere that it had been withdrawn from circulation. If that's true, I'm not remotely surprised.

Also meant to say, it wasn't just kids' films. I'm guessing I wasn't the only kid growing up in the 70s to be scarred for life by the public information films of that decade. Lifelong terror of rabies, escalators, railway lines, ponds, matches and farms, anyone?

(Still, I guess the fact that I can still remember how they terrified me means they probably fulfilled their purpose.)

Yes the public information films were to scare kids to not do dangerous things.
We could have done with them when scooters were first introduced in the UK. A scary film of what happens when a kid rides a scooter illegally in the road without a helmet.

Yup. Grain silos too, and old fridges on rubbish tips you might get trapped inside and never found..! 😵

Ugh yes, those too. shudders

In hindsight they're an interesting and rather chilling cultural reference point. Kids were allowed so much freedom to roam in those days, often too much. It's quite chilling to think that those films were made in response to actual child deaths.

There was one about "don't talk to strangers" which I think had some actor from Emmerdale. Really what they should be saying is "be wary of strangers but more importantly if someone you know offers you a ride in their car & you're not expecting it, say no & walk quickly away!"

There were some pretty scary stuff that showed on children's' TV back in the day after school between about 4pm and 5.45pm. Also pagan themes were very popular. The ones that stand out:

Children of the Stones - from the 70s where a boy and his dad arrive in a new village only to discover not all is as it seems as the village is subjected to cultish, mind control from a local stone circle. Pretty scary in places.

Ace of Wands - early 70s - not scary but can you imagine the outcry at a kids' programme involving the occult and starring a tarot card reader being broadcast to children these days? I loved it when I was about 8 or 9.

The absolute scariest thing on children's TV was the Ringing Singing Tree - made in 1957 but shown regularly in the 60s/70s/80s - holy cow it was disturbing but shown on weekday teatime.

I was talking about Bugsy Malone!

In the very first episode of 'Childen's Ward' from the 1980s one of the teen charachters yells at a nurse for being a 'dickhead'!!

Not to mention overhead powerlines and quicksand!!

I seem to remember quite a few of those eastern European kids' shows being on in the school holidays... you're right, The Singing Ringing Tree was bizarrely creepy...

I loved those European dubbed series that were on in the school holidays ... most were pretty cute

The White Horses - about a horse breeding centre in (then) Yugoslavia

Belle and Sebastien - (French) boy and his dog catch criminals in the Alps

The Flashing Blade - (French) historical drama from the (1600s) where glamourous Chevalier takes on Richelieu's army - although they often seem to fire on/blow up the same castle

Robinson Crusoe - showed it for about 20 years in BBC although it seemed longer - think it was a French-German collab

The Danube Delta programmes (Romanian) when kids foil evil plans to pollute the danube delta

The boy from 5B - Russian

Then the shorts - Magic Roundabout/Hector's House

.... but the Ringing Singing Tree was in a league of its own

Not European and not dubbed ... Skippy the Bush Kangaroo!

I loved the Brave Little Toaster as a kid, I would be sad if it wasn't available any more.

Oh brings back memories, I loved all those, esp White Horses and Belle & Sebastian ☺️

I don't know a single other person who as seen The Plague Dogs (well now I do, pleased to meet you haha)
Yes it made me cry lots and i still think about it.
Wish I had known about the end credits

I've seen it. Never again!

Yep, never again! It’s blacklisted together with Watership Down, When the Wind Blows and Kes (just too sad!)

I have a couple other random ones - Tubby the Tuba and Peter No-Tail ( I loved them as a kid and watched pretty non stop apparently! 😂 )

Why would you want to shield your child from sadness in a fictional context? No wonder kids have no resilience. Are Bambi and Black Beauty off limits too?

I assume Bambi is off the viewing list as there’s no warning that the mother dies 🤣

Hey Blossomtoes I must admit I lost the context of this thread and just started listing films I’ve seen and don’t want to re-watch! 😂

Ok right, back on topic, stuff we can watch with our DC..

I prob still would avoid WSD due to the violence. WTWB is still think the content is quite adult (not sure it was intended for kids, nuclear holocaust feels quite adult to me..). Kes is a good film but would wait until DC were older. In all honesty I think there are other better choices that won’t cause upset. Deaths at the end of films feel quite impactful don’t they, because you’re invested in the characters by then.

(Same as in Plague Dogs. I think the impact is greater as it happens at the end of the film) sorry for spoilers!

I showed ds1 the princess bride a couple of years ago. For months after he gleefully referred to it as the film where they say son of a bitch. He loves a good bit of swearing.

I remember my friends mum putting on 4 weddings and a funeral when we were about 11. She had seen it kn a.plane, where they censor things, so didn't realise that most of the words for the first 5 minutes were Fuck!

Deaths at the end of films? I'm still mourning Mufasa in The Lion King and that was in the first half an hour! Watched it for the first time about 12 years ago and left the cinema traumatised 🤪