From children to adults alike, everybody loves a classic family film. Whilst these films are primarily aimed at children, with silly humor and bright colors, movie-makers know the importance of making these films enjoyable for all ages. Whilst most children's films will have a deeper message than what may be immediately obvious on the surface, some films take this a step further, adding upsetting, unsettling, and sometimes frightening plot elements or visuals.

Disney’s Pixar studio is a fantastic example of a studio making family movies that appeal to people of all ages, just look at Monster’s Inc., Ratatouille, or Toy Story for movies that are adored by young kids but have enough going on below the surface to be enjoyed by older kids and adults as well. The Shrek franchise is another example of how to succeed at this, in this case, through the use of more adult humor and double entendres.

Update June 27, 2023: There are plenty of family films that are much darker than one would expect, so this list has been updated with additional entries.

However, if something is marketed as a movie for kids, at the heart of it, it needs to be a film that will be primarily enjoyed by children. The following movies are examples of movies that, at certain parts, appeared to have completely forgotten they were being watched by children and take unexpectedly dark turns that have most probably left whole generations of children scarred when they left the cinema. Please be aware there are some spoilers below.

12 The NeverEnding Story (1984)

In hindsight, there are a lot of dark and downright disturbing aspects in Wolfgang Peterson’s 1984 family fantasy flick, The NeverEnding Story. The plot revolves around a brutally bullied 10-year-old bibliophile named Bastian who, after the death of his mother, feels alone and is unable to connect with his father. He is transported to a fantasy world where he attempts to save it from disappearing into a void of nothingness. “The Nothing will be here any minute. I will just sit here and let it take me away,” states a creepy-looking giant monster known as Rockbiter.

Although this all sounds terribly dark and depressing, there’s one scene in particular that really takes this darkness to another level, and if you’ve seen the film, you know the scene! Needless to say, it’s hard to recover as a child from seeing the young protagonist’s beloved horse Artax, overcome with sadness and sorrow, slowly drown to his death in the ‘Swamp of Sadness,’ as the boy desperately pulls at his reigns, all the while crying uncontrollably.

11 Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Despite being a film about a little blue alien that crashes to Earth and gets mistaken for a dog, Lilo & Stitch tackles some extremely gritty, real-life issues. Both Lilo and Stitch spend a lot of the film wanting to fit in with their peers, leading to one of the most bitter-sweet moments in the film, where Lilo explains the story of The Ugly Duckling to Stitch before bed one night.

Whilst these scenes of Lilo and Stitch experiencing bullying and isolation are definitely tear-jerkers, some of the most heartbreaking scenes come from Nani. Following the death of their parents, Nani is left to look after both herself and Lilo. It's difficult to watch Nani agonize over trying to convince social services that Lilo is best left with her, all the while, Lilo unintentionally jeopardizes this, culminating in social worker Cobra Bubbles arguing with Nani and ultimately making the decision to take Lilo away. It's a real penny-drop moment as a kid watching because it becomes clear that Nani had always been trying to shield the severity of their situation from Lilo, and whilst following Lilo throughout her mostly goofy, fun story with Stitch, a much darker story was happening in the background.

10 The Lion King (1994)

By all accounts, Walt Disney’s musical animated feature, The Lion King, is a great movie. The Disney score is fantastic, the animation is top-notch, and the story is an anthropomorphic take on Shakespeare’s beloved Hamlet. It also features one of the saddest death scenes ever to appear in a movie, period.

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The villainous Scar orchestrates a stampede, which he uses to murder Mufasa, King of the Pride Lands. What makes the scene so uncomfortable for children is that Mufasa is Scar’s own brother, and to have orchestrated this plan, he also puts his young nephew Simba, Mufasa's son, in danger, leading to Mufasa rushing to the rescue. On top of that, he gaslights Simba into thinking his father’s death was his fault, resulting in the only other heir to the Pride Lands running away, leaving Scar in charge. Not only was it a brutal death, but it also sends a pretty unpleasant message about loyalty and personal gain to the children watching!

9 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is undeniably funny, clever, and silly at the same time. Featuring Bob Hoskins as the live-action straight man to the maniacal animated Roger Rabbit, this film noir throwback includes a whole slew of slapstick comedy to keep the young children happy. Alongside cartoon cameos from the world’s favorite toons, including Donald, Daffy, Bugs, and even the head honcho himself, Mr. Mickey Mouse, there’s also a heap of adult content.

There’s plenty of boozing, violence, and even rumored cartoon nudity, but it’s Christopher Lloyd’s scenery-chewing performance of Judge Doom that really freaked the kids out. He seems to genuinely enjoy the gruesome torture of toons, and the scene in which he transforms from live-action Christopher Lloyd into a cartoon character is inexplicably scary, even to this day.

8 Big Hero 6 (2014)

Another example of Disney's tendency to add some truly gut-wrenching plot lines to their films, Big Hero 6 is a loose adaptation of the Marvel comic of the same name and follows protagonist Hiro Hamada who, alongside his healthcare companion robot Baymax, leads a team of superheroes as they look after San Fransokyo. It's a genuinely heart-warming family film but definitely isn't without its fair share of darker moments.

The first twenty minutes of the film largely follow Tadashi, Hiro's older brother, getting kid-genius Hiro out of trouble and trying to encourage him to do some good with his smarts. However, just as Tadashi is beginning to get through to him and Hiro decides he wants to apply to the same university Tadashi attends, a fire breaks out, and Tadashi tragically perishes trying to save others in the building. Hiro understandably falls into a grief-stricken depression, and whilst things begin to look up for him when he helps to form the Big Hero 6, things swiftly take a turn for the worst again when he finds out the truth about the fire that killed his brother and reprograms Baymax to become violent, overriding Tadashi's wishes for him to be a healthcare companion when he initially built him. Pretty dark stuff for a kid's film, and that's without even mentioning that tear-jerking moment when Baymax sacrifices himself!

7 The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is without-a-doubt one of Disney's most underrated gems and is often overlooked when reflecting on Disney's groundbreaking Renaissance decade, but nonetheless is an outstanding achievement for the studio. A retelling of the classic Victor Hugo novel, the edgy flick follows the deformed but kind-hearted Quasimodo as he dreams of being accepted by Parisian society despite being hidden away in a bell tower by the callous and prudish Claude Frollo.

The 1996 animated musical is undeniably one of Disney's darkest films to date, tackling mature and oftentimes unsettling subject matters such as genocide, lust and sin, damnation, and even infanticide. At the beginning of the picture, Frollo and his soldiers chase Quasimodo's mother to the steps of Notre Dame, where she falls and fractures her skull, killing the terrified young woman. Believing her child (Quasimodo) to be a demon, Frollo goes to drown the baby but is interrupted; he reluctantly decides to raise the child instead. As if that wasn't enough, Frollo harbors a deep, obsessive lust for the beautiful and kind Esmeralda, despite her clear dislike of him.

6 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an epic fantasy adventure. It quickly became a hit at the box office and is considered to be one of the best family films out there. Based on the 1950 novel of the same name by C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia follow four siblings during World War II who have been evacuated to the countryside, which is already a pretty bleak setting for a children's film. When the children play a game of hide and seek, Lucy stumbles across a magical world that can be entered through a wardrobe.

If Edmund's betrayal of his own siblings or the White Witch's unsettling demeanor wasn't enough to upset children and adults alike, the dreadful scene in which Aslan is killed by the White Witch is a genuinely distressing watch. The fantastic effects which make Aslan's face so emotive make the scene even more frightening and harrowing, leaving movie-goers unsettled and tearful.

5 Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

Adapted from the Katherine Paterson children's book of the same name, the coming-of-age fantasy Bridge to Terabithia stars Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb as two twelve-year-old neighbors-turned-friends who envision the titular, wondrous world in an abandoned tree house as a way to cope with bullying and life's hardships. The two tween heroes develop a deep and meaningful bond throughout the film, and those who have never read the novel were in for a heartbreaking shock when Robb's character Leslie tragically dies after hitting her head and drowning in the river while trying to cross the creek to get to Terabithia.

The devastating, tear-jerking moment is truly a gut-punch for audiences, despite the fact that the book has been considered a tool for helping young children cope with grief and death. Paterson was inspired to write the story after her son's eight-year-old best friend was struck and killed by lightning. Few eyes were dry in theaters after Hutcherson's character Jess realized his beloved pal was truly gone and that it was up to him to keep their fantasy world alive.

4 Coraline (2009)

For all intents and purposes, Coraline was marketed as a kids’ film. While the promotional artwork was a tad darker than, say, Frozen, it doesn’t even begin to suggest the terrors that are in store for any young viewer about to watch Coraline. If The Lion King taught kids to fear their uncles or even their siblings, Coraline taught children to fear their own parents. Beautifully yet creepily animated using stop-motion, Coraline encounters another version of her parents in another realm.

Displeased with her old parents, these new ones seem to treat her well, that is, until she refuses to be mutilated by them. After that, all bets are off as they spy on her, threaten her, and try to kill her, all while still resembling the parents that, as a child, she should be able to trust.

3 Pinocchio (1940)

Pinocchio is one of the world’s most beloved Disney animated movies, but looking back, it definitely didn’t skimp on the dark stuff. It follows the story of Pinocchio, a puppet brought to life by a blue fairy, on a quest to become a real boy. Pinocchio is so dark that much of it had to be toned down for the 2022 live-action remake.

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Unfortunately, things aren’t easy for Pinocchio, not only does his nose visibly grow every time he is dishonest, but he also seems to go from one horrific encounter to the next. From being kidnapped and trafficked to actually getting eaten alive by a whale, the film has very few glimpses of happiness. The scene in which the booze-guzzling pre-teens transform into donkeys to be forced into slavery is one a lot of kids won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

2 The Witches (1990)

Based on Roald Dahl's fantastically twisted children’s book of the same name, The Witches seems as if it is specifically designed to frighten children. Despite being such a fantastical tale, it is still somehow quite believable for a child. The witches disguise themselves as ordinary, everyday people, and they specifically target children. We’re told of one poor child who was cursed to spend the rest of her life trapped inside a painting, aging gradually until finally disappearing a few years earlier.

Is this why our parents warned us about talking to strangers? The fear factor goes into overdrive, though, when the witches reveal their true form, thanks to Jim Henson and some disgustingly impressive prosthetic work. The long noses, rotting teeth, balding, scabby heads, and maniacal cackling is enough to give anyone nightmares.

1 Watership Down (1978)

To be fair, it’s hard to imagine how this grizzly, gory story of a herd of rabbits fleeing their home in search of somewhere safe, could ever be considered a children’s movie. At the time of release in the UK, though, Watership Down was given the U certificate, meaning it was deemed suitable for all ages (similar to the MPAA's ‘G’ rating). It became a box office hit, implying parents were taking their children in hordes to be traumatized by what can only be described as an animated animal bloodbath.

The deeper meaning and subtext of the film and the 1972 Richard Adams novel it’s based on have long been analyzed and debated. Whether an allegory for the Holocaust or ‘just a story about rabbits,’ as Adams’ daughters claim, it certainly left an indelible mark on those young minds that watched the movie.