When someone mentions family movies, one could easily identify them as jovial, giddy or wholesome for all to watch and enjoy. Family films like Cinderella, Shrek or Aladdin are just a few that come to mind. However, it’s not all is roses and rainbows in the land of childhood films. A lot of the films that people grew up with, despite their themes, have a certain dark side to them.
Many of these sequences are standouts of their respective films and have become iconic for their frightening and traumatic presence on the screen.
It’s almost as if the frightening parts of a family movie are magnified and are looked at as horrifying when compared to the rest of the film, and these moments are easily some of the most terrifying moments in family films.
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The Coachman’s Grin - Pinocchio (1940)
Disney
When one thinks of Pinocchio, they would think of a puppet who always wanted to be a real boy. They might think of a talking cricket named Jiminy, or even a sly fox and dim-witted cat. However, when Disney fans rewatch the classic tale, what truly sticks out is the Coachman’s devilishly sinister grin.
When talking with Honest John the fox and his sidekick Gideon the cat, the Coachman strikes a deal to have the two swindlers kidnap a group of “stupid little boys”, so that he may take them to pleasure island. However, John becomes nervous when the island is mentioned, and the Coachman intimidates the duo further by grinning at them intensely.
What’s so terrifying about the scene is that it comes out of nowhere and almost makes audiences think the character will pounce right out of the screen.
Willy Wonka’s Ride of Horror - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Paramount Pictures
Gene Wilder has been known for a lot of things in his illustrious career, but who knew he would also have been known as the captain of a ship that led his guests to a house of terror. After Willy Wonka has greeted his guests in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the children and their guardians hop in Wonka’s boat and take it into a dark tunnel, where images of animals, bugs and disturbing flashing lights illuminate and terrify his guests.
Wonka seems un-phased by the images, and sings maniacally, almost as if he is in a trance of his own. All of that stops in a flash when the boat stops at their first destination. The scene’s creepy imagery is almost enough to make one vomit, and it has left a plethora of moviegoers both confused and creeped out.
Cruella’s Face - One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
Walt Disney Productions
If you were going to re-watch 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, you would remember it for its cute puppies and family-friendly storytelling. However, there is a brief sequence that will certainly scare the living daylights out of any child. When a group of dalmatian puppies are kidnapped by Cruella de Vil’s henchmen Jasper and Horace, a bark chain spreads the word of the missing puppies. It is later revealed that Cruella stole nearly a hundred dalmatian puppies to make fur coats out of them.
When a tabby cat named Sergeant Tibbs helps the puppies escape, Cruella gives them chase and gets so furious that she shows a face that probably frightened even the animators to death. What’s truly frightening is the fact that she almost catches the puppies and makes coats out of them.
Old Hag Narissa - Enchanted (2007)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
In a more contemporary turn, Disney released a hybrid film in 2007 titled Enchanted. In the film, the evil Queen Narissa attempts to get rid of Giselle, the princess set to marry her stepson Edward, by disguising herself as an old hag and throwing Giselle down a well into a world of live-action.
Narissa is seen again in her hag form, but the second time, it is live action, which makes it all the more frightening. Her form as a snaggletoothed old wench is the most shocking thing that the film puts on screen, and it looks just as unsettling as it sounds.
The Cheshire Cat Grin - Alice in Wonderland (1951)
The Coachman isn’t the only Disney character that sports a menacing grin in this film. In 1951’s Alice in Wonderland, Alice has lost her way in Wonderland, and begins to sob. As she does this, the Cheshire Cat arrives, singing Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky poem. When Alice claims to have lost her way, the cat retorts and suggests that all the ways are the Queen’s ways, as he imitated the Red Queen by mimicking her hair and voice.
This may not seem like the most threatening or menacing inclusion on this list, but, like many others, it certainly comes out of nowhere and will definitely ruffle a few feathers in the crowds.
The Witch of the West - The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Everyone knows her theme music by heart, and her presence is just as alarming as it was when this character first appeared in 1939 in The Wizard of Oz. After Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are deposited into the strange land, the two quickly come across the evil, mean, green, Witch of the West, and her dastardly voice.
Margaret Hamilton’s voice is so distinct and terrifying that it seems impossible to imagine anyone in the role but her. Her catchy lines and grotesque makeup made the character so iconic, that it has been mocked and reiterated in many types of media.
Judge Doom’s Reveal - Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
The moment of all frightening moments in family films has reached its apex, and we come to Christopher Lloyd’s performance as Judge Doom in Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit. When Eddie Valiant is able to run over Judge Doom with a steamroller, he survives, reinflates, and reveals himself to be a toon with glowing red eyes and a high-pitched voice.
He attempts to kill Eddie, but Doom comes to his end after Eddie empties his “dip” and it sprays all over him. This was a scene and an evil character that stayed rent-free in filmgoers heads for the longest time, and it definitely had kids going to bed scared, largely in part due to Christopher Lloyd’s sinister performance.
