Downright Creepy kids movies

Kooshmeister · September 20, 2007, 09:32:29 PM

Has The Adventures of Mark Twain been mentioned yet....?

Regardless of intent, any movie where Satan (personified as a headless man who communicates via an ever-changing theater mask on a stick) creates an entire little civilization and then annihilates it out of spite as three horrified kids look on is pure nightmare fodder.

We watched the film at after-school daycare when I was in living in Texas and (I think) in the third grade. It scared me so badly I actually got up and left the room and refused to watch the remainder of the film. I then proceeded to forget about it for years (although occasionally memories of it would creep up, enough that I was able to search online and find out the title of the movie), but a couple of days ago I stumbled across "the Satan scene" purely by chance on YouTube, and it didn't scare me anymore, and, now that I'm an adult, I'm actually able to comprehend the stuff Satan says (not that this makes it any less disturbing).

The scene is intensely quotable ("I can do no wrong, for I do not know what it is."), and the bit where the king of the little civilization is raging up at Satan in his high, squeaky voice and babbling the incomprehensible language they have, and then just gets zapped out of existence, I found darkly amusing. He's just shaking his fists and going "Dooo-waaaa! Waaa-waaa!" (or some approximation thereof), then ZAP! and he's gone. I couldn't help but giggle. I'm unsure if this was supposed to be funny, or if it's just one of those unintentionally humorous moments countless films are rife with. And considering how dark the scene is both before and after this bit, I'm pretty sure it isn't meant to be funny.

Fausto · September 21, 2007, 05:22:07 PM

Quote from: HappyGilmore on September 20, 2007, 10:38:11 AM
I don't think anyone I know saw FrankenWeenie. Good little short flick.

That and Vincent are both avilable, in their entirety, as special features on the Nightmare Before Christmas DVD. Good stuff (also, one of the neighborhood kids from Frankenweenie was the brother from the Wonder Years).

HappyGilmore · September 21, 2007, 08:44:26 PM

Jason Hervey?

He's like, a producer now. Produced wrestling for a bit, and now reality shows.

BTM · September 28, 2007, 04:21:57 PM

Quote from: Kooshmeister on September 20, 2007, 09:32:29 PM
Has The Adventures of Mark Twain been mentioned yet....?

Dude, I think I saw the SAME clip you did, only it didn't tell what the show was, just said, "Creepiest kids film ever" or some such. It certainly looked a bit on the weird side.

Hey, it's on DVD! May have to get it from Netflix...

HarlotBug3 · October 01, 2007, 04:43:28 PM

Quote from: Kooshmeister on September 20, 2007, 09:32:29 PM
Has The Adventures of Mark Twain been mentioned yet....?

Regardless of intent, any movie where Satan (personified as a headless man who communicates via an ever-changing theater mask on a stick) creates an entire little civilization and then annihilates it out of spite as three horrified kids look on is pure nightmare fodder.

We watched the film at after-school daycare when I was in living in Texas and (I think) in the third grade. It scared me so badly I actually got up and left the room and refused to watch the remainder of the film. I then proceeded to forget about it for years (although occasionally memories of it would creep up, enough that I was able to search online and find out the title of the movie), but a couple of days ago I stumbled across "the Satan scene" purely by chance on YouTube, and it didn't scare me anymore, and, now that I'm an adult, I'm actually able to comprehend the stuff Satan says (not that this makes it any less disturbing).

The scene is intensely quotable ("I can do no wrong, for I do not know what it is."), and the bit where the king of the little civilization is raging up at Satan in his high, squeaky voice and babbling the incomprehensible language they have, and then just gets zapped out of existence, I found darkly amusing. He's just shaking his fists and going "Dooo-waaaa! Waaa-waaa!" (or some approximation thereof), then ZAP! and he's gone. I couldn't help but giggle. I'm unsure if this was supposed to be funny, or if it's just one of those unintentionally humorous moments countless films are rife with. And considering how dark the scene is both before and after this bit, I'm pretty sure it isn't meant to be funny.

I saw that scene around the same age, but recall being more fascinated than frightened. Stop motion animation is high on the very short list of things I miss about the 80s and I might grab this dvd as well, just to complete another one of those films I'd always catch pieces of on TV but never experienced start to finish.

If I may venture to speculate the 'intent' of this scene; Twain's popularity is both heartening and astounding in the context of all he wrote against kristianists and the other god-bothering masses that dominate so much of American culture. Rather than stir moral outrage with some of his more humanist quotes in a 'kids movie' they hid it in symbolism via this 'Satan' character behaving very much like the old testament Yahweh.

AndyC · October 01, 2007, 06:21:07 PM

Just checked out the Mark Twain scene on YouTube. Freaky.

Anybody else reminded of Woody Boyd in Authors in Hell?

Gwangi · November 17, 2007, 07:26:12 PM

I know this is an old thread, but I so have to post these gems:
1. All Dogs Go to Heaven- the creepy Cat/Devil at the end.
2. An American Tale- the Giant Mouse of Minsk was scary.
3. The Secret of NIMH- the owl
A lot of early animated films had really creepy elements.
Anyone remember the Unico movies? That puppet scared the crap out of me

HappyGilmore · November 17, 2007, 09:08:11 PM

All Dogs Go to Heaven was a decent flick. And that scene you mentioned is somewhat creepy, from what I remember.

BlackAngel75 · November 19, 2007, 01:34:49 AM

This is definitely not a kids movie but one movie that shocked and creeped the s**t out of me was Kids. And Beetlejuice; it's still funny, but it was also scary especially the seance.

HarlotBug3 · November 19, 2007, 07:38:08 PM

Quote from: Gwangi on November 17, 2007, 07:26:12 PM
I know this is an old thread, but I so have to post these gems:
1. All Dogs Go to Heaven- the creepy Cat/Devil at the end.
2. An American Tale- the Giant Mouse of Minsk was scary.
3. The Secret of NIMH- the owl
A lot of early animated films had really creepy elements.
Anyone remember the Unico movies? That puppet scared the crap out of me

I really do miss the old don bluth movies

It's sad to think that no american film will ever use paint animation so well again.

But thus speaking of imports, Unico was both impressive and unsettling. I keep waiting for it to be redistributed on dvd...methinks too few could stomach a mix of such cutsey heros and such evil villains.