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People Are Sharing The Most Unexpected Dark Moments From Kids TV Shows And Movies, And Yeah, “The Hunchback Of Notre Dame” Was A Lot
The <i>Willy Wonka</i> boat scene is peak horror filmmaking.

People Are Sharing The Most Unexpected Dark Moments From Kids TV Shows And Movies, And Yeah, “The Hunchback Of Notre Dame” Was A Lot

Last week, I asked members of the BuzzFeed Community about the unexpectedly dark moments they remembered from the TV shows and movies they watched when they were kids. Here are 15 of their answers.

Nickelodeon / Via giphy.com

My personal answer is this image of SpongeBob, sans sponge. 

1. “I never got over Mufasa’s death in The Lion King, but I gotta say Mulan. They were all being jolly and singing about their ideal type of girl, and all of a sudden the music stopped and you get to see how brutal the war actually was.”

Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

—ameliachastain8

4. “In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when the dolls finish singing, catch on fire, and then there’s the shot of one’s eye falling out as it melts. Such an unexpectedly disturbing sequence for a kids’ movie.”

Warner Bros.

—doctorjuice

5. “The first Willy Wonka movie. The scene with the boat in the tunnel.”

Paramount Pictures

—PsycWench

6. “Blood-bending in Avatar: The Last Airbender. That episode literally scarred me for years. It was terrifying.”

Nickelodeon / Via youtube.com

—Theo666420

“And then in The Legend of Korra when it was revealed that you can blood-bend any time of day, not only in full moons (with proper training)!”

Nickelodeon / Via youtube.com

—swiftie_demigod

7. “I don’t know why, but it really messed me up as a kid when in Tangled, the mother is pushed out of the window and turns to ashes. Like, I was seriously freaked out.”

Disney

—midnight_skye

8. “Monster House. Do I even have to say more?”

Sony Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

—Chrispychicken

9. “In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the scene where Frollo starts the fire to burn Esmeralda. That whole movie had loads of dark moments, but that one stuck out to me the most.”

Disney

—beckichino

“That scene and the one where Frollo was hanging onto the gargoyle before falling to his death terrified me as a kid.”

Disney

—beckichino

10. “Weirdly, Professor Lupin transforming in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I eventually got over my fear of the dementors, but something about the werewolf transformation bothered me immensely. I would stick around until Hermione pointed out the moon and then I had to leave until Harry cast the Patronus.”

Warner Bros.

—doctorjuice

11. “Old lady skin-suit with Nagini inside in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Her voice, mannerisms, makeup…I’m in my thirties and it still freaks me out.”

Warner Bros.

—katiem4493674a4

12. “Toward the end of Halloweentown II, when everyone at the party turns into monsters based on their costumes, and the mom turns green and shriveled and hisses, then she starts swiping at her kids with her long, spindly fingers. That was scary.”

Disney

—doctorjuice

13. “In Adventure Time, the scenes with Lemongrab and his brother still freak me out.”

Cartoon Network / Via youtube.com

—itzel:)

14. “Pirates of the Caribbean is not exactly made for kids, but both Barbossa and the cursed Black Pearl crew, especially during Elizabeth’s scene where she sees them all on the deck and Barbossa tells her she best start believing in ghost stories.”

Disney

—doctorjuice

“That, and Davy Jones. I don’t remember what movie I was watching, but there was a Dead Man’s Chest preview where literally you just hear Davy Jones walk down the stairs and then briefly catch a glimpse of him, and it scared the crap out of me.”

Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

—doctorjuice

15. And finally: “All of The Black Cauldron.”

Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

—monikap6

Which surprisingly dark moments do you remember? Tell us about them in the comments!