As much as we’d like to pretend otherwise, not all films are family-friendly. What’s worse is that many movies merely masquerade as being fun for children of all ages, when in reality, they’re trauma waiting to set in. Everyone likely has that one film they remember being tricked by — we’ve all excitedly picked up a film, thinking it looked cute or had a funny premise, only to quickly find the darker underbelly. Children of the ‘90s have plenty of examples of this, including some incredibly common and obvious examples (Bambi, Old Yeller, we could be here all day). However, there are a few films that really stick out for this generation.
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The ‘90s were a fantastic time for animation; it advanced by leaps and bounds and gave us some of the best Disney movies of a generation. However, every now and then, we’d come across a film that came out swinging. That still happens these days, but with the rapid nature of communication online, we’re less likely to get blindsided by twist endings, and thank goodness for that.
Here are four movies that ’90s kids are still trying to forget.
4) My Dog Skip
Raise your hand if you remember the marketing for My Dog Skip. This movie promised to be the funniest film of the year, being equal parts feel-good and hilarious. Spoiler warning, it wasn’t. It may have starred Frankie Muniz, but it also tore our hearts apart.
My Dog Skip is a (supposed) comedy-drama revolving around a young boy named Willie Morris. His life was forever changed when he was given his first pet, a Smooth Fox Terrier he named Skip. Skip helped bring little Willie out of his shell, and had the film stopped there, it could have been beautiful. Sadly, the film kept going, and yes, they kill the dog in the end. In a horrible and shocking fashion, we’d like to add.
My Dog Skip is available to rent through Prime Video and YouTube.
3) The Lion King
For many children, The Lion King was the first time they saw heartbreak on the big screen. It shocked a lot of people, parents and children alike. The Lion King was released in 1994, and while it’s common knowledge now, nobody knew to expect Mufasa’s death.
The traumatic death aside, there’s actually a lot of upsetting scenes and imagery in The Lion King, from the hyenas (and how they’re involved in Scar’s death), Simba’s lingering guilt and terror, and the way Scar ruled over the Pride Lands. It’s a lot to take in, especially for a younger audience.
The Lion King is available to stream on Disney+.
2) Babe
Babe is another one of those films that looks cute and sweet on the surface — it’s an animal-themed film, which at some point we all learned to be a bit more cautious about, right? Babe is a comedy-drama following the titular character, Babe, a sweet pig who sees the world through rose colored lenses.
Truthfully, Babe has a pretty sad undertone, but there are many moments that stick with us to this day. Babe’s mom was sent to a slaughterhouse (and naive little Babe didn’t understand the implications of that), Ferdinand the Duck is completely terrified of being eaten, Fly the Sheepdog is devastated when the farmers sell her puppies, and Maa the Sheep dies. Need we go on? Despite the sadder elements, Babe went on to become a trilogy.
Babe is available to rent through Prime Video or YouTube.
1) The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant is a sci-fi film that opened our imaginations to a whole new world, only to break our hearts by the end. Set during the Cold War, the story follows Hogarth, a young boy who happens to be in the right place at the right time to make the most unique friendship of a lifetime. He stumbled across the Iron Giant, and he immediately set to keeping his new friend a secret.
Honestly, there is still a lot to love about this movie, but the ending still gets us. At the end of the film, the Iron Giant willingly jumps in front of a missile heading for his newly found hometown, knowing that his sacrifice will protect everyone. It’s beautiful and emotional, but man, does that one hurt. It hurt even more to see it at a young age, as the concept was still relatively new to us. On the bright side, the film does leave a sliver of hope after that, so we can’t complain too much.
The Iron Giant is available to stream on The Roku Channel.
What movies are you still traumatized from? Let us know in the comments below!
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