I’m not a mom yet, but I work with kids at our church. I also watch a lot of Disney and other animated movies at home.
But, I’ve noticed that some of them could be quite scary for younger kids. Lots of them are somewhat violent and have several scary scenes. A lot of them also have magical creatures and places that might be quite scary to some.
My sister and I were able to watch every Disney movie we had just fine, without any problems, but we don’t scare easily and were never prone to nightmares.
So, what animated movies do your kids watch? [name]Do[/name] you think Disney and other movies of the same sort are just fine for young kids (like age 3-6)?
What ones do you think young kids could enjoy without being scared? I think of [name]Cinderella[/name], The Jungle Book and the AristoCats right away.
My daughter LOVES [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh (the newish movie) and I don’t think it really has anything scary in it. There is a “monster” but it’s just in their imaginations and even then is sort of cute. In general anything with animals too she likes. [name]Haven[/name]'t seen these in awhile so I’m not too sure about the “scary” content, but what about Lady and the Tramp or 101 Dalmatians?
My kids and I are huge fans of the Dvds that They Might Be Giants havemade…great songs (educational too), catchy and not annoying imho. My older two are currently into stuff like American pickers on netflix, craft wars, cake boss etc. [name]Linus[/name] (almost 6) was really into [name]Thomas[/name] the Tank Engine for a while, [name]Bob[/name] theBuilder etc. We tend to do more “15 minute episodes” then full length movies though. The newer Curious [name]George[/name] tv show is cute. Super Why, [name]Sid[/name] the [name]Science[/name] kid, all good as well. Like I said before, we are not as much into the full length videos. Mykids would probably beok with some of them,but in general I do not likethe whole “Damsel in distress” idea many Disney movies portray and that a girl needs true love (in a handsome man) in order to fullfill her hearts destiny. Not all of them are like that, but, I would rather stick to other themes at the ages they are now.
The Disney movies my son loves: Tangled (mostly because of the horse and the chameleon, but he likes anything with music), [name]Robin[/name] Hood, Jungle Book, Sword in the [name]Stone[/name], [name]Cinderella[/name], Aristocats, old [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh, Rescuers Down Under, Finding [name]Nemo[/name] (ocean animals are his favorites), Lady and the Tramp. That’s all I can think of at the moment. We stick to the older movies a lot cause they just seem more low-key to me. My son is 2 by the way.
He also like VeggieTales, [name]Dora[/name] the [name]Explorer[/name], Go [name]Diego[/name] Go, and Blues Clues (thank you Netflix
Oh and his first show he ever watched was [name]Baby[/name] Signing Time, and he still loves it and Signing Time. He knows well over 100 signs now, and he started signing at 10 months. Great, entertaining, and educational kids shows
I’m only a teenager so don’t have kids yet. When I was young I didn’t watch many movies but the Disney ones I remember liking were Finding [name]Nemo[/name] and Sleeping Beauty, and I didn’t find them scary. My sister and I pretty much grew up watching The Sound of [name]Music[/name]- we were about 4 and 7 the first time we watched it and I still love it (for different reasons now though :p). I guess it was a bit scary but I never got nightmares or anything.
[name]Just[/name] thought you might want to hear it from a different perspective!
I don’t recall finding Disney movies being scary at all when I was younger.
I think musicals are a good way to go, as someone else already mentioned. I must’ve seen The Sound of [name]Music[/name], [name]Mary[/name] Poppins, Bedknobs & Broomsticks etc. SO MANY TIMES!
I remember the movie Hook coming out when I was about 5 or 6. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I have ACTUALLY seen that movie over 200 times. For real. I even bought it on DVD a few years ago and have re-watched it 5 or 6 times since then. Might be a bit much for the younger kiddos, but the 6+ kids might like it.
Someone also mentioned the new [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh movie, I watched this one recently and its very cute!
I used to get scared of the [name]Lion[/name] [name]King[/name] at some scenes, and forget about the Hunchback of Notre Dame! Lol.
Some kids are more sensitive to scare than others, so it really depends on the child. My youngest brother for example, and stomach a lot of things that I couldn’t.
I think earlier Disney is great for kids, but the newer stuff is getting more mature and for 10+ imo. I’m only 19 though, so I don’t know that much about parenting. I work in a daycare and the movies we play have to G rated, no PG allowed.
I would just like to recommend Studio Ghibli’s ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ and ‘Ponyo’. They’re both great for little children, very imaginative and not scary, while still tackling important themes that kids can relate to like moving to a new place, having a sick parent and such. They have respect for the child as a thinking and feeling person, instead of just trying to be a good enough distraction for about an hour.
[name]Shaun[/name] the Sheep is also very funny
And beware of [name]Bambi[/name]. It’s nice enough with the flowers and the ice, but his mother gets murdered by a hunter, and the entire forest burns…
VEGGIETALES!!! Another favorite in our house is [name]Hermie[/name] & Friends as well as [name]Thomas[/name], Seseame [name]Street[/name], Dinosaur Train…pretty much all of the PBS shows. We do like SOME of the Disney shows too like [name]Mickey[/name] Mouse Clubhouse & Chuggington.
[name]Snow[/name] White scared the crap out of me when i was little. [name]Bambi[/name] and the [name]Fox[/name] and the Hound really upset me to. Lady and the Tramp is great, same with Beauty and the Beast. [name]Aladdin[/name] is a classic.
I totally skip scary scenes in Disney movies. As far as my daughter knows, Mufasa went on vacation! But I must say I completely agree with [name]Janell[/name]. The new [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh is adorable and made for toddlers. I find it funny as well. We like Finding [name]Nemo[/name] and the couple of scary-ish chase scenes don’t seem to bother my kids. We also really like Tangled, however, my daughter (almost 3) used to cry hardcore when Mother Gothel yells at Rapunzel about leaving the tower. She hasn’t done so recently, but I also skim through that scene most of the time.
For a movie feel, I really like a lot of the Nickelodeon and Disney show specials (usually about 45 min long). [name]Mickey[/name] Mouse Clubhouse has a few and there will be a second hour long [name]Jake[/name] and the Neverland Pirates special this month (love this show!). Though, my favorite show by far is [name]Doc[/name] McStuffins closely followed by Octonauts (both Disney). You can get a few [name]Doc[/name] episodes on DVD, but I haven’t seen any for Octonauts yet.
Most Disney movies are okay, I know some little kids who are scared of:
[name]Snow[/name] White - the forest scene
Sleeping Beauty - the witch
[name]Toy[/name] [name]Story[/name] - the one boy who is creepy looking
that is some, not all, depends how easily scared they are. I was terrified of [name]Snow[/name] White when I was little, but I loved Sleeping Beauty. It really depends on what the child fears…
I would probably not do anything [name]Tim[/name] [name]Burton[/name] "([name]Coraline[/name], The Corpse [name]Bride[/name], The Nightmare Before [name]Christmas[/name]). Those scare me somewhat and I am 21!
I would recommend:
The [name]Land[/name] Before Time (only if they aren’t scared of dinosaurs)
Anything Dr. Seus ([name]Horton[/name] hears a who, the lorax)
[name]Cloudy[/name] with a [name]Chance[/name] of Meatballs
Up!
[name]Wall[/name]-E
Ponyo
My Neighbor Totoro
[name]Kiki[/name]'s Delivery Service
The [name]Little[/name] Mermaid ([name]Ursula[/name] is probably the least scary Disney villain, besides mother Gothel)
The [name]Little[/name] Mermaid 2
The [name]Little[/name] Mermaid [name]Ariel[/name]'s Beginning
Tangled
The Aristocrats
Dumbo
[name]Lilo[/name] and Stitch
[name]Rio[/name]
Cars
It’s not a movie but:
My [name]Little[/name] Pony Friendship is [name]Magic[/name] - my soon to be nieces are obsessed with this show! (they are 3 and 5)
Winx Club - same as above
Curious [name]George[/name]
It’s not animated but:
Elf - my soon to be nephew is almost 3, he is addicted to this movie, they watch it even in summer!
Well I’m the biggest movie wimp around…so here’s (probably a very partial list) of what scared me…
The [name]Lion[/name] [name]King[/name] (I had to leave the theater I was inconsolable!)
[name]Bambi[/name]
101 Dalmations
The [name]Little[/name] Mermaid (ok as long as i fast forward that giant [name]Ursula[/name] scene!!!)
[name]Fantasia[/name] ([name]Just[/name] shut it off before the last scene!!)
The [name]Fox[/name] and the Hound (waaaah)
[name]Aladdin[/name] (Jafar snake!)
An animated [name]Rikki[/name] Tikki [name]Tavi[/name] that gave me nightmares for MONTHS
More recently, Finding [name]Nemo[/name] and Up (I had to pause and bawl for like an hour before I could resume) have been too much for me.
Now on the positive side…
[name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh was always good
[name]Madeline[/name] animated tv shows…I think most were about 25 minutes long and I adored them!
[name]Mary[/name] Poppins, The Sound of [name]Music[/name], all those I LOVED. Actually, from about 5, I loved old movies like National [name]Velvet[/name], Meet Me in St. [name]Louis[/name], [name]Summer[/name] [name]Magic[/name], the Parent Trap, I was afraid of very abstract things, so these were PERFECT.
Oh my gosh, same here! Sleeping Beauty has been my favorite for so long, but the evil queen always scared the bajeezus out of me. Dragons are nothing compared to that creepy old lady.
Backyardigans movies are great, as are Veggie Tales. Rugrats episodes are good too, although the actual movies have parts that might be too scary for little ones (especially the first one). [name]Mickey[/name] Mouse Clubhouse movies are good. [name]Lilo[/name] & Stitch and Cars are both fine as well. I would definitely say no to Brave, when it comes out, as it’s actually quite spooky. I agree with most of the movies pp have said are a little scary, and would add Lady and the Tramp to the list (Those Siamese cats scared me for years).
I think there is probably something that could frighten or otherwise upset someone in almost any movie. I remember as a child I loved [name]Robin[/name] Hood, [name]Bambi[/name], The [name]Fox[/name] and the Hound, The Rescuers, Lady and the Tramp, [name]Snow[/name] White, [name]Rikki[/name]-Tikki-[name]Tavi[/name], The [name]Secret[/name] of Nimh, The Dark [name]Crystal[/name], [name]Annie[/name], E.T., The [name]Wizard[/name] of [name]Oz[/name], [name]Mary[/name] Poppins, The Sound of [name]Music[/name], and the first three [name]Star[/name] Wars movies, even though there was something that I thought was scary in each of them. My parents never really focused on the scary parts, and the good guys always won in the end, so I think I just accepted the scary things as part of the whole.
Three things did absolutely terrify me, though.
[name]Alice[/name] in Wonderland, any version, and particularly the one that was on TV in the mid-80s. Between [name]Carol[/name] [name]Channing[/name] as the White [name]Queen[/name], [name]Imogene[/name] [name]Cocoa[/name] as the Cook with the Duchess and the pigbaby, and the terrifying Jabberwocky scenes in the dark forest, I was terrorized. (Also, I didn’t realize the baby was a pig, and it was kind of scary to see the reveal.)
Some parts of [name]Fantasia[/name] still really scare me, lol.
Return to [name]Oz[/name]. My well-meaning grandmother took me to this when it came out at the theater, and the film OPENED with [name]Dorothy[/name] being in a scary, dark mental institution being strapped down for electro-shock therapy during a thunderstorm. That was bad enough, but then the queen of [name]Oz[/name] had interchangeable heads and kept the spares in a huge gallery where they were mounted in cases and could move and talk and look at you. So, yeah, even to this day I have a bit of a thing about beheadings.
Some of my favorite cartoons that I think are pretty safe are the cartoon versions of the [name]Doctor[/name] Seuss movies (but not the ones with [name]Mike[/name] Myers–that one gives me the creeps even as an adult!), [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh, and Peanuts. I’ve always loved Peanuts; I think it’s just one of the best cartoon series out there.
[name_f]Fantasia[/name_f] has some really scary parts.
The sharks in finding nemo scared me when i was young.
I really loved monsters inc but [name_m]Randall[/name_m] scared me.
I love Tangled and Brave but the bear in brave scares me.
the Incredibles is a good one.
The only Disney movie that scared me was [name_f]Snow[/name_f] White. I think they’ll be fine with Disney. Otherwise there are the Studio Ghibli movies (Ponyo, Totoro, [name_f]Arrietty[/name_f])
There’s the non-Disney movies: Thumbelina, The Swan [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], All Dogs Go To [name_f]Heaven[/name_f]
Veggie tales, little Einsteins,the leap frog movies my kids like seven brides for seven brothers. Theres also joseph and the coat of many colors and the prince of [name_u]Egypt[/name_u].
