10 wildly inappropriate moments in children’s movies
As much as we love the idea of children making movies for children (they would be utter chaos), the truth simply isn’t as entertaining. It’s easy to forget that behind every children’s film is a team of very adult writers penning the story, crafting the dialogue and shooting the actual production. However, this can lead to countless inappropriate moments, with the writers pushing the envelope a little too far as to what they can get away with.
Tied to their strict certificate, however, that prevents consistent swearing, harsh violence, sexual acts and more, writers have to get creative if they want to add in a subtle crass joke for the adult audience who will be forced to watch the movie with their child. It’s easier to get away with this in live-action feature films. Still, animated movies prove far trickier, making for a collection of viral movie moments popular over the years for their outrageousness.
We’ve taken it upon ourselves to collate many of these moments into our list of the ten wildly inappropriate moments in children’s films below, in which we discuss mainstream classics from the likes of Pixar to more obscure releases from across the world of cinema. These range from terrifying moments that would make even an adult recoil in horror to jokes that are a little too explicit for a children’s movie.
Check out the list below, which includes films from such directors as Robert Zemeckis, Lee Unkrich and Mel Stuart and ten highly memorable moments that stick out in our minds for all the wrong reasons.
10 inappropriate moments in children’s films:
10. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010) – Mr Potato Head
Hidden in the Toy Story franchise are countless adult jokes to keep parents entertained. Some jokes are considerably more risque than others, such as an end-credit scene in Toy Story 2. Stinky Pete tells some Barbie dolls that he knows how to get them a role in the next film, quickly correcting himself to say, “I mean…I can give you some acting tips.” Disney has since deleted the casting couch gag.
However, one of the most questionable moments in the franchise occurs in Toy Story 3 when Lotso Bear rips Mrs Potato Head’s mouth off, which angers her husband, Mr Potato Head, who exclaims, “No one takes my wife’s mouth except me!” It’s a subtle joke, but it definitely doesn’t go unnoticed when watched as an adult.
9. Monster House (Gil Kenan, 2006) – Anatomy
Upon its release in 2006, animated Monster House was praised for its originality and wit, blending children-suitable horror with comedy and adventure akin to The Goonies. Within the film, there are multiple adult references, such as subtle drug and alcohol use and allusions to adultery. Monster House also pays homage to adult horror films such as The Shining, and even the 2001 thriller Donnie Darko, which also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal.
However, one of the most ‘inappropriate’ jokes occurs between Chowder and Jenny. They realise that the haunted house is actually a living being possessing various body parts, such as a human heart in the furnace. The chandelier represents the uvula – the flesh that hangs at the back of your throat – but Chowder confuses this with another, more private, body part. After he exclaims, “Oh, so it’s a girl house”, Jenny’s assertion that everyone has a uvula is lost on Chowder, who says, “Not me!”.
8. Tarzan (Kevin Lima, Chris Buck, 1999) – Clayton’s death
Look, Disney, we know you had to start getting creative with how your villains were killed; after all, there are only so many times we can watch the bad guy fall from a height, but you went a little too far with Tarzan. At the film’s climax, the antagonist Clayton is defeated in what seems to be the classic Disney villain death, falling from a tall tree and into the undergrowth below. But directors Kevin Lima and Chris Buck made it far more brutal.
Getting entangled in the vines, Clayton ends up hanging himself, with his lifeless swinging body being seen during and after the violent death.
7. Scooby-Doo (Raja Gosnell, 2002) – Innuendos
2002’s Scooby-Doo was the first instalment in a series of films based on the original cartoon and was hugely popular amongst children and adults alike. Much of Scooby-Doo’s adult appeal came from the blatantly inappropriate jokes that managed to go over most children’s heads. It is no secret that Shaggy and Scooby are meant to be stoners, with the former exclaiming, “that is my favourite name,” when he meets a girl named Mary-Jane.
However, the film also contains plenty of sexual references, particularly when Daphne and Fred accidentally swap bodies. Fred gets overly excited when he realises he can look at Daphne’s naked body anytime he wants and can often be seen feeling and looking at his new body parts.
6. Shrek (Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson, 2001) – Lord Farquaad’s bed scene
There are various moments in the beloved animated movie Shrek that we could use as an example of an inappropriate scene. Still, we’ve opted for the sequence in which Lord Farquaad appears to get a little bit over-excited about Princess Fiona. Lying in bed half naked, the short animated king asks the magic mirror to show him a picture of the beautiful princess. Grimacing, the mirror abides by his wish.
Getting all flustered at the sight of her, Farquaad blushes a little as he looks down towards his crotch to ensure he’s all covered up. Why include this? There’s just no need.
5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Robert Zemeckis, 1988) – Judge Doom’s death
Things were a little bit different in the 1980s, with the decade producing such ‘family movies’ as Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and Return to Oz, both of which contained a sprinkling of their own inappropriate moments. The seminal Robert Zemeckis movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit was no different either, pushing things a little too far in the scene when we discover that the antagonist Judge Doom, is a ‘toon’.
First of all, let’s just clarify that the moment in which a steam roller flattens him is disturbing enough, but when his eyes glaze over and turn bulging cartoon red, we’re utterly terrified.
4. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Ken Hughes, 1968) – The Child Catcher
The 1968 family-friendly musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was co-written by Roald Dahl, based on the novel by Ian Fleming. Looking back, many viewers have been unable to ignore the anti-Semitic themes that prevail throughout. The characterisation of the Child Catcher is based on harmful Jewish stereotypes, yet, he exerts power by hunting down and imprisoning children, who are against the law in Vulgaria. An odd choice of subplot for a children’s film, to say the least.
The Child Catcher has terrified children since the film’s release. Whilst the child actors from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang have claimed that actor Robert Helpmann was anything but scary off-set, his role as the Child Catcher is permanently etched into our brains. He was even labelled as one of the 50 Most Vile Movie Villains by Entertainment Weekly in 2008.
3. The Cat in the Hat (Bo Welch, 2003) – “Dirty hoe”
The strange peculiarity of The Cat in the Hat has led the 2003 movie to be appreciated, albeit in something of an ironic light, in recent years, with the inappropriate humour of the critically-panned adaptation being a major reason for its ‘success’. Starring Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin and Dakota Fanning, the film is spiked with many moments of ‘did I just hear that right?’ dialogue, but none compare to the surreal moment when the titular cat has a conversation with a hoe.
Chasing after the family dog through a number of gardens, at one point, the cat picks up a hoe for some reason and exclaims, “dirty hoe,” before picking it up again and saying, “I’m sorry baby, I love you”. Bizarre.
2. Watership Down (Martin Rosen, John Hubley, 1978) – Fight scene
It’s important to always remember in your day-to-day life that the brutally violent 1978 movie Watership Down was somehow only regarded as a PG by the BBFC. It’s hard to pick out just one moment from this movie, which features the deaths of dozens of rabbits amid violent blood-filled brawls, so we’ve picked out one moment in particular when the antagonist confronts a number of bunnies in their burrow.
Wearing the face of true evil, the antagonist Woundwort takes no prisoners in his mission; it’s a brutal watch for even strong-minded younguns.
1. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 1971) – Tunnel sequence
The infamous psychedelic tunnel scene in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has unnerved generations of children. After the (un)lucky winners of Wonka’s chocolate factory tour take their seats in a boat that will take them through a mysterious tunnel, horrifying images flash across the screen that would better suit a Hitchcock thriller rather than a family-friendly film.
During their boat ride, we see images such as a chicken getting decapitated, a close-up eye, a lizard eating an insect, a millipede crawling across a human face, and a scorpion’s mouth. Luckily, most of the images appear too quickly to cause lasting damage to a child; however, the general atmosphere of the scene is undoubtedly unsettling.
