Movies: What is your favorite "adult" kids movie?

[Carolinas Identity*]

What I mean is movies that are/were made for kids, but that had some serious undertones, a bit of violence/blood, villains that were actually kinda scary when you were little, a bit of sex appeal, characters that actually died and stayed dead etc etc.

The three that jump out instantly for me are The Neverending Story (Gmork scared the hell out of me as a kid)

The Last Unicorn

And as much as it pains me to admit it, Trantor the troll in Ernest Scared Stupid got me a few times as well. (interesting anecdote: if you do a Google image search for "Trantor the troll", my HF avatar is one of the first things that comes up )

I also really want to give The Land Before Time a shout out, but the only thing I remember from that movie that did anything for me was Littlefoot's mom dying.

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[jw2]

Child's Play, AINEC

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Child's Play, AINEC

That was a legit rated R horror film. It wasn't "made for kids" per se.

 

[Mimsy]

Agreed on "The Neverending Story". My first viewing was a television rerun while I was in junior high. I loved the movie and was equally taken by its dreamy theme song, at a time when you couldn't just track down a copy on the Internet (it was probably another ten years before I got my hands on the song...and yeah...it's by Limahl ). There are some wonderful old-school practical effects in this gem and a great story.

In a similar vein, I'll give a nod to Ridley Scott's "Legend". The film scores well below The Neverending Story in terms of personal preference and overall quality, but it benefits from the same endearing 80s fantasy vibe. I love the visuals, but the plot is paper thin, making it a not so memorable film. I would have preferred an actor other than Tom Cruise in the lead. At the time, his casting was probably fine. In retrospect, he seems too big for the role.


Edit: I misunderstood the purpose of the thread. I had listed kids movies that adults might also enjoy, instead of referencing kids movies which may contain adult themes or potentially frightening scenes. I'll keep "The Neverending Story" and "Legend" on my list. I was a too old to be unnerved by anything in either of these movies, but young viewers might be.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Tim Curry as Satan was pretty cool tho

 

[Butchered]

Man I wore Ernest Scared Stupid OUT when I was younger. Loved that stupid, stupid movie.

 

[kook10]

The Goonies

 

[Player big P]

Watership Down.

Loved the book, parts of the movie scared the **** outta me.

 

[Guardian17]

Transformers the Movie.

Optimus Prime died, that was a shock.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

The Lion King

It was probably the most adult Disney movie of the golden era but it dealt with many adult themes.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

Toy Story 3. Damn, that ending gets me in the feelz every time

 

[hoglund]

Wizard of Oz.

 

[Osprey]

My favorite as a kid was The Black Cauldron (1985).

It's very dark, both thematically and visually. The teen boy protagonist has no parents, his charming pet pig is kidnapped by dragons, his new cute furry friend gets killed, he befriends an old man who's suffering from dementia, he stumbles upon witches and the villain is a living skeleton who raises an undead army, for crying out loud. I loved the movie, but, man, it was so dark... and it was Disney.

Honorable Mention goes to The Dark Crystal (1982).

I liked it as a kid, but it's a bizarre case where I actually find it creepier the older that I get. There's something about the puppets that is really unsettling, even the elf ones. I haven't watched it in a long, long time. I think that I'm afraid to.

Since you ask what my favorite is, as in right now, though, that would probably be The Hobbit (1977).

It's based on a children's book and is largely for children, but it's rather dark and the goblins and spiders are scary enough to give a kid nightmares. Unlike the above two films, this is one that I've liked more as time has gone on (especially since reading and falling in love with the novel).

Watership Down.

Loved the book, parts of the movie scared the **** outta me.

I, too, loved the book as a kid, but the movie was so much darker than I envisioned in my reading. I saw it once and still haven't watched it again. I have images seared into my brain of bunnies strewn out along the ground, some dead, some twitching and crying out in agony. Yep, not watching that again, thank you.

We really had it rough in the mid-70s to mid-80s. Most of the "kids" movies (animated or non-animated) during that time were quite dark and contained the stuff of nightmares. Adults must've been trying to toughen us up or something.

 

[Player big P]

Perhaps my favorite now is The Hobbit (1977).

It's darker than the novel (which is a children's book, not adult fare like The Lord of the Rings) and the goblins and spiders are scary enough to give a kid nightmares.



I, too, loved the book as a kid, but the movie was so much darker than I envisioned in my reading. I saw it once and still haven't watched it again. I have images seared into my brain of bunnies strewn out along the ground, some dead, some twitching and crying out in agony. Yep, not watching that again, thank you.

We really had it rough in the late 70s and early 80s. All of the animated films were really dark and the stuff of nightmares. Adults must've been trying to toughen us up or something.

I loved The Hobbit growing up, but the scariest part to me was Gollum. The appearance and the voice gave me nightmares for years. Like, into my adult life kind of nightmares.

As far as Watership Down, I remember vividly when Woundwort graphically tears out Blackavar's throat and just being like "WHY?!" especially since Blackavar lived in the book.

 

[Engebretson]

The boat scene from Willy Wonka has always given me the creeps.

In the beginning of Hocus Pocus, the witches literally suck the life out of a little girl until she's dead. Always thought that was a bit dark for what was actually a light-hearted Halloween movie.

 

[les Habs]

Not sure to what degree these count, but I'd say the following:

Dead Poet's Society: I had a High School teacher who had us watch this in a Lit class and I fell in love with it. Still love it to this day and I disagree with Ebert's review of the film.

The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit Trilogies: I was an adult watching these, but at least in the case of the latter I feel as though they were more geared towards a younger audience. Still I enjoy them both, particularly The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Iron Giant: Again, I was an adult the first time I saw this, but I still it's a nice movie that I could easily sit through and enjoy.

 

[Mantis]

Wizard of Oz.

Return to Oz scared the hell out of me.

 

[Avalanche]

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Good call on The Wizard of Oz.

I'd add Hook.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Liked Dark Crystal a lot. Studio Ghibli films take the cake for me. Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, you name it.

 

[jw2]

That was a legit rated R horror film. It wasn't "made for kids" per se.

I put it on for my 4 year old nephew all the time...

 

[Neutrinos]

Showgirls

 

[Mantis]

Showgirls

Excellent film

 

[KaylaJ]

Return to Oz scared the hell out of me.

those heads!


Secret of Nimh, Black Cauldron, does Roger Rabbit count or was it kinda made for both?

 

[Langdon Alger]

Does Stand By Me fit your criteria? If so I go with that one.