6 Bizarre Movies That Give Kids Nightmares

I remember seeing TV commercials for the 1971 movie, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and couldn’t wait to see it. Unfortunately, I had to wait until it ran on TV three or four years later. It’s just as well. That thing freaked me out!

Sure, this candy-filled adventure is filled with happy images of colorful edible plants alongside a river made of chocolate and Gene Wilder embodied the famed candy maker well too. But a bunch of bizarre events happen to a group of guests while visiting the Wonka factory. A girl grows into a huge blueberry, a boy gets shrunk down to the size of a candy bar, and another gets sucked up a tube out of that tranquil chocolate river. And don’t forget that creepy tunnel scene where Wonka’s “candy boat” zips by horrifying images, and yet, I couldn’t look away. It took a long time for me to go to sleep that night.

But this fever dream isn’t alone. Many other movies intended for children have ended up scaring them half to death or are just plain weird. Here’s a half-dozen of other films that are completely bonkers. Do you agree?

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)

Long before How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat, there was Gerald McBoing Boing. The 1950 cartoon short was written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss. It won an Oscar for Best Animated Short and Dr. Seuss thought moviemaking was right for him. Perhaps he was wrong.

In 1953, Geisel wrote the storyline for the musical-fantasy film, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. It was a wholly original story which featured Geisel’s trademark art style. He also wrote many of the lyrics to the songs, but the end product is a mess.

The story is about young Bart Collins (Tommy Rettig), who would rather play outside than endure another piano lesson. While at the piano, Bart falls asleep and dreams that his piano teacher, Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried) is an authoritarian who forces young boys to play the piano for the rest of their lives. 500 in fact (hence the 5,000 fingers). To make matters worse, Bart learns that Dr. T. is engaged to marry his widowed mother and he eventually ends up in the dungeon.

The movie goes back and forth from being boring to unsettling. The numerous musical numbers are forgettable and yawn-inducing, but Dr. T’s mind control powers and his dungeon are terrifying.

When the movie premiered, guests began leaving the theater after just 15 minutes. By the time that the movie ended, only one boy was left waiting to be picked up by his mother. Critics hated the movie, and audiences didn’t like it much better. After the movie flopped, Dr. Seuss wanted nothing to do with movies (outside of the Chuck Jones animated TV specials) from there on out.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

In the early 1960’s, film producer Paul Jacobson noticed that outside of Disney films, there wasn’t much aimed for children. Jacobson set out to right this wrong with his production of Santa Clause Conquers the Martians. He wrote the screenplay himself and hired Nicholas Webster to direct the “yuletide science fiction fantasy”.

The story involves Martian parents concerned that their children are watching too much “Earth TV” and asking questions about Christmas. Martian leaders take note of this and realize that their Martian children need their own Santa to make them happy. So…they go to the North Pole and kidnap him along with two human children.

Some of the Martian leaders genuinely want to learn from Santa, but another one is dead set against. He hates the idea of Christmas and tries to kill Santa!

Despite its title, Santa doesn’t exactly “conquer” the Martians. Instead, he helps them make their own toy workshop and even find their own Santa before being sent home.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is low budget, campy film, but unfortunately, some scenes were unintentionally frightening to younger audiences. You know, the ones who actually still believe in Santa.

Pinocchio in Outer Space (1965)

Directed by Ray Goossens, Pinocchio in Outer Space is one of the oddest movies made for kids. It takes the classic storybook character and places him in outer space – to defeat a flying whale.

Fred Ladd wrote, produced and oversaw the cinematography of the film. Ladd is known for “westernizing” animated fare made in other countries including Astro Boy, Gigantor and Kimba the White Lion.

The story begins a short time after the original story. Pinocchio has reverted to his old ways and so the Blue Fairy turns him back into a wooden puppet. Upset over this new development, Pinocchio wishes upon a star for one more chance to prove himself.

In this fever dream of a movie, Pinocchio learns that Astro, a giant whale, is wreaking havoc in space. The puppet then plans to somehow hypnotize the whale in order to save Earth. But how will he get there? In a strange turn of events, an alien turtle accidentally lands on Earth. He himself is on a mission and offers Pinocchio a ride.

It all ends up happy with Pinocchio becoming a hero. However, it takes a lot to get there. The movie features scenes of scary dinosaurs, giant space creatures and worst of all, a nuclear explosion! Not your typical kid stuff.

Return to Oz (1985)

Disney has a long history of creating some truly terrifying villains. These range from the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. But those movies work because there is more to those stories than just horror elements. That can’t be said for a movie they made years later.

Although Return to Oz has its fans, by and large, it is not a favorite of many. What they were expecting and what they got were two different things. Posters for the movie state that it’s “an all-new live action fantasy – filled with Disney adventure and magic.” Uh-huh.

Technically, it’s a sequel to MGM’s 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz. However, other than the ruby slippers, this movie is nothing like it. Return to Oz is based on two other L. Frank Baum’s novels: The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. The story takes place six months after her literal whirlwind trip Oz. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are concerned about Dorothy’s fixation on the land of Oz. To “help”, they take the girl to a sanatorium for electrotherapy. Fortunately, there is a power outage, and she escapes floating down a river atop a chicken coop.

Hours later, Dorothy awakes to find that she has returned to Oz, but the place is now a mess. The yellow brick road has been damaged, and the Tin Man and Cowardly Lion have been turned to stone. After getting chased by “Wheelers” (who have wheels for hands and feet), Dorothy meets some new friends. However, Tik-Tok (a mechanical man) and Jack Pumpkinhead get turned into ornaments by the evil Nome King. A flying moose-like animal made from furniture gets the same treatment. However, the most frightening character she meets is Princess Mombi. The princess has a collection of heads. She changes them depending on her mood, much like a woman with a room full of wigs.

Unlike the original movie, not a single happy tune is sung. Even poor Toto is relegated to only a short scene at the end of the movie. An annoying talking chicken takes the pooches’ place during Dorothy’s adventures.

The film is probably closer in tone to the original Oz stories, but it was a big flop for Disney anyway.

The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987)

You can’t get much worse than receiving a score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s the rating given to one of the worst movies in history. The Garbage Pail Kids Movie is based on a trading-card series of the same name of all things. The cards were a spoof of the popular Cabbage Patch Kids dolls.

Directed and co-written by Rod Amateau, the movie begins with a garbage can spaceship heading to Earth. Inside the can is a group of hideous-looking children with strange quirks. These includes children with constantly runny noses and who can violently expel gas. One can vomit on command and another one wets themself. Need I go on?

This troupe then finds themselves as heroes when they rescue Dodger (Mackenzie Astin) from a group of bullies. Dodger learns that they are forbidden from appearing in public because “normal people” will attack them. They also can’t leave the planet without magic.

The movie continues with the Garbage Pail Kids wreaking havoc in town. They are captured by the bullies who attacked Dodger. The bullies bring the kids to the State Home for the Ugly. It’s a place for people who are too ugly for society. The children are rescued of course, but instead of returning to space, the crew take off on stolen ATVS. The producers had hoped to make a sequel. It didn’t happen.

So, other than the bad special effects, terrible costumes, gross humor and bad messages for children, it’s a perfect film.

Mac and Me (1988)

Directed and co-written by Stewart Raffill, Mac and Me has been compared to a certain Steven Spielberg movie. Instead of E.T. (Extra-Terrestrial), this story centers on M.A.C. (Mysterious Alien Creature) who runs away from NASA agents and into the arms of wheelchair-bound Eric (Jade Calegory). Understanding that MAC has been separated from his family, Eric helps the little guy find his folks.

In an attempt to hide the creature, Eric convinces MAC to wear a teddy bear costume. Together they attend a birthday party at a local McDonald’s. The scene includes a visit from Ronald McDonald (played by Squire Fridell, the current McDonald’s spokesclown at that time). But that isn’t the only product placement in the movie. Later when Eric finds MAC’s now-sickly family members, they become revived with the help of Coca-Cola.

In an effort to make the story more exciting, Eric is faced with many traumatic events throughout the film. These include a scene where he rolls around in traffic, falls off a cliff and has a near drowning. Eric even gets shot and pronounced dead. Spoiler alert – he is revived by the aliens.

In anticipation for a sequel, a message appeared at the end of the movie that stated MAC would be back. He never did. MAC and Me bombed at the box office and was nominated for four Golden Raspberry Awards. It “won” two for Worst Director and Worst New Star (Ronald McDonald).

Fun fact: Jennifer Aniston appeared in this movie as an uncredited extra.