Dark Family Animated Movies

I watched loads of the classic dark Disney films when I was little and it never did me any harm.

Squinty wrote:I agree with attempting to shield really young kids from death in media. Wait until they are older.

Death is a normal part of life, getting people acquainted with death earlier on makes it much easier to deal with grief later on.

massimo wrote:The Good Dinosaur, yeah. Great film, definitely one of the scarier Pixar movies.

really. skipping over the fact that i don't think it's great, but scary? no wonder you can't handle frozen

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:The Good Dinosaur, yeah. Great film, definitely one of the scarier Pixar movies.

really. skipping over the fact that i don't think it's great, but scary? no wonder you can't handle frozen

Yes, my (at the time) 3 year old autistic son found it scary.

I thought I was quite a protective parent... Until I read Massimo's posts.

Dear lord man, what DO you let them watch?

massimo wrote:

Frank wrote:"Pixar is fine though"

Pixar handles these sorts of topics better than most companies.

In what way? Pixar are known for their (some might say unnecessarily) heart-wrenching emotional scenes (The first ten minutes of Up, "Take her to the moon for me...", the furnace scene of Toy Story 3 as they all accept their impending incineration, not to mention the two films they've made literally all about death and dying). I'd certainly think twice before showing a child most of their emotional damage era. At least they finally seem to be moving beyond that now.

You can't be writing Frozen off for showing a tall ship capsizing and then cutting to two seconds of a funeral but then say that daddy dino being swept to his death while babby dino watches on in wide-eyed helpless terror is totally fine (an entirely avoidable death caused by babby dino! Not to mention Arlo then spends the rest of the film blaming the caveboy for his father's death).

Victor Mildew wrote:I watched loads of the classic dark Disney films when I was little and it never did me any harm.

Yes. You are 100% normal.

The first rule of children's fiction: "Kill the parents".

Edit: Or if you're C.S. Lewis: "Kill the children".

massimo wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:The Good Dinosaur, yeah. Great film, definitely one of the scarier Pixar movies.

really. skipping over the fact that i don't think it's great, but scary? no wonder you can't handle frozen

Yes, my (at the time) 3 year old autistic son found it scary.

What’s the fact that he’s autistic got to do with it?

LewisD wrote:I thought I was quite a protective parent... Until I read Massimo's posts.

Dear lord man, what DO you let them watch?

He chooses to watch what doesn't upset him, and I try to steer him away from things I know will have a negative affect on his well-being.

Frank wrote:

massimo wrote:

Frank wrote:"Pixar is fine though"

Pixar handles these sorts of topics better than most companies.

In what way? Pixar are known for their (some might say unnecessarily) heart-wrenching emotional scenes (The first ten minutes of Up, "Take her to the moon for me...", the furnace scene of Toy Story 3 as they all accept their impending incineration, not to mention the two films they've made literally all about death and dying). I'd certainly think twice before showing a child most of their emotional damage era. At least they finally seem to be moving beyond that now.

You can't be writing Frozen off for showing a tall ship capsizing and then cutting to two seconds of a funeral but then say that daddy dino being swept to his death while babby dino watches on in wide-eyed helpless terror is totally fine (an entirely avoidable death caused by babby dino! Not to mention Arlo then spends the rest of the film blaming the caveboy for his father's death).

He chose not to watch Frozen after that scene (I'm told by my partner, I wasn't there at the time), but largely my son is his own censor. He will be very clear about what he is and isn't enjoying and for what reason. I just try to steer him towards or away content I feel is/isn't right for him.

As I said earlier, some of the more gritty scenes in Pixar movies we would avoid as he was very little at that time and hasn't really watched them in quite a while now.
Thanks to everyone for all the parenting advice though.

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:The Good Dinosaur, yeah. Great film, definitely one of the scarier Pixar movies.

really. skipping over the fact that i don't think it's great, but scary? no wonder you can't handle frozen

Yes, my (at the time) 3 year old autistic son found it scary.

What’s the fact that he’s autistic got to do with it?

It has everything to do with it.

massimo wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:The Good Dinosaur, yeah. Great film, definitely one of the scarier Pixar movies.

really. skipping over the fact that i don't think it's great, but scary? no wonder you can't handle frozen

Yes, my (at the time) 3 year old autistic son found it scary.

What’s the fact that he’s autistic got to do with it?

It has everything to do with it.

No it doesn’t. Autism doesn’t make you more afraid of things

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

massimo wrote:The Good Dinosaur, yeah. Great film, definitely one of the scarier Pixar movies.

really. skipping over the fact that i don't think it's great, but scary? no wonder you can't handle frozen

Yes, my (at the time) 3 year old autistic son found it scary.

What’s the fact that he’s autistic got to do with it?

It has everything to do with it.

No it doesn’t. Autism doesn’t make you more afraid of things

Ah okay, I didn't know that. Thanks.

It’s not just Disney/Pixar, this was one that gave me a bit of a fearful reaction as a kid - I think it was more the implied violence and death, as well as the destruction of the home and refugee children.



Somehow animated films can have more emotional impact than live action for me. Wall-e and Finding Nemo always make me tear up.

jimbojango wrote:It’s not just Disney/Pixar, this was one that gave me a bit of a fearful reaction as a kid - I think it was more the implied violence and death, as well as the destruction of the home and refugee children.



Somehow animated films can have more emotional impact than live action for me. Wall-e and Finding Nemo always make me tear up.

American Tail is similarly not a walk in the park. But most of Don Bluth's are (All Dogs Go To Heaven also continues the trend of kids films that approach death).

The autism is to be considered here, as the usual formats of dealing with these types of situations may not work with massimo's kid. But from my personal viewpoint and plan going forward with my own kid when it comes go these situations is to attempt a discussion about why and what the situation is before allowing them to make the decision if they wish to continue. Then at least they are given something to digest about it rather than being sheltered away (which as a parent is often far easier a solution as it saves hassle).

Kids I think need to be challenged in their thoughts and development beyond being plonked in front of a screen because its the easy option. Unfortunately it's not so simple to approach these alternative methods for lots of reasons. But I want mine to be able to not be an emotional mess when she's my age

Benzin wrote:

jimbojango wrote:It’s not just Disney/Pixar, this was one that gave me a bit of a fearful reaction as a kid - I think it was more the implied violence and death, as well as the destruction of the home and refugee children.



Somehow animated films can have more emotional impact than live action for me. Wall-e and Finding Nemo always make me tear up.

American Tail is similarly not a walk in the park. But most of Don Bluth's are (All Dogs Go To Heaven also continues the trend of kids films that approach death).

The autism is to be considered here, as the usual formats of dealing with these types of situations may not work with massimo's kid. But from my personal viewpoint and plan going forward with my own kid when it comes go these situations is to attempt a discussion about why and what the situation is before allowing them to make the decision if they wish to continue. Then at least they are given something to digest about it rather than being sheltered away (which as a parent is often far easier a solution as it saves hassle).

Kids I think need to be challenged in their thoughts and development beyond being plonked in front of a screen because its the easy option. Unfortunately it's not so simple to approach these alternative methods for lots of reasons. But I want mine to be able to not be an emotional mess when she's my age

Well you shouldn’t shelter autistic kids either. Apart from anything films are easier to understand than people and may be an ideal way to teach those with communication problems

Transformers The Movie has so much death and destruction for a kids film, the acid vat scene which shows several unnamed robots screaming while being melted was particularly nasty as is the scene where Starscream is murdered by Galvatron.

Benzin wrote:

Squinty wrote:I agree with attempting to shield really young kids from death in media. Wait until they are older.

What's the right age though? The problem with this is that real life might throw the death dice at super young kids so they'll get exposed to it anyway.

Not sure about the right age. That's dependant on the child and the parents.

I also said 'attempt to shield', I understand stuff like the scenario you stated happens, but I still think it's better to keep young kids away from it if you can. It's a lot to process.

My kids didn't watch anything but CBeebies for years - they didn't know there was anything else.

No adverts is a big plus, no chance of inappropriate content and when something comes on they aren't arsed about, they just stop watching.

I think you should absolutely shelter children from life's horrors and allow them to remain children for as long as possible.

The 'am I going to die daddy?' conversation came soon enough with my eldest. Growing up is gooseberry fool.