Thanks to internet discussion and the transcendence of pop culture nostalgia in general, the works that shape a collective youth seem to remain close to one's heart - even years down the line. But there is something to be said about the family films that, while winning over their audience with heroic, "happily ever after" endings, took many unexpected-and-jarring turns along the way-- moments that could go toe-to-toe with the best scares in horror cinema.
Allow the following films - all released in the 1990s - to remind viewers who grew up watching them of the terror they either always attributed their way, or never realized they should... until now.
Jumanji
Those who consider former Saturday Night Live head writer John Mulaney's 2013 standup bit about "quicksand" as a childhood fear that disappears once one reaches adulthood need not look further than Jumanji to explain away the root cause.
After the initial overwhelm provided by the basic plot, two kids discover a man (Robin Williams) who has been trapped inside a magic board game for decades. Fans of all ages could strap in and follow their journey, and when Williams' character begins to become pulled by the forceful grasp of quicksand, they felt themselves sinking all the same.
Toy Story 2
Jesse's backstory? Say no more. Over the years, the Pixar saga, whose two initial installments served as playtime fixtures for every '90s child, never failed to rub it in kids' faces that one day, they too would come to abandon their toys - no matter how often they would object.
A standout moment where this rung true was during the flashback that detailed the end of Jesse's relationship with her former owner. Toy Story and its sequels inspired a wave of similar Pixar-projects that did not shy away from convincing its audiences to cry. Cry they did, and cry they always will.
Madeline: Lost in Paris
No musical numbers distributed throughout could save any child-of-the-'90s from the horror show that was the plot of this film.
Based on the show of the same name, Madeline: Lost in Paris tackles orphan children who are kidnapped into slave labor. Pretty bold for any film - especially an animated effort aimed toward kids. It prepared audiences the world over of the unkind who roam each end of the globe. While its darker elements may have gone over the head of those too young to process, it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime for any-and-all takers to the challenge of confronting what they had previously missed.
The Lion King
When Mufasa died in The Lion King, a part of every viewer died too. The iconic 1994 Disney film is as memorable for teaching kids how to say "goodbye" to their parents as it is for teaching them how to bid farewell to their own childhoods. Simba's rise from baby lion to his father's heir is a story that warms the hearts of all those who love to rewatch and reflect upon it with ease.
Despite the feel-good payoff in the final act, it is the unfortunate, inevitable reality it conveys - mourning the loss of a parent - that solidifies The Lion King as a film that scarred as much as it entertained.
Matilda
1996's Matilda, which is set to earn a musical revival, stars the film's director Danny DeVito and real-life wife Rhea Perlman (Cheers) as the emotionally-abusive parents of telekinetic wunderkind Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson).
While generally a feel-good film about how Matilda gets back at her adversaries through schemes and traps in ways not dissimilar to Home Alone, it is her unfortunate allotment in life that instills fearfulness within each-and-every viewer. That their parents or teachers too could turn on them at any moment, or worse off: a fellow classmate could develop powers like Matilda, and use them for evil.
Doug's 1st Movie
If Disney giving Doug's white undershirt SLEEVES after reviving the cartoon that originated at Nickelodeon was not revolting enough, the icon's first (and still only) film iteration sure does take the cake.
In the cold open teaser of the 1999 film, Doug and his best bud Skeeter confront a legend's monster of the local lake. Sending audiences this jolt of shadowy terror from the jump may at first seem to be what landed the picture on the list. However, it's the image of the distinct, dinosaur-looking monster, whom they attempted to pass off as a fellow student after befriending him, that sent chills down '90s kids spines in the moment.
Witches
The wig removal. The little boy turned into a mouse. The horror... A PG-rated movie could not possibly cause such mental torment, right? Enter Nicolas Roeg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's book-of-the-same name. The story - a young orphan who uncovers a witch conspiracy to rid Mother England of all its children, though entertaining, indefinitely leaves younger audiences rife with scarring afterward.
It is appointment viewing come each Halloween, but make no mistake about it - The Witches constitutes certifiable nightmare fuel. And with a much-anticipated theatrical revisitation on the way, leave it to '90s kids to warn the current crop of children moviegoers what they are in for.
The Rugrats Movie
From the general unease that audiences are meant to feel while the titular babies are lost in the wild to Tommy's brief, ill-advised and jealousy-inspired contemplation of smothering his own baby brother, Nickelodeon's feature-length iteration of its most popular show checked off many boxes in the trauma-producing column.
While tearing it up at the 1998 box-office and performing exceptionally in its classic, orange VHS tape form as well, The Rugrats Movie dared to explore narrative terrain the creators could not on TV. Moreover, parents who tuned out the show as it ran on a loop in their living rooms were most definitely drawn to the struggles of the adult characters within the film. A child gone missing is an all-too-feared scenario that frequently turns up on the news. The film does provide a happy ending, but not before permanently convincing its young fans to never leave the nest again.
Jack Frost
What The Lion King did in 1994 was explain-by-way-of-seed-planting, in Disney's rich-as-can-be mode of animated story-telling, is that most everyone's parents, and they themselves, will pass away. A few years later, 1998's family comedy/drama Jack Frost (not to be confused with the '90s horror film-of-the-same-name) similarly depicted the Batman they grew up with, Michael Keaton, dying, only to be resurrected in snowman form.
Fun-and-games are had while his character rekindles an estranged relationship with his young son by providing him protection against bullies. One thing is assured in the slightly older audiences' minds: if the conflicts-at-play in The Lion King, and even Frosty the Snowman, had taught them anything - it is that soon, the other snowboot will drop.
Edward Scissorhands
Between his two Batman films (disqualified from contention on the family film-exclusive list, due to their PG-13 rating), Tim Burton made sure suburban citizens never trusted their local haircutters or their own bland houses ever again.
Johnny Depp underwent a transformative makeover to play the title character - an artificial, unfinished loner with a Frankenstein complex. Frightened viewers would initially be reluctant to accept Edward as unmenacing. Yet no matter when one turns in for a repeat viewing, a single glance at the hallowed mansion watching over the townsfolk will send them right back to the terror they felt as children.