Have you ever been scared by a not-so-scary children’s movie? Well, so have many other people, and there are many children’s movies that are meant to be light-hearted and fun but have some questionable spooky parts in them.

The recent 2022 “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is a great example of a scary not-so-scary movie. This childhood movie franchise made its comeback after a 10-year hiatus, and the latest installment movie follows Puss and his journey to restore his nine lives by finding the “last wish.”  

Accompanied by his estranged partner, Kitty Softpaws, and new acquaintance, Perrito, they embark on their adventure. They dodge challenging obstacles and evil opponents. While doing so, Puss has run-ins with an eerie and scary antagonist who makes him question if his life is worth it. 

This movie will definitely send chills down your back when the antagonist comes on screen. For a children’s movie, it definitely has a deep and philosophical message that makes you question what makes life important, which, in itself, is already a scary thought. The deeper message is to enjoy the life you already have. 

Besides “Puss in Boots,” a controversial take on a scary-not-scary movie is the live-action version of “The Cat in the Hat,” a character beloved by many children and adults. Nearly everyone grew up on Dr. Seuss’ books – “Green Eggs and Ham,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and “Horton Hears a Who!” –  and learned to love his work. 

Now, Seuss’s style of illustration was already disturbing and scary on its own, but dressing up Mike Myers as a life-sized cat puts the icing on the cake. If you can get past the fact that there is a human-like cat who tries to “teach kids how to have fun,” then it is a very silly, fun movie. But beware, you might get nightmares. 

One other children’s movie that is unexpectedly disturbing and scary is “Toy Story 1.” For the most part “Toy Story” is an exciting and amusing children’s movie. It gets deep when Woody and Buzz, Andy’s toys, get captured by the antagonist Sid, a human boy. 

Sid is a disturbing child who decapitates his toys and morphs them to other toys’ bodies. As a child, and even as an adult, that part can be very freaky and scary to watch. 

There are definitely many children’s movies that are scary when they are not meant to be. Think “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” or “Jumanji.” All these movies have a spooky, creepy factor in them, even when not trying to. So, next time you watch a movie marketed toward kids, look out for the scary parts that may leave a mark.