Ready to ruin your childhood movies? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the most troubling anecdotes concerning behind-the-scenes events or behavior during the production of children’s films.
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00:00 "Daddy likes to tell stories. Mommy says he tells stories all the time."
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most troubling anecdotes
00:08 concerning behind-the-scenes events or behavior during the production of children's films.
00:12 "Our houses are fine."
00:14 "You think that, only because you don't know any better."
00:16 Anti-Union Retaliation, Dumbo
00:19 The Disney animators' strike of 1941 was a complex situation with a lot of moving parts.
00:24 Over 200 staff members walked out on May 29th of that year, but many also remained on the job,
00:29 working on the animated feature, Dumbo.
00:31 "He is the charming little boy."
00:34 "Adorable, simply adorable."
00:38 The tensions of this time can be seen within the finished product, too,
00:41 since a number of the circus clowns were allegedly animated with appearances
00:44 that mocked the striking workers.
00:46 It may seem petty, but that's nothing compared to the virulent back-and-forth
00:55 between Disney loyalists and those out on the picket line.
00:58 "He poured his passion, everything he believed in, into the studio."
01:01 "It was the studio that went against him at this point."
01:05 "It was his own creation that went against him."
01:07 A Very Hot Line, The Santa Claus
01:09 The folks behind the scenes of Disney's The Santa Claus must wish they'd made sure
01:13 that the phone number mentioned by Tim Allen during a scene wasn't actually real.
01:17 "It's just kind of baby to believe in that kind of stuff."
01:19 "What are you talking about? I believe in Santa Claus, I'm not a baby."
01:24 "Well..."
01:24 "Maybe it is time you left. We don't want to keep Dr. Pinhead waiting."
01:28 Unfortunately, 1-800-SPANK-ME was indeed a verified adult-oriented phone line,
01:33 resulting in a number of curious calls from those who had heard the number during the theatrical
01:37 and early home video runs of The Santa Claus.
01:39 "1-800-SPANK-ME? I know that number."
01:42 "Ah, and a Merry Christmas to you, too."
01:45 The phone number would soon be edited out of subsequent DVD,
01:48 Blu-ray, and streaming versions of the film.
01:51 Another interesting fact about The Santa Claus was how Santa's original demise was
01:55 written as being mistakenly shot by Allen after the latter mistaked Saint Nick for a burglar.
01:59 "He's Santa! You killed him!"
02:03 "Did not. And he's not Santa."
02:06 "Well, he was."
02:08 Bobby Driscoll's Death, Peter Pan
02:10 "Gone? Then we gotta find him. Something might happen to him. If he runs around loose."
02:18 For a time, it seemed as if child star Bobby Driscoll had made it in the business.
02:22 Early success led to Driscoll earning a contract with Walt Disney.
02:26 The young actor appeared in several movies and even served as the voice for Peter Pan in 1953.
02:30 "Nobody calls Pan a coward who lives off of a young man to man with one hand behind my back."
02:36 However, Driscoll's physical changes due to puberty led to him being let go by Disney
02:41 after this film, and this rejection eventually led to the young man struggling with drugs.
02:45 Driscoll worked occasionally afterward, while also focusing his attention on the avant-garde
02:49 art scene of New York, but suffered multiple arrests and looked back upon his career with
02:53 disillusion. In 1968, his body was found in a New York tenement but was unidentified for
02:58 over a year, during which time Bobby Driscoll's remains were interred on Long Island's Potter's
03:03 Field. "Bobby Driscoll said it best. I was brought out on a silver platter and then
03:08 dumped in the trash." Flushed away, Finding Nemo. "I was aiming for the toilet."
03:13 "The toilet?" "All drains lead to the ocean, kid."
03:16 "Wow. How many times have you tried to get out?" "I've lost count."
03:21 Parents of small children are often tasked with recovering things that were mistakenly flushed
03:25 down a toilet. However, an LA Times article from 2003 detailed a strange phenomenon that began
03:31 occurring shortly after the premiere of Finding Nemo. The article goes on to describe situations
03:35 where Roto-Rooter had been fielding calls by frustrated parents whose children were
03:39 flushing fish down the toilet. "Tell your dad I said hi."
03:43 "Go get him." These actions were done in order to imitate Nemo's plot of a clownfish-seeking
03:53 adventure. Unfortunately, these freed fish were tragically killed by their journeys into
03:57 the sewer system. "It's over, Dory. We were too late. Nemo's gone. I'm going home now."
04:06 Another disturbing fact about Finding Nemo was how the film's head shader was sent out by Pixar
04:11 to take photos of dead beached whales for what we can only assume is gross accuracy.
04:16 Troubling Allegations - The Wizard of Oz Many fans are aware by now of the dark
04:21 side of old-school Hollywood. A number of troubling allegations surround The Wizard
04:25 of Oz, including revelations about how asbestos was used in shooting the snow sequences.
04:30 "You're waking up! Unusual weather we're having, ain't it?"
04:40 Additionally, Judy Garland's time on set was reportedly made hellish by touchy munchkins,
04:45 abusive directors, and a studio that was constantly critical of her appearance.
04:49 Garland was allegedly put on a strict diet by NGM execs, had her bust taped down so she could
04:53 appear younger, and made to work long, arduous hours. "I won't look any further than my own
04:58 backyard, because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with."
05:05 The reports of Garland being medicated with uppers and downers during this time
05:08 have also led to The Wizard of Oz becoming almost as infamous as it is famous.
05:12 "They thought they could get away with anything because they were so small."
05:16 Apocalyptic Inspiration - WALL-E There's no denying that Disney and Pixar's
05:20 WALL-E is an adorable film with a ton of emotion and heart.
05:23 Researching this beautifully animated feature actually led the Pixar team to some pretty dark
05:37 places however, specifically the aftermath of Chernobyl. The film's post-apocalyptic landscapes
05:43 were inspired not only by the appearance of a post-Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine,
05:47 but also the city of Sofia, Bulgaria. This area imports a lot of waste from within the European
05:52 Union and has historically struggled with how this waste is stored. It makes the viewing of
05:56 WALL-E strike an even stronger chord, knowing the real-life visualization cues incorporated
06:01 by the filmmakers. Gone Too Soon - Judith Barsey - All Dogs Go to Heaven
06:15 "Someone's in the kitchen with the high knock. Someone's in the kitchen I know."
06:21 Judith Barsey had a promising career ahead of her, but this early success cast a large shadow
06:27 over her young life. After being cast in a 1984 miniseries called Fatal Vision,
06:32 she was consistently landing quality roles. Barsey even voiced the memorable character
06:36 Ducky in Dom Bluth's The Land Before Time. Unfortunately, her life outside of Hollywood
06:50 was turbulent due to her father's unforgivable behavior. He regularly tormented both Barsey
06:56 and her mother, and soon, the young actress started developing physical compulsions,
07:00 thanks to the trauma of this home environment. Then, in 1988, Barsey's father tragically ended
07:05 the lives of Judith and her mother, before taking his own. All Dogs Go to Heaven was
07:09 dedicated to Judith Barsey's memory. Pan Am Flight A-12 - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
07:32 We don't normally research much into the trains, planes, and automobiles that make up the background
07:36 shots of our favorite movies. However, a plane that was utilized in 1971's Willy Wonka and the
07:41 Chocolate Factory possesses a truly chilling history. The Boeing 707-321B made a brief
07:56 appearance in the film as a cargo plane that's carrying Wonka bars. However, that same Boeing
08:01 would later become involved with what's known today as the deadliest aviation accident to ever
08:05 take place in Indonesia. Pan Am Flight A-12 was attempting to land on a runway in Denpasar when
08:11 it crashed en route to its final destination in Bali. All 107 on board the plane lost their lives.
08:16 Historical Inaccuracies - Pocahontas
08:23 Disney movies such as Hercules and Pocahontas have been largely criticized for their historical
08:27 and mythological inaccuracies. The specific reality of Pocahontas is one of colonial violence,
08:42 tragedy, and injustice. The real-life Pocahontas was known as both Aminute and Matawaka in her
08:48 tribe, and she was a minor when a 27-year-old John Smith aggressively entered her village.
08:53 A few years later, her husband was murdered and her freedom traded for a copper pot.
09:10 The young woman was essentially kidnapped, anglicized, and utilized as a political tool.
09:15 There is evidence that Pocahontas, now named Rebecca, eventually came to love her English
09:19 husband John Rolfe, but the love story between her and Smith is unequivocally false.
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09:49 Nazi Sympathy? Pinocchio
09:51 World War II was still on the horizon when production on Walt Disney's Pinocchio began
09:55 in late 1938. The United States had not yet become involved with what was going on with
10:09 Adolf Hitler in Europe, and opinions still differed as to the severity of the Führer's
10:13 actions in Germany. Christian Röb was the actor who voiced Geppetto in the film,
10:17 and it's been reported in books such as Robin R. Allen's Walt Disney in Europe that Röb would
10:22 allegedly annoy production staff with his vocal admiration of Hitler. This anecdote has led some
10:27 to retroactively label Röb as a Nazi sympathizer, tarnishing Pinocchio's legacy. Did any of these
10:37 stories shock you? Let us know in the comments.
10:52 [Music]