Keep your nightmare-prone kids away from these... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 most terrifying, frightening, and disturbing animated movies.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Most Terrifying,
00:11Frightening, and Disturbing Animated Movies Viewer Discretion is Advised.
00:21Number 10, The Nightmare Before Christmas
00:35On the surface, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a goofy musical about Halloween messing
00:39with the traditions of Christmas, but we can understand how some folks might choose to
00:43avoid watching it.
00:51As whimsical as it can be in its own twisted ways, The Nightmare Before Christmas does
00:55contain some frightening visuals, particularly during the This is Halloween and Making Christmas
00:59numbers.
01:00So perhaps those who consider themselves to be faint of heart should hold off on watching
01:03this until they feel comfortable with the imagery.
01:05The same could absolutely be said for Corpse Bride.
01:21Number 9, Monster House
01:37One could joke about motion capture animation being disturbing on its own.
01:40Heck, we almost considered the Polar Express for this list for that reason.
01:43However, Monster House manages to be a perfect horror movie that everyone in the family can
01:47enjoy, assuming they like being scared, of course.
02:03With every gag and joke uttered, there are shots where you feel truly scared for the
02:07kids as the sentient house takes out people in some pretty vicious ways.
02:11For us, though, we will never forget the shot where DJ and Chowder look back and get a brief
02:15flash of the house's horrifying face.
02:33Number 8, The Secret of NIMH
02:50We'd be remiss if a Don Bluth movie didn't make it on this list, and The Secret of NIMH
02:54is the top of his work in terms of disturbing and scary animated movies.
03:07The movie explores many heavy themes that are further heightened by its rotoscope animation.
03:12Not only will you witness the struggles of taking care of a deathly ill loved one, but
03:15You'll also experience the harsh realities and brutal nature of the animal kingdom.
03:29This includes some of the horrifying things humans can do to animals.
03:32It's a spectacular film all around.
03:34Just know that this is not a fun film, or one you'll want to re-watch.
03:38The owl will make sure of that.
03:39Number 7, The Brave Little Toaster
04:01The Brave Little Toaster could have just been a cute movie about a cute kitchen appliance
04:04doing cute things.
04:13It could have been.
04:18But no.
04:20generation of kids several times within the span of 90 minutes.
04:34There's the scene with the flour, Toaster's nightmare, the chop shop, the junkyard, and
04:38that's all without getting into the general violence.
04:41Re-watching it now, we'd be amazed if at least one kid didn't walk away with a brand
04:44new phobia.
04:45How are we allowed to watch this stuff?
04:47Number 6, The Black Cauldron
04:59Disney movies once showed that they weren't afraid to get dirty, dark, or grim.
05:14But of the entire Disney collection, none have come as close to instilling a certain
05:17level of fear as The Black Cauldron.
05:19From the intimidating environments and the Horned King's appearance, to the music and
05:23death of one character, this truly is the most dismal Disney movie we've seen.
05:34Granted, it isn't as creepy as the other movies we're about to get into, but we wouldn't
05:48be surprised if most House of Mouse fanatics skip over this one.
05:51Number 5, Mad God
06:02Stop-motion animation and horror aren't the first two genres we blend together, but
06:06Mad God shows how it can be done.
06:14Running just a little over 80 minutes, Mad God takes viewers for a ride through a world
06:18that has been forever tainted and traumatized by the horrors of war.
06:27The violence is never-ending, as animals are held captive for experiments and human beasts
06:31roam freely at the top of the food chain, and factories supply husks to sustain higher
06:35life forms until the end of time.
06:37What's on the surface will disturb most viewers, but what's more disturbing is how some bits
06:41of Mad God relate to the modern world's political and social issues.
06:45Don't be surprised if this sticks with you long after viewing.
06:47Number 4, Watership Down
07:02For those who love animals, especially rodents, this one might be hard to sit through.
07:21Watership Down tells the story of a family of rabbits seeking refuge for a new home after
07:25their old one comes under the threat of desolation.
07:28What follows is a series of unfortunate events that will probably make you cry and, if you
07:32own a rodent as a pet, make you want to hug them as you sob.
07:42Really some of the moments you'll witness in Watership Down will make you forget all
07:45about Bambi and the Lion King.
07:58Number 3, Soul Station
08:11Folks would argue the less details and visuals, the less scary things can be.
08:15Soul Station completely debunks that notion.
08:17A prequel to the live-action Korean movie, Train to Busan, Soul Station explores what
08:22life was like before the events of the previous movie, but it isn't just the zombies and viscera
08:26that make this movie scary.
08:44Impending Doom is the name of the game.
08:46Hae-Soon and Ki-Won's struggle to make ends meet is depressingly relatable to some, but
08:50it is nothing compared to the 0-60 acceleration of going from normal life to zombie outbreak
08:55in which they find themselves.
09:07Number 2, Coraline
09:22Coraline could have very easily stolen our top spot, and it almost did.
09:26Since its debut, this movie has been considered one of the most frightening kids' movies
09:29of all time.
09:30From the set pieces, to the color schemes, to the buttoned eyes of the otherworld inhabitants,
09:34everything invokes that sick-to-our-stomachs feeling of something not being quite right.
09:40It isn't until the last third of the movie that Coraline finally takes a hard turn into
09:56its horrific imagery, and trust us when we say if you haven't seen this movie yet, it
10:05will follow you for the rest of your life.
10:07And if Coraline doesn't, Paranorman certainly will.
10:18Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:22The Plague Dogs
10:23Cujo has nothing on this canine flick.
10:42The Last Unicorn
10:43This fairytale film is not all sunshine and rainbows.
10:55Fears of the Dark
10:56You're going to need a colorful palate cleanser after this.
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11:27Perfect Blue
11:39You don't need grotesque visuals or horrifying character designs to truly terrify an audience.
11:44Sometimes all it takes is a taste of reality, something that filmmaker Satoshi Kon is very
11:48familiar with.
11:49Perfect Blue tells the story of a pop idol named Mima who retires from singing to pursue
11:53acting.
11:54However, not everyone is happy with her decision, and someone is pretending to be her while
11:59carrying out a series of grisly murders.
12:07You will feel her fear throughout the movie's 80-minute runtime, as you're constantly
12:10guessing who could be the killer.
12:12Adding to the fear is when you realize how relevant Perfect Blue truly is even today,
12:16especially for women on the internet.
12:18What's the scariest animated movie you've seen?
12:20Did it make our list?
12:21Let us know down in the comments.
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12:37Thanks for watching.
12:38See you next time.