Updated on September 9th, 2026
I have been feeling nostalgic lately, and for this post, I wanted to rewatch scary children’s movies. The movies were age-appropriate for children, but they scared me as a kid.
Jumanji (1995)
The first movie I watched was Jumanji on Netflix. I could only watch this movie once despite having it on VHS. The concept of being forced to play a board game with all these wild animals scared me. I only remembered the boy being trapped in the game and the scene with the rhinos and elephants stampeding through the house.
Rewatching this movie 15 or so years later, the animals appear unrealistic. However, as a kid, I could see how they were scary, especially with the stampede and the crocodile. The acting in the movie was still great. Robin Williams did a wonderful job portraying a man who was trapped in a board game for decades. Rewatching this movie has made me appreciate it more, and I look forward to watching Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)
The next movie I watched was Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. I loved Scooby-Doo as a kid, and my parents bought me many movies on VHS, but I could only watch this one once. At the end of all the Scooby-Doo episodes and movies, the monster was caught, and the person behind the mask was revealed, but in this movie the monsters were REAL. In this movie, the gang goes to Louisiana to investigate haunted houses. During their visit to a secluded plantation, they encounter ghosts, zombies, and even werecats.
I especially remember the scene with the zombies coming out of the ground and Shaggy and Scooby-Doo being in the van while that happened. When I rewatched this movie, I noticed the animation is a bit outdated, but it was still good considering this movie is over 20 years old. This movie was not scary now, but I could see why the scenes with the monsters were creepy as a kid. Despite all the real monsters, this movie had a good and unexpected ending, and I am glad I rewatched it.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
I then watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I remember watching this movie at my elementary school, and I did not like it at all. The concept of winning a ticket to a chocolate factory seemed fun, but the Oompa Loompas and the boat scene were downright scary. When I rewatched this movie, it was much more enjoyable. I loved the songs in this movie, and the acting was great. However, the boat scene was still creepy, especially with Gene Wilder’s singing. I enjoyed rewatching this movie, and I want to rewatch Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory now.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
The last movie I watched was FernGully: The Last Rainforest. I believe I also watched FernGully in school, and I remember liking the fairies, but the scenes with the logging terrified me. While rewatching the movie, I did not remember that the movie was set in Australia. I can see why the leveler scared me because it was explicitly described as a monster, and it almost killed Crysta and Zak. The scenes with Hexxus, the spirit of destruction, were creepy even rewatching as an adult. Hexxus was released when the tree that trapped him was cut down, and he wants to take revenge on FernGully because Magi Lune trapped him. I also did not remember there were songs, but I did not really like them. Overall, I do think FernGully is a good movie with a great environmental message, but some of the imagery is unsettling.
For some Halloween movie suggestions, you can check out my posts on The 25 Best Disney+ Movies to Watch This Halloween and The Best Netflix Movies + Series to Watch This Halloween.
Jumanji is really scary!
The movie that scared me was Ghostbusters where the man comes out of the painting. I still hate seeing that face!
Jumanji is scary, but it is more watchable as an adult haha
Ghostbusters does have some scary scenes!
My younger sister and I watched Beetlejuice a lot lol. And looking back Willy Wonka is completely horrifying
I LOVE Beetlejuice & I would love it if they made a sequel!
It is horrifying especially the boat scene!
I love watching children scary movies. Willy Wonka is a cool one. Thank you for sharing.
I do like Willy Wonka, but the boat scene still creeps me out haha
I’m embarrassed I only watched these movies in clips, not in full. For the willy wonka, I’ve only seen a parody of it haha it was “scary movie.” thanks for sharing your experience!
That’s okay! The parody of willy wonka sounds interesting haha
Actually I’m with another commenter on Watership Down – the nightmare scenes of the dying rabbits in their warren haunted me for months!
I bet! I don’t think I’ve watched the movie as a kid or I blocked it out from my memory heh
I really love the idea of this! I’ve been racking my brains and I can’t think of any movies I found scary when I was younger, although I’m sure there were some! I did love Scooby Doo though. Thanks for sharing x
Thank you! There weren’t that many movies I watched as a kid that scared me, but these 3 I remember. I loved watching Scooby Doo too & I had a lot of the movies on VHS haha
That Scooby Doo movie was my favourite! It’s been so long since I’ve watched it!
It’s a good movie, but I didn’t like it as a kid because of the zombies haha
Oh I miss watching Willy Wonka. That’s a cool movie too. Thank you for sharing.
It is a cool movie minus the boat scene haha
Couldn’t resist this one as a movie fan!
Jumanji is TOTAL nostalgia for me, I think I may actually know it by heart… (I’m really annoying to watch films with sometimes!)
The tunnel scene in WW is still freaky, even for me, and I LOVE a good horror.
I can’t really think of a movie that scared me as a little kid, Watership Down seems obvious, but now I really wanna find some classic Halloween films from my childhood (The Witches anyone?)
Thanks for sharing!
I appreciate Jumanji a lot more now that I’m an adult, but as a kid, I couldn’t watch it because it was too scary to me.
Yes! Why is the tunnel scene so creepy especially when it’s supposed to be a movie for kids?!
I haven’t seen The Witches, but I do want to see it as well as the 2020 version.
Love this post! I didn’t like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory either because the scene where Charlie almost dies freaked me out- they took that one out of the Jonny Depp version haha! I love watching films you used to find super scary x
Thank you! Haha that scene was a bit scary too. The Johnny Depp version does seem more light hearted since they don’t have the creepy boat scene or Charlie almost dying!
I haven’t watched any of these movies but I would love to watch them. My sisters watched Jumanji and they absolutely loved it.
Jumanji is a classic & the remake is great as well! I also loved the Scooby-Doo movies as a kid1
I let my three kids watch entry level horror films and I recently let them watch The Witches from 1990 starring Angelica Houston. I forgot that it’s quite scary for a little child.
How about Return To Oz?
I have never seen Return to Oz, but I have heard that it is quite dark so it could scare young children.
Awesome job on this post! I’m doing similar stuff if you’re interested in checking out my blog. I just started but I will be mainly posting about TV Shows and Movies, categorized to suit one’s interests. I just posted about the 5 MOVIES FOR THE BUSINESSMAN. go check it out! https://tvbatch.wordpress.com/
please check out my blog of scary stories
I will!
E.T. scared me as a child and it still freaks me out til this day. It’s a really well done movie but really scares me.
That’s understandable!
Jumanji is a must see! I watched it on VHS nearly every Sunday afternoon.
Yes it is!
Reblogged this on WILDsound Writing and Film Festival Review.
I used to loooooove Jumanji!! It was my favorite movie as a kid :))) Not scary at all, I was so interested in that movie, could watch it twice a day haha 😀
I’m glad you enjoyed it as a kid! Have you seen the movie since then?
No laughing please – Watership Down was quite scary as a youngster (but I love it now as an adult) 🙂
Well the bunnies dying can be scary especially if you’re a kid!
Those movies weren’t that scary to me as Men in Black was! But damn the nostalgia hit me while reading your post.
I loved Men in Black haha
I mean i liked it too but it was damn scary with all the freaky aliens
That’s understandable
It’s always fun to rewatch these types of movies! Cute post!
Have a lovely day!
xx Kris
https://dreamingofpink.wordpress.com
Thank you! I hope you have a great day too! 😊
I’ve nominated you for the Liebster award!
https://stormsuniverse.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/liebster-award/ x
Thank you! 😄
You’re welcome!
I hope you feel better soon first of all 😊 Really enjoyed reading this post. I had to think a bit about the movie that scared me as a kid. I honestly can’t think of one (at least not when I was a really young kid). But, when I was about 11 or 12 years old I saw a movie that scared the heck out of me. Well, at least the ending did and that was the Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Donald Sutherland. Wow…that ending…it was so incredibly scary 😊
Thank you! 😊
I haven’t seen that movie before, but I’ve heard about it! Have you rewatched it since then?
Yep, actually quite a few times. Now that you are prepared for it, I can handle it better. But it’s still one hell of a creepy movie 😊
I enjoyed these movies and still do specially when I’m trying to relax. The movie that scared me as a kid though is Alien I guess that doesn’t count lol.
It can count haha 😄
Charlie and the chocolate factory horrified me too! We were analyzing the movie and that particular scene for a course i took in uni and we learned that the scene was mostly improvised by Gene, the passengers genuinely had no idea what was going to happen so their reactions are all real.
That’s crazy!