Finding an entirely “family-friendly” movie sometimes seems nearly impossible.
In this list, we’ll go over some moments that genuinely made us wonder what was going through the minds of these screenwriters when they came up with these weirdly inappropriate moments in kids’ movies.
Stinky Pete’s Casting Couch Joke in Toy Story 2
While this scene isn’t technically “in” the movie, it’s still shocking to see it in a Toy Story film, of all places. Toy Story 2 features a “bloopers” reel while its credits roll, featuring some of the characters acknowledging the fact that they’re characters in a movie.
In one of these outtakes, the film’s villain, Stinky Pete, channels his best Harvey Weinstein when he tells some Barbie dolls that he could find them a role in the then-upcoming Toy Story 3. A casting couch gag is not unusual, but did you really expect to see it at the end of one of Disney’s sweetest movies?
Scooby-Doo’s Oddly Off-Color Jokes
2002’s live-action Scooby-Doo is one of those films that just embodies the spirit of the times when it was released. Everything about Scooby-Doo screams of the early 2000s, from the ska songs to the weirdly inappropriate sexual innuendos scattered throughout its runtime.
Surprisingly enough, the movie got a PG rating, mostly due to its association with the classic Scooby-Doo cartoons. Once you realize that James Gunn wrote the original script aiming for an R-rating, those jokes about Fred fondling Daphne’s body and Shaggy’s love for “Mary Jane” suddenly make much more sense.
Clayton’s Left Hanging in Disney’s Tarzan
Disney’s Tarzan is a reasonably inoffensive movie. Sure, two people get violently killed by a jaguar and leave a child behind in one of the film’s very first scenes, but besides that, it’s all fun, games, and Phil Collins.
That said, the movie’s climax, featuring a confrontation between Tarzan and Clayton, an English huntsman, ends with the villain accidentally hanging himself. Not so much inappropriate as it is scarring, but still surprising for a Disney film. This won’t be the last time we mention the House of Mouse on this list, however.
Monster House’s Anatomy Lesson
Perhaps one of the most genuinely entertaining family-friendly Halloween movies ever released, Monster House can get rather dark in some parts. However, we’re here to discuss a scene that happens rather quickly and includes a joke that only adults might be able to get.
As the kids venture into the depths of the titular Monster House, they discover that the building looks somewhat similar to a human being on the inside. One of the things that stick out to one of the children is the house’s “uvula,” implying that they’re currently in its mouth. However, one of the kids mistakes the word “uvula” with another word concerning a very different body part, leading him to assume (correctly, funnily enough) that the house is a female. Awkward silence from the parents in the audience ensures.
Judge Doom’s Demise in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Although Who Framed Roger Rabbit somehow got a PG rating back in the day, this is one of those films that simply wouldn’t fly by today’s standards – not for kids, at least. Have you ever seen a scene between Bob Hoskins and Jessica Rabbit? Not precisely kid-friendly, right?
One scene, in particular, that’s undiluted nightmare fuel happens near the movie’s end when Detective Eddie Valiant defeats the villain, Christopher Lloyd’s Judge Doom. Seeing the villain writhe and scream as he dilutes into nothingness is enough to traumatize younger kids, and leave parents scratching their heads, wondering how this film classifies as a “kids’ movie.”
Puss In Boots’ Catnip in Shrek 2
Don’t let the incredible Puss in Boots: The Last Wish distract you from the fact that the rebellious feline had a run-in with the Far Far Away’s police department in 2004. The joke comes out of nowhere, featuring Shrek, Donkey, and Puss starring in a Cops spoof in which the authorities find that Puss carries a small bag of “catnip” on him.
Most of Chel’s Scenes in The Road to El Dorado
The Road to El Dorado is one of the most criminally underrated animated movies that Dreamworks has ever produced. However, in some scenes involving Chel, one of the only female characters, parents may find more than just a few questionable bits. One of these scenes features Chel getting rather cozy with Tulio, a Spanish adventurer who the people of El Dorado mistake for a deity.
The movie’s packed with innuendos, but some are dangerously close to crossing the line between what is and isn’t “kid-friendly.”
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Linguini’s Little Friend in Ratatouille
Don’t get me wrong: I’m positive Ratatouille is the best Pixar movie there is, but that doesn’t mean the film doesn’t have its share of adult jokes here and there. One scene that always sticks out is when Linguini tries to confess to his crush, Colette, that he has a rat who lives in his hat cooking for him. That makes so much more sense within the film’s context, trust me.
However, the inappropriateness comes when Linguini tries to say that he has a “little problem,” bringing his thumb and his index finger close together. Colette instinctively looks down at Linguini’s other “little chef” before she attempts to pepper spray him.
Willy Wonka’s Mad Tunnel
I don’t know which of the two films is more traumatizing: the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or the Tim Burton remake. That said, I do know which version features authentic footage of a chicken decapitation. Here’s a hint: it’s not the Burton one.
The infamous tunnel scene in the 1971 film has scarred children for generations. Not only did Gene Wilder improvise almost all of his Wonka lines during the terrifying scene, but the scenes that abruptly appear all over the screen have nothing to do with the rest of the film’s saccharine tone.
Blank Check’s Kissing Scene
A lot of children’s movies feature kissing scenes; Sleeping Beauty and Snow White feature a kiss as a central plot point. That said, what happens when said kiss happens between a 12-year-old kid and a 31-year-old adult? Because that’s the “epic” conclusion to Disney’s Blank Check.
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For the most part, Blank Check feels just like any other kids’ power fantasy flick where a young boy gets to do anything he wants. However, things take a turn for the creepy at the end, when the kid kisses an adult FBI agent on the lips. It’s so unexpected that it’s almost funny, even if it remains one of the most inappropriate and cringeworthy scenes ever in a film.
