Don Bluth left Disney to pursue his own dream: to scar children for life. But which Don Bluth film is the most terrifying? To decide, I chose to rank them entirely based on my unreliable memory from whenever they last terrified me as a child.
9. The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
The bad guy in this movie was a weightlifting bro-penguin rapist named Drake.
Voiced by Tim Curry
But honestly the scariest part is how they try to distinguish between the penguin sexes by giving the girl penguins ludicrous human curves:
Why would penguins need boobs???
8. A Troll in Central Park (1994)
I mean, yes, this movie was scary-bad, so it automatically ranks higher, but the scariest part is honestly that these two infants are left to wander around New York City alone:
Do you HAVE parents??
Honestly I’m thinking the trolls they meet in central park are a childish imagining to block out their real abductors and the trauma that ensues.
7. Thumbelina (1994)
I don’t remember a ton about Thumbelina (besides this annoying-ass song) but there were at least two terrifying parts. When Prince Cornelius is frozen in ice:
How does this even HAPPEN?
I remember it really bothered me that his finger was still sticking out. That shit is going to turn black and snap off, Cornelius. Of course, even scarier is when Thumbelina is roped into marrying Mr. Mole, who hates sunlight and probably smells like mildew:
And you do NOT want to see what’s under that cumberbund
6. An American Tail (1986)
Besides the countless times someone almost gets stepped on or worse, you have this:
Which I think speaks for itself
5. Anastasia (1997)
Granted, I was a little older when this one came out, which I think is the only reason this guy doesn’t rank higher on the list:
He’s like a creepy demon zombie sorcerer
4. Rock-a-Doodle (1992)
I don’t have as clear a memory of this one, besides that it included live-action footage of bad flooding, which hit pretty close to home.
Also this thing
3. The Land Before Time (1988)
Yeah, sure, kids love dinosaurs. They also love tons of violence and the worst on-screen parent death until Mufasa.
I’LL HAUNT YOUR NIGHTMARES UNTIL JURASSIC PARK MAKES ME ALL THE MORE REAL
Kids love them some emotional trauma
2. All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
What the fuck is this movie
There is literally a dog hell
And even if the protagonists don’t end up there
THEY STILL END UP DEAD WTF WTF WTF
1. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
It is impossible to find a screencap of this movie that ISN’T fucking terrifying.
Creepy
Is that a good guy? What the hell?
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT
STOP
IT JUST GETS WORSE
In conclusion, this movie still haunts my nightmares.
Previously: Disney Villains Ranked by Scariness
For some reason, I watched The Pebble and the Penguin a LOT as a kid. My poor, poor parents.
Do you think it’s influenced who you are as an adult?
AAAAUUUGH BIRDS WITH TEETH DON BLUTH WHYYY
Agreed, Don Bluth films were pretty much an excuse for one man to leave the hallowed halls of Disney (which aside from some obvious issues against 2 parent functional families, is popularly based on happiness and positive reinforcement of socially accepted morals) and traumatize an entire generation. I remember All of these movies and I must say:
1. Secret of NIMH is by far the creepiest.
2. Littlefoot’s mother dying in Land Before Time is SOOOOO much sadder than Mufasa croaking in Lion King. I’ve never understood why people thought that was so ridiculously sad…
3. Does All Dogs Go To Heaven make sense to Anybody??? I saw it recently on tv actually and it just reminded me why our generation is so screwy…
and finally
Do any of these movies stand up to the hella creepiness which is Little Nemo(1989) ???