When parents take their kids to the movies, they only have the best of intentions. They want to show their kids what fun a day out at the theater can be by introducing them to the magic of a story on the big screen. Yet, sometimes things don’t quite go according to plan. Although movies that are animated, feature child actors, or star puppets are usually considered kids’ stuff, every now and then these movies aren’t quite the family-friendly fare parents anticipate.

In fact, a surprising number of movies that are marketed to kids have... decidedly not-for-kids content. These films are the stuff of nightmares. They’re unexpectedly unsettling and not for the faint of heart. While only parents can truly judge what their children are ready to see at the movies, many of these films are too much for young children — and in some cases even for adults. In other cases, filmmakers use animation or other kid-friendly mediums for their films, even though their movies are anything but child appropriate. The recent adult muppets movie starring Melissa McCarthy is the latest example of this trend. The puppets may make parents believe the movie is for their little ones, but those puppets do things in the film that no regular Sesame Street viewer should see. These movies can lull parents into a false sense of security that they're quickly shocked out of after the movie starts. Here, we look at movies that look kid-friendly, but may actually induce nightmares — for children and their unsuspecting parents!

20 E.T.

It’s fair to say that E.T. is far from the worst offender on this list. Yet, many parents who remember the cute little alien and his friendship with Elliott (Henry Thomas) fondly, may not recall some other things about this Steven Speilberg classic. However, those who saw the movie too young know that for children of a certain age, if it looks scary, it is scary. And E.T. is a sight to behold — a shrivelled, awkward monster that might be hiding in your closet. Gah!

For kids that can get past that and embrace E.T.’s story, the movie also has some upsetting plot points like the government relentlessly pursuing Elliott and E.T. and a scene where E.T.appears to perish. That's pretty intense for a little kid.

19 ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Miley Cyrus may have explained it best when it comes to the Disney animated version of Alice in Wonderland, when she opined that it's all about illicit substance use. Whether or not Cyrus was accurate, one thing’s for sure — Alice in Wonderland is a trippy movie and Alice’s actions throughout the story are the cinematic equivalent of taking candy from strangers.

Alice repeatedly drinks and eats anything that instructs her to do so. She lets crazy characters blow smoke rings in her face and make her drinks. And after all that, her life is repeatedly threatened by the head-hunting Queen of Hearts. Kids may be more interested in the movie’s bright colors than its content, but it has a lot of messages parents would likely prefer their kids don’t absorb, even subconsciously.

18 BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA

The Bridge to Terabithia is a touching movie with many good lessons to impart, especially in our technology-obsessed times. Not only does it feature a platonic friendship between a young boy (Josh Hutcherson) and girl (AnnaSophia Robb), it also shows them using their imaginations and skills to create a fantasy kingdom all their own.

The part of the movie that develops the kids’ friendship and explores the wondrous land they build together is magical and totally absorbing. That’s why when tragedy strikes towards the end of the movie, it’s that much more devastating and traumatic. Young children and adults alike may cry themselves to sleep after watching this one.

17 THE NEVERENDING STORY

The NeverEnding Story includes a grieving child who's lost his mother, bullying, and a fantasy world that is being wiped out by an all-consuming void. The movie revolves around one boy's difficult quest to save his world from being blotted out of existence, a mission he comes very close to failing.

Ultimately, though, those who have seen this movie will agree that the worst part takes place early in the story when the hero's horse, Artax, slowly drowns. As the boy pleads, cries, and yells at his horse to try to prevent him from dying, the horse remains stock-still and succumbs to his fate. It's a tragic and unforgettable scene.

16 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT

For a movie that features every cartoon character ever created, including Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, Who Framed Roger Rabbit isn't exactly innocent. Jessica Rabbit may protest that she’s not bad, she’s “just drawn that way,” but the innuendo behind a great deal of the cartoon humor is hard to overlook.

However, the most traumatic part of the movie may be when Christopher Lloyd’s Judge Doom is run over by a steamroller, and yet still manages to get up as his eyes pop out and he reveals his true identity. It’s disturbing and kind of gross. His screams will haunt kids for years to come.

15 THE DARK CRYSTAL

The Dark Crystal is a Jim Henson movie but it's far from cute and cuddly. Instead, we get the story of a dystopian planet where cackling lizards called Skeksis rule and oppress the other, weaker species using a band of menacing crab-like creatures. When the mood suits them, they also drain the life essence of those species and drink it to keep themselves young.

On top of everything else, the Skeksis terrorize the only two remaining Gelphlings on the planet, after hunting the rest of the species out of existence. In the process, they bring part of a structure down on one, kidnap another and then force her to sacrifice herself. Pretty harrowing stuff for a kid.

14 RETURN TO OZ

In name at least, Return to Oz is a sequel to 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. However, the film is much more disturbing than the Judy Garland-starring original. Not only is the character of Dorothy Gale substantially younger in this film, but Aunty Em is so convinced there’s something wrong with her because of her constant references to Oz that she hands her over to a doctor for electro-shock therapy.

After Dorothy escapes and somehow makes it back to a decimated Oz, she encounters maniacal wheeled creatures stalking her every move, a queen who delights in taking other women’s heads to wear as her own, and a sadistic king made of rock who makes her play a high stakes game. So many nightmares to choose from…

13 CORALINE

This adaptation of a Neil Gaiman story is a cautionary tale that communicates the message that children should make the best of what they have, and it does so in frightening ways. When Coraline finds another set of parents on the other side of a mysterious door, she’s overjoyed. Unlike her neglectful real-world parents, her other parents are attentive and caring.

Of course, it soon becomes clear things aren’t exactly as they seem. Coraline’s other mother is really a scary creature who has created a dangerous world where she sucks the life out of children who then aren’t able to break free from her, even as ghosts. Kids may be too scared to understand the movie’s message that they should be careful what they wish for.

12 WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are both pretty odd films. They show kids doing terrible things and being punished in horrible ways for them. Plus, it’s hard to tell if Willy Wonka, the wacky maestro at the story’s center, is sinister or sweet.

But the reason the 1971 Roald Dahl adaptation made this list is one key scene. When Wonka takes the kids on a boat ride through a tunnel on a chocolate river, the film becomes what can best be described as a psychedelic head trip. Bugs and other scary images are projected on the walls as Wonka croons creepily. Meanwhile the kids in the movie are terrified — and those watching at home will be too.

11 THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD

With The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Disney created a double feature based on great children’s books. The stories didn’t have much in common outside of the fact that both could traumatize the kids watching. First, the story of Sleepy Hollow showed the headless horseman chasing and attacking a terrified Ichabod Crane. The open-ended finale of the short leaves plenty to the imagination.

Then, the story of Mr. Toad and his obsession with technology and all the misguided things he does to get his hands on it, is a tale of recklessness and acquisition that will haunt any smart phone-coveting tot. This short was turned into an even more frightening ride at Disneyland where Mr. Toad is offed, and riders accompany him to an underworld of fire and brimstone.

10 THE WITCHES

The Witches is just your everyday story about a group of witches who pretend to be regular women in order to draw children into their clutches and eat them. The witches attend a convention to discuss their plan to turn children everywhere into mice. Then, the head witch, played by Angelica Huston, peels her face off to reveal the ugly hag she truly is.

If that weren’t enough to traumatize children, the witches also test their mouse potion on a young boy (Jasen Fisher) who inadvertently stumbles into the witches’ meeting. His transformation is a convulsing, steaming, horrifying thing to behold. This movie has the potential to leave kids with serious trust issues.

9 BEOWULF

Maybe it’s because it’s animated. Maybe because it’s made by Robert Zemeckis, the same filmmaker responsible for kid-friendly The Polar Express. Maybe it’s because the movie's based on the epic poem that parents remember studying in school. Regardless, many parents got fooled into thinking that 2007’s Beowulf would be a good option for their kids.

The film features action no animated character should go through, much of it involving the deformed monster Grendel (Crispin Glover). Then there’s Grendel’s mother, a Water Demon, played by Angelina Jolie as an alluring, fantasy woman who lures in Beowulf (Ray Winstone). This movie isn’t the catalyst parents would want for discussing the birds and the bees with their kids.

8 COOL WORLD

Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cool World combines animation and live-action, but that doesn't make it appropriate for kids. Directed by Ralph Bakshi, the man who also brought the controversial animated film Fritz the Cat to the screen, this movie centers on Holli Would (Kim Basinger), a cartoon femme fatale who desperately wants to be real.

What Holli does to get what she wants involves luring in a cartoonist; this combines with manic action in both the cartoon and real worlds to make a dizzying and often disquieting misadventure. In the process, Holli offs a detective (Brad Pitt) and threatens the destruction of both worlds. The movie’s bright visuals might grab tots’ attention, but parents will mostly just want to shield their little ones’ eyes.

7 THE CORPSE BRIDE

The stop-motion animation of The Corpse Bride is visually stunning, but little kids may be too fixated on all the talk of decay to notice. The story of a young man (Johnny Depp) who accidentally weds a corpse (Helena Bonham Carter) while practicing his vows the night before his arranged marriage, is full of questionable images. That includes the maggot living in the Corpse Bride’s head that occasionally causes her eye to pop out.

In addition, the movie involves parents who are marrying their children off for money and the mystery of who "buried" the Corpse Bride. Mostly though, the film delights in the macabre in a way that may be far from delightful for young children.

6 SOUTH PARK: BIGGER LONGER & UNCUT

Pop culture-savvy parents should already be aware that although it’s animated with cute paper cut-out characters, the TV show South Park isn't made for anyone who hasn’t reached their teen years. While parents may apply similar age restrictions to 1999’s big screen Bigger Longer & Uncut, they should know that released from the shackles of TV censorship, the movie really lets loose.

The language the third graders, who are at the center of the movie, use, as well as the inappropriate situations they find themselves in, may be surprising even to adults. The movie is great satire, but kids may focus on its far more obvious vulgarity.

5 WATERSHIP DOWN

Based on the Richard Adams novel of the same name, Watership Down is surprisingly frank about how dangerous the world can be — even for a bunch of innocent bunnies. The story revolves around a group of rabbits who must abandon their threatened warren to find a new home.

The journey leads to a lot of pain, often depicted in a way not suitable for kids. While the movie is beautiful and poignant, the realistic way it treats life (and the loss thereof) can be disturbing, even for adults. Kids need to learn that pain — both physical and emotional — is a part of life, but animated rabbits may not be the best teachers.

4 GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES

If you need a good cry, Grave of the Fireflies is the movie for you. The anime film focuses on the story of two young siblings. That may make the movie seem like it’s for kids. However, the story is so sad, even adults may have a hard time getting through it.

In Japan towards the end of World War II, a brother and sister encounter the horrors of international aggression, including their house being bombed, their mother dying, and the ever-dwindling food supplies that cause both children to slowly starve. The film isn’t especially graphic or gory, but it also doesn’t sugarcoat its story. It’s a bleak and devastating movie about the collateral damage of military conflict.

3 TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE

No one is safe from the satirical aim of Team America: World Police. From Kim Jung-il to Alec Baldwin, the movie skewers anyone and everything that can be mocked, including the action genre from which the movie takes its cues.

Of course, the stars of this movie are marionettes, so parents could be forgiven for believing the film might be appropriate for children. Although adults may find the movie hilarious, however, the over-the-top violence, puppet canoodling, and explicit language will cause the comedy to go right over children’s heads. Also, it has some great songs, but parents would cringe if they heard their kids singing them.

2 HEAVY METAL

For people who were kids in the 1980s, Heavy Metal was the film that taught them that animated movies weren’t always for children. Of course, that made the movie all the more intriguing and many kids delighted in tricking their parents into taking them to see it when it came to theaters in 1981.

Those parents were likely just as traumatized as their children. The movie is definitely not kid-friendly, including scenes of all kinds of things young viewers shouldn’t see, even in animated form. Since its release, the movie has become a cult classic, but that doesn’t make its interlocking stories and gratuitous content any more appropriate for kids.

1 SAUSAGE PARTY

The double meaning behind Sausage Party’s title should tip viewers off to the film’s less than pure intentions. However, the colorful animation and cute images of innocuous-seeming food may cause parents to believe this would be a fun diversion for the little ones.

Regardless of how the movie looks, however, its story is an unrelenting hodge-podge of bad language, innuendo, violence, and stereotypes, all in the name of comedy. Yet, while the movie’s reliance on shock value may cause adults to tune out and teens to revel, younger children are too little to contextualize what happens in this kinetic movie. Plus, after seeing the groceries’ reaction to what happens to them at the hands of people, kids may never eat again.