I always cried at animal deaths, but I was never traumatized by them
Likewise. I read Where The Red Fern Grows in fifth grade, and was just finishing it at the beginning of first period and was sobbing. But it was just sadness, not trauma.
I think the closest a movie got me to traumatized was The Crow, and that was a fairly deep depression that lasted a couple of days. No particular scene, just the whole experience of viewing it.
Trauma-inducing viewings that included fear of what was in my house trying to kill me was a documentary on Easter Island and the cannibals: highschool.
Unable to sleep as a kid (five years old): Friday Night Frights or something like that.
Dark Crystal: as a middle schooler I'd laugh delightedly at my aunt's discomfort and revel in its creepiness.
The two movies that scared the shit out of me as a kid were The Last Unicorn and Ghostbusters 2. (And yes, by the time Ghostbusters 2 came out I was way too old to be that freaked out by a movie, but the scene where the pink goo comes out of the bathtub and reaches for the baby stayed with me for YEARS.)
So far the only movie Dylan has reacted to that way was Brave, but I wouldn't say he was traumatized by it, because he has no memory of being terrified and spending 80% of the movie on Ethan's lap. That said, it's going to be a while before he gets to see Spirited Away.
I love Dark Crystal. Is it on Netflix? Can I watch it right now? [Damnit, no. Several digital rental options, but no free streaming.]
"I don't have wings!"
"Of course not, you're a boy."
OMG, how I loved the land walkers. And the beetle soldiers were so creepy. and the Skeksis were so creepy. And the mystics were so lovely (I sculpted one in high school, it's somewhere in the garden now).
(Here's where I admit that I was raised on the fairytales where Cinderella's stepsisters cut off their heals and toes).
the scene where the pink goo comes out of the bathtub and reaches for the baby stayed with me for YEARS
OH MY GOD AS SOON AS YOU MENTIONED THAT MOVIE I KNEW THAT WOULD BE THE SCENE BECAUSE OH MY GOD.
Old Yeller made me sob and sob. So did Charlotte's Web of course, but for some reason I've forgiven Charlotte's Web for that, but not Old Yeller. Maybe because I read the one book first so I knew what was coming?
My kids are highly sensitive, Franny tends to be the one who crys whereas Isaac needs to hide his eyes or hold someone's hand. But then they get over it. They were fine with Brave and even Toy Story 3. I don't plan on mentioning the worrisome stuff in Dragon 2 ahead of time as I suspect they will work through it for themselves.
Dark Crystal creeped me out.
The movie that totally fucked me up was Benji, when the kidnappers kick his doggie girlfriend Tiffany across the room. I was so shocked, and so hurt, I didn't know how to process it.
I think I remember some trauma from either Grizzly Adams or Born Free, too.
I'm the gal who was traumatized by the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz but still insisted on watching it year after year.
Yeah, Up and Toy Story 3 are off limits here unless I need a big cathartic ugly-cry.
As a kid, the tunnel in Willy Wonka freaked me out (specifically the scorpion/bug thing), but I also kind of loved the thrill of it.
