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Animation Investigation

The 11 Most Disturbing Kids’ Cartoons Ever Made

Although cartoons are often marketed towards children, some animated movies or shows are so unsettling, so creepy, so downright terrifying it’s hard to imagine any kid being entertained by them… unless they really like having nightmares. And because it’s the most wonderfully spooky time of the year, this week’s Animation Investigation is taking a horrifying look at 11 of the most disturbing kid’s cartoons ever made.

Join host Hector Navarro as he travels through the weird, inexplicable world of upsetting kid’s cartoons featuring stories and art that certainly don’t seem like they were meant to be watched by children. From classic Disney films like Pinocchio and Dumbo that still scare us, to vintage cartoons that feel more like horror movies, to Europe’s strange tradition of violent animal death, to beloved modern shows like Tiny Toons and Gravity Falls and Courage the Cowardly Dog that took unexpected trips to frightening places, sometimes children’s cartoons seemed to forget kids scare easily. (As do some adults.)

Um, did anyone ever check on the writer responsible for that Tom and Jerry episode? Ooooh boy, that was dark. What kind of conversations did parents need to have with their kids after that aired?

In fact, what kinds of conversations did parents need to have after any of these? We don’t know, but we can guess a lot of them happened in the middle of the night with all of the lights on after their children woke up screaming.

What’s the most disturbing kid’s cartoon you’ve ever seen? Share it with us in the comments section below.

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