Chitty Chitty --OH MY GOD!

Two words: flying monkeys. Few images from kids’ movies hold as much universal dread as these disturbing creatures from the children’s classic, Wizard of Oz. That’s not to say they are the only ingredient in our nightmares that started as innocently as watching a film filled with overall joy, but that continue to stir the dark part of us that keeps our inner child’s eyes closed and ears covered. Now, the movie scars I’m talking about come from shows that are intended for children as the primary audience—not the fleeting glimpses of Freddy or Jason we caught after we snuck into our older brother or sister’s rooms after bedtime.

While researching this subject of movies from childhood that continue to unconsciously inform our fears and actions, I had a long talk with my brother. He is a happily married 37-year-old father of two and a productive business owner. However, no amount of maturity and success can keep him from having what he refers to as “daymares” about the Child Catcher in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Every once in a while, when he is alone in his restaurant’s kitchen, he’ll find himself stopping what he is doing to remind himself that it was only a movie. Why is it that a movie he saw 32 years ago still has this sort of influence over him? Is it the imagery? Is it the inherently frightening idea that a mean-spirited person would take him away from his family? Is it his inability to control the daymares? I couldn’t understand what could cause him to have such a reaction. This struggle to relate caused me to look into my own experiences with childhood movie scares and I realized that we’re not so different, he and I.

For me, it is the imagery that has long outstayed its welcome. I am still unable to comfortably watch Alice in Wonderland in any of its incarnations, Disney or otherwise. Animals who walk upright and wear people clothes are not on my guest list. Additionally, the Wheelers from Return to Oz are what make me look twice when I hear a skateboarder behind me. And finally, if a boat I’m on rides through a tunnel or under a bridge, I will without fail hear Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka singing “There’s no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going…” Our parents meant well. The movies I’ve mentioned were rated no higher than PG and the scenes that had such effects only lasted about two or three minutes, but oh how they lingered in our minds. Which leads me to ask, what movies are we innocently showing our children now that will stop them in their tracks when they’re 37? There’s no way to tell as each person responds on such a unique level, but the shivers and bumps in the night make for a thrilling guessing game.