Toy Story: 10 Disturbing Scenes That Definitely Weren’t Kid-Friendly

The timeless classic that Pixar’s Toy Story is largely known for its fun storylines and characters that were automatically adored by viewers of all ages. However, not all moments in the films are actually perfect for kids.

Many people, even huge fans of the franchise, have come forward to reminisce how scary some of the scenes were in their minds as children, or for the younger viewers that were watching it with them.  While overall, these movies are gems of the Pixar collection, it’s still remarkable how many adult-inclined scenes populate the films.

10 Sunnyside Demonic Monkey Beating Up Woody

While this isn’t the scariest or the most violent of them all, a monkey using its cymbals to clamp down on someone’s head isn’t that fun to watch. In the Toy Story 3 scene, when Woody is trying to sneak past the monkey guarding the security cameras, the monkey violently attacks Woody by clapping Woody’s head together between the cymbals.

Not only is there violence in this scene, but the monkey’s demonic, bugging eyes also creep out a lot of viewers, with many publicly saying how scared they were of the eyes, alone. This entire scene is not the best for younger eyes to view.

9 Sid’s Killer Dog, Scud Going After The Toys

Scud, with his razor-sharp teeth, and overall evil nature, is a scary force.

Scud literally tries to destroy Woody and Buzz when they’re in Sid’s house. Once a kid watches the dog narrow its huge, devilish eyes, and bark showing its vampiric teeth, they will surely be shaken. This isn’t the most cuddly and kid-friendly dog.

8 The Brainwashed Prison Guard, Buzz

Given that younger viewers likely love Buzz, looking at evil Buzz Lightyear is probably an upsetting experience.

Once Lotso dictates his henchman toys to “reset” Buzz to control him, Buzz is seen imprisoning the gang at Sunnyside, threatening all of them that they will “spend the night in the box” if they were to go against the rules in any way. Although most viewers comprehend that Lotso is the one pulling the strings here, it’s still bizarre for kids to watch the sweet and funny Bozz temporarily turn into an evil character.

7 When Sid Blew Up A Toy In His Yard

The antagonist of Toy Story, Sid, likes to murder toys by blowing them up.

Seeing Sid strap a soldier toy to an explosive device is really a scary thing for a child, especially in a movie that gives such life and care to the toys in it. This can be a very scary scene, especially given how vicious Sid is and how delighted he is in his destruction.

6 The Gang Approaching A Fiery Death

Incineration, even an implied one, is never the best image for children to see, primarily when their favorite, happy gang of toys is about to be thrown into it.

The garbage disposal-incinerator scene in the third film left a bad taste in some viewers’ mouths, as viewers of all ages had to grasp the violent, near-death experience that the toys have in this scene. What’s the most disturbing is that they all realize they can’t escape it and turn to face their impending, fiery demise. The scene isn’t just heart-wrenching, it’s rather heart-breaking and overall, nightmarish.

5 Lotso The Murderer

Aside from him ditching the film’s heroes at the garbage incinerator, Lotso’s primetime evil scene is when he’s yelling at all of Andy’s toys, and even his team at Sunnyside, telling them all they’re “just trash, waiting to be thrown away.”

The real sinister part of this scene is that Lotso has a sweet, “huggin’ bear,” plushie image, but children are even more frightened by the fact that this adorable-looking toy is a really frustrated monster on the inside. The battle ensues between Lotso and the toys as he tries and succeeds to get the toys thrown out into the garbage.

4 Through The Eyes Of The Toys At Sunnyside

Alongside the intense music throughout the violent scene, the Sunnyside kids beating the living daylight out of the toys is just awful imagery.

Since kids understand that the toy characters have personalities, it’s hurtful to watch other children carelessly brutalize them by throwing, banging, and licking them. It’s not comical because viewers see how damaged the whole gang is after the ordeal.

3 Gabby Gabby & Scary Dolls

Talk about some serious Annabelle vibes! Although most child viewers probably haven’t watched horror movies as bad as this modern one, it’s still perturbing to watch Gabby Gabby and The Bensons cast their evil-filled eyes at Woody.

The possessed-like nature the ventriloquist-doll characters initially have is not the most child-appropriate scene. Even adults are likely to get chills just rewatching Gabby Gabby’s antagonistic scenes. After all, who wants to struggle to sleep at night when they can’t even blink without thinking a ventriloquist doll will come to life and try to kill them in their sleep?

2 Woody’s Nightmare

In the second film, Woody’s nightmare becomes a viewer’s nightmare, especially for a kid. The image of seeing Andy say “I don’t wanna play with you anymore,” and dropping Woody into a dark and frightening abyss is, by far, terribly scathing.

Watching Woody fall into darkness, and then into a big trash bin with dismembered toy arms grabbing him, and pulling him into this terrifying underworld of trashed toys, is horrific. It conveys a horrific feeling for, not just a toy, but for anybody because abandonment isn’t the brightest thing for a young kid to experience. This scene can leave a child traumatized.

1 When Sid’s Toys Implied Torture & Dismemberment

When Woody meets Sid’s toys, the most disturbing moment of all happens. He sees decapitated and re-structured toys walk toward him. One is a pair of doll’s legs, while another is a baby head attached to a huge spider.

This scene alone is the utmost disturbing of all, especially with the frightening music it’s accompanied by. Children that watch will likely feel chilled at this sequence.

About The Author

Elisabeth McGowan
(102 Articles Published)

Based in the New York City area, Elisabeth has written for various media outlets, was a Walt Disney World Cast Member, and her true focus is on the film and television industry! While double majoring in Theatre and English at the University of California, Davis, her passion for writing developed when she worked as an Editor-in-Chief at the Odyssey Online and as a blog writer for a New York-based theater company. She became interested in film acting at the age of 13 during a brief summer program at the New York Film Academy and was then hooked on the movie and television industry.

Although a big fan of both big-screen and independent drama films, Elisabeth loves comedy, romance, action, and sci-fi movies. Her favorite TV shows include a variety of comedy, drama, and sci-fi fantasy shows, specifically Supernatural, Breaking Bad, and Pretty Little Liars. As a writer for ScreenRant, she is eager to cover new and old favorite films and shows!

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