Roald Dahl, while a beloved children’s author, also wrote deeply disturbing things into his novels and short stories. For example, the premise of The Witches is that children will be turned into mice so that their own parents will kill them for being vermin. That’s pretty creepy, right? Of course, Dahl had a hard childhood, as evidenced by the events he recounts in his memoir, Boy: Tales from Childhood.
However, when his stories started being adapted into film, the fright factor got moved up to eleven. Therefore, here are ten scenes in films adapted from Roald Dahl’s stories that are pure nightmare fuel.
Violet
In both film versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it is incredibly disturbing to watch Violet become…well, a human blueberry. Wonka makes it abundantly clear that he hasn’t finished testing the chewing gum, but Violet goes ahead anyway with chewing it, and the results are disastrous.
Watching her swell up and turn blue is absolutely something that could give a child nightmares, especially because it happens due to something normal: a piece of chewing gum.
The Boat Scene
The scene on the magnificent boat in the 1971 version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is horrifying.
The boat enters a tunnel, and with Wonka enthusiastically urging the contraption on, the riders are met with a confusing cacophony of images. Considering this is the first thing the visitors have experienced of Wonka’s factory up to this point, it’s no wonder it was frightening.
Transformation
In The Witches, Luke’s friend Bruno is transformed into a mouse in a terrifying sequence after being caught by the witches. After shaking violently while the witches cheer, he briefly becomes a mouse-human hybrid (achieved through prosthetic makeup), before fully becoming a mouse.
The effect is unsettling, to say the least. Luckily, he is eventually caught and returned to his parents, though he is still a mouse. The ending thankfully implies that he will be retransformed back into himself.
Grand High Witch Removing Mask
In the 1990 version of The Witches, Anjelica Huston plays the Grand High Witch in a perfectly-cast role. The scene where she removes her mask to reveal her true, horrifically-ugly face is nightmare-inducing.
She peels her face and wig off, showing a bald, pink pate. She also has a large hook nose with nostrils to match in size, as well as ears drooping from the weight of massive earrings.
Non-Friendly Giants
The unfriendly giants of The BFG have slobbery jaws and terrible voices. They are actually meant to be nightmare fuel-inducing since they prey on children when they are asleep.
Their names are equally awful, being things like Bonecruncher, Meatdripper, and Childchewer. Luckily, Sophie has the BFG (Big Friendly Giant, voiced by Mark Rylance) to protect her and spread good dreams with, instead of nightmares.
Loss of the Tail
Mr. Fox loses his tail in the film version of Fantastic Mr. Fox. The loss of an important body part is upsetting enough, but the loss worsens when his son Ash and nephew Kristofferson try to get the tail back and get caught.
Kristofferson is subsequently captured by the farmers, who then try to use him as bait to get Mr. Fox to emerge from the tunnels the animals had been living in. Though this works, everyone is able to escape.
Farmers’ Eating Habits
The farmers in Fantastic Mr. Fox, Bunce, Bean, and Boggis, all have different equally horrifying eating habits.
Mr. Boggis eats three chickens per meal per day, while Bunce eats homemade donuts with smashed-up goose livers embedded inside, and Bean lives on a liquid diet of strong alcoholic cider made from his apples. Those meals are both unhealthy and disgusting when contemplated for any real length of time.
James’ Parents’ Death
In James and the Giant Peach, James’ parents are killed at the beginning of the story due to an escaped rhinoceros from a zoo. James is then sent to live with his aunts, whom he doesn’t know at all, and they turn out to be abusive.
This example is more nightmare fuel for parents of young children, but is still horrifying for kids too.
Fox and Rat’s Fight
At the climax of Fantastic Mr. Fox, Rat, Mr. Bean’s security guard for his cider, attacks Felicity (voiced by Meryl Streep) and Ash, causing Mr. Fox to start a fight with him. Mr. Fox had been going to tell the farmers that he would surrender but returned when his family was threatened.
Ultimately, Rat ends up thrown into a generator, which electrocutes him. This is absolutely strange to watch, especially since it is the death of a more minor antagonist than the three farmers.
Rabid Dog
Kristofferson releases a rabid hunt-dog in order to keep the farmers at bay in the climax of Fantastic Mr. Fox. The way the dog’s eyes go red is incredibly unsettling to the viewer, and would especially be so to young children, who would also be wondering whether all the animals survive the encounter.
Since the dog is meant to keep the farmers busy so the animals can escape, it isn’t dwelt on for long, but it is a creepy aspect of the film. Ultimately, most films adapted from Roald Dahl works contain some disturbing elements.
