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Hello, I'm a college kid paying homage to the Nostalgia Critic, who remembers it so you don't have to! Folks, have you ever revisited a favorite childhood movie or TV show years later and notice things that were...a bit inappropriate for it's target audience? Well, I most certainly have, and that is why I've compiled my own list: The Top 13 Innapropriate Nostalgic Moments. Why Top 13? Because the NC likes to go one step beyond, & I like to go 3 steps beyond lol. This list will consist at moments from our favortie childhood movies & TV shows that, looking back now, we just can't believe the creators got away with.
And away we go!
13)The topless photograph in The Rescuers Although no one even knew about this until 11 years ago, I'm putting it on the list just because it's the only infamous "Disney rumor" that's actually true. This 1977 movie is pretty near & dear to my heart. It used to be one of my most frequent rentals as a kid, starting in 1992 when it was first released on video (meaning I was 5 lol). Little did I know that about 20 minutes in, as our mouse heroes are flying out of New York, they pass several buildings in the background. For about 2 frames, you can actually see a topless woman in a window! This image was only discovered shortly after the film was reissued on VHS in January 1999. Cue massive media storm, total recall, and an 11-year-old me wondering what was up lol. Honestly, I don't know why Disney even announced it. There's no way IN HELL anyone would've ever known if Disney hadn't said it. In fact, there's a pretty popular conspiracy theory on the net that Disney itself created the controversy intentionally, inserting the picture & planting the story in the media. I gotta say there is some evidence that might support this. For one thing, the story broke out of nowhere on a Friday night, just 3 days after the release. By sheer coincidence, back then Billboard used to release their weekly charts on Friday afternoons. On the VHS Sales Chart that week, The Rescuers debuted at a disappointing #27. This kinda raises suspicion that Disney created this controversy to get the movie some attention. Sure enough, when Disney released a "censored" version 2 months later, it debuted at #1. And another thing: The VHS reissue was originally scheduled for around Thanksgiving 1998, as evidenced by a trailer on the September 1998 Lady & The Tramp VHS. Then one month later, Disney announced they were delaying it until the start of the new year. Why the delay? Could they have decided to insert the nudie pic as some contrived PR stunt? I dunno lol The scene in question starts at 7:50 in this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFgKY5tX7pw& And in case you're curious, here's a vid with the scene blown up and slowed down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzNXgk5eWGg (WARNING NSFW!) One last thing, is it just me, or does the woman resemble Madam Medusa (the film's villianess)? *shudders at thought*
12)The "fingerprints" joke from Animaniacs You could write an entire essay on all the inappropriate jokes this show got away with (in fact, the REAL Nostalgia Critic dedicated an entire vid to them). But for me, I think the most astonishing example is this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xmAC9Qu908 You know, my mom was never happy about me watching this show (or anything on Kids' WB! for that matter) due to the "rude behavior" I would witness. I don't even wanna know what would've happened had she seen this moment. (For the record, I didn't see this episode as a kid, it wasn't until 2008 when I got the season sets that I saw it. And I was shocked it was allowed in, but it was still funny as hell lol)
11)Jafar's death from The Return Of Jafar When I found out (thanks to the trailer on the 1994 VHS release of The Fox & The Hound) that Disney was making a sequel to Aladdin, and that it was going to be coming straight to video, this was like the coolest thing ever! lol My aunt bought me the VHS when I was 6 in May 1994 (soon after it's release) and I watched it right away. I REALLY enjoyed it, I mean the story was good, the songs were alot of fun, and I liked having the story focused on my fav Aladdin character, Iago. I watched with childlike wonder as the film built to an exciting climax inside a lava pit, with our heroes trying desperately to get ahold of Jafar's lamp. Eventually all looks hopeless, when Iago comes back, grabs the lamp, and is about to hand it over to Aladdin when Jafar blasts his double-crossing sidekick into a wall, knocking him out. I remember being shocked that this had just happened to my fav character (even though he's ok in the end lol). Then the severely wounded Iago kicks Jafar's lamp into the lava, destroying it. Now comes the inappropriate part: After the lamp melts and sinks into the lava, Jafar himself begins to be destroyed. His skeleton begins to flash as he screams in agony FOR ALMOST 60 SECONDS before imploding in a display of angry fireworks. This creeped the hell out of me as a kid. It was certainly the most violent death I had ever seen at that time (only because I hadn't seen The Little Mermaid yet lol). From that point on I would watch the movie but turn it off before the final battle, always finding some excuse. I never told ANYONE about this, mainly because there were other things I was scared to death of as a kid that people (including my own family) laughed at me for. These included the bee attack in Winnie The Pooh & The Honey Tree, a recurring skit on Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? where the Chief's head would fall off, and when a contestant would lose Cliffhangers on The Price Is Right. Anywho, I finally was able to watch the movie all the way through without being scared in 1999. Now that I'm older I think it's a REALLY cool climax, even though I still think it's too intense for younger kids. Ironically enough, Disney apparently agreed with me, because when they finally released it to DVD in 2005, Jafar's death was toned down quite a bit, which is the version in this vid, sorry I couldn't find the 1994 original version (it's still pretty creepy though): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM-GHVKdYNs&feature=related
10)The Beast's stabbing from Beauty & The Beast This is one I didn't really think too much about until I was older. At the climax of the 1991 classic, Gaston engages in a battle to the death atop the castle with our hero the Beast. When the Beast gains the upper hand and has a chance to kill Gaston, he relents and lets him go. He then proceeds to turn his back to great Belle (bad idea, you NEVER turn your back on the villain unless he's dead lol) and not surprisingly, he gets stabbed in the back. What's inappropriate about this moment is how surprisingly detailed it is: We hear the blade plunge into the Beast's body, we see Gaston withdraw the knife, we see the puncture wound, & we actually see blood streaming out of the wound & on the blade! I first saw this movie when I was 5, & I don't remember being affected by this scene. It wasn't until I got the DVD in 2003 that I realized just how far Disney had gone in terms of showing violence, I mean it's not super-graphic, but is alot for a G-rated film. Stabbing is at 2:57: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH2LJVbV72Y&feature=player_embedded
9)HellFire from The Hunchback Of Notre Dame Seriously, how in the hell did this movie get a G rating but a harmless movie like Lilo & Stitch get a PG?! Our villain Frollo is a homicidal, racist, perverted old man! This movie was released in the summer of 1996, when I was 8. It's a beautiful film, and it's one of my favorite Disney movies of all time, but good lord it was a bit uncomfortable seeing this in the theater with my family. Of course, being so young, I was too shocked that a Disney film was saying such dirty words as "hell" & God's name in vain (I was sheltered, ok??!! lol) to realize just how inappropriate the villain's song "Hellfire" was, with Frollo simultaneously lusting after & wanting to murder our heroine Esmeralda... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRO-M4XyAbM It is an awesomely powerful song, & Tony Jay's vocal on it is just incredible. But here's the funny part: At the time I liked to sing Disney songs at recess, and I mean entire soundtracks. That fall, as I entered 3rd grade, I knew I could never sing this soundtrack lol (although I did sing Topsy-Turvey & A Guy Like You sometimes haha).
8)George Of The Jungle moments Ho, boy where to start? lol This was a REALLY funny movie. I was 9 when I first saw it in theaters July 1997. But even then, I understood certain moments in the second half were...dirty. The first moment is when Ursula's best friend Betsy comes over as George is in the waterfall...err, shower lol. George suddenly appears buck naked in front of the two women (the audience only sees above his waist). As Ursula scrambles to cover his private parts, Betsy deadpans "I see why they made him king of the jungle": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx6WJkadlyk&feature=channel (scene starts at 5:32). Then, when Ursula's conniving mother Beatrice has a private conversation with George, she ends with making a rather blunt threat: If he does not leave her daughter alone, she will remove his "reason for wearing a loin cloth"! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1gl-uPS-2Y&feature=channel (start watching at 2:49). Finally, as Ursula realizes her love for George, and Beatrice chases after her to stop her, Ursala's constantly calm & supportive father Arthur hears his wife screaming & very calmly says "God, that woman's a pain in the ass." (same vid as above, at 6:42). Oddly enough, about a month later we saw the film again at a second-run theater, and my mother covered my sister & I's ears on the "pain in the ass" line! lol Now I know I'm probably coming off as very prudish in talking about some of the moments on this countdown, trust me, I'm not! I'm just saying I'm surprised they got away with these 3 jokes in a PG-rated Disney comedy.
7) The Formula For Hate episode of Captain Planet This was one of those shows that I didn't really like, but would watch it anyway if nothing else was on. This episode was first aired in 1992, but I remember being a bit older seeing it, probably about 7, so that would make it 1994 or 1995 when I saw it....or at least some of it, before my parents came in the room, saw it, & turned off the TV saying I was "too young" for this. I never understood why, so I was SOOO freakin' happy when the Nostalgia Critic talked about this episode. For those of you who don't know, it's a Very Special Episode that dealt with a kid with HIV. And, well, I just can't describe it any better than the NC himself, so, here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOGZk6BxTgU&feature=related (starting @ 2:06). I agree with him, it is an important issue that kids need to know about, but the way they handle it just makes it REALLY awkward.
6)Ursula's death from The Little Mermaid This is pretty much in the same category as Jafar's death. First of all, I didn't see 1989's The Little Mermaid until summer of 1995 when I was 7. I REALLY didn't want to see it, I mean I thought it was just gonna be some stupid girly movie, but my sister had rented it & it was family movie night. I actually wound up kinda liking it, I mean it was funny & the animation was good, plus we had a great powerful villain in Ursula. I was on the edge of my seat by the climax, excited to see how our heroes would defeat her now that she has the trident & is all-powerful. The answer...would scar me for life lol. Just as she's about to blast Ariel, Eric, having commandeered a wrecked ship surfaced by Ursula, steers the harpoon-like bow directly into her heart, and we ACTUALLY SEE an extreme close-up of her skin bending as it impales her. At that moment, the trident backfires on her, causing her skeleton to flash as it painfully shocks her to death (I really don't know why flashing skeletons scared me as a kid, they just did lol). Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, she sinks back into the ocean with her tentacles seemingly pulling the ship EVEN FURTHER into her body before imploding in a cloud of purple smoke. I can't even count how many nightmares I had from this! This was The Return Of Jafar all over again for me. And the thing is, while I can now watch The Return Of Jafar without batting an eye, this sequence STILL kinda creeps me out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axEarZQB6bU&feature=player_embedded# (2:25, and yea, it's in Greek, I don't know why either).
5)The clock-tower finale from The Great Mouse Detective Other than The Rescuers, this was the most-rented film of my childhood. Originally released in 1986 & released on VHS in 1992, I first rented this movie when I was 6 in 1993, after seeing the trailer for it on the 1992 VHS of 101 Dalmatians. I totally freakin' loved this movie, especially Ratigan. In fact, my parents eventually wouldn't let me keep renting it because they thought I was rooting for Ratigan over Basil (which I wasn't, it's just Ratigan was so totally freakin' cool! lol). The climax of the film, taking place inside & on top of Big Ben, was one of my favorite parts, because it was so exciting. For those of you who don't know, Ratigan takes Olivia hostage in his airship, Basil pursues, the airship crashes into Big Ben, Ratigan tries to kill both of them inside the clock, but they escape, not before Basil traps Ratigan by jamming his cape into the gears. At that moment, the previously suave, sophisticated villain, undergoes a Jekyll/Hyde-esque transformation into a monstrous rat as he attacks Basil, knocks him outside on to the clock-hands, and then proceeds to beat the living crap out of our hero. Sure, in the end Basil outsmarts Ratigan & kills him using his wits, but it gets pretty damn brutal, especially the painful sounds Basil makes as he's being beaten. I loved it at the time, but when I saw it again in 1999, when I was 12, I realized how violent the battle to the death is, not to mention out-of-place in a film-noire movie haha. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz7GMO1-D2s The action starts at 7:33 & continues into this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J40dSYFJUX0&feature=related
4)All Dogs Go To Heaven Just pretty much the entire movie lol. This is another one that I didn't really think about until I was older. I first saw this 1989 film in the summer of 1996, when I was 8, on Disney Channel. I loved it & wanted to buy it on VHS, but couldn't seem to find it, nor did my local video store have a copy to rent. Then in November of that year, I taped it off of TNT, but the tape cut out shortly after the iconic nightmare sequence (more on that in a moment). After that, I never was able to get a copy of the film, but I did catch it on TV a few times. Fast-forward to Christmas 2003, when I buy my little brother the DVD for Christmas. I start watching it with him and all the PCMs (Precious Childhood Memories lol) come flooding back. A few weeks later, I watched it myself, and all of a sudden I started thinking about this movie in terms of content, and just how mature some of it's themes are. I mean, think about it: Our hero Charlie is a gangster dog who escapes death row (okay, so he was framed by Carface), is then drugged & brutally murdered, cheats the heavenly system to return to Earth, plots revenge on Carface, kidnaps a little girl to make a fortune, repeatedly lies to & manipulates said little girl, steals money from humans, and is vividly shot in the chest by a machine gun (but survives). Sure he redeems himself at the end, but up until that point, he's really an unlikable jerk, even though Burt Reynolds does make him sound charming lol. Also, his best friend Itchy is attacked and beaten to within an inch of his life by Carface (this scene even prompted Itchy's actor Dom DeLuise to do an anti-gang PSA on the original 1990 VHS). Plus that whole creepy sequence where Charlie has a nightmare about going to Hell. To quote the Nostalgia Critic: Ya know, for kids!!! lol
3)The opening sequence of Fluke In the late spring of 1995, I was 7 & was constantly seeing ads for a new family movie from MGM called Fluke, about a cute little talking golden-retriever puppy. The ads touted the PG-rated film as "heartwarming, charming, & fun for the whole family!". We went to the theater to see it on my final day of 1st grade...and we were told it was sold out. The girl in the box office offered to let us see Casper, but my mother said "I heard that movie is really dirty! I don't want my kids to see it!" (insert facepalm here). So we just went home. Fast-forward to the summer of 1997. I was 9 & a local theater was showing older kids films on Thursday mornings for $1. One week, they scheduled to run Fluke, so off we went to the theater! lol I was so excited, I had waited over 2 years to see this movie! Then the movie started. How much "fun" was this movie for the whole family? Just watch this video from the start until about the 2:53 mark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2l8fk1V49k Yea lol. The plot focuses on Tom Johnson, a workaholic father who is cleverly murdered by his jealous business partner Jeff. Tom is reincarnated as Fluke, the afore-mentioned cute little talking golden-retriever puppy. Fluke then sets out to find his family & protect them from Jeff. Does the film get lighter from there? Yes, it does, but it's still pretty dark, especially as Fluke has recurring visions of the night he died and tries to piece together what really happened to him. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED this movie, but up until November 2003, I could NOT watch that opening sequence, it was just so creepy! It's a very good movie, and is quite moving. On it's own, in fact, it's a great, underrated little film, so the inappropriateness has more to do with MGM's marketing of it. They were bound & determined to promote this as a kiddie-flick. One of the quotes used in the trailer was Roger Ebert saying "A good film to see with your kids". Ebert would later say what he meant by that was that it was a film that parents should ACCOMPANY their kids to, because of the darker undertones, and of course, that creepy opening lol!
2)The infamous Russian name song from Road Rovers Ahh, yes. This is from Feb. 1997, I was 9. Road Rovers was a show that I only kinda liked, I'd watch it mainly because it was always sandwiched between two episodes of Pinky & The Brain lol. The WB announced it was canceling the show, despite a loyal fan-base, in December 1996. The show's creator, Tom Ruegger, was quite disappointed. So, in the series finale, he threw this little gem in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K46McMq9IF4 This was one of the very few times a parental outrage in my house was echoed by the rest of the world lol. I never understood what was so bad about it until the fall of 2006, when I was a Freshman in college. I was feeling nostalgic one night so I started looking up some old kids shows on YouTube, and I found this clip.(For the record, I still think it's pretty funny lol).
And the #1 Inappropriate Nostalgic Moment is....
1)Dijon making an obscene gesture in DuckTales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp Oh...my...God! How does this never get talked about??!! Let's review all the alleged "hidden messages" in Disney films for a moment, shall we? The priest becoming aroused in The Little Mermaid? FAKE! Aladdin saying "Good teenagers! Take off your clothes"? FAKE!! The word "sex" being in the sky in The Lion King? FAKE!!! The topless woman in The Rescuers? Ok, that was real, but we already covered that! lol For all the talk about all the supposedly inappropriate things in Disney movies, this one-a blatant, unhidden moment-has gone almost completely unnoticed!!!!! I first saw this 1990 movie on ABC in August 1995. I was 7, & I taped it. I loved it. Eventually the tape broke & I taped it again off Disney Channel in May 1998, which is the tape I still have now. One day in 2003, I was watching it for nostalgia's sake, & I happen to notice this. I rewound it just to make sure I had just seen what I saw. Sure enough, I had!! It comes at the point when Merlock has stolen Collie Baba's treasure from Scrooge & his nephews. Scrooge shouts out: "You thieving dogs! I spent most of my life searching for that treasure!' The camera then cuts to Merlock & Dijon. As Merlock says "Poor fool! Too bad you & your friends will not live to know the real treasure you have found!", watch Dijon. Yes, he is really doing that! He is actually stroking his thumb from his neck towards the tip of his chin!!!!! How....what in the...how did that get by in an ANIMATED G-RATED DISNEY FILM??!!! Granted, the gesture doesn't quite have the same impact in America that it does overseas, but still!!! And oh, yea, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_RRsjzqiW4&feature=related (start watching @ 3:41)
And there ya have it. The Top 13 Inappropriate Nostalgic Moments. Comments? Disagreements? Feel free to reply lol I'm a college kid paying homage to the Nostalgia Critic, who remembers it so you don't have to!
-------------------- Dave, there’s an old story that this reminds me of: I cried because I had no desk until I met a man who had no feet, and the no-feet guy explained that there was such a thing as a budget…and WNYX was way, way over it. The End Posts: 200 | Registered: Sep 2007
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posted
This is a REALLY great list and had me laughing and feeling nostalgic.
It's so awesome to see that someone on here knows and likes the Nostalgia Critic. I visit his site a couple times a week just to poke around and have never left it without having a good bout of laughter.
Anyways, REALLY great job.Thanks for the laughs bud.
-------------------- ~Eyes all around you~ ~Enter the labyrinth~ ~Visions of the hunted~ ~Beware the birchmen~ Posts: 584 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Lol np. I love the NC too, can't wait for the 100th episode tonight!!!
Glad ya liked it
-------------------- Dave, there’s an old story that this reminds me of: I cried because I had no desk until I met a man who had no feet, and the no-feet guy explained that there was such a thing as a budget…and WNYX was way, way over it. The End Posts: 200 | Registered: Sep 2007
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-------------------- Dave, there’s an old story that this reminds me of: I cried because I had no desk until I met a man who had no feet, and the no-feet guy explained that there was such a thing as a budget…and WNYX was way, way over it. The End Posts: 200 | Registered: Sep 2007
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posted
FWIW the Rescuers scene is a fake. I have numerous copies of the original in different formats (spoiled kid+gadget obsessed parents). I heard about that scene a while ago and spooled through as many of the originals as I could and it isn't there at all.
Posts: 230 | Registered: Jan 2009
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Yea, it is real, whether or not it was on the original 1992 VHS is unknown, but it was definitly in the recalled 1999 release.
Alot of people have looked at the 1992 tape & not been able to see it, which only fuels the conspiracy theory that Disney inserted it on purpose as some PR stunt
-------------------- Dave, there’s an old story that this reminds me of: I cried because I had no desk until I met a man who had no feet, and the no-feet guy explained that there was such a thing as a budget…and WNYX was way, way over it. The End Posts: 200 | Registered: Sep 2007
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I'm a college kid paying homage to the Nostalgia Critic, who remembers it so you don't have to!
