A follow-up to the wonderful Toy Story 3, originally broadcast as a Halloween television special, Toy Story of Terror! brings back all of our favorite characters from the Pixar movies, only to make them all disappear, one by one. It's up to Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) to overcome her fears and save the day -- and all her friends.
Now available in a beautiful new Blu-ray edition, Toy Story of Terror! makes great use of the unique medium of animation to scare up plenty of anxieties anew. It's relatively rare to see animated fare venture into horror territory, but, perhaps surprisingly, it works more often than not.
Frankenweenie (2012)
What could be more disturbing to a young child than the thought of losing their beloved animal companion? Young Victor is determined not to allow death to separate him from the faithful Sparky, which leads to unexpected challenges.
ParaNorman (2012)
Poor Norman! He enjoys communicating with the dead in his small hometown, but no one believes him, so when a crisis occurs, he's pretty much on his own to save everyone.
Coraline (2009)
Left to her own devices after a cross-country movie, lonely young Coraline discovers a strange new world that proves to be quite a bit more sinister than expected.
Monster House (2006)
Talk about overcoming your fears -- three youngsters are the only ones who realize that a nearby house is actually a, er, well, uh, a monster (?!). No one believes them, of course, which means they must go inside the horrifying house to deal with the problem.
Perfect Blue (1997)
In this disturbing Japanese film, directed by the great Satoshi Kon, an incredibly popular singer gives up her musical career and becomes an actress, only to learn that the past is not so easily retired.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This wondrous melding of filmmakers Henry Selick and Tim Burton is far more frightening than most people remember, featuring a truly terrifying lead character who is more maniacal than mirthful.
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Made during a transitional period for Walt Disney Studios, this animated production yearns to be a more adult fantasy; though it stumbles on occasion, it's still well worth watching for its more horrifying elements.
Heavy Metal (1981)
Ivan Reitman served as one of the producers for this Canadian animated film, based on fantasy and science fiction stories published in the magazine of the same name. Designed for adults, the stories certainly have their share of terrifying aspects.
Watership Down (1978)
Can bunny rabbits be heroes? They certainly are in this environmentally conscious adaptation of Richard Adams' novel, which sets up a scenario in which a small group of rabbits flee for their lives across a vast and unfriendly world.
Mad Monster Party? (1967)
Admittedly, this is not as disturbing to watch for adults nowadays, but some of us remember being quite freaked out by this movie when seeing it as youngsters, especially in view of its theme of imminent worldwide destruction.
