30 Movies That People Didn’t Think Were Cringey Until They Rewatched Them As Adults, Shared In This Online Community
Kids can get interested in the strangest things that adults wouldn’t even give a second thought to. And they often get obsessed with something very easily, like Disney princesses or other cartoon characters.
It’s amazing how they can watch and rewatch something they like over and over again to the point that they memorize all the lines. But sometimes they don’t even really understand what they are watching or can’t look at it critically, so when they come back to it in their adult years, people get disappointed.
This is actually more common than you would think as more than 20k people joined a thread on Reddit answering the question “What's a movie you loved as a child that you now consider to be cringeworthy?” What would you add to the list and which ones do you agree with? Let us know in the comments!
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alvin and the chipmunks. holy s*** those guys are annoying
I used to LOVE those movies when I was little. It was always my first choice, lol.
Wow, I remember we bought this “copy “ when our son was 4, when we got home, popped in the movie for him, after about 45 minutes in my husband came to check on him , he asked how’s the movie, my son said good, but I didn’t know the chipmunks speaks spanish😂
I like them. I don’t know about the post 1990s stuff except the movies but the cartoons were cool for children. Of course adults wouldn’t like a child’s talking chipmunk movie.
I could never stand them. my brother loves alvin and the chipmunks, I can't understand why
Percy Jackson movies, you read the books, re watch the movies, and wonder what the hell went so wrong
I watched the movie and had fun criticizing everything different from the books
Same here. I watched it on Saturday and died inside.
Load More Replies...The books were better!! Actual real characters instead of focusing on gimmicks. Not to mention how they rushed the chemistry between Percy and Annabelle in the movie
I read the books, watched the movie, thought is wasn't so cringe, re-read the books and realized just how cringey the movie was
These dam things make my blood boil. Can’t wait for the shows, hopefully they’ll give the books the justice they deserve.
For a lot of book to movie adaptations, I think the movies are better for those who haven’t read the books, so they can be viewed as their own thing without the source material comparison. I like “book movies” better before I’ve read the books, because then my brain can’t tell me, “but in the books this was different (or better).”
I was the dumba** kid that thought the last airbender was a good movie. Jesus I was dumb
the anime is great , the movie is a crap....the only movie based on animes that isn't a shame on the series is Rurouni Kenshin !!! because they even ruined GHOST IN THE SHELL!! how can u ruin GITS? Oh, wait, i know: white washing it and making the story a piece of s***
I can't believe they actually made that movie. If I ever had three wishes one of them would replace that awful movie for an awesome live action version.
you know that Mark Twain story about the kid white-washing a fence? Same thing
How could someone who has a perfect script already done, mess it up so badly
Bee Movie-
I still want to know how they made that human bee relationship work. Would they have half bee half human kids? What is this monstrosity?
Never watched it because from what I've heard about it and the characters I already hate it
Commando, i thought it was great as a kid and I watched it again and... it's even f*****g better!!!
I always say “ I’ll be back Bennett “ when leaving the room
Load More Replies..."Leave anything for us?" "Just bodies." "He's dead tired" I could go on all day!
Any of the Steven Seagal movies from the late 80s/early 90s. Jr High school me thought he was the biggest bada** ever born. Thinking about that now that feels like the most neckbeard fandom ever.
Van Damme was and still is amazing. So freaking sad that Jean Claude Van Johnson got cancelled.
Load More Replies...Sexual harassment, illegal trafficking of females for sex, failure to prevent sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and false representation about employment. All things that Seagal has settled out of court for. Presumably because he was definitely, totally, 100% innocent. For the accusations of tragic acting, a spectacular lack of self-awareness and a questionable running style there is, as yet, no comment. Plus he physically attacked John Leguizamo in a rehearsal. The guy is a Class A douche.
Executive Decision, Steven Seagal dies in early the movie - he gets sucked out of a plane!. Best movie with Steven Seagal ever!
Loved his movies back in the day. "Anybody seen Richie??? Anybody know why he did Bobby Lupo???"
Shark Boy and Lava Girl. That s*** was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.
I actually watched half of it while I was home sick from school. I thought it literally was a fever dream for years until I saw a clip of it online!
Load More Replies...This was a movie? Kinda reminds me of that game, Fireboy and Watergirl?
I worshiped this movie when I was little. Watched it again a couple years later and hated it.
Howard the Duck
"Student Bodies," "Tourist Trap," (with Chuck Conners as a psychopathic, telekinetic, ventriloquist) and "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," are so bad they're brilliant. "Howard The Duck" was not.....it was just plain bad.
Load More Replies...Friend and I were skipping school and went to see this. Not many people in the theater, It became real obvious, real fast that this movie was horrible. At one point, there is a scene where Lea Thompson starts taking off her shirt in front of the duck. My friend, rather loudly, announced "if she f**ks that duck, I am leaving!"
I was watching Howard the Duck on TV when it was reported that Princess Diana had been killed.
I was watching Early Edition (the show about a guy who gets the newspapers a day early and tries to stop bad events). I think I had the better deal.
Load More Replies...One of the first movies based on a Marvel Comics character. I've learned many many years later. Although I'm now a Marvel fan, maybe due to watching Howard when a was a little kid.
The original HTD comics from the 70's are great!
Load More Replies...I loved and STI.L love this movie! I watched it with my family when I was like 10...? Watched it again in my 20's and cringed hard at the sex scene but I still loved it. I'm 39 now and still adore it!
Supposed to be coming back at some point. And not just as a GotG easter egg.
G-Force. That one Disney movie about the guinea pig spies? I thought that movie was the best as a kid.
I got through about 10 minutes of it when I tried to rewatch it a few months ago. Man, that movie is weird...
.... the guinea pig.... God damn you didn't learn s**t
Load More Replies...I remember liking this movie around the time it first came out... maybe I should rewatch it. I think it's on Disney+.
Maybe I have bad taste (I probably do), but I love this movie. Zach Galifinakis trains guinea pigs to be special agents. What more could one ask for in an action film?
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Drop Dead Fred but it’s still on my list of favorites
Fred was entertaining -- how that depressing-easily-manipulated gal ever had a character like him in her life was an impossibility. Everything she said was no, negative and uninteresting. Fred, and especially when he get together with his other imaginary friends, is just my kind of guy!
This really dates me but Mannequin was my favorite growing up
I'm afraid the 80's produced a fair quantity of sh*te, but there were a lot of good movies too that I still love to watch, despite the lack of special effects. I still like Mannequin.
Load More Replies...Hated the guy . . . how could such a shallow failure afford that apartment with hard wood floors, French doors and a grand piano? Stealing from the company? And even the mannequin could do better than him!
I liked Mannequin 2 better because I thought Hollywood Montrose was the coolest guy.
I loved that movie as a kid. Now I'm gonna have to go re-watch it to see how bad it actually is.
Cat In The Hat. Now that I think about it, it technically isn't a kids movie
It’s not a kids movie, but I watched it as a kid. And I wonder why I’m so messed up
I actually love this movie. The aesthetic of it (set design, wardrobe) is exactly as bizarre as a Dr. Seuss book.
Never saw the movie, but I have always had a real issue with the cat in the hat. Let me get this straight, this lunatic cat and a couple weird-ass looking henchmen, come over and completely f**k up your house while your parents are gone?
Not even a kid, the 2002 movie Queen of the Damned. I was in my early 20s and thought it was so sexy and cool. I watch it now and it’s so campy and cringey and God bless Aaliyah but her performance was…eesh lol
noooo. I liked it and have it on my watchlist in case it becomes free. I hope I'll still like it then.
Terrible,.... and in the series by Anne Rice, the one that should have been made (although I think she did not ever want the rights to be released to do so) was "The Vampire Lestat." Done right (get, for god's sake, the right director, cinematographer, and production designer) and in more than one film parts, it would be EPIC!!!
Indian in the Cupboard. No idea why but I liked it a lot as a kid. Watched it a few years ago with my nephew and hated it
I had the exact opposite reaction. I loved the books, but for some reason I don't think I watched the movie. My wife and I bought it on iTunes cheap a few months ago. We both enjoyed it.
I think of this movie all the time. Saw in theaters, don't remember it. Just remembered findkng a quarter on the floor. then I think losing it. But I also know we don't refer to Native Americans as Indians anymore. I was thinking of my daughter watching it but I may have to disclaim a few things for her such as how we we refer to Native Americans.
Blank check. The thought of being rich as a kid made me love the movie when I was younger. Watched it a couple years ago and got some real predator vibes between the kid and the lady FBI agent. Really hard to watch the ending where they kiss.
Not to mention the check fraud that he got away with because the victim was a bad guy. Yeah and my mother fumed after that ending.
I still love it! All the way until that creepy kiss
Load More Replies...I watched that movie so many times as a kid. I don´t have a million bucks but I don´t think just one million would be enough to afford everything he bought.
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. Although it is beautiful cringe.
i feel this. though im ashamed to admit i used to have a crush on the glitch/hack girl
I get a lot of nostalgia when I watch spy kids, that's why I like it.
It's a great series but they need to let it die the new tv series on Netflix is s**t so awful I can't believe it
I remember watching it for the first time thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. Now......
Master of Disguise. Loved it as a kid. Holy s*** is it a terrible movie
My daughter begged me to take her to see this when she was a kid. She apologized to me as we were leaving the theater. I'm still trying to forgive her.
I love the movie BECAUSE it it terrible. its insane plot is one of the best parts
Watched this with my family and laughed the whole way through. I was also thinking WHAT THE HECCCKKK the whole movie!!!
I feel like i used to watch Garfield a lot, didnt realise it was bad until that Zombieland moment lol.
Oh my gosh I used to watch garfield ALL. THE. TIME. I remember most of this particular movie, the tail of two kitties, because I watched it at LEAST 20 times in six months when I was like 7. Oh gosh now I gotta go watch it again and see how bad it really is compared to what I remember.
I like the Garfiled comics but then I watched the animated film and was just nope.
Any of the first three Spy Kids movies. I remember the second one being one of my favourites and now it’s genuinely painful.
I liked the fact they kicked butt and could work stuff out. I wasn’t a kid when watching them and still will watch when I need nothing too stressful on the mind
Load More Replies..."Do you think God stays in heaven because he, too, lives in fear of what he's created?" Are you ok, Steve?
Alexa Vega and her husband were on Dancing With the Stars a few years ago.
The horrid Dungeons and Dragons movie with Jeremy Irons, Thora Birch, and one of the Wayans brothers. Absolute garbage but I loved it for some reason. I earned some late fees for not returning the VHS on time.
Whahahhhahaha that film is so bad... I do like pen&paper roleplay gaming and I do love fantasy but this... I don't remember much of this movie, only that the story was bad and that there was the "labyrinth of 1000 deaths" that contained 3 rooms in a row. Well, yeah.
The Wayan brother in the film was ANNOYING AS HELL! (Spoiler alert: I felt absolutely nothing when he died and was actually kind of happy about it) as terrible as that sounds. Couldn't stand him.
Knowing that Thora Birch played the teenage seductress in American Beauty makes this hard to watch
Thora Birch was not the 'teenage seductress' in American Beauty. If that was anyone it was Mena Suvari.
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Any of the Mary Kate & Ashley movies.
I’d like to make it clear that I grew up with these movies, loved the Olson twins, and there is a lot of nostalgia that comes with the memories of their movies. I just don’t think as an adult now they would be as great as I thought they were 20 some years ago.
Mario Bros.
I was ten.
John Leguizamo said he and Bob Hoskins had to go get drinks at the end of the day just to get through it. They knew it was a terrible movie, but a job is a job, I guess.
Whattttttt. What is cringey about this movie!? Nothing. Notta. Just pure campy brilliance.
I tried watching that when I was twelve or thirteen. Had to turn it off after twenty minutes because it was so awful. I had a crush on John Leguizamo back them but even he didn't make it worth watching.
Oh yes… don’t forget that the lead characters would often get drunk on set and had a bad relationship with the crew
Masters of the Universe with Dolph Lundgren.
Yes! And Frank Langella as Skeletor. One of the favorites of my childhood. Next to "Flash Gordon".
Load More Replies...This one was just on tv, and I watched it out of curiosity. F.L. elevated the entire movie with his performance. They should show it in acting classes and film schools, to delineate the difference between bad acting, serviceable acting, good acting, and great acting, all in one movie.
Load More Replies...I love the caption at the bottom of the poster -- explaining the scene. Seriously?
OMG...this just came on the other day and i was telling hubs how much i loved this movie...he couldn't get through 5 minutes
My dad took me and my lil brother to see this in the theater when it came out
I had an unreal love of Frank Langella back in the day (okay, still do), so my little brothers convinced me to take them to this. They neglected to tell me he was in freaking Skeletor costume for the entire awful movie!
Catwoman (2003) haunted my childhood. I didn't realise the terrible special effects weren't real so I jumped around my living room trying to imitate her.
So I still like this movie. Hate it if you want, but the only thing I really dislike about it is that true to superhero trope, she works in a media publication organization.
The Phantom…Billy Zane! Totally cheesy when I rewatched it but LOVED it as a kid
I adore Billy Zane! I’ll happily watch whatever he is in just for his voice :)
I agree with you. Fan of Billy zane. Enjoyed this movie too.
Load More Replies...Happens whenever they try to make a live action movie out of a comic strip. Hollywood is now a place where new ideas for films go to die.
I still like this movie. It’s the perfect thing to watch on a Sunday afternoon
Batman & robin
That's how bad it is. They can't even show the real poster!
Load More Replies...The movie is so bad, that bored panda doesn't care on use the right poster.
I may have a glitch in my Matrix, but the image is of Justice League, not Bats and Rob.
I remember renting this out at Blockbuster as a kid and just absolutely loved it. One day I watched it 3 times straight
They were bad, but I don't care, lol, I'll forever love those batman movies
I love the 1989 Batman and Batman Returns - both awesome movies but the ones after that (up to the Christopher Nolan ones) I loved as a kid but know I'll die of embarrassment and disappointment rewatching them as an adult.... especially the one with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze.
Idk if anyone's said it yet but Agent Cody Banks is pretty cringe. Used to love them as a kid but looking at them now its not the same as before.
Ironically, Frankie Muniz can't remember filming this, so he could cringe more than any of this. To be clear: he had a tremendous brain injury and now can barely remember any of his life growing up. He barely remembers filming any of Malcom in the Middle.
Mac and Me
5 year old me used to make my parents rent it all the time. It’s now used as a joke movie for bad Sci-Fi
This was a pathetic attempt by Orion pictures to cash in on the insane popularity of Universal's E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial from six years earlier.
I tried watching it on MST3000 and STILL couldn't get through it!
Holds the record as the unofficial longest advertisement in human history.
mystery science theater 3000--they do voiceovers of terrible movies and make them hilarious. Their version (for lack of a better word) of this one was particularly amazing
Load More Replies...My elementary school teachers used to show us this movie all the time on days when they didn’t feel like teaching. It was both the worst movie forced upon us and the happiest, since our other choices were typically “Old Yeller” and “Where the Red Fern Grows.”
Were your teachers part of the Spanish Inquisition?!
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The Covenant. It was a relatively early Sebastian Stan movie that I was obsessed with in middle school. I rewatched it a few years ago and it is easily one of the worst acted movies I've watched. Definitely the worst I've seen in a good decade. I really thought those guys were so cool. I just cringe thinking about how often I watched it and convinced myself that it was even halfway good just because there were hot guys.
Someone called this movie "the ridiculous awfulness that is The Covenant", and it's so true. But so what? It has Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch AND Sebastian Stan all wandering around in teeny Speedos. (It could totally be a TV series in the vein of Charmed or Buffy or something.) I love this movie even as I acknowledge that it's terrible.
I went to the theater to see this in my teens. I thought it was fantastic! But I only saw ot once and looking back, it was because I thought the boys were hot lol
Critters. It was fun and cheesy though.
Swim Fan. Just watch it. I don't want to spoil it but...that movie has aged so badly.
Badly-done teenage knockoff of Fatal Attraction. Teen girl has a one-night stand with the star of the swim team. It turn out that she is obsessed with him. She somehow manages to slip him steroids without him knowing in order to get him kicked off the swim team, and tries to murder his girlfriend. She then ends up falling into the pool and drowns because she does not know how to swim, while teen swim star and his girlfriend ride off into the sunset.
Load More Replies...Kangaroo Jack. Loved that s***. Watched it so many times as a kid. Tried to watch it as a freshman in college and had to stop after 15 mins because the cringe levels were too high.
My parents were as unfortunate as this person's. The only thing I can figure out is that kids just like kangaroos.
16 Candles
I loved that movie when I was in high school. It...has not aged well. At all.
16 Candles isn't exactly old, but too many people watch movies made in the past with the expectation that they'll fit the present day. It was made in a different era! Of course it isn't going to "age well"! Almost nothing does; movies that age well are a rare breed! That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the film & now I need to watch it again. It IS a classic!
Load More Replies...It did NOT age well. How could we ever think the full on rape scene of Caroline was funny? You know, where she passes out drunk in Jake Ryan's room and he passes her on to some geeky guy saying: "She’s so blitzed she won’t know the difference” and: “Have fun.” That's just.. Seriously wrong and disturbing.
It has not aged well. Like Breakfast at Tiffany's and Tootsie, its painful to watch years later when you want to enjoy it but real life gets in the way.
I say that to my husband (and my cats!) all. the. time!
Load More Replies...I don't like any of the John Hughes movies. Probably because I didn't watch them until I was much older and so I definitely don't have any nostalgia glasses to look at them through. They all make me cringe so much.
3 Ninjas High Noon at Mega Mountain.
Home Alone 3.
I was obsessed with both of these movies as a kid. I loved all the 3 Ninjas movies which are probably all not so great, but I remember that one the most and I’ve heard people say it’s by far the worst.
And boy did I want an RC car with a camera on it to drive at ridiculously long ranges.
KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park
I clearly remember seeing it at the time and liking the Beth song, but it's so so bad. so bad.
Thank you for reminding me a a long-buried memory. Wait, I don't think "Thank you" is the right term...
Mars needs moms, became my obsession and made my dad watch it atleast twice a day with me until he hid it from me when i was 9 and told me he lost it. I watched it again holy c***. EDIT: seems i offended people when it came to Mars needs Moms i like it just too corny for me personally and i hate being sad.
I remember when it first came out, and I really didn't want to see it for some reason. One day my dad told me we were going to see a movie, and for some reason I came to the conclusion that it was going to be "Mars Needs Moms". It wasn't, thankfully.
The Little Vampire
Favourite of my MOTHER! She was always in love with his little sister Anna. We got the DVD, man, I feel you!
My kids were talking about Osmosis Jones today. They were surprised at the lyrics from the song of Kid Rock. I didn’t know it was that bad when we would watch it when they were children.
Lava girl and Shark boy
they had a kid. its going to have its own movie. hes going to be played by dwayne johnson
lmao they actually had a child though. It's in the movie we can be heros. My brother made me watch it.
Load More Replies...Mortal Kombat Annihilation I tried to watch it once as an adult and turned it off after 15 minutes, cause it made cringe too hard
Son of the mask, I loved the first one and got hyped when I saw there was a sequel. I was the kinda hyped where I brainwashed myself into liking it
Monkey Bone I seriously thought this movie was just some weird dream I had as a child 🤣 stuck w me for yeaaars
Robot Jox. Didn't listen to it for like 15-20years. I regret rewatching it, ruined my nostalgia.
I think its budget was too low for what they were trying to do. Imagine if they'd had the budget that Pacific Rim had! I still like it; Gary Graham is a vastly underrated actor.
Robin Hood: Prince of thieves. It was my favorite. Watching today many of the performances seem wooden, however, I will die by the statement that Alan Rickman plays the greatest version of the Sheriff of Nottingham ever. That guy had the Midas touch with any role he played.
I had, still have, a weird obsession with Ferngully... Man, it's got a good message but it's a pretty cringy movie. To be fair, I want to be an animator & it showcases different methods of animation so I can just say I'm watching it for studying purposes... but in reality I just love Ferngully.
Yo, the name is Batty, the logic is erratic, potatoes in a jacket, toys in the attic!
Load More Replies...im ashamed too admit that i liked the eragon movie(before i read it), the master of disguise, and spy kids
Anyone remember "Young Einstein" starring Yahoo Serious? LOL!
It is a genious movie. Weird beyond anything and historically incorrect but awesome.
Load More Replies...Titan A.E. To be honest, it's, together with Treasure Planet, still my favorite sci-fi movie, but as I found out recently, it did terrible in the box office and a lot of people didn't like it.
Those aren't cringe movies, they were just movies that took longer to be loved. 😊
Load More Replies...While I still love the movie, The Neverending Story has some pretty cringy moments. Especially when the luck dragon gets his back scratched...
This is a movie I am afraid to watch again because I don't want to ruin the memory.
Load More Replies...Most of these movies are cringy because they did a great job of doing what they were filmed for - entertain young children only. Fart jokes are only funny so long. Kid movies that hold up well have something for all ages as well. Goonies was a great movie as a kid and I still like it because it has themes and characters I didn't understand until I grew up.
I loved "Legend" with Mia Sara and Tim Curry. Last time I watched it I felt like it was weirdly showcasing Tom Cruise's naked legs all the time and that felt quite cringe-y. And while I admire Tim Curry's bad boys that devil of his was a bit wimpy... :)
"Fire, fire, burning higher, making music like a choir."
Load More Replies...For me, it was Barbie Princess Charm School. I refuse to watch that again because I know I´ll still like it lmfao
Robin Hood: Prince of thieves. It was my favorite. Watching today many of the performances seem wooden, however, I will die by the statement that Alan Rickman plays the greatest version of the Sheriff of Nottingham ever. That guy had the Midas touch with any role he played.
I had, still have, a weird obsession with Ferngully... Man, it's got a good message but it's a pretty cringy movie. To be fair, I want to be an animator & it showcases different methods of animation so I can just say I'm watching it for studying purposes... but in reality I just love Ferngully.
Yo, the name is Batty, the logic is erratic, potatoes in a jacket, toys in the attic!
Load More Replies...im ashamed too admit that i liked the eragon movie(before i read it), the master of disguise, and spy kids
Anyone remember "Young Einstein" starring Yahoo Serious? LOL!
It is a genious movie. Weird beyond anything and historically incorrect but awesome.
Load More Replies...Titan A.E. To be honest, it's, together with Treasure Planet, still my favorite sci-fi movie, but as I found out recently, it did terrible in the box office and a lot of people didn't like it.
Those aren't cringe movies, they were just movies that took longer to be loved. 😊
Load More Replies...While I still love the movie, The Neverending Story has some pretty cringy moments. Especially when the luck dragon gets his back scratched...
This is a movie I am afraid to watch again because I don't want to ruin the memory.
Load More Replies...Most of these movies are cringy because they did a great job of doing what they were filmed for - entertain young children only. Fart jokes are only funny so long. Kid movies that hold up well have something for all ages as well. Goonies was a great movie as a kid and I still like it because it has themes and characters I didn't understand until I grew up.
I loved "Legend" with Mia Sara and Tim Curry. Last time I watched it I felt like it was weirdly showcasing Tom Cruise's naked legs all the time and that felt quite cringe-y. And while I admire Tim Curry's bad boys that devil of his was a bit wimpy... :)
"Fire, fire, burning higher, making music like a choir."
Load More Replies...For me, it was Barbie Princess Charm School. I refuse to watch that again because I know I´ll still like it lmfao
