5 seriously messed-up cartoons we all watched as kids.

Ahh remember cartoons? When you used to park your cute little butt in front of the TV on a Saturday morning and innocently giggle away at the cute characters and all the funny jokes? Yeah...

Have you ever looked back and tried to unpack them? No? Okay, great - because we're going to do that right now. 

From brutal deaths to weird gender politics and creepy sexual references, we've rounded up five cartoons we all watched as kids, that were actually super f*cked up.

Our apols for the oncoming trauma...

Animals of Farthing Wood

Why it's f*cked up: If you think Bambi was bad, you never watched Animals of Farthing Wood. This literally traumatised a whole generation of children with its endlessly horrifying scenes of slaughtered animals.

For the uninitiated, the show - which came out in the early to mid nineties - is about a group of animals who are forced to leave their home after humans invade their land and start building houses. Classic us, guys.

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We all should learn from that cartoon..we should help each other and think about each other...like if you are agree ✋

A post shared by  Animals of Farthing Wood (@animalsoffarthingwood) on Aug 10, 2017 at 8:57am PDT

In this kids show that's apparently made for kids, there are around 15 brutal death scenes in an impressive 39 episodes. Cute!

Ranging from a family of hedgehogs being flattened by a truck on the motorway, to a female pheasant being shot, plucked and cooked in front of her husband's eyes, to a stag drinking poison from a stream... it's A LOT.

Here's a compilation of all the death scenes, just so you can relive the horrors of your childhood in six gruelling minutes.

So. Much. Bloodshed.

Once Upon A Forest

Why it's f*cked up: This one was dark AF. Once Upon A Forest was a nightmare-fuelled movie dropped in the early 90s and it follows the lives of three cherubic little animals (called 'Furlings') who have to rescue their friend who has been overcome by poisonous gas after a truck topples over on the motorway. CASUAL.

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ONCE UPON A FOREST (1993) In short, with its short run, this film is such a serious message in a children body and that simply makes it enjoyable for everyone. In addition, it's nicely wrapped by a beautiful yet sometimes haunting soundtrack which contains James Horner's thematic score and a few songs co-written by the man himself. So there's no disappointment here, but it's still far from his best in my opinion. #onceuponaforest #กาลครั้งหนึ่งในป่าใหญ่ #jameshorner #ellenblain #bengregory #paigegosney #elizabethmoss #michaelcrawford

A post shared by  Soundtrack & Score Community (@ostcommunity) on Oct 17, 2019 at 2:30am PDT

This anxiety-induced series of events starts when Russell the hedgehog is almost run over/glassed by a drunk driver who speeds through the highway in his Range Rover, throwing a beer bottle out of the window. 

After this incident, an overturned tanker truck gasses a small badger and kills both her parents. 

In order to save the small badger's life, the trio set out to find herbs (as requested by this wise, old badger) and they are consequently faced with numerous life-threatening situations. A hungry barn owl attempts to eat them, construction vehicles come frighteningly close to running them over, and one is even caught in a metal trap.

To save you the suspense, they make it out alive with the herbs, albeit scarred for life. Just like us. 

Intense sh*t for an eight-year-old, no?

The Ren & Stimpy Show

Why it's f*cked up: Can we all agree how freaking messed up this show was? If you grew up in the nineties, we guarantee you used to watch this and have a good lol at the emotionally unstable Ren and Stimpy.

It specialised in this intensely dark humour, with whacked-out imagery that made the whole show look like an acid trip (those grotesque closeups thooo...). 

It regularly featured brutal violence, self-mutilation and suggestive scenes on the reg and was so controversial that parents frequently wrote into the network to complain. 

Even though certain parts of it were removed, there are still some intense scenes that will be forever burned into our little child brains. 

For example, in one episode, Ren mercilessly BEATS a man senseless with a paddle, leaving him bruised and swollen. 

In another freakishly gross scene, Ren slowly plucks nerve-endings out of his toothless gums, and in another one the characters go skinny dipping and actually REMOVE their skin.

Then there were the weird sexual references, like when a man answers the door naked, then Ren and Stimpy end up bathing with said man and wife (???).

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👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🛁 "There's nothing like a hot bath to settle ones digestion" #RenAndStimpy #BigBabyScam #Family #Farts #Bathtub

A post shared by  The Ren & Stimpy Show (@renandstimpyshow) on Apr 19, 2016 at 7:23pm PDT

We're pretty sure the whole gross humour was why we loved it so much, but seriously... WTF. How was this ever aired on a kid's channel?

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

Why it's f*cked up: This was probably one of your favourite cartoons growing up because it was really funny and weird. It was only on for around four years in the nineties, but it made an impact none of us will forget.

There were SO many things in this show that were a little bit/VERY questionable for an audience so young. 

For those who haven't heard of it (bless ya), the show focuses on three young monsters - Ickis, Oblina and Krumm - who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to frighten humans. It's basically like a waaay weirder prelude to Monsters Inc.

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Be honest... are you the Ickis, Oblina or Krumm of your friend group? #AaahhRealMonsters

A post shared by  Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (@officialaaahhrealmonsters) on Mar 22, 2017 at 7:33pm PDT

In one particular scene, Ickis rebels against Oblina's bossiness and hits her in the face with a large piece of mystery slop, to which Oblina replies, "You skanky little..."

We almost feel like she's going to say slut? Either way, how is skank a normal word to have in a kid's show?!

In another episode, the monsters are having a lesson in sex education, where the teacher (known as The Gromble) tries to explain to the students how monsters have sex (???). SO WEIRD. Later on we find that Ickis is practicing what he learnt in health class by himself in an alleyway.

We... we have no words.

Rocko's Modern Life

Why it's f*cked up: Similar to Ren & Stimpy, this show thrived on crazy characters, whacky imagery and really messed-up situations. And it was DEFINITLEY meant for adults.

If you're not familiar, Rocko's Modern Life is a show about an anxious wallaby living in a town full of anthropomorphic animals. While you may remember it as being super colourful and cute, it's actually crammed full of risque adult humour.

Exhibit A: Rocko lives next door to a couple of cane toads (Ed and Bev Bighead) who have a troubled marriage. In the second episode (called 'Leap Frogs) Mrs Bighead tells viewers that she is a "woman with needs," shortly before tempting Rocko with a spiked drink. 

Um...

It was eventually pulled from air, but Mrs Bighead remained a mega hussy throughout the entire series. Like, there's another episode where she plays a game of strip poker with Rocko and his best friend Heffer. 

Strip. Poker. 

At one point Rocko even works as a sex-line operator at a place called 'Loveline', where he sits next to a sign instructing him to, 'Be Hot Be Naughty Be Courteous'. Nice!

Feature image: @officialrenandstimpy

Do you have any gems to add to this list? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.