The film's antagonist Augustus is an extremely unsettling character. His verbal ill-tempered and mean-spirited ways towards his nephew Henry while being enslaved has been seen bordering on child abuse.
Despite its G rating, it would have earned a PG rating today if theatrically released due to verbal child abuse, scary images, and some peril.
At the beginning of the film, a crane fly is shown up close confronting and eating an ant and walking off with it.