Meeting your favorite cartoon character was supposed to be one of the best parts of childhood. Judging by these photos, however, things didn’t always go according to plan. Giant heads, creepy smiles, questionable homemade costumes, and characters that looked only vaguely like the ones they were supposed to represent – the kids’ reactions make these photos even better.
The community at 'Awkward Family Photos' has been sharing amusing pictures from family albums, along with the hilarious stories behind them, for years.
Scroll down for photos that sometimes look less like a dream come true and more like the beginning of a nightmare – or a straight-up horror movie. What about you, Pandas? Do you remember any similar situations from your childhood, where your parents tried to entertain you, but you ended up with a trauma for life?
#21
“At the Lakeside Mall in New Orleans in 1985, I was lucky enough to meet a leprechaun.”
Report
7points
#23
“My first Easter. Looks like even back then I thought it was pretty dodgy.”
Report
7points
#25
"Every year for the holidays, my family took me to the Westland Mall in Columbus, OH, for pictures. My 1984 encounter with a bunny filled with darkness still haunts me to this day."
Report
6points
#26
"When I was one, I met Big Bird and the Easter Bunny in 1979 at the Eastgate Square Mall in Hamilton, Ontario."
Report
6points
#28
“Four-year-old me, 1998, on one of my family’s many caravan holidays in Cornwall, UK.”
Report
6points
#29
“There was a meet-and-greet with Fred Flintstone at a Shopper’s Drug Mart, and I got to sit on his lap.”
Report
5points
