8 Movies We Believed Had "Happy" Endings That On Second Thought Really Weren't Happy At All

Everyone loves when the movie they are watching has a happy ending, where it seems like everything is wrapped up tight with a nice bow. But when we watch these movies, and see how they end, are they really "happy" endings? Or can we look a little deeper and realize that the whole thing could be considered a massive sham?

These 8 movies have those "happy" endings, but when you get down to the bare bones of what really just happened, your mind will be sufficiently blown by what you realize you have missed.

1. Independence Day

Great movie. It was one of my favorites growing up, especially at the height of Will Smith's rise to Hollywood fame. An alien race comes to earth to steal our natural resources, and they plan to destroy the planet when they have exhausted everything available. The world bands together to take down the mutual threat, and we are victorious because of the courage of two men. Everyone is happy, all is going to go back to normal... but is it really?

With the fall of world governments, and so many dead, dying, homeless, sick, hungry, etc. What do you really think is going to happen in the days, weeks, months and years afterwards? It is going to be the wild-west without any form of law and order. Essentially every person for themselves. Think about that.  

2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

This classic is a must watch for anyone that grew up in the 80s and early 90s. At the end of the movie you're supposed to feel like you had a great time going along for the ride, but in reality the situation is much darker than that.

If you look at what actually happened you will be shocked. Ferris ruins the life of his school's principal, makes his sister absolutely lose her mind, manages to convince his best friend to destroy his dad's stuff, and even promises to break up with his girlfriend. It seems like Ferris is a bit of a sociopath?

3. The Exorcist

Admittedly, The Exorcist is not supposed to be a movie with a "happy" ending, but at the end of the day, good triumphs over evil and the demon possessing Regan is cast back into hell. Hooray. But if you look at the end of the movie, you see a little girl leaving her entire childhood behind because of what she had just gone through. The hell she had been put through during her possession will pale in comparison to how she lives the rest of her life.

4. The Neverending Story

Even though we loved this movie as kids, we really didn't understand what was truly going on. At the end of the film, after having defeated all of the obstacles before him, Bastian wishes for Fantasia to go back to how it was before the darkness. He is also granted one wish, anything he could possibly want, and he seemingly wastes it for selfish reasons. He could have wished for literally anything, instead he wants to head back to earth riding his giant luck dragon in order to put it to some bullies who bothered him early on in the movie... Seems like a selfish brat.

5. Free Willy

I wasn't even a fan of this movie when I was a kid, but I completely understood why a lot of people were. You witness the reformation of a troubled youth as he begins to appreciate the world around him, and he actually begins to love another creature. In the end he helps set Willy free and all is well with the world... but is it really? What Jesse does is a felony offense and he could be looking at some serious time in a juvenile detention center. Did the movie actually encourage people to eco-criminals?

6. Kill Bill Vol. 2

Uma Thurman is a badass in this movie, there is no doubt about that. She is on a mission to recover her daughter by the aforementioned Bill. The catch is, her daughter has never known her, and what she has actually done is killed the only person her daughter has ever known as a parent and kidnapped her. Food for thought.

7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

You know the age-old story of a father heading out to the store for a pack of cigarettes, before he leaves and never returns. That is essentially what you have in this movie, except on a much grander scale. Roy leaves his family to travel the universe in order to represent the human race to the rest of the galaxy. Basically he says to hell with his family and does whatever he wants.

8. Dirty Dancing

Where do I begin with this one? We have a solid case for statutory rape, and no one really seems to care once the dance scene is complete. No level of dance will ever be able to take away from the fact that you have a grown man falling in love with a girl in her teens. Just saying.

Share if this list absolutely blew your mind. Sorry if I ruined any of these movies for you.