History FreudianExcuse / FIlm

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory 3'', [[spoiler:Lotso became evil after his first owner lost and replaced him]].
** In the second movie, [[spoiler:Stinky Pete is evil because he was an unpopular toy and no child ever played with him]].

** According to WordOfGod, his albino coloring caused his parents to neglect him and others to treat him as a bad omen. It can be argued that Shen never would have turned cold enough to commit genocide if he had been more loved.

* On ''MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'', Pete mentions during his VillainSong that the reason he's so evil is because his mother didn't like him and he wants to impress her be becoming king.

* ''TheRing'': Sadako Yamamura and her American counterpart, Samara Morgan, have a particularly tragic one. Though it's also a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario, with some of her own disturbing traits contributing to making her childhood all the more horrific.

* Subverted in the 2008 {{Batman}} movie ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. The Joker explains what seems to be the source of his insanity when he reveals the origin of his smile-scars, involving an abusive alcoholic father who wanted to know why he was "so serious"--after killing his mother right in front of him. But later in the movie, he eagerly reveals the origins of his scars again, [[MultipleChoicePast changing his story]] to one involving a wife who wanted him to smile more, who was disfigured to pay for her gambling debts, and taking to self-mutilation to make her feel better. Chances of both stories being outright lies (or at best delusions) suddenly look pretty good.
* Subverted in ''Simon Birch'', where despite extreme neglect by his parents, Simon appears to be the nicest person living in a town full of assholes.

* In ''RaisingArizona'', the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels brutal biker]] and bounty hunter who [[KickTheDog kills furry animals for fun]] has a tattoo reading "Momma didn't like me".

* Everybody in ''TheBreakfastClub'', villain or not... Bender's parents despise him (and they burnt his arm with a cigar for spilling paint in the garage), Claire's parents pamper her to get back at each other, Allison's parents ignore her, Andrew's dad is a StageMom who is obsessed with his winning, and Brian's parents coddle him too much and are obsessed with him getting good marks to the point that he considers committing suicide because he got an F.

* In ''AmericanHistoryX'' this comes off as heartfelt rather than trite. [[spoiler: Derek is transformed into the uber white supremacist after his father is shot by a black drug dealer, but flashbacks reveal that his father had laid the groundwork for this transformation by his rants against Affirmative Action.]] Derek had resisted buying into his father's racial stereotyping, instead looking to his high-school English teacher (a black man) as his mentor. It was only after [[spoiler: his father was killed]] that Derek started to think: "Gee, maybe Dad was right all along."

* In ''Film/IronMan 2'', we learn that not only is Ivan Vanko driven to "avenge" his father, Anton, but that Anton spent the last 20 years of his life in Siberia in a "Vodka-fueled rage". In Nick Fury's words, not a good setting to raise a child - except Fury's tone definitely says "yeah, that sucks, but there's nothing we can do about it and you've still got to stop him."

* Played for laughs in Formula 51 with the drug dealer Iky.

* After Sean in {{Boy Wonder}} watched his mother murdered and grew while the case was never solved, he grew into a solitary, obsessive, and violent boy. [[spoiler: Having his father convince him to lie about who he saw at the scene didn't help.]]
* Subverted gloriously in {{Carlito's Way}} In the beginning, Carlito dismisses this by saying, "Now, I ain't sayin' that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, 'cause that's all you hear in the joint. 'I didn't have a chance'. No. Bullshit. I was already a mean little bastard while my mother was alive, and I know it."

* Subverted gloriously in Film/{{Carlito's Way}} In the beginning, Carlito dismisses this by saying, "Now, I ain't sayin' that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, 'cause that's all you hear in the joint. 'I didn't have a chance'. No. Bullshit. I was already a mean little bastard while my mother was alive, and I know it."

* Subverted gloriously in {{Carlito's Way}} In the beginning, Carlito dismisses this by saying, "Now, I ain't sayin' that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, 'cause that's all you hear in the joint. 'I didn't have a chance'. No. Bullshit. I was already a mean little bastard while my mother was alive, and I know it."

* Subverted gloriously in {{Carlito'sWay}} In the beginning, Carlito dismisses this by saying, "Now, I ain't sayin' that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, 'cause that's all you hear in the joint. 'I didn't have a chance'. No. Bullshit. I was already a mean little bastard while my mother was alive, and I know it."

* Subverted gloriously in "Film/Carlito'sWay" In the beginning, Carlito dismisses this by saying, "Now, I ain't sayin' that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, 'cause that's all you hear in the joint. 'I didn't have a chance'. No. Bullshit. I was already a mean little bastard while my mother was alive, and I know it."

* Subverted gloriously in {{Carlito's Way}. In the beginning, Carlito dismisses this by saying, "Now, I ain't sayin' that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, 'cause that's all you hear in the joint. 'I didn't have a chance'. No. Bullshit. I was already a mean little bastard while my mother was alive, and I know it."

* ''HalfPastDead'' centered around a group of mercenaries or whatever trying to get a location on stolen gold from a death row inmate by taking a group of hostages. One woman asks the leader what his motivation was, to which he insinuated he was beaten by his father and raped by his mother. Though he never actually admitted this to be true, he subverted the trope by claiming it had nothing to do with his actions as he's simply a sociopath motivated by greed. Earlier it was revealed that he suffers from Gulf War Syndrome and may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress as well, which may actually play the trope straight.

* Lampshaded in ''GrossePointeBlank''. The main character, hitman Martin Blank, comments that it is very likely being raised by an alcoholic father and insane mother influenced his career choices. Blank doesn't treat his childhood traumas as an excuse, merely an explanation, and takes full responsibility for his own actions.

* RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves provides one for the traitor who agrees to turn Robin over to the Sheriff. [[spoiler: Will Scarlet]] is Robin's illegitimate half-brother. He and his mother, the mistress of the Robin's father after he was widowed, were sent away due to a young Robin's anger at his father over the affair. As a result, he grew up in utter poverty, resenting Robin from afar for "stealing" his father.

* SerialKiller Colt Hawker in ''VisitingHours'' grew to loathe women after witnessing his DomesticAbuser father being attacked by his mother.

* In DaysOfBeingWild a film by WongKarWai: The main character Yuddy/York (played by LeslieCheung) is a self-centered playboy who mistreats/manipulates women by making them fall for him and breaking their hearts. It is strongly hinted in the film that this is because his biological mother deserted him when he was younger and having a troubled emotionally distant relationship with his foster mother.

* ''TheRing'': Sadako Yamamura and her American counterpart, Samara Morgan, have a particularly tragic one.

* Daido Katsumi[=/=]Kamen Rider Eternal, the BigBad of ''KamenRiderDouble: [[TheMovie A-to-Z, the Gaia Memories of Fate]]'', tried to turn Fuuto into a city of the undead and his excuse given in the film was that he CameBackWrong. However, later it's explained in ''W Returns: Eternal'' that was only a part of a ''much'' more solid excuse. [[spoiler:He tried to save a village of psychics from a MadScientist named [[CompleteMonster Dr. Prospect]] and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero they all died because he unknowingly triggered Prospect's failsafe]]. Prospect's actions effectively drove Katsumi completely insane and turned him into what he'd become in the movie, his actions being a RoaringRampageOfRevenge on the Museum and Foundation X, both of which helped Prospect with his project.]]

* The new remake of ''Film/{{Halloween}}'' attempts this with Michael Myers.
** The original ''Halloween'', while appearing to be a shallow motiveless-serial-killer movie at first, it is notable for how it stresses just ''how'' strange Myers' behavior actually is. Behind the scenes, Nick Castle (the man behind the mask) reportedly tried to figure out just what would drive a serial killer like Myers and act accordingly, but Carpenter specifically insisted on the "soulless killing machine" approach. One of the main characters, Dr. Loomis, is an experienced psychiatrist who is both baffled and terrified at the seemingly causeless evil lurking behind Myers' eyes. The overall idea is that, by any realistic standard, there should be a ''reason'' for someone to be anywhere near as warped as he is.

* In ''MadeasFamilyReunion'', Victoria [[spoiler: let her daughter Vanessa be raped by her second husband in order to get him to stay. She says that she doesn't feel sorry for Vanessa because her mother pimped her out for crack.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}'', the robot that kills all living things on the planet was made by a scientist for peace, but as the military of the country were he was made (is not clear in what country the story of the movie happen) tear him away from his master, he seems to reach out as a child being torn from his mother. He then goes mad and tries to kill his oppressors. After being forced to make machines of mass destruction, he is sickened by humanity and orders the robots to slay everything that lives.

* Subverted and parodied ''hilariously'' in ''MonstersVsAliens,'' in which the BigBad claims he is about to tell the heroine his life story... but he's strapped to a machine that stamps him into the ground every few seconds, so you never hear exactly what he's trying to say; only fragments that skip most of the crucial information!

* In ''DespicableMe'', there are flash backs where it suggests Gru got an inferiority complex issue from his mother's lack of enthusiasm for his achievements, including building a fully functional rocket at a young age. Although he otherwise had a healthy relationship with his mother.

* Scar's desire to rule over Pride Rock, even killing his brother Mufasa and try to have Simba killed as well, becomes somewhat understandable after reading some prologue books for TheLionKing that revealed that Scar (then known as Taka) was neglected by his own father, such as his father revoking a promise regarding teaching him to hunt. His earlier inability to be taught how to hunt might also explain why his unified hunting policies also resulted in Pride Rock being turned into a wasteland during his rule.
* ''WreckItRalph'''s titular character had his home paved over by some callous individuals in order to build a hotel. Trying to destroy a building in which innocent people live isn't the most heroic action ever, but observers are already sympathizing with his plight, which is good, because [[HeelFaceTurn he's trying to be a good guy]] in order to be well-liked.
* At one point in ''TheEmperorsNewGroove'', Yzma mentions while on a rant for being fired from being Kuzco's advisor that she was the one who practically raised him, which implies that a lot of Kuzco's... [[ItsAllAboutMe personality]] [[BadBoss and]] [[TheCaligula problems]] are a direct result of her influence.

* Subverted in the 2008 {{Batman}} movie ''{{The Dark Knight|Saga}}''. The Joker explains what seems to be the source of his insanity when he reveals the origin of his smile-scars, involving an abusive alcoholic father who wanted to know why he was "so serious"--after killing his mother right in front of him. But later in the movie, he eagerly reveals the origins of his scars again, [[MultipleChoicePast changing his story]] to one involving a wife who wanted him to smile more, who was disfigured to pay for her gambling debts, and taking to self-mutilation to make her feel better. Chances of both stories being outright lies (or at best delusions) suddenly look pretty good.

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