Hey Folks!
I got a bit of a weird one. When I was a very little kid in the 70's or early 80's I remember seeing the opening to a movie that really scared me. It was an animated title sequence that the closest thing I can think of is very similar to Moon Zero Two (HERE) and Catalina Caper's (HERE).
The scene that stuck in my head during the opening was a little impish man with a giant meat cleaver cutting an old lady in half, As she sat in an easy chair knitting something. There were several murders like that during the animated credits but that was the one that really stuck with me and sent me scurrying out of the den in a panic.
The movie I was told was a horror/suspense comedy. So my dad admonished me for being so scared of it. But my overactive imagination just couldn't let it go!
Anyhoo! Thanks for letting me submit this and I adore your site!
-Cam
The timeline doesn't match and it's not exactly what you describe but my first thought was the opening credits of Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead. The old babysitter whacks the chair with her cane and ends up falling over upside down with her legs spread wide which I could imagine a kid watching might misinterpret.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsktbDkEhEQ
I also thought of the Pink Panther movies which all had animated opening sequences in the style similar to your examples but I don't think ever featured murders like you describe.
Hope someone comes up with an answer. Now I'm curious!
Hey Geoff, thanks for the suggestions. I looked through the movie openings for the Pink Panther and a Shot in the dark but it doesn't appear to be any of those. It's weird how many mystery comedies have animated or semi-animated openings. If I find it by happenstance I'll let ya know! Google isn't as good at finding things like it was a few years ago. But maybe things will change.