Disney is renowned for its ability to elicit intense joy and immense sorrow among audience members. Fox and the Hound is one of the fans’ most impactful films (via Reddit) that explains the loss of a character in every way but actual death. While the whole movie is a sad experience overall, Disney has plenty of movies that hit hard and early, leaving the audience primed emotionally for the story that will follow.
While some joke that the studio specializes in stories that can emotionally devastate fans, especially with some infamous and famous scenes over the years. However, it's the movies that can devastate an entire audience in the first 20 minutes that stick with Redditors.
Bambi II
A list of sad Disney films wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Bambi’s mother – who hunters slay in the 1942 masterpiece. Its midquel, Bambi II, commences at Bambi’s time-leap and delves into the young prince’s juvenescence without her.
Fans who are still sore about the doe may tear up when her fawn cries for her. However, that’s not the extent of the heartrending moments as Bambi’s father assumes guardianship. The Great Prince is deeply torn between his duties and his son. This film cuts deep with those who have tenuous relationships with their parents.
Brother Bear
When his youngest brother brazenly tracks down a bear and goads it in a fight, Sitka sprints to help him. But, he must sacrifice himself to save his sibling.
Disney has a knack for killing off the amiable, saintly characters, whereas the selfish, reckless ones live on. Thankfully, the impulsive brother transforms (literally) by the end. While Sitka’s demise isn’t close to the saddest in animated history, it’s so tragic and was entirely preventable. Although fans recognize death can come suddenly, it’s difficult to swallow knowing someone else is entirely to blame.
Chronicles of Narnia
During WWII, millions of minors evacuated the cities while their parents aided the war effort. Though necessary, the long-term separation was extraordinarily taxing and traumatic for families (via The Washington Post).
Parents are in puddles within the first five minutes of The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. Narnia careens the audience directly into the midst of the London Blitz, where air-raid alarms blare and Germany’s bombs drop from above. To protect her four kids, Mrs. Pevinses sends them to the countryside. It’s a tearful goodbye for both parents and children.
Cinderella
When a neighbor tells Ella her father took ill during his trip, her step-sisters gawk that no one will lavish them with fineries, and Lady Tremaine is equally callous. The shocking news and her family’s insensitivity cause her (and the audience) to weep.
2015’s live-action Cinderella expands upon the parents’ untimely expiry and Ella’s slavery in her own home. The step-family is revoltingly vicious, and it’s painful and agonizing for audiences to endure because Ella is kind and hopeful despite their wretched abuse.
Finding Nemo
The audience has no time to feel attached to the expecting clownfish parents when tragedy swoops in. A predator kills the mother, leaving behind only one viable egg and its father.
Though fans don’t specifically revisit Finding Nemo for this scene, Marlin is still evidently distressed by the events: he’s overly cautious and anxious about his son’s well-being. It’s sweet (if a bit overbearing), but fans understand where his paranoia stems from. Although this isn’t the most stirring death, fans who lost a spouse (or parent) may be moved to shed a tear for the single father.
Frozen
Frozen’s “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” (via YouTube) spans a decade of Anna coping with the loss of her sisterly bond. Elsa suffers too, but she’s secluded from her family and the public because her parents fear her inexplicable powers.
It’s heartbreaking to watch Anna faithfully, optimistically beg her best friend to spend time with her while Elsa huddles in her room trying to conceal her burgeoning abilities. Their parents don’t intend to cause their daughters so much strife; nevertheless, they facilitate it. It’s appalling that their good intentions led to years of senseless trauma.
The Little Mermaid III
Disney has a few underrated animated triquels, and Ariel’s Beginning uncovers that King Triton’s wife dies in a pirate raid, making him inconsolably despondent since they were childhood best friends and conceived seven daughters together.
Although the queen spends five minutes on screen, her clear family loves her dearly, and her loss impacts them in various ways. Triton outlaws anything reminding him of her and forbids human contact. His daughters are forced to follow his strict edicts, which strains their relationship. The prequel reflects how people manage loss: some deny it and spiral through depression.
Up
Within a five-minute window, the audience navigates several decades of Carl’s history: his youth, meeting and wedding his wife, their miscarriage, travel plans, their long marriage filled with highs and lows, eventual retirement, and her passing. Carl honors her memory by rigging their house to sail to Paradise Falls, their childhood dream adventure.
Voiding the dialogue and moving through their life with only animation and variations of the main theme song is why this bittersweet sequence is so powerful and poignant. Pixar uses pathos so effectively that Up consistently features on “Try Not to Cry” challenges.