Movies are one of the most powerful artforms there are. They can make audiences shiver, laugh, and—quite often—cry. When a film builds such compelling characters that one of them passing away gets a few tears out of viewers, it's an inimitable sign of quality.
Sad character deaths aren't exclusive to more mature movies. In children's cinema, there is an abundance of these which multiple generations have grown up with. Whether it's Disney classics like The Lion King or in fantasy epics like The NeverEnding Story, these movies have been forging kids for years and getting them ready for cinema's greatest tragedies.
Spoilers ahead!
10 'Bambi' (1942) — Bambi's Mom
One of Disney's oldest animated classics, Bambi is the moving tale of a young white-tailed deer from season to season, as he learns about life, love, and friendship.
Bambi doesn't have a traditional story, and its pacing is nothing like that of the rest of the movies from the Golden Age of animation. That's precisely what makes it such a unique experience. And when Bambi's mother is killed by an unseen hunter, it results in one of the most shattering moments in any Disney film.
9 'The NeverEnding Story' (1984) — Artax
One of the biggest classics of the '80s, Wolfgang Petersen's The NeverEnding Story is about a boy who discovers a magical book about a young warrior who must save the land of Fantasia.
The film is without a doubt one of the darkest, saddest, strangest children's movies ever made—And all the better because of it. Atmospheric, grand, and absolutely magical, Petersen's magnum opus is very easy to enjoy. That isn't to say that it's without its fair share of tear-jerkers, the most distressing of which is the scene where Artax the horse drowns in the Swamp of Sadness.
8 'Hachi: A Dog's Tale' (2009) — Parker Wilson
A remake of an '80s Japanese classic, which was itself based on the true story of the dog Hachikō, Hachi: A Dog's Tale stars Richard Gere as a college professor and his growing bond with an abandoned dog he takes into his home.
The film is designed to make you cry, and if it can definitely soften even the coldest of hearts. If you like dogs and you like movies, there's no going wrong with Hachi, which offers one of cinema's goodest boys. The real gut-punch is what made the real story worth making movies about: When Gere's character passes away and Hachi loyally waits for him to return from a train trip that he will sadly never come back from.
7 'The Land Before Time' (1988) — Littlefoot's Mom
The films of one of the biggest masters of Western animation, Don Bluth, are often regarded as some of the saddest and most melancholic ever. The Land Before Time is definitely not an exception to the rule.
The film is achingly beautiful, with a gorgeous score by James Horner and animation that still holds up delightfully well. However, if you're not looking for a movie that'll make you cry, this isn't the one for you, as the death of the protagonist's mother is a scene that's still as painful as it was in the '80s.
6 'Old Yeller' (1957) — Old Yeller
What is it about dog movies that makes them such tearjerkers? Disney's Old Yeller may not offer an answer, but it certainly offers a moving, entertaining, and gut-wrenching story about a boy forced into learning to become a man in the midst of his father's absence, and how his reluctant adoption of a yellow mongrel plays into his coming-of-age.
At the end of the film, Travis is forced to put down his beloved dog when it gets rabies after defending the family from a vicious wolf. It's a heartbreaking moment, made even more poignant by Tommy Kirk's outstanding performance.
5 'Bridge to Terabithia' (2007) — Leslie Burke
A beautiful exploration of childhood imagination, Bridge to Terabithia is the tale of a boy and a girl who are polar opposites, but quickly become friends. Together, they create a magical land that they rule over as king and queen.
The main thing that makes the movie work so well are the deeply endearing characters and the highly inventive tone of the story. It's not all just magical creatures and rainbows, though: There's also a moving depiction of grief when the girl played by AnnaSophia Robb dies in an accident, leaving Josh Hutcherson's character to face his fears and pain alone.
4 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' (2014) — Stoick the Vast
The How to Train Your Dragon trilogy is undoubtedly one of DreamWorks Animation's strongest franchises, full of entertaining stories and riveting characters. One of the most memorable is Stoick, the mighty Chieftain of Berk.
In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Hiccup leads the people of Berk in a battle to protect their peace and future. The dynamic between Hiccup and his father, Stoick, is one of the most engaging aspects of the film—Making it all the more painful when Stoick sacrifices himself to save his son's life.
3 'My Girl' (1991) — Thomas J. Sennett
One of the most iconic coming-of-age movies of the '90s, My Girl is the story of a girl on the verge of adolescence who's obsessed with death, and her friendship with a boy who's allergic to everything.
The film sensitively tackles darker themes than you'd usually see in a children's movie, and it does so beautifully and, of course, very poignantly. It's not, however, a feel-good movie at all. Be prepared with a box of tissues when Thomas (played by Macaulay Culkin) dies from multiple bee stings, leaving Anna Chlumsky's Vada to deal with the loss.
2 'The Lion King' (1994) — Mufasa
When talking about character deaths in children's cinema, the conversation is guaranteed to veer into the iconic '90s Disney classic The Lion King, and the way young Simba's father Mufasa is killed by his brother, Scar.
The whole film is absolutely phenomenal, with a brisk runtime of less than 100 minutes, memorable songs, endearing characters, and a perfect combination of laugh-out-loud comedy and compelling drama. One of the best scenes in the movie is the one that kicks off the plot: Scar's betrayal and Mufasa's death, and the heartbreaking reaction of Simba when he discovers his dad's lifeless body.
1 'Up' (2009) — Ellie Fredricksen
It doesn't matter where you stand on Pixar's Up, whether you think it's one of the studio's greatest outings of overly cartoonish fluff: Anyone and everyone can agree that the first act is one of the best in the history of animated cinema.
First, the characters of Carl and Ellie are introduced, and they are immediately charming and likable. What comes next is a completely dialogue-less chronicle of the couple's life over the years, their ups and downs, their struggles and joys, and then Ellie's eventual death from old age. It's a hell of a tearjerker, and without a doubt the most emotionally powerful sequence that Pixar has ever produced.