Most Emotional Disney/Pixar Deaths

I've been bingeing Screen Rants Movie Fights for... a very long time. For the past two weeks I've been bingeing on these 1-2 hour long videos where I get irritated at unnecessary opinions and people who don't know when to shut up, or I nod vigorously with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that Andy Signore has made the right decision. The last Movie Fights (which gave me a headache, mind you), between Max Landis (groans) and Dan Murrell, made me especially irritated, because even though I'll admit that Max Landis brings up great points, he irritates me. So. Much.

But this isn't a Movie Fights blog, it's Disney blog. And the reason why I'm bringing this up in the first place is because the last question that mattered (a.k.a the last question that took nearly 30 minutes to finish) was 'What is the most emotional Disney or Pixar movie death ever?'. If you know me, like really know me, I get emotional over everything. I get emotional over wedding rehearsals. I get emotional over every single movie ever. And when we're talking Disney and Pixar? Oh, boy that just gets my gears grinding. If there ever was a Movie Fights question that I would answer with all the passion in the world, all the confidence shining from deep within, it's this question.

I obviously have a number one pick, but there were so many others that made it to my personal list that I had to include the others. So to be clear, the first nine deaths on the list can be arranged in any order, since I'll always find them sad and/or horrifying, but the last one on the list is The One.

Without further ado, here are the Disney/Pixar Movie Deaths that made me feel horrible, that made me cry, that made me stare at the wall in utter horror, that made me hit pause so I could sob without missing the next important parts of the film. Spoiler alert - you have been warned.

I will also be included people who 'died' but were brought back to life, mainly because... well... they 'died'. And that moment alone was enough to make me bawl.

Ellie (Up) 

Oh, jeez. Oh, jeez. If you'd asked me this question about two years ago, I'm pretty sure that Ellie dying in the first ten minutes of Up would probably be at the top of this list. See, one thing that really gets me in the heartstrings is when Disney introduces you to a lovable character, make you love that character, and then just rips that character away from you with their bare hands. (This happens more than once. And it still gets me every time.) What's worse about this death is that you empathize with Carl, because you know everything they went through. You know their struggles, you know how much they wanted to have a child, you get to 'know' them in the sense that you've followed them from childhood to death. And seeing Ellie's death and the effect it has on Carl? It's so heartbreaking.

Coral (Finding Nemo)

Ah, yes, me getting emotional over a clown fish getting eaten by a barracuda is totally normal. Sarcasm aside, Coral's death really got to me. I don't know if this is something about a dead mother, or a dead wife, because either way, it's really sad. Seeing Martin mourning over her death moments after it happens just kills me. What I hate about deaths that happen at the beginning of the movie is that you can see the effect it has on all the other characters. Characters become completely different people. Places just aren't the same anymore once you look at it a second time. Death changes movies - especially deaths that happen in the beginning of movies. 

Flynn Rider (Tangled)

Flynn Rider is the first 'Character who died but was brought back to life' on this list. And yes, just like every other character on this list, Flynn Rider's death, no matter how short, made me tear up the first three times I saw this movie. This is mainly due to the beautiful character development that took place throughout the whole film. We're given a total douche canoe, Flynn Rider, conman extraordinaire who really just wants to be rich and live alone, and then he is transformed into this totally different person - someone who, for once, puts someone else's needs before his own, and makes the ultimate sacrifice. (Although, let's be honest. He could have easily let her heal him first and then cut off her hair, but that wouldn't be as dramatic and heart wrenching, am I right?) The whole entire movie is a treat because of the character development. And 'You were my new dream'? Please, pass the tissues.

Mufasa (The Lion King) 

I watched The Lion King for the first time when I was a kid - when everything Disney had to offer me was happy endings. At the tender age of eight, in my opinion, Disney could do no wrong. Prince Eric saved Ariel and got her, legs and all, in the end. Prince Philip vanquished the dragon and saved the princess. Snow White was found in the forest and received her true love's kiss, and Cinderella was able to escape the hell that was her home and live happily ever after. At the time, Disney didn't kill good people. It was preposterous! But then... Mufasa happened. Mufasa died and I was speechless; my own mother even told me that this movie was when I started questioning about life and death. It got worse as I grew older - Simba, crying for his dad to wake up, just made my heart clench. Simba feeling the guilt of killing his father made me want to throw something. It set the whole movie into place, but completely ruined me for the rest of eternity.

Bing Bong (Inside Out) 

The reason Bing Bong is on this list for me is because besides it being an emotional death, it was completely unexpected. I mean, I'd had guesses, but I never thought Disney would actually do it. I mean, is it just me, or is Disney getting bolder with killing off good characters lately? Back on the topic of Bing Bong's death, his selflessness and his willingness to sacrifice himself, just so that Joy can return everything right in Riley's brain, just gets me. The moment when Bing Bong jumps off? The look in his eyes? That 'Take her to the moon for me, Joy'? I can't handle these emotions. 

For a more thoughtful insight to this, in the words of Dan Murrell from Screen Junkies, (as taken from the Movie Fight I mentioned earlier) Bing Bong is a representation that there will always be a pure innocence or childishness that is stripped away as you grow older, and Bing Bong's death is a testament to that. True! (PS Dan, I will almost always be on your side during a movie fight. Always.) 

Megara (Hercules) 

(Wait, I downloaded a gif? Wow, okay, didn't notice that. It's great anyways.)

Meg is hands-down, one of my favorite female Disney characters, and definitely in the top five. (Hint: Making a blog list about that soon.) So when she died saving Hercules, it was just devastating to me. According to mother dearest, the first time I watched this movie, I was still a bit too young, too innocent to understand why Meg pushed herself in front of a falling pillar, too young to understand the concept of love outside family. So when I watched this again, this time, as a prepubescent female who thought that the crush she had in 4th grade was going to be The One for her, Meg's actions just really took the cake for me. She's a woman in love, and someone who explicitly stated that she was afraid of falling in love again. Yet she does something crazy, and sacrifices herself just so that Hercules can live, so that he can save the world, and it just spoke to me. I'm pretty sure that as a twelve-year-old, I would have probably jumped in front of a pillar for a certain boy whose name started with the letter T. Probably. And it just made me so happy to see Hercules swooping in to retrieve her soul from the Underworld, resulting in a happily ever after.

Baymax (Big Hero 6) 

Now unlike me, my younger sister Mady never cries over movies. When she does, it means that something means something to her. For Mady, she can count on one hand the number of movies she's cried over. Big Hero 6 is one of the five movies she's cried over (other titles being The Notebook and The Pursuit of Happyness, so this is a huge deal), and this is because of Baymax. Like many of the good characters on this list, Baymax sacrifices himself, only so that he can save Hiro and Abigail Callaghan from being stuck inside a portal forever. The reason why I cried buckets of tears for this death is because of Hiro. Hiro's already had to say goodbye to his older brother, and now he's being forced to say goodbye to someone who, in such a short time, has become such an important and integral part of his life. You get a first-hand look at how Baymax has come to care for the small human, and how Baymax can just understand that it's impossible for him to save his human unless he sacrifices himself. Despite Baymax getting remade in the end, his death after the climax just made me sob.

Sitka (Brother Bear)

I almost always forget about Sitka, but his death is honestly one of the deaths that has burned itself into my mind until the end of time. We have Sitka - easily the most likable brother. Sitka who, yes, sacrifices himself (I'm starting to sense a theme here...) to save his two brothers from a bear that ends up surviving. Sitka was The fictional big brother I always wanted, being the eldest in my family, myself. So to have him sacrifice himself only to have it not matter in the end, just made me wince. And cry. You get the idea.

Nuka (The Lion King 2, Simba's Pride) 

Funnily enough, Nuka probably wouldn't even be on this list if it hadn't been for Max Landis. Fine. As I said earlier, despite me finding Landis irritatingly petty (not in the cute way), he still makes great points - and Nuka's death is one of them. Since Landis' statements echo my own, I'll merely be rephrasing his defense on Movie Fights. To put it simply, Nuka alone is a sad story. He's supposed to be the older brother, supposed to be his mother's pride, but instead, it's Kovu who gets the spotlight shown on him. When Kovu fails to act out his mother's plans, it's Nuka who tries to chase after Simba, saying that he'll do his best to try it, just for his mother. Nuka dies trying to make his mother proud of him. And Landis points out - even when he dies, his mother doesn't seem to care much, and simply turns his death into propaganda to convince other people that they should make Simba pay. I find it sad that someone who only wanted to make his mother proud (even if he was the enemy) would die like this.

Nine deaths down, and one more to go. You probably saw this coming. But without any further ado... My pick for the most emotional death in a Disney or Pixar film is one that I would proudly defend against Max Landis' Nuka and Dan Murrell's Bing Bong arguments with all of my heart, and with all the confidence in the world. The most painfully emotional death in a Disney or Pixar Film in my opinion is...

Tadashi Hamada (Big Hero 6) 

Let's put aside the fact that I am a complete whore for Daniel Henney. Let's all forget that I've written roughly thirty fics about the dead boy above, and forget that some of these fics are the most precious ones in my collection, and that I am known for writing fics surrounding the stupid boy who thought that running into a burning building was a smart idea.

Let's put all of the ideas above aside, and despite everything, even if I hadn't fallen in love with this character, his death would still be the most painful death to me so far. Remember what I said earlier about deaths that happen early in the movie? That deaths that happen earlier are more likely to have a strong and resonating effect on the movie that follows it? This is what happens with Tadashi, and we see most of its effect on Hiro, and the depression he undergoes after he loses his brother. A husband losing his wife - awful. A guy losing the girl he loves - also awful. But a sibling? Losing the only family he has left, the one person he looks up to, losing the only other person he feels understands him and sees the best of him? It's heartbreaking.

And before you all point out that Aunt Cass is still alive and well, do you really think that Aunt Cass and Tadashi relate to Hiro in the same way? Think about it. Tadashi is the only one who's able to get Hiro back on track. The only one who's there to get Hiro out of trouble. Tadashi loves his little brother to the moon and back, and he'd do anything for him - even if it means jail time for him. For Hiro, losing someone who believed in him would be - and is - devastating.

The image above wasn't grabbed off of the internet, oh no. I had to open up my copy of Big Hero 6, forward to that specific scene in the movie, and screenshot it. In doing so, I remembered this scene, and it made my heart ache. You can see the desperation in Hiro's eyes. He knows that this is it. He knows that Tadashi won't make it. Heck, even Tadashi probably knows he's not going to make it. And yet, he dives in there headfirst anyway. 

What I find so painful about this death is not just the fact that he sacrificed his life for a villain, it's because it hit me so horribly that if the same were ever going to happen to me, I would be leaving behind a younger sister. It aches for me to imagine what would ever happen if worst came to worst and something horrible happened to me, leaving my sister as the only Capacio child. Tadashi Hamada's death affects me personally. Personally victimized. And just like Max Landis is personally victimized by Nuka's death because of their similar personalities/stories (I'd assume), and Dan Murrell is personally victimized by Bing Bong's death and the loss of childhood (I'd assume [2]), I am firm in my argument that Tadashi Hamada's death was the most emotional, in my opinion. 

And... whew. I've finally finished my most emotional deaths list... without collapsing into a puddle of tears. I solemnly swear to blog about happier things! I promise! (Although let's face it, the list is just going to get grimmer and grimmer.) Did I just write five paragraphs - roughly the size of an actual reaction paper in college - about Tadashi Hamada's death? Yes. Do I need help? ... Probably.