Children's Movies That Will Make You Cry

By Elana Goodwin on August 17, 2015

 

Anyone who’s ever seen Disney or Pixar movies knows they’re not just for kids – they’re for all ages — and can be watched and rewatched over the years. In fact, some of your favorite childhood flicks are films that will make you cry today as they include many moving, poignant, and pertinent moments.

 Here are some movies intended for children that will make you cry. (Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen many of the childhood classics — new and old.)

Photo Credit: cnbc.com

1. “Inside Out.” Pixar’s newest animated hit that came out earlier this summer will definitely have you reaching for some tissues. In “Inside Out,” 11-year-old Riley has to learn how to adapt after she and her parents move from Minnesota to San Francisco. And trying to guide Riley are her emotions: Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (voiced by Bill Hader), Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling), Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), and Anger (voiced by Louis Black).

There are several moments in the movie that made me cry or well up. One of these being when Bing-Bong jumped out of the wagon-rocket ship that runs on song power so Joy would have a better chance of making it out of the pit of lost memories and back to Riley, sacrificing himself so Riley can be happy again.

A second was when Riley started crying while introducing herself to her new class in San Francisco. And a third moment was when Riley was telling her parents how she missed Minnesota

2. “The Lion King.” This classic childhood movie may be full of great catchy songs and wonderful characters but it’s also really sad and is pretty much guaranteed to make you cry.

When Mufasa dies getting trampled in the valley and Simba goes over to him and says, “Dad, come on, you gotta get up!” and then realizes he isn’t going to and will never again … you know the scene. Aaaand now we’re both crying.

3. “Toy Story 3.” Even though it’s a sequel, this one will probably hit you the hardest of all three movies. The first moment in the movie that will make you cry is when the toys are headed into an incinerator and understanding there’s seemingly no escape, they accept their imminent deaths and all join toy hands, ready to face the end together. (I mean, c’mon, for a children’s movie this is super dark and tragic).

But then later, after the toys survive, Andy gives his treasured toys away to a little girl since he’s outgrown them and wants them to have a good home, and you find yourself longing for your childhood stuffed animals and belongings so you could have them with you as you sob.

Photo Credit: disneyscreencaps.com

4. “Up.” Even just thinking about the opening montage to this movie will get you sniffling and it’s probably the fastest anyone has ever cried in a movie. During the first 10 minutes of the Pixar film, you watch the sweet and touching love story of Carl and Ellie unfold before your eyes — you watch them meet, date, marry, fix up a home, and grow old together.

It’s incredibly heartwarming, until the montage gets to the part of their love story where she can’t have babies and later dies, leaving Carl by himself, with an armchair that sits next to her empty one. And they never got to go to Paradise Falls together with the money they were saving up in the jar. Seriously, just the first minutes of this movie will be giving you all the feels and have you bawling your eyes out.

5. “Bridge to Terabithia.” Whether or not you read the book as a kid and know the plot, watching the movie adaptation will make you cry as a young Josh Hutcherson, who plays Jess, and AnnaSophia Robb, who plays Leslie, become friends after learning they’re next-door neighbors. The movie will make you smile watching Jess and Leslie imagine and build a fantasy world called Terabithia.

That is, until Jess finds out that Leslie died when the rope across the high rain-swollen creek that she and Jess would swing on to go to Terabithia snapped, and she hit her head and ended up drowning while Jess was at an art museum with his music teacher and deliberately hadn’t invited Leslie to come along. “Bridge to Terabithia”? More like “Bridge to Tear-abithia.”

6. “Big Hero 6.” Even though you know it’s coming in this Disney movie (or at least I totally called it when I first saw it), you’ll start welling up when protagonist Hiro Hamada’s older brother Tadashi runs into the building to save Professor Callaghan only for it to explode seconds later and Hiro sees Tadashi’s hat nearby on the ground.

If that moment wasn’t enough, towards the end of the movie Hiro has to tell Baymax that he’s satisfied with his care so Baymax will deactivate and push Hiro out of the portal, this after he’s already lost his parents and Tadashi — well, that’ll have you wiping away tears as you watch Hiro lose Baymax in the portal.

So if you’re in the mood to feel and want to watch a movie that will make you cry, forget “Titanic” — these childhood movies will have you bawling and blubbering and buying stock in tissues.

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