Top 10 Saddest Pixar Movie Moments

The films made by Pixar Animation Studios are fantastic, but some can really start making you tear up. Some of these movies are incredibly difficult to hold in any tears because of how heart-wrenching they can be. You’ll be reaching for the tissues a lot in most of these movies, as their lovable characters and compelling stories can really make you feel a lot of things. Here I’ll be picking the ten moments that I think turn on the waterworks most in all of Pixar’s library from Toy Story to Lightyear. Here is my list of the top 10 saddest moments in Pixar movies. Before we begin, if you haven’t seen all of these movies, there are spoilers ahead. With that, let’s get started.

#10: The Trash Compactor – “Toy Story 3” (2010)

Buzz and Woody were well-established as some of Disney’s most iconic characters by the time Toy Story 3 released in 2010, so putting them in a trash compactor about to be burned by a giant flame is not going to be an easy scene to get through. Even though the toys would be saved by the aliens with the claw, this scene is still dark and somber. As the toys hold hands as they slowly are taken down toward the fire, it feels like all the Toy Story movies have come to this, and that makes it a cry-worthy moment.

#9: Emily and Jessie – “Toy Story 2” (1998)

Toy Story 2 was really the first true Pixar movie that made audiences bawl. When Jessie tells Woody about her original owner, Emily, we see a flashback of the cowgirl doll and the young girl having lots of fun playing with each other; but as Emily grew up, she forgot about Jessie, and eventually donated her. This depressing scene is made even worse with the song ‘When She Loved Me’ playing in the background. This is just a really sad moment.

#8: WALL-E Nearly Dies – “WALL-E” (2008)

Characters don’t have to talk to make audiences cry, and WALL-E proves that fact very well. When WALL-E is crushed by the evil robot captain, EVE takes him back to Earth to try and fix him so he’ll survive. She changes out his circuit board and at first, it seems like WALL-E is fixed, but actually his memory of all the previous events is completely gone and he starts collecting trash and turning it into cubes like he was doing at the start of the movie. This really was a tear-jerker that it’s hard not to be sad about WALL-E’s potential end. Thankfully, he remembers again, but it’s still a difficult scene to watch.

#7: Coral’s Death – “Finding Nemo” (2003)

You don’t have to know the characters to sob when they die suddenly, and that’s how Andrew Stanton decided to start Finding Nemo in 2003. At the beginning of the movie, Marlin and his wife Coral are having a fun time at their anemone and watching their hundreds of eggs when a barracuda attacks. Marlin knew the two of them would be safe in their home, but Coral couldn’t take losing the eggs. So she tries to defend them, though it results in her and all but one egg being eaten. Marlin finds the remains later and decides to call the only uneaten egg Nemo as that’s the name Coral liked. It’s a very somber beginning that perfectly sets the mood for the rest of the adventure.

#6: Ellie’s Adventure – “Up” (2009)

Up is a spectacular movie, but it also has the Pixar staples: bawling like crazy. Toward the end of the film when it seems to Carl Fredrickson that all hope is lost, he finds his late wife Ellie’s Adventure Book that she showed him when they first met. Ellie explained that she was going to save the last few pages for the pictures of all the adventures she wants to go on. At first, it seems sad to Carl that she never got to go on these adventures – but there are pictures there, and they’re pictures of their life together with a message thanking him for the adventure. It’s a really heartfelt detail and a great way to motivate Carl to keep going instead of giving up. But for the audience, expect some happy tears.

#5: Miguel Sings Remember Me – “Coco” (2017)

I’ve personally never gotten to the point of tearing up at a movie before, but some movies, like this scene in Coco, really get me close to crying. Now, I’ve said before that I have a strong connection to Coco before, with it being my personal favorite movie of all time, and it can certainly get depressing. At the end, Miguel tries to get Mama Coco to remember her father and his uncle Hector so he isn’t forgotten by singing Remember Me to her. All of the revelations before this scene really enhance the emotions of this scene, as Mama Coco starts to remember and begins singing along with Miguel. It’s a very sad moment, especially for me since when I first watched this scene, my great grandmother was still alive and we had a similar relationship compared to Miguel and Coco. All of that together makes this, for me, one of Pixar’s saddest sequences.

#4: So Long, Partner – “Toy Story 3” (2010)

You know a movie is sad when it takes up two spots on this list. The second and saddest scene being the very end of Toy Story 3. Watching Andy play with his toys like he did at a younger age in the first two movies, with the toys new owner Bonnie, was something special and completely exemplified the heartfelt purpose of Toy Story 3 and its connection to the other two movies. Then when the Toys watch Andy leave as he heads to college can be a pretty eye-tearing moment and a great way to start the toys’ next life with Bonnie.

#3: Sully’s Goodbye to Boo – “Monsters, Inc.” (2001)

Did you ever think a movie with monsters voiced by John Goodman and Billy Crystal could make you weep like crazy? Well, I’d get some tissues before watching Monsters, Inc. Throughout the movie, Mike and Sully try to get a girl they named Boo back to the human world without any other monsters finding out. But instead of just getting her home, the two monsters, especially Sully, form a close relationship with Boo, which makes the end where Sully must take her back home even harder to watch. It’s even worse when Boo doesn’t understand what’s going on, and when Sully leaves, she tries to follow by opening her closet door, but it’s just a closet since the door is being shredded.

#2: I’ll Try, Bing Bong – “Inside Out” (2015)

Inside Out can be a really depressing movie if you really think about it, especially when it comes to Riley’s imaginary friend, Bing Bong. This loveable, clumsy, odd creature is one of Pixar’s most likable secondary characters. He also is supposed to be Riley’s imaginary friend, which I’m sure many of you had when you were younger, as did I. But as we all know, those don’t last forever and will die in your mind at some point. Well, Inside Out takes that phrase pretty literally. When Joy and Bing Bong are trying to escape the forgotten crevice with Bing Bong’s rocket, they fail many times to reach the top; until Bing Bong jumps out of the rocket on one attempt to lessen the weight and get Joy to safety. It gets even more depressing when Joy celebrates at the top before realizing Bing Bong is still in the crevice. His last words of ‘take her to the moon for me’ really activate the waterworks, as that’s what Bing Bong always wanted to do in the rocket with Riley.

#1: Married Life – “Up” (2009)

Of course the beginning sequence of Up is the saddest. There might be no dialogue as it’s just a montage, and we may not fully know these characters yet, but that doesn’t stop people from crying every time. The montage shows Carl and Ellie live their life together, from the ups and downs, until the incredibly sad ending when Ellie passes away and Carl sits at her funeral alone. That entire sequence is very hard to watch without tears dripping from your eyes, since it’s such an emotionally charged moment. Plus, unlike most Pixar movies, people aren’t expecting the movie to start sad, so they don’t have any tissues! Come on, Pixar. You guys can really make an audience cry.

 

And that’s my list of the 10 saddest Pixar moments. Do you agree? Have any of these moments made you cry? Let me know in the comments section.