1. Bambi (1942)
This Disney classic was probably one of the first ones you watched as a kid (or at least it was for me.) A lot of this movie is filled with drama, but the scene where his mother is shot is beyond heartbreaking and gives you all the feels.
2. Hook (1991)
Hook is one of those movies you can watch at any time and it will still be amazing, no matter how many of the words you can quote. When you heard Peter's back story of when he was left in the rain as a baby, you felt bad for him. When Hook stabbed Rufio, you screamed "bad form!" at the TV. Or, at least I did.
3. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
I don't know about you, but this was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I remember curling under one of my grandmother's crocheted blankets with a cup of hot cocoa and watching it while the snow fell outside. But I also remember feeling so heartbroken when Sassy fell into the river and flowed over the cliff with the waterfall. Of course, later we find out she's alive (although how I don't know), but then Shadow gets stuck in a mud pit right before they make it home! I rooted for him to make it out and then ended up crying when he finally made it back to Peter.
4. The Lion King (1994)
This list wouldn't be complete without this Disney movie. How the death of an animated lion can make me depressed is beyond me, but it happens. Every. Single. Time.
5. The Borrowers (1997)
6. Mighty Joe Young (1998)
7. Pokemon: The First Movie (1998)
Okay, I'm getting nerdy on you here. But if you're anything like me, Pokemon is life! And the first Pokemon movie was the best thing to ever happen to your fourth grade life. They handed out holographic Mew cards at the premiere that we all desperately wanted (even though the rarity of those things was non-existent). Ash proved his love for pokemon by being turned to stone after trying to stop the battle between Mew and Mewtwo and is only revived by the tears of all the pokemon in the room. The most heartbreaking moment? When an already exhausted Pikachu runs to Ash's side and tries to thundershock him alive and completely expends his energy. Of course, we all breathed a sigh of relief when his stone body turns back to normal but our cheeks were already stained with tears by then.
8. Finding Nemo (2003)
What is with Disney and Pixar's obsession with killing off parents? For this one, we don't even get five minutes in before the tragedy hits and we're left with our jaws hanging open. Then, we're given ANOTHER heart attack at the end when Dory is lying on the sand under the netting and we think she's dead.
9. Ella Enchanted (2004)
Ella is played by Anne Hathaway and is given the gift of obedience as a baby. Because of this, Ella finds herself in sticky situations including almost getting boiled to death and run over. But when we were seriously worried? When she's holding the knife over the prince's back, trying not to murder him.
10. Flicka (2006)
We all admired Katy's courage to stand up to her father so she could keep her horse Flicka, and even cheered for her when joined the competition to win her back, but when Flicka was injured and Katy got sick from being lost in the rain, we all worried that neither one would make it.
11. Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Before Josh Hutcherson won our hearts in The Hunger Games, he stole them in Bridge to Terabithia. Jesse shows his heart when he befriends Leslie, the new girl who happens to be his next-door neighbor. They spend most of their free time together, imagining a world called Terabithia, but Leslie drowns in the creek after hitting her head. At first, we were in just as much denial as Jesse, but like him, we also had to face the fact that she was really gone and move on, much to our dismay.
12. Up (2009)
When I watched this in theaters twice and both times I cried hysterically. There was laughing too, but what really made this movie good was its ability to pull us in and keep us locked into the story. So when Ellie died and then Carl found the scrapbook, I lost it. My investment in these characters was so great that it was impossible not to go through all the emotions they did. (I also cried when Carl gave Russell the "Ellie badge.")
13. Toy Story 3 (2010)
OMG I thought I was going to die! This movie had me on a roller coaster with a blindfold on; I had no idea where it was going! When the characters all got stuck in the incinerator and they all held hands, my lip quivered and tears ran down my face. My childhood friends were all going to be murdered by a masochistic purple bear! But even when they escaped, it still wasn't the same when Andy gave them all away to the little girl. It made me want to go home and find all of my old toys to give them a nice hug.
14. Frozen (2013)
Anna is my spirit animal. Like, literally. She's funny, strong, and a little awkward. I relate to her in almost every single way so I totally felt her pain when Hans betrayed her. Also, that sister love was seriously so strong, I went home and hugged my own sister for a hot minute. (Although she didn't like that too much lol.)
15. Big Hero 6 (2014)
Can we please talk about Tadashi? That guy was so smart and caring so he knew exactly when he needed to go find his brother and get him out of trouble. He was passionate about his work and all he wanted to do was to help people. So when we lost him, it broke us. He was such a good guy!! And then for the cherry on top, the original Baymax was blown up!
16. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
This movie gave me all the feels. I seriously cried so hard when Stoic died, I couldn't feel my face (alcohol may have been involved...) and my contacts were cloudy. It took me at least thirty minutes to recover. It was just so sad and heartwarming that Stoic gave up his life for Hiccup!
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