Recently, u/despresso30 asked Reddit users, "What is a movie ending that makes you cry, no matter how many times you've watched it before?"
And because I was in need of a good, cathartic sob, I decided to read through the replies. Here are the best ones which had me reaching for the box of tissues I keep on my desk.
🚨 Warning: Spoilers ahead! 🚨
1. In The Iron Giant, when The Giant sacrificed himself to save Hogarth and the town of Rockwell by flying into the path of an oncoming missile.
2. In Monsters, Inc., when we finally got that shot of Sully joyfully reuniting with Boo.
3. In The Fox And The Hound, when Cooper positioned himself in front of Tod to prevent Slade from shooting him, which resulted in their long-gone friendship finally being restored.
4. In Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King when Aragorn was crowned King Of Gondor and told the Hobbits, "My friends, you bow to no one."
5. In Schindler's List, when Oskar was presented with a ring engraved with a Talmudic quotation, which resulted in him sobbing about not being able to save more people.
6. In The Green Mile, when John Coffey was executed on rape and murder charges, despite Paul Edgecomb confirming that he was innocent.
7. In Big Fish, when Will narrated an imagined story of his father's last moments, which involved laying him down in the nearby river and transforming into a catfish.
8. In Coco, when Miguel sang "Remember Me" to Mama Coco so that she could remember her father.
9. In Forrest Gump, when Forrest saw his son off on his first day of school.
10. In Saving Private Ryan, when James saw Captain Miller's grave and asked his wife if he was worthy of the sacrifices made to save him.
11. In Hachi: A Dog's Tale, when Hachi passed away and was finally reunited with Parker after 10 long years of waiting.
12. In About Time, when Tim realised that the birth of his daughter meant that he wouldn't be able to see his father again. So, they travelled back in time to relive one last memory from Tim's childhood together.
13. In My Girl, when Vada had trouble accepting the reality of her best friend's death during the funeral scene.
14. In Interstellar, when Coop was embracing a now elderly Murphy, who admitted that she knew he was coming back one day because "my dad promised me."
15. In Up, when Carl stepped in during Russell's award ceremony to award him his "Assisting The Elderly" badge, as well as a special Ellie badge.
16. In Marley & Me, when John had to say goodbye to Marley before he was euthanised.
17. In Philadelphia, when home movies of Andy Beckett as a happy child were shown following his funeral.
18. In Edward Scissorhands, when Edward was left to live out the rest of his years, completely alone in his tower.
19. In Toy Story 3, when Andy made the decision to pass on all of his toys, including his beloved Woody, to Bonnie.
20. In The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, when the prisoners — including Bruno and Shmuel — were packed into a gas chamber and killed.
21. In Grave Of The Fireflies, when the spirits of Seita and Setsuko — who are now happy and healthy — were reunited after the hard life they experienced.
22. In Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, when Joel and Clem decided to continue their relationship, despite knowing that they've previously broken up in the past.
23. In Bridge To Terabithia, when Jess decided to honour the memory of Leslie by building a bridge across the river and introducing his sister, May Belle, as the new ruler of Terabithia.
24. In Mulan, when she presented her father with gifts to honour the Fa Family, but he tossed them aside and embraced his daughter instead.
25. And finally in Inside Out, when Riley was reunited with her parents and tearfully confessed that she missed her old life, which resulted in them all comforting each other and new memories being formed.
Note: Some Reddit responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.