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Full confession time: I’m one of those people who doesn’t cry easily just because something makes me sad. I mourn and I cry inside, but it’s very seldom that I shed tears. I’m someone who tends to break down in tears more if I’m over-burdened with stress or fear of things happening.

You can make of me what you want from that info about me, but I think I’m just one who has a thicker skin in some areas, but not so much in others. As such, I don’t think I cry as much as others do when watching a film or a show. But that’s not to say that I never cry. I guess my brain’s just a little bit more selective about which instances hits it in the feels the hardest.
So without further or do, this is my list of which fictional moments stick out in my mind as coming closest to making me tear up-as well as the instances that managed it all the way!

(I replaced the “Because it Hurt My Ship” category, because I’m not one of those who is so invested in personal shipping that I get traumatized when I see it wasn’t meant to be; I accept that fictional characters just end up with the ones their hearts lead them to, just like people in real life.)

Because They Didn’t Deserve it: (Powerpuff Girls Movie 2002)
  This movie takes such a dramatic departure from the show, really showing the harsh truth of what it would be like to set foot in the world having super powers at birth! I say that the girls aren’t deserving of being put through the wringer like they are, but in reality, this very much showcases the kind of scenario where the world is judgmental and cruel to you, whether you deserve it or not! And I think it serves the purpose of the plot effectively, even if it does make me tear up.
  I’ve heard this movie compared to Chicken Little for the featuring innocent characters being given the short end of the stick by society, and that it’s only AFTER they save the town that they are accepted. But for my money, I say “No.”. First, the basis for Townsville’s cruelty is totally different. Chicken Little got berated by society for sounding a false alarm that the entire town upped their panic to the extremes where they ended up destroying the town-which they held against him for YEARS! The people of Townsville consider the Powerpuff Girls a threat because they just came into the world with their unnatural powers and unknowingly destroyed the entire town.
  Second, there’s the part where the townspeople are calling the girls monsters because they unknowingly helped Mojo Jojo raise his master army of primates; the purpose of this was to bring to light the dangers of trusting seemingly-well-meaning strangers, and how good intentions don’t absolve someone of bad consequences if ignorance is involved.
  And furthermore Professor Untonium is INFINITELY better at parenting than Buck Cluck! True, he brought the girls to life and sent them out into the world unprepared, and he did unfortunately spend most of the movie in jail for all that. But if anything, this was the best learning experience he’s ever had to in learning how to be the proper disciplinary (as well as wise and encouraging) parent we see him in the series.
  This also isn’t like the infamous episode “Town and Out” where they just face one unfortunate circumstance after another because the plot demands. This movie is about them having to learn and adapt into a world they were just born into, and having to realize how to use their powers for good and prove that they can be trusted. There’s payoff to it, basically, is what I’m saying.

Because He/She was one of the Best: Mufasa’s Death (Lion King, 1994)
  Everyone’s already talked about how this one affected them as a child! And since Mufasa is my favorite animated character, that should tell you plenty! The only thing I have left to add is that this being the first animated movie I ever saw, I hadn’t grasped the concept of death at the time, so you can only imagine how it must have shaken me up when I finally discovered what death was.

Because Loved Ones were Separated: Hunk watching his family in a labor camp (Voltron:Legendary Defender Season 7, “Know Your Enemy” 2018)
  Let me just start off by saying that Hunk is my favorite of the Paladins, and this season really made him important-he was practically the glue that held the team together in the episode, “The Journey Within”.
  The series is full of tear-jerkers with the Paladins (and several others) struggling to remain strong while trying to hold out and reunite with their families. I definitely feel when Pidge has the spotlight, in the episode where she searches rigorously for Matt (and even thinks for a minute that he’s dead before she finally reunites with him), and later when she’s on the edge when her father’s life is at stake and she finally manages to save him and send him back to earth.
  But Season 7 took the emotions up to the next step with Hunk’s subplot of coming home only to have his family being held captive in a Gallra concentration camp, and having to watch his family from afar by the end of “Know Your Enemy” and didn’t even reunite with them until he was in the hospital by the end of the season!
  I was quivering at this, not just because of the expression on Hunk’s face when it happens paired with the flashbacks to him and his family, but also because I was partially-expecting there to arise a moment where he would see an opportunity to get his family back and try to seize it, only to fail and receive the scorn of everyone else for letting plans fail. I was relieved to see that this didn’t happen and it all worked out for him, but I would like to have seen more of him hugging his family during the reunion.
Oh well. I look forward to seeing what the eighth and final season has in store!

Because of how it Affected Others: Paulie the parrot is sent away (Paulie, 1998)
  My sister STILL can’t bring herself to watch this movie to this day. Seeing how Marie Alwhether had her bird taken away from her, just because she had a traumatic accident that made her loose her ability to talk. Yeah, as if taking away a child’s beloved pet is going to fix any sort of traumatic wound, rather than just make it grow bigger-and imagine what it would do to the pet who’s known no one other than said child all its life! I know if my parents did that same thing to me, I would probably hate them and refuse to speak to them for quite some time.
  While Paulie may have managed to snark his way through life before making it back to grown-up Marie, it’s no wonder she recognized him the moment she saw him again. But then, I’m left wondering how long it took for Marie to grow into a normal-functioning adult who was able to recover from her personal scars and raise her own child!
  Also, the classic trailer for this movie is very misleading, advertising it as something of a comedy with a talking parrot; not that there’s no comedy in it, but when the primary plot of the movie consists of something this drastically different from what’s advertised, it can really do things to the kids watching at home!
(As a side note, I feel the ending of Turner and Hooch would also qualify for this category).

Because of One’s First/Last Words: Bing Bong Vanishes (Inside Out, 2015)
  “Take Riley to the moon for me!” I’ve brought up Bing-Bog and the moment he disappears A LOT before. A very creative, funny, and helpful comic relief character who is also an allegory for Riley’s entire childhood! What else can I say other than it’s tough to grow up and lose those things closest to you when you’re a child!

Because of Subtext: (Sophie’s Choice, 1982)
  Oh, this movie and it’s memorable performances from Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep. I remember watching this movie for the first time, and when it got to the point of Sophie’s backstory of having to chose between two children, when Jewish families were being separated at the concentration camps; I was getting a wave of powerfully sad and powerfully infuriated emotions at that scene where the Nazi snatches Sophie’s child out of her arms!-on how it continued on with the story showcasing how she barely managed to survive, and even later attempting suicide!
  But the hardest part to witness was easily her relationship with Nathan. When the narrator of the story, Stingo, stops in, he witnesses Nathan’s threatening outbursts at Sophie. As he begins to get acquainted with the two of them, they all gradually bond as friends. As Stingo begins to know Nathan more and more, he realizes just how psychopathic Nathan can be to himself AND to Sophie, after Nathan’s suspects Sophie of double-crossing him numerous times (even though she never truly did).
  And even at the point when Stingo and Sophie have gotten far away from Nathan when he’s at his most dangerous, Sophie still can’t help her feelings for him and ultimately returns to him (at that point, it feels like a case of borderline Stockholm syndrome). You can’t help but get really choked up at what her experience has made her! But that ending shot of Stingo returning back to their place to see Nathan dead embracing Sophie in his arms, shows how he actually DID care about her all along-in spite of how cruel he could be.

Because it was Cruel: King Albert before he gets proper treatment (The King’s Speech, 2010)
  Having grown up with a stutter myself, this movie was a major help for me to overcome it-even if it is looked upon by many as just “more Oscar-bait”, and even if Colin Firth never even had a real stutter (which I don’t know if he did or not).
  Anyone who’s ever had a stammer in his/her life will know it’s not easy to overcome. And seeing people just being brow-beaten for it or given false treatment only digs the words deeper (another infamous case is John Nash being forced to undergo shock therapy to cure him of schizophrenia). So it’s enormously touching that the ultimate cure for Albert’s stammer was to form a personal connection to someone who wasn’t even a real doctor (again, I know there were liberties taken here, like with anything “based on a true story”). But it’s just cruel that he remembers his father said that he had faith that he would be someone great-when his father vowed to his only tactics to raising him was to intimidate him, because that apparently was just custom for being raised by British monarchy!

Because it Made me Feel Alone: Todd and Widow Tweed separating (The Fox and the Hound, 1981)
  Another movie that is pretty cold and cruel throughout most of its duration! It’s hard enough having to say goodbye to a good friend who is forced down a path that forces you to become enemies! But Todd having to say depart the one guardian he’s had all his life and start fending all for himself in the woods, is the next hardest thing to suffer! And Widow Tweed’s poem/song is so moving and so touching to anyone who’s had to say good-bye!

Because it Pointed Out Mistakes: Mufasa teaching Simba (Lion King)
  As someone who always took my parents’ scorning rather personally, this scene made me emotional once I rewatched this movie after 10 years of it gone missing from my video collection/my last years of feeling childhood-shame in high school.
  I think most kids would just brush off scoldings from parents, but Simba was not upset here just because he got caught being disobedient. He feels bad after realizing the danger he’d put himself and others into, and how he let down the one figure he was set so hard to live up to the legacy of. But it’s also an important lesson on what being brave truly means, and how it’s something even a king needs to practice.
  But this first act moral for Simba is a great lesson for a child, as it later feeds into the second-act moral which is for adults! Lion King is still one of my favorite movies for the symbol of its journey into adulthood.

Because of How it Concluded a Plot: Lenny’s Death (Of Mice and Men, 1992)
  First time I read the book was in 9th grade, and it was heavy to deal with then-especially as someone who had a sense of social tone-deafness that Lenny did! (Keeps in mind, the only film adaptation I ever saw was the 1992 version.)
  Lenny is a big guy who loves to touch little soft things, like mice and rabbits. However, given how gentle he really is, he doesn’t try to pick fights. However, when he’s encouraged to stand up for himself when he gets beat up by Curley.
  And later, when Curley’s wife lets him stroke her hair, he accidentally breaks her neck. It just seemed like he was doomed from the day he was born.
  All this amounted to was George being unable to find a way for Lenny to fit in this world, without being abused. It’s such a tragic and disheartening tale-and one that certainly brings such an issue to your awareness, especially in this day and age where people with disabilities are having their rights suppressed.

Because It Felt Unnecessary: (Tortoise Wins By a Hare, 1943)
  There aren’t many scenes I can think of that made me cry because they felt unnecessary. This was just the closest I could think of for the time being, because it stuck out in my mind in a bad way when I was a kid (and spoilers, this is not the only Bugs Bunny-related entry on this list.)
  When people think of the Bugs Bunny we all know and love, they tend to think of the laid-back-and-suave Chuck Jones version. The Bugs Bunny prior, in the hands of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, is and ASSHOLE! At least some of those shorts where he gets vehement at a character he makes enemies with, like 1943’s Falling Hare, he makes up and comes out fine with a simple, light-hearted punchline.
  But the three Looney Tunes shorts where Bugs challenges the tortoise in racing, is one of those few cases where he’s portrayed as the ANTAGONIST, who ends up on the bottom by the end of the episode! In this episode, he tries to outsmart the tortoise by getting his secrets as to how he’s able to go fast on a race course and applying it to himself-but it turns out it was a trick on the tortoise’s part! A trick to get a bunch of gambling bunny thugs to think that Bugs is the tortoise. And when those bunny gansters lost the bet of their own accord, they exclaim, “Eh, now he tells us!” And they commit suicide! This is why despite now being considered kids’ entertainment, the classic Looney Tunes shorts tend to get axed from the air from time to time.

Because it Recalled Something Personal: The main conflict of the movie (The Artist, 2011)
  This movie is less than a decade old and it’s still one that doesn’t seem to get talked about a lot. It’s a nice homage to the silent film era, as well as an introspection to the washed-up artist whose past his/her prime and refuses (or ultimately isn’t even able to adapt) the modern norm. I haven’t hit this time of my life yet, but if you’re someone who grew up in the “hand-drawn animated film” era and spent the later years of your life in the era where it seemed to be a dying art form, you’ll identify with the sorrow of the situation immediately.
  Another film (this one being actually ANIMATED) that taps into something similar is the 2012 French film: The Illusionist.

Because One’s Dreams were Crushed: Cinderella gets her dress torn apart by her stepsisters/gets locked in her room by her stepmother. (Cinderella, 1950)
  This was the only Disney movie I couldn’t even bear to sit the whole way through until I was seven! Yes, really.

Because Hard Work went to Waste: Nani and Lilo about to be separated (Lilo and Stitch, 2002)
  Even harder than the reality that their parents were lost before Nani is even in her 20s, is the weight both she and Lilo had to bear in their absence. But the subtext that they are both native to Hawaii, where families are subject to being infiltrated and torn apart by the the major branch of the United States, is the hardest part of it all! Nani has all of a sudden had to bear the position of Lilo’s guardian, while Lilo has to teach Stitch civility so that she can keep him as her friend. But both of their efforts end up falling apart.
  And it also delivers a line that is yet another deconstruction of Disney’s entire philosophy of hard work and endurance resulting in dreams coming true: “Sometimes you try your hardest, but things don’t work out the way you want them to. Sometimes things have to change, and maybe for the better.”

Because He Failed Miserably: Dumbo’s circus act becomes a wreck (Dumbo, 1941)
  Dumbo is definitely a cruel movie throughout its duration, but for me, the biggest punch in the gut wasn’t just the baby being separated from his mother, but also everything that he’s been building up for a potential success all fell apart. After Timothy Mouse’s attempt to make him a star to make his life better, Dumbo ends up tripping over his own ears (again!!!) and it causes a domino effect that brings the entire circus tent down! His ultimate fate at that point to be a clown and be put through the ringer for the rest of life-until of course he discovers his hidden talent!

Because No One Helped Him/Her: Ending (Citizen Kane, 1941)
  I think that a great deal of people with celebrity status go through the existential crisis question of asking, “Would anyone really love me if I didn’t do all that stuff to get rich and famous?” And seeing how the basis for Charles Foster Kane’s relationships was business for pretty much his entire life, how else could he really turn out but only concerned with how HE benefits from the relationship. If he had the chance to have an actual childhood instead of being sent away, maybe he would have turned out differently, and maybe he wouldn’t have died a broken man who drove away the woman he married.

Because of a character’s arc: Kerchak dies (Tarzan, 1999)
  Tarzan is rescued as a baby by Kala, one of the best animated mothers in recent memory, and is raised in an ecosystem where he has to learn to adapt in ways he has to discover for himself. But despite his continuous efforts to prove himself, Kerchak continues to hold a preemptive prejudice against him. Not helped is when Tarzan starts to feel at home with his own kind, and tries to introduce them to his own ecosystem-only to end up unintentionally causing what Kerchak feared he would cause! But at the end of the say, after seeing Tarzan for who he really is, rather than his species, Kerchak takes a bullet for Tarzan and passes the reigns of leadership to him, finally accepting him as one of them-and as a son!
It’s enough to convince me to NEVER assume that people can’t change/see the error of their ways!

Because of What it Forecasted: Ellie’s Death (Up, 2009)
I remember when I went and saw this movie in the theater. I was practically obsessed with EVERY Pixar movie when it first came out, but this one was a very special case (not the least of reasons because my Grandpa would pass away shortly afterwards).
  The notion that one man’s greatest lifetime adventure/character arc would be born out of an unfulfilled promise he made to his wife, is probably one of the most tragic and personal ones ever mustered up, and this film definitely deserves to be hailed as one of Pixar’s best.

Because the Cheese Made it Work: Madagascar Franchise (2005-2012/current)
  I don’t hate the Madagascar movies, but they are basically a prototypical Dreamworks formula before they started making things for the purpose of QUALITY over competitiveness with Disney and Pixar-and Madagascar is basically a case of ripping off Disney as they were still developing The Wild was still in production, and thus sucking it dry of any hope it had left of being good-that topped with the obligatory celebrity casting low-brow jokes, random pop culture references. That being said, the first movie definitely not on the levels of Shark Tale, and the cast certainly do a great job of bringing their characters to life.
But I’m personally of the opinion that the movies got better as they progressed. The second movie, cheesy though it may have gotten at times, didn’t feel the need to end each and every scene with a joke that indicated that nothing was to be taken seriously in it. Alex reuniting with his long-separated family is a pretty prototypical sequel formula, as is the discovering that he doesn’t meet up to their expectations/standards. But it’s still manages to make me feel.
  And the circus gang alone make the third movie! They have a genuinely interesting backstory and compelling character growths. But overall, I guess the series just manages to sell its emotions to me, even for a series that wasn’t motivated by the “art” as much as the “commerce”.

Because it Came Out at the Wrong Time: The ending of The Diary of Anne Frank (Stage Play)
  I remember when I saw a production of this play back in high school. The reason I don’t have any actual clips of the scene here is because A) it’s hard to get an actual good still image that showcases the scene properly, and B) because the play has been around for so long that I don’t think anyone remembers which is the original version with the original definitive cast.
  Anyways, the reason this is on this slot is because there’s a moment where it looks as though everything is going to turn out well for Anne and her family. They’re enjoying strawberries while hearing the news that liberals are on their way to free them from the Nazis when BOOM! They are rounded up by the Gestapo, and only her father lives to recover her diary! And the news that Anne and her sister died just a couple days before the war was over!
It’s just enough to remind you of those occasions when hope can seem so futile!

Because All Hope was Lost: Aslan’s Sacrifice (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1988/2005)
  Now let me say up front that my first experience with this classic entry in the Narnia series was the cheesy BBC version from 1988 (and there’s also a 1979 animated version by Peanuts’ Bill Melendez)! And I even cried at the part when Aslan is sacrifice in Edmund’s place. Yes, we know that with him being Lion Jesus, he comes back, but considering how the book has indicated that it’s never been put into practice, and thus he doesn’t know if it would really work or not. And considering that it’s established he’s the only reason the Narnians stand a chance of saving themselves at the end of the day, one can only fathom the unfortunate implications on Edmund’s part.
  It’s also what makes Jadis, the White Witch, such a threatening villain who really should be on more villain lists: she was able to put Edmund under a spell that brought out the worst in him and urged him over to her side, and by doing so, was able to lawfully claim his life!

Because it Made me Feel Betrayed: The ending (What’s Opera Doc? 1957)
Bugs Bunny…of all fictional characters…made me cry as a kid! Then again, as he himself put it best, “What did ya expect in an opera, a happy ending?” I find it pretty ironic how Bugs has a knack for making his enemies cry when he fakes his own death, and yet he has practically no qualms with the (physical) torment he puts them through (though again, that version tended to be more Tex Avery’s/Bob Clampett’s Bugs, who again, is a borderline-unsympathetic asshole)!

Because it Made me Regret Choices: (Christopher Robin, 2018)
  I’m a sucker for stories about children going up too fast and forgetting childhood, because retaining the purity I’ve had as a child is just one of those things that’s most important to me personally. And yet, in spite of this, I regret to say that I was one who couldn’t help but CRINGE at times when remembering what I used to be like as a kid, either because I remember some embarrassing things I did, or because of how blissfully unaware of how I would have to change some of my mindsets to prepare for some of the things I would inevitably confront as an adult!
  (As a side note, Good-Bye, Christopher Robin! could also fit into this category, or the one of “Because it Recalled Something Personal”.)
  The part that I hear most people said struck them the hardest was when Christopher is describing to Pooh how a lot of co-workers depended on him, and how if he failed them, he would have to let them go-only to have Pooh ask the simple question, “Did you let ME go?”
  Several moments where Christopher looses his patience with Pooh’s naïvité did make me periodically want to smack him upside the head-not to mention how he had his own plans in store for his daughter to grow up to fast, all while failing to provide her with decent parental interaction! But at the same time, can we honestly say that we’d really be that different if we grew up in the circumstances that he did? From disciplinary boarding school, to his father dying, to having to go to war for several years…it’s quite a lot of pressure to put on a human being in his lifetime!
  I was very happy to get to see this on the big screen as it made me come to realize just how much of a difference there is between simply remembering being a child, and truly APPRECIATING it! And I can assure you that I’m also very much looking forward to Mary Poppins Returns this winter!

Because of the Shown Expressions: Chihiro crying while eating a rice ball (Spirited Away, 2001)
  This movie is an emotional train ride (pun TOTALLY intended) of imagination and emotion from beginning to end. But this moment really got the most tears out of me, because the look on Chihiro’s face as she’s eating that rice ball Haku gives her, really touched a feeling I’ve often had. When I’ve eaten something delicious/nutritious/both but instead of feeling satisfied, only experienced an emotional whirlpool of shame, fear, and uncertainty. And considering how Chihiro just found out that she’s being controlled so that she’s forgotten her own name, AND how the only thing she could remember was that she just barely escaped being killed while her parents turned to pigs, I can only imagine the extra load it must have been for a ten-year-old girl! Show this to your kids, and it’s sure to be less bratty when their moving away.

Because of the Atmosphere: (Kung Fu Panda 2, 2011)
  While the Madagascar movies do manage to wring a good share of emotion and investment out of me (albeit in some very cheesy ways), the Kung Fu Panda films are what I consider genuinely good-especially from the title and sound of the premises. These series were a lot smarter (as in educated in Chinese culture) than they had any right to be!
  And boy the impact that the second movie had on me-it was way better than it had any right to be! Before Inside Out introduced the lesson of why sadness is an important emotion, this movie came along with the message that an important step to achieving inner peace is to let the painful play out, and then decide what you want to make of your life after that. It’s beautifully somber and not too fast-paced, and is really bold for a family movie-especially one from Dreamworks’ trademark pop-culture satire canon that stars Jack Black!

Because of the Dialogue: Judy’s Apology to Nick (Zootopia, 2016)
  (This one is a bit personal…) The main reason this was worded and recorded reminded me of a fight that broke out between my mom and I once. It lead to tension growing between us and how all my misfortunes were of my own fault and berating me to do things against my will, was hurting me and my personal psyche. She eventually broke down crying that she was sorry that she ever did it, and that she understood if I never wanted to speak to her again once I’d moved away. However, we made up effectively, and resolved to be more understanding and lenient to each other, without rushing to declare the other in the morally-wrong.
  This also signifies the philosophy I live by of: “Judge and you shall be judged.” Even when I’m infuriated when I see atrocious acts by prejudiced people, I do my best to try to refrain from telling them that they are the filth of the planet and that the world would be better off without them. Because again, I’ve learned to NEVER automatically assume that people are incapable of change/seeing the error of their ways.

Because I Wanted to Cry but didn’t: “Remember Me” reprise/Coco dies (Coco, 2017)
  It’s been about a year now since Coco came out, and I still haven’t gotten to talk about it much-in fact, the only time I mentioned it in a meme was where I expressed the earlier scenes in the movie that I disliked. So this time of the day of the dead, I want to be able to give it its fair due!
  I guess I have kind of the inverse relationship with Pixar movies that Cellspex has; she cried at this movie and The Good Dinosaur, but NOT at Inside Out or Toy Story 3-but I’m kind of the opposite. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t emotionally moved by this scene.
  I’m just able to accept death as a natural part of life, and I mourn when someone I love passes from old age, but I don’t grieve and go through the same wave of despair and loss that most others do. The importance of this scene, after all, was to keep Hector’s memory alive in Miguel’s family. That’s one thing I think most people will agree is one of this movie’s biggest strengths: that it teaches the importance of accepting one’s passing as natural, and how preserving their memory should be joyous.

Feliz Dia del los Muertos!

Because of the Music and Lyrics/Because it Applies to Real Life: “Made of Stone”/“Someday” (The Hunchback of Notre Dame Musical)
  I’m including these two scenes alongside each other not just because their both from the same source, but also because the both share similar undertones. The animated film is already full of a lot of heartbreaking moments, but the musical takes it even further, and not just by going for the original tragic ending. “Made of Stone” , for example, takes Quasimodo’s iconic line from the book and puts it to song where he’s beating himself up over what he is and everything that has happened to him, all while shutting down all voices of encouragement and reassurance that the voices of the stone statues try to offer him. Even brings to lite the line from the movie, “We just thought you were made of something stronger.” without it coming with the subtext of out-of-place comic relief.
  Meanwhile, “Someday” is the film’s end credits cover song, but was originally a song that was set to Esmerelda praying in Notre Dame before it was replaced with “God Help the Outcasts”. The song was put back in for the musical as Esmerelda’s and Phoebus’ dying wish, just before they’re set to be executed. It’s such an evocative song that really emphasizes the value in believing in something greater than oneself-especially with the line from the extended version of the song: “There are some days dark and bitter, it seems we haven’t got a prayer. But a prayer for something better is the one thing we all share.” It says, “Even though our best efforts did not pay off for us, our goal as good members of the human race, is to persevere so that they WILL pay off for future generations.”
  While I do love the American versions of the songs, after listening to the cast recording from the original Berlin production, I personally do prefer THOSE two versions of the songs, “Wie aus Stein” and “Einmal” . Michael Arden’s singing in the American cast recording is equally as powerful as that of Drew Sarich in the original German one, but the full orchestra sound gives it that added sense of “oomph” with the punch the song packs. And “Einmal”, as the original extended version where Esmerelda is marched to her execution, is served most effectively as the eleven-o’clock number that leads right into the climax, also being made more powerful and emotional by having the entire chorus join in! But however they’re written/constructed, both are powerfully emotional, resonant pieces of music!

BECAUSE IT DID: The whole movie (Kamul and Sungah-Two Brothers, 2004)
  While my sister’s cinematic emotional kryptonite is Paulie, mine is this movie! I saw this movie on TV back when I was 12, and it was such a devastating experience for me where tears were streaming down my face by the end- and even back then, it took a lot to make me cry just because I was sad!
  Animal torture is one of humanity’s worst crimes as is, and being someone who owns two cats, it’s even worse for me to see two defenseless tiger cubs being imprisoned and turned savage by circus masters (or in the case of Sungah, he is taken in as a pet for Freddie Highmoore’s character, before he’s sent away in the circus for merely causing a mess in the house!).
  Seeing how this is how animals are treated in the circus, it makes seeing circus animals in cartoons essentially feel right at home, just a little bit more uncomfortable!
I can say with full certainty that this movie was the saddest, most painful film-watching experience I’ve ever had in my life!

Description
Full confession time: I’m one of those people who doesn’t cry easily just because something makes me sad. I mourn and I cry inside, but it’s very seldom that I shed tears. I’m someone who tends to break down in tears more if I’m over-burdened with stress or fear of things happening.

You can make of me what you want from that info about me, but I think I’m just one who has a thicker skin in some areas, but not so much in others. As such, I don’t think I cry as much as others do when watching a film or a show. But that’s not to say that I never cry. I guess my brain’s just a little bit more selective about which instances hits it in the feels the hardest.
So without further or do, this is my list of which fictional moments stick out in my mind as coming closest to making me tear up-as well as the instances that managed it all the way!

(I replaced the “Because it Hurt My Ship” category, because I’m not one of those who is so invested in personal shipping that I get traumatized when I see it wasn’t meant to be; I accept that fictional characters just end up with the ones their hearts lead them to, just like people in real life.)

Because They Didn’t Deserve it: (Powerpuff Girls Movie 2002)
  This movie takes such a dramatic departure from the show, really showing the harsh truth of what it would be like to set foot in the world having super powers at birth! I say that the girls aren’t deserving of being put through the wringer like they are, but in reality, this very much showcases the kind of scenario where the world is judgmental and cruel to you, whether you deserve it or not! And I think it serves the purpose of the plot effectively, even if it does make me tear up.
  I’ve heard this movie compared to Chicken Little for the featuring innocent characters being given the short end of the stick by society, and that it’s only AFTER they save the town that they are accepted. But for my money, I say “No.”. First, the basis for Townsville’s cruelty is totally different. Chicken Little got berated by society for sounding a false alarm that the entire town upped their panic to the extremes where they ended up destroying the town-which they held against him for YEARS! The people of Townsville consider the Powerpuff Girls a threat because they just came into the world with their unnatural powers and unknowingly destroyed the entire town.
  Second, there’s the part where the townspeople are calling the girls monsters because they unknowingly helped Mojo Jojo raise his master army of primates; the purpose of this was to bring to light the dangers of trusting seemingly-well-meaning strangers, and how good intentions don’t absolve someone of bad consequences if ignorance is involved.
  And furthermore Professor Untonium is INFINITELY better at parenting than Buck Cluck! True, he brought the girls to life and sent them out into the world unprepared, and he did unfortunately spend most of the movie in jail for all that. But if anything, this was the best learning experience he’s ever had to in learning how to be the proper disciplinary (as well as wise and encouraging) parent we see him in the series.
  This also isn’t like the infamous episode “Town and Out” where they just face one unfortunate circumstance after another because the plot demands. This movie is about them having to learn and adapt into a world they were just born into, and having to realize how to use their powers for good and prove that they can be trusted. There’s payoff to it, basically, is what I’m saying.

Because He/She was one of the Best: Mufasa’s Death (Lion King, 1994)
  Everyone’s already talked about how this one affected them as a child! And since Mufasa is my favorite animated character, that should tell you plenty! The only thing I have left to add is that this being the first animated movie I ever saw, I hadn’t grasped the concept of death at the time, so you can only imagine how it must have shaken me up when I finally discovered what death was.

Because Loved Ones were Separated: Hunk watching his family in a labor camp (Voltron:Legendary Defender Season 7, “Know Your Enemy” 2018)
  Let me just start off by saying that Hunk is my favorite of the Paladins, and this season really made him important-he was practically the glue that held the team together in the episode, “The Journey Within”.
  The series is full of tear-jerkers with the Paladins (and several others) struggling to remain strong while trying to hold out and reunite with their families. I definitely feel when Pidge has the spotlight, in the episode where she searches rigorously for Matt (and even thinks for a minute that he’s dead before she finally reunites with him), and later when she’s on the edge when her father’s life is at stake and she finally manages to save him and send him back to earth.
  But Season 7 took the emotions up to the next step with Hunk’s subplot of coming home only to have his family being held captive in a Gallra concentration camp, and having to watch his family from afar by the end of “Know Your Enemy” and didn’t even reunite with them until he was in the hospital by the end of the season!
  I was quivering at this, not just because of the expression on Hunk’s face when it happens paired with the flashbacks to him and his family, but also because I was partially-expecting there to arise a moment where he would see an opportunity to get his family back and try to seize it, only to fail and receive the scorn of everyone else for letting plans fail. I was relieved to see that this didn’t happen and it all worked out for him, but I would like to have seen more of him hugging his family during the reunion.
Oh well. I look forward to seeing what the eighth and final season has in store!

Because of how it Affected Others: Paulie the parrot is sent away (Paulie, 1998)
  My sister STILL can’t bring herself to watch this movie to this day. Seeing how Marie Alwhether had her bird taken away from her, just because she had a traumatic accident that made her loose her ability to talk. Yeah, as if taking away a child’s beloved pet is going to fix any sort of traumatic wound, rather than just make it grow bigger-and imagine what it would do to the pet who’s known no one other than said child all its life! I know if my parents did that same thing to me, I would probably hate them and refuse to speak to them for quite some time.
  While Paulie may have managed to snark his way through life before making it back to grown-up Marie, it’s no wonder she recognized him the moment she saw him again. But then, I’m left wondering how long it took for Marie to grow into a normal-functioning adult who was able to recover from her personal scars and raise her own child!
  Also, the classic trailer for this movie is very misleading, advertising it as something of a comedy with a talking parrot; not that there’s no comedy in it, but when the primary plot of the movie consists of something this drastically different from what’s advertised, it can really do things to the kids watching at home!
(As a side note, I feel the ending of Turner and Hooch would also qualify for this category).

Because of One’s First/Last Words: Bing Bong Vanishes (Inside Out, 2015)
  “Take Riley to the moon for me!” I’ve brought up Bing-Bog and the moment he disappears A LOT before. A very creative, funny, and helpful comic relief character who is also an allegory for Riley’s entire childhood! What else can I say other than it’s tough to grow up and lose those things closest to you when you’re a child!

Because of Subtext: (Sophie’s Choice, 1982)
  Oh, this movie and it’s memorable performances from Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep. I remember watching this movie for the first time, and when it got to the point of Sophie’s backstory of having to chose between two children, when Jewish families were being separated at the concentration camps; I was getting a wave of powerfully sad and powerfully infuriated emotions at that scene where the Nazi snatches Sophie’s child out of her arms!-on how it continued on with the story showcasing how she barely managed to survive, and even later attempting suicide!
  But the hardest part to witness was easily her relationship with Nathan. When the narrator of the story, Stingo, stops in, he witnesses Nathan’s threatening outbursts at Sophie. As he begins to get acquainted with the two of them, they all gradually bond as friends. As Stingo begins to know Nathan more and more, he realizes just how psychopathic Nathan can be to himself AND to Sophie, after Nathan’s suspects Sophie of double-crossing him numerous times (even though she never truly did).
  And even at the point when Stingo and Sophie have gotten far away from Nathan when he’s at his most dangerous, Sophie still can’t help her feelings for him and ultimately returns to him (at that point, it feels like a case of borderline Stockholm syndrome). You can’t help but get really choked up at what her experience has made her! But that ending shot of Stingo returning back to their place to see Nathan dead embracing Sophie in his arms, shows how he actually DID care about her all along-in spite of how cruel he could be.

Because it was Cruel: King Albert before he gets proper treatment (The King’s Speech, 2010)
  Having grown up with a stutter myself, this movie was a major help for me to overcome it-even if it is looked upon by many as just “more Oscar-bait”, and even if Colin Firth never even had a real stutter (which I don’t know if he did or not).
  Anyone who’s ever had a stammer in his/her life will know it’s not easy to overcome. And seeing people just being brow-beaten for it or given false treatment only digs the words deeper (another infamous case is John Nash being forced to undergo shock therapy to cure him of schizophrenia). So it’s enormously touching that the ultimate cure for Albert’s stammer was to form a personal connection to someone who wasn’t even a real doctor (again, I know there were liberties taken here, like with anything “based on a true story”). But it’s just cruel that he remembers his father said that he had faith that he would be someone great-when his father vowed to his only tactics to raising him was to intimidate him, because that apparently was just custom for being raised by British monarchy!

Because it Made me Feel Alone: Todd and Widow Tweed separating (The Fox and the Hound, 1981)
  Another movie that is pretty cold and cruel throughout most of its duration! It’s hard enough having to say goodbye to a good friend who is forced down a path that forces you to become enemies! But Todd having to say depart the one guardian he’s had all his life and start fending all for himself in the woods, is the next hardest thing to suffer! And Widow Tweed’s poem/song is so moving and so touching to anyone who’s had to say good-bye!

Because it Pointed Out Mistakes: Mufasa teaching Simba (Lion King)
  As someone who always took my parents’ scorning rather personally, this scene made me emotional once I rewatched this movie after 10 years of it gone missing from my video collection/my last years of feeling childhood-shame in high school.
  I think most kids would just brush off scoldings from parents, but Simba was not upset here just because he got caught being disobedient. He feels bad after realizing the danger he’d put himself and others into, and how he let down the one figure he was set so hard to live up to the legacy of. But it’s also an important lesson on what being brave truly means, and how it’s something even a king needs to practice.
  But this first act moral for Simba is a great lesson for a child, as it later feeds into the second-act moral which is for adults! Lion King is still one of my favorite movies for the symbol of its journey into adulthood.

Because of How it Concluded a Plot: Lenny’s Death (Of Mice and Men, 1992)
  First time I read the book was in 9th grade, and it was heavy to deal with then-especially as someone who had a sense of social tone-deafness that Lenny did! (Keeps in mind, the only film adaptation I ever saw was the 1992 version.)
  Lenny is a big guy who loves to touch little soft things, like mice and rabbits. However, given how gentle he really is, he doesn’t try to pick fights. However, when he’s encouraged to stand up for himself when he gets beat up by Curley.
  And later, when Curley’s wife lets him stroke her hair, he accidentally breaks her neck. It just seemed like he was doomed from the day he was born.
  All this amounted to was George being unable to find a way for Lenny to fit in this world, without being abused. It’s such a tragic and disheartening tale-and one that certainly brings such an issue to your awareness, especially in this day and age where people with disabilities are having their rights suppressed.

Because It Felt Unnecessary: (Tortoise Wins By a Hare, 1943)
  There aren’t many scenes I can think of that made me cry because they felt unnecessary. This was just the closest I could think of for the time being, because it stuck out in my mind in a bad way when I was a kid (and spoilers, this is not the only Bugs Bunny-related entry on this list.)
  When people think of the Bugs Bunny we all know and love, they tend to think of the laid-back-and-suave Chuck Jones version. The Bugs Bunny prior, in the hands of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, is and ASSHOLE! At least some of those shorts where he gets vehement at a character he makes enemies with, like 1943’s Falling Hare, he makes up and comes out fine with a simple, light-hearted punchline.
  But the three Looney Tunes shorts where Bugs challenges the tortoise in racing, is one of those few cases where he’s portrayed as the ANTAGONIST, who ends up on the bottom by the end of the episode! In this episode, he tries to outsmart the tortoise by getting his secrets as to how he’s able to go fast on a race course and applying it to himself-but it turns out it was a trick on the tortoise’s part! A trick to get a bunch of gambling bunny thugs to think that Bugs is the tortoise. And when those bunny gansters lost the bet of their own accord, they exclaim, “Eh, now he tells us!” And they commit suicide! This is why despite now being considered kids’ entertainment, the classic Looney Tunes shorts tend to get axed from the air from time to time.

Because it Recalled Something Personal: The main conflict of the movie (The Artist, 2011)
  This movie is less than a decade old and it’s still one that doesn’t seem to get talked about a lot. It’s a nice homage to the silent film era, as well as an introspection to the washed-up artist whose past his/her prime and refuses (or ultimately isn’t even able to adapt) the modern norm. I haven’t hit this time of my life yet, but if you’re someone who grew up in the “hand-drawn animated film” era and spent the later years of your life in the era where it seemed to be a dying art form, you’ll identify with the sorrow of the situation immediately.
  Another film (this one being actually ANIMATED) that taps into something similar is the 2012 French film: The Illusionist.

Because One’s Dreams were Crushed: Cinderella gets her dress torn apart by her stepsisters/gets locked in her room by her stepmother. (Cinderella, 1950)
  This was the only Disney movie I couldn’t even bear to sit the whole way through until I was seven! Yes, really.

Because Hard Work went to Waste: Nani and Lilo about to be separated (Lilo and Stitch, 2002)
  Even harder than the reality that their parents were lost before Nani is even in her 20s, is the weight both she and Lilo had to bear in their absence. But the subtext that they are both native to Hawaii, where families are subject to being infiltrated and torn apart by the the major branch of the United States, is the hardest part of it all! Nani has all of a sudden had to bear the position of Lilo’s guardian, while Lilo has to teach Stitch civility so that she can keep him as her friend. But both of their efforts end up falling apart.
  And it also delivers a line that is yet another deconstruction of Disney’s entire philosophy of hard work and endurance resulting in dreams coming true: “Sometimes you try your hardest, but things don’t work out the way you want them to. Sometimes things have to change, and maybe for the better.”

Because He Failed Miserably: Dumbo’s circus act becomes a wreck (Dumbo, 1941)
  Dumbo is definitely a cruel movie throughout its duration, but for me, the biggest punch in the gut wasn’t just the baby being separated from his mother, but also everything that he’s been building up for a potential success all fell apart. After Timothy Mouse’s attempt to make him a star to make his life better, Dumbo ends up tripping over his own ears (again!!!) and it causes a domino effect that brings the entire circus tent down! His ultimate fate at that point to be a clown and be put through the ringer for the rest of life-until of course he discovers his hidden talent!

Because No One Helped Him/Her: Ending (Citizen Kane, 1941)
  I think that a great deal of people with celebrity status go through the existential crisis question of asking, “Would anyone really love me if I didn’t do all that stuff to get rich and famous?” And seeing how the basis for Charles Foster Kane’s relationships was business for pretty much his entire life, how else could he really turn out but only concerned with how HE benefits from the relationship. If he had the chance to have an actual childhood instead of being sent away, maybe he would have turned out differently, and maybe he wouldn’t have died a broken man who drove away the woman he married.

Because of a character’s arc: Kerchak dies (Tarzan, 1999)
  Tarzan is rescued as a baby by Kala, one of the best animated mothers in recent memory, and is raised in an ecosystem where he has to learn to adapt in ways he has to discover for himself. But despite his continuous efforts to prove himself, Kerchak continues to hold a preemptive prejudice against him. Not helped is when Tarzan starts to feel at home with his own kind, and tries to introduce them to his own ecosystem-only to end up unintentionally causing what Kerchak feared he would cause! But at the end of the say, after seeing Tarzan for who he really is, rather than his species, Kerchak takes a bullet for Tarzan and passes the reigns of leadership to him, finally accepting him as one of them-and as a son!
It’s enough to convince me to NEVER assume that people can’t change/see the error of their ways!

Because of What it Forecasted: Ellie’s Death (Up, 2009)
I remember when I went and saw this movie in the theater. I was practically obsessed with EVERY Pixar movie when it first came out, but this one was a very special case (not the least of reasons because my Grandpa would pass away shortly afterwards).
  The notion that one man’s greatest lifetime adventure/character arc would be born out of an unfulfilled promise he made to his wife, is probably one of the most tragic and personal ones ever mustered up, and this film definitely deserves to be hailed as one of Pixar’s best.

Because the Cheese Made it Work: Madagascar Franchise (2005-2012/current)
  I don’t hate the Madagascar movies, but they are basically a prototypical Dreamworks formula before they started making things for the purpose of QUALITY over competitiveness with Disney and Pixar-and Madagascar is basically a case of ripping off Disney as they were still developing The Wild was still in production, and thus sucking it dry of any hope it had left of being good-that topped with the obligatory celebrity casting low-brow jokes, random pop culture references. That being said, the first movie definitely not on the levels of Shark Tale, and the cast certainly do a great job of bringing their characters to life.
But I’m personally of the opinion that the movies got better as they progressed. The second movie, cheesy though it may have gotten at times, didn’t feel the need to end each and every scene with a joke that indicated that nothing was to be taken seriously in it. Alex reuniting with his long-separated family is a pretty prototypical sequel formula, as is the discovering that he doesn’t meet up to their expectations/standards. But it’s still manages to make me feel.
  And the circus gang alone make the third movie! They have a genuinely interesting backstory and compelling character growths. But overall, I guess the series just manages to sell its emotions to me, even for a series that wasn’t motivated by the “art” as much as the “commerce”.

Because it Came Out at the Wrong Time: The ending of The Diary of Anne Frank (Stage Play)
  I remember when I saw a production of this play back in high school. The reason I don’t have any actual clips of the scene here is because A) it’s hard to get an actual good still image that showcases the scene properly, and B) because the play has been around for so long that I don’t think anyone remembers which is the original version with the original definitive cast.
  Anyways, the reason this is on this slot is because there’s a moment where it looks as though everything is going to turn out well for Anne and her family. They’re enjoying strawberries while hearing the news that liberals are on their way to free them from the Nazis when BOOM! They are rounded up by the Gestapo, and only her father lives to recover her diary! And the news that Anne and her sister died just a couple days before the war was over!
It’s just enough to remind you of those occasions when hope can seem so futile!

Because All Hope was Lost: Aslan’s Sacrifice (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1988/2005)
  Now let me say up front that my first experience with this classic entry in the Narnia series was the cheesy BBC version from 1988 (and there’s also a 1979 animated version by Peanuts’ Bill Melendez)! And I even cried at the part when Aslan is sacrifice in Edmund’s place. Yes, we know that with him being Lion Jesus, he comes back, but considering how the book has indicated that it’s never been put into practice, and thus he doesn’t know if it would really work or not. And considering that it’s established he’s the only reason the Narnians stand a chance of saving themselves at the end of the day, one can only fathom the unfortunate implications on Edmund’s part.
  It’s also what makes Jadis, the White Witch, such a threatening villain who really should be on more villain lists: she was able to put Edmund under a spell that brought out the worst in him and urged him over to her side, and by doing so, was able to lawfully claim his life!

Because it Made me Feel Betrayed: The ending (What’s Opera Doc? 1957)
Bugs Bunny…of all fictional characters…made me cry as a kid! Then again, as he himself put it best, “What did ya expect in an opera, a happy ending?” I find it pretty ironic how Bugs has a knack for making his enemies cry when he fakes his own death, and yet he has practically no qualms with the (physical) torment he puts them through (though again, that version tended to be more Tex Avery’s/Bob Clampett’s Bugs, who again, is a borderline-unsympathetic asshole)!

Because it Made me Regret Choices: (Christopher Robin, 2018)
  I’m a sucker for stories about children going up too fast and forgetting childhood, because retaining the purity I’ve had as a child is just one of those things that’s most important to me personally. And yet, in spite of this, I regret to say that I was one who couldn’t help but CRINGE at times when remembering what I used to be like as a kid, either because I remember some embarrassing things I did, or because of how blissfully unaware of how I would have to change some of my mindsets to prepare for some of the things I would inevitably confront as an adult!
  (As a side note, Good-Bye, Christopher Robin! could also fit into this category, or the one of “Because it Recalled Something Personal”.)
  The part that I hear most people said struck them the hardest was when Christopher is describing to Pooh how a lot of co-workers depended on him, and how if he failed them, he would have to let them go-only to have Pooh ask the simple question, “Did you let ME go?”
  Several moments where Christopher looses his patience with Pooh’s naïvité did make me periodically want to smack him upside the head-not to mention how he had his own plans in store for his daughter to grow up to fast, all while failing to provide her with decent parental interaction! But at the same time, can we honestly say that we’d really be that different if we grew up in the circumstances that he did? From disciplinary boarding school, to his father dying, to having to go to war for several years…it’s quite a lot of pressure to put on a human being in his lifetime!
  I was very happy to get to see this on the big screen as it made me come to realize just how much of a difference there is between simply remembering being a child, and truly APPRECIATING it! And I can assure you that I’m also very much looking forward to Mary Poppins Returns this winter!

Because of the Shown Expressions: Chihiro crying while eating a rice ball (Spirited Away, 2001)
  This movie is an emotional train ride (pun TOTALLY intended) of imagination and emotion from beginning to end. But this moment really got the most tears out of me, because the look on Chihiro’s face as she’s eating that rice ball Haku gives her, really touched a feeling I’ve often had. When I’ve eaten something delicious/nutritious/both but instead of feeling satisfied, only experienced an emotional whirlpool of shame, fear, and uncertainty. And considering how Chihiro just found out that she’s being controlled so that she’s forgotten her own name, AND how the only thing she could remember was that she just barely escaped being killed while her parents turned to pigs, I can only imagine the extra load it must have been for a ten-year-old girl! Show this to your kids, and it’s sure to be less bratty when their moving away.

Because of the Atmosphere: (Kung Fu Panda 2, 2011)
  While the Madagascar movies do manage to wring a good share of emotion and investment out of me (albeit in some very cheesy ways), the Kung Fu Panda films are what I consider genuinely good-especially from the title and sound of the premises. These series were a lot smarter (as in educated in Chinese culture) than they had any right to be!
  And boy the impact that the second movie had on me-it was way better than it had any right to be! Before Inside Out introduced the lesson of why sadness is an important emotion, this movie came along with the message that an important step to achieving inner peace is to let the painful play out, and then decide what you want to make of your life after that. It’s beautifully somber and not too fast-paced, and is really bold for a family movie-especially one from Dreamworks’ trademark pop-culture satire canon that stars Jack Black!

Because of the Dialogue: Judy’s Apology to Nick (Zootopia, 2016)
  (This one is a bit personal…) The main reason this was worded and recorded reminded me of a fight that broke out between my mom and I once. It lead to tension growing between us and how all my misfortunes were of my own fault and berating me to do things against my will, was hurting me and my personal psyche. She eventually broke down crying that she was sorry that she ever did it, and that she understood if I never wanted to speak to her again once I’d moved away. However, we made up effectively, and resolved to be more understanding and lenient to each other, without rushing to declare the other in the morally-wrong.
  This also signifies the philosophy I live by of: “Judge and you shall be judged.” Even when I’m infuriated when I see atrocious acts by prejudiced people, I do my best to try to refrain from telling them that they are the filth of the planet and that the world would be better off without them. Because again, I’ve learned to NEVER automatically assume that people are incapable of change/seeing the error of their ways.

Because I Wanted to Cry but didn’t: “Remember Me” reprise/Coco dies (Coco, 2017)
  It’s been about a year now since Coco came out, and I still haven’t gotten to talk about it much-in fact, the only time I mentioned it in a meme was where I expressed the earlier scenes in the movie that I disliked. So this time of the day of the dead, I want to be able to give it its fair due!
  I guess I have kind of the inverse relationship with Pixar movies that Cellspex has; she cried at this movie and The Good Dinosaur, but NOT at Inside Out or Toy Story 3-but I’m kind of the opposite. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t emotionally moved by this scene.
  I’m just able to accept death as a natural part of life, and I mourn when someone I love passes from old age, but I don’t grieve and go through the same wave of despair and loss that most others do. The importance of this scene, after all, was to keep Hector’s memory alive in Miguel’s family. That’s one thing I think most people will agree is one of this movie’s biggest strengths: that it teaches the importance of accepting one’s passing as natural, and how preserving their memory should be joyous.

Feliz Dia del los Muertos!

Because of the Music and Lyrics/Because it Applies to Real Life: “Made of Stone”/“Someday” (The Hunchback of Notre Dame Musical)
  I’m including these two scenes alongside each other not just because their both from the same source, but also because the both share similar undertones. The animated film is already full of a lot of heartbreaking moments, but the musical takes it even further, and not just by going for the original tragic ending. “Made of Stone” , for example, takes Quasimodo’s iconic line from the book and puts it to song where he’s beating himself up over what he is and everything that has happened to him, all while shutting down all voices of encouragement and reassurance that the voices of the stone statues try to offer him. Even brings to lite the line from the movie, “We just thought you were made of something stronger.” without it coming with the subtext of out-of-place comic relief.
  Meanwhile, “Someday” is the film’s end credits cover song, but was originally a song that was set to Esmerelda praying in Notre Dame before it was replaced with “God Help the Outcasts”. The song was put back in for the musical as Esmerelda’s and Phoebus’ dying wish, just before they’re set to be executed. It’s such an evocative song that really emphasizes the value in believing in something greater than oneself-especially with the line from the extended version of the song: “There are some days dark and bitter, it seems we haven’t got a prayer. But a prayer for something better is the one thing we all share.” It says, “Even though our best efforts did not pay off for us, our goal as good members of the human race, is to persevere so that they WILL pay off for future generations.”
  While I do love the American versions of the songs, after listening to the cast recording from the original Berlin production, I personally do prefer THOSE two versions of the songs, “Wie aus Stein” and “Einmal” . Michael Arden’s singing in the American cast recording is equally as powerful as that of Drew Sarich in the original German one, but the full orchestra sound gives it that added sense of “oomph” with the punch the song packs. And “Einmal”, as the original extended version where Esmerelda is marched to her execution, is served most effectively as the eleven-o’clock number that leads right into the climax, also being made more powerful and emotional by having the entire chorus join in! But however they’re written/constructed, both are powerfully emotional, resonant pieces of music!

BECAUSE IT DID: The whole movie (Kamul and Sungah-Two Brothers, 2004)
  While my sister’s cinematic emotional kryptonite is Paulie, mine is this movie! I saw this movie on TV back when I was 12, and it was such a devastating experience for me where tears were streaming down my face by the end- and even back then, it took a lot to make me cry just because I was sad!
  Animal torture is one of humanity’s worst crimes as is, and being someone who owns two cats, it’s even worse for me to see two defenseless tiger cubs being imprisoned and turned savage by circus masters (or in the case of Sungah, he is taken in as a pet for Freddie Highmoore’s character, before he’s sent away in the circus for merely causing a mess in the house!).
  Seeing how this is how animals are treated in the circus, it makes seeing circus animals in cartoons essentially feel right at home, just a little bit more uncomfortable!
I can say with full certainty that this movie was the saddest, most painful film-watching experience I’ve ever had in my life!