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Surprisingly Emotional Moments In Animated Shows, Ranked By How Much They Break Your Heart
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Vote up the heartfelt moments from toons that made you reach for the tissue.
A well-written moment in a TV show can be expected to evoke tears if it strikes the right emotional chord, but when such a scene occurs in an animated show, it is almost always a complete surprise. After all, many still view cartoons as mere kiddie fare. But animation has come a long way since the goofball days of Bedrock. Great animated shows can have the same emotional pitfalls as any Emmy-winning drama or well-crafted prime-time series.
Here are but a few moments from animated efforts that caused heartbreak, and emotional turmoil in audiences. Vote up the tragic toon moments that hit you like an emotional gut punch.
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Episode: “Four Regrettings and a Funeral”
Every week in the opening credits of The Simpsons, Bart usually writes a message to the home audience as part of his detention. However, with the passing of Marcia Wallace, the voice of Bart's teacher Edna Krabappel, the joke was changed to a fitting tribute to the voice actress. Instead of the usual pun or saying, a simple message appears:
We really miss you, Miss K.
The simplicity of the message and Bart's downtrodden demeanor give weight to the moment as the audience takes a moment to remember the actress.
- Actors: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria
- Premiered: December 17, 1989
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Episode: “Jurassic Bark”
When Fry is about to attempt to resurrect his furry best friend Seymour, he discovers that the canine lived for an additional 12 years after the former pizza deliver boy was cryogenically frozen. Deciding to leave well enough alone, Fry says goodbye to his best buddy, stating: “He forgot me a long, long time ago.”
The audience and society are then destroyed by a musical montage.
To the tune of Connie Francis's "I Will Wait for You," viewers watch in despair as they witness exactly how Seymour spent those 12 years: waiting every single day for Fry to return. Through snow and rain, day and night, Seymour waits in front of Panucci's Pizza hoping for Fry to return. For a dozen years, Seymour waits for his friend, who never returns. Then one day Seymour shuts his eyes, never to open them again.
- Actors: Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche
- Premiered: March 28, 1999
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Fry Reads The Full Text Of The Gravestone Of The Late Philip J. Fry On 'Futurama'
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Episode: “The Luck of the Fryrish”
In the episode "The Luck of the Fryrish," Fry learns of another Philip J. Fry. He believes this person is actually his brother Yancy, who stole his lucky seven-leaf clover and identity many years ago, thus causing him to live the life of Fry's dreams. In an attempt to take back his lucky clover, he digs the up the grave of the "imposter," but in the process discovers the full inscription on the headstone:
Here Lies Philip J. Fry, Named For His Uncle To Carry On His Spirit
It is revealed that his brother Yancy was shattered by Fry's disappearance and never fully recovered. After the birth of his son and at his wife's insistence, he named his son after his brother Fry. Touched by his brother's gesture, Fry returns the clover to his nephew's grave with a new love and respect for Yancy.
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Episode: “Tales of Ba Sing Se”
This bottle episode of Last Airbender serves up emotion on a platter, diving deep into Uncle Iroh's backstory and taking a sad turn with the usually comedic character. Iroh is seen helping various villagers and offering sage advice to strangers before he heads up a hill to a lone tree. There, he sets up a shrine commemorating his late son, a soldier who never came home from the siege of Ba Sing Se.
While crying, he tells his son, “Happy birthday, my son. If only I could have helped you.” He then sings:
Leaves from the vine, falling so slow,
Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam
Little soldier boy, come marching home,
Brave soldier boy, comes marching home.The moment is even more powerful when you learn the episode is dedicated to Mako Iwamatsu, Iroh's voice actor, who passed before the episode aired.
- Actors: Zachery Tyler, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena, Dee Bradley Baker, Dante Basco
- Premiered: February 21, 2005
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Episode: “Mother's Day”
For Mother's Day, Rugruts decided it was time to destroy its audience emotionally with an episode that centered on little ginger Chuckie Finster and the question of his missing mama. Melinda Finster perished before the series began, and poor little Chuckie doesn't know why other babies have a mother, but he doesn't. Fueled by faint memories of her and her love for him, he sets out to solve the mystery of his missing mother, which ends with him confronting his father with a picture. In a heartbreaking moment, Chas Finster reads a poem Melinda wrote for Chuckie while she lay dying in the hospital:
And when the tree gives you shade, that’s my sheltering embrace.
When the sun gives you freckles, that’s me tickling my boy.
When the rain wets your hair, those are my tears of joy.
When the long grass enfolds you, that’s me holding you tight.
When the Whippoorwill sings, that’s me whispering, “Night, night.”With these words, Chuckie finds comfort knowing that his mother will always be with him.
- Actors: E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Michael Bell
- Premiered: August 11, 1991
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Courage is a timid little pup with many, many issues, but for good reason. When his owners Muriel and Eustace take him to a vet, they don't realize the doctor they visit is the same sinister veterinarian who subjected their poor pup to horrific ordeals and experiments that caused all of his paranoia.
Back when Courage was in diapers, the evil vet separated him from his real parents and sent them into space to see if dogs could inhabit the moon. At the time, Courage was too little to help, so he helplessly watched as his parents were sent into space. Peering through the window and crying for help, Courage could do nothing to aid his parents. The scientist chased him through the lab, threatening to do the same to him. He barely escaped through a garbage chute, but as he looked up, he saw the rocket lift off and cried.
Though Courage gets his revenge on the evil scientist, the image of the poor puppy sobbing while waving goodbye to the spaceship carrying his parents is a devastating moment for any Courage the Cowardly Dog fan to watch.
- Actors: Marty Grabstein, Thea White, Lionel G. Wilson, Simon Prebble, Paul Schoeffler
- Premiered: November 12, 1999
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Episode: Episode 4, Season 1
On Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, a talking chimera is quite rare, and to create one takes great skill. The only talking chimera ever created was made by alchemist Shou Tucker, but it lived for only a short before muttering, “Kill me.”
When Edward and his brother Alphonse first meet Tucker, his daughter Nina, and her dog Alexander, they take pity on the Sewing Life Alchemist, who seems to almost panic as he preps for his yearly assessment. The brothers bond with the lonely little girl as her father prepares for his state certification. The next day, the brothers embark on a small errand, and when they return, they find Tucker with a new talking chimera. The alchemist shows off his creation by having it call Edward by name. But the beast has another trick, because it refers to the Full Metal Alchemist as “Big Brother,” Nina's nickname for Edward.
Ed looks on in horror as he realizes the implications: Tucker fused his daughter with her dog to create a chimera in an effort to pass his assessment. And it was not the first time the madman had done this. With further questioning, Ed realizes that Tucker's wife was the first chimera.
Edward begins pummeling Tucker for what he did to his family as Nina-Alexander begs him to stop:
Edward. No. Daddy? Do you hurt? Daddy? Do you hurt?
Edward and his brother realize that all is futile. Nina is gone forever, and hurting Tucker will only cause the creature that was Nina more pain. As Al apologizes that they can't change her back, the chimera is unable to understand and just repeats:
Can we play now? Can we play now?
- Actors: Romi Park, Rie Kugimiya, Miyoko Aso, Megumi Toyoguchi, Okiayu Ryôtarô
- Premiered: April 5, 2009
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Episode: “Arnold’s Christmas”
Not a lot of children's cartoons offer backstories in which it is revealed that a character is actually a Vietnam refugee who was forced to give up his own child in an effort to procure her safety. In a Christmas episode of Hey Arnold!, Nickelodeon decided to give that gift of emotional upheaval to its audience.
In the episode, recurring character Mr. Hyunh reveals that while attempting to flee his Vietnamese city during wartime, he made the choice to give his daughter to a US solider in a departing helicopter in an effort to ensure her safety. As he tells his story to Arnold, Mr. Hyunh reveals why he lives in the boardinghouse:
As the helicopter left, the soldier called out the name of a city. This city. He said he would bring her here... It took me 20 years before I could finally get out of the country. That’s why I came to this city.
The revelation is as tragic as it is unexpected for a kids' show, allowing the power of the moment to take viewers young and old by surprise.
- Actors: Lane Toran, Jamil Walker Smith, Francesca Smith, Phillip Van Dyke, Spencer Klein
- Premiered: October 7, 1996
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Episode: “I Remember You”
Until this episode, the Ice King was portrayed as a bit of dodgy character, while Marceline the Vampire Queen was depicted as an antihero. But in the episode “I Remember You,” the two reveal they have a tragic history.
Before the Ice King was a raving lunatic, he was Simon, a kind-hearted scientist who rescued Marceline from the apocalypse when she was a child. To survive, he needed a magical crown, which offered great power but caused insanity. Over time, Simon lost himself to the magic, forgetting both himself and Marceline as he became the Ice King.
Simon, prior to losing his mind, wrote Marceline a goodbye letter, but it got lost in the rubble of the apocalypse. Hundreds of years later, Marceline finds Simon's goodbye to her and sings it:
This magic keeps me alive, but it's making me crazy
And I need to save you, but who's going to save me?
Please forgive me for whatever I do,
When I don't remember you.Missing the man he once was, she sobs as she serenades the Ice King, who is oblivious to the meaning. The episode strikes a chord for anyone who ever lost a loved one to dementia.
- Actors: Jeremy Shada, John DiMaggio, Hynden Walch, Tom Kenny, Olivia Olson
- Premiered: April 5, 2010
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Episode: "For the Man Who Has Everything"
One of the most heartbreaking stories in the history of the Superman comic easily became one of the most heartbreaking stories in the history of Justice League Unlimited.
Using a “what if” story device, the episode shows Superman at the mercy of a telepathic plant that implants the memory of a fondest wish, which for the Kryptonian ends up being, "What if Krypton never exploded?" The audience than watches as Superman, now Kal-El, lives a simple life with his family on Krypton as a farmer, happy and carefree for all his days. But as the plant wears off and the hallucination comes to an end, Kal-El must come to terms with his reality as he tearfully says goodbye to his beloved, nonexistent son Van-El, thus crushing the hearts of audiences:
Van, when you were born, it was the happiest day of my life. When I first saw your beautiful little face, your tiny fingers squeezed my hand so tight, like you never wanted to let go. I've watched every step, every struggle… But, Van, oh, Rao help me... but I don't think you're real. I don't think any of this is real!
This is one of the few Alan Moore story adaptations to include the author's name in the credits, a huge compliment given the comic legend's criticism of adaptations of his work.
- Actors: Antoine M. Dillard, Natasha L. Dillard
- Premiered: November 17, 2001
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Episode: “That's Too Much, Man!”
Sarah Lynn's tragic demise starts with BoJack and ends with BoJack.
As a child star raised by a narcissistic mother, she makes the mistake of looking to co-star BoJack for guidance in her young life. His ongoing negative influence destroys her career and self-esteem time and time again, but she always seems to bounce back.
On the eve of her Academy Award win, Sarah Lynn goes on the ultimate bender with BoJack, missing her Oscar win as the two indulge in a night of licentiousness and heroine, ending up at the planetarium. As they look up as the false night sky, Sarah Lynn utters her last words, "I wanna be an architect," a childhood dream her mother forced her to abandon. She overdoses next to BoJack, who barely notices, enjoying the show - and as he calls out her name to no avail.
- Actors: Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Aaron Paul, Paul F. Tompkins
- Premiered: August 22, 2014
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Episode: “Things Change”
In the series finale of Teen Titans, Beast Boy's love interest Terra returns to her human form after turning into stone back in the second season. But sadly, she has no memory of her time on the team, her powers, or her romance with Beast Boy. He tries to remind Terra of her past life, triumphs, and most of all, love for him, but she tells him that he is a Teen Titan, and she just wants to be normal:
Things change, Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory.
Sadly, he accepts her decision and lets her go. As she fades into the crowd, Beast Boy rejoins his teammates and lets go of the past.
- Actors: Hynden Walch, Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, Khary Payton, Dee Bradley Baker
- Premiered: July 19, 2003
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Episode: “Auto Erotic Assimilation”
Rick's ex-girlfriend Unity isn't really so much of a girlfriend as she is a hive mind that can assimilate entire planets into her consciousness. But surprisingly, she isn't the villain. She makes worlds better by unifying them, but not when she is with Rick. Rick's toxic nature influences Unity in harmful ways, so even though she loves him, she must leave him. In a "Dear John" letter she writes to Rick, Unity explains:
I’m sure there’s no perfect version of me. I’m sure I’ll just unify species after species and never really be complete. But I know how it goes with us. I lose who I am and become part of you. Because in a strange way, you’re better at what I do without even trying.
After Rick alienates his grandkids and his lover(s), he realizes that he is so destructive, no one can be around him, which pushes him over the edge. In a drunken morose moment, Rick constructs a suicide machine. After testing it on a helpless blob being, he places his head within the device, but passes out at the last minute, inadvertently saving himself from certain death.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a trained listener, call 988.
- Actors: Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer, Chris Parnell
- Premiered: December 2, 2013
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Episode: “Rose's Scabbard”
After the discovery of Rose Quartz's pink lion, Steven's adopted mother Pearl realizes that her deceased "friend" Rose had kept secrets from her. The truth becomes too hard to bear and the Crystal Gem entity runs away in a fit of rage. Pearl's unrequited love for Rose Quartz and the complexity of her feelings about raising the reincarnation of her late love, AKA Steven, come to the forefront after bubbling in the background of the series for quite some time. Her lament that she must continue to live in a world without her beloved Rose is a relatable moment for anyone who has lost a loved one and still struggles with grief:
Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she's gone. But I'm still here. Sometimes I wonder if she can see me through your eyes. What would she think of me now?
- Actors: Zach Callison, Estelle, Michaela Dietz, Deedee Magno
- Premiered: November 4, 2013
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Episode: “It's Almost Over”
Human Resources, the highly underrated spinoff to Big Mouth, explored the concept of grief in the surprisingly touching episode “It's Almost Over.”
The story centers on the elderly Yara El-Khoury, a beloved matriarch whose rapid decline due to Alzheimer’s is not taken well, especially by son Amir and lifelong monster companion Walter the Lovebug. The duo, in denial about Yara's condition, refuse to accept the inevitable, which arrives in the form of a sweater monster named Keith from Grief.
For Human Resources monster Walter, who lives in Yara's memories of her younger days, her recollections slowly disappear until everything she was is gone. Only then does he realize that who she was must live in him and his memories of her. Amir, meanwhile, goes into a panic until he finds strength in his family. They gather around Yara's deathbed and say their goodbyes, as Amir finally accepts Keith and the grief he knows he must bear. With that, Yara passes away and is mourned by all. The episode ends with Walter's musing:
Life is so cruel and unfair, and yet so f*cking precious.
- Actors: Aidy Bryant, Randall Park, Nick Kroll, Maya Rudolph, Keke Palmer
- Premiered: March 18, 2022
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Episode: Episode 89
Ever since they were children, Mikasa has loved Eren. And throughout a majority of the series, her feelings are crystal clear. She spends the better part of her life protecting him, even from himself. And considering how reckless he is, this is almost a full-time job.
In the finale of Attack on Titan, Eren has grown too powerful, reckless, and volatile to survive. He has already triggered the Rumbling, a mass event in which Wall Titans eradicate 80% of humanity. Eren's reasoning is to protect Paradis from outside attacks, so in his mind, a genocide is justified to protect a few friends. Betrayed, Mikasa knows she is the only one who can stop him.
While a Titan, Mikasa climbs inside Eren's mouth and decapitates her lifelong love. While holding his head, she finally kisses him, saying goodbye to her one, true love.
- Actors: Yuki Kaji, Yui Ishikawa, Marina Inoue, Kisho Taniyama, Yu Shimamura
- Premiered: April 7, 2013
A truly tragic toon moment?
