The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
The Movie Death: After calling baddie Professor Ratigan a rat (he pretends to be a "really big mouse" despite the name), one of his henchman is fed to a cat. Then, while the other henchmen cry and mourn their friend, Ratigan pets the cat and asks if he enjoyed his treat. What a bastard.
How It Broke Us: We learned that bad guys have feelings too and that the food chain is cruel and unforgiving all at once.
The Secret Of Nimh (1982)
The Movie Death: A fierce swordfight leaves power-hungry rat Jenner mortally wounded, and as he tries one last time to kill his foe Justin, former accomplice Sullivan – himself dying from a stab wound – throws a dagger to finish him off.
How It Broke Us: It’s essentially a bloodbath. Former friends killing each other, dying characters stabbing their enemies. This is basically the cartoon rat version of the Reservoir Dogs showdown and it teaches us that you can’t trust anyone to just give up and die gracefully.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
The Movie Death: Having both taken ill, Elliot and E.T. are takien to a government facility. While Elliot makes a full recovery, E.T. apparently dies...
How It Broke Us: Ok, so he recovers again a few moments later, but for a moment there, it looks like Elliot has lost his new best friend. Someone, who over the course of the film, we had come to regard as a friend too.
Old Yeller (1957)
The Movie Death: Beloved family dog Old Yeller contracts rabies and turns on his owners, forcing a young grieving Travis to put his own pet down.
How It Broke Us: It’s an unforgiving lesson in how sometimes you have to make impossible choices. As Travis shoots Old Yeller, he takes his first steps towards becoming an adult, as did all of us watching it.
The Fox And The Hound (1981)
The Movie Death: Tod the fox is orphaned at the start of the film when his mother sacrifices herself by leading a hunting pack of dogs away from him. Then a gunshot rings out.
How It Broke Us: A parent making the ultimate sacrifice for her young? A small child left to face the world alone? It’s enough to make us want to cuddle the nearest fox, even if it would probably scratch our eyes out.
Charlottes Web (1973)
The Movie Death: Charlotte the spider, who kept pig Wilbur company and told him to “chin up” during his stay on the farm until the two become best of friends, dies of natural causes.
How It Broke Us: Even spiders have feelings and their deaths can be upsetting too. Unfortunately, watching Arachnaphobia later on in life undid a lot of the good nature of this film.
The Plague Dogs (1982)
The Movie Death: A hunter calls over to friendly dog Snitter who, while trying to enthusiastically run over to him and give him a big slobbery lick, ends up accidentally stepping on the hunter’s gun which then shoots the man IN THE FACE.
How It Broke Us: Guns were no longer awesome weapon attachments for our favourite G.I. Joe figures, but very real instruments of death and destruction that can apparently go off with the slightest touch.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
The Movie Death: Ursula finally dies when Eric stabs her with a ship's mast and then she is electrocuted through the power of her trident and crumbles into the sea.
How It Broke Us: The sight of her horrified flashing skeleton is enough to fuel many a nightmare.
Brave Little Toaster (1987)
The Movie Death: A parade of cars sing "Worthless" while they ride a conveyor belt to the junkyard crusher that will be their certain death.
How It Broke Us: Anthropomorphic, intelligent, singing cars in some kind of arranged suicide pact? Welcome to our first experience of clinical depression.
Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
The Movie Death: In this wonderfully animated but relentlessly harrowing film, Seita and Setsuko are two orphaned children struggling to survive World War II on their own until they both eventually get sick and die of starvation.
How It Broke Us: We never complained about having to eat vegetables ever again.
