Pixar’s movies are known for the emotional impact they can have, and many people remember heartbreaking moments from decades ago as if they just happened. Many of the best Pixar movies have some devastating emotional scenes to balance out the colorful animation and the playful humor. This is one of the things that the studio is famous for, with movies like Up, Coco and Finding Nemo often being described as tearjerkers.

Following in the footsteps of classic Disney movies, Pixar’s greatest hits expose young audiences to some harsh and difficult moments. However, Pixar often go beyond the basic idea of showing a tragedy to get the tears flowing. Their most memorable heartbreaking moments are often much more layered, paying off an entire story in a single scene that can make people of all ages reflect on their own existence.

10

Marlin Loses Coral

Finding Nemo (2003)

Some of Pixar’s most heartbreaking moments come right at the start of their movies, and Finding Nemo sums this up perfectly. Marlin’s idyllic lifestyle is shattered one day when his wife Coral and all but one of their children are eaten by a pᴀssing barracuda. It’s a dark and disturbing moment to kick off a colorful adventure. Coral could save herself, but she chooses to protect her children instead.

Coral’s sacrifice helps explain Marlin’s overbearing parenting style. Nemo is all that he has left after the most traumatic moment of his life, and protecting him was Coral’s dying wish. More mature audiences can certainly understand Marlin’s impulse to keep Nemo sheltered from any potential danger. While he’s driven throughout Finding Nemo by love, he’s also carrying a lot of grief and survivor’s guilt.

9

Bing Bong Fades Away

Inside Out (2015)

Bing Bong is one of Pixar’s most memorable supporting characters, especially because of the nature of his death, if “death” is the right word for it. Bing Bong is Riley’s imaginary childhood friend, but he finds himself wandering aimlessly around her subconscious as she grows older. Eventually, he sacrifices himself so that Joy can return to Riley, and he becomes just another faded memory.

It’s a sad metaphor for growing up, as we all move on and forget the parts of ourselves that we lose over the years.

Bing Bong’s sacrifice is one last act of love for his best friend, even though he knows Riley will never be able to appreciate it. It’s a sad metaphor for growing up, as we all move on and forget the parts of ourselves that we lose over the years. Although Riley forgets Bing Bong, a clever Inside Out 2 Easter egg reveals that Joy holds on to Bing Bong’s memory. Noticing this little touch can bring back another wave of emotion for fans of the original movie.

8

Carl & Ellie’s Life

Up (2009)

Up‘s opening montage often gets ranked among Pixar’s most heartbreaking moments. It’s a wonderful short story that whizzes through the life of Carl and Ellie, from their first meeting as two wildly different children to their relationship, their marriage and Ellie’s tragic death. Up uses plenty of clever visual storytelling tricks, ensuring that the opening montage can get audiences crying without any dialogue whatsoever.

Their story is universal enough to feel relatable, but specific enough to make the characters seem real and fleshed-out.

The montage of Carl and Ellie’s life is extremely economical. Each vignette reveals more about their personalities and their relationship with one another while moving the plot along nicely, and they are peppered with little touches that can be picked up on a rewatch to deepen the impact of Ellie’s death. Their story is universal enough to feel relatable, but specific enough to make the characters seem real and fleshed-out.

7

Joe Plays The Piano Alone

Soul (2020)

Due to the pandemic, Soul was released on Disney+, and this could help explain why it doesn’t get talked about as much as some of Pixar’s other big hits. Its quality certainly isn’t the issue, as it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Like Inside Out, it visualizes a universal but abstract part of the human experience, and this allows it to take an outside look at the beauty and complexity of life.

Soul would be especially heartbreaking for anyone going through an existential crisis, since it deals with the questions of what it means to have purpose in life and what makes life worth living. These are big questions, but Soul finds a way to present clarity and truth. One of many emotional moments comes when Joe plays the piano after leaving the jazz club, and he looks back on his adventure with 22 to discover that the beauty of life lies in the everyday, and that his only purpose should be to live as openly and perceptively as possible. The synthesis of the music and the abstract visuals say all of this without any words.

6

Jessie’s Sad Backstory

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Toy Story 2 remains one of the best Pixar sequels, even though it was the studio’s first attempt. One reason for Toy Story 2‘s success is that it introduces so many new and interesting characters, like Al, Stinky Pete and Jessie, and they fit right into the world established by the first movie. Jessie initially seems like a female counterpart to Woody, but rather than creating a predictable love story, Toy Story 2 shows that she represents a darker side of being a toy that Woody is yet to experience.

This is a form of abandonment for Jessie, but it represents the more universal heartbreak of people forgetting the joy of their youths.

Set to Sarah McLachlan’s original tearjerker “When She Loved Me,” a montage shows Jessie’s life with her original owner. She initially spends a lot of time with her owner, but she is soon forgotten about as the girl grows up and moves on to other interests, and Jessie is ultimately donated. This is a form of abandonment for Jessie, but it represents the more universal heartbreak of people forgetting the joy of their youths. As with many of Toy Story‘s most emotional moments, it can be seen as an allegory for how parents often have to watch their children outgrow them and cast them aside.

5

Andy Gives Away His Toys

Toy Story 3 (2010)

11 years pᴀssed between Toy Story 2 and the next sequel. In the meantime, Andy and the audience from the original movies both grew up, so Toy Story 3 focused on Andy moving on as a way of connecting with its fans. Although Andy’s toys manage to return to him after a hectic adventure and a near-death experience, they decide that it’s time to find a new home with a younger child who can truly appreciate them.

Andy has one final playtime with his old friends as he introduces them to Bonnie, showing that he still holds a deep affection for them even though he knows that he’s grown out of his childhood. The moment that he recoils when Bonnie reaches out for Woody sums up his conflicted emotions. Toy Story 3 would have been the perfect finale for Pixar’s biggest franchise, but Toy Story 5 is on the way, and there could be even more sequels.

4

Barley Spends Time With His Father

Onward (2020)

Onward is one of Pixar’s underrated movies. It suffers by comparisons to some of the studio’s greatest hits, but it’s still a charming story of family and friendship that has the power to make anyone cry. The story follows two brothers who go on a journey to use magic to temporarily bring their father back from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Ultimately, Ian is forced to watch from a distance as his older brother Barley spends a moment with their father before the spell fades.

The circumstances of Barley’s brief reunion with his father are heartbreaking, as he and Ian initially think they can spend a whole day with him, but ultimately have just a minute before the sun sets. Onward shows this emotional moment from Ian’s perspective, as he is helpless to watch as the father that he never had talks to the only father figure in his life, his older brother. Ian and Barley miss their father for different reasons, but they realize that they are all that the other person needs.

3

Sully Says Goodbye To Boo

Monsters Inc. (2001)

Monsters Inc. subverts the common childhood fear of monsters hiding in bedroom closets, suggesting that the monsters can be just as scared as the children. Sully’s sweet relationship with Boo could be seen as a story about fatherhood, as his initial fears give way to a deep caring and a fierce sense of protection. This makes the moment when he has to say goodbye extremely emotional.

Boo is too young to understand most of what happens in Monsters Inc.

Boo is too young to understand most of what happens in Monsters Inc. This can be hilarious, like when she treats Sully like a giant kitten, but it’s also emotionally devastating when he is forced to leave her behind, knowing that she doesn’t understand that he won’t be returning. She leads him around her bedroom and gives her some of her toys, which is a sign that she’s grown to trust and love him. It’s another minor detail that contributes to the impact of the scene.

2

WALL-E Forgets Eve

WALL-E (2008)

WALL-E manages to create some intensely emotional moments without very much dialogue. The scene in which WALL-E loses his memory is a perfect example of this, as EVE desperately tries to figure out a way to get WALL-E back. Although he isn’t quite ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, WALL-E’s fate appears to be just as bad, since he loses his personality and becomes nothing more than a functional robot.

WALL-E manages to create some intensely emotional moments without very much dialogue.

WALL-E has a lot of personality for a character who barely utters a word, so it’s heartbreaking to see him reduced to his factory settings. He even crushes his most treasured belongings into a cube. Ultimately, it isn’t too long before a static shock brings him back, and WALL-E does get a crowdpleasing ending, but the brief scene that suggests WALL-E may have sacrificed everything is still a tearjerker.

1

Miguel Sings For Mamá Coco

Coco (2017)

Coco focuses on the way that music can help bring people together, and the special bonds that families have across generations. These ideas come together in an outpouring of emotion when Miguel returns from the Land of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and plays Héctor’s song to his grandmother. Mamá Coco recognizes the melody from her childhood, sharing a tender moment with Miguel even though she is otherwise fairly unresponsive.

Coco packs a lot of meaning into the brief song. The lyrics only scratch the surface of what the moment means to Mamá Coco, Miguel and the rest of the family, since it’s also a link to their ancestry and it represents the healing of a decades-old wound. The following scenes show that Mamá Coco’s portrait has been added to the ofrenda, so it’s bittersweet that she gets to hear her father’s gift to her one last time before her death.