People Share The Most Heartbreaking On-Screen Deaths They've Ever Seen

When we watch movies or TV shows, we can get wrapped up in the story.

So when something tragic happens to one of the characters, we can feel real sadness and grief.

Reddit user TiiigBitties29 asked:

"What’s the most heartbreaking on-screen death?"

Stoick the Vast

"Hiccup's father in How to Train Your Dragon 2."

"This gets me so much that I can't hear the theme without crying. It's my partner's favorite film series and I feel so bad that I'm always a sobbing wreck when we watch them together."

"AND THAT DANG SONG they dance & sing together after being reunited not long before it happens."

"Breaks me."

~ Fullonrhubarb1

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Seymour A$es

"The Futurama dog who spent his whole life waiting for Fry to come back from that pizza delivery, only to die and never see him again."

~ jedikimica

" Comedy cartoons have no right to sneak up and kick your soul in the dirt like that."

"I mean, normal movie or TV series you always have to have your guard up a little."

"Futurama absolutely blindsided on this one."

~ Homeskillet1376

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Daniel "Dan" Espinoza

"Dan aka Detective Douche on Lucifer."

"His daughter—knowing Lucifer can't lie—crying and asking him to tell her that her dad is going to be OK was so f*cking heartbreaking."

~ prettyy_vacant

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Ellie Fredricksen

"Ellie Fredricksen—the old man Carl's wife—in UP!"

"You get to see their whole life together—all their hopes and (broken) dreams—then it's just him at the funeral."

~ Roadkill997

"I remember watching this with my wife for the first time."

"It was 10 minutes of tears and crying and her yelling me: 'Why did you make me watch this‽‽'."

"She loved the movie."

~ happy_church_burner

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Ben Sullivan

"Dr Cox’s brother-in-law Ben Sullivan—played by Brendan Fraser—on Scrubs. That one hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I saw it, the realization and plot twist for what had been going on."

"Like, it seemed strange to see Ben in all those scenes maybe, just kinda walking around a hospital as a non-employee paling around with Dr. Cox, but it's TV, it's not always reflective of the real world."

"Even then Dr. Cox wearing a suit to what he's deluding himself as being his son's birthday party—and JD, inexplicably, being invited it would seem...then JD says that line and everything suddenly makes sense."

~ MvN____16

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Thomas J. Sennett

"The boy from My Girl had me distraught."

"'Where are his glasses‽ He can’t see without his glasses!'."

~ leafypineapple

"I remember I was 10 or 11 watching this and it was the first time I sobbed and really grieved."

"[Anna Chlumsky] did such an amazing job as an actress conveying that pain."

~ AffectionateTitle

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The Green Mile

"I bawled at two events during The Green Mile."

"When John Coffey dies."

"And when Percy stomps on Jingles the mouse Delacroix’s cries are heart wrenching."

~ heyitsmejad

"It was moving, but heartbreaking was Del's death."

"I'm still not over that scene."

~ BabaJagaInTraining

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Titanic

"The mother saying goodnight to her kids in Titanic. Gets me every time."

~ Za_collFact

"And the older couple holding each other in bed as the water comes in..."

"Allegedly, this is supposed to represent the co-owner of Macy's and his wife—[Isidor and Ida Straus]."

~ bruisevwillis

"The elderly couple gets me."

"In real life, [Ida Straus] was offered a spot in the lifeboat but decided to give her seat to someone else. She said they had spent their lives together and should be beside each other at the end."

~ Prannke

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"They found Isidor Straus' body after the crash/sinking and interred him in a mausoleum in New York, but they never found his wife's body."

"Instead, her memorial at the mausoleum is an urn of water from the site of the sinking."

"There's also a cenotaph outside that says 'Many waters cannot quench love—neither can the floods drown it', which is a line from Song of Solomon."

~ EllingtonElms

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Littlefoot’s Mom

"Littlefoot’s Mom in The Land Before Time."

~ emigraine

"I’m 38 years old and I’m still not over Littlefoot losing his mum."

~ Zealousideal-Sort-70

"I made the HUGE mistake of watching it when I was pregnant! I never cried like that before."

~ Didi_Castle

"My dad took my brother and I to see this movie in the theaters to cheer us up about three months after our mom died—not knowing about this scene."

"It was not a good time."

~ vessago

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Benjamin "Bubba" Buford Blue

"Bubba in Forrest Gump."

~ xX_Skibidi_Gyatt_Xx

"Omgosh yes."

"The moment he looks at Forrest and says, 'I wanna go home'."

"Top 3 of the saddest scenes ever for me."

~ couldntthinkofon

"The older I get, the harder that scene gets."

"I have multiple friends who are veterans now: one who lost all his friends in Afghanistan and wears their dog tags to this day, one is now addicted and refuses to admit she needs help, and one who was just mentally broken to the point he lives in his own world."

"'Why did this happen' makes me cry."

~ Prannke

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Joyce Summers

"Joyce Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"I think because in a show where there's so much supernatural, for it to be natural causes was so jarring. Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting was amazing."

"'Mom....Mom?.....Mommy?' Gives me shivers to this day."

~ noordinarymuggle

"And the whole episode had no incidental music, so quiet."

~ Miss_Type

"The whole series is about using mystical and arcane knowledge and powers to protect innocent humans from demons and witches and monsters."

"And then there’s this one death that’s supposed to feel completely natural and real."

"In real life, there are no backing scores with orchestral swells to tell you what you’re supposed to feel. The decision to keep the music out of it really made the whole experience hit closer to home."

~ PhantomBanker

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Leslie Burke

"Leslie from Bridge to Terabithia."

"I watched it at my grandmother's house once with my brother and cousin when we were all 16+ and goddamn that movie hurt!"

"My grandmother walked into the room to see the three of us trying to hide our tears from each other at the most heart breaking movie."

"I still have no idea how that's a kids movie. It's a 1.5 hour movie—it's 45 minutes of joy and then the other HALF of gut punches and heartbreak."

~ Liamberge

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Howard Hamlin

"Howard in Better Call Saul."

"He was never a bad person, he just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time."

~ bbbbbthatsfivebees

"And since Lalo is a complete psychopath, Howard's death really was random, senseless, and completely trivial to him."

~ PUNCHCAT

"Howard started off as a little bit of a dick. But then we kind of realize how petty Jimmy is."

"Howard got absolutely screwed over. He was clearly trying to better himself and push through their blatant bullying. Even trying to offer Jimmy solutions like boxing to get it out of his system."

~ camm44

"I gasped when that happened. It was so unexpected!"

"He didn't have any time to really process what was going on, but he realised Jimmy and Kim were in danger and he was concerned. That really got me."

~ ShumPulp_

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Guido Orefice

"One of my favorite movies that I don't have the heart to watch again—Guido in Life is Beautiful."

"It's a fantastic watch, and I highly recommend everyone see it at least once."

~ blazze_eternal

"The end is sad, but the real end of the movie doesn't leave you in the gutter to pick yourself up."

"When you think about the story and if you are a father it is relatable and is almost beautiful—no pun intended."

"The movie is fantastic."

~ SafewordisJohnCandy

"I spent the first half of the movie kinda confused where the plot was going. And I spent the second half in tears."

"What a sacrifice Guido made for his son. And when the little boy found his mother at the end…"

~ Eastern-Baker-2572

"I used this film in my history class to teach about the Holocaust and rise of fascism."

"I’ve never seen my students so angry."

~ Jujubeans6343

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Old Dan and Little Ann

"My answer to this has been the same since I was a kid: Where the Red Fern Grows."

"The entire movie—the book is better but since you said on-screen death—Billy spends telling a coming of age story of him working and working and working to get those two dogs and get them into hunting shape."

"Their bond is literally the classic 'a boy and his dogs', and there's just something so innocent and especially heartbreaking about how things shake out."

"Old Dan died protecting him from a mountain lion, and Little Ann died of heartbreak without her brother days later."

"Ah, I can't even really do it justice in my mind, but man that will always stick with me as especially tragic."

~ BloodyKitskune

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Oof... that last one.

The film came out in 1974 and I saw it in the theater with my Mother and Sister. I don't ever need to see it—or Old Yeller—ever again.

What's your saddest onscreen death?