Top Ten saddest scenes in otherwise uplifting movies [View all]

This will be something I do or will try to do every week. A top ten list of things in pop culture. The list is subjective to my opinion, but feedback and entries you list could be used in future lists as long as the feedback is relatively polite. Now, on with the list.

We love uplifting movies. We really do. We love it when people overcome the human condition and beat the odds. However, all movies we consider happy are always tinged with a sad scene or two that could rip your heart out. This list explores them. Three rules apply:

A: The movie must be a mainstream movie, so most indie flicks will not be mentioned.
B: The scene must make you have a visceral emotional reaction even if it’s small.
C: The entire movie can be depressing, but you must leave with a feeling of happiness, meaning 99% of the movie can be a complete gut punch, but that last 1% must enable you to walk away smiling. Bittersweet endings qualify.

Without further ado, here is my list of the Ten saddest scenes in happy movies along with an honorable mention.

HM: Goose’s fate - Top Gun. Personally, I do not like this movie. But Anthony Edwards’ portrayal of Goose was spot on perfect. He made the movie and there was little you dislike about Goose as a character. So when his plane goes down in the middle of the ocean, it is a gut punch.

10. He’s My Dog - Old Yeller. I get asked by writers how to get people emotional and make the cry at a character’s fate. Old Yeller provides the answer: Kill a dog. People will get emotional when their favorite character dies, but if it’s a four legged barking fur person, it’s even more so since dogs are unconditional love and loyalty. If someone isn’t leaking salt water after this scene ends, one needs to question their humanity.

09. You died on a Saturday - Forrest Gump. After his entire life of being loyalty to her, Forrest has to bury the love of his life. His speech is a killer. Powerhouse performance but we all know what it feels like to bury someone we feel we can’t live our lives without.

08. Can’t stop death - Groundhog Day. Death has no timetable and when it’s your time, nothing will stop it. So imagine living the same day over and over again but remembering everything over and over again so the same day you gain knowledge but can’t bring about the next day. That was the lfe of Phil Connors. However, during his time, he meets a homeless man in the bitter PA winter and, after knowing the man will die due to exposure, tries to save his life. Connors fails every time. The plight of the homeless brought fill on in your face in a very light hearted, endearing movie.

07. Del’s secret - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. John Candy’s character is annyoing as tell. Del is abrasive, loud, pig-headed, and completely unawre of the chaos he brings to Steve Martin. But he’s also inventive, endearing, and loyal with a good heart. So when Martin figures out what Del was hiding in the elevated station of the Chicago subway, you want to literally start to cry, especially when you realize Del’s upbeat personality through it all.

06. The lonely flower - The Brave Little Toaster. Running away from crazy forest animals, the toaster hides behind a bush to find a flower in a ray of sunshine alone. The flower realizes someone is there and embraces the toaster, as if to finally have some companionship. The toaster rebuffs the flower and runs way. A second later, the toaster turns around to look at the flower, only to watch it die and drop a petal. We all need companionship and even thinking of this scene from this extremely fun, underrated movie makes me emotional. I felt the like the flower for decades.

05. Amen, Amen - Lillies of the Field. The church is done. The relationship solidified forever. Homer Smith is happy he has a legacy and gave it to a poor Catholic congregation in Arizona of Mexicans, lead by East German refugee nuns. Mother Maria listens to him sing Amen, Amen as he gets into his car and drives away into the night. The look on her face is one of “please don’t leave” but she lets him go, even after all the conflict they had, endebted to this man that gave her and the “flock” their dream: A “shapel.” All you want is him to stop, turn around, and come back, but Smith continues down the road.

04. The gunfighter leaves - Unforgiven. He turned his life around due to the influence of his wife. She made him give up the gun and the bottle. But with his farm failing, William Munny goes on one last job and, after the murder of his friend by the hands of the law, he reverts backs to his old ways and seeks bloody revenge. Upon going home, he stands at his wife’s tombstone, probably begging her forgiveness for failing her, then leaves with his children and never returns. Even though his wife forgave him, he could never truly forgive himself.

03. The horse in the swamp - Neverending Story. One of the most memorable movies of the 1980s, The Neverending Story is one filled with emotions. One only needs to bring up Artex to see how great writing makes scenes amazing. The Swamp of Despair is a miserable place and if your emotions overtake you, the swamp swallows you. We expect this to happen to human characters, but not Atreyu’s horses. Spoiler alert: In the book, Artex speaks, making this scene even more gut-wrenching.

02. My life with Ellie - Up. Four minutes and twenty-two seconds. Carl and Ellie’s life wrapped up in that time set the tone for this movie. It was a match made in heaven. Ellie spoke no lines in the movie. Carl didn’t speak any in this scene. But the impact of spending your life with the “one” only to watch them leave hits home for all of us. Slight spoiler: The animators did fantastic job here. During the scenes, they are animated with bright colors and life. The funeral is nothing but neutral and Earth tones, showing shadows everywhere. This is how good directors pull your emotions out of you, as Carl’s life is in complete shadows.

01. The Alien Dies - E.T. Anyone over the age of 45 knows this movie. The plot, the character, Reese’s Pieces, the music in the bicycle scene at the end, “ET phone home.” Everything. This was a massive sleeper hit. Everyone remembers when ET got drunk and Elliott had to deal with the effects in class. ET was, and still is, an awesome movie. So when ET starts to die, we knew it would be painful. And when ET finally died, I remember being in the theater as a child and hearing EVERYONE sobbing. . .not crying, sobbing. The effect this movie had on the emotions of the viewer, and the fact that ET is still one of the most endearing character even after 40+ years makes this scene the most depressing of all scenes, at least in my opinion.