Animated Movies That Make You Cry The Most
The best animated movies can be just as emotional as even the most moving live action tearjerker. Admit it, there are sad animated movies that make you cry. Go ahead. It's okay to acknowledge that some silly cartoon brought you to tears. We've all cried ourselves silly while watching movies about sentient toys and anthropomorphized animals.
It's easy to dismiss animation as kid's stuff, but who among us didn't make with the waterworks when Simba found Mufasa in that gorge or when some cold-hearted hunter shot Bambi's mom? Who could help but sob like a child with a skinned knee during the first ten minutes of Up? Or the last 10 minutes of Toy Story 3, for that matter? And that's only scratching the surface of Disney animated movies, let alone all the other animated films that contain emotional gut-punches. You're going to tell me you don't get choked up watching An American Tail? Really? But which one these cartoon movies is the saddest animated movie of all time? You get to help decide with your votes.
Scroll through this list of animated films that make audiences cry like clockwork and remember all the tears you've shed to cartoons, whether you cried a single sexy teardrop over an iron giant or spasmodically sobbed on account of a dinosaur's demise.
Vote up the cartoon tearjerkers that moved you the most and made you cry the hardest. Then grab a tissue and claim you're not crying, you've just got something in your eye.
- 2009
- Actors: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo
- Directed by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), a 78-year-old balloon salesman, is about to fulfill a lifelong dream. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, he flies away to the South American wilderness. But ...more - 2017
- Actors: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Jaime Camil
- Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Despite his family's generations-old ban on music, young Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in ...more - Actors: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan
- Directed by: Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens
After his mother is killed, Tod the fox (Mickey Rooney) is taken in by the kindly Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan). He soon befriends the neighbor's new hound dog, Copper (Kurt Russell). The two are ...more- 1994
- Actors: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair, Moira Kelly
- Directed by: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), the heir of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones). Simba's wicked uncle, Scar (Jeremy Irons), ...more - 1988-Present
- Actors: Diana Ross, Frank Welker & Judith Barsi
- Directed by: Don Bluth
The Land Before Time is an American children's franchise of animated adventure films by Universal Pictures centered on dinosaurs. The series began in 1988 with the eponymous The Land Before Time, ...more - 2014
- Actors: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans
- Directed by: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Robotics prodigy Hiro (Ryan Potter) lives in the city of San Fransokyo. Next to his older brother, Tadashi, Hiro's closest companion is Baymax (Scott Adsit), a robot whose sole purpose is to take ...more - 1942
- Actors: Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Peter Behn, Tim Davis, Donnie Dunagan
- Directed by: David Hand
In a classic Disney animation, a fawn named Bambi joins his new friends, a young rabbit named Thumper and a skunk kit named Flower in happily exploring the woods. Bambi is captivated with a young doe ...more - Actors: Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi, Ayano Shiraishi, Tsutomu Tatsumi
- Directed by: Isao Takahata
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical novel Grave of the ...more- 2008
- Actors: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
WALL-E, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class, is the last robot left on Earth. He spends his days tidying up the planet, one piece of garbage at a time. But during 700 years, WALL-E has ...more - 2015
- Actors: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Lewis Black
- Directed by: Pete Docter
Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) is a happy, hockey-loving 11-year-old Midwestern girl, but her world turns upside-down when she and her parents move to San Francisco. Riley's emotions -- led by Joy (Amy ...more - Actors: Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds, Daryl Gilley, Candy Devine, Charles Nelson Reilly
- Directed by: Don Bluth
In this animated feature, canine casino owner Charlie (Burt Reynolds) is killed by gambler Carface (Vic Tayback), but returns to Earth from heaven thanks to the powers of a magical, rewindable watch. ...more- 1941
- Actors: Herman Bing, Billy Bletcher, Edward Brophy, Jim Carmichael, Cliff Edwards
- Directed by: Ben Sharpsteen
A young circus elephant is born with comically large ears and given the cruel nickname Dumbo. One day at a show, he is taunted by a group of kids, inciting his mother into a rage that gets her locked ...more - 2003
- Actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas
- Directed by: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker
Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) is a young Indian brave with a particular distaste for bears. When his brother Sitka (D.B. Sweeney) is killed by one, Kenai in turn kills the bear, only to be magically ...more - 1995-Present
- Actors: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger
- Directed by: John Lasseter
Toy Story is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the original 1995 film, Toy Story, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The ...more - 1973
- Actors: Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde, Henry Gibson, Rex Allen, Pamelyn Ferdin
- Directed by: Iwao Takamoto
E.B. White's beloved children's tale is brought to life in this animated film, which finds the young farm pig Wilbur (Henry Gibson) attempting to avoid a dire fate. Of all the barnyard creatures, ...more - 1999
- Actors: Jennifer Aniston, Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick, Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald
- Directed by: Brad Bird
In this animated adaptation of Ted Hughes' Cold War fable, a giant alien robot (Vin Diesel) crash-lands near the small town of Rockwell, Maine, in 1957. Exploring the area, a local 9-year-old boy, ...more - 2003
- Actors: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Brad Garrett
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clown fish, is overly cautious with his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould), who has a foreshortened fin. When Nemo swims too close to the surface to prove himself, he is caught by ...more - Actors: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla, Ryan Teeple, Jack McGraw
- Directed by: Peter Sohn
Luckily for young Arlo, his parents (Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand) and his two siblings, the mighty dinosaurs were not wiped out 65 million years ago. When a rainstorm washes poor Arlo (Raymond ...more- 2019
- Actors: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner
- Directed by: Jon Favreau
Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny on the plains of Africa. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother -- ...more - The How to Train Your Dragon franchise (also referred to as simply HTTYD) from DreamWorks Animation consists of two feature films How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and How to Train Your Dragon 2 ...more
- 2001 - Present
- Actors: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi
- Directed by: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich
Monsters, Inc. is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the 2001 film, Monsters, Inc., produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The original film was ...more - 2002
- Actors: Daveigh Chase, Christopher Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald
- Directed by: Dean DeBlois, Christopher Sanders
A tale of a young girl's close encounter with the galaxy's most wanted extraterrestrial. Lilo is a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly "dog," whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the ...more - 2020
- Actors: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Ali Wong
- Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Teenage elf brothers Ian and Barley embark on a magical quest to spend one more day with their late father. Like any good adventure, their journey is filled with cryptic maps, impossible obstacles ...more - 2016
- Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Auli'i Cravalho, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement
- Directed by: John Musker, Ron Clements
An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder. ...more - 1995
- Actors: Miriam Margolyes, Lola Bates-Campbell, Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins, Bridget Fonda
- Directed by: Simon Wells
In this animated feature, a deadly diphtheria epidemic strikes the remote town of Nome, Alaska. With the life-saving medicine located hundreds of miles away, the residents decide to send out a ...more