8 Movie Moments That Made Me Cry (And Have Nothing To Do With Death)

You know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.

~Lemony Snicket

Everybody has some movie that makes them cry buckets. For my dad it was always Brian’s Song. I think my mom’s was Love Story. And the site mascot weeps every time The Lion King is on. There’s some obvious connections here, which is to say, movies where people (or animated lions) die are usually quite bloody sad in parts. Slow death by cancer or quick death at the hands of one’s evil brother are a bummer.

The problem with me is, with AS, I cry at all the wrong times, and when I’m supposed to cry, I usually don’t. It’s weird. (No, I was not that weird person you heard cracking up during Saving Private Ryan.) The movies that usually get me are the ones that are supposed to be for kids or for families. Don’t believe me? I still can’t get through these scenes without a box of tissues.

And nobody dies. I’m not all morbid like that.

#8: Mulan (1998)

OK, so scene was also done (in a way) in The Return of the King, but I’ll say I like this one better because it’s a *girl*.

#7: The Princess Bride (1987)

This movie has a happy ending. It makes me cry because I think love like that still exists in the world.

#6. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

There are much sadder scenes in the Star Wars universe, but I’ll always remember this one from the first time I saw it on the big screen, the way it was meant to be seen.

#5. Avatar (2009)

I’ve always been more moved by music than images, and if there really is a heaven, I hope this type of beautiful music accompanies me in the hereafter.

#4. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Damn you, Pixar, for having a nearly unbroken string of cry-worthy movies. This one gets me because, I dunno, the little girl reminds me of myself at that age.

#3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

This movie gave me nightmares as a kid because it was about A CARTOON CHARACTER WHO KILLS PEOPLE. Think about that for a sec.

#2. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

My all-time favorite Disney movie, which I went to see 5 times in theaters and have seen countless times since. It still makes me cry…as it should anyone with a heart.

#1. Rudy (1993)

This movie is Hollywood-ized and shamelessly sentimental. It’s also about everything I hold dear: perseverance, the power of faith, hard work paying off, and a real Cinderella story. I can’t watch it without crying. I’m sorry. (The music is also my all-time favorite score, by the late, great Jerry Goldsmith.)

So, what are some of your favorite so-happy-they’re-sad moments?

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~ by Howlin' Mad Heather on June 25, 2013.