Top 10 Saddest Cartoon Moments

Bambi's Mom's Death - Bambi

Still sad after all these years.

Mufasa's Death - The Lion King

I cried the first time I saw this. Poor Simba lost his dad.

This is way sadder than Bambi's mom's death.

Brave Soldier Boy - Avatar The Last Airbender

No matter how you look at it, this is by far the saddest cartoon moment. While he was still an active general for the Fire Nation, Iroh attempted to conquer the Earth Kingdom capital, Ba Sing Se, along with his only son. He managed to break through the outer wall after roughly 600 days, but as he was trying to get through the inner wall, his son was killed on the front lines of battle.
Iroh withdrew from the siege and spent a long time grieving for his son. Several years later, we see the easygoing, comical, retired General Iroh in Ba Sing Se. His son's birthday comes up, and he spends the day in the very city he tried to conquer, wishing his son a happy birthday through his tears as he sings "Leaves From The Vine (Brave Soldier Boy)." Think about it - he must wholly blame himself for the loss of his son, as it was his own decision to attempt the siege on Ba Sing Se.
Sure, the death of Mufasa and Bambi's mom was sad, but here we have a character with a lot of time to immerse and attach oneself to. Mufasa and Bambi's mom only appear in part of their respective movies. Iroh gets a whole season and several episodes to get to know, create an understanding of, and form a connection with. Throughout the first season and into the second, we see that Iroh is a wise, happy, easygoing, and well-respected person.
When first seeing this episode, no one had ever seen Iroh in such a state filled with sorrow and grief. Immediately, those watching feel a strong sense of sympathy and sadness for Iroh - the ever-suppressed sorrow feeling so real to viewers at home for his lost son. For me and my brother, just hearing the first few seconds of the song without any words brings the memory and grief back to the front of our minds, still just as sad as when we first watched it. A memory not easily forgotten by all.

Snow White's Funeral Scene - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Seeing Grumpy trying not to grieve but finally breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably was the pinnacle moment of the film.

Littlefoot's Mother Dies - The Land Before Time

This was sadder than any other cartoon death. Killed on screen, with her son watching in horror, helpless. No jump to a happy future (Bambi) or surrogate parents to sing everything's fine (The Lion King). A very real take on depression and loss.

"Let your heart guide you."
Teacher: And that, my students, is how Niagara Falls was created.
Kid: So someone cried really hard?
Teacher: Yep.

Baby Birds Funeral Scene - Song of the Birds

This is from a very old cartoon most of you have probably never heard of. It's about a little kid with a toy gun who shoots down a baby bird. He then worries that he may have accidentally killed it.
The mother and father birds show up and try to revive the baby bird, but when it doesn't wake up, they think it's dead. This leads to a heart-wrenching scene of the baby bird's funeral, where all the birds are singing sadly. It shows the little boy crying, and then suddenly the bird wakes up!
Everyone is happy, and the kid makes peace with the birds. Just watch it, and you'll understand.

There were two versions of Song of the Birds: the original version and the Famous Studios remake starring Little Audrey. The original was better, with the hauntingly beautiful funeral song sung by the birds in grief during the funeral scene.

Jurassic Bark - Futurama

I don't think I've ever cried more about anything. After watching this and hearing Fry's speech about his dog, I cried for three hours straight. When I thought I'd cried everything out, I went downstairs to tell my mom about it and ended up slumped in front of the fireplace, sobbing. I literally cried my eyes out - I had to have drops in them that night.

When I first started watching Futurama, I never imagined that it would be the type of show that would give me the "feels." This episode and "Luck of the Fryrish" proved me wrong. There's a reason this is my favorite show of all time.

Baby Kimba Discovers that his Mother perished in the Typhoon - Kimba the White Lion

Terra's Sacrifice - Teen Titans

Homer Says Goodbye to his Mother in "Mother Simpson" - The Simpsons

Homer reunites with his long-lost mother and finds out that the reason she left was because she was a fugitive who helped destroy Mr. Burns' germ lab. Near the end of the episode, Mr. Burns invades the Simpson home and tries to capture her. However, thanks to a tip from Chief Wiggum, Homer and his mom escape in time.
Homer and his mother have a heartfelt talk as he watches her leave.

This is second only to "Jurassic Bark" when it comes to the saddest cartoon endings.

It was pretty sad that he just stood there waving in the credits. So sad.

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Tony Stark Has Heart Failure - Avengers Assemble

Watch the first episode. Red Skull steals Tony Stark's arc reactor, and it causes heart failure. Watching the Avengers scramble to keep Tony alive was just sad and emotional.

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Amethyst Flying Into a Rage in "On the Run" - Steven Universe

This part especially hits hard. She deeply resents herself because of her origins.

Chuckie Finster Learning About His Mom's Passing When He Was a Baby - Rugrats

Cinderella Crying to Her Fairy Godmother After Being Savagely Attacked by Her Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters - Cinderella

Ellie Dies - Up

Actually, Carl wasn't always grumpy. He was friendly and fun-loving when Ellie was still alive, as shown at the beginning of the movie. The reason he became grumpy is because not only did he lose the person who loved him the most, but also because he thought he didn't fulfill her dream of going to Paradise Falls! Of course, he found peace after reading Ellie's Adventure Book!

I would rather Carl had died than Ellie. Ellie is way better than grumpy old Carl.

D.W.'s Pet Spanky Dies - Arthur

Kenny Dies for Real - South Park

Honestly, this episode takes the sweeter aspects of the boys (minus Cartman, of course) and makes it heart-wrenching. The fact that Kenny's last words were "Where's Stan?" was the icing on the cake.

Near the end of season 5, Kenny gets killed off for good, then is brought back at the end of season 6.

This episode was way too heartbreaking for me. And Kenny is my favorite character.

Darwin's Love Song - The Amazing World of Gumball

Dot's "Death" in Wakko's Wish - Animaniacs

The way Yakko reacted during this scene was what really got me. He's the type of character where nothing ever seems to faze him, but he just breaks down crying here after he believes that Dot just died.

Sure, it did turn out that she was faking it, but that scene was really just sad.

Rose Wishes for the Destruction of the Hunt's Clan - American Dragon Jake Long

Right before the Huntsman could make the wish that would destroy all magical creatures, Rose snatches the Aztec skull and wishes for the destruction of the Hunts Clan. This means she would be destroyed as well.
She does all this to protect Jake and his family. In return, Jake wishes that she was never taken by the Hunts Clan, but by doing so, it also means they never met, and everything that had happened between them would be erased.
He sees her again the next day, only to find out that she and her family are moving away to Hong Kong.

She sacrifices her own life to save Jake and his family, and then he sacrifices his own happiness to ensure that she has a life without the Hunts Clan with her own parents.

Brian's Death - Family Guy

"You've given me a wonderful life. I love you all."

SpongeBob and Patrick Dry Out and Die in Shell City - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

Gary Come Home - Spongebob Squarepants

Rose's Scabbard - Steven Universe

Pops's Death - Regular Show

"Little Brothers" - Phineas and Ferb

Whether you like Phineas and Ferb or not, it does have its fair share of emotional moments. One such moment is when Candace finally busts Phineas and Ferb, and they get sent to a special camp.
Even though she's finally been able to catch them, her victory feels totally hollow, and she begins missing them. Meanwhile, her friend Stacy sings the song "Little Brothers."

Tom and Jerry Commit Suicide - Tom and Jerry

It wasn't just one moment. The entire episode of "Blue Cat Blues" was sad. Tom fails to get a dame's love, starts drinking, and later sits on the train tracks, waiting for a train. Jerry watches his girlfriend drive off with another mouse and joins Tom. The episode ends with a train horn. Due to this, it was barely aired. Ever.

This really happened in the episode "Blue Cat Blues," which was the final episode of the original T&J. That episode made me cry...

This is probably one of the saddest cartoon moments and should be in the top 5, just because both main characters are committing suicide, which is one of the hardest and most painful mental conclusions to come to.