There have been many fictional character deaths to tug at my heart strings. How about you? After someone asked a film community which deaths hurt them the most, here are their honest confessions. Is your favorite fictional character loss on the list?
1. Lance Sweets
“Sweets” on the hit show Bones was a surprise death out of nowhere. There were no commercials alluding to it or a storyline leading up to it. A disgruntled forum member writes: ” That death left me so hurt I still blamed the bad guy when he showed up in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. I had to call in sick to work the next day because my eyes were still swollen shut from crying all night.”
2. Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue
Countless folks were devastated when Bubba died in Forrest Gump. One elaborates: “Forrest running into enemy fire, yelling, ‘Bubba! I got to save Bubba!’ That was his best good friend. I don’t cry during a lot of movies, but I sobbed when Forest was yelling that and when he found Bubba.” Honorable mentions for his mama and Jenny’s deaths, too.
3. Mama Longneck
Littlefoot’s mother from The Land Before Time was a devastating loss to our young, unsuspecting minds. “Littlefoot, let your heart guide you, it whispers, so listen closely.”
4. Jack Dawson
“Jack, there’s a boat. Jack. There’s a boat, Jack…” Talk about a gut-wrencher. I saw Titanic seven times in the theater as my teenage girl self. I am a crybaby about dying characters regardless, but this one hollowed me out.
5. Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie
Sally Field delivers one of the most emotionally heart-wrenching scenes in Steel Magnolias when her character, M’Lynn, loses her daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts). I don’t know if I could trust anyone who could make it through that performance without breaking down with her.
6. Ellie Fredricksen
Disney rips your heart out rather quickly in the beloved film Up when you fall in love with and lose Ellie in the first ten minutes. A film buff expresses: “That whole sequence is an absolute masterpiece. The fact that so many people know it and feel such strong emotions from a clip a few minutes long without any words is amazing.”
7. Wilson
Thousands of people cried tears for Wilson from Cast Away. “Tom Hanks made you believe a volleyball was a supporting actor, and when he floated away, and Hanks was completely destroyed, it was so heartbreaking.” This scene always gets me, too. I never thought I’d sob over a volleyball drifting out to sea.
8. Glenn Rhee
Numerous former Walking Dead fans admit they were done watching the show when Negan killed Glenn Rhee and Abraham. I was one of them. I’ve heard about Carl. And Maggie and Negan are teaming up, and I am OK with walking away. Get it? Haha. This is one of the most gruesome deaths, and I mourned Glenn as a real person. And I most certainly was not the only one.
9. Artax
Speaking of childhood trauma, losing Artax, Atreyu’s horse in The Neverending Story, gutted me and many others. Several readers inform that it’s somehow more tragic in the book. Nonetheless, it’s among many ‘80s films that traumatized ’80s kids.
10. Brooks Hatlen
One writes, “Brooks was here,” a reference to Brooks Hatlen’s death in the masterpiece The Shawshank Redemption. A second moviegoer quotes Brooks: “The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry,” before suggesting, “Gets truer each passing year.”
11. Old Yeller
Losing Old Yeller was a traumatic experience for many users in the forum. One elaborates: “Man, was that a different time. It was understood that a teenage boy was responsible to step in and fill the role of his father: ‘Yes, Mama. But he was my dog. I’ll do it.'”
12. BingBong
BingBong in Inside Out was such a devastating moment that —it genuinely made my body sob. My toddler lunged over the end of the bed and screamed, “Oh NO! BingBong,” while extending her arm down to catch him—double sobs.
13. Henry Blake
Numerous forum members confess that losing Henry Blake from MASH was gut-wrenching. An avid fan informs: “Radar’s face as he reads the news — and they still all have to keep performing surgery.”
14. Poussey Washington
Much like losing Glenn in The Walking Dead caused fans to abandon ship, so did Poussey Washington’s death from Orange is the New Black. Countless people admit they stopped watching and never returned to finish the show. I was one of them, but I went back to finish years later. That one was brutal.
15. Leslie Burke
My mom did me so dirty on this one. I was an adult when she told me I needed to watch this “Wonderful film” — Bridge to Teribithia. And it was great until Leslie Burke died, and the pain of a thousand punches hit you in the gut all at once.
16. Thomas J. Sennett
“Where are his glasses? He can’t see without his glasses,” will forever be a line that causes people’s throats to choke back tears. Thomas J. Sennett from My Girl and his love for Vada Sultenfuss led him to the bee hive, looking for her ring.
17. Primrose Everdeen
Losing Primrose Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay was hard to swallow. Katniss’s journey begins when she volunteers as tribute to save her sister. So, to lose her full circle was numbing. Someone confesses to crying more than they have ever cried reading a book before.
18. Mufasa
Countless children were introduced to death when we lost Mufasa in The Lion King. One elaborates, “Genuinely, upon reflection, I think this was the first movie death I was confronted with as a child that did not shy away from showing it.
And you’re seeing it through Simba’s eyes. Simba cuddles up to his dead dad after he can’t wake him up. Just brutal. I think this was the first time I started to really understand what death meant.”
19. LTJG Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw
“Talk to me, Goose” is another line forever engrained into our minds after losing him in Top Gun. Another generation is mourning the loss of Goose (Anthony Edwards) with the legacy sequel Top Gun: Maverick. An ER lover adds, “And then all over again with Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) on ER. I still can barely make it through ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ — ugh! That ukulele!”
20. Tony Stark: Iron Man
Without a doubt, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is a favorite of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and a primary reason for so many Avengers films. Watching him sacrifice himself in Avengers: Endgame is a tear-fest galore.
21. Charles ‘Charlie’ B. Barkin
Another moment of childhood trauma has entered the chat with the loss of Charles ‘Charlie’ B. Barkin from All Dog’s Go to Heaven. Many forum members admit shedding tears at a young age over this loss.
22. The T-800
One of the greatest films of all time, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, has a scene that will forever go down in history as one of the saddest in cinema. The T-800 slowly disappearing into the molten metal with a thumbs up is heartbreaking. “I know now why you cry, but it’s something I can never do.” — I cry every time.”
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Featured Image Credit: Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 – Lionsgate. Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Tri-Star Pictures. Top Gun – Paramount Pictures.
Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.