MovieChat Forums > Song of the Sea (2015) Discussion > Why do all these great cartoons have to ...

Why do all these great cartoons have to be so heart wrenching?

posted 9 years ago by callyvan
10 replies | jump to latest

I have been a anime fan for years, not the regular over the top stuff, but the classics and the beautiful ones, but I am finding more and more that I get overly sad with the topics of loss, and death. I had just finished the Wind Rises and found myself saddened up as well. I love these so much but my heart breaks every time, I don't know how much longer I can keep watching and suffering.

Perhaps I just getting old and become more aware of my own mortality and those I love around me, or perhaps this the creators ways of dealing with losses they have suffered in their own lives.

[–] EpicalypseAfter 8 years ago

which other ones are you talking about? i'm actually looking to get into them

can you help?

[–] Ace_Spade 8 years ago

Anything by Hayao Miyazaki:

The Wind Rises
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Kiki's Delivery Service
Ponyo
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Also Grave of the Fireflies, which isn't Miyazaki but is still incredible.

For non-anime mature cartoons, give The Illusionist and The Triplets of Belleville a go. Ernest and Celestine is another excellent French animation.

Genius Party and Genius Party Beyond are...weird...but have some really good stuff going for them.

That's a good start. But there's plenty more where that came from...

[–] niblet_511 8 years ago

Not heart-wrenching, but another Miyazaki movie that's beautiful is My Neighbor Totoro.

I should say, not heart-wrenching to most. Personally, the theme of mom in the hospital with a long-term illness, and the promise of her coming home that keeps getting broken...well, that hits me pretty hard. I lost my mother when I was 15, after her very long battle with breast cancer.

Both my daughters love Totoro, and my younger one really loves Song of the Sea. My older one loves it, until the end. We all end up in tears (every time!), and she hates to cry.

Anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and a shovel. I doubt anybody would miss you.

[–] happyspells 8 years ago

Mary and Max

[–] avlis-nec 8 years ago

Sorry to hear that, but its just part of life. I always loved Disney stuff because it managed to show all the ways and shadows of life (in a soft way) and laterly I fell in love with Studio Ghimbli movies because they somehow speak different to me and actually give me what I need at time
Pixar has great stuff too and DreamWorks and BlueSky and some other productions are good too

[–] SpaceMonkey-Mafioso 8 years ago

You can't get much more heart wrenching than "Grave of the Fireflies." Beautiful movie. But, oh so sad.

Other sad ones: Bambi, Fox and the Hound, Watership Down.

[–] hywel596 8 years ago

It's why they're good, they're mature and don't treat their audience like a bunch of idiots

[–] stagedlined466 8 years ago

I don't know if there is an answer, but animation just has a way of moving you.

[–] donpadilla 8 years ago

Did you see The Tale of the Princess Kaguya?

That was another sad one recently released. I would not say that I suffer though when watching these movies.

[–] kicknz-179-755420 8 years ago

Another super sad animated film is Plague Dogs. For me, it ranks even ahead of Grave of the Fireflies on the sob-o-meter.