Family movies are meant to be fun, colorful and safe. But some of them hit kids with loss, goodbyes and heartbreak they never saw coming. Grab the tissues. Here are ten kids’ movies with endings people still talk about decades later.

⚠️ Warning: major spoilers below.

1. Old Yeller (1957)
Young Travis grows close to a scrappy yellow dog who protects his family again and again. Then Old Yeller gets rabies while fighting off a wolf, and Travis has to make the most painful decision of his life. For many kids, this was the first movie that made them sob.

2. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Tod the fox and Copper the hound are best friends as babies, but growing up turns them into enemies. Even after they save each other’s lives, they can’t go back to how things were. There’s no death here, but the message hurts anyway: sometimes the world pulls friends apart.

3. Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Jess and Leslie create a magical kingdom in the woods, and the movie feels like a fun fantasy adventure. Then Leslie dies in a sudden accident while Jess is away. Many parents went in expecting a lighthearted film and weren’t prepared at all.

4. My Girl (1991)
Vada and her best friend Thomas J. spend a sweet summer together. Then Thomas J. goes into the woods to find Vada’s lost mood ring and dies from bee stings. Vada crying “Where are his glasses?” at the funeral is one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the ’90s.

5. All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
Charlie is a con-artist dog who sneaks back from heaven to get revenge. Along the way he learns to love an orphan girl named Anne-Marie. In the end he gives up his second chance at life to save her, saying goodbye before going back to heaven for good.

6. Charlotte’s Web (1973)
Charlotte the spider saves Wilbur the pig by spinning words into her web. But after the fair, she dies alone, knowing her life is ending. Wilbur takes her egg sac home, and her babies hatch in the spring. It’s beautiful and devastating at the same time.

7. Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy works for years to buy two hunting dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann. After they protect him from a mountain lion, Old Dan dies from his wounds, and Little Ann dies of grief soon after. A red fern grows between their graves, and so do a lot of tears.

8. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Andy is leaving for college, and the toys face their future. After nearly ending up in an incinerator, they get a happy ending of sorts: Andy gives them to a little girl named Bonnie and plays with them one last time. A whole generation that grew up with Toy Story cried at that goodbye.

9. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Elliott and E.T. form an unbreakable friendship, but E.T. has to go home or he’ll die. Their final goodbye, with E.T. pointing to Elliott’s head and saying “I’ll be right here,” is one of the most famous farewells in movie history.

10. The Iron Giant (1999)
A giant robot from space becomes best friends with a boy named Hogarth. When a nuclear missile is about to hit their town, the Giant flies into it to save everyone. There’s a small hopeful twist at the very end, but the sacrifice scene still leaves viewers in tears.

The Bottom Line
These movies prove that kids’ films don’t have to be all sunshine. Some of the most loved family movies are the ones that taught us about loss, friendship and saying goodbye.

Which kids’ movie ending made YOU cry the most? Tell us in the comments!