The 20 Saddest Pixar Movie Moments

1 | The opening sequence of Up (2009)

The undisputed champion of tearjerking Pixar moments comes via the opening sequence of Up, in which we watch two children, Carl and Ellie, meet, grow up, fall in love, get married, and live out their lives. Throughout the mostly wordless montage, we see them dreaming of a life filled with children, travel, and adventure, and we watch as life foils their plans at every turn, whether due to mundane reasons (an unexpected bill) or devastating revelations (being unable to have kids). By the end of the 10-minute sequence, Ellie has passed away and Carl is left alone to brood over their unrealized ambitions. It’s absolutely gutting.

2 | The incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 (2010)

While you’ll find the end of Toy Story 3 lower down this list, the incinerator scene trumps it. A sequence of chases and misadventures brings all of the plastic heroes to the garbage dump, where they find themselves trapped on a conveyor belt leading to a pit of fire. Unable to escape, the toys regard one another, use their last bit of strength to clasp hands, and await death. Sure, they’re saved in the nick of time by a trio of resourceful aliens in a crane, but it’s too late: You’re already curled into the fetal position, sobbing (or was that just me?).

3 | Bing Bong’s sacrifice in Inside Out (2015)

The one-time imaginary friend who now exists only in the recesses of the preadolescent Riley’s memories, Bing Bong lights up the middle portion of Inside Out with his silliness and infectious spirit, helping Joy and Sadness on their trip back to the Control Center. But then he realizes he needs to sacrifice himself so the others can escape the Memory Dump, and we watch as he literally fades out of existence, totally forgotten by the little girl who once loved him.

4 | Miguel sings "Remember Me" to Coco in Coco (2017)

After returning from an adventure in the Land of the Dead that included meeting his long dead great-great-grandfather Héctor, 12-year-old Miguel returns to the living world and the bedside of his great-grandmother Coco, who is near death. Distraught, Miguel plays her one of Héctor’s songs, “Remember Me” on his guitar, causing her to awaken and begin sharing childhood memories of her father (and thereby allowing Héctor to remain in the Land of the Dead rather than passing out of existence, forgotten by every living soul). It’s a joyous and bittersweet moment in a movie that’s all about recognizing the importance of treasuring the people in your life while you still can.

5 | Jessie’s backstory in Toy Story 2 (1999)

Toy Story 2 is all laughs and madcap chase sequences until Woody finds himself in the home of a vintage toy collector, where he meets Jessie, his antique cowgirl counterpart. When Woody can’t understand why she’d want to live out her days in a toy museum rather than being loved by a child, Jessie shares the story of her first owner, a girl who loved her fiercely, then grew up, outgrew her toys, and gave Jessie away, shattering her trust. It’s a sad story made sadder by Sarah McLachlan crooning “When Somebody Loved Me” on the soundtrack.

RELATED: The 25 Best Coming-of-Age Movies Ever Made.

6 | WALL-E loses his memory in WALL-E (2008)

Near the end of WALL-E, the lovable trash-collecting robot is badly damaged while attempting to help his robot friend EVE overpower the passenger ship Axiom’s autopilot and return its cargo of humans to Earth. EVE quickly rebuilds him, but when she turns him on, he seems to have reverted to his basic programming, losing all that individuality he developed living alone on Earth for centuries. Luckily, a small static shock from a distraught EVE is all it takes to restore his memory—but for a few moments, it looks like the WALL-E we’ve grown to love is gone forever.

7 | Andy says goodbye to his toys in Toy Story 3 (2010)

For three movies, we’ve watched as Buzz, Woody, and the gang devoted their lives to being there for their owner Andy. But little boys grow up, and eventually Andy realizes it’s time to give his toys away. Though it’s touching to watch Andy share his childhood pals with their new owner, a little girl named Bonnie, it’s also a deeply sad moment—especially for any parents in the crowd, who may have grown up alongside Andy and are now sharing the movie with their own (rapidly growing) children.

8 | Sully says goodbye to Boo in Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Managing to get young Boo out of Monstropolis and back to the human world makes up pretty much the entire plot of Monsters Inc., yet its still heartbreaking when Sully finally succeeds in his mission. We’ve watch the gruff blue furry guy go from resenting the girl to caring deeply for her, and the idea that he has to say a necessary goodbye is deeply affecting.

RELATED: The Saddest Movie Deaths of All Time.

9 | Barley meets his dad in Onward (2020)

At the end of the magical quest that unfolds throughout Onward, elf brothers Ian and Barley finally secure the magical object that will bring back their dead father, who the younger Barley never got to meet—but only for a few moments, and only one of the siblings will have a chance to talk to him. Though he’s long dreamed of what he would say to his dad, at the last minute Ian realizes that Barley has always been a father figure to him and decides to sacrifice the chance to allow his brother to share a last farewell with the dad he lost.

10 | The opening scenes of Finding Nemo (2003)

From Bambi to The Lion King, Disney movies have made generations of kids contemplate the trauma of losing a parent, and Pixar picks up that baton and runs with it in the opening scene of Finding Nemo, in which a young clownfish couple, Marlin and Coral, are waiting for their first batch of eggs to hatch when the anemone they live in is attacked by a barracuda. Marlin is knocked out and awakens to find that his entire family has been eaten—save for a single egg that, of course, contains Nemo. What a way to start a movie.

11 | Antoine Ego tastes Remy’s cooking in Ratatouille (2007)

Throughout Ratatouille, the food critic Antone Ego serves as a looming threat—if he doesn’t like the cooking of gifted rat chef Remy and his human helper Linguini, a bad review could spell curtains for the failing restaurant they work in. But when Ego finally tastes Remy’s humble yet exquisitely prepared take on the titular dish, he is instantly transported back to his childhood, and we see a vision of him tasting his late mother’s own ratatouille. The jolt of wistful nostalgia will hit you right in the feels.

12 | Ellie gives Carl the Adventure Book in Up

While it’s not quite as devastating as the opening montage, a scene later in Up is also likely to make you choke out a sob or two. At the lowest point of his journey when it seems all hope is lost, Carl looks through the Adventure Book where he and his late wife Ellie had planned to chronicle their travels. For the first time, he turns the pages to find Ellie has filled it with photos of moments from their mundane lives, and left him a message: “Thanks for the adventure—now go have a new one!” While the message inspires him in the moment, it’s impossible not to reflect on all the years he spent being a grumpy misanthrope—and consider all the ways in which you may have failed to recognize your own life’s adventure passing you by. Oof.

RELATED: The Saddest Movies You Can Stream on Netflix.

13 | Riley's panic attack in Inside Out 2 (2024)

Spoilers ahead!

In Inside Out 2, Riley’s life is thrown into turmoil when the onset of puberty brings new emotions, including a real troublemaker named Anxiety. Throughout the movie, Anxiety does everything she can to keep Riley “safe,” even when that leads to choices that cause her to hurt her friends. It all leads up to Riley experiencing a sudden panic attack during a hockey game, as Anxiety loses control of the console inside the control center. The young girl grappling with the physical symptoms of uncontrollable panic delivers the movie’s most viscerally upsetting moment.

14 | Buzz realizes he’s just a toy in Toy Story (1995)

Though the first Toy Story is in many ways the simplest and most light-hearted of the series, it still has moments that pack an emotional punch—including the scene where Buzz accidentally catches a commercial for Buzz Lightyear toys on television and experiences the crushing realization that he’s not actually a daring space ranger, but just a child’s plaything. He’s devastated, and we feel his pain too—and then cheer him on as he realizes that he can still make a difference and save his friend Woody.

15 | Arlo’s dad’s death in The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Another signature Disney “dead parent” moment comes early in The Good Dinosaur, when Arlo’s father is swept away by a flood while trying to save him. The loss shapes Arlo’s life and his journey throughout the movie and the story couldn’t happen without it—but it still hits like a punch to the gut.

16 | Lightning McQueen hears the history of Radiator Springs in Cars (2006)

Though it seems to be playing to the Boomers in the room, the sequence in the first Cars in which Sally shares with Lighting McQueen the sad story of how the once-bustling town of Radiator Springs withered away after the new highway routed traffic away from it is a real tearjerker. If the montage of scenes of the once bucolic small town fading into obscurity don’t do it, James Taylor singing the melancholy “Our Town” on the soundtrack definitely will.

RELATED: The 25 Best Classic Movies That Every Film Fan Needs to See.

17 | When Buzz and Woody say goodbye in Toy Story 4 (2019)

It would be hard for any sequel to top the emotional climax of Toy Story 3, but the follow-up makes a good go at it: At the end of another adventure, Woody makes the decision to leave his friends (and his owner Bonnie) behind to become a “free toy.” This sets up an emotional goodbye between Woody and his onetime nemesis-turned-closest friend Buzz. The two share a long hug, and repeat the phrase that has echoed throughout all the films, pledging to remain friends to infinity and beyond.

18 | Dory forgets her family in Finding Dory (2016)

Throughout Finding Nemo, forgetful blue tang Dory’s inability to form memories is played mostly for laughs, but sequel Finding Dory delves deeper into how difficult the condition has made her life. This is never more apparent than during the montage that opens the film, during which Dory becomes separated from her family and sets out to find them, only to forget them along the way. She eventually winds up totally alone, and unsure of what she was looking for in the first place.

19 | Mei tells her mom she’s scared of growing apart in Turning Red (2021)

Throughout Turning Red, adolescent Mei grapples with the usual difficulties of puberty—not to mention the family legacy that causes her to transform into a giant panda when she’s upset—but her real conflict is with her mother, the stern and demanding Ming. At the end of the film, mother and daughter both lose control and wind up in a literal brawl, crashing through the city in their giant animal forms, before confronting one another on the astral plane. There, they finally come to grips with the generational trauma that has shaped both their lives. It’s a powerful, heartfelt scene for anyone who has ever had trouble relating to a parent—or their child.

20 | Mama Coco is added to the ofrenda in Coco

Returning to Coco, there’s a subtle touch in the final scene that makes the otherwise joyful ending—in which Miguel performs a song for his formerly music-shunning family—more melancholy: We see that Coco’s picture has been added to the family’s ofrenda, meaning that she has passed away and journeyed to the afterlife to be with her father, Héctor.