Most of the time, cartoons are light-hearted stories with lovable characters offering a
moral lesson or feel-good adventure.
Occasionally, however, a simple animated series will unexpectedly punch you right in your
emotions, offering poignant scenes that can make even the most hardened tough-guy weep.
Here are just a few times cartoons probably made you cry.
Adventure Time: Marceline and the Ice King
The adventures of Finn and Jake through the incredible Land of Ooo are generally pretty
fun, but Adventure Time isn't afraid to get pretty deep and tragic, whether it's about
Finn's lost parents, or well, his arm literally getting ripped off.
Few moments reach as deep as the episode, "I Remember You."
Marceline, an ancient vampire in the form of a teenage girl, is constantly annoyed by
the princess-stealing Ice King, but it isn't until now that we really know why.
At one point long ago, the Ice King had rescued Marceline from a post-apocalyptic wasteland,
and they were best friends.
The sadness unfolds as Marceline reads a series of notes that the Ice King wrote to her before
he completely lost his mind, which are basically an apology for losing his mind, all set to
music.
"Please forgive me for whatever I do..
When i don't remember you."
"Wow?
I wrote that?
Hot stuff"
He no longer remembers what they once meant to one another.
For anyone who's ever dealt with an aging grandparent, expect the waterworks to flow
pretty hard.
Futurama: Fry's dog
While Futurama was definitely a comedy, it never shied away from creating stories that
were genuinely emotional, whether it was Fry's undying love for Leela, or Leela's search
for her parents.
Few stories hit as hard as Fry's love for his pup, and vice versa.
In "Jurassic Bark," Fry finds the fossilized remains of his dog, Seymour, and asks the
Professor to revive him.
Just before the process begins, Fry learns that Seymour lived to a ripe old age of 15
and died of natural causes, 12 whole years after Fry disappeared.
Choosing not to revive Seymour, Fry smashes the Professor's machine
"Oh sure, smash the smart guy's machine."
and makes peace with Seymour's passing.
Fry believes that Seymour had forgotten him over twelve years.
This is when the audience really gets an emotional gut-punch.
We see Seymour sitting in front of Fry's pizza place, year after year, waiting for him to
return, as Connie Francis' "I Will Wait For You" plays, until he presumably lays down
for the last time.
And you thought you could watch a science fiction comedy about an idiot pizza boy and
a belching, larcenous robot without shedding a tear, didn't you?
Rugrats: Chuckie's mom
Between the morals, educational plots, and misunderstood words for kids to learn from
and enjoy, Rugrats hit young viewers with an incredibly hard episode about Mother's
Day.
Why is that so tough?
Well, because Chuckie's mom died shortly after he was born.
"You don't gots a mom, do you Chuckie?
"Nope."
"How come?"
"I don't know.
Just don't gots one."
After the children are thrown into a dark closet by Angelica, they find a photograph
of Chuckie's mom.
His dad is clearly saddened just looking at the photo and ultimately decides to talk to
his son about his mother.
They find a diary with a beautiful poem written from a dying mother to her son, and Chuckie
learns that his mother planted the flowers in the garden and takes his friends there
to show them.
"See guys?
I do have a mom!
She's right here in the flowers…"
Thanks, Nickelodeon, for making us weep like babies.
The Simpsons: Homer's mom
There have been more than 600 episodes of The Simpsons, though few were more heart-wrenching
than watching Homer finally reunite with his long-lost mother.
The episode "Mother Simpson" introduced us to Mona Simpson.
I almost always spoil the moment."
"I'm sorry."
Until this point, Homer had believed his mother had been dead for 27 years, but it turned
out she was on the run from the law.
In 1969, she participated in a plot to destroy Mr. Burns' germ warfare laboratory, and to
keep her family safe, she felt she needed to run.
Her story comes out when she's sighted by Burns, who calls in the FBI to finally take
her out.
Once again, Mona has to run away from her son.
"At least this time I'm awake for your goodbye."
For a show that parents once argued should be banned for being inappropriate, this episode
took a turn and showed the world how heartwarming a bunch of dysfunctional yellow boneheads
actually could be.
Regular Show: Finale
Many fans of Regular Show had spent six years growing up and sympathizing with the show's
main characters: a slacker bluejay and raccoon who loved video games and were stuck in a
dead-end job at a park.
Peppered with 1980s references throughout, it was clearly a show meant for late 20-somethings.
So when the show ended after eight seasons, a little part of every viewer died also.
After being trapped in space for a season, the series ends with the death of Pops, the
show's most unassuming and positive character, sacrificing his life to save the park and
his friends.
The crew returns to Earth after three years, reunites with their families, memorializes
Pops with a statue, and everyone eventually decides that it's time to move on.
Despite sharing a huge portion of their lives together at the park, everyone moves in different
directions.
Because that's what being an adult is all about, like it or not: people dying, moving
away from your friends, and reinventing everything you thought to be true.
On the plus side, everyone seems pretty content, and they're all still friends.
On the other hand, Regular Show basically told all of its viewers that they couldn't
stay young forever, and that totally sucks.
And the kicker?
The whole ending scene was set to David Bowie's "Heroes", reminding us of the death of one
of our real-life heroes.
Hey Arnold: Mr. Hyunh's daughter
When a goofy show mostly known for a kid who looks like he's half-human-half-football makes
you think you're actually watching a documentary about the Vietnam war, THAT'S as real as a
cartoon can get.
That's what viewers got with the Hey Arnold episode "Arnold's Christmas".
Mr. Hyunh recalls the story of his life in Vietnam, as a montage of imagery depicts the
ongoing war.
As the Americans begin to pull out of Saigon, Mr. Hyunh gives up his baby girl to an American
soldier, hoping she'll be safe.
There's no way of knowing if he'll ever see her again and, as he recounts the tale, it's
clear he hasn't.
After an epic quest by Arnold, who himself is without parents, and a nudge from his affectionate
bully Helga, Mr. Hyunh finally meets his daughter for the first time since they were separated.
If that doesn't make you shed even a single tear, you truly are a cold, unfeeling monster.
Family Guy: Brian's death
For a series that favors fart jokes and incredibly large amounts of vomit, it's rare that a scene
in Family Guy takes a turn towards sadness.
In a surprise episode during its 12th season, Brian gets hit by a car and is killed.
Frankly, there was nothing funny about this episode.
We see the beloved dog get mowed down in the street while his best buddy Stewie watches.
Hard to joke about that, really.
Brian dies on a vet's table after saying goodbye,
You … you've given me a wonderful life.
I love you all."
and there are no jokes to be found.
The subsequent scenes of the family dealing with the loss are heartbreaking.
Fans were upset, and it was anyone's guess whether or not Brian would somehow return
to the show.
Of course, he came back rather quickly thanks to some time travel shenanigans, and Family
Guy went right back into its usual gross-out humor, but it's still amazing that the show
proved it can be human when it wants to be, even if it was just once.
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