Saddest Moments in Disney History (Part 2)

Welcome back.  Get those tissues ready.  We're going to uncover the next "Saddest Moment in Disney History."

This time I'm taking you to the plains of Africa.  Among the grass and under the trees live the animals.  And they are all the loyal subjects of mighty king Mufasa.

Yes, I'm talking about The Lion King.

Bear with me please as I work up to the "Saddest."

Simba, the young prince, grows up under the shadow of Pride Rock, training to be the next Lion King.  However, Simba is a bit too...vain and overconfident about his life at present and future post.  He fails to realize the deadly jealousy of his uncle Scar, second-in-line to the throne.

And one day...the "Saddest Moment" begins.

Again, sorry for the bad quality. The YouTube gadget on Blogger wouldn't let me find the HD one.

Why I consider it one of the "Saddest": Who doesn't begin to feel the tears, the pain, the intensity as Mufasa, without thinking of himself, flings himself into the stampede to save his son?  Doesn't shudder while Scar whispers to Mufasa: "Long live the king"?  When Mufasa and Simba scream?  And then begins to cry when Simba finds his father, nudges him, calls for help, and ends up realizing his father..."the king is dead"?

Well I do.  Even my two very young siblings do (we have this habit of cuddling each other at this point in the movie).  I think most of you have the same reactions.

However, the saddest moment of this "Saddest Moment" is when Simba, after calling for help, turns back around to cuddle one last time with his father.



Picture from the Disney Wiki.

Unlike in Bambi, this time it's the father who dies.  While children do not feel the same attachment to their fathers as they do for their mothers, there still is a strong bond between them.  It's been proven that fathers set examples for their children, leading children to look up to them.  The animators portrayed this well in the movie, as Simba spends his whole life trying to live up to his dad ("I was just trying to be brave like you").

That's why Simba's heartbreaking moment of realizing "The Circle of Life" is one of the "Saddest."

Hopefully I haven't made you cry enough that you won't come back for the third "Saddest"...though they aren't in any particular order.

Part 3 of this series can be found here: Saddest Moments in Disney History (Part 3)