What upsets you more...

[moses]

Simple question, when watching a film, what upsets you more;

• The death of a mighty heroic animal; or
• The death of a human.

Poll up top.

 

[Poseidon]

The only movie death I ever cried for was Mufasa.

 

[DardySingh360]

Animal. Red Dog

 

[Bluelegs]

In Downfall, for some strange reason I was more upset that Hitler's dog died than when Hitler died. I wonder why.

 

[Andre]

Heroic animal definitely. People in movies usually are in the situation they are in by their own actions. Animals don't get that chance often. It's why Jurassic Bark tops my list of saddest TV episodes even though it's just a cartoon.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Heroic animal definitely. People in movies usually are in the situation they are in by their own actions. Animals don't get that chance often. It's why Jurassic Bark tops my list of saddest TV episodes even though it's just a cartoon.

Jurassic Bark is a beautiful piece of television. I just needed to put that out there.

 

[Igloo]

I cried when King Kong died, that counts.

 

[GreatBradScott]

Jurassic Bark is the high-water mark for Futurama. Sensational and moving ep.


I will say, the season 4 finale of House was insanely sad.

So I dunno, depends.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I just think it's dependent on a bunch of factors. Is the dog an 'extra' being ran over? Is the human the main character in a ten-season long drama? If it's a quality show, with gripping characters, and a confronting death.. well, it's going to effect you, regardless of 'what' dies.

For what's it worth, I felt pretty emotional when Donnie Darko (what a ****ed up, romantic, caring thing to do), Nate from Six Feet Under, and (surprisingly?) Omar from the Wire. The most emotional animal death? When Cheese's dog 'punked' him in that dog fighting ring. But I was laughing, not crying.

 

[Ed_Gein]

None of the options upset me, they're just movies. It's not real.

Come at me.

 

[GOAUS!]

I have done both, during Red Dog and Up.

 

[I bleed Blue]

When 'Wilson' the volley ball from the movie Cast Away floated out of the reach of Tom Hanks. That was sadder than the death of a human in a movie.

 

[Cap]

IRL Humans over animals

in movies it is different I guess becuase they are all characters anyway.

 

[moses]

When 'Wilson' the volley ball from the movie Cast Away floated out of the reach of Tom Hanks. That was sadder than the death of a human in a movie.

Still brings a tear to my eye

 

[I bleed Blue]

Still brings a tear to my eye

Vale Wilson

 

[benneth]

Nate from Six Feet Under

Yeah that was very sad.

The series ending really pulled on the heart strings too. What a great series.

 

[benneth]

None of the options upset me, they're just movies. It's not real.

Come at me.

Soul-less or watching wrong movies =D

 

[Roobs321]

In real life though, when it comes down to it, it makes more sense to save a human over an animal.

Like if Hitler and Lassie were both hanging on the edge of a cliff, logically it makes more sense to try and save Hitler first. This could be debated. Full-on dog lovers might go for the dog, and the more bloodthirsty among us would just refuse to save Hitler. But in that snap decision, the human would be a bigger loss.

Movies are different. Animals in movies are often unrealistic at best anyway, complete fiction at worst. It is sad when you hear about the dogs that get killed in action in places like afghanistan though.

 

[Tex_21]

None of the options upset me, they're just movies. It's not real.

Come at me.

This. I never understood how people got all emotional at TV/movies.

 

[JuddsABlue]

Animal. Red Dog

WOWOWOW SPOILER ALERT!!!

 

[malph]

The most I've cried in a movie was when Optimus Prime handed the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus.

****ing Hot Rod.

 

[Partridge]

Jurassic Bark is the high-water mark for Futurama. Sensational and moving ep.

I will say, the season 4 finale of House was insanely sad.

So I dunno, depends.

You think so? Fair enough. I think the saddest thing to do with House was the moment when Hugh Laurie disappeared up his own arse and the show plummetted.

The only truly sad thing to me is the phrase "new Australian comedy". You know it won't be true.

 

[Simple Jack]

I chose both options.

 

[malph]

Jurassic Bark is the saddest thing I've ever seen on TV. I'm generally very emotionally detached from TV shows, but I can't even watch Jurassic Bark.

I know it's just a cartoon, but that ending messes me up completely. I can't watch it either.

 

[woopedazz]

I think everyone here has been suckered in to a loaded question. Not in reference to the obvious good vs bad, but instead cartoon vs "real life."

Cartoon heroes are caricatures of good in a way that an actor can never reach/portray. As most animal movies are cartoons they - the dying character - have an advantage over actors in film. Think of human deaths in cartoons and how gut wrenching they can be when compared to the death of actors in real life; Grave of the Fireflies is one example that is soul destroying due to it's medium. There are some cases where animals appear in live action films that are saddening - Homeward Bound, Milo and Otis, that one where Tom Hanks' dog takes a bullet for him - but there are exponentially more films of human actors dying that have an equally upsetting affect on the audience.

So yes, movies like The Lion King, Bambi, Land Before Time, etc are appallingly sad, but it isn't because the characters are animals it is because they are super-humanly perfect vessels created from the highs of our most optimistic dreams.