Bambi Turns 70: And 9 Other Kids’ Movie Weepers

Maybe it’s because we grew up with dogs, maybe it’s because we watched those dogs grow old and die, maybe it’s because we’re saps — but Where the Red Fern Grows is quite possibly the saddest, most purposefully depressing movie (and book) we’ve ever experienced. True, most stories about a boy and his dog will inspire waterworks, but Old Dan and Little Ann — the two redbone coonhound siblings featured in the book — don’t just die. One of them is brutally mauled by a mountain lion and the other one dies of something even worse: a broken heart. We tear up just thinking about it.

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