5 Moments in Animation That Traumatized Us
When people think of traumatizing moments in film, the horror genre is always first in line to rattle your spine, goosebump your skin, and send you running toward a therapist to unpack deep-rooted cinematic damage. Throughout the years, how many of us have shuddered at the thought of Lorraine Massey shambling through Room 237 in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, her decaying flesh dripping onto the tile as she cackles gleefully with crooked fingers outstretched? Or, what about every time you’re driving on the highway and find yourself behind a logging truck? If you’ve seen Final Destination 2, I need to say no more. Last but never least, my ankles still hurt after the first time I watched Kathy Bates hobble James Caan’s Paul Sheldon in the 1990 film Misery. Some moments stay with you, regardless of the medium, which is why I thought it’d be fun to take a walk down animation memory lane to remember the moments that left everlasting scars on our psyches, rendering us aghast, overwhelmed, and inconsolable.
The Transformers: The Movie – Optimus Prime Powers Down
If you’re a child of the ’80s, chances are you lost a piece of your soul while watching The Transformers: The Movie. In the Nelson Shin-directed animated classic, the Autobots must stop a colossal planet-consuming robot that goes after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. During the battle, everyone’s favorite Peterbilt 379, Optimus Prime, is shot multiple times in the radiator and windshield by Megatron. Each blast was like a dagger going into the chests of Transformers fans everywhere. Children broke as Optimus fell, oil leaking from his crumpled frame. Then came the waterworks. The blindsiding of parents was mighty.
Traditionally, Transformers ends with the Autobots claiming victory over the Decepticons. Not this time. A hero died, and when the light left his eyes, so did the innocence of many, as Stan Bush’s “The Touch” held them close.
Ferngully: The Last Rainforest – The Great Deforestation
During a year when movies like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Porco Rosso, Cool World, and Bebe’s Kids were lighting up the silver screen, it was tough to stand out. However, becoming eco-conscious was en vogue, and a little movie that could called FernGully: The Last Rainforest wanted audiences to wake up to the horrors of deforestation and widespread pollution. In FernGully, the magical inhabitants of a rainforest fight to save their home, which is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus.
At the start of the film’s climax, the logging company begins its work, putting blade to trunk, crushing animal homes with grinding treads. As we slowly bake in the eventual heat death of the universe, it’s difficult not to think of Zack and Crysta’s effort to save their rainforest. The carnage during this epic scene is visceral, destructive, and cautionary. It reminds us that we’ve only got one chance to treat our planet right in our lifetime, lest we leave it in shambles for the next generation. FernGully and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles PSAs are the reason I cut my soda rings before recycling them. That’s staying power.
Pixar’s Up – The First Seven Minutes
While Pixar struggles to reclaim its identity in the face of box office stumbles like Lightyear and Elio, the House that Luxo Jr. built was at the height of its game in 2002 with the release of Up—chronicling the epic journey of 78-year-old Carl Fredrickson to South America, Up packs an emotional gut punch upfront that feels earned, unforgettable, and unforgivable.
During the film’s first seven minutes, we witness the meeting, courtship, and downward spiral of Carl and Ellie’s lives together. With its suburban fairytale flourish, the opening scenes of Up bring joy, anticipation, tragedy, and profound loss within a span of minutes. The execution, the music, the rapture, the steady decline; it’s a testament to the phrase “It’s better to have a life well lived than to just live a life!”
Grave of the Fireflies – Setsuko and Seita Board a Ghost Train
Let’s be honest. I could put the entirety of Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies on this list, but my heart can only take so much abuse. Set during the twilight days of the Pacific War, Grave of the Fireflies tells the tragic story of Seita and his little sister Setsuko. While trying to survive, the siblings catch fireflies, hope for an end to the bloodshed, and dream of better days. Sadly, neither Setsuko nor Seita makes it through the ordeal, their malnourished bodies swept aside by a janitor like so much dust on a dirt floor.
Anyone with a younger sibling got rocked by this movie, and what makes it worse is that the film stands on its own feet. It’s excellent, so it’s difficult to hate it, even though it ripped out your heart like Laura did to Bart in the Simpsons episode “New Kid on the Block.” Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies is a masterclass of emotion and stands the test of time as one of animation’s most affecting and devastating films.
Toy Story 3 – The Incinerator
Before you come for me in the comments, I’m aware of the Bambi problem. Remember, this is a list, not the list. The thing about Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the Toy Story gang is that they weren’t just characters in a film series; they were our friends. Many of us grew up alongside them, seeing ourselves in Andy, identifying with the unnerving act of one day letting our childhood toys go.
Toy Story 3 is undoubtedly the darkest entry in the franchise, as the toys finally leave home to discover they’re living in an internment camp disguised as a daycare utopia called Sunnyside Daycare. Run by a folksy pink bear with a broken heart, Sunnyside is an elaborate lie covered in crayon scribbles and toddler snot. It’s no place for our heroes.
When Woody and the gang find themselves in the brightly lit maw of an incinerator, I nearly lost my mind. Have you ever noticed that time seems to stand still during moments of extreme tension? I felt time bend the first time I watched this scene. I genuinely believed, if only for a moment, that there was a chance Andy’s toys would burn, thus ending the trilogy on the boldest move in animation history. Thankfully, the aliens use their Grabber skills to save the day, but those elongated moments before they show up? Woof!
There’s a reason Gen X is made of tougher stuff. With movies like these, it’s evident that we’ve eaten trauma for breakfast, with a side of bacon and eggs. Icons like Freddy Krueger were on our lunchboxes, and Littlefoot’s mom passed away before she could reach the Oasis of Treestars. That was just a Tuesday. But don’t take my word for it. What moments in animation traumatized you? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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