Some movies just hit you in a place that you would totally rather be left un-hit. Personally, as much as Kubo and the Two Strings was an amazing, brilliant, and poignant piece of animation... I'm also pretty sure watching it should only be undertaken by trained professionals who are following established safety protocol and have appropriate equipment on hand.
Watching Kubo requires:
- A beverage to rehydrate while you sob.
- Something cuddly to grip onto while you sob.
- Some moisture wicking device like tissue or a handkerchief to dab away your tears while you sob.
Kubo should avoided by anyone triggered by depictions of memory disorders like dementia or Alzheimer's, anyone who has lost a parent, anyone who has fought to protect a child from toxic family, or anyone who has recently been turned into a magical monkey.
One Reddit user asked:
What animated movie affected you most emotionally and why?
The comments get pretty intimate, obviously, so proceed with caution. There will be talk of loss, death, abuse, etc.
Ellie's Adventures
pixar gif love GIF by Disney PixarGiphyMan, the scene in Up when he gets the house to Paradise Falls and sits down...then he finally reads Ellie's book of adventures, something he hadn't been able to do since he thought she was disappointed that they never got there while she was alive.
Then he realizes she kept filling it out the entire time and was extremely happy with her life with Karl. "I've had my adventure. Now it's time for you to have yours."
The final words he see from her letting him know that she doesn't want him to be a bitter old man, but rather, find a new purpose in life beyond her. Honestly, it's such a fantastic movie about loss, it's hands down my favorite Pixar movie.
UP is emotional terrorism. I cry at multiple points during that movie and it is starting to scare my 3yo.
"Superman"
Iron Giant.
"You stay. I go. No following."
When he closes his eyes and says "Superman." -- it's wrecking me right now just thinking about it.
- gcanyon
I'm a 50 year old man, and when he closes his eyes and says, "Superman" as he meets the missile, I completely lose it. Every. Time.
- Zampaneu
A Story To Tell
Brother Bear
I have a story to tell you. It's kind of about a man and kind of about a bear. But mostly, it's about a monster.
Gets me every time.
Hearing Koda say I don't think I like this story always makes me want to cry.
I bawled watching this, the whole story is so heartbreaking, and beautifully done.
Humans Have Surprisingly Little Humanity
Wall E. It just broke my heart how wall E was left alone and what all happened. Wall E knew love more then any of the humans.
- areyyyyy
Wall-E also just rips humanity a new one. It's an amazing takedown of how the rich have abused this planet and mollified everyone else to help them destroy it. I saw it 8 times the first week it came out.
- piedrift
I related because Wall-E was just this lone entity that wasn't know about. Then when he was first discovered was nearly blown to pieces. Even then, he was so desperate for companionship, he took care of Eve.
So much compassion from someone so misunderstood...
An Under-Appreciated Hero
Big hero 6 "I am satisfied with my care"
My friend and I went to watch this movie when we were in high school. We were the only older kids in the theater. Everyone else was a parent to an elementary aged kid. We were crying laughing at some of the jokes and just crying at the end. That movie doesn't get the appreciation it deserves.
- rahws
This movie isn't one moment of crying, I cried most of the movie. Maybe I just need a big squishy hug.
My Grandfather died days before it hit home video release. Despite being in my thirties, he was the first relative who I had lost. I sat down and watched this movie in silence. And again. And again. The ability to watch the characters grieve and not just wrap it up in a tight bow helped me walk away in a more stable place.
I have not seen it again since but it is not because it isn't good, just too much emotional baggage I want to leave behind.
Such A Treasure
you got this kingdom hearts GIFGiphyTreasure Planet.
It was my dad's favorite.
I really relate to Jim Hawkins.
"I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme)" by John Rzeznik (lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls) is a banger and really relatable.
It captures the feeling of wonder and adventure that I desperately wish I had in my life but never have and likely never will.
The scene where Jim is freaking out because he feels that he failed and Silver comforts and encourages him still makes me cry. It's just such a lovely movie about growing up and how important the voices of others are in building our images of ourselves, and the way they use music and the body language of the characters to convey emotion is extremely well done.
As a kid I longed for a Silver to come along and believe in me; as an adult, I try my best to be the Silver for the youngsters I know.
That's the exact movie I was thinking of!!! It does such a phenomenal job of showing the inner change from boy to man that happens in life as well as the thoughts and challenges of a growing boy. I could relate deeply with it. Also, it's the only Disney movie I really could relate with at all, me being male.
I love how you can clearly see the emotional damage Jim hides deep inside and the way he shoves down. You can see how he acts out or closes up and acts like nothing can get to him which is something I think us guys can relate to hard core.
The song "I'm Still Here" hits me at a very personal level.
Also, this kid who's got all this emotional crap balled up inside him isn't at all portrayed as weak like I think society sometimes portrays men who show emotion. And it's so uplifting to see how he tries so hard to be strong on his own with no one to teach him how to deal with all he's been through, and then eventually have someone who opens up emotionally as well and helps him.
Anyway, as a guy, it's a beautiful thing to watch and wish that maybe someone will eventually allow you to show your emotional side, value you through it, and help show you to way.
The Best Film I'll Never Watch Again
Grave of the Fireflies. I don't generally tear up, but this one made me sob
It's a brilliant movie, and a terrible trap. Most of Studio Ghibli productions are feelgood stories. Grave of the Fireflies gives you 2 days of depression.
It's the best film I will never watch again.
It's legitimately difficult to watch. And the worst part (something I learned the last time it came up in a thread like this) is that it's based on a short story that's semi-autobiographical. Though even if it wasn't, it's so realistic, a lot of the circumstances undoubtedly happened to a lot of people as part of the war. It's not even a story you can pretend didn't or couldn't happen.
Love It. Can't Watch It.
I love Coco. I can't watch Coco. That movie makes my wife and I ugly cry before we even get to the end, because it emotionally takes us back to the day we lost our first son. And I'm not even entirely sure why - the movie isn't about someone losing a child - but the whole thing is just beautifully put together and I think maybe the struggle to not be forgotten just hits home when we're thinking of an infant nobody but the two of us and a doctor ever even saw alive.
Ugh. I'm tearing up now just thinking of the music from the film.
Doing The Right Thing In A World That's Not Right
Princess Mononoke, because it forces you to stare at humanity's worst and best and accept it.
True nature of the human condition explained by a genius with that script.
A couple of my favorite moments in that movie are really early on when the boar demon is attacking the village. Ashitaka's sister is leading people working the fields back to the village and someone falls down so she turns and pulls her little knife to face down the demon. Ashitaka has been, until this point, asking the demon to turn aside and leave the village alone. Only once he sees a life directly endangered does he start to fight the demon.
Every minute of the movie is about trying to do the right thing in a world that's not right.
Grandma Is Still Here
Moana. The scene where her grandma died and reincarnated into that giant manta ray. And the one where she came to Moana after she failed on the first attempt to restore the heart. Just the line "There is nowhere you could go that I won't be with you."
And when Moana confronted Te Ká and she's barreling down at Moana. The visuals of that scene, the song, the lines "they have stolen your heart from inside you, but this does not define you"
This is my answer too! My grandma died shortly before we saw the movie in theaters. I absolutely sobbed when her spirit came down through the village and out into the water. Actually crying right now thinking of it.
This is mine too. No magic - no Prince Charming to come and take care of everything for her -- just Moana learning from Maui and then doing it on her own. When she says, "let her come to me" I stand up and cheer.
The music is good also. In the song, "I am Moana" I love the lines:
"But scars can heal and reveal just Where you are
The people you love will change you
The things you have learned will guide you
And nothing on earth can silence
The quiet voice still inside you
And when that voice starts to whisper
Moana you've come so far
Moana listen
Do you know who you are?"
For Moana's name, I substitute my own. Shivers up and down my back each time.
- cnacvno
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Redditor H5N1BirdFlu wanted to discuss the moments in life that left us haunted and shook, so they asked:
"What is the creepiest or most unexplained event that you have ever experienced?"
I've seen so much creepiness I wouldn't know where to begin.
Deal
Walter White Wink GIF by Breaking BadGiphy"One car from one direction, and another car from the other direction stopped in front of my house. Both drivers got out and one gave the other a briefcase. Now that I am older I am guessing it was some kind of drug deal or something but at the time I found it very weird."
yapastaocho
'The Entertainer'
"We had a little copper music box that would start playing on its own. It was a man sitting at a player-piano and it would play 'The Entertainer' song. Now, I know that music boxes and such can spring (for lack of a better word) forward and play a few notes, but this thing would act like someone had wound it up and would play for a minute or two completely at random."
MercuryCrest
He?
"Me and and someone I used to know in high school way back when met to catch up. We were talking about our views on religion at some park. When we were walking back to our cars some guy said he had overheard us. We interacted a little and then went to our cars. I told her how awkward I felt knowing he overheard everything. She looked at me and said, 'He?'”
"After some comparing notes we realized we’d seen and heard entirely different people. She’d seen an elderly woman. I’d seen a middle aged man. Only problem is we only talked to the one person."
AccomplishedAuthor53
Overnight
"I usually go hiking and stay in the forest overnight, sleeping in a bivy and sometimes under a tarp. Now it's important to say I'm based in Europe. So no wild animals to be afraid of because usually they just boot it as soon as they notice you."
"So one winter night I'm sleeping under my tarp which connects to the ground on one side. It's in an area where there were fierce battles in the forrest on the border between Germany and Belgium in WWII."
"I hear something walking in the leaves, which is normal. There are always deer and ferral pigs on and about. But this time it comes closer and closer until I hear it right on the other side of my tarp and it starts growling. Its a noise I gad never heard and for a moment I was frozen trying to figure out what it might be and what to do."
"But I just decided to yell back and that did the trick. The animal walked a few steps and then turned back to growl once more before finally retreating."
"Let's put it this way, I didn't sleep for a while after that. I looked up the noise and think it was a badger."
Forest_Walkin
Devoured
Episode 4 Abc GIF by The BachelorGiphy"My family used to raise cattle. One morning I came out to check on them and I found one of the heifers had been more or less completely devoured."
"This same cow was perfectly fine the day before. There was nothing left but some hide, bones, and intestines. Thing is none of the predators that are in my area would be able to kill and eat an entire cow within the course of one night. Much less leave so little behind."
Aussieshepman
Poor cows. They live a rough life.
The Night Before
Get Out Omg GIF by Get Out MovieGiphy"When I was a kid, we lived in a kinda rural area. One night we came home late from an Uncle's house and there was a car parked up the road from our house with the headlights on."
"My mom suggested to my dad that we go see if they need help, he said no, so we went inside. Next morning police knocked on the door, a cyclist had spotted a body in the ditch exactly where the car was parked the night before."
Tpeest
Documents
"I have had a strange thing happen recently. I was waiting for my tax documents to come in so I could do my taxes. I had three documents that I put on my bedside table until I had the time."
"I decided to do it the other day and I couldn't find one of them. I tore the house apart, quizzed my husband (who swore he never touched it), checked the garbage, etc. I had resigned myself to the fact I would have to request another one, when it arrived in the mail."
"It was the same one, exact same information. I was really confused but grateful. I checked into it, it was not sent twice as far as the office could tell me."
"I don't know what to think. I KNOW I had that document because I had done some calculations with it. It's been itching at me like crazy."
monitormonkey
About 30 Feet
"A few months ago I was sitting in my living room on the couch, watching tv with a family member late at night. We have a high ceiling with a couple of rectangular windows at the very top of the wall just under where it meets the ceiling. The windows are so high (about 30 feet) we really only have them for natural lighting."
"So on the night in question, a green laser beam suddenly shown down through one of the windows, seemingly scanned the entire living room before stopping and pointing the beam right next to my family member for about 10 seconds and then disappearing entirely. It had to be either a drone or from some sort of flying aircraft. I live in a relatively secluded place which made the situation all the more unsettling."
0friday
Find Her
"Pretty sure I witnessed a kidnapping once and it still lives rent free in my head (the woman lost her slipper when she was trying to get away and i took a picture of it that i still have for some reason). I did indeed report it to police right after I saw it occur but they were pretty blasé about it and I never ended up being able to determine what they did to investigate."
ergaster8213
From Behind
the exorcist shadow GIFGiphy"I was in Jr High and had really long hair. I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and almost tripped on a shoe on the floor. I bent down to move it and it felt like someone grabbed my entire pony tail and yanked it. I also could not sleep facing the wall for the longest time because it always felt like someone or something was right there behind me."
cheeseburgerphone182
Never face the wall. Life lesson.
These were some harrowing experiences, and we're glad these Redditors made it out to tell the story.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
Redditor NeedSomeSparkInLife wanted to know who would be willing to share, so they asked:
"What makes you not want to be intimate with your SO?"
I'm an easily turned off person.
So it doesn't take much.
Desire
Bored Season 5 GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Taking a moment to realize I'm the only one that makes sexual advances in the relationship. Makes me not want it. People think men only want sex for face value but a lot of men actually want the feeling of being desired more so."
Relative-Hour-9359
Anger Issues
"I've always heard of fighting then having sex after. Fighting has always made me not want it. The last thing I want to do when someone pisses me off is have sex with them. What made it worse is she always wanted to when we were arguing which made the argument worse when I refused."
DaMoonRulez_1
"I think you're supposed to resolve your fight, realize that you care for each other a lot, move past it, then have the passion because of that. Not fight right into sex."
Ksp-or-GTFO
Take a Shower
"My ex and I were together for nearly 7 years, but his hygiene never improved, so we stopped being intimate like, 3 years before I finally broke up with him. He showered only once a week, but he worked in kitchens, so he was sweaty and greasy all the time."
"He had an infected tooth, so he constantly had bad breath, but he refused to visit a dentist, even when he had the money to afford dental work. He stopped working out within the first year of us being together, which sucked because he would get jealous if I went to the gym by myself or with my girlfriends, but he refused to come with me."
GreenChorizo
Sober Time
"Personally, the only issue I have is my SO's drinking. He just becomes an unattractive person when he's drunk. It's one thing if we're both out socializing and drinking together occasionally, but he drinks almost every day, sitting on the couch in front of the TV and to the point of sloppy drunkenness way too often. His face changes, his posture changes, his personality changes... I just get so turned off."
WeptSiren3113
Hang Up
Art Hello GIF by LINDSEY L33Giphy"When they are glued to their phones non stop! Put that s**t down and look at me before we go to bed!"
Palmwine
"I really dislike this too. Makes me feel alone in the relationship."
RealBrownPerson
No phones in bed. Hard rule for many of us to follow.
Step Back
Be Quiet Go Away GIF by Ryn DeanGiphy"When I make a move, and then get the feeling she's not really in the mood/would only do it to please me. I want us both to have a good time, not only me. So when she seems not into it, I take a step back."
Level-Plate8372
Calm Down
"To be brutally honest, her anxiety and insecurity makes sex such a hassle. She doesn’t believe anything I say about wanting her, she can almost never relax during sex, she doesn’t take time to enjoy it, and if God forbid I have any trouble finishing, she takes it more personally than anything, which of course puts more pressure on me to finish, which then makes it almost impossible."
Ben_Franklinstein
When at Wal-Mart
"When they’ve done something really nasty/unkind that day. Cruelty is the most ugly thing a person can show, in my eyes. I had a boyfriend that I went to Wal-Mart with and he ended up flipping off and storming right past the sweet little old man that checks the receipts at the door."
"It was partially about how I used to check receipts and I remembered how I felt when people treated me like that- but I also remember the look on the little old man’s face and just how disgusted I was with my partner being so nasty about it."
"I couldn’t touch him after that and I got grossed out when he touched me. And then I started to notice how he was nasty to other people as well. It eventually led to our break up."
spxdergirl
33 Years In
"My husband used to dislike his job - he’d come home and do nothing but bi**h. After awhile, I just gave up trying to cheer him up with sex - you can only try so long. So, we had a long dry spell - like, whatever you think a dry spell would be, it’s longer. When someone is constantly annoyed, well, it’s hard to feel amorous."
"Anyway, he early retired (54) like a month before Covid kicked in and by autumn that year, well, let’s just say we’re back to what we were like when we first met. He’s not pissed off all the time. (I’m retired as well, and let’s just say, afternoon nookie is such a perk, as is morning nookie and 3am nookie because you can sleep in!) I’m glad we stayed together. Going on 33 years and we’re just so happy."
NicInNS
Rage
Angry Inside Out GIF by Disney PixarGiphy"Feeling angry. I hate feeling angry. I don't like being around other people when angry. So I'll go for a walk, a drive etc, and just clear my head."
jackfaire
It seems like "dead bed," as some folks call it, can stem from many things, from mood, attraction, hygiene, and more.
Do you have anything to add to this list? Let us know in the comments.