Pixar movies have never been afraid to confront the big questions in life.<\/p>\n
Including some pretty heavy stuff.<\/p>\n
Here are eight Pixar movie scenes that got pretty serious.<\/p>\n
Related Headlines<\/strong><\/p>\n The end of a bug’s life in A Bug’s Life – Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n Hopper the bully grasshopper is the main antagonist in A Bug’s Life, one of the earliest Pixar hits.<\/p>\n He’s not likable: He demands food from the sweet residents of Ant Valley, and is generally bullying and cruel.<\/p>\n But even he doesn’t deserve his grim fate \u2014 being fed to baby birds.<\/p>\n Stinky Pete suggests an illegal quid pro quo in Toy Story 2. – Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n Toy Story 2 is an all-around classic, full of lovely observations about childhood and friendship.<\/p>\n But it also has a very grown-up joke that the powers-that-be eventually decided was too grown up.<\/p>\n A \u201cblooper reel\u201d that originally played during the end credits of\u00a0Toy Story 2\u00a0was edited in the #MeToo era to remove a joke in which Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammar) tries to seduce two twin Barbies by promising, \u201cY\u2019know, I\u2019m sure I could get you a part in\u00a0Toy Story 3.\u201d <\/p>\n We love you, Monsters Inc., but was this necessary? – Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n The setup for Monsters Inc. is a little dark to begin with: The monsters’ entire way of life is powered by the screams of the children they scare. The scares are lightened by the twist that the monsters are more scared of the kids than the kids are of the monsters.<\/p>\n But things get a little too high stakes when Boo is strapped into something called a Scream Extractor to optimize the amount of terrified volume she projects.<\/p>\n Luckily Sully (John Goodman) saves her, in one of the most cathartic rescues of the Pixar movies.<\/p>\n Yes, Finding Nemo goes there. – Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n We’ll give a pass to any parent who skips the intense opening of Finding Nemo, in which Nemo’s mother, Coral, and all of Nemo’s soon-to-be-hatched brothers and sisters, are devoured by a barracuda. Yow.<\/p>\n This awful event sets the stage for the rest of the movie, in which Nemo’s dad, Marlin, tries to overcome his many (understandable) oceanic fears.<\/p>\n The opening of Finding Nemo continues a time-honored, dubious tradition of kicking off Disney and\/or Pixar movies with a mother’s death.<\/p>\n Sharks about to backslide in Finding Nemo. – Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n At one point Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) wanders into a 12-step meeting for sharks trying to curb their bloodthirsty addictions.<\/p>\n There’s nothing grim about getting help, of course. Kudos to the sharks.<\/p>\n But things do get grim when the sharks relapse and go on a feeding frenzy.<\/p>\n A scene in The Incredibles that may shake your faith in humanity. – Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Incredible gets out of the superhero business \u2014 for a while \u2014 after he saves a man trying to end his life by jumping from a building… and the man then sues him for it. “You didn’t save my life, you ruined my death!” the ungrateful survivor tells Mr. Incredible.<\/p>\n The grim newsreel-type footage contributes to making this one of the grittiest sequences in the Pixar movies.<\/p>\n And that’s separate from the insurance company where Mr. Incredible works ripping off the elderly. Dark.<\/p>\n Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n Toy Story 3 finds Buzz, Woody and the gang grappling with the end of Andy’s childhood, and what will become of them.<\/p>\n But things hit a nadir when they wind up in an incinerator, and doom seems certain.<\/p>\n They’re saved, thank goodness, but the incinerator scene is as successful at eliciting shrieks as any Monsters Inc. Scream Extractor.<\/p>\n Ellie and Karl in Up. – Credit: Pixar<\/span><\/p>\n The opening moments of Up include a sensitive and devastating depiction of Ellie losing her pregnancy. <\/p>\n \u201cI remember seeing it for the first time and, of course, crying,” Up director of photography Patrick Lin has said of the film’s opening<\/a>. “Actually, three times throughout production.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a moment that kids probably missed, but would certainly hit hard for parents.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this post, may we also suggest our list of 11 Jaw-Dropping Pixar Movie Jokes That Are 100% for Adults.<\/a><\/p>\nHopper Is Eaten Alive in A Bug’s Life<\/h2>\n
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The Me Too Moment in Toy Story 2 (1999)<\/h2>\n
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The Scream Extractor in Monsters Inc. (2001)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The Barracuda Attack in Finding Nemo (2003)<\/h2>\n
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Finding Nemo, Again (2003)<\/h2>\n
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The Jumper Rescue in The Incredibles (2004)<\/h2>\n
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The Incinerator in Toy Story 3 (2010)<\/h2>\n
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The Terrible Loss in Up (2009)<\/h2>\n
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