Why Is Daddy Crying?

He's not, he's just getting something out of his eye. Matthew De Abaitua on what makes men, women and children cry at the cinema

Comment on this feature >

You have a busy Saturday morning ahead of you. You sit your children in front of Finding Nemo. Unfortunately, the film concludes with Nemo speared on a hook. The credits roll over a fish stew, in which Nemo's severed head bobs along with Dory's eyes and the fin from Bruce The Shark. A fat diner takes one spoonful, spits it out, and the whole fishy mess is tipped into the bin. The screen fades to black and your lounge is full of screaming, weeping children.

As implausible as this sounds, this actually happened to my parents back in the 1970s. The film playing was Ring Of Bright Water, a seemingly charming film about a man and an otter. It concluded, for no good reason, with the otter having its head bashed in with a spade. Cry? I couldn't breathe.

Blubbing at a film is a formative experience. Depending on your generation, you may have had your first weep at Bambi, Dumbo or The Lion King. Filmmakers have long been wise to the power of a dying animal upon a young audience. Think of Kes, Born Free or even - at a push - The Elephant Man. Dying animals litter the foothills of Tragedy.