Why Are Great Kids Movies So Sad?儿童佳片为何悲情满满？

Here is why the saddest films made for kids are considered to be some of the classics and most important of all films for young viewers. 为何那些最悲伤的儿童电影被纳入经典之列，并且对少儿观众来说至关重要？且看下文。

We all remember that first cry at the movies. Whether they are tears of joy or sadness， it is quite astounding that human emotion can be contrived1 by moving images on a screen cut together in a sequence. This emotional manipulation is written， planned out， and purposefully meant to evoke strong feelings out of a targeted audience member， especially one who has been conditioned to2 be drawn to sad movies. Films are as methodical as they are artistic. It all comes from a plan， and that plan is to tell a story. The kind of story is subjective and means something different to each individual. But what about those heart-wrenching stories… for kids？

我们都记得观看电影时的第一次哭泣。不管是喜极而泣还是悲伤泪流，人类的情感竟可以通过银幕上剪辑播放的画面来牵动，这实在令人惊讶。这种对情感的操纵经过精心编写、策划，旨在激起目标受众的强烈情感，尤其是那些易被伤感电影吸引的观众。电影追求艺术效果，同样也需要条理叙述。一切都源自某个构思，其目的是讲一个故事。这种故事具有主观性，对每个个体有不同的意义。但是那些令人心痛的故事……那些专给孩子们看的故事呢？

Kids’ movies seem to range in a variety of emotional beats. They could be over the top3 with silly slapstick4 humor， while others maintain a certain sophistication to them and don’t sugarcoat5 the realities of the world our children will eventually come into as they age. Perhaps this is why these films exist. Since the early days of Aristotle， we have been searching for reasons why we seek out tragedy. A quote by the philosopher from his Poetics6 may answer why： “Tragic plays have the capacity to purify the spirit and aid us in coping with aspects of life that cannot be reconciled by rational thought. ”

儿童电影似乎具有各种各样的情感基调。其中一些电影可能会包含夸张滑稽的幽默，而另一些则保持一定的世故，不会粉饰孩子们长大后终将进入的现实世界。也许这就是这些电影存在的原因。早在亚里士多德时期，我们就开始探究人们诉诸悲剧的原因。这位哲学家的《诗学》中有一句话，也许可以回答这个问题：“悲剧有净化心灵的能力，有助于我们应对生活中理性思维无法调和的方方面面。”

Why seek tragedy

为什么诉诸悲剧

Perhaps the main reason we seek tragedy is to cope， to understand and to heal. The hardest lesson to teach a child is how to cope with tragedy and loss， especially if it is sudden. Films made by Disney are loaded with tragedy… and trauma. Especially in animation classics like Bambi and The Lion King.

也许我们诉诸悲剧的主要原因是为了应对、理解和治愈。教育孩子最难的一课是如何应对不幸和损失，尤其是在突发状况下。迪士尼制作的电影里满是悲剧，还有创伤，在《小鹿斑比》和《狮子王》等经典动画中尤甚。

In the 1994 animated film The Lion King， which is based loosely7 on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy of Hamlet， we get our first account into the tragic loss of Mufasa and how that affects his cub Simba. Kids see themselves in Simba’s character. He has dreams， he has a desire to grow and be a part of a bigger world. But it turns much darker， as many of us could remember seeing Mufasa’s death on screen for the first time. Boy it was traumatizing！

1994年上映的动画片《狮子王》大体改编自莎士比亚著名悲剧《哈姆雷特》，我们在影片中第一次了解到老狮王木法沙的不幸离世，以及这件事对他的孩子辛巴的影响。孩子们从辛巴这个角色中看到了自己。他有梦想，渴望长大，渴望成为更大世界的一部分。但剧情却变得晦暗起来，我们许多人都还记得第一次在银幕上目睹木法沙死去的场景。天哪，太令人心碎了！

So why is a film like this so beloved when it makes kids cry？ The lesson it teaches is to overcome adversity and to move on. Hakuna Matata8！ It truly is a wonderful phrase. Yes， it means ‘no worries for the rest of your days，’ and it is rather catchy， with some of Disney’s best songs. However， the true message9 of a film like this is to teach kids that it is okay to move on from tragic loss and not to let it define you. It is an important lesson that many of us learned at a very young age. Sadness should not be overlooked， fear should not be ignored. Perhaps this is why the animated version of The Lion King is widely regarded as one of Disney’s greatest films of all time.

那么，为什么这样一部让孩子们悲伤哭泣的电影如此受人追捧呢？它教会我们的是克服逆境，继续前行。哈库呐马塔塔！这实在是句精妙的话。是的，它的意思是“余生无忧”，配上迪士尼优美的音乐之后朗朗上口。然而，这样的电影真正寓意是要教会孩子们，面对不幸，继续走下去就好，不要让它框住你。这是我们许多人在很小的时候就学到的重要一课。悲伤不应被忽视，恐惧不应被忽略。大家普遍认为动画版《狮子王》是迪士尼有史以来最伟大的电影之一，也许这就是原因所在。

It’s okay to cry

哭吧，没关系

Sadness is an emotion that is almost taboo. It is suppressed from the mainstream and ignored by the public. But films like The Iron Giant and Up don’t give the audience an opportunity to shy away from their emotions. In fact， they force us to feel.

悲伤几乎是一种让人避讳的情绪，为主流所压制，被公众所忽视。然而类似《钢铁巨人》和《飞屋环游记》这样的电影并不会给观众逃避自己情绪的机会。实际上，这些电影促使我们去感受自己的情绪。

Perhaps the saddest sequence in film history is the opening montage showcasing Carl and Ellie’s life in the opening of Disney and Pixar’s Best Picture Nominated film Up. We see kids growing up together， falling in love， building their book of adventures. Then all of a sudden， it ends with Ellie’s tragic death， leaving Carl an elderly man alone with nothing but an empty book of never achieved adventures. Yes， this is a kids’ movie. Why must it be so sad？ Sadness is real， and even celebrated in another Pixar classic， Inside Out， which anthropomorphizes10 sadness as an important character.

也许，电影史上最悲伤的一幕来自迪士尼和皮克斯合作的奥斯卡最佳影片提名之作《飞屋环游记》，其开场用蒙太奇手法展示了卡尔和艾莉的一生。我们看到两个孩子一起长大，坠入爱河，建构他们的冒险之书。然后，突然之间，故事以艾莉的不幸离世而告终，独留年迈的卡尔一人，身边只有一本从未实现的冒险之书，里面空空如也。是的，这是一部儿童电影。为什么这部电影要如此伤感？悲伤是真切的，甚至在皮克斯的另一部经典电影《头脑特工队》中被拟人化为一个重要角色加以渲染。

It is important to feel sad， and that is why these films are so great. They embrace sadness and make something new out of it. As the phoenix rises from the ashes， we see that happiness is possible even after the darkest of tragedies. It teaches us to cope with the sadness， and understand how it might take a long time to heal.