By Andrew Murray

In his first piece for Cineworld, writer and blogger Andrew Murray gets all teary-eyed over Disney ahead of their new Hawaiian princess movie, Moana...

Whether you’re eight or eighty, Disney films never seem to fail to hit that emotional sweet spot time and time again. These moments are special to us; they stay with us all of our lives and they will be shared with and loved by generations to come.

With the release of Moana almost upon us, it won’t be long until we are treated to some more magical Disney moments that are bound to tug at our heartstrings. Until then, here is a small selection of some of those heartbreakingly beautiful Disney moments that are guaranteed to send those tears rolling down your cheeks – even if you won’t admit it.

Dumbo – Circus Lullaby

Dumbo may be best remembered for its nightmare inducing pink elephants but we shouldn’t forget that it also has one of the most heart-breaking sequences in Disney’s history: when Dumbo is rocked by his mother.

When visited by her son at the circus, the shackled Mrs Jumbo is only able to extend her trunk through the bars of her trailer to comfort him. Not being able to see his mother, Dumbo can only grasp at her trunk. In tears, Dumbo is rocked by his mother and sang a lullaby.

Cutting to a number of shots of young animals with their own mothers, we are reminded of the loving motherly bond that our lovable elephants will never have. As the pair wave goodbye to each other for what could be the last time after holding on for as long as they could, we have just enough time to wipe our own inevitable tears and think about running into our own mother’s arms before the next scene begins.

Bambi – Bambi's mother dies

Making audiences openly weep since 1942, the death of Bambi’s mum has become legendary in its ability to turn the toughest of men into emotional wrecks.

Running for their lives from a group of hunters, the sound of the final gunshot ringing out tells you everything you need to know. After returning home alone Bambi helplessly wanders around in the snow calling out for his mother. The truth is confirmed to him by his father who simply states: "Your mother can’t be with you anymore."

Who would have guessed that such few words can mean so much? One moment you are enjoying spending time with a loved one, the next you have lost everything. The real sadness of Bambi is in its teaching of how delicate life is and how suddenly it can be ended.

The Fox and the Hound – Goodbye, Tod

The story of two friends turned enemies, The Fox and the Hound begins with the forming of a strong friendship between the sweet Widow Tweed and the inhumanly cute fox cub, Tod.

Unfortunately this friendship isn’t meant to last. When Tod starts getting in trouble with the hunter next door, Amos, Tweed has no choice but to take Tod deep into the woods in order to protect him from Amos’s rifle. Giving him one last hug, she knows that she must leave him for his own safety.

Saying goodbye is never easy but The Fox and the Hound teaches us that – in the parting words of Tweed - although "farewell may seem like the end" our memories will always remain with us in our hearts.

The Lion King – Stampede!

Disney’s wild and furry version of Hamlet is a cinematic classic known for its fiercely catchy songs, beautiful animation, and for teaching thousands of children about the circle of life.

The lesson of life and death has never been done as well on-screen than with the murder of Mufasa. Betrayed by his brother, Scar, Mufasa is thrown from a cliff into a herd of stampeding wildebeests. As if that wasn’t painful enough to watch, we also get to see Simba discover his lifeless father’s body as the dust settles. Not knowing what to do, he lays next to his father for one last embrace.

Seeing Simba so upset makes us want to hug him ourselves to let him know that everything is going to be okay and that it wasn’t his fault.

Toy Story 2 – When somebody loved Jessie

Everybody grows up. We all move on, develop new interests, and gradually leave our childhood behind us.

But what about the toys that we leave behind? Jessie’s story in Toy Story 2 lets us experience all the heartache of a toy watching their owner grow up without them, discarded and forgotten from underneath the bed to be found by chance years later only to be donated.

Accompanied by the beautiful vocals of Sarah McLachlan, this sequence doesn’t need any dialogue to make us remember our old toys and wish they are now in a loving home rather than heading towards an incinerator (thank you, Toy Story 3) as we witness Jessie watch her owner drive away without her.

Up – The story of Carl and Ellie

If you can watch the first ten minutes of Up without bursting into tears every time then the chances are you are a robot or some form of alien species unable to understand the concept of emotion.

Like Jessie’s story, Pixar once again demonstrate that they can use pure visual storytelling to make you laugh and then cry unashamedly while watching Carl and Ellie’s relationship unfold throughout the years from charming beginning to tragic end.

Everybody has their own stories. Not all of them are happy but Up teaches us that knowing somebody’s story can make understanding them that little bit easier. The old bitter man wasn’t always so old and bitter you know.

Inside Out – Forgetting Bing Bong

He may be made of candyfloss and be part elephant, part cat, and even part dolphin (animals were all the rage back then) but Inside Out’s Bing Bong is a memorable addition to one of Pixar’s most recent adventures.

As Riley’s imaginary friend Bing Bong spent all of his time with her playing tag, jamming in a band, and riding their rocket when she was younger. Now that Riley has grown up, he spends his time collecting memories and exploring Riley’s imagination hoping one day he will play again with his best friend. That is until he falls into the memory dump and is forgotten.

Never again will Riley remember playing with her imaginary friend. She will never remember their dream of taking their rocket to the moon which makes Bing Bong’s final words of "Take her to the moon for me" the more tragic.

Bing Bong is a casualty of growing up and though we tear up when he fades away, Inside Out ultimately teaches audiences that change is an inevitable part of growing up and of life but change is okay as we get older as long as we remember what made our childhood so unforgettable in the first place.

Over the decades Disney have continually taught audiences about life, about growing old, and of death and loss through cinematic moments that will remain with us forever which never fail to send streams of tears down our cheeks.

With the release of Moana on 2nd December, we still have time to prepare ourselves for the next epic Disney adventure by honing our skills at wiping away our tears unnoticed in anticipation for the next heart-breaking Disney moment that will definitely (not) make us cry.

What are those tear-jerking moments that leap to your mind? Wipe those eyes and let us know @Cineworld.