There are few animated films as heart-wrenching and downright affecting as The Plague Dogs. Based on Richard Adam's novel of the same name, the story involves a Labrador named Rowf and Fox Terrier deemed Snitter as they escape from an animal testing facility and journey across the landscape in hopes of freedom. Coming from the same director and author of Watership Down, The Plague Dogs is nothing short of jaw-dropping in its depictions of cruelty and sadness. While the film's tagline dictates a story that's infinitely more hopeful ("Share the adventure of a lifetime"), the actual narrative is that of a soul-crushing endeavor that would have most children terrified and most adults reaching for a box of tissues. Rowf and Snitter's trek across Great Britain is constantly met with danger and even moments of happiness are abruptly guillotined with sadness. Beyond the graphic depictions of animal abuse, one of the film's most shocking and depressing scenes has Skitter accidentally shoot a potential owner in the head with a rifle.The characters may be that of canines, but their personalities and internal conflicts strike deeper than most live-action films with human subjects. From the first images of Rowf being repeatedly drowned and resuscitated by scientists to the final devastating frames of both friends' final moments together, The Plague Dogs remains one of the most tragically powerful cartoons to have ever spun through a projector and deserves to be noted as such. Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.