20 90s Movie Scenes That Traumatized Us All

Before Bridge to Terabithia, there was My Girl.

Fine, My Girl was already more morbid than most family films, with lead Vada (Anny Chlumsky) being a death-obsessed hypochondriac dealing with her guilt over her mother dying in childbirth, but it was still a largely good-natured family dramedy prior to... this. 

Throughout the story, Vada's best friend is Thomas J (Macauley Culkin), and he's an important source of comfort to her. And then, about an hour in, he dies. For real, he actually dies, due to a bee sting, of all things. 

Killing off an adorable child played by the most beloved child star in America was bad enough already, but viewers are then treated to a beyond-heartbreaking scene of Vada sobbing at his coffin and begging the adults to put his glasses back on. Child actors are often inconsistent, but Chlumsky is fantastic here, and looking at her anguished face is like looking into the sun. One can't help but feel bad for all those unsuspecting parents who took their kids to see this, unaware of the tear-jerking devastation lurking around the corner. 

Most of the moments discussed on this list are great, but this one is more of a mixed bag. My Girl is not nearly as distasteful as Bridge to Terabithia was, and the scenes surrounding Thomas J's death are well done, but this twist was arguably too cruel, and Vada's recovery is awkwardly crammed into the last half-hour. Regardless of what you think, this death won't leave you.