The world of television is still reeling from the aftershock of Brian Griffin's demise on Family Guy last month, following show-creator Seth MacFarlane's decision to axe the lovable pooch. Fans of the adult animation reacted angrily over the plot, many sending Twitter into virtual meltdown with a spate of furious comments, while there's even been a petition launched demanding Brian be brought back to life. At its most recent count, the petition had
accrued 75,000 signatures, while a Facebook page entitled '
R.I.P Brian Griffin from Family Guy' has amassed 778,000 'likes'. Proof then that the decision to kill off the alcoholic author has not sat well with viewers of Family Guy, some of whom have even
threatened to boycott the show unless he is somehow brought back from the grave. Of course, this isn't the first time there has been such an outpouring of grief and public anger over the death of an animated character, be it from the worlds of television or film. The attachment fans make to a drawing can sometimes be a powerful one, especially given the inherent association viewers will unconsciously make between cartoons and childhood, and when said drawing gets the eraser treatment, it can take a while for us to get over it. Sometimes, the scars will never heal, and those devastating deaths over-shadow everything else about the films or shows they come from: And here, we take a look at 7 of the most tragic, and enduringly devastating Animated Deaths You'll (Probably) Never Recover From...
Honourable Mention
Judge Doom
Not tragic in any way, but the death of the villain from Who Framed Roger Rabbit was one of the most disturbing animated deaths. Thankfully he totally deserved it, but that still doesn't dilute the impact, or ease the nightmares far too many impressionable minds will have suffered as a result. Far more tragically, Doom actually predicted his own death with some malevolent fore-shadowing, dipping an innocent cartoon shoe to its deeply affecting death earlier in the movie, and announcing himself as one of the worst villains of all time.