Tear Jerker / A Little Princess (1995)

• While it leans more towards Nightmare Fuel, the sequence of Captain Crewe in the trenches during World War I is still pretty harrowing — especially to see such a kind and likable character go through such trauma.
• Sara is given a younger sibling in this adaptation, a sister who died along with her mother shortly after her birth. It's no wonder Sara is so close to her father.
• Even though Sara eventually gets reunited with her father, Mr. Randolph loses his son, and gets a Hope Spot where he thinks his John will be returning to him (actually the amnesiac Captain Crewe).
• Sara bitterly saying, "There is no magic, Becky," after her father is reported dead.
• The first night in the attic shows us Sara, a broken little girl, crying for her papa in a chalk-drawn circle of protection all alone.
  • Minchin also rips the locket off Sara's neck, accusing her of stealing it. In reality, Sara probably just kept it on, assuming she would be allowed to keep a memento of her dead mother.
  • And the fact that Minchin still has the locket later in the film suggests she wasn't able to sell it or didn't intend to and just took it to hurt Sara.
• Sara finding her father in Mr. Randolph's house only to discover he has amnesia and doesn't know her anymore. It gets even worse when Miss Minchin lies and claims she doesn't recognize him, leading to poor Sara being dragged away by the police while screaming for her father to remember her.
  • Not to mention Minchin kicks the dog even further by telling the police to arrest Becky, too. The audience is given a harsh dose of reality as the police grab an innocent orphan on nothing but the false word of a privileged, controlling woman.
• Miss Minchin herself gets a very literal one after Sara's Armor-Piercing Question. Her threat that Sara could end up on the streets sounds like she's screaming it to hide the pain she's feeling — and as soon as she leaves the room, we see her burst into tears.
• When Sarah is dragged kicking and screaming away from her amnesiac father, begging him to remember her. Turned into happy tears when he remembers her at the last moment, running out into the rain and screaming her name.
• After Sarah's father is believed dead and she's spending her first night in the attic, "Poppa?"
  • And she does the only thing she can, drawing the 'protection circle' from her story with a bit of chalk on the floor, and huddling there.
• Sarah's "we are all princesses" monologue. Even though she's lost everything, she keeps her hope and belief that she has worth.
  Sara: I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses. All of us.
• When Sara calms down Lottie, who's crying about her dead mother, and she gives the speech about how their mothers are beautiful angels in heaven watching over them. Waterworks.