History TearJerker / TheNostalgiaCritic

* The halfway point of "Disney Afternoon" has a SurpriseCreepy scene, where Critic realizes things haven't changed since he was a teenager, and that he's still watching cartoons and commenting on them. There's even a sad music sting.

* In a quick but effective moment, ''Film/GhostRider'' has an end of commercial where Tamara is grabbed and threatened by Doug-as-Sam-Wow, and then she starts crying for him to help her.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'': The illustrative sketches in Loraxtown involving marketing were quite sad.

* ''Film/PearlHarbor'': Despite the CriticalResearchFailure BrokenAesop of the Bay rant, and his hypocrisy later, the moment where he's slumped back in his chair, silent and wrecked and then speaking shakily, is actually well-earned emotionally, even just for a few seconds.

* And if you thought that was bad, the commercial special turns it UpToEleven:

* It turns out to be a joke where Malcolm just likes shooting Critic, but the opening of ''Film/YogiBear'' has a parody of ''Film/TheAssassinationOfJesseJamesByTheCowardRobertFord" and it's amazingly acted on both parts.

-->'''Doug''': Let's watch it again.

* With no warning, the Stamps commercial in ''Film/BeverlyHillsChihuahua'' decides to be sad, with the joke being a silly voice misreading advert-Doug’s played straight depression, with tears and feeling lost and everything.

* He made a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5lOXfmg1ac list]] filled with the 11 saddest moments in film. WARNING: You will laugh more than cry. (Also, he's right. How did we survive our childhoods with all ''that'' in the stuff we watched?)

* With no warning, the Stamps commercial in "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" decides to be sad, with the joke being a silly voice misreading advert-Doug’s played straight depression, with tears and feeling lost and everything.

* ''Film/ScoobyDoo2MonstersUnleashed'' review is nowhere near as emotional as the first one (lampshaded by Doug in the real thoughts), but there is Critic's sad attempt at a SelfServingMemory, with him saying the movie nearly killed him causing a rift when the flashbacks show it was a self loathing HeroicSuicide.

* ''Film/ScoobyDoo2'' review is nowhere near as emotional as the first one (lampshaded by Doug in the real thoughts), but there is Critic's sad attempt at a SelfServingMemory, with him saying the movie nearly killed him causing a rift when the flashbacks show it was a self loathing HeroicSuicide.

* Claire Milner, the girl who played Harley Quinn in the ''Film/{{Casper}}'' review, [[https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10152256263844508&id=127127037353766&stream_ref=10 died]] in a car accident in February 2014. She was 20 years old.

* He calls ''Film/{{Paranoia}}'' "like a miserable night that just won't seem to end", and judging from his tired red eyes in the review it seems like he's had a few of those.

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[[caption-width-right:350:[[DownerBeginning There's no worse sight]] [[DespairEventHorizon than a broken critic.]]]]

* In a much sillier version, his tribute to his beard in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''. It's the Music/SarahMcLachlan song "I Will Remember You".

** Sitting in his room alone. Made worse by the music he chose when he was sitting there. "[[Series/TheIncredibleHulk The Lonely Man]]". Aww Critic, honey...

* In "Film/TheSmurfs2'', while he's not wrong, Black Nerd dropping the BlackBestFriend act and ripping into Critic's well-known issue of having no life and just being trapped in nostalgia.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[DownerBeginning There's no worse sight]] [[DespairEventHorizon than a broken critic...]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Recap/TheNostalgiaCriticS7E7https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brokencritic.png]]]]

[[Recap/TheNostalgiaCriticS7E7 quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brokencritic.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brokencritic.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brokencritic.png Recap/TheNostalgiaCriticS7E7]]

* His suicide and the circumstances around it in [[Website/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony's]] ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' review was a bit distressing. How would you react if one of your friends casually revealed to the internet that he dressed you up in an humiliatingly objectifying outfit while he was raping you and is using the pictures for blackmail?

* The "Top 11 Dumbest Superman Moments" ended pretty darkly. He says that despite everything, the Superman movies make him smile, but soon he remembers what happened to the World Trade Center, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeves. Then he looks utterly miserable and leaves with "I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I'm gonna go kill myself."

* While it's mostly in hindsight, admitting in the TMNT 2007 review that he does what everyone tells him to do in the hope that he'll feel less insecure.

* The Patton speech "that [he] personally wrote" after failing to recognize Optimus Prime's death as a TearJerker is really funny, but then you see he's been tearing up so much that his glasses are looking really misty.

* Seeing as how he had to talk about Siskel's death and what happened to Ebert, the 2nd half of the tribute to the duo, while still having jokes scattered around, made more than a few people tear up.

* His suicide and the circumstances around it in Spoony's ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' review was a bit distressing. How would you react if one of your friends casually revealed to the internet that he dressed you up in an humiliatingly objectifying outfit while he was raping you and is using the pictures for blackmail?

* In their review of ''Troll IV'', Snob and Phelous aren't all that happy to see him drunk and vulnerable. And these aren't the most empathetic of men so that means a lot.

* The end of the "My Pet Monster" review was parodying the bizarre ending of the movie, but it was still effectively depressing in many ways:

* ''Film/LittleMonsters''. A bit like the Chick trying to make ''Film/TheAdventuresOfMiloAndOtis'' funny but sliding into TranquilFury at the animal abuse scenes, he tries to offset the unpleasantness of this one (especially the scenes of parents yelling at children) but it gets under his skin and will get under yours.

* In ''Rad'', there's a conversation with his mom who claims he's a disappointment just for bringing back the wrong fast food. Critic wibbles and you feel so bad.

* In his review of ''Alaska'', he remembers the last time he mouthed off to his dad and is actually shaking as he says it really ''was'' [[DisappearedDad the last time]]. [[BlackComedy Funny]] and [[DarkAndTroubledPast intriguing]] too obviously, but seriously, [[TheWoobie shaking]].

** Lupa herself becomes quite TheWoobie when she accepts that the Critic doesn't want her help reviewing ''Simon Sez''. It turns out she's faking because she likes him to suffer as much as anyone else, but it's still a bit moving.
* His view of the robot from ''Doug's 1st Movie'' as TheWoobie. "It's actually kind of hard to watch."

* His reaction to Patch being fired in ''Santa Claus: The Movie'', ending with a tearful "Fa la la la la, la la la la."

* It's played for laughs, but his reaction to the pet he called Ballsack dying. He just sounds so destroyed. The next review even shows he gave it a decent headstone.

* Played for laughs, but in ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'' he really seems broken at the idea that he's Alec Baldwin's delusion. One must wonder how badly he'd take finding the fourth wall and realizing he really is just fictional.
** [[http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/to-boldly-flee-part-8-6351337 Pretty]] [[http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/the-review-must-go-on-6510378 badly]].

* In "The Top 11 Simpsons Episodes", right after setting us up with Bart's tears over failing again, admitting he did badly in school and that all the talks about if there was something wrong/feelings of failure really hit close to home for him. Suddenly all those "God, Critic, you are such a dumbass" moments have a painful edge to them.

* The big rant at the beginning of his review of the ''Scooby-Doo'' movie about how lonely he is. Through his crazy and angry tone, his extreme resentment of what he does, and his general feeling of hopelessness that culminates into a breakdown, you can really see how much he wants friends or at least someone to hang out with.

** His HeroicSuicide. More violent than the WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee version, but he looks just as happy to be ending it.

* Especially if suffering from an eating disorder, one can find [=CriticReloaded=]!Critic's utter revulsion of his [=SuburbanKnights=]!body (and remember how Doug was giddy over even fanboys calling him sexy in that movie?) more depressing than funny.

* Part of it's his own fault, but how lonely he sounds when calling Santa Christ in “Son Of The Mask”, calling him the “only good, decent person [he] knows”. The new eye-bags don't help.

* [[http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/nostalgia-critic-farewell-to-roger-ebert-6564382 Just the entire "Farewell to Roger Ebert" video]].

** And with Doug in a later [[http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/advneture-time-vlogs-the-real-you-6704392 vlog]] trying to explain that he survives each day essentially like a zombie, Critic being desperate for some of the passion Ebert and Siskel had, saying that if he possessed it for anything he'd be set.

* In the embarrassingly sad variant, "The Looney Tunes Show: Good Or Bad" had him impersonating "most people's reaction to change nowadays" by bawling on the floor like a baby. Even Douchey McNitpick got more respect than that.
* His speech towards Peter Souless about how Dr. Seuss's stories aren't just simple kid's stories, even if there's a BrokenBase on why exactly it's so sad.

* "Top 11 South Park Episodes" is a downer for how much Critic can't seem to stand his fans. Irony of it being the only reason why it's this list is because Doug asked the fans what they wanted and they chose South Park.

* There's something depressing about him tearfully begging the Breaking of the Wind (or Fart Joke, as he's called) not to leave him as he reaches the ending of The Master of Disguise.

* Knowing context, the build-up to the WebVideo/DemoReel TakeThat at the end of ''Anime/SailorMoon''. Dr. Hack says it's going to be the best show ever, and going to post-WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee, you might remember Doug being so excited for it that he couldn't even get words out. WordOfGod is that they even made Donnie Critic just because they were pissed off at the demands for Critic's return.

* Critic and Santa Christ in a MexicanStandoff in the ''Devil'' review is a very depressing image, as it drives home how far apart the two have fallen.

* The first few minutes of “The Dark Knight Returns” crossover, as it starts post WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee with Critic saying he'll never come back because he'd look like a phony otherwise, being giddy about how good WebVideo/DemoReel will be and getting laughed at by Brian, and then it cutting to present day where he's not that optimist anymore and is immediately condescending to Brian and insulting to Sci-Fi Guy.
* His description of how much it hurts to be lied to in "Why Lie About Santa". For RealitySubtext, Rob [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=47787&p=836258#p836271 admitted]] lying to Doug about there being no issues with WebVideo/DemoReel.

* No matter what your opinion is of the reboot or [[WebVideo/DemoReel the place she came from]], [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=49178 Rachel leaving TGWTG to go back home to California]]. It's what she wants and she'll be happier, but it's still sad. Also both her farewell videos in ''Film/FaceOff'', and Doug's accidental deletion of her send-off episode.

** Critic's casual acceptance that he has to be in pain for {{fanservice}} and views becomes horrible when you remember [[http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/nostalgia-critic-scooby-doo-6305335 "HE WISHES HE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS BULLSHIT TO MAKE YOU WATCH AND GET YOU RATINGS".]]

* While also heartwarming, the ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'' music (the same music that he used for “WTF Is Up With The Ending Of The Graduate”) playing over a young Critic's shrine to Creator/TimBurton in ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' brings up sad WhatCouldHaveBeen feelings.

** After a HopeSpot (with WebVideo/DemoReel's triumphant Donnie-introducing-himself music no less) of Critic realizing that every artist is capable of making great things, Burton's next movie is supposedly cancelled to be replaced with a remake of WesternAnimation/AdventureTime, and it cuts to a traumatized looking Malice and an angry Critic saying he completely forgot whatever lesson he was meant to learn.

** As is common, Malcolm ends up TheWoobie again. Critic beat him up so badly for mentioning ''Doug'' that he's bruised in the face and quiveringly says “I can't feel my teeth”. Even Tamara (who doesn't exactly get treated nicely either) is concerned for him, and when he's unconscious from the second beating, looks like she's going to cry when trying to find his pulse.

** With TheReveal that it wasn't the movie that broke him but the fact that he didn't get money for it, it might almost seem like the Critic has got even more fed up with being stuck doing a job he resents having to do and starts sobbing as he [[Recap/TheNostalgiaCriticS6E3 again]] yearn for his intended fate inside the Plot Hole.

** “Hi honey I'm home, oh wait I forgot I'm not married” is what Selina says in the film, but in Critic's context, it's the first thing he says after he's upset that Tamara and Malcolm (who, even if they hadn't had their personalities changed by him, have no reason to considering what he's done to them) are more interested in {{squee}}ing over the Attorney General of Crimea together than feeling sorry for him.

* While it might be LaserGuidedKarma mixed in with {{fanservice}}, you're going to feel sorry for him in The Last Angry Geek's ''Future's End'' episode where he's got nothing left but a ThousandYardStare, and breaks down crying when he kneels down to service WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob.
* In “Nostalgia Critic Talks Transformers 4”, the state of the Critic/Chester friendship. Critic used to give him money and offered him a job and Chester defended him, but now Critic takes over the show with a baseball bat and kicks him for no reason when Chester tries to be nice.

** And it gets a lot worse in "Princess Diaries 2". When she and Critic review the movie together, she sounds normal. It's only when the Critic and her assassin bring up how wrong it is to manipulate someone that she has a brief OhCrap[=/=]MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, which she quickly derails by distracting them. The ending is pretty hard to watch, as Critic and the assassin try to talk her down and convince her that she can't force Critic to love her, and that her obsession isn't love. She almost gets it... [[IgnoredEpiphany before turning around and desperately trying to replay the movie, convinced they can make it work if she just plays it again.]] Past a certain point, she's less of an obsessed fangirl and more of a mentally ill woman who needs help.

** At the end of the second vlog, there's a random playing around from Malcolm as Tacoma, with a half-burned face and saying “you didn't like Demo Reel? You didn't like Demo Reel? See what happened to the actors of Demo Reel”. Even though it gets cut off and so we don't know, poor babies.
* Seeing Film Brain cry over a picture of Pinky and the Brain and tearfully sing their theme song. With the sad music playing in the background in the ''[[Film/GhostRiderSpiritOfVengeance Ghost Rider 2]]'' review.
* There's an effective moment in “The Sixth Day” crossover (with That Sci-Fi Guy) where he says he's gotten used to waking up screaming his head off. And as towards the end the PlotHole is the first thing on his mind, you can guess what kind of nightmares he has constantly. Although he also says later that whenever he wakes up he has a 50/50 chance of being held captive somewhere, and Hyper kidnapping him was recent at this point, so it could be trauma over that instead. Both options are viable.
* Malcolm in the “Top 11 Best Avatar Episodes” gets his {{woobie}} status turned up to 11: helping Critic, legit thinking they were going to fend off Dante together, but Critic runs away. He begs Critic to come back because Dante will kill him, but Critic's a selfish DirtyCoward and when Malcolm is burned on the wall, Critic still doesn't appreciate the help.

* “Is Eyes Wide Shut Artsy Porn” discusses the mix of “nightmares exposing you at your very core” and “love/sexuality is scary and often relationships can't deal with it”, so it's going to be a heavy episode for anyone currently going through either or both those things.

* At the end of ''Matrix Reloaded'', Critic realizing that Malcolm and Tamara are the ones who Black Willy Wonka said have been taken over because he trusted them already. The final shot is a close up on his face and he looks like he's going to cry.
* The ending of ''Matrix Revolutions'', with Critic realizing how much he appreciates Tamara and Malcolm and the fact that they haven't smiled in a while is his fault, gets sadder when it becomes an IgnoredEpiphany and he treats them even worse in later episodes.

* Small, but in the ''Transformers 4'' crossover, with the pillow/duvet/robe at the end, Critic is obviously sleeping in the studio. [[http://channelawesome.com/nostalgia-critic-small-soldiers/ Remember]] the last time we saw him sleeping actually at his house?

* In the ''WebVideo/SharkJumping'' crossover of ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Tamara and Beth's sad (to the tune of Defying Gravity) recognition that all they can be is “frenemies” because [[SarcasmMode girls can't get along]].

* In ''Christmas with the Kranks'', young naive Critic finding out that his old-days eight minutes of ''Film/TheLastAirbender'' gave people what they wanted but they hated it.

* There's something sad about Shyamalan's character at the end of the ''Lady in the Water'' review. When the Critic summons him, he comes in all foreboding and dramatic, as usual. But when Critic ''[[GoKartingWithBowser genuinely]]'' ask him to sit down and discuss what he was thinking as he was making his movie, he accepts Critic's offer, removes his mask...and starts showing off an non-malignant, hell, one might call it {{Adorkable}} personally toward movie making. It might remind you of how Critic ''originally'' thought M. Night Shyamalan was: someone whose head wasn't in the right place, but heart was. It kinda hurts to show how far the Critc's opinion of him has fallen so low as to cast him as a parallel to [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Amon]]...

** His tribute to David Bowie, comparing him to literal stars.

* In the "Top 11 Gravity Falls Episodes", the long sequence of fanart of Mabel crying when he's talking about ''Not What He Seems'' can get to you, as well as him saying this was the moment it stopped becoming a show for him and something much more CloseToHome (mostly because he was scared he'd make the wrong choice).

* Hyper's cameo in Todd's "Scars To Your Beautiful" review, telling him that "Hold On" by ''Music/GoodCharlotte'' saved her from suicide. And when he calls it awful, she goes right back into self hate before he backtracks.

* In "When Should Remakes Not Be Made", he's the most gentle with 2016 Ghostbusters (while putting it in the "shouldn't be made" category) and makes it clear that he wished it had a better chance.

* Extremely easy to miss, but when the cartoon characters are hammering their anvil in during ''Cartoon All Stars'', he starts off disagreeing when they say to believe in himself and they care about him. Now that's some good {{foreshadowing}}.

* In ''Film/HomeAlone2'', Critic trying so hard to keep the peace between the abusive sweater family and the far better but self righteous Bum family. All his nerves end up with him breaking down over cereal and anxiously apologizing for ruining everything. Then it's happy tears with his reaction to all these (two awful like his own) parents telling him he's a good kid just nuts.

* It turns out to be a joke where Malcolm just likes shooting Critic, but the opening of Yogi Bear has a parody of "The Assassination Of Jesse James" and it's amazingly acted on both parts.

* The Nutcracker 3D first viewing is lampshaded at how ''not fun'' it is, with them talking at the end about how they feel shitty because they love bad taste when it's done well and people will mock you if you're offended by something, but it's so horrific and they have to make something out of it. No wonder Doug went for an episode big on feels.
* Throughout The Nutcracker 3D, Critic, Tamara and Malcolm mention a special they're going to watch later, and beforehand, when they're all together, Malcolm just wants to skip to the best part. This turns out to be the late Mrs. Walker from The Worst Christmas Special (the review of ''WesternAnimation/TheChristmasTree'') talking about how you can relieve your own sadness by helping others. Rachel and Tamara are cuddling together and both Rob and Doug look teary eyed.

** Rachel tells Critic that nobody would care or watch him if he didn't just scream the F word, and after anger that of course he's more than just screaming, the WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee insecurity comes back and he's not sure.
** Like with the sexually molested kids in Freddy Got Fingered, and the innocence = sexiness ad in the commercials episode, his reaction to the movie having a holocaust scene is less angry explosive rage and more horrified quiet upset.
* While the ''Nutcracker 3D'' showed the more yay new studio feelings, ''Elf Bowling'' ends more bittersweet, with NC remarking how its the last review to be filmed at the old studio before quietly putting on his old coat and closing the door one last time.
* Critic in X-Men giving up on trying to push the movie on Malcolm’s teenager when it keeps disappointing his NostalgiaFilter. The teen feels bad then, trying to cheer him up, and their perspectives (defending vs complaining) get swapped.

* Staring sadly into the mirror in his review of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTheTitanic''. Quivering lip + PuppyDogEyes + the music that played after [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf's]] death = instant woobie.

* “Comfortably Dumb” ends up being about how much he loved ''Film/TheWall'' as a kid but as an adult, he feels bored and misses the excitement of watching the film for the first time.
** Also horrifying but Doug screaming “don’t worry! as long as you don’t see me as human, you can hate me all you want!” is a relatable feeling for every marginalized person who gets dogpiling abuse on twitter.