Once upon a time... man
Pauvre Pierre.
The regular characters tend to live through everything thrown at them, so the times when they don't come off as this:
- Episode 2: Neanderthal!Maestro's death of old age and in his sleep, since the cast doesn't seem to fully understand what happened to him at first until Neanderthal!Pierrette says that they should "place him under the Earth", and then they very respectfully and sadly bury him.
- Episode 10: Viking!Pierre's death as he's stabbed In the Back by Viking!Teigneux, while defending his village from a raid. Then there's Viking!Pierrot killing Viking!Teigneux, and then giving his beloved dad and other warriors a Viking Funeral.
- Episode 11: Medieval!Le Gros' death in battle during The Crusades is a good example, double when the doctor hangs his head in shame and soon Medieval!Pierre starts to cry.
- Episode 13: The series' rendition of Joan of Arc's burning at the stake. A traveler from Paris tells the main cast (including a brief moment showing her execution), and they're all really depressed to learn about her cruel fate.
- Episode 15: During the Spanish conquests, Pierrot and Petit Gros go over seas, never to return. Their parents are seen growing steadily older, waiting in vain for every returning ship. The last scene shows an aged Pierre standing alone at the harbour, stating that he will give up waiting soon...
- Episode 18: Maestro dies towards the end of Louis XIV's reign, thoroughly exhausted from his work as a physician. Both Pierre and Le Gros shed tears over him when they find out.
Once upon a time... life
The human characters tend to get sick or injured throughout the show, hence, a few scenes/episodes be difficult for young children even for adults especially parents.
- Episode 4: This episode can seem particularly heavy. (Little) Pierrette has leukemia during this episode. Many scenes such as the one where the red blood cells (who are recurring characters) talk about dying followed immediately by chemotherapy destroying every characters of the human body, and Pierrette's family feeling uneasy accompanied by famous french musician, Michel Legrand's music can lead you to shed a tear.
- Episode 26: Though not sick, Pierrot and (little) Pierrette's grandfather, (mother) Pierrette's father, is seen aging as the episode goes on. The characters inside the human body are seen getting old as well, retiring and/or disappearing until the grandfather dies. Once again, Michel Legrand's music plays a very emotional part.
