Why Are Great Kids Movies So Sad?儿童佳片为何悲情满满？

文森特·科特罗内奥/文　巫屹/译

Here is why the saddest films made for kids are considered to be some of the classics and most important of all films for young viewers. 为何那些最悲伤的儿童电影被纳入经典之列，并且对少儿观众来说至关重要？且看下文。

We all remember that first cry at the movies. Whether they are tears of joy or sadness， it is quite astounding that human emotion can be contrived1 by moving images on a screen cut together in a sequence. This emotional manipulation is written， planned out， and purposefully meant to evoke strong feelings out of a targeted audience member， especially one who has been conditioned to2 be drawn to sad movies. Films are as methodical as they are artistic. It all comes from a plan， and that plan is to tell a story. The kind of story is subjective and means something different to each individual. But what about those heart-wrenching stories… for kids？

我們都记得观看电影时的第一次哭泣。不管是喜极而泣还是悲伤泪流，人类的情感竟可以通过银幕上剪辑播放的画面来牵动，这实在令人惊讶。这种对情感的操纵经过精心编写、策划，旨在激起目标受众的强烈情感，尤其是那些易被伤感电影吸引的观众。电影追求艺术效果，同样也需要条理叙述。一切都源自某个构思，其目的是讲一个故事。这种故事具有主观性，对每个个体有不同的意义。但是那些令人心痛的故事……那些专给孩子们看的故事呢？

Kids movies seem to range in a variety of emotional beats. They could be over the top3 with silly slapstick4 humor， while others maintain a certain sophistication to them and dont sugarcoat5 the realities of the world our children will eventually come into as they age. Perhaps this is why these films exist. Since the early days of Aristotle， we have been searching for reasons why we seek out tragedy. A quote by the philosopher from his Poetics6 may answer why： “Tragic plays have the capacity to purify the spirit and aid us in coping with aspects of life that cannot be reconciled by rational thought. ”

儿童电影似乎具有各种各样的情感基调。其中一些电影可能会包含夸张滑稽的幽默，而另一些则保持一定的世故，不会粉饰孩子们长大后终将进入的现实世界。也许这就是这些电影存在的原因。早在亚里士多德时期，我们就开始探究人们诉诸悲剧的原因。这位哲学家的《诗学》中有一句话，也许可以回答这个问题：“悲剧有净化心灵的能力，有助于我们应对生活中理性思维无法调和的方方面面。”

Why seek tragedy

为什么诉诸悲剧

Perhaps the main reason we seek tragedy is to cope， to understand and to heal. The hardest lesson to teach a child is how to cope with tragedy and loss， especially if it is sudden. Films made by Disney are loaded with tragedy… and trauma. Especially in animation classics like Bambi and The Lion King.

也许我们诉诸悲剧的主要原因是为了应对、理解和治愈。教育孩子最难的一课是如何应对不幸和损失，尤其是在突发状况下。迪士尼制作的电影里满是悲剧，还有创伤，在《小鹿斑比》和《狮子王》等经典动画中尤甚。

In the 1994 animated film The Lion King， which is based loosely7 on Shakespeares famous tragedy of Hamlet， we get our first account into the tragic loss of Mufasa and how that affects his cub Simba. Kids see themselves in Simbas character. He has dreams， he has a desire to grow and be a part of a bigger world. But it turns much darker， as many of us could remember seeing Mufasas death on screen for the first time. Boy it was traumatizing！

1994年上映的动画片《狮子王》大体改编自莎士比亚著名悲剧《哈姆雷特》，我们在影片中第一次了解到老狮王木法沙的不幸离世，以及这件事对他的孩子辛巴的影响。孩子们从辛巴这个角色中看到了自己。他有梦想，渴望长大，渴望成为更大世界的一部分。但剧情却变得晦暗起来，我们许多人都还记得第一次在银幕上目睹木法沙死去的场景。天哪，太令人心碎了！

So why is a film like this so beloved when it makes kids cry？ The lesson it teaches is to overcome adversity and to move on. Hakuna Matata8！ It truly is a wonderful phrase. Yes， it means ‘no worries for the rest of your days， and it is rather catchy， with some of Disneys best songs. However， the true message9 of a film like this is to teach kids that it is okay to move on from tragic loss and not to let it define you. It is an important lesson that many of us learned at a very young age. Sadness should not be overlooked， fear should not be ignored. Perhaps this is why the animated version of The Lion King is widely regarded as one of Disneys greatest films of all time.

那么，为什么这样一部让孩子们悲伤哭泣的电影如此受人追捧呢？它教会我们的是克服逆境，继续前行。哈库呐马塔塔！这实在是句精妙的话。是的，它的意思是“余生无忧”，配上迪士尼优美的音乐之后朗朗上口。然而，这样的电影真正寓意是要教会孩子们，面对不幸，继续走下去就好，不要让它框住你。这是我们许多人在很小的时候就学到的重要一课。悲伤不应被忽视，恐惧不应被忽略。大家普遍认为动画版《狮子王》是迪士尼有史以来最伟大的电影之一，也许这就是原因所在。

Its okay to cry

哭吧，没关系

Sadness is an emotion that is almost taboo. It is suppressed from the mainstream and ignored by the public. But films like The Iron Giant and Up dont give the audience an opportunity to shy away from their emotions. In fact， they force us to feel.

悲伤几乎是一种让人避讳的情绪，为主流所压制，被公众所忽视。然而类似《钢铁巨人》和《飞屋环游记》这样的电影并不会给观众逃避自己情绪的机会。实际上，这些电影促使我们去感受自己的情绪。

Perhaps the saddest sequence in film history is the opening montage showcasing Carl and Ellies life in the opening of Disney and Pixars Best Picture Nominated film Up. We see kids growing up together， falling in love， building their book of adventures. Then all of a sudden， it ends with Ellies tragic death， leaving Carl an elderly man alone with nothing but an empty book of never achieved adventures. Yes， this is a kids movie. Why must it be so sad？ Sadness is real， and even celebrated in another Pixar classic， Inside Out， which anthropomorphizes10 sadness as an important character.

也許，电影史上最悲伤的一幕来自迪士尼和皮克斯合作的奥斯卡最佳影片提名之作《飞屋环游记》，其开场用蒙太奇手法展示了卡尔和艾莉的一生。我们看到两个孩子一起长大，坠入爱河，建构他们的冒险之书。然后，突然之间，故事以艾莉的不幸离世而告终，独留年迈的卡尔一人，身边只有一本从未实现的冒险之书，里面空空如也。是的，这是一部儿童电影。为什么这部电影要如此伤感？悲伤是真切的，甚至在皮克斯的另一部经典电影《头脑特工队》中被拟人化为一个重要角色加以渲染。

It is important to feel sad， and that is why these films are so great. They embrace sadness and make something new out of it. As the phoenix rises from the ashes， we see that happiness is possible even after the darkest of tragedies. It teaches us to cope with the sadness， and understand how it might take a long time to heal.

感受悲伤很重要，这些电影这么伟大，原因正在于此。他们接纳悲伤，并从中创造新的东西。正如凤凰涅槃，我们看到，即使经历了最惨痛的悲剧，最后也可能获得幸福。这教会我们如何应对悲伤，并明白创伤可能需要很长时间才能愈合。

Kids movie character deaths have a message

儿童电影角色的死亡有种寓意

Characters like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial， The Iron Giant， and even Charlotte from Charlottes Web， have all taken up residence inside our hearts. To those who remember seeing these films for the first time， these characters create bonds with the audience. We learn lessons and build imaginary friendships with a fictional character. We see ourselves interacting with a giant robot or an alien… or even a spider. They teach us lessons that apply to our real lives. But why must they be taken away with death or absence？

外星人E. T.、钢铁巨人，甚至《夏洛的网》中的夏洛，这些角色都在我们心中占据了一席之地。对于那些还记得第一次观看这些电影的人来说，这些角色与他们建立了联系。我们从电影中吸取经验教训，与故事中的人物建立虚构的友谊。我们看到自己与一个巨大的机器人或外星人……甚至一只蜘蛛互动。他们教会我们适用于现实生活的东西。但是，为什么他们必须以死亡或消失的方式离开？

Just as Dumbo was taken from his mother in the classic Disney animated film Dumbo， sometimes these beloved characters die and are taken from us. Why must a film made for kids even touch on a subject about death with characters that feel like family？ Well， in Bridge to Terabithia， the Disney adventure film based on the novel of the same name， our young protagonist Jess （played by Josh Hutcherson） loses his best friend Leslie （played by AnnaSophia Robb） in an accident where she brutally dies off-screen， but it is told to us in grim detail. This is quite disturbing to kids hearing this for the first time. But it is meant to show the harsh realities of the world， and how one could prevail. Jess learns to navigate his imagination and gains independence.

就像迪士尼经典动画电影《小飞象》中，小飞象从母亲身边被带走，有时这些受人喜爱的角色会死去，被从我们身边夺走。儿童电影中的角色就像是我们的家人，为什么这种为孩子们制作的电影必须触及死亡主题呢？好吧，在根据同名小说改编的迪士尼冒险电影《仙境之桥》中，我们年轻的主人公杰斯（乔什·哈切森饰演）在一次意外中失去了他最好的朋友莱斯莉（安娜索菲亚·罗伯饰演），她惨死的画面没有在银幕上呈现，但残酷的细节描述让我们了解了这一点。第一次听到这种讲述的孩子会非常不安。但这旨在展示世界的严酷现实，以及一个人如何才能战胜挫折。杰斯最终学会了驾驭自己的想象力，获得了独立。

What is the ultimate message behind a sad kids movie？ It is meant to teach the audience， especially children， to gain their independence and how to free themselves from tragedy. It is a coping tool used to be a cushion that separates fiction from reality that is just thin enough to feel almost real. After all， we felt the loss of Mufasa， we felt the loss of The Iron Giant and Bambis mother. These feelings need that cushion when felt for the first time so when they do come for real， maybe the child will know how to deal with it. Or perhaps it might just feel a little less bad if they can stop and just say Hakuna Matata.

一部悲傷的儿童电影的终极意义是什么？它是要教导观众（尤其是儿童）学会自立，学会从悲剧中释怀。它是一个用于将故事与现实分隔开来的缓冲垫，这层缓冲非常薄，足以让人感觉身临其境。毕竟，对于失去木法沙、失去钢铁巨人和斑比的母亲，我们感同身受。第一次体会到这些感觉时，是需要那层缓冲的，这样当它们真的来临时，也许孩子们就知道如何应对了。或者，如果他们能停下来，说声“哈库呐马塔塔”，难过的感觉或许就能少一点儿了。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）

1 contrive巧妙地策划。  2 condition to训练；使习惯于。

3 over the top太过分。  4 slapstick打闹剧，粗俗滑稽剧。  5 sugarcoat美化，粉饰。  6西方文明第一部系统的美学和艺术理论著作。  7 loosely大致地，大概。

8《狮子王》中狐獴丁满和疣猪彭彭的经典台词，源于斯瓦西里语，意思是“不用担心”或“没有问题”。他们救了辛巴之后，便教他“哈库呐马塔塔”的生活哲学来忘却烦恼。丁满和彭彭演唱的同名插曲后半段的间奏代表辛巴从小到大的成长过程。  9 message（书、电影或戏剧的）要旨，寓意，中心思想。

10 anthropomorphize人格化，赋予人性。