Dash and Dot's Wild Ride/Tropes/Tear Jerker

If you think the mascots of a children's programming block/network could never possibly bring some of the most emotional moments imaginable to the table, Dash and Dot's Wild Ride will prove you wrong.


 * After spending almost the entire day walking back home all by themselves when their parents fail to come to pick them up from school, Dash and Dot enter the house to find no sign of their parents and check every single nook and cranny in hopes of finding them, but to no avail. By that point, Dot is now reduced to a desperate wreck and calls out for their parents before finally breaking down in tears with the assumption that they're now gone. The poor little girl has felt the pain of many kids who loved their parents with all their heart and couldn't bear to be separated from them. Even Dash is so pitiful over his sister's grief that he feels sorry for her. Dot: Mom! Dad! Where are you?! Please come back! Please... come back... (puts her hands over her face and cries)
 * If you listen closely, you can hear Grace Rolek's voice sounding like as if she really is grief-stricken and miserable, making this scene even more sad and painful to watch.
 * It eventually gets mixed with a heartwarming moment, as Dash assures Dot that their parents are probably okay and that they will find them soon before allowing her to sleep with him in his bedroom. As Dot climbs onto her brother's bed, she is still sniffing and crying with tear-stained eyes before gradually calming down and sleeping along with Dash.
 * While staying over at their grandparents' house with Dash, Dot suddenly remembers their parents' disappearance last night and is unable to help but feel sad about it, so Donnell comes over and comforts her granddaughter, revealing that she once had a similar experience as a kid where she assumed that her parents have disappeared forever before finding out they were only gone for a temporary period of time. She looks just as sad as Dot while making that statement, and you can't help but feel sorry for her.
 * Dash and Dot's big argument after their makeshift vehicle, which they have been fighting for who should drive it over, crash-lands in a forest and leaves them stranded there, and it's remembered by many as one of the film's most memorable scenes for a damn good reason. Dot: (gets up on her feet after the destruction of their vehicle) Dash! Are you okay?! Dash: (slowly and firmly stands up without saying a word) Dot: Dash? Dash: (under his breath in a bitter and monotone voice) Dot.... Dot: Y-Yeah? Dash: (abruptly and quickly faces Dot) YOU WRECKED OUR CAR!!!! Dot: (startled by Dash's sudden outburst) Dash... what's gotten into you...? Why are you...? Dash: (with the angriest tone imaginable) What's gotten into me?! Look what you've done to our car! It was supposed to be our last chance to help us find Mom and Dad! All of that hard work... is now ruined... because you couldn't resist wanting to drive the darn thing! And now, we're stuck in this forest, and it's all your fault! Dot: My fault?! Well, look here... Dash: Don't you talk back at me like that, little sis! If you hadn't butted in to fight over our ride, then none of this would've happened! Dot: Hey, we both built that thing together, so at least I should have a turn! Dash: True, but you were just gonna goof off with it! Dot: Am not! Dash: Are too! You are little more than an annoying little sister who puts a lot of stress on her big brother and ruins everything for him! She doesn't care if he is upset or not as long as she gets what she wants! Dot: (gasps and pauses for a brief moment, clearly shocked by what Dash just said to her) But, Dash... I'm not really... Dash: Oh, and Dot? (pauses, glaring at the shocked Dot) You are not my sister anymore! Good day! (walks away, leaving Dot behind as rain starts pouring down)
 * And after being disowned and abandoned by Dash, Dot's shock slowly but surely degrades into pure sorrow as she sits down and silently cries once again. She hadn't just botched their search mission for their parents and came to her senses for it, she thinks Dash hates her now. Her sadness during that scene is even worse than before, and you're feeling so sorry for her that you want to come over and give her a great big hug.
 * After noticing Mason's fallen van sinking to the bottom of the river with Dash and Dot still in it, Denise, completely devastated, drops to her knees and bawls her eyes out, thinking that her beloved children have drowned. Dennis is just as heartbroken as his wife but is kind enough to console her as they mourn their supposedly deceased offspring. Even when it's revealed that Dash and Dot have survived, the sad mood of the scene does not change as they go up and comfort their mother, though it finally becomes a happy moment the instant Denise sees her kids alive and well and expresses her joy and relief over it.