Character deaths can create a huge emotional impact, especially when
the character who dies has played a large role in
the story for a while.
However, sometimes a character dies before they have a chance
to make much of an impression in audiences minds.
Early character deaths can be a great way to establish
that no one in a story is safe, and even
characters who seem like they will be around for a
while won't necessarily make it out of act one.
That said, some characters are still able to become great
despite early deaths.
So with that in mind then I'm Ellie with what
culture here with 10 great movie characters who die at
the beginning #10 Bella Faulkner in Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople, directed by Taika Waititi of JoJo
Rabbit and Thor Ragnarok fame, follows an unlikely father son
duo Hector Heck Faulkner and Ricky Baker as they find
themselves as the targets of a manhunt.
The two share a zany yet heartfelt adventure throughout the
film.
However, they would have never been brought together in the
1st place without Heck's wife, Bella Faulkner.
It is Bella's idea to to take in Ricky in
the 1st place, and between her and Heck, she is
far more eager to have him around.
In fact, Heck appears cold towards Ricky at first, with
Bella playing mediator in all of their conflicts.
Bella's kind heart and hilarious portrayal by Rema Tibiata leads
to some sweet and silly moments, such as her performance
of the Ricky Baker birthday song.
Unfortunately, Bella's early death kick starts the film, shattering the
possibility that the three of them could be a happy
family after all.
Once she is gone, it becomes evident how impactful she
was at keeping the peace between between the two leads
#9 Ajax in Eternals The MCU's Eternals features ten title
characters.
It's only natural that one of them would barely make
it past the opening credits.
Salma Hayek's Ajax is the Eternals powerful leader with healing
abilities and communications with the celestial Arisham.
She keeps them safe and hidden during their centuries on
Earth.
However, Ajax leadership skills and healing capabilities are not enough
to keep her safe during the film's runtime.
When Cersei, Sprite, and Icarus seek her out, they discover
that Ajax has been murdered.
This is not Ajax's final appearance in the film.
She appears several times through flashbacks, solidifying her powers both
as an Eternal and as a mentor figure to the
rest of her family.
In one powerful scene, she tells Icarus that humanity's devotion
to each other, such as the undoing of the snap,
inspired her to try and stop the Emergence, which will
destroy all of humanity.
Angered that Ajax is questioning the Eternal's purpose on Earth,
Icarus feeds her to the Deviants, leading to her death
and the plot of the film.
Though Ajax does not stay alive on on screen for
long, her impact on both the audience and the Eternals
is huge.
Number 8 Heather Chandler in Heathers Heather Chandler is one
of the three title characters of the 1989 film Heathers.
Chandler leads a clique of four high school girls, three
of whom share the same first name, Heather.
The 4th member, Veronica Sawyer, grows tired of Chandler's cruelty
and bullying and vows to take her down.
Veronica teams up with a boy at school named JD
to get revenge on Chandler.
The two offer her a fake hangover cure in order
to cause her to vomit, but Veronica accidentally hands her
a mug filled with drain clean as she believes JD
made us a joke.
Chandler drinks the concoction and instantly dies.
Despite her early out, Heather Chandler quickly establishes herself as
a great cinematic queen bee esque villain.
She commands every one of her scenes, towering over her
subordinates including Heather Duke, Heather McNamara, Veronica, and any student
who dares cross her path.
Chandler is so powerful that even after her death, wearing
her signature red scrunchies signifies possessing her power within the
school.
The late Kim Walker turns Heather Chandler into a memorable
villain turned victim in what little screen time she has
#7 Mufasa in The Lion King.
Mufasa's death in the 1994 film The Lion King became
infamous for, no pun intended, scarring at nearly every child
who ever saw the movie.
The character makes such a large impact that it's hard
not to be scarred by his death, even as an
adult.
Mufasa, Simba's father, is voiced by the incomparable James Earl
Jones.
He quickly proves himself to be a just king and
kind father.
He is protective of Simba and firm with him when
he steps out of line and visits the elephant graveyard
in doing so, disobeying Mufasa and endangering himself.
It is evident that so long as Mufasa is around,
Simba will be safe.
Of course, Mufasa is then shortly killed by his younger
brother Scar.
In an attempt to take the throne, Scar knocks Mufasa
into a Stampede of wildebeest, where he is trampled to
death.
If his fall was not painful enough, seeing Simba pour
helplessly at his father's corpse is heartbreaking.
Mufasa returns to Simba in a vision later on in
the film, reminding his son and the audience that he'll
always be with Simba.
Number six one in Moonlight despite having only 20 minutes
of screen time.
Mahershala Ali won his first Oscar for Barry Jenkins 2016
film Moonlight.
Watching the film, it's easy to see that awarding his
portrayal of one is one of the best decisions the
Academy has made in recent years.
One exclusively appears in the first of the film's three
segments, titled Little Juan, a drug dealer takes Little, a
young boy named Shyrone under his wing.
Juan introduces Little to his girlfriend Teresa and the to
genuinely care for him.
He also helps Little swim and teaches him that there
is nothing wrong with being gay.
When Little asks Juan if he is a drug dealer,
he says yes, hanging his head in shame.
Instantly after that, part one of the film ends and
it cuts to Part 2, titled Showrone.
Juan is nowhere to be seen in Part 2, and
before long it becomes apparent that he has died.
This loss hits hard and is especially jarring given the
quick transition between the two segments and Arlie's powerful performance
#5 Uncle Ben in Spider Man Spider Man's signature catch
phrase with great power comes great responsibility is almost as
famous as the wall Crawler himself.
That simple yet powerful sentence has guided Peter Parker throughout
his time behind the Spider Man mask.
Uncle Ben is the man who first taught him that
lesson.
Uncle Ben first appeared in the 1962 comic book Amazing
fantasy #15 dying in order to motivate his superpowered nephew.
Ben then made his way to many of the Spider
Man film ad adaptations, played by Cliff Robertson in the
Sam Raimi Spider Man films and Martin Sheen in the
Marc Webb films.
Uncle Ben's early death always hits hard.
Peter's uncle is shown as an abundantly kind man, and
Peter's failure to save him is a heartbreaking lesson in
taking responsibility.
Uncle Ben's death is a reminder for Peter to always
do all he can, and his impact throughout all forms
of Spider Man media proves that he is an incredible
character in his own right #4 Vizzini in The Princess
Bride.
For a character who dies so early into his film,
Vizzini from The Princess Bride says more than his fair
share of hilarious one liners.
Played by Wallace Sean, Vizzini is hired to kidnap Princess
Buttercup and murder her in order to start a war.
After a mysterious man in black defeats his two hired
goons in Nego, Montoya and Fezik, the man confronts Vizzini
himself.
The two engage in a battle of wits are which
Vizzini claims to excel for Buttercup's life.
Vizzini hilariously overthinks the simple question the Man in Black
asks him which cup has the point.
Vizzini causes the man to look away, then switches the
cups when he and the Man in Black drink.
Vizzini laughs hysterically, thinking he has outsmarted the man, only
to instantly die once it's revealed that both cups were
poisoned and the Man in Black was immune.
Wallace Sean's portrayal of Vizzini the foolish mastermind, is unbelievable.
Sean convinces audiences that Vizzini is arrogant enough to think
he is the smartest man in the world.
Plus, his plethora of catchphrases are always a delight to
hear.
The fact that Vizzini only places 4th on this list
is inconceivable #3 The Comedian in Watchmen The Comedian's death
is the first thing to happen in Zack Snyder's 2009
film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic book
Watchmen.
The film sees a comedian AKA Eddie Blake, played by
Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The story opens with Rorschach investigating the comedian's murder.
As we learn more about the comedian AKA Eddie Blake,
the bigger question than who killed him becomes how did
it take so long for this man to get murdered?
The Comedian has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
He does not hesitate to murder innocent people and has
the audacity to blame Doctor Manhattan for not stopping him.
He commits sexual assault against the Silk Spectre only to
receive a satisfying beating from Hooded Justice after the fact,
and it is implied that he murdered John F Kennedy.
The man deserved what was coming.
Despite knowing his ultimate fate.
It is impossible for audiences to sympathize with the Comedian.
He is well written in that he is impossible to
like in any way, and if audiences knew him before
the film began, they might have a different reaction to
him from that window #2 Ellie in Up.
Pixar's 2009 film Up swept audiences away with its opening
scene.
In it, we meet two children, Carl and Ellie, who
make plans to go to South America, which Ellie describes
as America, but South.
It's an adorable introduction to the film and it's eventual
leading man.
Then audiences are treated to one of the greatest sequences
in Pixar history.
Carl and Ellie get married, start a life together, build
a house, spend time together in love, prepare to become
parents, learn that they cannot have children and grow old
together.
Unfortunately, Ellie becomes sick and passes away, leaving Carl to
sit alone at her funeral As the scene comes to
a close.
The montage contains no dialogue, but Michael Giacchino score packs
a heavy emotional punch.
Throughout the film, Carl tries to make it to South
America in Ellie's honour.
Ellie's bravery, charm and passing are a large part of
why UP is so fondly remembered.
Though the rest of the film is wonderful, it never
comes close to the sheer beauty of the opening scene
with Ellie.
Number one Mia Fey in Ace Attorney In Takashi Mikkei's
2012 film Ace Attorney, an adaptation of the visual novel
Phoenix, right Ace Attorney audiences quickly meet Mia Fey, protagonist,
Phoenix rights boss, and mentor.
Mia quickly proves her competence in court when she almost
instantly solves the case for Phoenix, proving his client Larry
Buttes innocent.
Phoenix himself is not a great lawyer at this point,
fumbling papers on his desk and missing easy contradictions, but
as long as he has Mia on his side, but
he should be fine.
Of course, shortly after this trial, Mia is murdered and
Phoenix is responsible for defending Mia's younger sister Maya, who
has been charged with Mia's murder.
To make matters worse, Phoenix finds himself up against the
fearsome prosecutor Miles Edgeworth without the help of his trusty
mentor.
However, Mia once again saves the day during this trial
when Maya channels her spirit to provide Phoenix with some
much needed guidance.
Mia effectively Avengers her own murder by allowing Phoenix to
earn Maya a not guilty verdict and causing the arrest
of her actual killer, Red White.
Mia again provides aid from beyond the grave of Phoenix.
Throughout the film's final trial, in which we learn why
she was killed, Mia found a key piece of evidence
that could close the book on a 15 year old
unsolved case called DL6.
In the film's climax, Maya is able to finally channel
Mia again, and Phoenix finds the piece of evidence Mia
died for hidden in the statue used to kill her,
managing to solve the DL6 case once and for all.
Even without her spirit being channelled, Mia plays an active
role in the Ace Attorney film after her death.
Mia is the mastermind behind Phoenix's defence, while also placing
enough faith in him to allow him to grow into
his own.
And that concludes our list.
If you can think of anything that we missed, then
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Ellie, little child.
I've been Ellie with What culture?
I hope you have a magical day and I'll see
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