Top 10 Dreamworks Characters With the Saddest Backstories

#10: The Toad “Flushed Away” (2006)

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Although he employs rodents, the villainous amphibian, voiced by Sir Ian McKellen, has something against rats. He’s a sworn enemy of Rita Malone and captures her and protagonist Roddy St. James with the intention of freezing them solid. But his overarching plan is even more sinister. A bathroom break during the FIFA World Cup Final causes a deluge of sewage to spill out. He then takes advantage of this by jamming open a crucial floodgate and washing his rivals out of the sewer. But why the grudge? Midway through the film, we learn that the Toad once belonged to Prince Charles. However, he was sent down the toilet after the royal got a pet rat. His actions are indefensible — but we wouldn’t have been thrilled, either.

We’re used to seeing Alex the lion in his fullest form, as a natural-born entertainer with, shall we say, no shortage of confidence. It’s fascinating, then, to see a formative childhood event play out for him at the beginning of the second “Madagascar” film. The way too adorable “Alakay” is receiving life lessons from dad Zuba when he’s lured away by poachers. That’s sad on its own, but Zuba’s desperate rescue attempt is equally heart-wrenching. The tale not only explains how the feline ended up in the Central Park Zoo; it also sets up Alex’s emotional reunion with his family later in the sequel.

#8: Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants, Esq. “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” (2017)

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This antagonist’s unfortunate name ties into his tragic past. His backstory highlights how public ridicule is unlikely to make someone a better person. The tempestuous scientist and new instructor at Jerome Horwitz Elementary plots to make laughter extinct. Considering his moniker, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why. At one point in the film, we’re transported back to the day Poopypants showed off his newest invention at a Nobel Prize ceremony. Unfortunately, as soon as his name’s announced, he becomes a total laughingstock. Too bad that in the present, he’s not exactly a genius when it comes to disguising his evil plans.

The protagonist in this superhero comedy starts off as quite the villain — but considering his backstory, we can’t quite blame him. In a riff on Superman’s origins, both Megamind and his eventual rival Metro Man are jettisoned into space as their planets hurtle into a black hole. Right off the bat, it’s clear that Megamind will get the short end of the stick. While Metro Man sails right through an asteroid belt and lands in a mansion, the blue baby lands in a prison. Shockingly, he remains a resident even while attending school. It’s not exactly a subtle commentary on the idea of social privilege. But on paper, it’s pretty sad (okay, and a little bit funny).

#6: Dr. Octavius Brine a.ka. Dave “Penguins of Madagascar” (2014)

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In this spinoff of the “Madagascar” film franchise, the titular gang of birds faces off against an unusual opponent. That would be Dave, an embittered octopus voiced by John Malkovich. After he captures the penguins near the beginning of the film, Dave explains his history at the zoo in detail. In a flashback, we see happy days for the mollusk, entertaining children in a spacious aquarium. But once the penguins arrive, they completely steal the spotlight, leaving Dave tragically in the lurch. With a life in captivity and the silver lining of providing entertainment gone, we feel for the crafty creature.

#5: Guy “The Croods” Franchise (2013-20)

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In the first installment of this adventure comedy film series, Guy’s everything the Crood patriarch isn’t. He’s curious and incredibly inventive, while Grug’s driven to anxiety and protectiveness due to their hostile surroundings. Feeling betrayed by his family’s evolving values and lack of trust in him, Grug chases after his teenage rival. Unfortunately, they end up stuck in tar, which leads Guy to reveal the origins of his open-minded attitude: his family perished in a tar flow. In the sequel, we actually see the events he describes, and suffice it to say, it’s devastating.

#4: Princess Fiona “Shrek” Franchise (2001-)

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Since overcoming her personal issues in the first film, Fiona has been a particularly lovable and kind-hearted character. That’s part of what makes her backstory so upsetting. In the first installment, we eventually learn that her isolation was due to a cursed dual identity as an ogress. The idea, of course, was that her rescuer would break the spell in traditional fairytale fashion. In “Shrek 2,” even sadder details emerge about Fiona’s early life. We glean from her diary that her parents always kept her home at night. And she thought she was going to finishing school when she was actually being sent to live with a dragon. In “Shrek the Musical,” it’s specified that she was in the tower for over 20 years.

#3: Pitch Black “Rise of the Guardians” (2012)

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To be fair, Pitch’s background isn’t explored much in the film in which he appears. Rather, fans can learn of his origins through the movie’s source material, William Joyce’s “The Guardians of Childhood” book series. However, Pitch is a DreamWorks character and his backstory is downright disturbing enough to warrant inclusion. Once a heroic figure, Pitch guarded the imprisoned Fearlings, creepy beings with ill intentions. In his loneliness, Pitch often thought of his daughter, but the Fearlings began to imitate her voice and beckoned him to let them out. Once he did so, Pitch was possessed and the beings became his minions. From the sound of it, the one-time hero’s guard duty was miserable enough without the tragic twist.

Any viewers familiar with the Biblical tale won’t be surprised to see Moses on this list. The religious figure’s backstory couldn’t be more important, and it’s also truly devastating. Fearing a potential uprising from the enslaved Hebrews, Pharaoh Seti orders infanticide to be carried out. These events are alluded to at the beginning of the film and then revealed through a nightmare that Moses experiences. As the legend goes, the baby prophet survives the campaign by being sent away in a reed basket, only to be adopted by the Egyptian royals themselves. His later discovery of his own identity paves the way for a tragic conflict between him and his brother figure, Rameses II.

#1: Po “Kung Fu Panda” Franchise (2008-16)

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Po isn’t the only character in these movies with a heartbreaking backstory. In the 2008 short “Secrets of the Furious Five,” we learn how Tigress, an ostracized orphan, taught the art of discipline by Master Shifu. However, the pair had a strained relationship due to Shifu’s betrayal by his ex-protégé Tai Lung. But Po’s origin brings tears to our eyes, too. In “Kung Fu Panda 2,” we see a flashback of the peacock Lord Shen hearing a prophecy foretelling his defeat by a panda. But we only see the outcome of his actions during Po’s emotional flashback later in the film. It’s horrible to watch our fun-loving hero unlock some truly traumatic memories. But ultimately, they give him the strength he needs to persevere.