10 Great Movie Characters Who Die At The Beginning
Stealing the show in the first 20 minutes.
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00:00 Character deaths can create a huge emotional impact, especially when the character who
00:04 dies has played a large role in the story for a while.
00:07 However, sometimes a character dies before they have a chance to make much of an impression
00:12 in audiences' minds.
00:14 Early character deaths can be a great way to establish that no one in a story is safe,
00:18 and even characters who seem like they will be around for a while won't necessarily make
00:22 it out of Act 1.
00:23 That said, some characters are still able to become great despite early deaths.
00:27 So with that in mind, then, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture, here with 10 great movie characters
00:31 who die at the beginning.
00:33 10.
00:34 Bella Faulkner in Hunt for the Wilderpeople
00:38 Hunt for the Wilderpeople, directed by Taika Waititi of Jojo Rabbit and Thor Ragnarok
00:42 fame, follows an unlikely father-son duo, Hector "Hec" Faulkner and Ricky Baker, as
00:48 they find themselves as the targets of a manhunt.
00:51 The two share a zany yet heartfelt adventure throughout the film.
00:54 However, they would have never been brought together in the first place without Hector's
00:57 wife, Bella Faulkner.
00:58 It is Bella's idea to take in Ricky in the first place, and between her and Hector, she
01:02 is far more eager to have him around.
01:04 In fact, Hector appears cold towards Ricky at first, with Bella playing mediator in all
01:09 of their conflicts.
01:10 Bella's kind heart and hilarious portrayal by Rima Tiwiata leads to some sweet and silly
01:15 moments such as her performance of the "Ricky Baker" birthday song.
01:19 Unfortunately, Bella's early death kickstarts the film, shattering the possibility that
01:23 the three of them could be a happy family after all.
01:25 Once she is gone, it becomes evident how impactful she was at keeping the peace between the two
01:30 leads.
01:31 9.
01:32 Ajak in Eternals
01:34 The MCU's Eternals features ten title characters.
01:38 It's only natural that one of them would barely make it past the opening credits.
01:41 Salma Hayek's Ajak is the Eternals' powerful leader.
01:44 With healing abilities and communications with the celestial Arishem, she keeps them
01:48 safe and hidden during their centuries on Earth.
01:51 However, Ajak's leadership skills and healing capabilities are not enough to keep her safe
01:55 during the film's runtime.
01:57 When Cersei, Sprite, and Icarus seek her out, they discover that Ajak has been murdered.
02:01 This is not Ajak's final appearance in the film.
02:04 She appears several times through flashbacks, solidifying her powers both as an Eternal
02:08 and as a mentor figure to the rest of her family.
02:11 In one powerful scene, she tells Icarus that humanity's devotion to each other, such as
02:15 the undoing of the Snap, inspired her to try and stop the Emergence, which will destroy
02:19 all of humanity.
02:21 Angered that Ajak is questioning the Eternals' purpose on Earth, Icarus feeds her to the
02:25 Deviants, leading to her death and the plot of the film.
02:28 Though Ajak does not stay alive on screen for long, her impact on both the audience
02:32 and the Eternals is huge.
02:34 8.
02:35 Heather Chandler in Heathers
02:38 Heather Chandler is one of the three title characters of the 1989 film Heathers.
02:42 Chandler leads a clique of four high school girls, three of whom share the same first
02:46 name, Heather.
02:47 The fourth member, Veronica Sawyer, grows tired of Chandler's cruelty and bullying and
02:51 vows to take her down.
02:52 Veronica teams up with a boy at school named JD to get revenge on Chandler.
02:56 The two offer her a fake hangover cure in order to cause her to vomit, but Veronica
03:00 accidentally hands her a mug filled with Drain Clean as she believes JD made as a joke.
03:05 Chandler drinks the concoction and instantly dies.
03:08 Despite her early out, Heather Chandler quickly establishes herself as a great cinematic Queen
03:12 Bee-esque villain.
03:13 She commands every one of her scenes, towering over her subordinates, including Heather Duke,
03:18 Heather McNamara, Veronica, and any student who dares cross her path.
03:23 Chandler is so powerful that even after her death, wearing her signature red scrunchie
03:27 signifies possessing her power within the school.
03:30 The late Kim Walker turns Heather Chandler into a memorable villain-turned-victim in
03:34 what little screen time she has.
03:37 7.
03:38 Mufasa in The Lion King
03:40 Mufasa's death in the 1994 film The Lion King became infamous for, no pun intended, scarring
03:46 nearly every child who ever saw the movie.
03:49 The character makes such a large impact that it's hard not to be scarred by his death,
03:53 even as an adult.
03:54 Mufasa, Simba's father, is voiced by the incomparable James Earl Jones.
03:59 He quickly proves himself to be a just king and kind father.
04:02 He is protective of Simba and firm with him when he steps out of line and visits the elephant
04:07 graveyard, in doing so disobeying Mufasa and endangering himself.
04:11 It is evident that so long as Mufasa is around, Simba will be safe.
04:14 Of course, Mufasa is then shortly killed by his younger brother, Scar, in an attempt to
04:19 take the throne.
04:20 Scar knocks Mufasa into a stampede of wildebeest, where he is trampled to death.
04:24 If his fall was not painful enough, seeing Simba paw helplessly at his father's corpse
04:29 is heartbreaking.
04:30 Mufasa returns to Simba in a vision later on in the film, reminding his son and the
04:35 audience that he'll always be with Simba.
04:38 6.
04:39 Juan in Moonlight
04:41 Despite having only 20 minutes of screen time, Mahershala Ali won his first Oscar for Barry
04:46 Jenkins' 2016 film Moonlight.
04:50 Watching the film, it's easy to see that awarding his portrayal of Juan is one of the best decisions
04:54 the Academy has made in recent years.
04:56 Juan exclusively appears in the first of the film's three segments, titled "Little."
05:00 Juan, a drug dealer, takes Little, a young boy named Chiron, under his wing.
05:05 Juan introduces Little to his girlfriend Teresa, and the two genuinely care for him.
05:09 He also helps Little swim and teaches him that there is nothing wrong with being gay.
05:14 When Little asks Juan if he is a drug dealer, he says yes, hanging his head in shame.
05:19 Instantly after that, Part 1 of the film ends, and it cuts to Part 2, titled "Chiron."
05:23 Juan is nowhere to be seen in Part 2, and before long, it becomes apparent that he has
05:27 died.
05:28 The film's loss hits hard, and is especially jarring given the quick transition between
05:32 the two segments and Ali's powerful performance.
05:35 5.
05:36 Uncle Ben in Spider-Man
05:39 Spider-Man's signature catchphrase, "With great power comes great responsibility," is
05:43 almost as famous as the wall-crawler himself.
05:46 That simple yet powerful sentence has guided Peter Parker throughout his time behind the
05:50 Spider-Man mask.
05:51 Uncle Ben is the man who first taught him that lesson.
05:55 Uncle Ben first appeared in the 1962 comic book Amazing Fantasy #15, dying in order to
06:00 motivate his super-powered nephew.
06:02 Ben then made his way to many of the Spider-Man film adaptations.
06:06 Played by Cliff Robertson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films and Martin Sheen in the Mark
06:10 Webb films, Uncle Ben's early death always hits hard.
06:14 Peter's uncle is shown as an abundantly kind man, and Peter's failure to save him is a
06:18 heartbreaking lesson in taking responsibility.
06:21 Uncle Ben's death is a reminder for Peter to always do all he can, and his impact throughout
06:26 all forms of Spider-Man media proves that he is an incredible character in his own right.
06:32 4.
06:33 Vizzini in The Princess Bride
06:35 For a character who dies so early in his film, Vizzini from The Princess Bride says more
06:40 than his fair share of hilarious one-liners.
06:43 Played by Wallace Shawn, Vizzini is hired to kidnap Princess Buttercup and murder her
06:47 in order to start a war.
06:49 After a mysterious man in black defeats his two hired goons Inigo Montoya and Fezzik,
06:53 the man confronts Vizzini himself.
06:55 The two engage in a battle of wits, at which Vizzini claims to excel, for Buttercup's life.
07:00 Vizzini hilariously overthinks the simple question the man in black asks him, "Which
07:04 cup has the poison?"
07:06 Vizzini causes the man to look away, then switches the cups.
07:09 When he and the man in black drink, Vizzini laughs hysterically, thinking he has outsmarted
07:13 the man, only to instantly die once it's revealed that both cups were poisoned and the man in
07:17 black was immune.
07:18 Wallace Shawn's portrayal of Vizzini, the foolish mastermind, is unbelievable.
07:22 Shawn convinces audiences that Vizzini is arrogant enough to think he is the smartest
07:26 man in the world, plus his plethora of catchphrases are always a delight to hear.
07:31 The fact that Vizzini only places fourth on this list is inconceivable.
07:35 3.
07:36 The Comedian in Watchmen
07:39 The Comedian's death is the first thing to happen in Zack Snyder's 2009 film adaptation
07:44 of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' comic book Watchmen.
07:47 The film sees the Comedian, aka Eddie Blake, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
07:52 The story opens with Rorschach investigating the Comedian's murder.
07:55 As we learn more about the Comedian, aka Eddie Blake, the bigger question than "who killed
08:00 him?" becomes "how did it take so long for this man to get murdered?"
08:03 The Comedian has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
08:06 He does not hesitate to murder innocent people and has the audacity to blame Dr. Manhattan
08:11 for not stopping him.
08:12 He commits sexual assault against the Silk Spectre, only to receive a satisfying beating
08:16 from hooded justice after the fact, and it is implied that he murdered John F. Kennedy.
08:21 The man deserved what was coming.
08:23 Despite knowing his ultimate fate, it is impossible for audiences to sympathize with the Comedian.
08:28 He is well-written in that he is impossible to like in any way, and if audiences knew
08:32 him before the film began, they might have a different reaction to his fall from that
08:36 window.
08:37 2.
08:38 Ellie in Up
08:39 Pixar's 2009 film Up swept audiences away with its opening scene.
08:44 In it, we meet two children, Carl and Ellie, who make plans to go to South America, which
08:49 Ellie describes as "America but South."
08:52 It's an adorable introduction to the film, and it's a ventral leading man.
08:55 Then audiences are treated to one of the greatest sequences in Pixar history.
09:00 Carl and Ellie get married, start a life together, build a house, spend time together in love,
09:04 prepare to become parents, learn that they cannot have children, and grow old together.
09:08 Unfortunately, Ellie becomes sick and passes away, leaving Carl to sit alone at her funeral
09:13 as the scene comes to a close.
09:14 The montage contains no dialogue, but Michael Giacchino's score packs a heavy emotional
09:19 punch.
09:20 Throughout the film, Carl tries to make it to South America in Ellie's honor.
09:24 Ellie's bravery, charm, and passing are a large part of why Up is so fondly remembered.
09:28 Though the rest of the film is wonderful, it never comes close to the sheer beauty of
09:33 the opening scene with Ellie.
09:35 1.
09:36 Mia Fey in Ace Attorney
09:39 In Takashi Miike's 2012 film Ace Attorney, an adaptation of the visual novel Phoenix
09:44 Wright Ace Attorney, audiences quickly meet Mia Fey, protagonist Phoenix Wright's boss
09:49 and mentor.
09:50 Mia quickly proves her competence in court when she almost instantly solves the case
09:54 for Phoenix, proving his client Larry Butes innocent.
09:58 Phoenix himself is not a great lawyer at this point, fumbling papers on his desk and missing
10:02 easy contradictions, but as long as he has Mia on his side, he should be fine.
10:06 Of course, shortly after this trial, Mia is murdered, and Phoenix is responsible for defending
10:11 Mia's younger sister, Maya, who has been charged with Mia's murder.
10:14 To make matters worse, Phoenix finds himself up against the fearsome prosecutor Miles Edgeworth
10:19 without the help of his trusty mentor.
10:21 However, Mia once again saves the day during this trial where Maya channels her spirit
10:25 to provide Phoenix with some much-needed guidance.
10:28 Mia effectively avenges her own murder by allowing Phoenix to earn Maya a not-guilty
10:33 verdict and causing the arrest of her actual killer, Red White.
10:36 Mia again provides aid from beyond the grave for Phoenix throughout the film's final trial,
10:41 in which we learn why she was killed.
10:43 Mia found a key piece of evidence that could close the book on a 15-year-old unsolved case
10:47 called DL-6.
10:48 In the film's climax, Maya is able to finally channel Mia again, and Phoenix finds the piece
10:53 of evidence Mia died for, hidden in the statue used to kill her, managing to solve the DL-6
10:59 case once and for all.
11:00 Even without her spirit being channeled, Mia plays an active role in the Ace Attorney film
11:04 after her death.
11:05 Mia is the mastermind behind Phoenix's defense, while also placing enough faith in him to
11:10 allow him to grow into his own.
11:12 And that concludes our list.
11:14 If you can think of anything that we missed, then do let us know in the comments below.
11:17 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
11:21 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there @WhatCulture, and I can be found across various
11:25 social medias just by searching "Ellie Littlechild."
11:27 I've been Ellie with What Culture.
11:29 I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real soon.