https://theoatmeal.com/comics/artax
I saw the thumbnail and thought "Oh no, I can't handle this!"
That scene fucked up an entire generation.
this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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Right?
It’s like killing the dog. And yet there it was, in a children’s movie.
and the real monster of the film was the idea of "the nothing" ... there is nothing more freaky of an idea to a child than to suggest to them that there could be an absolute, all consuming, eternal "nothing" ... to some people, it was a thought worse than death itself. As a kid who didn't understand how to process philosophical ideas or even begin to fathom them, it was a terribly scary thought. Not that I understand complex philosophical ideas as a grown adult, I still don't understand lots today ... but as a kid who had no clue or guide to any of this, it was like being taken to a desert, dropped off alone and told to figure it out on your own.
I love that film and I loved the fact I saw it as an unaware kid when I was young .... it sparked so many ideas and thoughts in my life that affected me in positive ways ever since.
I was terrified of the Nothing. Some people are afraid of the Gmork, but to me it paled in comparison.
Wow. What did Seinfeld do to you?
Hard to say, but Jerry Seinfeld definitely preyed on a high schooler
I'm in my 40's and still have nightmares about G'Mork sometimes.
It’s a book. The movie was only half the book.
I haven't thought of the book in years ... I knew a long time ago that the film was based on the book, I just never had the time or the awareness to think of reading it.
Now you've renewed my interest and I think I'll be reading the book soon. Thanks!
And the latter portion of the book was even darker.
Is this from something known?
The Neverending Story
Millenials have missed out
Early millennial, saw that movie a dozen times growing up. Some TV broadcasts, and an overused, quite damaged home-recorded VHS.
That movie was out just in time for millennials.
i saw it over a dozen times (never liked the second one at all though) and im gen z lol
there's still time. it's a good film regardless of the difference
Just don't watch the "extended" version. The only scene added was a janitor walking into Bastian's hidden reading space and complaining.
I'm the younger end of millennial - I did watch these as a kid but I was young enough that I don't remember much. Don't remember artax.
I wanna say there was a big big chill mammal thing but when I try to remember more I just picture Oppa from Avatar
The whole generation had a ton of these kinds of movies too. It was like the go to thing. Kind of weird
Old 'Yeller has entered the chat
Think I was 4?, maaaybe 5? when I first saw that one. 😭😭
Old Yeller in first grade, Where the Red Fern Grows in third grade …
More than one. I grew up in the 2000s and I had this DVD. This movie scared the shit out of me and I loved it for it.
Have you watched it recently though? Artax is literally in one scene before this, as an adult now, they did nothing to build our demonstrate the emotional bond people to this scene.
John Wick's beagle had even less screen time and yet everyone was ok with the ensuing bloodbath. Clearly the bond with Artax was implied well enough to scar thousands of childhoods.
I mean totally. I remember it devastating me, and was surprised at how weak the emotion building was when I watched it as an adult
People like horses.
You know, even as a kid...
Like, I get choked up by a lot of stuff in movies. It's not that I have a tough time forming emotional connections.
But I remember watching that scene as a kid, and thinking it was just....weird. Like, the horse is supposed to be sad, but... It didnt SEEM sad. It wasn't a sad horse thay needed to fight the sadness. It just seemed like a horse. A horse that was really confused why it was there, and in a bunch of mud, and etc.
Like, even at 8 or whatever I remember thinking "wow, I'm supposed to be sad here, but I really am not and neither is Artax"
And I feel the same way watching it since.
I get more choked up on stuff involving the luck dragon. Or maybe the rock biter talking about not being strong enough, etc.
Finally some closure after all those years
It's referencing a scene from The Neverending Story (1984), in case anyone is lost.
If you play the scene in reverse its about a boy who pulls a horse out of a pit and rides him backwards out of a damn book
Been a long time since I’ve seen a comic from The Oatmeal
He's actually put out a few little ones recently, maybe now he's finished with the tv show and the card games etc. he's back on the comics.
Is this what closure feels like? Is this healing?
My mom had a horse just like that (maybe not the eyes) and we would often ride her around our woods/property. There was a part of our swamp that was just muck, water and leaves beneath dead, spindly trees, and any time we would get close to that I would flip the fuck out because of this scene. No goliath turtles, though.
My mom had a horse just like that (maybe not the eyes) and we would often ride her around our woods/property.
We all rode your mom around your woods/property.
Falcore jealousy obviously
I just watched this last night.
Turn around, Look at what you see eee eeee