15 dog movies ranked by how much you’ll cry

12. Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Okay, Lilo & Stitch isn’t technically a dog movie BUT a significant portion of the movie is dedicated to figuring out what kind of dog Stitch is. Given that this movie is an absolute tearjerker about found family and healing from grief, Lilo & Stitch totally fits on this list.

After the death of their parents, Nani and Lilo find themselves in an incredibly hard situation. Nani works hard to support her sister, who gets into fights at school and insists that she can talk to fish about the weather. A visit from Child Protective Services goes very poorly, and Nani begs Lilo to change her behavior so that she isn’t put into the foster system.

Enter: Stitch. Nani offers to take Lilo to adopt a dog from the local shelter and Lilo falls immediately in love the Stitch, a “dog” who’s actually a criminal alien on the run from his home planet. It takes a while for his true identity to be revealed to Lilo and Nani; in the meantime, he wreaks all kinds of havoc, including getting Nani fired from her job. He’s a menace, but Lilo loves him, so ultimately he’s allowed to stay.

Although Lilo & Stitch doesn’t technically fall into the category of “dog movies,” it will still fit well in a dog movie marathon if you’re looking for a nice afternoon of some cathartic, animal-induced crying. “This is my family. I found it all on my own. It’s little and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good,” made me teary-eyed just to type. Sniff.

Likelihood of making you cry: 4/10