* ''ComicBook/WhenTheWindBlows'' charts the slow death from nuclear fallout of an elderly couple after a nuclear bomb goes off in England.
** Originally a [[ComicBooks graphic novel]] (and also a {{Radio}} play). And of course their deaths are the {{Anvilicious}} point of the story, meant to show up the absurdity of the British Government's civil defence plans.
* Intentionally done in the pilot episode of ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'' (actually drawn out into six two-minute shorts), in which the main character's guns-blazing assassination mission fails when she steps on a nail and falls to her death, her body and even her apartment being destroyed by her superiors, her assassination target dead by other means, and her entire shooting spree of a mission being futile.
** The second season, dealing with the question "How do we do a sequel when the protagonist is dead?", turns this trope up to 11 by having her die (pointlessly) in ''every episode''.
** The continuity-less series kept the protagonist alive (mostly), but episodes often end with the trans-humanist BigBad being right and when the protagonist is successful, she's successful in unwittingly [[NiceJobBreakingItHero destroying humanity]].
* In the movie version of ''The Plague Dogs'', the movie ends with the two dogs [[spoiler: swimming out to sea and drowning after their fox friend had just sacrificed himself to give them time to escape; this wasn't how it was in the book--see above.]] The real kicker is that many people prefer the movie ending, that's how bad the DeusExMachina was in the novel.
* SpongebobSquarepants: "Once there was an [[Literature/TheUglyBarnacle ugly barnacle]]. He was so ugly that everyone died. The end."
* ''FamilyGuy'''s marijuana episode, though it can be excused as the whole episode was an [[AuthorTract excuse for Seth to tell people about the benefits of marijuana and the push to have it legalized]].
** Also the OJ Simpson episode. After building up that they shouldn't just assume that OJ was really guilty, at the very end he stabs a couple people to death and runs off, ending with Peter saying "Oh, I guess he did do it then."
** A [[ShowWithinAShow "depressing 1970s sci-fi film starring a guy in a turtleneck"]] ends with the protagonist shooting himself on the advice of his female companion, who then peels off her face to reveal she's a robot.
** Stewie and Brian brought human Brian into their world, who wants to start a new life there, and when he crosses the road he gets run over by a car.
* ''{{Futurama}}'s'' Jurassic Bark, especially from the dog POV. Fortunately, the dog gets unshot in [[TheMovie Bender's Big Score]].
** Although he then gets shot [[spoiler: by Bender's death ray]] to get "fast-fossilized".
** Which is still better than the original ending, as this time the dog [[spoiler:got to see Fry again, which in the original timeline he did not, and died a quick, mostly painless death, which in the original timeline was slow and cruel.]]
* In one ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' segment ("8 Ball Bunny"), Bugs Bunny comes across a penguin. After swearing he would help the penguin get home (after regretting making him cry), he finds out that penguins come from the South Pole ("South Pole?! Ooh, I'm dyin'!"). He tries to help the penguin to the Antarctic, going through hell and high water to do so, only to find out when he finally gets there that this was a domesticated performing penguin who lived in Hoboken ("Hoboken?! Ooh, I'm dyin' again!"), and he just dragged him several thousand miles for nothing. It would be just a regular ShaggyDogStory, except that the usually calm, [[InvincibleHero impossible to beat]] Bugs suffers a mental breakdown because of it.
* This trope is cruelly used in the PrivateSnafu short "The Chow Hound", in which a bull gives his life to be turned into meat to be delivered to Snafu to feed him in order to fight the enemy. Unfortunately, Snafu has eaten so much already by the time the package arrives that he throws out the bull meat, such to the chagrin of the Bull's ghost.
* The "Transmutate" episode of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars: {{Transformers}}''. A [[UglyCute gentle, horribly misshapen]], [[IllGirl mentally feeble]], [[AnimalMotifs bird-like]] Transformer is pursued by Silverbolt and Rampage because Silverbolt is the epitome of the KnightInShiningArmor archetype and wanted to protect ''[[ViewerGenderConfusion her]]'', while Rampage sees a kindred spirit because she was a twisted freak. [[spoiler: In the end she tries to get between them with her shield when she sees them fighting, and gets destroyed.]]
** Another memorable one is that one of Cyberton's satellites comes to Earth looking for the Maximals. The group quickly put together a beacon in hopes of contacting it. But the Predecons get winds of their actions and a fight ensures. Just when it looks like the Maximals will get the signal out. Megatron manages to get in a last minute shot and destroy the beacon. Vowing he won't let them leave till he wins the ongoing battle between the two groups.
* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Stanley's Cup", a ''Mighty Ducks'' parody which ends with a pee-wee ice hockey team being beaten bloody by a professional team, and their teammate dying of cancer. "Woodland Critter Christmas" also qualifies, to a lesser degree: the episode consists of a story written by Cartman in class for the sole purpose of saying Kyle died at the end.
** And then those woodland critters turn out to be the most evil monsters ever created by anyone's imagination.
*** In the episode, they again shoot...and violate (InThatOrder)...a beloved children's character; scaring the crap out of [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]].
** There was also the massively drawn out prank played on the boys by two amusement park employees to make them think that a whale was sentient, leading them to kidnap the whale and eventually condemn it to death by blasting it to the moon.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTfD-NtrNUM Billy's Balloon]] by Don Hertzfeldt.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuhZuMl9StM The World's Smartest Dog.]]
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-igYjn6E4 The "Ballad of Magellan"]] episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'':
-->"Whoopie-Ti-Yi-Yo, Farewell, Magellan.\\
You almost made it, it's really not fair.\\
Whoopie-Ti-Yi-Yo, oh Ghost of Magellan,\\
the East Indies Islands were right over ''there''".
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' had Jimmy trying to keep Lucius from destroying "the last non-miserable spot in all of Miseryville." In the end, he manages, and Lucius calls to cease-fire... but Samy and Molotov mishear it and think he ordered them to fire.