The latest animated tearjerker has a scene inspired by Mufasa's death in 'The Lion King,' so get your tissues ready

• Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Chris Sanders' movie, "The Wild Robot."
• Sanders says working on "The Lion King" helped him pull off a shocking moment in "The Wild Robot."
• "You handle it in a certain way so that you don't pull punches," the director told Business Insider.

Chris Sanders has a history of incorporating serious topics into animated films for children. Before directing modern classics like "Lilo & Stitch" and "How to Train Your Dragon," he was the head storyboard artist at Disney Animation and helped develop iconic titles like "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "The Lion King" (he received "Story By" credits for all three).

So when it came to crafting another heartwarming yet tear-jerking animated classic, he took cues from his work on "The Lion King" and the film's most devastating moment.