| abstract
| - Cinema has almost a century's worth of making people go "Awww".
* 127 Hours
* 2010: The Year We Make Contact
* Accepted
* Agora
* Air Doll
* Akira
* All Quiet On the Western Front
* American Pie
* Another Gay Movie
* Armageddon
* The Artist
* Astro Boy
* The Avengers
* Babe
* A Beautiful Mind
* Bedknobs and Broomsticks
* Bill and Ted
* Billy Elliot
* Bionicle
* The Birdcage
* Blade Runner
* The Blind Side
* Blood Diamond
* The Blues Brothers
* Braveheart
* The Brothers Lionheart
* Bubba Ho Tep
* But I'm a Cheerleader
* Captain America the First Avenger
* Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
* Children of Men
* A Christmas Carol
* A Christmas Story
* Chronicle
* Close Encounters of the Third Kind
* The Color Purple
* Coming to America
* Con Air
* Contagion
* Cowboys and Aliens
* Dark City
* The Dark Knight Saga
* The Day the Earth Stood Still
* Dead Poets Society
* Deep Impact
* Dick Tracy
* Die Hard
* Dinner for Schmucks
* Heartwarming
* Dogma
* Dolphin Tale
* Don Juan Demarco
* Ed Wood
* The Emperors New Groove
* Enchanted
* Encino Man
* ET the Extraterrestrial
* Ever After
* Evil Dead
* Fame
* Fifty Fifty
* Final Fantasy VII Advent Children
* Flash Gordon
* Footloose
* Forrest Gump
* The Fugitive
* US Marshals
* Gandhi
* Gattaca
* Ghostbusters
* Godzilla
* Goodfellas
* The Golem
* Good Luck Chuck
* The Goonies
* The Great Escape
* The Green Hornet
* Groundhog Day
* Hanna
* Homeward Bound the Incredible Journey
* Hook
* Hugo
* The Hunt for Red October
* Inception
* The Incredible Hulk
* The Incredibles
* Indiana Jones
* Ink
* I Robot
* The Iron Giant
* Iron Man
* Its a Wonderful Life
* James Bond
* Jingle All the Way
* John Carter
* The Joy Luck Club
* The Jungle Book
* The Karate Kid
* Kill Bill
* The King's Speech
* Labyrinth
* Lake Mungo
* The Last of the Mohicans
* The Last Starfighter
* Little Miss Sunshine
* The Lord of the Rings
* Lost in Space
* Love Actually
* Mad Max
* Mary Poppins
* Matilda
* The Matrix
* Men in Black
* Mission to Mars
* Mister Roberts
* Moon
* Moonstruck
* Moon Child
* Moulin Rouge
* Mrs. Doubtfire
* Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
* The Mummy Trilogy
* The Muppets
* The Muppet Movie
* The Great Muppet Caper
* The Muppets Take Manhattan
* The Muppet Christmas Carol
* Muppet Treasure Island
* Muppets From Space
* Muriels Wedding
* Music of the Heart
* The Name of the Rose
* The Neverending Story
* Nine
* Osmosis Jones
* Pans Labyrinth
* The Parent Trap
* The Patriot
* Peter Pan
* Pirates of the Caribbean
* Pixar
* Planes Trains and Automobiles
* Pleasantville
* Poohs Grand Adventure
* Popeye
* Practical Magic
* The Prince of Egypt
* Prince of Persia the Sands of Time
* Princess
* The Princess Bride
* The Producers
* Pulp Fiction
* Puss in Boots
* Quest for Camelot
* Radio Days
* Radio Rebel
* Repo the Genetic Opera
* Reservoir Dogs
* Return to Oz
* Richie Rich
* Rise of the Planet of The Apes
* Road To series
* The Road to El Dorado
* Robocop
* Robin Hood
* The Rocketeer
* Rocky
* Ronja the Robbers Daughter
* The Santa Clause
* Saving Private Ryan
* Saw
* Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
* Scream
* The Secret of NIMH
* Sense and Sensibility
* Serenity
* Singin in The Rain
* Slumdog Millionaire
* Snow White and The Huntsman
* Spider-Man
* Stardust
* Starman
* Star Wars
* A New Hope
* The Empire Strikes Back
* Return of the Jedi
* The Straight Story
* Stranger Than Fiction
* Sucker Punch
* Summer Wars
* Sunshine
* Super 8
* Superbad
* Superman
* Superman Doomsday
* Superman Returns
* Targets
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
* Temple Grandin
* Terminator
* The Thief and The Cobbler
* Titanic
* Thor
* Toy Story
* Transformers
* Tron
* Tron Legacy
* Tropic Thunder
* Vanilla Sky
* WALL-E
* The War of the Worlds
* The Waterboy
* What Women Want
* Where the Wild Things Are
* The Wild One
* Willow
* The Wizard of Oz
* X-Men
* X Men 1
* X 2 X Men United
* X Men Origins Wolverine
* X Men First Class
* Yellow Submarine
* Young Frankenstein
* The Young Victoria
* Zombieland
* In Good Will Hunting when, Robin Williams is looking at Matt Damon's file and says "all of this...it's not your fault." Matt Damon finally breaks down.
* In Angels and Demons, one of the changes from the novel in which the final cardinal is saved when bystanders jump into the fountain to help Langdon. Made me wish I were still Catholic so I could feel proud of that.
* Troper, you don't have to be Catholic (or Jewish or Islamic) to be proud that you're part of a race whose members are willing to throw themselves into mortal danger for one of their own.
* The Truman Show, as he's exiting the giant dome and says "In case I don't see you - good afternoon, good evening, and good night." Definitely a CMOA.
* Somethings Gotta Give: When Erica and Marin are sitting on the steps by the beach and Erica says "do you honestly think you can outsmart love?"
* The end of "First Wives Club" when the three ladies dance.
* In My Best Friend's Wedding, when Jules finds Kimmy in the ladies room:
* The very ending of Dirty Dancing, in which Baby's crotchety father finally accepts the relationship between Baby and Johnny; complete with an amazing dance routine and Crowning Music of Awesome.
* You wouldn't expect one in a movie like Red Dawn, but the scene near the end when the Central American general clearly gets a shot at the brothers in the street but stands down and lets them go does qualify.
* "Yes-Man" (The Jim Carrey movie) had one of these - Carrey's character starting a crowd song with "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind to coax a man into not committing suicide. It makes one want to go out and try the same thing
* The movie Glory, "If this man should fall, who will lift the flag and carry on?" Soldier steps forward, "I will." That movie will damn near make you want to join the military.
* A few moments before that, a regiment of white soldiers who'd mocked the black soldiers, are the first ones to salute them as they prepare for the charge at Fort Wagner.
* "Give 'em hell, 54th!"
* "If you men will take no pay, then none of us will!"
* The regiment receives word that the Confederates have issued a decree than any black soldier captured in uniform will be hanged; along with any white man commanding them. No negotiation, no mercy. Col. Shaw give a one-time offer to anyone to leave who so wishes. The next morning, he asks his friend..."how many are left??" His friend doesn't answer, when he looks outside for himself he sees that NOT ONE soldier, White or Black has left. Dumbfounded; all he can say is "Glory Hallelujah". C. M. O. Heartwarming.
* Men Of Honor, "Now dammit! Square that rig and approach the rail!!"
* Superman II has one brief, but astonishing, scene which doubles as a CMoA for the citizenry of Metropolis en masse. When they believe that the Kryptonian supervillains have killed Superman himself, the citizens first stand in horrified shock, then haltingly - but with steadily-increasing determination - advance on the villains. They must know that they'll be blasted into so much fly-ash by beings that can apparently kill Supes himself, but they don't give a damn about that. All of the average person's courage, humanity, and decency comes powering to the fore. And it's a real punch-the-air moment.
* Triply so in the Richard Donner cut, which removes the unnecessary comic relief that blunted the impact in the theatrical version.
* In the film Superman Returns:
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* When Superman triumphantly bathes himself in the warmth of Earth's golden sun, gathering the strength and courage to throw a rapidly growing continent of Kryptonite into space.
* When Kal-El learns he has become a father, and though he will not interfere with his son's adopted family, still promises "I'll always be around, Lois."
* Say what you want about Independence Day, but there are ton of them in there (some border on Tastes Like Diabetes, but still). Will Smith finally marrying Vivica Fox. Jeff Goldblum's estranged wife hugging him before the Big Mission. The President's Speech. Russell Casse's Crowning Moment of Awesome and Heroic Sacrifice. And finally the closing scene in the desert.
* And, Russell's estranged son's reaction after his dad's death. Major: "What your father did was very brave. You should be proud of him" - "I am." That by itself was worth the price of admission.
* Same disclaimer, but "Today we celebrate out Independence Day!" really made me feel good.
* Disclaimer noted and respected, but that line felt more than a bit off for some of us who don't live in the US.
* To the disclaimer, in the context of the film that speech is for the Independence Day of the world not just the US.It is circumstance that it falls on July 4th. This is shown by the coordination of each country and its soldiers/fighters.
* The ending of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
* "Hello, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine!"
* Yellow Submarine - When The Beatles tell the defeated Blue Meanies that they can be forgiven for conquering Pepperland and live there in peace and the Meanies accept. Particularly powerful, because the head of the Blue Meanies reveals that his cousin is the Bluebird of Happiness, and thus subverts one of the movie's primal leitmotifs- blue as a color of evil- by turning it into the color of happiness. Since when do the villains, once reformed, turn their powers around, rather than simply adopting the hero's powers and color set?
* What makes it even better is the It's All Too Much segment right after. The scene of Jeremy and the Chief Blue Meanie becoming friends is just adorable. That and all the other characters, villain,Pepperlander and Beatle alike, getting together and having a party.
* The 2008 Horton Hears a Who film Denouement right after Horton's claim about the Whos' existence is finally verified and the Kangaroo is reproached by the mob for the atrocity she almost made them commit. Horton notices she is alone and ashamed and approaches her with the Bunny Vlad's cookie to assure her that she is forgiven. For her part, she is deeply moved by this gesture and shelters the Whos' speck with a little umbrella. After which, Horton starts to sing "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" where everyone sings praises that the long-suffering elephant so richly deserves.
* Its ability to pull these off is the primary appeal of Love Actually. It's a movie about love people, it's right there in the name. The Prime Minister's monologue right in the beginning qualifies already.
* John Cusack. Boombox. Window. Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes. Crowning Moment of Heartwarming for Say Anything.
* The very ending of Garden State.
* Fight Club has one of these, albeit in a twisted way, when the narrator and his love interest hold hands while watching the climax of Project Mayhem.
* Adam Sandler movies, despite all the comedy and slapstick, have those particular moments where "D'awww..." is the least of reaction expected.
* In The Longest Yard, at Caretaker's funeral, where most of the inmates, depicted until then as insensitive troglodytes, mourn the passing of their friend. Cheese Burger Eddie even leaves a double-special on his coffin as a farewell gift!
* Click has two worth of mentioning. The first one is when Sandler's character discovers that his father was already dead in his future. When he used the controller to see the last time he has seen his father, he is disgusted with himself (in "auto-pilot", due to the controller's skip function) for being such an Jerkass with the poor man, then pauses the scene and gives the illusory representation of his father a hug. Another one is the movie's climax: after having a heart stroke, Sandler's character worries for his son after hearing that he's going to delay his honeymoon for a business trip, and runs out of his hospital bed, into a heavy-rain, only to have another stroke. In his death breath, he begs his son not to make the same mistake he had, tells he still loves his ex-wife, and tells her current husband he isn't angry with him, followed by Morty, the angel of death, appearing behind the family and offering him his hand, telling him it's time to go.
* 50 First Dates
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* The last scene of the movie: "You want to meet your daughter?"
* Even South Park gets one of these! In The Movie Bigger, Longer and Uncut, after Kenny sacrifices himself back to Hell to revert the world back to normal, the last scene we see before the closing credits is Kenny rocketing towards heaven, obtaining a halo and wings from naked angel chicks. While it's not exactly an orthodox example of being heartwarming (come on, look where the example comes from), it's enough to make you feel all happy inside.
* Kenny lowering his hood and saying a simple goodbye was especially touching. You can't watch that part and feel nothing. If not actual tears, then at least an "Am I really watching South Park?!?"
* The scene in the live action film Charlotte's Web where Charlotte explains her imminent death and Templeton reveals that he's really a Jerk with a Heart of Gold by agreeing to look after her eggs was quite a tearjerker.
* Frankly, we could put the same scene in the Western Animation and Literature sections, too.
* Tombstone: "Wyatt Earp is my friend."
* Not to mention, after that line, when Texas Jack Vermillion says, "Hell, I got lots of friends." Doc responds, "I don't." That particular line really gets me.
* The Red Balloon is a 33 minutes long moment of heartwarming...just watch it "here."
* The end of I Robot. Sonny's dream coming true.
* In Back to The Future, George McFly believes that Marty will be staging a groping with Lorraine in the back of the car that George can break up easily, winning her affection. Instead, his beefy arch nemesis Biff is there, trying to rape her. He pauses, seems to back down, and then stands up for himself for the first time ever, past and future. Then he gets kisses.
* There's also the scene in the mall parking lot towards the end. After the 1955 Doc tears the letter, which Marty wrote to warn him of his death in 1985, Marty goes back to 1985 a bit earlier, hoping to warn Doc, but he's too late as he watches him get shot to death. Or so he thinks, as Doc gets up and reveals that not only is he wearing a bulletproof vest, but he saved the letter, now taped-up.
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* The moment when Doc Brown learns that his time machine is real and that it works. The look on his face when he sees the DeLorean and the flux capacitor, up to then just mere scribbles in his notebook. Which of us tropers doesn't wish that sometimes, somebody would just come from the future and assure you that in fact you will accomplish all your hopes and dreams?
* At the end of the film The Miracle Worker, when the "miracle" happens. Annie Sullivan has finally awoken Helen Keller to the concept of language, of self, of communication, through the water pump and the sign language alphabet. Later that night, Helen, who seems to be at peace for the first time in the whole movie, feels her way to sit on Annie's lap. Annie spells "I Love Helen" into the girl's hand.
* 28 Days Later is mostly on the dark side, and suitably has a glimmer of hope just before it gets really bad. Selena's a hardened survivor type and Jim is utterly bewildered by the destruction around him, but when they find refuge with a father and daughter who have lost the mother of the family there's a brief period of -- if not calm, then it almost feels normal. Like the scene in the supermarket for example. And then it all goes to hell from then afterward. (Jones in an apron is oddly heartwarming, but only because he's a gangly dork in a military uniform.)
* Really? No mention of "That was longer than a heartbeat"?
* Let the Right One In has one when Oskar and Eli share their first kiss. NOTHING else matters! (sheds Manly Tears while rewatching the scene at 4:00 on...)
* Apollo 13: Jim Lovell's wife and daughters go to visit his senile mother, Blanche while he's stranded on a dying spaceship, hoping against hope that he and his crew will be able to return to Earth. Trying to soften the blow, the wife starts by telling her that he won't be walking on the Moon anymore, and after that telling her that there was an explosion and the crew is struggling to stay alive. Blanche, understanding this, turns white and is left speechless, while the youngest daughter, Susan, starts crying. And then...
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* For that matter, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin distracting Blanche from the TV at the crucial moment.
* This is preceded by a Crowning Moment of Funny when Marilyn introduces them to Blanche (who is recovering from a stroke and not necessarily in possession of her faculties.)
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* The splashdown, as they come home safely and everyone celebrates. And then Lovell's closing narration: "I sometimes catch myself looking up at the moon... and wonder, when will we be going back?"
* "Hello Houston. This is Odyssey. It's good to see you again."
* Batman Begins:
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* Echoed beautifully in The Dark Knight:
* In the climax of The Dark Knight, when both ferries choose to spare the other. After watching the Joker's nigh-unstoppable killing spree for the past two hours, seeing his Humans Are Bastards view proven wrong is a real thrill. Particularly the moment when the big threatening criminal took the detonator, saying "I'm gonna do what you should have done ten minutes ago," and then throws it out the window, then sits down again.
* Made even better by the look of disappointment on The Joker's face when he realizes he was wrong.
* The Joker's view gets doubly proven wrong when Batman spares his life instead of letting him fall. The disappointed look on Joker's face at this is priceless.
* "What were you trying to prove? That deep down everyone is as ugly as you? You are alone."
* Jim Gordon reuniting with his wife after he was presumed dead.
* Also, at the end when Batman willingly decides to be the hero Gotham deserves, and the villain it needs.
* Plus the closing speech by Gordon.
* In the 2004 The Punisher film, when Dave refuses to tell Quentin Glass where Frank Castle is even under a Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique, the ensuing scene goes like this:
* Gladiator: "Who will help me carry him?"
* There's also the moment where Maximus and fellow-slave Juba discuss their families. Maximus asks if Juba thinks he will see his family again when he dies:
* Star Wars: "You're all clear, kid! Now let's blow this thing and go home!"
* Not to mention the entire final medal ceremony scene.
* "I love you." "I know." (The second time more than the first, but both work.)
* "You were right. Tell your sister... you were right about me."
* For me, it's the celebrations on Endor that get me, such as Leia running up and hugging Luke, and Luke seeing his father as the man he should have been had he not turned to the Dark Side sharing a friendly look with Obi-Wan and then favoring his children with a loving smile
* For me, it's the moment where Wicket hugs R2 during the celebrationon Endor. I don't why, but I teared up a little and went "Awww!"
* Much of the ending of Episode III was either Tear Jerker or Heartwarming.
* For example:
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* Not to mention the Page Quote example.
* "Someone who loves you." Seriously, Star Wars has so many that it's hard to choose a "best" one.
* The prequel trilogy has one thing really going for it: it subtly alters what happens in the end of Return of the Jedi. Where before, Vader quietly looking at his wound before attacking the Emperor was just Vader realizing what he'd done to Luke, now it was Vader realizing that for all of his own darkness, Luke had it worse every step of the way -- no formal training, family and mentors clearly and knowingly holding him back, a much greater enemy, being crippled and risking death anyway, the knowledge that saving his friends instead of following orders actually risked dooming them all -- and had, ultimately, refused his fall to the Dark Side, while off-handedly invoking his father. In those moments, Vader is reassessing his own life, what he's done with it, and chooses to reject the fatalism that has dominated his entire life, even if it means his own certain death.
* R2-KT: In 2005, the founder of the 501st Legion -- a Star Wars cosplay community -- had learned that his daughter Katie was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Members of the R2 Builders club went to work to make her dream come true: a pink R2 droid just for her. While they were making it, someone else donated their own and repainted it so she would have a substitute and she joyously accepted it. R2-KT was completed in July 2006: sadly, almost a year after the passing of Katie. Since then, the droid has attended conventions, charities, and children's hospitals, been made into a Hasbro figurine for San Diego ComiCon (with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation), and even grabbed the attention of George Lucas; he made it a legitimate character in Clone Wars.
* October Sky. Too numerous to count towards the end, but mainly.
* In Serenity, Mal's speech where he declares he aims to misbehave. Especially the part where he talks about how the Alliance feels it "can make people.....better" and he looks to River, who they did make "better".
* River: "I'm all right.....I'm all right."
* Later, as they prepare to face the Reavers, Simon brings the UST out in the open:
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* At the very end of the film, their lovey-dovey (and half clothed) make out scene.
* Another one by River:
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* And then you have the very last words of the movie:
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* Mal and Zoe's moment at the end, referring to both Zoe and Serenity herself:
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* "They can't stop the signal, Mal. They can never stop the signal..."
* On the DVD, the introduction by Joss Whedon telling the story of Firefly. A quick summary:
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* 'Sheperd Book once said to me, "If you can't do something smart, do something right."
* The final scene of About Schmidt.
* The climax scene of Schindler's List tears your heart out and stomps on it. "This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this. I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!". Skip forwards five minutes, and you're still crying, and you see the remaining survivors, the real human beings who Oskar Schindler saved from certain death, escorted by the actors who played them, laying stones at Schindler's grave, and you learn that the descendants of the 1,100 Schindlerjuden now number over 6,000, and Schindler himself was declared Righteous Among the Nations. Is est gloria caeli et mundi.
* Starting from a pristine grave, they show a line of people - actual Schindler Jews and the corresponding actor - each leaving a stone on Schindler's gravestone per Jewish custom. By the time it's over, the stone is almost completely covered - there's just enough room for Neeson to put a single red rose on the stone. That's the first time I've actually cried since I was maybe five.
* The entirety of The Adventures of Milo and Otis. Nothing is more heartwarming than that movie. Nothing.
* The last scene of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, ending with:
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* Shortly earlier, when Charlie returns the Gobstopper, feeling himself not worthy.
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* In the newer version, it showed all the newspaper clippings his father has saved.
* The moment at the end of Broadway Danny Rose where Danny runs out into the cold street to forgive the double-crossing but genuinely regretful Tina for her earlier betrayal of him. The moment would warming enough itself, but the warm glow is compounded by the voice-overs of notable show business players -- who all clearly hold Danny, despite his lack of success, in genuinely high regard -- commenting on what a really nice guy he is.
* Galaxy Quest isn't exactly short of these moments, but some of them include the following:
* Guy -- who has been paranoid all throughout the movie that as the only non-regular cast member to be caught up in events, he is doomed to an inevitable, pointless death just to demonstrate how dangerous everything is -- has given in to his fear but decides to give his inevitable death some meaning by making a pointless charge at some of the bad guys in order to buy his friends some time to save innocent aliens who are being gassed. In response, Fred takes him aside and gently suggests "Guy... maybe you're the plucky comic relief?"
* And then he's promoted to an actual character on the 'Next Generation' type show.
* "Quellek... by Grabthar's hammer... by the Sons of Warvan... you shall be avenged."
* There was also Jason's salute of the fans whose devotion to the show helped save them all.
* Equilibrium: Da puppy! Wook at da puppy!
* The scene where Preston desperately rushes home to see if the stash of emotion-killing Prozium he hasn't taken has been discovered. He looks where he hidden it, finds nothing, turns around and see his son, a creepily law-abiding example of why the society really was so dystopian, who after a few tense moments, suggests that he should find a better hiding place for it. Then he reveals that neither he nor his sister has been taking Prozium since before their mother was executed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he smiles. Just a smile, but in a society where emotions are supposed to be dead, that's enough.
* The Party takes a break from slapstick when Hrundi (Peter Sellers) is alone upstairs with Michele, the shy would-be starlet. She's been near-raped by producer C.S. Divot (Hrundi secretly rescued her) and she ruined her dress when she rescued Hrundi from a swimming pool. Hrundi, who's just come to from a spell of temporary drunkenness, hears her crying and checks in on her. He then recites a proverb: "Wisdom is the province of the aged, but the heart of a child is pure." She admits she doesn't know what it means, he admits he doesn't know either, and they share a laugh. When she asks what it has to do with her, he explains "it has everything to do with you", because "it stopped your crying." He stands up for her when Divot tries to take her home, procures some fresh clothes for her, they have a wonderful remainder of the night together, and what could have been just another Funny Foreigner (Indian in this case) becomes a genuinely lovable character that puts most modern comedy protagonists to shame.
* I'm Spartacus!
* The ending of August Rush When August's parents meet at the concert he's performing. It relies on coincidence to the extreme, but the moment is so understated, you can't help but get that feeling.
* Speed Racer: Early on in the movie, the oldest brother of the Racer family, Rex Racer, leaves the family to race independently. His father Pops tells him "If you walk out that door, you can never come back". Later in the movie, as Speed realises that he's being manipulated by the racing system as well, goes to leave. Pops asks to talk first, and tells him "Remember, that door is always open." Followed by, about three minutes later, the reveal that the rest of the Racer family as well as Trixie and Sparky had been hiding in the kitchen, listening the entire time.
* When Racer X says about Rex, "I'm sure if he were here, he'd be immensely proud of you." Racer X is Rex.
* In the otherwise lackluster Doctor Dolittle 2, when he realizes that his daughter can understand animals, you got to see it to believe it.
* The ending of Home Alone, where the (at first) creepy old guy next door is touchingly reunited with his estranged family.
* In Being There, Chance the gardener gets at least one of these (he's an idiot, but he has a good heart). As he's wandering the streets of Washington, D.C. in search of a new home/job, and stops to examine a tree near the White House. Realizing it's dying, he informs a security guard that "it needs care" before he goes on his way. As it turns out, because Chance appears to be someone important, the guard immediately radios for assistance to save the tree!
* A Knight's Tale, anyone? Specifically, Thatcher's blind father, who turns up for the final joust. It'd be regulation cheese if not for how damn well the actor plays it.
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* How could you possibly forget, earlier in the movie:
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* How about when the Black Prince shows up when Will is in the stocks and he says, "Your men love you. If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough." Of course, the fact that they are all there yelling at the gathered mob is Crowning Moment of Heartwarming in itself.
* Say what you want about Star Trek: Generations, but the scene of Picard standing over Kirk's grave is quite touching.
* Data learning to have fun in Star Trek Insurrection. Dr. Crusher calls him, just like a mother calling her child; he pokes his head out of a haystack, turns to Artam, and says, again just like the child being called, "I have to go now."
* On the subject of Star Trek the Next Generation: the scene in Insurrection where Geordi discovers his optical nerves have started to regenerate due to the effect of the planet gets me every time. Knowing it may not last after they leave puts extra weight on it as Geordi stands with the captain and watches his "first" sunrise, with tears in his eyes. Sniff....
* In Star Trek Generations, a few scant seconds that occur during the Enterprise D's destructive crash into the planet, with the entire bridge just struggling to stay on their feet/avoid being knocked out/not get crushed by falling debris/generally stay alive, a few seconds cut to Deanna, with Data clinging to her in a combination of hugging and trying-not-to-let-her-get-thrown-forwards-through-the-viewscreen-ism. It added a touch of 'aww' to an otherwise tearjerking moment.
* Don't forget Data finding Spot, his kitty, unharmed in the wreckage.
* The same movie, Geordi cheers Data up by reminding him just how human he's been acting lately, while Data's having a guilt trip for freaking out and letting Geordi get kidnapped earlier in the film.
* When humanity shook hands with Vulcans in friendship for the first in the finale of Star Trek First Contact. Jerry Goldsmith's inspiring and heartfelt theme of First Contact made it all the more uplifting.
* And speaking of First Contact:
* In the new Star Trek Film, the first, and final meeting of Spock and Spock where he realizes the importance of Kirk keeping his future self a secret so that Spock and Kirk could begin their friendship.
* "You asked me once why I married your mother. I married her because I loved her." Oh, Sarek... * sniff*
* How about the whole opening scene? Watching George Kirk sacrifice his life so that his wife and son could live, and naming the child with literally 60 seconds to live.
* "I am, and shall always remain, your friend." You can get warm feelings from that line alone, even if Kirk didn't.
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* The little hitch in Pine's voice when he asks that question just makes it even more affecting. Given how irreverent and downright arrogant Kirk normally is, the intonation of that question, subtle though it is, speaks volumes.
* Those two scenes between Spock and Uhura. The transporter and the turbolift ones.
* The ending scene with Kirk and Pike.
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* "Since my usual greeting would seem oddly self-serving, I will only say good luck.
* Let the Bromance begin:
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* And that other great bromance:
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* Even this old school trekkie who wasn't greatly pleased with the reboot, couldn't help but love the line Pike gave to Kirk:
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* After all the sleekness and sexiness and explosions and running and screaming, all with loud brass instruments and glossy effects, the last scene begins with the simple ding...ding...ding...ding, accompanied by the greatest mantra in science fiction. Space...
* Parting Glances is made of this trope plus Tearjerkers and campy fun, but the ultimate ones come when Michael cries on Nick's shoulder, when Robert calls Nick to say goodbye, and the dream sequence near the end.
* Near the end of The Bucket List, Jack Nicholson's character reunites with his estranged daughter. He is then introduced to the granddaughter he never knew he had, and they share a heartwarming embrace. Cut to Jack picking up the titular list and striking "kiss the most beautiful girl in the world" off the list.
* Lars and the Real Girl. Just ... Lars and the Real Girl.
* Especially when Lars goes out on the porch and finds tons of flowers and "Get Well Soon" cards for Bianca from the townspeople who initially laughed at him.
* Walk the Line. "Junie. You're my best friend. Marry me." She nods. "It's gonna be all her, she said yes!" Cue explosive cheers.
* Profoundly bittersweet, but one of the finest moments in film: the last scene of A Very Long Engagement, in which Mathilde sits in the garden with Manech, his memory of her gone, and watches him, as the narrator's voice fades out. "Elle le regarde...elle le regarde...elle le regarde..."
* Many, many moments in Mamma Mia!, but especially when Sophie asks her mother to give her away and later Sophie's expression when Harry tells her he is happy being even a third of her father.
* When All Is Said and Done. The look of naked adoration on Donna's face and the glow in her eyes when she looks at him say more about how much she loves Sam than the rest of the movie put together.
* Bicentennial Man: Robin Williams plays an android who wants to become human. What gets me in tears is where, when asked why he wants to be legally human, he replies: "To be acknowledged for who and what I am; no more, no less. Not for acclaim, not for approval, but the simple truth of that recognition has been the elemental drive of my existence and it must be achieved if I am to live or die with dignity." And of course, the climax, when, on his death bed, he finally achieves that dream.
* At the end of Juno, where Paulie and Juno are having a jam session in front of Paulie's house.
* Also the scene where Jennifer Garner's character is playing with little kids in the mall, and Juno is watching from a higher level.
* "It ended with a chair."
* Something about the awkward apology Juno gives Paulie, followed by that matter-of-fact, "Can we make out now?" was so adorably heartwarming.
* The scene where Paulie, sweaty, feet still covered in mud from running to the hospital, climbs into bed with Juno and just holds her after she gave birth and gave up their child is easily one of the single greatest expressions of love ever captured in a film.
* Karen catching (or trying to catch) Gretchen in the circle of trust towards the end of Mean Girls, after the latter's absurdly self absorbed 'apology'.
* Karate Kid II. Miyagi and his old girlfriend Yuki (who chose to stay a spinster rather than being forced to marry a guy she didn't love) share a quiet moment in a tea ceremony for two. Cue to Kumiko (Yuki's niece) telling Daniel "they're showing each other their mutual love, Daniel-san".
* Daniel trying to follow a Japanese dance and failing, then imitating a little girl's dance steps.
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* During Daniel and Chozen's final fight, and it looks like Daniel is gonna lose. Cue to Miyagi and the rest of the audiencer using little Japanese toy tambourines (I forget their name) to show Daniel they support him. Daniel goes into My Name Is Inigo Montoya mode and wins.
* Mr. Miyagi's use of the drum wasn't to show support, it was to remind Daniel of the drum technique he had taught him earlier, which Daniel promptly used to beat down Chozen.
* In Stranger Than Fiction, Harold filling in a blank in his best and only friend's childhood by giving him a ticket so that he could finally go to Space Camp after all those years.
* Also: "This is supposed to be a book about a man who doesn't know he's going to die... But a man who does know, and then willingly accepts it... isn't that the kind of man you want to keep alive?"
* Don't forget 'I brought you flours...'!
* A Real Life example occurred when Roger Ebert was laid up in hospital to have a cancerous growth removed. Previously, he had panned Rob Schneider's movie Deuce Bigalow 2: European Gigolo, and was truly touched when Schneider sent him a get-well-soon bouquet, with the tag "From your least favorite actor, Rob Schneider."
* "A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having."
* Out of Africa, when Bror and Denys discuss Denys' affair with Karen:
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* Also in Out of Africa:
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* And again:
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* "This fire must be very big so I can find you."
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* Aw hell, let's say all of Out of Africa, shall we?
* Little Women (of course, they're even better in the books):
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* "I know I shall be homesick for you, even in Heaven."
* Dragonheart: Bowen, up until that point portrayed as disillusioned mercenary, sits alone in the rain at King Arthur's gravesite, pondering the hopelessness of rebelling against his apprentice-turned-tyrant. Then he hears a voice reciting the knight's code he long before ceased following. Then he begins repeating it, finally coming to the right conclusion (guess what it is). Could have been sappy, could have been narmy, instead is jaw-droppingly awesome and uplifting to boot.
* "Look to the stars, Bowen..." * sniff*
* Kill Bill Vol. 2, of all films: The whole business with Budd's Hanzo sword. Budd claims he sold it, yet the Bride finds it later in his trailer (identifiable from its inscription: "To my brother Budd, the only man I ever loved. Bill."); Elle Driver points out what Budd had said, and the Bride responds, "Guess that makes him a liar." Not to mention this line: "You're a great person. You're my favorite person. But sometimes, you can be a real cunt." Awwwww... weirdly enough.
* What did it for this editor was the end of the movie, when the Bride kills Bill with the five finger exploding heart technique.
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* The real crowner was the end credits where all the various names and aliases of each character were listed under their actors' names. The Bride's last alias? Mommy.
* Rashomon. HELL YES, Rashomon.
* In 10ThingsIHateAboutYou, Patrick singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". It's a moment when Squee meets Awww. Bonus points for being perhaps the first of the many Crowning Moments of Heartwarming and/or Awesome in the cinematic career of Heath Ledger.
* The final scene of Strange Days; after the exhausting and wrenching events of the film, Mace and Lenny are being led, drained, away from the millennium celebrations, but not before sharing the big countdown to the year 2000 together. They part company, slightly awkwardly, and Lenny is led to an ambulance while Mace (who is in love with Lenny) broods in a police car as they slowly make their way through the crowd. Then Lenny suddenly appears at the car window, opens the door, drags a startled Mace out of the car, and kisses her, finally returning her feelings. A combination of the Concert Kiss moment, the beautiful, swelling music and the chemistry between the two make this possibly one of the most genuinely heart-warming and moving Last Minute Hookups this editor has seen.
* Forrest Gump - pick almost any scene, but the scene when Lieutenant Dan and Forrest are reunited at Forrest's wedding gives new meaning to Tear Jerker.
* The line "I'm going to Heaven, Lieutenant Dan".
* The dream/hallucination/JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind at the climax of Drop Dead Fred. Elizabeth finally and symbolically freeing herself of the negative influence of her husband and mother, freeing her inner child, her final and grown-up goodbye with her maybe-not-so-imaginary friend Fred...
* In Clerks, the simple fact that Dante's girlfriend brought him homemade lasagna to him in work, after he complained about not even supposed to be there today, can still bring a smile.
* Clerks II saw Randall and Dante get deconstructed by someone from high school, who made it rich and saw the two of them as pathetic, incapable losers. Randall was so jarred by his words that he and Dante skipped out on work for about an hour to go ride go-karts, to "clear my head," as Randall said. What really made the scene touching was Dante and Randall laughing and carefree, riding around in said go-karts while "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" played throughout.
* Also from Clerks II, Randal belittling and insulting Dante while both are in jail, before telling him he should live his life the way he wants to, and that he loves him - In a completely hetero way, mind you - and asks Dante not to leave him. Aww.
* And finally, Dante proposing to Becky in the drive-thru, her crawling through the window into his car, that little smile just before she accepts, and Alanis Mourisette's "Everything" playing the whole time. Still can't listen to that song without tearing up.
* Hellboy has one, short and poignant. When Rasputin offers to reveal the protagonist's true name to Professor Bruttenholm (Hellboy's adoptive father), he replies:
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* And then it becomes a Tear Jerker...
* The ending of the first film is a far greater example, when Hellboy brings Liz back to life simply by whispering in her ear.
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* "I can promise you two things. I'll always look this good, and I'll never give up on you."
* Hellboy II: The Golden Army had Liz saving Hellboy from death despite being told that he would bring about the Apocalypse. She was told this by Hellboy's personal Angel of Death, and she still chose to save him, because she loves him and trust him enough to know that he would fight tooth and nail to prevent the world from ending if it came to that.
* West Side Story: Despite all the pain in the story, just sit and enjoy the simple, delicate dance between Tony and Maria when they first meet and fall in love.
* The Wedding Singer:
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* Also, the scene where Julia dances with the "loser" kid.
* Okay, about 95% of romantic comedies end something like this...
* No Secondhand Lions? Really? When we finally get a preview of the speech, and right after, when he begs for them to stay his uncles as long as he'll need them. A real heart wrencher.
* Not to mention the entire end of the film. The will, and the final line of the movie most of all. "yeah, they really lived..."
* Just the fact that the two old men who didn't want to be stuck with this kid are willing to threaten his soon-to-be stepfather with grievous bodily harm is a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
* Repo! The Genetic Opera. Shilo and Nathan. Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much, sung as a duet, while Nathan is dying in Shilo's arms. -sniffle-
* Happiness Is Not A Warm Scalpel is a rather twisted but still strangely touching variation, when Rotti comforts Amber and reassures her that Daddy will make things okay, proving that the Largo family is still a family after all--even if the father is evil and the children are psychotic.
* In The Santa Clause 2, the school faculty Christmas party is full of cranky, cynical, uncomfortable adults, until Scott uses some of his Santa Magic. The adults get presents they all wanted or had and adored as children, and the party goes into full swing as the adults embrace Christmas joy and let their inner child out for the duration of the scene.
* In Ghost Town, a misanthropic dentist, played by Ricky Gervais, obtains the ability to see ghosts still roaming the streets of Manhattan, all of which flock to him because they are unable to leave Earth due to the memories and guilt of their deaths still haunting those closest to him. In the film's climax, Dr. Pincus realizes how much of a jerk he has been to them, and decides to help them find solace and finally leave Earth. The most heart-wrenching story is that of a father who died on the same day his son lost his stuffed animal, and the boy had been crying himself to sleep because he no longer has his father or his toy to comfort him, and associated both of them into the same being. As it turns out, the toy was under the seat of the family's car; Dr. Pincus finds it and returns it to the boy, earning thanks from the mother (who was one of Dr. Pincus' most perky patients).
* The remake of Miracle on 34th Street. When Kris Kringle meets and talks with the deaf girl.
* In the original she was a Dutch immigrant. They even sing a Christmas carol in Dutch. Truly Heartwarming.
* Not just an immigrant - a war orphan. Her new mother can't even articulate what happened to her old home...
* Especially when you see the look on this sad, lonely girl's face after she realizes that she can talk to Santa after all.
* Validation is a 15 minute movie about the magic of free parking.
* ...and then, after all those years... she got better
* Root 3, that is all.
* The Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin film All of Me has a few genuinely heart-warming moments in the later stages, but there's a particularly nice one at the very end, where the formerly fatally ill Rich Bitch, now heroine, has survived by her soul being transplanted into the villainess' body (and the villainess' soul into a horse), and the hero is dancing with her, albeit still played by the actress who played the villainess (got that?). The camera then pans to a large mirror (mirrors having been used to show the other soul in a body throughout the film), and there we see... Lily Tomlin. Awww!
* The conversation before the big battle in Conan the Barbarian, simply because Conan and Subotai, who spend the rest of the movie swashbuckling and being barbarian-like simply talk about their childhoods. The scene where they discuss which gods they worship is also a good example.
* In the Film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, after Stephen Maturin has been shot and is dying, with the only real hope of saving him getting him onto dry land where the bullet can be removed. It is reported that the enemy ship has been sighted, and they are catching her, Captain Aubrey looks at the ship through his telescope, goes into his cabin and sees Stephens abandoned Cello, and finally goes to see Stephen in the sickbay. The scene changes to Stephen waking up being carried on a stretcher having landed on the Galapagos islands. He smiles at Jack and says "please tell me this is not on my account" at which Jack replies "not at all, I just needed to stretch my legs". Just to add to the heartwarmingness, it is set to the soundtrack of Corelli's beautiful "Adagio From Concerto Grosso".
* Shortly after that, when Captain Aubrey tells Maturin that they'll be staying on land for a week before heading back to England to repair the Suprise, before resuming their pursuit of the enemy ship. This would allow Maturin to pursue nature studies of the island that he had wanted to do before but Aubrey had refused because the mission came first:
* In National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, perpetual Chew Toy Clark Griswold gets the only true happy ending he's ever had, with all his problems solved and the whole family gathered together happily to celebrate Christmas the next day. He contentedly looks around and says to himself "I did it."
* Earlier on, he's stuck in the attic, trying to stay warm, and finds an 8mm movie projector...he forgets everything else watching old family Christmas movies.
* "I thought I'd lost you forever." It's schmaltzy and fluffy and oh so beautifully romantic...
* The X-Files: I Want To Believe, in which Fox Mulder wins my heart all over again. And then he proceeds to kiss Scully in a manner that makes anyone who fancies blokes wish they were Gillian Anderson. SWOON.
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* And speaking of The X-Files, what about the hallway scene of "Fight the Future"?
* The Queen: Queen Elizabeth has been left helpless and bewildered as her strict insistence after Diana's death on the royal protocol she has always brought up is is infuriating the British public and turning them against her. In desperation, she acquiesces to Prime Minister Blair's insistence that she return to London, address the people, and allow a state funeral for Diana. The embattled Queen goes to meet the crowd in front of Buckingham Palace, which seems practically hostile to the point of signs denouncing the Royal Family among the piles of bouquets. Shaken, she puts on her brave face and turns to an adorable little girl holding a bouquet, and asks her, "Would you like me to place those for you?" "No," the girl snaps, and for a second, the Queen's face has an expression of absolute heartbreak. Then the girl's expression softens, and says, "These are for you." The Queen is touched and relieved, and as she moves on, the crowd slowly begins to bow and curtsy to her.
* Tony Blair gives us another one in that same movie:
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* Try watching the scene after the speech in The King's Speech where he hugs Elizabeth while thinking of this line. Heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
* Happy Feet: In what could have been a potentially NARM-inducing moment, at the end of the film, after engaging in the societal exile of his son and setting himself into a months long depression after hearing that he'd long since died, all is forgiven in Nicole Kidman's best delivered line in the film (and the one that, if delivered wrong, could have been perilous) - "Dance with your boy."
* Whether it would be considered a CMOA or this is up to the viewer - it can fit reasonably well in both, I think - but Mumble's triumph in the zoo, in a scene completely without dialogue, is one of the best scenes in the film.
* In the sequel, Gloria singing Bridge Of Light to Erik to comfort him. Made even more heartwarming when other penguins join in.
* In one part of the sequel, the Elephant Seals refuse to help Mumble save the other penguins. Then, Erik sings a heartfelt opera about how brave his father is and how he looks up to him to convince the Elephant Seals to help him, and it works.
* The climax towards the end where nearly everyone begins helping the trapped penguins to the song Under Pressure.
* The scene in Tropic Thunder where the little kid presents Speedman with a makeshift Oscar is very sweet.
* That moment towards the end of Cold Comfort Farm when Judith is dealing out her tarot cards and (for the first time in years) uncovers the Sun. Her lips give a twitch, and the mask of misery and doom on her face begins to crack...
* EVERY SINGLE SCENE in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The whole film is one long Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
* For a specific example, there's Benjamin with his father Thomas Button. Despite all his anger and bitterness at just learning that this was the father who abandoned him after his birth, he wakes his father up and drives him to the lake so he could see the sunrise over the lake (as he'd loved to do as a boy) one last time before he dies.
* Queenie's decision, despite everyone's objections, to take care of the elderly looking newborn Benjamin at the beginning of the movie, figuring he wouldn't have much longer to live anyway. (Ironically, he outlived everyone in the house that day!) In fact, every aspect of Queenie's motherly relationship with Benjamin is Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, especially after his biological father's funeral:
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* The entire sequence of Benjamin's apparent "childhood" when Daisy takes care of him at the nursing home as he degenerates into childhood and infancy at the end of his life.
* The postcards that Benjamin sends Daisy while at sea in the 1940s. Later, the postcards that he writes for Caroline every year on her birthday in the 1970s and '80s when he can't be there with her.
* Benjamin and Elizabeth's nightly conversations in Russia.
* All of the love scenes between Benjamin and Daisy. If you feel nothing during those scenes, then you have no soul.
* The original Alien, where Ellen Ripley saves the ship's cat so that she won't be alone in the lifeboat.
* In between moments of badassery, Aliens has one:
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* Perhaps I'm overinterpreting, perhaps I'm sexist by considering it heartwarming, but the scene where two Marines (one of whom is The Ladette Vasquez) hold each other's hands before blowing themselves up.
* In the Aliens Special Edition, when Ripley prepares to head out on a rescue mission to save Newt, she and Corporal Hicks have the following exchange, knowing they might never see each other again:
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* Aw, come on, guys, you're forgetting one of the most heartwarming moments (possibly because it's followed by horror). Understandably, after the events of the first movie Ellen Ripley deeply mistrusts synthetics and is either antagonistic or cold towards Bishop throughout the entire movie. After he arrives at the last minute to save them (instead of fleeing as she had thought), she cuts off his stammered apology by saying, "Bishop...you did good."
* In Watchmen, after Dr. Manhattan gives his speech about how miraculous human life is, his ship lands on a giant smiley face on Mars. The fact that there actually is a smiley face on Mars makes it especially heartwarming.
* Rorschach's awkward little handshake with Nite Owl, along with his admission that he's a difficult man to know, was nice.
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* Rorschach always refers to someone by either their last name or their costumed name. This lets you know how he has genuine respect & fondness for Dreiberg.
* The penultimate scene of Rent. Combined with Tear Jerker. Even after the ups and downs for Rodger and Mimi, all the baggage and cheating and sadness and anger... Mimi still wanted to go to Rodger and Mark's appartment, and they still helped her. Top it all off with Rodger singing the song he's been trying to write the entire time to her, crying and shaking, as she dies in his arms. In the Broadway version, she even leans up to kiss him before she goes.
* The ending to the Charlie Chaplin film City Lights.
* Field of Dreams: "Hey Dad. You Wanna Have a Catch?"
* The one constant through all these years has been baseball... especially for the baseball fans out there
* The Shawshank Redemption. Especially the ending.
* The Pacifier's Crowning Moment of Heartwarming happened about 75% of the way through. Shane has, using his Navy SEAL military training and a bit of understanding, gotten so through to the Plummer family that when he does the Peter Panda Dance for the toddler, the toddler lovingly calls him "Daddy".
* Which leads to the second Crowning Moment of Heartwarming of the movie as we discover Shane's Freudian Excuse for not wanting much to do with the children.
* The Boat That Rocked. WE HEARD YOU!
* Empire Records: the entire main cast dancing on the roof at the end.
* "We'll be all right here, Leon." The movie has many other moments of greatness but this one, reinforced by Shape Of My Heart, is the crowning one.
* After all the relentless misery in All About Lily Chou-Chou, the final scene of the main character watching his love interest play the piano...
* The epilogue of Battle Royale: No matter how dark your past, how dangerous the forces you're up against, you're still alive!
* The latter half of Groundhog Day is largely made of this, although Phil's last 'Groundhog Day' news report particularly shows how far he's come:
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* "Do you know what today is?" "No, what?" "Today is tomorrow. It happened."
* And Phil's last meeting with 'Pork Chop' on the stair.
* The scene when Homer, the double-amputee with hook prosthetics in The Best Years of Our Lives, finally realizes that Wilma sincerely still loves him and wants to marry him. Their marriage scene at the end also warmed this cynical ice-queen's little heart.
* Specifically at the wedding, when people are worried he won't be able to handle the ring; not only can he, but he stops Wilma's hand from shaking in the process. Yes.
* Several moments in the series finale of Keen Eddie cash in the show's various sentimental coupons as Eddie has oddly heartwarming moments in the form of his co-workers trying to talk him out of a potentially lethal mistake. His usually overly-critical and standoffish boss Nathaniel furiously berates Eddie for putting his life in danger and not allowing Nathaniel to help him, and his usually snarky and insensitive partner Monty is sincere and serious for a change, expressing first his intense worry that something bad might happen to Eddie, then his genuine affection for him. There are far more heartwarming moments in the episode, but warming-est of all is the final answer to the question, "What's wrong?"
* He was a total asshole for most of the time he was on screen, but Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket gets props for his graduation speech:'
* The credit sequence of The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou: As Steve walks out of the movie premiere and picks up Klaus' nephew, the film segues to a continuous shot of Zissou and the boy walking down a pier. In a nod to Buckaroo Banzai Across The Fifth Dimension, one by one, the crew of the Belafonte join Zissou on his march. Everyone who took part in the film's plot shows up, including Nico (the intern who was saved by Zissou during the pirate raid, and the last person who the viewer would think stayed on as a team member), Zissou's wife Eleanor (whom he's reunited with) and Alastair Hennessey, who was once Zissou's rival. As the team boards the Belafonte, the ghost of Ned Plimpton, Zissou's estranged son can be seen smoking on the top deck of the ship. Cue Manly Tears.
* Several from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, particularly Joel begging to keep the memory where Clementine talks about her "ugly doll" and how lonely it is to be a child. Of course, there's the ending as well. "Meet me in Montauk."
* The Sixth Sense: Three generations of heartwarming in one shot:
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* Not only do we get that grandmother was proud of her daughter Lynn and that Lynn was so happy to learn that, but we also get that Lynn finally has proof that Cole really can see dead people and he isn't crazy.
* Proof that Crowning Moment of Heartwarming don't have to be overblown comes at the end of Before Sunset. My eyes always well-up at the end of the film with the simple lines 'You are going to miss your flight' "I know".
* The documentary Children Full of Life is made of this and Tear Jerker, but especially the ending. The kids write a giant letter in their schoolyard to two of their classmates' deceased fathers, telling them that they'll be okay because their friends are with them.
* Night at the Museum: Battle For the Smithsonian - The Tuskegee Airmen and Amelia Earhart saluting each other. "You paved the way for us. People thought we couldn't fly either."
* In the Shirley Temple version of A Little Princess, Sara makes one last desperate attempt to see if her father is alive in a hospital full of wounded soldiers. The connivances of her headmistress and the hospital staff just doing their job almost keep her from entering the room where he is. Sara pleads with an older woman, obviously one of importance, visiting the hospital, to let her go in. The woman tells them to let her, and she finds her father, undoing his amnesia just by the sight of her. Sara thanks the woman, and asks her name. Sara's sponsor was not divine, though she may have had divine right. She answers the stunned little girl with one word: "Victoria" Its so not in the novel, or any other adaptation, as far as I know. But if you are not crying your eyes out at this bit, then I feel sorry for you.
* Oh hell, the ending of the Cuaron version when Captain Crewe runs out into the rain yelling "Sara", reuniting them properly. There are almost too many heartwarming moments in the movie to mention here, but that one is by far the most overwhelming.
* The whole last twenty minutes of the first Princess Diaries movie from when Mia finds the letter from her deceased father and decides that she will take her place as royalty. And then her car breaks down on the way there. As she's sobbing alone in the rain, her bodyguard Joe shows up with a limo and says "You wouldn't happen to be running away, would you?" She replies, "Nope, I'm going to a ball!" and hugs him. Then, after her speech to the press, her grandmother reveals that they were waiting for her to show up the whole time.
* Her determination is only compounded with her quote
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* Even that doesn't dampen her spirit of determination when her cavalry arrives.
* Royal Engagement had some good ones too. Mia is caught by the paparazzi curled up with her royal rival. Her fiancee Andrew quickly forgives her and assures her "we will be married and you will be the best queen Genovia has ever had". Later, he respects Mia's decision not to get married, as he too was going through without without love. Despite all that though, he was supportive and kind to her. Also, there's the line "the sparrow is taking off" "The eagle is flying for the last time".
* In Munich, when Steve and one of the PLO members sharing a hotel room with him are fighting over the radio station and the dial gets turned too far and lands on a station playing "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. The two men nod in agreement and leave the station where it is.
* 2009 surprise best foreign language film Okuribito (Departures), about a man who discovers he has a gift for preparing the dead (in front of their families, no less), has many of these (and many, many Tear Jerkers), but the ending is the biggest: Daigo claims the body of his long-Disappeared Dad, and, as he tenderly prepares the body, discovers that his father never forgot him. He finally remembers his father's face.
* As noted on the Tear Jerker page, Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird is a pretty downbeat film (especially considering the target audience), but that everyone on Sesame Street, even Oscar The Grouch, is willing to put everything aside to go find Big Bird... damn.
* At the end of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Zack races back to their old house to tell Miri that he loves her, in an impassioned, heartfelt speech that would be a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming all on it's lonesome... but because it's a Kevin Smith movie, the real Crowning Moment comes when, after confidently proclaiming that he know she feels something for him because she didn't sleep with Lester, one of the actors in the titular porno, Lester himself nonchalantly emerges from her bedroom or at least, what Zack thinks is Miri's bedroom naked as the day he was born... and after pausing in bemusement to take the situation in, Zack's immediate response is to yell with just as much passion... "You know what? I don't care if you are fucking Lester! I still love you!" It's compounded when you learn a moment later that Miri wasn't sleeping with him anyway; she moved into Zack's old room to be closer to him after he left.
* If you're making a 3-D IMAX short and are shooting for a heartwarming moment, you've got to make it big. The Cirque Du Soleil short Journey of Man (2000) did in its finale: The everyman, having realized how alone he became seeking only material success, tosses away the golden hat the devil-surrogate gave him and accepts his old derby from the little Vagabond Girl. He bows out of frame to do so, and as the everyman explains in voiceover "Years turned to dust. I was young again," he rises back into frame as a sweet old man and hugs her. Suddenly the Flounes (clowns) who served as his childhood guides but vanished when he grew into a rebellious adolescent reappear, and he recognizes and reunites with them. The crowd of acrobats and others who brought him to his epiphany transform into children. Bidding his friends farewell, he takes several of the children in hand to become a guide and mentor to them in a scene gorgeously set against Berlin's Brandenburg Gate at night.
* The end of Truly Madly Deeply (1991) You realize that Jaime and his friends have been helping Nina get over the loss by driving her crazy, and ultimately, driving her into the arms of a new man.
* In Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger, after finding out that Normal was killed so that he could be dissected, Esther and Sunni give him a human (Jewish) funeral.
* Okay, come on. Basically, the last thirty minutes of Mr. Holland's Opus.
* After John Lennon was killed, Mr. Holland attempts to talk to talk to his deaf son, Sean about it. He immediately dismisses it, telling Sean he wouldn't know what he was talking about. Mr. Holland goes to talk to his wife, and Sean rushes in, and basically gets after Mr. Holland for thinking that Sean would take no interest in his father's line of work or doesn't know anything about the Beatles, communicated through his mother's signing. Mr. Holland then goes and organizes a concert specifically so that deaf people may hear the vibrations made from the music. At the end of the concert, Mr. Holland sings/signs John Lennon's 'Beautiful Boy', replacing 'son' with 'Sean'.
* Actually, the lyrics to "Beautiful Boy" already contain the world "Sean" in places (it was written for Sean Lennon). ...Mind you, this scene is still just as touching.
* After decades of teaching, Mr. Holland is being laid off from the school, as the school is under so much financial distress that they decide to cut the entire art department. Mr. Holland goes into the auditorium, where he basically finds all of his students from throughout the years. One of his students, who is now the governor, gives a speech, at the end proclaiming "We are your symphony, Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life." A curtain on the stage raises, revealing some of Mr. Holland's past music students. Mr. Holland goes up to conduct them, and they proceed to play his symphony.
* Kingdom of Heaven:
* Cinderella Man is absolutely peppered with these, the ending scene being one of them. Another one came during the final match between Braddock and Baer:
* Surprisingly enough, in 300, Leonidas's last words:
* The scene in Ed Wood when Ed, at his lowest point, storms into a Hollywood bar... only to accidentally encounter his hero, Orson Welles. There's something strangely moving about this imagined encounter between the man widely acclaimed to be one of the greatest directors in film history meeting the man considered one of its worst... especially since the two get on quite well, share the same gripes, and Orson gives Ed some friendly advice.
* Ed's friendship with Bela Lugosi is also rather touching. In a time where he was seen as a washed up junkie who didn't deserve to work, there is this one young man, this one eager filmmaker who just happens to meet him one day and then decides to use his dreams to bring his career back to life. Hits Tear Jerker territory since he obviously failed.
* The making of Plan 9 from Outer Space. Ed's vision comes to life, everyone is clearly having a great time making it with him, and then at the premier, he gets to feel what it's like to be a big shot director.
* The end of Peter's Friends when the quarreling group comes together after the revelation that Peter is HIV-positive.
* An earlier scene that's mostly a Tear Jerker where Roger and Mary are arguing about what happened the night of their son Simon's death and Roger confesses that Mary's over-protectiveness is pushing him away and he's been thinking about divorce. But then he insists that they need to talk about this and work things out properly.
* The part in Sister Act where Sister Mary Robert sings her first solo. You can tell that she is absolutely terrified, but you can also see her elation when she realizes that she is doing well. There is something truly touching about a woman who has spent her entire life trying to blend in finally finding her voice.
* The Japanese film Always: Sunset on Third Street and its sequel have a bunch of these.
* Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru combines a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming with a Tear Jerker: during the wake that makes up the last third of the film, the mourners believe that the man being memorialized, a civil servant named Watanabe, froze to death, overlooked and desolate, in the playground he basically willed into existence (and for which local politicians took credit) despite horrendous bureaucracy, opposition from the yakuza, and his terminal cancer. Then we get a flashback from the POV of the last person to see him alive, which shows Watanabe sitting on a swing in the falling snow and singing, overjoyed to have accomplished one good deed in his life.
* Amelie has a lot of these scenes, but this editor's absolute favorite is at the end. Amelie and Nino are cruising through the streets on his bike, showing nothing but freewheeling joy and generally being so deeply in love with each other that they seem oblivious to their surroundings. Then, for a second, they turn and make faces at the camera. It's just the most joyous thing ever.
* This movie is essentially this trope distilled. Not only does the scene above count for it, but also the scene on the street with the blind man. Additionally there is also the first person who Amelie assists.
* In "Driving Miss Daisy" after Hoke comes to a 95-year-old Daisy's house and finds her confused and agitated, her thinking she was still a teacher and couldn't find the papers she graded, we have this exchange:
* Harvey. Throughout the film, everyone is worried about Elwood (played by Jimmy Stewart), simply because he sees the original version of Not-So-Imaginary Friend. His sister Vera is the only person who's genuinely concerned for her brother's wellbeing, as everyone else wants him committed because they either think he's a danger to society or he's a freak. At the end of the film is given a choice to inject him with a serum that will cure him of his delusions. Then she's told it would alter his personality and probably turn him into an unlikeable Jerkass. Immediately she pounds on the door, screaming not to give Elwood the serum, since even after everything she's been through due to Harvey, she loves her brother just the way he is and doesn't want anything to change him.
* Even though Strange Brew is intended purely for humor, there is one moment that is truly heartwarming. After Bob and Doug have been sent to the Royal Canadian Institute For The Mentally Insane as part of Brewmeister Smith's evil plan, Jean LaRose breaks them and Pamela Elsinore, the heiress to the Elsinore Brewery, out of there and proceed to stop Smith. At this point, the 4 of them decide to split up, leading to a heartfelt goodbye between Bob and Doug, eh? Bob goes with Pamela and Doug goes with LaRose. While Doug was like "good riddance", Bob was crying because he and Doug have never been apart.
* The ending of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Neal Page (Steve Martin), having been fed up the whole movie with Del Griffith (John Candy) recaptures the film on the train home, thinking about Del. He then turns back, meets up with Del, who just like Neal thought on the train turns out to have no home and was lying about his wife (she's been dead for eight years). He then takes him to his family to celebrate Thanksgiving with him, introducing him as a close friend to his wife.
* During the big shooting spree in Meet the Feebles, after having constantly denied being the father, Sid risks his own life to save his son from harm finally accepting him. They get a happy ending.
* "Dammit, Janet, I love you." (The single sweetest and most heartwarming song in the entire film.)
* Suddenly Seymour. The most heartwarming song in the entire movie.
* Honey, I Shrunk the Kids has at least 2:
* Diane is sitting outside, and Wayne came and sat next to her. Diane is worried about the kids, but Wayne assures her that they will be okay. At one point, she clings to him momentarily.
* And when the kids are returned to normal size and give their parents one, big, heartwarming group hug. Amy asks if Diane and Wayne are alright (Amy implied to a friend on the phone that Diane and Wayne had an argument one night), and Diane assures that they're okay. Nick asks Wayne if he was right about the shrink ray working, and Wayne responds by agreeing with Nick and hugs him. Ron says that he'll go fishing with Big Russ, and Little Russ asks if he wants Big Russ to put him back on the football team, but their dad doesn't care because he's relieved that his sons are okay.
*
* And the ending of Honey, I Blew Up the Kid is also heartwarming. Adam, who was in an enlarged state throughout the entire movie since after the first 20 minutes in, plays the giant Hard Rock Cafe guitar as if it were real. Dr. Hendrickson comes and tries to get Adam shot with tranquilizer cartridges from a helicopter by the pilot, but Diane, who asks Wayne to enlarge her to get Adam under control, intervenes with two words: "Back... off!" The pilot listens, and Diane consoles Adam. Then she tells Wayne to return them to normal size. Once they are at normal size, Adam goes over to Wayne, saying "Daddy!" If this doesn't move you, I don't know what will.
* The movie version of Hello, Dolly!: "Isn't the world full of wonderful things? I have lost so many things- my job, my future, everything that people think is important, but I don't care! 'Cause even if I have to dig ditches for the rest of my life, I shall be a ditch-digger who once had a wonderful day!"
* In Joseph King of Dreams, Judah, the brother who suggested selling Joseph into slavery, offers himself in Benjamin's place before giving a heartfilled confession about what he had done to Joseph and how the guilt tore him and his brothers apart, as well as caused their father a great deal of pain. Joseph reveals himself and promises not to hurt them, and embraces Judah. Judah asks Joseph if he can forgive him and Joseph says "I already have."
* After Joseph interprets the Pharaoh's dreams and tells him how to save Egypt from starvation, he is pardoned and made the most powerful man in Egypt second to the Pharaoh himself. And after all of this, the first person he sees is Osina, the only person who continued to be kind to him throughout his stay in Egypt. When she sees him, she looks a bit nervous, bows, and greets him by his new Egyptian name. He has her stand, smiles, and tells her that his name is Joseph.
* Disney's Miracle, based on the real-life story of the 1980 Olympic hockey, is loaded with them, and not just at the end either.
* The coach apologizing to his wife for not talking to her about taking on the enormous responsibility of coaching the Olympic hockey team, and asking her if she's with him on it, because it'll mean nothing if she isn't.
* The end of the US vs Soviet game, when Brooks fights his way through the crowd, sees Patti in the stands, and meets her eyes, and they're alight with pride and joy, and all he can do is grin at her like an idiot. Kurt Russell and Patricia Clarkson are incredible actors.
* "The name on the front of the jersey is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back!"
* Mike Enruzione realizing what it is their coach is trying to drill into their heads, and announcing -- during a grueling training exercise punishing them for their lack of attention during the game -- of his own volition that he plays not for a state university or coach, but for the United States of America.
* The end game. That is all.
* At the end of Taken, when Bryan Mills rescues Kimmy (after mowing through an entire sex trafficking ring), and she's finally safe, she falls into her father's arms:
* You wouldn't expect to find a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming in a documentary about Iron Maiden, but the film, Flight 666, has a pretty big one in the middle. Before a concert in Colombia, several fans are interviewed and talk about how much Maiden mean to them both musically and personally, and a couple even say they'll probably start crying when the show starts. After a killer performance of "Run To The Hills," the movie cuts to a post-concert shot of a fan who caught one of Nicko Mc Brain's drumsticks, clutching it like a lifeline and openly weeping. The emotion on his face seems to say that he's waited his whole life to see his heroes live and in person, that this might have been his only chance to do so, and he not only did that, but he caught something tossed randomly into the crowd that could have been caught by hundreds of other people, but HE got it. This random concert-goer encapsulates just how much a band can connect with its fans, and how grateful the fans can be for their music. You can view it here (fast forward to 1:00).
* Ray Harryhausen's first film Mighty Joe Young counts as one on a meta level, as it has the young Ray working under his mentor, Willis O'Brian, on an effective sequel to King Kong with a Happy Ending. The Entrepreneur, played by Robert Armstrong (same man who played Denham in Kong) helps save Joe from the exploitation he brought him to and escape the country. Symbolically rescuing Kong. But that's not all, Joe himself gets a few Heartwarming moments (despite his temper), but the top one, and Crowning Moment of Awesome occurs when Joe (and his allies) save children from a completely random burning orphanage. It's cheesy, random and totally perfect.
* Thomas and the Magic Railroad provides at least one. The interaction between Lily and her grandfather Burnett Stone during and right after Lady, the lost engine for the titular railroad, is steamed up again. Burnett had been trying to do revive her for years, but to no avail. To see him succeed, and smile for what we're told is the first time in years... And then when we first hear Lady speak. "So, Burnett, you didn't forget about magic. It's safe inside you."
* Then at the end of the film, "Lady, you're a really helpful engine.""And Helping each other brings to life the magic in all of us."
* At the end of Ocean’s Thirteen, Rusty rigs a slot machine so that the hotel reviewer (whose stay at the hotel the main characters had been making as miserable as possible in order to elicit a rock-bottom review) wins the jackpot, as an anonymous apology for his troubles.
* It's the gang watching the fireworks together, set to Frank Sinatra's "This Town", Danny giving Reuben the deed to replace the land he lost to Bank, and Reuben thanking Basher for the notes. So much True Companions.
* Big Fish: A lot of moments in the movie, but the crowning moment is when Edward comes home from the war and the funeral as the camera moves among people telling stories.
* Edward tells stories, but he never exaggerates himself or his own abilities. Rather, he exaggerates the world around him to make everyone else around him special.
* In the Japanese movie Hush! about a gay couple and a oman who wants one of them to donate her sperm (...), there is a confrontation when one of the guy's stalkerish female coworker sends a letter to the men's families. After the confrontation, one of the men's big brother apologizes for his wife's actions during the conversation and says he accepts him. The man asks how long he's know.
* At the end of A Beautiful Mind, John Nash delivers a speech after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, in dedication to his wife, who stuck by him throughout the whole movie, despite the complications and difficulties.
*
* And after his speech, he holds up a handkerchief that she had given to him in the beginning when they first started dating and kisses it.
* The finale of Hairspray is filled with these. From the Big Bad being revealed as treacherous, to the foil accepting that she lost. And who can forget the dancing and celebrations that break out all over Baltimore following the integration of the Corny Collins show.
* The fact that a German Captain found Szpilman and didn't tell anybody, even occasionally bringing him food and giving him his jacket as a farewell present. After watching more than an hour and a half of cruelty and senseless killing and destruction from the Germans, it was heartwarming to see that not all Germans were like that.
* I found Brom's death in the Eragon movie to be more emotional than it was in the book. Sure, what killed him was still random and lame, but his actual death scene? "Let him die with dignity... as a dragon rider." And then comes the shot of Brom dying while riding on Saphira's back.
* In the Bollywood film Rang De Basanti, Laxman, a Hindu Nationalist who at the beginning of the film was extremely antagonistic towards Aslam (who is Muslim), is present at a protest led by Aslam and his friends. When it gets violent, Laxman realizes that his father, the leader of a Hindu Nationalist party, is largely responsible for siccing the police/party goons on the crowd, because the protest goes against the party line. He turns to see the police beating Aslam, and, despite the fact that he'd twice been in a fight with him, rushes over and saves him. And let's not even talk about them later dying beside each other, holding hands.
* In Blazing Saddles, when the railroad workers all come to help the townspeople in exchange for a little land for a homestead. The mayor states, "Alright, we'll give some land to the niggers and the chinks, but we don't want the Irish." The railroad workers (and the black sheriff) all say no deal unless all are included. Played for laughs, but still, it was pretty heartwarming that the black and Chinese workers could have just said, "You're on your own, Fenians," but instead demanded everyone be accepted.
* The end of Cool Runnings, a film about the Jamaican bobsled team. It's been years since I saw it, and the only time I cried at a movie. In their final run, one of the runners of the Jamaican sled breaks and they crash shortly before the finish. The Jamaicans carry the sled on their shoulders across the line, during which one of the more hostile judges begins a Slow Clap which ends up with the whole audience (including many of the other characters who hadn't liked the Jamaicans) clapping and cheering for them.
* And subtly, after the crash, Derise asks "Sanka... you dead?" and Sanka replies "No man... I'm not dead". That exchange was repeated quite a few times through the movie in less serious circumstances, but every previous time Sanka had said yes, indicating that he's finally matured a bit.
* You're telling it wrong. The entire movie, the exchange has been initiated by Derise. "Sanka, ya dead?" Ya mon. After the crash, it's inverted. "Derise, ya dead?" "No mon, but we have to finish the race"
* "Cool Runnings" "What does that mean?" "Peace be da journey".
* The scene in Avatar where Neytiri saves Jake Sully and sees him in the sky people flesh for the first time. "I See you".
* The scene where the wheelchair-bound Jake links to his Avatar body for the first time... and wiggles his toes. Then stands up. Then brushes past the techs telling him to take it slow, crashes out the door, and runs.
* The ceremony where Jake becomes an Omaticaya... which turns into a Tear Jerker when we see Grace watching, with a look on her face like her heart's breaking.
* "She already has."
* One Week is not so much a movie about a man with a terminal illness, but a movie that will make it's audience realize just how awesome it is to be Canadian.
* In the comedy "Bubble Boy", with Jake Gyllenhaal, he's spent the entire movie (while in a bubble-suit, since he has no immunities) trying to get to Niagara Falls so he can tell his neighbor that he loves her - having spoiled the chance when she was last there, since he felt betrayed. When he finally gets to the wedding (in the standard scene), she comes up to him and asks what he was doing there. Without a word, he starts stripping away the suit - her protesting all the while, since she knows he has no immunities - and follows it up with this line.
* Moon has the scene where Sam finds out that, as a clone, he has a 3 year lifespan and all of the other Sams before him sickened and died. GERTY, being what it is, tries to console him by petting him on the shoulder with its arm.
* The Blind Side is practically made of this. Not including the incidents listed under the entry for The Blind Side on the Crowning Moment of Awesome page:
* Leigh Anne turning off the football game to have a family Thanksgiving dinner around a dining table, and then the Tuohy children offering their hands to Michael when saying Grace.
* Leigh Anne reading The Story of Ferdinand to Michael and SJ, with Collins secretly listening in the hallway.
* Leigh Anne using the photo that included Michael for the Tuohys' Christmas cards.
* Leigh Anne's assertion at her luncheon that it wasn't just that she changed Michael's life, but that he changed hers.
* Michael always sits alone in study hall, until Collins leaves her study table to sit with him instead.
* Michael saving SJ from being seriously injured or killed during their car accident.
* The movie Latter Days is the beautiful and heart-warming story of a gay waiter named Christian who falls for his Mormon missionary neighbour Aaron Davis. Aaron is gay, but can't express his feelings or else he will be excommunicated (Aaron's father is a high-ranking Mormon priest). The entire second half of the film is a crowning moment of heart-warming, but there are two moments that I can't watch without crying. Aaron is caught kissing Christian, and is sent home to be excommunicated. Christian rushes to catch Aaron at the airport before he leaves, and the two finally confess their feelings.
*
* And the other moment, is the final couple of scenes. Three quarters of the way through the film, after returning to his family and being abused and ignored, Aaron attempts to commit suicide, and Christian learns this after a phone call with Aaron's mother. Christian is devastated, and spends the rest of the movie utterly destroyed. He's almost catatonic. What Aaron's mother doesn't say is that they found Aaron, got him to a hospital in time and saved him. At the end of the film, Aaron returns to Los Angeles looking for Christian. Unable to find him, Aaron stops in to the restaurant where Christian is working, without realising it. Christian steps out of the kitchen, sees Aaron, and drops the plate of food he's carrying. The entire restaurant stops and stares. The look on Christian's face, seeing Aaron again, just about kills you. Then, Chris races towards Aaron and holds him, and doesn't let go, and the scene fades out. Without fail, I will cry like a school-girl every time I watch this scene. What makes it even better is that, the very final scene of the film is Aaron and Chris together at a Thanksgiving Day feast in the restaurant with Chris's coworkers. They clasp each other's hands, and Aaron looks straight at the camera for half a second, smiles, and the credits roll. It's such a perfect moment, because you know that they're going to be okay. This movie destroys me, every time. It's happy tears, but it's just so powerful. Would you believe I'm crying just from typing this entry? Gay or straight, if you haven't seen this movie, make time to. You won't regret it. I can promise you.
* Just to put it short, that movie is 105 minutes long, from which 50 are pure Tear Jerker, and all the rest is Crowning Moment of Heartwarming after Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
* Go find the movie version of Fiddler On the Roof. Now find the song "Miracle of Miracles." Okay, now try and convince yourself that I'm lying when I say Rosalind Harris, without saying a word, absolutely sells this scene heart, body and soul. Thought so.
* Moon Child. There's a scene where Sho visits Kei in prison, after having been separated from him for almost a decade. Sho is trying to talk to Kei, but the vampire doesn't even look at him.
* District 9: Any moment with Christopher and his son, and the exchange near the end where Wikus is in the Humongous Mecha and initially tells Christopher that he'll just be a moment behind, and eventually collapses to say that he (Wikus) had come too far for him (Christopher) to fail; Christopher responds by promising to return in three years.
* Christopher's son telling Wikus that they're the same.
* Christopher, after Wikus decides to stay behind to give him time to escape. I will come back for you. Three years, I promise.
* Fully-Prawned Wikus making a flower out of scrap metal for his wife.
* The scene from the classic film High Society, when Tracy flashes back to her honeymoon with Dexter, after the latter gives the former a model ship... as a wedding present, sadly enough. And it's a comedy film!
* Braveheart: Everything that happens after this line:
* Life is Beautiful: Considering the circumstances and the fact that they are talking about two completely different things, this exchange gets me every time.
*
* If you're in America and you've only seen the dubbed version of the movie, you really missed out. Find the final scene, which was changed considerably from the Italian version (searching for the Italian name on YouTube should do the trick). In the context of the Italian version of the scene with the American soldier (don't worry, you won't need subtitles), there something incredibly beautiful in how the American immediately understands and reacts to the boy's shout of "mama!".
* Uncle Buck: When the Russells return home...
* The Prophecy The final scene of The Ascent.
* Dennis the Menace:
* George tells Martha he's sorry about the way he acted when they talked never having children. George admits he would've liked to have children of their own. He tells her that she's the only love he needs. He then gives her a big kiss on the lips, however, her turns out to be Dennis' dog Ruff.
* Margaret crying for Dennis when he's gone missing.
* Martha reciting the poem "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" to Dennis. During the scene, Dennis is looking out the window at a full moon, which his mom is all looking at during her business trip, she clearly misses Dennis. Dennis' dad is at a business trip himself, looking at a photo of the family.
* Everyone happy to see Dennis back.
* "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy...."
* When Elena and Diego are reunited at the end of The Mask of Zorro, it combines Crowning Moment of Heartwarming with Tear Jerker perfectly.
* Korbin Dallas admitting his love for Leeloo at the climax of The Fifth Element totally qualifies.
* The scene in Lucky Number Slevin where Slevin and Linday lie in bed talking about the "James Bond" comment that happened earlier. It's cuter than a giant puppy made of puppies.
* Also, Goodcat deciding not to kill Henry and instead taking him under his wing and helping him take revenge on the men who killed his parents.
* Pretty much every single scene between Jenna and Dr. Pomatter in Waitress. Just...all of them.
* The montage of Bruce being helpful to strangers in Bruce Almighty. Hell, that whole movie was a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming when it wasn't too busy being a CMOF.
* The "morning after" scene of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the kitchen. Hilarious and sweet at the same time.
* Sin City may have been violent and vulgar but it had a strangely large amount of these moments:
* Hartigan saving Nancy Callahan in the beginning of the film. The second time he saves her is more of a Tear Jerker, though.
* Wendy visiting Marv in prison and spending the night with him before his execution.
* Dwight and Gail after the gun battle: "I'll always love ya, baby."
* The scene in Stick It where Hayley's coach Burt comes up to her and tells her how proud of her he is. It's especially touching considering what awful relationships she has with both of her parents.
* From the film How to Train Your Dragon we have:
* Astrid and Hiccup's flight. The soundtrack makes your heart swell.
* When Toothless imitates Hiccup's drawing in the dirt, teaches the boy to move over the meaningless squiggles, and shows how he trusts Hiccup by simply touching his hand.
* "I'm proud to call you my son". The happy tears flow every time.
* The ending. Was it a Tear Jerker? Oh absolutely. Was it a crowning moment of heartwarming. Oh, my word, yes.
* In the movie version of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof the part at the end of the movie where Brick confronts his father Big Daddy after he discovers that he will die within a year or so after being diagnosed with colon cancer and confides himself to his basement filled with many valuable possessions that he bought over the course of his career as a successful businessman. Brick finds Big Daddy doubling over in pain and he ventures over to the morphine that the doctor had left to allow Big Daddy to die comfortably, Big Daddy refuses to take it and instead ventures for Brick to get him a drink to relieve his pain. Big Daddy takes a sip and ventures over to his valuables and laments to his son that you can't buy back your life once its over and tells his son that he is gonna miss him when he's gone. He further presses on that if Brick had been having troubles in his life regarding the death of his friend and his marriage he should have come to him his father, he could have been his Big Daddy that loved him and watched over him. Brick laments that Big Daddy never loved him to which his father counters that he does and he would give him anything he ever wanted, to which Brick says that he doesn't want things and proceeds to destroy a lot of the valuables stored in the basement, most notably a poster of him in his younger days when he was a football star, and breaks down in tears.
* Big Daddy comforts his son and says that he had never seen him cry like that, Brick says to his father he knows that he loves him but his business persona is reflected in his parenting skills in that he treats his family the way a boss does an employee, he "owns" his family, and that all he wanted was pure love from his father and not the the man who doesn't even care about his employees much less know how to show proper love to his family. He even mentions how Big Daddy wants him and his older brother Gooper, who is notable for listening to anything Big Daddy ever wanted him to be or do, to have kids and Big Daddy says that it is all because he wants a part of him to keep on living and that the legacy he will leave behind is the great empire he made, but Brick says that men die and empires die, though Big Daddy refuses to believe that. Big Daddy then shows Brick a briefcase that his father had left behind, saying that all that was in it was his father's uniform from the Spanish-American War, his father left him nothing valuable before he died, he doesn't want to leave his family behind with nothing like his father had and that is part of the reason why he made the business he now has from nothing but the sweat of his brow. Brick confronts Big Daddy with the question of whether that was all his father had left him, Big Daddy elaborates saying that his father was a hobo and he did odd jobs with him from the time he was 9 years old to get any money that they could get and the first thing he could remember outside of hunger was shame over his father being a hobo, and that ultimately his father died when he was a teenager and he buried him alongside the railroad that they road on, lamenting to Brick that he will never have to bury him like he had buried his father. Big Daddy fondly looks back and recollects that his father had died laughing, about what he never could figure out, but Brick says that it was because he was happy about having his son with him and that he took the younger Big Daddy with him where ever he went and that he loved him, Big Daddy relents and says that his father hadn't left him with nothing and that he was left with the fond memories of his father, and Brick adds that love was another thing that his father had left him. Big Daddy says that he never loved anyone more than he did his father, fondly asking his son Brick how many times he thought that he had talked about his childhood with his old man to which Brick smiles back and says quite a lot. Big Daddy realizes that he doesn't need to leave behind money or a business empire but simply love like his father had left him, but the pain from his cancer starts to bother him again and Brick has to catch his father as he falls from his chair.
* Ready to administer the morphine to ease Big Daddy's pain Brick gets the needle, but Big Daddy refuses saying that at least if he is in pain he knows that he is alive and says that the pain is easing somewhat now. He then ventures to the staircase leading upstairs and says that he wants to think clear and not have his senses be skewed as his death nears and that he is ready die but he wants to know if his son Brick is ready to live. Brick says that doesn't know yet, to which Big Daddy lovingly puts out his hand and softly says that they can try and that they can start by helping each other up the stairs. Brick grabs Big Daddy's hand and father and son are at long last at peace and both ready to live with whatever may come.
* The Invention of Lying:
* "I want fat kids with snub noses."
* In a somewhat unusual example of this, the film version of Kickass has one moment like this. Kick-Ass's second fight: He can't really fight, he can barely defend himself, let alone the guy getting attacked, but when he flat out refuses to quit and just walk away, it's rather inspiring.
* The ending of the film Confessions of a Shopaholic when Luke presents Rebecca with the green scarf that she had given away earlier to pay off her debts. Amazed, she realizes he was one of the bidders that was bidding for the scarf against another woman. Then, he told her that actually he was the pereson behind both bidders.
* The finale of Little Miss Sunshine, when the whole family gets up on stage and dances with Olive. Also, Dwayne's rant just prior, trying to prevent Olive from going out there. Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other!
* Also when Dwayne is having his breakdown and refuses to get back in the van. Nothing anyone can say has made any difference, and someone suggests that Olive try. Without saying a word, Olive goes down the hill and puts her arm around his shoulders. Such a perfect testament to the power of just being there for someone, even if you can't make everything okay. And it gets even more heartwarming right after, as Dwayne, after having yelled at his mother, accusing his whole family of being losers and screaming how much he hates them all, reacts to Olive's hug with no more fuzz a simple "Alright," and then easily gets up and helps his little sister back up the hill, so they can get back on the road and get to the pageant on time.
* The night before the competition, Olive is starting to feel the pressure, feeling insecure about her looks and actually starts crying. Grandpa swoops in, after being an asshole for 90% of his screentime, and tells her not only is she beautiful, but she's the most beautiful girl in the world. Seeing how Olive is coming apart just the way a normal little girl would and how Grandpa is comforting her was really touching.
* This exchange.
* Raise Your Voice. Say what you will about this film and Hilary Duff, but I DARE you not to cry when her character Terri performs the song Someone's Watching Over Me as a tribute to her deceased brother.
* One scene near the end of Dancing at Lughnasa where the radio starts playing some traditional Irish ceilidh music. Maggie starts dancing around the kitchen, Rose and Agnes get up to join her followed by Chrissy. You see Kate restraining herself for a bit before she jumps up and they all dance together before running outside and just letting go of all their worries for that one moment. Almost done better than in the play where it happens much earlier in the story.
* I dare you not to cry in ((The Last Song)) during the final-third of the film. It's heartwarming and tearjerking at the same time. After Ronnie's father tells her that he has lung cancer and will soon die, Ronnie then decides to spend the rest of her summer with him rather then returning to her mom. Eventually her father lacks the energy to finish writing the song- titled 'For Ronnie'- so Ronnie decides to finish the song herself. When she finally does finish she looks up and sees that her father has passed away. Then she performs the finished song (called When I Look At You) at her fathers funeral You can't deny how effective this scene is; I'm tearing up just thinking about it!
* In the Masterpiece Theater film, Bertie and Elizabeth George VI and Elizabeth drive through London during the blitz. Then they get out to talk to the people and swarms of plucky children come around cheering and waving tiny Union Jacks.
* The final scene of Son of Rambow.
* The last part of French film Les Choristes (The Chorus) is full of these, including the moment in the choir's performance to the Countess when Mathieu turns to Pierre and lifts his hand, giving him back his solo because he's learned his lesson. "In [his] eyes, I read many things. Pride, the joy of being forgiven, but most of all- and this was new for him- a kind of gratitude."
* Also the final scene, when the bus stops and Pepinot runs joyfully into Mathieu's waiting arms.
* The paper planes scene.
* Toy Story 3: The whole movie is amazingly incredible, but two scenes especially stuck out as not just good for this category but being definitive of it. The first being in the dump when the cast gave up on escaping the furnace and instead joins hands, accepting that if they are to die, at least they die together. When THE CLAW comes in to save them might also count under this, or crowning moment of happy, or maybe even funny if you remember the first movie. The second crowning moment is in fact an entire crowning scene - the last scene.
* Jon Favreau may be better remembered for directing Iron Man than delivering this gem in Daredevil:
* In the documentary Koyaanisqatsi, there's a sequence called "Prophecies" with footage of all kinds of people and there's an unspoken message about the beauty of humanity in all its shapes, colors, sizes, ages, and conditions, from the old, homeless beggar shuffling down the street while counting his change to the beautiful young professional woman laughing as she talks to her older male colleague. Everyone is lovingly concentrated on, individual by individual, to show that people -- human individuals -- are good.
* Pretty in Pink: The moment Duckie shows up at the prom and holds Andie's hand as she scans the room with a great deal of trepidation. You know they're meant to be in each others' lives for the rest of their lives, even if just as friends.
* In the Iris Murdoch biopic Iris, when the old Iris Murdoch is besieged with Alzheimer's disease and is having a fit when she realizes nothing makes sense to her while John Bayley (her husband) tries to calm her down and you see that in spite of all the troubles in their past when Iris and John were dating their love for each other is still there, it can cause anyone who's ever had a loved one go through Alzheimer's to weep tears of understanding.
* The scene in Philadelphia where Denzel Washington's character, who was a vitriolic homophobe in the beginning of the movie, removes the oxygen mask from Tom Hanks' character and touches his face. That is just a beautiful moment.
* From the new 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, on the anniversary of the deaths of Mr Han's wife and son, Dre uses bamboo shafts to help a crying Mr Han get back on his feet, trying to tell him that he can heal from his loss. Before they begin, Dre lifts a bamboo shaft to help Mr Han wipe his eyes.
* Harry and the Hendersons gives us a few of these as well.
* When George Henderson looks Harry in the eyes through the scope of his rifle and decides he can't shoot him..
* Dr. Wallace Wrightwood spent years trying to prove Bigfoot existed. His reaction to seeing Harry in the flesh is priceless.
* Perhaps the most Heartwarming of all is when Harry himself stops George from hurting LaFluer, despite the fact that LaFluer has been hunting him this whole time.
* Up in the Air: Ryan's letter of recommendation, which is what helps Natalie get a job back home in San Fransisco.
* Also earlier, Alex helping Ryan comfort Natalie after her boyfriend dumped her. Of course it only made the revelation that she was already married and had children and was using Ryan that much more of a Tear Jerker.
* The scene in Get Him to The Greek where Aldous is watching an old video of him and Jackie. On the video, Jackie keeps insisting that they should make a sex tape for fun, but Aldous (who has a massive libido) says he doesn't want to, because he just wants to lie there and kiss her. Watching the video, Aldous smiles sort of sadly and decides that he needs to call her immediately.
* To Sir With Love - Thackeray is surprised to see every student in his class show up for the funeral of a classmate's mother, defying their neighborhood's views on his mixed-race family.
* Gettysburg: The Chamberlain brothers hugging at the end.
* And Chamberlain's speech before the 2nd Maine regiment "Many of us volunteered to fight for the Union. Some came mainly because we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many came because it was the right thing to do... We are an army out to set other men free."
* Directly after the Battle of Little Round Top, Cpt. Ellis, one of Col. Chamberlain's officers, asks Chamberlain to "so honor him" by sharing a swig from Ellis' flask.
* Also, the new brigade commander:
* In She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, when Capt. Brittles goes to inspect his troop for the last time due to his retirement and all the men are in their best uniforms and when they present him with the watch that they all chipped in to buy and Brittles puts on his glasses to read the sentiment "Lest We Forget."
* Angels in the Outfield when Maggie affirms her faith in angels and the whole baseball team agrees with her.
* In Inception, when Robert Fischer Jr finds his father in the vault, and sees that there was no alternate will-the only thing in the safe was a paper pinwheel from his childhood. Fischer Sr gives Fischer Jr his blessings, and Fischer Jr finally gets the closure about his Daddy issues. Of course, not so heartwarming is that it was merely a suggestion implanted by the team, and may not have been what Fischer Sr really thought of his son.
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* Earlier in the film is Cobb's phone call home, when his son asks him why he can't return to them, and Cobb sighs sadly.
* Cobb and Mal growing old together in their dream world, holding hands and finally lying on a train track together to get run over by a train so they can return to reality.
* The ending of the film Love!Compassion!Valour!,in which all the main characters are shown happy together.
* Wild Strawberries, "Good-bye, father Isak. Can't you see you're the one I love?".
* The Day After is a terrifying and brutal glimpse into what would happen in the case of nuclear war in America. But the final scene features one of the protagonists and some fellow unlucky survivors, crouching in the wreckage of his old street. The protagonist at first angrily and deliriously demands they get out of his house... and is then hugged as he crouches in the rubble sobbing.
* Seven Pounds had Tim rebuilding The Beast for Emily.
* Also, when Emily meets with Ezra at the end of the film.
* Where The Heart Is, with Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd, is full of these.
* The first time Novalee meets her baby girl and names her Americus.
* When Sister Husband found Novalee and Americus after Novalee's mother abandoned them again and brought them to live with her in her house.
* When Novalee and her ex-boyfriend Willy Jack talk near the end of the movie, after Willy Jack was in an accident. We later found out that despite everything Willy Jack had done to her, Novalee found the time to bring him home.
* Of course, when Novalee and Forney finally get together and marry. In Wal-Mart.
* But one of the most poignant scene was when Novalee was talking with Leslie after her boyfriend had beat her up and raped her two kids. What made it so heartwarming was the fact that Novalee herself knows what it's like to be at the lowest point of her life and now, she is telling Leslie that things will turn for the better.
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* And to follow-up with that scene, Leslie marries a sweet ordinary guy called Ernie, who is nothing like the guys she used to date. She later told Novalee why. Ernie's ex-wife had a daughter that didn't belong to him, yet he loved her like one of his own. When they were divorcing, Ernie's ex-wife used her daughter as a barter to get Ernie's car and finances. He willingly gave them to her in exchange to get the daughter that his ex-wife didn't want but he wanted.
* In The Golden Compass, when Lyra steps onto the ice bridge. She looks back at Iorek in fear, and he steps closer to the bridge and says, "I'm right here."
* Lester's monologue at the end of American Beauty: "I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday."
* In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, when Stacey finds her brother Scott sitting outside in the cold and has a talk with him.
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* And when Wallace Wells is encouraging Scott to pursue love (albeit with the intention of getting their apartment to himself):
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* And when Scott and Ramona are on the bus after Scott's fight with Matthew Patel:
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* Frequently found in the trailers.
* And when Young Neil rushes to the defense of Knives Chau ("He punched the highlights out of her hair!!") even though anyone with eyes can see that she's only dating the poor nimrod in order to get back together with Scott.
* And when Kim Pine screams at the top of her lungs "WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB AND WE ARE HERE TO SEE SCOTT PILGRIM KICK YOUR TEETH IN!!!!! ..."
* And Scott's simplistic ballad for Ramona.
* And a sword called Power of Love {not even joking), plus the clever Power of Self Respect upgrade.
* "Oh yeah, he's a great guy. We're gonna have brunch this week. We actually have a lot in common."
* And in the climax when both Ramona and Knives still love Scott but each tries to convince him to follow the other one.
* God, there's too many to list. Which is pretty typical of all Edgar Wright and Jason Reitman films so far.
* There was a brief scene where old friends Mu Bai and Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, who have been dancing the Cannot Spit It Out and Just Friends dance through the whole movie. Despite Everyone Can See It, they chose to not act on their feelings out of respect for Shu Lien's deceased fiancée who was also Mu Bai's best friend. But in this scene, Mu Bai gently takes Shu Lien's hand and presses it to his face, showing just how much he felt for her. No words needed to be said at that moment. And from Shu Lien's reaction, she felt exactly the same way.
* Mu Bai and Shu Lien's Last Kiss as Mu Bai was dying. "I would rather be a ghost, drifting by your side...as a condemned soul...than enter heaven without you. Because of your love...I will never be a lonely spirit." This doubles as a Tear Jerker.
* There was this scene between two minor characters, the servant Bo and the police inspector's daughter May. After Jade Fox had killed her father, Bo was worried that May could be in danger so he stood on guard at her house, despite being clearly terrified. May opened her door and quietly told him to come in so that even if both of them were scared, at least they could be scared together.
* The funeral scene in Waking Ned Devine. Jackie is unable to speak about Ned because the lotto man is in the church and they're pretending that Ned is still alive, so instead he eulogizes Michael--who is sitting in the front row and is able to hear just how much he means to Jackie. Doubles as a Tear Jerker.
* Napoleon Dynamite - super geeky Kip spends his time 'chatting with hot babes' on the internet - expectations say he's seriously deluded or being royally scammed, then his online girlfriend Lafawnduh comes to town. Looking at them, one would never imagine the two to be anywhere on the same plane, but they clearly know each other very well by this point and are totally blissed out on each other the rest of the movie.
* Red, when Frank and Marvin bid farewell to Joe, who performs a Heroic Sacrifice. Also, seeing elderly people in love like teenagers, especially between Victoria and Ivan.
* Crash: "Don't worry, Daddy, it's a really good cloak."
* Im A Cyborg - Jung-goon believes she is a cyborg and is starving herself to death because she's afraid eating food will cause her to break down. The scene where Il-soon makes and "installs" the Rice Megatron to enable her to eat is one of the sweetest things ever put to film.
* Zathura, when Walter uses the shooting star to wish the astronaut had his brother back.
* Sanctuary.
* Absolutely amazing that this list has survived this long without listing Somewhere in Time, which has a few of these. First, when Richard realizes that this woman whose picture he has has been going gaga over is the one who gave him the watch so long ago.
* The movie Unleashed is a big collection of Heartwarming Moments. It is, without a doubt, intended to be a heartwarming and uplifting movie. Pretty much any of the times where Danny (Jet Li) is treated like a person, and even a family member, by Sam (Morgan Freeman) and Victoria qualifies.
* Specific examples include Victoria bringing him a small electronic piano to play, taking him out to get ice cream, and Sam first introducing him to music.
* When Adrian buys Butkus, a stray and long-term resident of the pet shop where she works, for Rocky. Not so much because of Rocky's reaction, but because it was heartbreaking seeing that big dog locked up in a tiny cage in the pet shop every day.
* It may sound strange, but the ending of The Da Vinci Code when Langdon kneels in the front of the chuch makes me well up. I considered it a turning point in my crisis of faith and made me believe again
* Langdon and the Camerlengo's conversation at the end of Angels and Demons before Langdon leaves the Vatican is another good example.
* High School Musical Narm aside, when Troy and Gabriella are auditioning for callbacks and the ENTIRE SCHOOL comes in to support them. The school that had previously made fun of them for acting outside of their groups. It's topped when Sharpay tries to say they can't do it because they have no pianist. Kelsi (who is not only the pianist but terrified of Sharpay) Runs right back in and informs the teacher that, yes, she will play. And then the parents watch. Seriously, the Breaking Free scene is all about the Heartwarming.
* In America: "Don't "little girl" me. I've been carrying this family on my back for over a year, ever since Frankie died. He was my brother too. It's not my fault that he's dead. It's not my fault that I'm still alive."
* And "Say goodbye to Frankie, dad."
* What Dreams May Come: Chris's reaction when he realizes that Leona is really his daughter Marie
* The ending to When Harry Met Sally, at the Christmas Party.
* "Coach Carter" - After being told that the school will be opening the gym to appease the families and fans, Carter begins to gather his things to quit. He comes across his players and sees them studying instead of practicing. Timo Cruz, who spent most of the film as an antagonist answers the questions "What is your deepest fear?" that has been posed to him throughout the movie, stands up and answers.
* Ghost World: After Rebecca shows Seymour the mocking drawing of him in Enid's sketchbook from when they first saw him, the thought that he's just been a joke to her all this time makes him flip out and he ends up in hospital. When she visits him he shows her the drawing. She can't believe he hasn't looked through the rest of the book and shows him the all the really sweet, adoring drawings she's done of him, saying "You're, like, my hero."
* Not sure if this belongs here or Real Life. So much of the third act of Dreamgirls is this, Crowning Moment of Awesome or Crowning Music of Awesome. But this troper can't seem to make it through the credits without tearing up when the music swells and it says "Introducing Jennifer Hudson". I just think that role was such a victory for her. It was her first role and she won (and rightly deserved) an Oscar.
* The Sound of Music, when Captain Von Trapp joins the children in singing. And then lets them give him a group hug.
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