History Main / SurprisinglyHappyEnding

-->--'''''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'''''

* The ending of the two-part premiere of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.'' Protagonist Twilight Sparkle has completed her assignment in Ponyville and expects to return home, despondent about leaving her newfound friends in the process. As it is a series premiere, GenreSavvy viewers won't believe it for a moment...
** To be fair, a minor civil servant requesting reassignment and having it granted isn't really a mind-shredding turnabout. Albeit, the target audience is 5-6 years old, so OK, fair enough. And that would be an absurdly genre-savvy connection for a five-year-old to make.

* Some of J.S. Bach's minor-key organ works end with a major key-sounding chord

* The ending of Series Six of ''Series/DoctorWho''. Time is no longer going to unravel, but it happened at the expense of [[spoiler:the Doctor's life]]. Except that [[spoiler:it wasn't the Doctor who died, it was simply the Tessalecta disguised as the Doctor]].

[[folder:Film]]

-->Sultan: Well, am I Sultan or am I Sultan? From this day forth, the princess shall marry whomever she deems worthy.

* In ''TwoBrothers'' the two titular tigers have escaped back into the wild, but the two main human characters are afraid that the tigers will become man-eaters if they never learn to hunt animals. At the last minute, the two tigers reunite with one of parent, so now they have a tiger to learn hunting skills from.

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:VisualNovels]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* ''HaroldAndMaude''

* A surprisingly happy ending for a subplot happens in ''TheNightCircus''. It looks as if Chandresh has been left mentally destroyed from the years of being brainwashed by Marcus into not noticing the strange things going on in the circus. When Poppet meets him at the end though, she kisses him on the cheek and helps him get started on a new project. It's implied that her odd power helped fix him up enough that he at least can continue onward with the same energy he once had.

* StarTrekEnterprise: The two parter ''Augments'' episode ends on an unusually positive note. Although the Augments are defeated, Arik Soong (grandfather of Dr. Noonian Soong) is simply incarcerated. But while in prison, he changes his research interests to artificial intelligence. He also remarks that the fruits of his research may take a generation or two. That research, whatever it is, is implied to lead to the 24th century's Soong creating the android Data. This is significant as the episode made no indication that he had fathered any children previously. So it is possible that sometime before his death, he will be released from prison.

* In ''{{Lufia}}'', it appears that [[HelloInsertNameHere the Hero]] [[spoiler:has succeeded in saving the world from the Sinistrals, but has lost Lufia in the process. However, Lufia reappears during the ending, alive but suffering from IdentityAmnesia]].

* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' managed to pull this trope twice in the final two epsiodes. [[spoiler: In episode 25 Kotetsu gets up after the is heroic sacrifice to reveal he hadn't died and had only passed out from the pain. A few minutes later Him and Bunny tell their friends they are going to retire from the hero-life, only to TimeSkip a year forward with them both returning to the Hero business.]]

* In ''TwoBrothers'' the two titular tigers have escaped back into the wild, but the two main human characters are afraid that the tigers will become man-eaters if they never learn to hunt animals. At the last minute, the two tigers reunite with one of parent, so now they have a tiger to learn hunting skills from.
* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' seems like it's about to have a BittersweetEnding in the form of [[spoiler:Sulley having to part ways with Boo]], but it turns out that [[spoiler:Mike Wazowski recreated the door that leads to her room, so Sulley can at least still visit her]].
* In ''{{WALL-E}}'', although EVE manages to repair and reactivate WALL-E, his memory and personality seemed to have disappeared for good... until EVE kisses him.
* Disney's ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}''. Under the laws of Agrabah, Princess Jasmine had to marry a prince. At the end of the movie Aladdin was no longer a prince so Jasmine couldn't marry him. But wait!

* ''LiloAndStitch''. Just after Stitch saves Lilo, the Grand Councilwoman arrives to take him away. Even after Stitch shows signs of being reformed, the Councilwoman points out that the law is absolute. Then Lilo points out that she bought him at the shelter, and that taking him away would be stealing. The Councilwoman then declares that Stitch will serve the rest of his sentence on Earth, under the care of Lilo and her family.

[[AC:Music]]

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' had FLUDD destroyed, while everything else about the plot reached its resolution. Then, in the final scene, the Toads present a repaired FLUDD.

* The ''{{Xenosaga}}'' anime (and the first game it's been adapted from) ends with KOS-MOS seemingly sacrificing herself to save Shion and the rest. Then, however, she comes back, battered but otherwise fine. It's still a BittersweetEnding, since [[spoiler:Momo died by HeroicSacrifice earlier on]], but not the DownerEnding it could have been.
* ''TigerAndBunny'' managed to pull this trope twice in the final two epsiodes. [[spoiler: In episode 25 Kotetsu gets up after the is heroic sacrifice to reveal he hadn't died and had only passed out from the pain. A few minutes later Him and Bunny tell their friends they are going to retire from the hero-life, only to TimeSkip a year forward with them both returning to the Hero business.]]
* In ZeroNoTsukaima, this happens at least twice:

* ''MonstersInc'' seems like it's about to have a BittersweetEnding in the form of [[spoiler:Sulley having to part ways with Boo]], but it turns out that [[spoiler:Mike Wazowski recreated the door that leads to her room, so Sulley can at least still visit her]].

* In {{Lufia}}, it appears that [[HelloInsertNameHere the Hero]] [[spoiler:has succeeded in saving the world from the Sinistrals, but has lost Lufia in the process. However, Lufia reappears during the ending, alive but suffering from IdentityAmnesia]].

* In the original ''PeterAndTheWolf'' the story ends by revealing that the duck that had been eaten was swallowed alive by the wolf, creating only vague possibility that the duck would be recovered. However, it also allows for the possibility that the duck would simply die a slow death inside the wolf, which is the interpretation that Weird Al gave to it. Because of this, many adaptations add the wolf vomiting the still-alive duck back up at the ending.

-->- ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

* The ending of the two-part premiere of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.'' Protagonist Twilight Sparkle has completed her assignment in Ponyville and expects to return home, despondent about leaving her newfound friends in the process. As it is a series premiere, GenreSavvy viewers won't believe it for a moment...

* ''LiloAndStitch''. Just after Stitch saves Lilo, the Grand Counsilwoman arrives to take him away. Even after Stitch shows signs of being reformed, the Counsilwoman points out that the law is absolute. Then Lilo points out that she bought him at the shelter, and that taking him away would be stealing. The Counsilwoman then decides that Stitch will serve the rest of his sentence on Earth, under the care of Lilo and her family.

** In the second season of the anime, Seito [[spoiler: makes a LastStand while Louise is taken aboard a refugee ship.]] Cue Louise's HeroicBSOD when she realizes [[spoiler: Seito is dead. But later, he reappears, claiming that faeries brought him back to life.]]

** In the second season of the anime, Seito [[spoiler: makes a HeroicLastStand while Louise is taken aboard a refugee ship.]] Cue Louise's HeroicBSOD when she realizes [[spoiler: Seito is dead. But later, he reappears, claiming that faeries brought him back to life.]]

* The second episode to ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic,'' as shown in the page-quote dialogue.

-->- ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

* The second episode to ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic,'' as shown in the page-quote dialogue.