History Main / TookALevelInIdealism

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Nick Wilde starts off as believing that mammals can only be what they are stereotyped to be. After spending time with Judy however, he decides to follow her example and become a cop himself.]]

* ''Fanfic/{{Wonderful}}'': Due to be forced to interact daily with Taylor and a sane Emma, Sophia becomes (very grudgingly) somewhat saner and less cynical. She's still a jerkass, but she isn't a psychopath anymore.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': [[CunningLikeAFox Nick's]] EstablishingCharacterMoment involved mocking [[RighteousRabbit Judy]] for trying to be a cop since he believed that nobody could escape the stereotypes that society put on each species. [[spoiler:After becoming FireForgedFriends, he decides to follow Judy's example and become a cop himself.]]

** In between ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', the mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games underwent a change in direction. Where as previous games in the series presented the player with a no-win scenario where they had to choose what they felt was the least terrible of several unambiguously crappy outcomes, ''IV'' presents the Neutral Route as an unambiguously, albeit temporary, happy ending. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' takes this even further. [[spoiler:You kill the franchise's [[GodIsEvil notoriously difficult-to-kill]] GreaterScopeVillain in a manner that's implied to be permanent with the power of friendship and some good-old-fashioned greatness of the human spirit. Assuming you take that interpretation, you also permanently end the cycle of [[ApocalypseHow Full Circle Revolutions]] that has plagued the world since time immemorial.]]

** In between VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney and VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV, the mainline Shin Megami Tensei games underwent a change in direction. Where as previous games in the series presented the player with a no-win scenario where they had to choose what they felt was the least terrible of several unambiguously crappy outcomes, IV presents the Neutral Route as an unambiguously, albeit temporary, happy ending. VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse takes this even further. [[spoiler:You kill the franchise's [[GodIsEvil notoriously difficult-to-kill]] GreaterScopeVillain in a manner that's implied to be permanent with the power of friendship and some good-old-fashioned greatness of the human spirit. Assuming you take that interpretation, you also permanently end the cycle of [[ApocalypseHow Full Circle Revolutions]] that has plagued the world since time immemorial.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'': Both Diego and Manfred end the movie with a much-improved world view. Manfred had been surly and asocial after losing his mate and his child. However, after restoring the human infant to his father, Manfred discards his isolationism. Likewise, Diego had known only self-serving SocialDarwinism under the ruthless Soto. After being rescued from certain doom by Manfred, Diego hears, "That's what you do in a herd: you look out for each other." This "got your back" principle inspires Diego to abandon his mission to betray the group to Soto's pack and actively ''defend'' Manfred and the sloth Sid.

* Han Solo starts out as a snarky, world-weary smuggler in ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'', at one point poo-pooing the Force: "No mystical energy field controls ''my'' destiny," and later dismissing the rebel Alliance: "I'm not in it for your revolution; I expect to be paid." Fortunately, [[ChangedMyMindKid Han gets a few rethinks by the climax of the film]].

* Both the sabertooth tiger Diego and woolie mammoth Manfred conclude the film ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' with a much-improved world view. Manfred had been surly and asocial after losing his mate and his child. However, after restoring the human infant Bonebag to his father, Manfred discards his isolationism. This also happens to DoubleAgent Diego, who had known only self-serving SocialDarwinism under the ruthless Soto. After being rescued from certain doom by Manfred, Diego hears, "That's what you do in a herd: you look out for each other." This "got your back" principle inspires Diego to abandon his mission to betray the group to Soto's pack and actively ''defend'' Manfred and the sloth Sid.
* Taken UpToEleven with the space pirate John Silver in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', when Silver abandoned a skiff full of gold and jewels to rescue young Jim Hawkins. Silver himself said it best: "'Twas just a lifetime obsession, lad. I'll get over it."
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': [[CunningLikeAFox Nick's]] EstablishingCharacterMoment involved mocking [[RighteousRabbit Judy]] for trying to be a cop since he believed that nobody could escape the stereotypes that society put on each species. [[spoiler:After becoming Fire-Forged Friends, he decides to follow Judy's example and become a cop himself.]]

** Happens to Dean in Season 6, even if just for a while. In early seasons, he's a DeathSeeker who sincerely doesn't believe his life matters and is outright suicidal in Season 5. After [[spoiler: Sam's HeroicSacrifice in the Season 5 finale]] he settles into normal life.
** Castiel's arc epitomizes this. When he first pulls Dean out of Hell, he's a typical angelic automaton and willing to smite entire towns if Heaven orders him to do so. The more time he spends with the Winchesters, however, the more he starts to question Heaven's orders and believe in humanity. It gets to the point where he's taken back to Heaven to be brainwashed/tortured into submission, but Dean is able to convince him to side with humanity. He has his ups and downs through the various traumas of the later seasons, including a stint on the dark side, but he again lands on the side of idealism when faced with the prospect of [[spoiler: killing Kelly Kline and her baby Jack. She and Jack convince him that Jack is going to be a force of good in the world, and Jack chooses him as his adopted father. After that, Castiel never loses faith with his adopted son, who goes on to save the world.]]

* ''Series/ AgentsOfSHIELD'': Deke Shaw is a refugee from a BadFuture CrapsackWorld where he was barely scraping by just surviving from day to day. Once he meets Team Coulson and is brought to the present time, he becomes ([[AntiHero slightly]]) more heroic and selfless.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Harry steadily regain his previous optimism after he TookALevelInCynic (several, in fact), after a brutal TraumaCongaLine at the start of the second book), and start becoming not only a KnightOfFaith, but a genuine believer that RousseauWasRight (though as he notes, cynicism is still a reflex).

* ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATime'': In the backstory, main protagonist Jason Todd went through this ''twice''. The first time, it was after the death of his adoptive father Bruce and through the efforts his older brother Dick Grayson and, to a lesser extent, the rest of his family. Then, after Dick, Tim, ''and'' Damian died and his sister Cass left him, Jason was in the DarkestHour of his life...and then he met Carrie Kelley, the girl who would become his first Robin and would eventually be adopted as his daughter. Meeting her and then reuniting with Cass and saving her from her mother Lady Shiva ultimately restore Jason's desire to be a hero again.

* Taken UpToEleven with the space pirate John Silver in Disney's ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'', when Silver abandoned a skiff full of gold and jewels to rescue young Jim Hawkins. Silver himself said it best: "'Twas just a lifetime obsession, lad. I'll get over it."
* ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'': [[CunningLikeAFox Nick's]] EstablishingCharacterMoment involved mocking [[RighteousRabbit Judy]] for trying to be a cop since he believed that nobody could escape the stereotypes that society put on each species. [[spoiler:After becoming Fire-Forged Friends, he decides to follow Judy's example and become a cop himself.]]

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', during [[VideoGame/MassEffect1 the first game]], Urdnot Wrex is as cynical as they come, particularly when talking about the chances of his species, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy the krogan]], making it past another few generations due to a combination of [[DepopulationBomb the genophage]] and [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch the krogans' own self-destructive tendencies]]. His time with [[HopeBringer Shepard]] restores some of that hope for the krogan and he decides to make another attempt to save them from themselves. If Shepard consistently supports him over the course of the trilogy, he becomes more and more idealistic in each game.

The world can seem like [[CrapsackWorld a dark place]], where NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, where [[KarmaHoudini the sinful prosper]] ([[PrideBeforeAFall for a]] [[BreakTheHaughty while]]) and [[DudeWheresMyRespect the brave are humiliated]] [[DudeWheresMyReward and impoverished]]. That is, so far, what the character has seen of the world. And yet, there can come a [[MeetCute meeting]], a [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments moment]], where the world proves to the character that things can be right, that the future is worth struggling for, that there ''is'' reason enough to bother rising in the morning, and facing life and all its hardships. When that happens, the character took a level in idealism, and can face the world with renewed faith in their principles and righteousness... though not necessarily with renewed cheerfulness ([[TookALevelInCheerfulness that's a different trope]]); in fact, they can remain quite dour and sour. But you can see that they stand ''taller!'' %%The character becomes a WideEyedIdealist.

** The first Doctor mellows over time. In one of the early episodes, he actually tries to take a man's life to save his own - a far cry from today's TechnicalPacifist.

'''Lisa''': Sometimes. Took me a while to realize that. [[CynicismCatalyst The more you find out, the uglier things tend to look.]] But you keep looking, and it’s not all bad at the end.

->'''Taylor:''' Everything I’ve said in the past stands. Humans are idiots. They’re selfish and injust and unfair, they’re violent and clumsy and petty and shortsighted. Don’t get me wrong. Every part of that applies to me, too. I’m not setting myself above them on any level. But at the end of the day, sometimes humanity isn’t so bad.\\
'''Lisa:''' Sometimes. Took me a while to realize that. [[CynicismCatalyst The more you find out, the uglier things tend to look.]] But you keep looking, and it’s not all bad at the end.

!!Examples

[[folder: Film - Animated]]

[[folder: Film - Live-Action]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'': After spending a good chunk of the story ranting on about superpowered crimefighters and being cynical, paranoid and distrustful… ''Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}'' refuses let [[spoiler:''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' kill ''Comicbook/LexLuthor'']] because she is a hero who represents "Hope" and mustn't drop to his level. She has also come to consider Kara a friend.

** ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'': Throughout the story, Shinji and Asuka realize that they can be happy if they really try.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

** Jimbei​ was a cynical fishman who, due to FantasticRacism of humans, viewed them as [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters monsters]] and tended to be brutal towards them, kept in check only by his captain, Fisher Tiger, who had a code of not killing any humans. This influence slowly leads him to believe that peace between the two races is possible, and he mellows considerably as a result by the present day.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

** ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'': After going through Instrumentality Shinji has realized life is pain... but also happiness. During a dispute he manages showing that to Asuka and from that point their relationship gets better and they gradually get over their many issues and neuroses and become better persons.

[[folder: Film - Animated ]]

[[folder: Film - Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** Nico Robin is a very cynical woman when introduced. As we learn her past we learn that from the age of eight she was forced by circumstances to be an EnfantTerrible in a world that was out to get her, experiencing betrayal at nearly every turn. By adulthood,
she's become a {{Death Seek|er}}ing BrokenBird driven to go on only by her dream of learning the world's hidden history. Luckily, she's since met a crew of TrueCompanions who are willing to go so far as to [[spoiler:declare war on the whole world]] for her sake, and she has become a much mellower, happier person.