Line #9 Heartwarming/ParaNorman


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paranorman_disneyscreencaps_com_9323.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"There's always someone out there for you. Somewhere."]]
3
4	* All the mundane ghosts Norman talks to on the way to school. The boy may be an outcast among the living, but with the dead, they know he's a great kid and greet him as such.
5	** It's also a good EstablishingCharacterMoment for Norman. Even when late for school, he takes the time to greet all the various ghosts (human or animal -- he is seen talking to and petting a roadkilled raccoon, among others) in town, and has clearly been doing this for a while now.
6	* Neil, a fat outcast, finally breaks through to Norman and reveals he actually considers his communication with the dead to be cool, and becomes his friend.
7	* The scene where the boys play with Neil's dead dog, and the fact that Neil totally believes Norman even if he has no evidence beyond the other boy's word.
8	** Neil's joy at being able to somewhat interact and play with Bub again, even though Bub can't fetch the stick or touch Neil at all and Neil has no idea where Bub is or what he's doing, is rather sweet too. Also, while it is a rather funny moment, after Neil gets Norman to try and play "fetch" with them the stick bounces off the tree and hits Neil, Norman panics since he's worried about hurting (and possibly losing) his first normal friend. How does Neil respond? He sits up, showing he's fine with the stick still in his mouth, smiling.
9	-->'''Neil:''' I fetched it.
10	** Norman genuinely laughs for the first time in the movie when Neil makes his joke about fetching the stick. Up until this point, he's largely been withdrawn and depressed, with his mood only slightly improving when talking to the ghosts on the way to school. Seeing him relaxed and happy, laughing with another living kid, especially after the bullying we saw him go through in school, is a pretty warm and fuzzy moment. The only other person he's this emotionally open with, living or dead, is his grandmother. It shows what Norman would probably be like all the time if he had more living people around who accepted him.
11	* A small moment, but Perry bothering to bring a cam-recorder to Norman's school play (and expressing disappointment that it doesn't work so he can "remember this moment") hints that [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold he does genuinely care about Norman as a son]]. For all his complaints about his son's 'morbidity', it's a rare moment of kindness on his part.
12	* Norman's grandmother telling Norman the reason why she's still around as a ghost: she promised she would always watch after him.
13	* After the reveal that the book used to keep the witch's curse at bay is just a fairytale book, it becomes fridge-heartwarming to imagine Mr. Prenderghast, of all people, tenderly reading "Sleeping Beauty" at her grave.
14	* Even after Norman (out of frustration) tells everyone to [[KickTheDog go]] [[ShooTheDog away]] and leave him alone, Neil chooses to [[UndyingLoyalty stay with Norman]]. The only reason he "leaves" is because Mitch carries him off against his will.
15	* For some reason, the moment where we see the zombies feeling genuine regret for having executed Agatha is surprisingly sweet in revealing that these zombies are much more complex than bedeviled undead victims. The way Norman mentions that they need to break the cycle to end the curse for good is well-done and shows he's a very intelligent kid.
16	** When one of the zombies gets torn apart after being run over by a car, the others stop their approach and put him back together. Even in their cursed state, they’ve got a good sense of comradeship.
17	* Courtney, Neil, Mitch, and Alvin standing before the mob to defend Norman and the zombies.
18	** Honestly, just Courtney, after having been shown having no patience for Norman at all, being the first one to rush forward and put herself between her little brother and the mob is a perfectly heartwarming moment.
19	-->'''Courtney:''' Leave him ALONE!
20	** Also Alvin, Norman's main bully, actually tearfully telling the mob "shame on all of you!" for calling for Norman's head.
21	* The little girl in the mob, the same one who launched a flaming teddy bear into the town hall, walks up to a zombie after Norman's friends and sister defend him and gives the zombie his arm back.
22	* The film's climax, where a deadly supernatural menace is stopped with empathy and understanding.
23	** Culminating with little Agatha resting her head on Norman's shoulder and falling asleep. D'aaawww...
24	** After the curse is broken, the zombies' spirits move on as well.
25	** Two of the above are topped with a beautiful reprise of "Norman's Walk", because he saved the world doing what he does best: [[BookEnds talking to ghosts]].
26	* This exchange:
27	-->'''Norman:''' Mom, you're embarrassing me.\
28	'''Sandra:''' That's my job.
29	** Followed by Courtney and Norman's father smiling at him from behind her.
30	-->'''Courtney:''' Psst. Good job, Norman.\
31	'''Perry:''' Well done, son. You did it.
32	* The film's final scene: Norman is watching another {{horror}}-movie with his grandmother's ghost when his dad comes in, awkwardly adjusting to the fact that his dead mother might be in the room with him, and tries to communicate through Norman. "...Hi, mom." Then Norman's mom and sister come in as well, and we close with the whole family watching the movie, his dad and grandma [[StrongFamilyResemblance even asking at the same time about what's happening in the movie]], causing Norman to chuckle.

Context Heartwarming / ParaNorman