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[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* The VillainProtagonist of ''Film/AchmedSavesAmerica'' earned this in the long run when [[spoiler: Achmed reunites with the Wilsons and renounce his ways of terrorism to become a U.S. citizen from an exchange of the Achmedmobile he and his boss made to save the family.]]
* The eponymous character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'' is forced through too much. He started the movie the hated outcast who was constantly being chased away from the one he loved, with the movie's {{Jerkass}} BigBad trying to ruin his life, and being unable to accept himself as a dog or a wolf. He has to go through a blizzard, facing horrible danger at every single turn, and ultimately getting beaten by Steele, but in the end, he saves the entire town and is honored as a hero. On top of that, he finally accepts what he is and manages to get the love of his life. The next film shows there are some dogs who still make fun of him for his wolf half, but his life is a ''lot'' happier than it was.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', Manolo goes through a lot of BreakTheCutie moments, however in the end the people of San Angel accept him, his friendship with Joaquin is as strong as ever, his family accepts his music career, and he marries Maria.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'' from the start sends its characters through an endless amount of crap and presents the harshness of reality in an upfront fashion, but they keep positive throughout the adventure and never lose sight of their goal. In the end, it definitely pays off.
* ''WesternAnimation/CatsDontDance'' depicts a cat named Danny trying to become a Hollywood star, only to learn that humans overlook talented animals. Despite the efforts of bratty child star Darla Dimple, Danny refuses to give up, which eventually pays off when he and his new friends finally show that humans aren't the only ones with huge talent.
* Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon films often have characters who all go through some kind of hell, but all get some kind of happily-ever-after:
** ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'' is one of the few instances in them where the hero has to directly confront and slay the villain, rather than causing them to be [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoisted By Their Own Petard]]. Considering [[BigBad Maleficent]] is considered [[MagnificentBastard one of the most dangerous villains in Disney history]] and you've got yourself a textbook case of this trope.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'''s title character often gets double-crossed and kidnapped by others, then he's almost transformed into a donkey, has to rescue Geppetto from Monstro, and [[DisneyDeath seemingly drowns]] as a HeroicSacrifice, but he ends up [[BecomeARealBoy becoming human]] as a reward for becoming brave, truthful and unselfish.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' is [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer mocked and ostracized because of his large ears]], his mother is declared mad after trying to save him and gets separated from him, and he's relegated to a clown, but with the help of the crows and their MagicFeather, he manages to put his ears in good use and achieve lots of fame.
** The eponymous protagonist of ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'' loses his mother, his home in the forest is burned down by Man, and he gets shot, but in the end has two kids and takes his father's place as the Great Prince. And the midquel only extends his seemingly endless hardships to greater heights.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', Simba witnesses Mufasa die, is led to believe he caused it, is driven away from Pride Rock, and is almost defeated by Scar in his attempt to set things right, but after he takes back Pride Rock, he becomes king and has a cub.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'':
*** Quasimodo is ostracized and mocked by the people of Paris for his deformity, abusively raised and isolated by Frollo, and almost killed by him at the climax, but after Frollo's death, he's quickly accepted by the Parisians.
*** Esmeralda is constantly hunted down by Frollo and nearly burnt at the stake after rejecting his love for her one too many times, only barely surviving, but she gets to marry Phoebus.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'''s title character disguises herself as a man to save her father's life, and struggles to keep up at the training with the rest of the army, yet does it and earns the respect of the army. After being discovered as a woman, she goes to warn her old team that the Huns have survived the avalanche and are coming, and gets to fight the leader Shan-Yu. She defeats him using a paper fan. Along the way, she also earnes the respect and admiration of [[SweetOnPollyOliver her captain]] without needing a matchmaker.
** ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet''. First old Jim loses his home, after trying to do something right, then the pirates mutiny against the ship he's on, then he's almost gets destroyed by a self-destructing planet. Along the way, he has to learn to make his own choices to fulfill his life.
** ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' does this with everyone but especially Nani, who spends the entire movie making increasingly desperate efforts to keep her sister, the last thing she has of her old life. By the time she gets a job, her home burns down and they take her away anyway. Then Lilo runs off and gets kidnapped by aliens, and Nani possibly loses her forever. Sure, it all turns out okay in the end, but you can't help but feel sorry for her.
** ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'' repeatedly struggles with derision and mistrust from friends, family, and all who know him. Also, his mom is dead. In the end, his "crazy talk" is vindicated, he becomes a hero to the town, he develops a better relationship with his dad, and he and Abby become a couple.
%%** Tiana and Naveen from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''.
** In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': [[spoiler:Ralph finally gets accepted by everyone else, Vanellope becomes a part of her game's code again and is now able to race (and rule the kingdom of Sugar Rush), Calhoun--who lost her previous husband--gets a new husband (Fix-It Felix Jr.), and now, whenever Ralph gets thrown off the building, he looks through his game's screen to see Vanellope racing, winning, and being happy. Then the credits show the four main characters going into other games and having fun together. Everything's good.]]
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' puts Anna and Elsa through no small amount of tragedy, beginning with them being forced into isolation from each other and the world in the hopes of preventing Elsa from harming others with her powers, their parents dying, and Elsa's powers being exposed, resulting in her fleeing into the mountains to avoid harming others. By the climax, [[spoiler:Anna is dying from slowly being frozen to death after Elsa accidentally strikes her with her magic, and Elsa wakes up, imprisoned in her own castle's dungeon, and learns that she brought endless winter on Arendelle. In the end, however, Anna's HeroicSacrifice for Elsa saves both her sister and herself, and allows Elsa to understand that ThePowerOfLove is the key to controlling her ice powers so that she can end the winter and stay close with her sister and her kingdom without harming either. By the end of the film, the open gates policy has been re-established, Anna has found her true love who truly cares for her, the sisters successfully reconcile with each other, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and Elsa has built the snowman that Anna always wanted for so long]]]]. After everything that happened with the sisters, this was truly a well-deserved ending for both.
** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'', [[spoiler:Judy and Nick are nearly killed several times, [[FantasticRacism face prejudice from several animals due to their species]], and have a pretty serious PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure. However, in the end they reconcile, end the conspiracy, and restore peace to Zootopia. Nick also leaves behind his hustler life and joins the ZPD, becoming Judy's partner in the process, which further enhances their friendship.]]
** The titular protagonist of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' does this in ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime''. [[spoiler:After her stepmother turns back the clock and enchants the prince to love Anastasia, Cinderella sets off to the palace and tries to first jog the prince's memory and then steal the magic wand from her stepmother. When that fails and the prince falls for Cinderella anyway, the stepmother makes Anastasia Cinderella's double while sending Cindy to be trapped in a pumpkin carriage that is to be driven off of a cliff on a mountain. Cinderella proceeds to escape, jump onto a horse, and ride all the way back to the castle to stop the wedding.]]
* Creator/DonBluth is excellent at this, and even his lesser films are united with his earlier work by this trope. This is due to Bluth's belief that children can handle any amount of dark themes in a movie as long as it ends happily.
** ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' heaps as much trauma on a (mouse) child as inhumanly possible, not giving poor Fievel a break until the last five minutes of the movie, when he finally gets to reunite with his family.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'': A frightened mouse mother struggles to keep her family safe from humans and conspiracies amongst the rats and literally is only able to save her family through her courage.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'': A group of young dinosaurs undergo an odyssey to find a utopia, [[spoiler:one of whom lost his mother at the beginning]]. After a long, hard journey, they eventually reach their destination and reunite with their families.
** ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'': A former criminal dog must change his ways and literally go through hell to redeem himself. By the end, he sacrifices himself to save a human child, and is finally allowed to go to Heaven because of it.
** ''WesternAnimation/ThePebbleAndThePenguin'': A penguin goes through great lengths and several oceans to be with the one he loves.
* ''Ernie Biscuit'', in contrast to Adam Elliot's previous works which were [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] at best (''Uncle'', ''Cousin'', ''WesternAnimation/HarvieKrumpet'', ''WesternAnimation/MaryAndMax'') and a [[DownerEnding downer]] at worst (''Brother''), has things go well for the titular protagonist despite everything. Although not unscathed, his pet duck Edith manages to save the both of them by pushing [[BitchInSheepsClothing Tiny]] into his meat grinder, and Ernie is able to call Angelina which saves her from committing suicide via ElectrifiedBathtub. Ernie, Angelina, and Edith are successful in their move to Venice, and Edith is given a whittled prosthetic leg thanks to Angelina.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{How to Train Your Dragon|2010}}'': At the start of the movie, Hiccup is the village pariah because he's scrawny and usually messes everything up, with his father being openly ashamed of him and his peers (except Astrid and Fishlegs) constantly mocking him, all resulting in him having poor self-esteem. He finally finds a friend in Toothless and demonstrate that humans and dragons can co-exist, earning respect and getting together with his crush Astrid. By the [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld third movie]], he has become chief and after defeating the BigBad marries Astrid. The epilogue shows they had two children during the TimeSkip.
* Po in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2''. He spends much of the film in a {{Heroic BSOD}} due to being tormented by visions and nightmares of his birth family, eventually finding out that he's the last of his kind. When Shifu said that inner peace is earned through pain and suffering he ''meant it''. [[spoiler:We find out at the end that he isn't actually the last of his kind though.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'': Sally is a rebellious creation who has to run away to get a semblance of freedom from her father Dr. Finklestein. She spends a portion of the movie warning her crush Jack about his plans, trying to sabotage the sleigh launch, and eventually attempting to rescue "Sandy Claws". Jack then looks at her with new eyes after he rescues her and Santa, and says that he wants to sit with her under the stars.
* In ''Anime/OneStormyNight'', things just seem to get worse and worse for the main couple, but it all works out in the end eventually.
* ''Film/OsmosisJones'' has Ozzy spending most of the movie struggling to stop a deadly virus named Thrax from killing Frank, the man in whose body Ozzy lives. It isn't until the very end, when Frank is half-dead, that things turn around.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', as is to be expected from a ''Peanuts'' adaptation, puts Charlie Brown through a lot of humiliations and disappointments as he tries to win the favor of the Little Red-Haired Girl, one of the biggest being his having to reveal in public that [[spoiler: to his own shock he was not the high scorer on the standardized test; his was mixed up with Peppermint Patty's (who had the high score via dumb luck)]]. In the end, he finds himself racing to the school bus in hopes of finally really talking to her on the last day of school, and [[spoiler: when he does, he learns that she regards him as a ''good person'' on the basis of all of his previous actions. With everyone else witnessing this conversation, they come around to this way of thinking too and treat him as a hero as she leaves]]. There is a deliberate PlotParallel to this in the scenes of Snoopy's Red Baron novel, the last chapter of which is titled "Never Give Up!"
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePilgrimsProgress2019'': Throughout the story, Christian gets beaten, tortured, tempted, and scared half to death rather regularly, not to mention his grief that he couldn't coax his wife and sons to leave with him. The story ends with him reaching the Celestial City, happily reuniting with Hopeful and Faithful, and Christiana and the boys starting their own journey, meaning that Christian's wish that his family was here will ultimately come true.
* In ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' cartoon movie, ''Pink Christmas'' (available on [=YouTube=], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA-vOySNX0Q here]]), the Pink Panther spends most of the movie cold and hungry but gets a happy ending once he learns to share.
* Creator/{{Pixar}}:
** Each ''Franchise/ToyStory'' film had the characters go through so much to return home. Neither a cruel, sadistic kid, nor a villainous prospector, nor an evil strawberry-smelling bear could stop them. They ''did'' technically give up when they reached the metaphorical gates of hell, but they didn't really have any hope of escape short of [[DeusExMachina someone operating the giant claw to save them]] - which is, of course, [[BigDamnHeroes exactly what happened]]. And as bittersweet as the ending may have been, all the good guys earned a happy ending indeed.
*** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' ''especially'', since some moments within it were the darkest moments in the whole series by far, but the movie arguably had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t51XXAEnnbs the happiest ending of the first three movies as well.]]
** ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'': After spending over a decade forced into hiding and everything they've been put through in both films, being a superhero is finally made legal again and the Parrs can finally be public heroes.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Colette often mentions that she has to fight tooth and nail to gain respect as a chef, which is why she gets irritated about Linguini supposedly surpassing her. Once she gets over finding out that it was Rémy actually doing the cooking, she and Rémy start working together as a team. When Skinner and the health inspector closedown Gusteau's; Linguini and Colette open a new restaurant and she becomes the head chef and boss in the kitchen as evidenced by her calling Rémy back to work.
** Everyone in ''WesternAnimation/WallE''. At the beginning of the movie, the Earth has fallen into decay and waste. After 700 years life finally sprouts again. Despite having lived lives doing almost nothing, the people of the Axiom are happy to set foot back on Earth and try to fix it. In the credits, we see society develop back to its former glory, and lush green fields and lakes are once again alive. Mankind has grown fit and thin again as they start doing things again. The real trick to it all? This is the SECOND happy ending, and this all happens in the credits.
*** The part in the credits was actually added after a test screening because about half the audience walked away making the rather realistic assumption that humanity died in about a week.
*** ''Everything'' WALL•E does to win EVE's heart pays off with EVE deciding she'd rather spend her life with WALL•E than follow the life her programming leads her to do. This leads to another potential happy ending that needs earning: WALL•E gets badly damaged and needs to be fixed with parts that can only be found on Earth, leading ''everyone'' who was affected by WALL•E in a beneficial manner to work together to bring him home. Naturally, WALL•E's HeroicSacrifice does not improve his chances of survival, but it helps the above ending come to pass. Cue thirty seconds of EVE's hardcore repairmanship, coupled with TrueLovesKiss, in an effort to save WALL•E's life. Guess how well that pays off.
** ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'': Lightning spends the film trying to beat Jackson Storm to prove that he isn't too old to keep racing. [[spoiler: By switching places and letting Cruz take the finish line for him, Lightning not only manages to save his racing career from retirement, he also becomes a mentor to Cruz, like Doc was to him]].
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Miguel and Hector both go through much to earn what they want. Miguel wants to be a musician like his hero and supposed ancestor, Hector wants to visit the land of the living to see his daughter. [[spoiler:After learning they are related and Miguel's hero is a fraud who murdered Hector, the two work with the rest of their family to expose the truth. One year later, Hector has reconciled with his wife and finally reunites with his beloved daughter, Coco. Miguel's family lifts the ban on music, allowing him to follow his dream and the footsteps on his real great-great-grandfather.]]
** In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei has to go through a Kaiju battle but in the end she gets to be the person she wants to be.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sahara}}'': Ajar [[spoiler:crosses the perilous Sahara desert to rescue Eva, whom he has developed feelings for, from the cruel snakecharmer Omar, almost becoming a meal for predatory glow worms in the process]]. He is justly rewarded for his efforts [[spoiler: as Omar strips off his old skin and exposes his adult scale pattern. In addition, Eva is moved by his selfless actions and reciprocates his feelings]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'', surprisingly, has this in the end [[spoiler: with Frank and Brenda becoming a couple, Barry gaining a lot of confidence and being key in defeating the bad guys, Sammy and Lavash affirming their love despite the conflicting religions and all the products free from the Gods' oppression.]]
* ''Animation/SkyBlue'' follows Shua as he desperately tries to bring down Ecoban in order to mitigate the environmental damage it has caused to his home. Dr. Noah notes that most of its inhabitants will survive and be able to forge a better world, but it will take a lot of work.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheTiggerMovie'', Tigger has to go through a lot of struggles for much of the film: his friends alienate him after he inadvertently causes an accident, he is heartbroken at finding out his family never answers a letter he wrote for them, is made to believe his family is coming only to find out [[spoiler:they are his disguised friends, loses trust in said friends, ventures into the cold snowy night, and gets caught in an avalanche that would've killed him if Roo hadn't rescued him]]. However, realizing how [[spoiler:his friends are his true family]] and coming to terms with that fact more than makes up for everything that transpired beforehand.
* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryCharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. After Charlie [[spoiler:has to give up the everlasting gobstopper, he learns the infamous "YOU GET NOTHING!" rant was just a SecretTestOfCharacter--which he passed. Wonka apologies to Charlie, Grandpa Joe, Tom and Jerry, and Tuffy. They also find out that Slugworth does not exist; he's really Mr. Wilkinson, an employee of the Wonka Chocolate Factory. And the real grand prize is not the year's supply of chocolate, but the factory itself--[[PassingTheTorch and Charlie is the new owner]].]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' movie ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'' gives all the characters (except [[TheChewToy the Mime]] and the movie's BigBad) a well deserved happy ending. Sure, some had it kind of easy in their series, if not a little strange, but some of the series [[TheWoobie Woobies]], particularly Rita, Runt, and Buttons, finally get their happy endings. And in the movie, everyone worked hard to try and get their own happy ending, everyone ultimately obtaining it.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolfwalkers}}'' is the only movie in Creator/CartoonSaloon's ''WesternAnimation/IrishFolkloreTrilogy'' that ''doesn't'' have an overt BittersweetEnding. [[spoiler:Despite the historical changes the story introduced, the creators intended a touch of melancholy at the end since they feel that the displaced wolves will still one day disappear from Ireland entirely (just as [[ForegoneConclusion they did in real life]]). However, the ending is mostly hopeful for the main characters after all the hardships they've been through. The Lord Protector is dead, his forces are routed and the Wolfwalkers still have each other, setting out with the wolf pack to find a new home. Robyn and Mebh are last seen racing together as wolves in the daylight, happy and free to be themselves.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Yellowbird}}'': Yellowbird's last-ditch plan succeeds and [[spoiler:the flock earns a free ride to Africa on a plane, which they call an "iron bird."]] In addition, [[spoiler:he earns his official name, Sam, is forgiven by the rest of the flock, and he and Delf supposedly become a couple.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
* ''Film/TheArtist'' has George Valentin lose everything as a silent film actor and filmmaker in a artform that seems to have passed him by and comes within a hairsbreadth of suicide, only to be saved at the last moment and shown that he has talent that would make him a star in the sound era.
* ''Film/BirdBox'': Malorie and the kids [[spoiler: make it down the river and to the sanctuary, which is full of contented survivors and children to play with. She finally gives them names and tells them she's their mother. Even the parakeets get a luxurious retirement to the sanctuary canopy with all the other guard birds.]]
* In a genuinely unexpected twist, ''Film/BlueVelvet'' has a happy ending.
* ''Film/BoyzNTheHood'' has Tre who has kept clear of gang lifestyle despite living in the ghetto thanks to his strict father. When his best friend Ricky [[spoiler: is gunned down, he almost gets pulled into the violence of his 'hood by seeking revenge alongside Ricky's brother [[ScaryBlackMan Doughboy]]. Thankfully, he has a change of heart before revenge can be carried out and returns to his father. He goes on to attend college out of a state with his girlfriend where as Doughboy unfortunately is killed in retaliation by rival gang members.]]
* Happens to both adaptations of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''
** ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'': Like the book, Charlie is living in a poor family with bedridden grandparents (and without his father for good measure). However, he gets his lucky chance when he’s the last person to win the Golden Ticket. But even then, it’s not over for him as he goes through the Chocolate Factory tour and witnesses the fellow winners succumb to their flaws and get eliminated one-by-one (and even nearly getting killed with the Fizzy Drinks!). However, when Charlie does win, Wonka denies him the prize as he broke part of the rules of the contract, leaving him (and his grandpa) feeling dejected, returning the Everlasting Gobstopper for good measure. However, this is revealed to be a SecretTestOfCharacter, as after Charlie returns his gobstopper, Wonka changes his mind and declares Charlie the winner, having him inherit the company and allowing him and his family to come live in it.
** ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'':
*** Hoo boy, where do we begin? The Bucket house looks even more destitute than in was in the 1971 adaptation, and while this version has Charlie’s father alive, he loses his already-low-paying job due to technological advancements stemming from the Golden Ticket competition. Like all other adaptations, his fortunes take a turn for the better when he wins the last Golden Ticket — and wins the competition in the process (and this is after he is ''verbally abused'' by the likes of Augustus and Violet)...that is until he realizes that he cannot bring his family members with him, and voluntarily forfeits the prize out of a sense of morality. Even though Charlie's family's fortunes take a turn for the better when Mr. Bucket ends up getting a new, better-paying job ''[[KarmicJackpot fixing the machine that fired him]]'', it's not until a coincidental encounter with Wonka and having him reunite with his father that Charlie ''and'' his family receive the ultimate prize of living in the factory — courtesy of Wonka's reconsideration.
*** Speaking of Wonka, he too gets something like this — especially considering his DarkAndTroubledPast with his strict, demeaning father, who was the antithesis of everything Wonka was passionate about. When his father outright abandons him after Wonka leaves to travel the world in search of more chocolate, Wonka grows a (possibly) decade long resentment, not just of him, but of the concept of family, even as he grows to become the world's most successful chocolatier. All of that changes when Charlie wins the competition and becomes his heir, but even he goes through a HeroicBSOD when Charlie initially refuses the prize after Wonka refuses to have his family join them in the factory. It's only a coincidental encounter with Charlie, followed by a grand reunion and reconciliation with his father that finally eases Wonka's resentment of family and allows Charlie ''and'' his entire family to come live with him in the factory.
* Andy Barclay, the main protagonist of the first three ''Franchise/ChildsPlay'' movie. He's terrorized by a killer doll who wants to take over his body. His mother is put in a mental institution because of what she told the cops about Chucky. He lives in various foster homes, and at the end of the third movie he's taken away by the police for questioning about Chucky's latest killing spree. At the end of ''Film/CurseOfChucky'', we see him on the phone with his mom, apparently released and dating Mike, a cop who helped them out in the first film. Pictures show that he's still with his LoveInterest from the third movie. And when [[spoiler: Chucky has himself delivered to Andy's house, Andy is waiting for him with a shotgun]]. Sadly averted with the latest movie, ''Film/CultOfChucky'' where things have turned bad for Andy and [[spoiler: Chucky [[TheBadGuyWins finally gains back a human body alongside Tiffany and everyone who opposed him are either dead, broken or, in one character's case, possessed by Chucky himself]].]]
* In ''Film/{{Cinderella 2015}}'', Ella goes through the deaths of her beloved parents and abuse at the hands of her stepfamily, reaching a point where she doesn't even feel like a human girl, and very nearly is kept from the prince by her stepmother's greed and envy. Kit, meanwhile, fights pressure from his father and the Duke to agree to a politically advantageous marriage [[spoiler:and goes through the death of his father]]. By the end of the movie, the pair find each other, finally know each other's true identities and accept them, and are HappilyMarried.
* After facing much girl trouble in both ''Film/{{Clerks}}'' films, Dante Hicks finally hooks up happily with Becky Scotts at the end of ''Film/ClerksII''.
* This is one of the big draws of ''Film/TheCrow1994'', other than seeing Brandon Lee give his final performance and watching the titular character carry out his RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* The ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' trilogy ends on a high note for Greg. He becomes a better friend to Rowley, he and Rodrick are now friends, Frank and Susan start to respect him, Holly probably becomes his girlfriend, and he's much less of an outright Jerkass thanks to his CharacterDevelopment.
* In the 1982 Soviet film adaptation of Charles Perrault's fairy tale ''Donkeyskin'', little Princess Theresa is put under an ambiguous spell by a bitter Fairy, which states that she will live a happy and fulfilled life "only if..." After she grows up, the Princess then goes through many hardships and dangerous situations, until finally she overcomes all adversity and finds her Prince Charming after saving him from near-death. In the end, the Fairy's full curse is revealed: "The Princess will live a happy and fulfilled life only if... Even when the odds are against her, she is still worthy of a happy ending through her actions."
* ''Film/EdgeOfDarkness1943'': It certainly came at a high cost as the people of Trollness took a lot of casualties. But not only do they wipe out the German garrison, but Gunnar, Karen, and Martin all survive and take to the mountains to fight as guerillas.
* ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'': After seeing both his friends and the woman he loves die over and over again and going through his fair share of brutal deaths and the trauma that comes with it, Cage [[spoiler:defeats the Omega, absorbs its blood, and resets the day for one final time. All the Mimics have been defeated, Operation Downfall will never happen, his friends and Rita are alive again, and he can possibly begin a relationship with Rita in peace.]]
* ''Film/ElCamino'': After everything that Jesse has endured, including being forced to kill people, watching both of his girlfriends die, and being held in captivity for six months, Jesse is able to live a quiet, peaceful life in Alaska under a new identity and pursue his passion for carpentry. The last shot of the film is him smiling as he drives up to Alaska, happy at the prospect of a new life.
* ''Film/ElviraMistressOfTheDark1988'' is one long example: After being fired by her {{Slimeball}} boss for not giving him sexual favors, she heads to Fallwell to get an inheritance, only to find out it's just a decrepit house, a dog, an a [[ChekhovsGun "recipe book"]]. Eventually, [[AlphaBitch Chastity Pariah]] gets the whole town to hate her (although the kids still seem to like her). This gets to it's worst when her EvilUncle Vincent turns out to be a wanna-be EvilSorcerer, who wants the book (which is really a spellbook) and [[MoralEventHorizon tries to get her burned at the stake.]] She manages to get free and destroy him, but her house is ruined. Thankfully [[spoiler: the town decided they were wrong about her and start being nice. Even better, she inherits Vincent's stuff now that he's gone, and can finally get a show in Las Vegas (which she wanted all along).]]
* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': [[spoiler:Though TheHeroDies, medical aid is rendered to Earth, Frey's daughter is cured of her leukemia, and the villains of the story are dead.]]
* ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'': So the world isn't perfect... but hey, maybe there still is something to ThePowerOfLove.
* ''Film/{{Endless}}'': After great trauma and struggle over his death, Riley accepts that she has to move on, just like Chris does. She's last seen happily going to college.
* ''Film/{{Exam}}'': After spending 80 minutes of a harrowing experience and even being held at gunpoint by a lunatic, [[spoiler:Blonde]] gets to get a great job on an important company, which is revealed to be [[spoiler:one helping the world with a production of a new medicine that accelerates cell regeneration]].
* Ren McCormack in ''Film/Footloose1984'' has to go through hell as the new kid; being branded an outcast and a troublemaker by authoritative adults and even some kids his age attempting to only make him look far worse than he really is, and his new friends at his new school also have it tough abiding by strict anti partying, anti dancing, anti rock music laws of the town until Ren starts getting through to Rev. Shaw Moore about them and slowly convinces him to let the high school have its prom. Moore eventually decides the school should be allowed to have their prom, and the party goes off without a hitch, with Ren and his friends finally having the time of their lives.
* After ''Film/TheFly1986'' ended with the protagonist [[spoiler:horrifically mutated and deranged to the point where the only option was for his lover to blow his head off]], ''Film/TheFlyII'' opens with [[spoiler:the aforementioned lover dying giving birth to their part-insect child, Martin Brundle, whose unique heritage means that he looks like he's in his mid-twenties when he's only five years old ''before'' he starts to mutate into a giant bug]]. However, [[spoiler:where his father failed, Martin is able to not only restore the telepods and regain his humanity, but also punish Anton Bartok, the corrupt corporate executive who let his mother die and raised him just to use him as a tool -- condemning Bartok to a hellish life as a genetic mess while Martin redeems his father's work and legacy, avenges his mother, becomes fully human, ''and'' lives happily ever after with his sweetheart]].
* ''Film/{{GoodDick}}'' The central couple overcome abuse, drug addiction, mental illness, a pornography addiction on their way to happy together.
* ''Film/TheGrandSeduction'': The townsfolk of Tickle Head [[spoiler:convince Dr. John Lewis to stay in Tickle Head, Newfoundland and Labrador, ensuring that the town gets the petrochemical facility. With the construction of the facility, the town finally has a real source of income, returning a sense of town pride to the residents]].
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': [[spoiler:The ending isn't even necessarily that happy; Katniss and Peeta survive the Games together and are going back to their district, but they now have a mortal enemy in President Snow.]]
** ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjay'' certainly counts, although it comes close to a BittersweetEnding. [[spoiler:The Games are abolished along with the end of the war, but many people, including those close to Katniss, die along the way. Katniss and those who return home with her spend years barely able to function from the trauma. Katniss gets her peaceful ending by marrying Peeta and [[BabiesEverAfter bears his kids]], thus showing that she truly earned that ending the hard way. And even after they become parents the nightmares and flashbacks persist, suggesting that they'll never quite overcome the trauma]].
* The hero of ''Film/ImJuli'' has to suffer a lot in order to get from Hamburg to Istanbul and meets his love.
* ''Film/{{Inception}}'', it has one of the most tense climaxes seen in recent cinema. Cobb has to deal with the nearly impossible, and has almost everything going wrong at just the wrong time during the job; which makes the ending satisfying when [[spoiler:Cobb repairs Fischer's relationship with his father, successfully performs an [[TitleDrop Inception]] and EverybodyLives.]]
** [[spoiler:That's assuming one interprets the ending of the movie as actually happening in reality. An other possibility is that several of the characters never actually emerge from Limbo and the happy-ending is just part of the main character's dream. Given the alternatives, being trapped in a happy dream forever (relative to one's perception of time) may qualify as a happy ending for him though anyway.]]
*** [[spoiler: If you take Christopher Nolan's own interpretation as canon, it doesn't matter if Cobb's back in reality or not, what matters is that he's finally gotten over his wife's death and he's finally gotten to see his children again. The fact that he's finally happy since he first fled the US is what matters, and the fact that he had to work to achieve that happiness certainly qualifies for this trope.]]
*** [[spoiler: That way of seeing it even holds true when you go with the most extreme interpretation of the ending: that in fact his wife was right and we never saw the real world in the entire movie.]]
* The final act of ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'', once Cooper [[spoiler: ejects from his disintegrating shuttle and falls into the tesseract]], is a [[spoiler: 2001-ish]] road to [[spoiler: creating a StableTimeLoop to explain all the signs that led to Cooper joining the mission]], [[spoiler: to get the needed information to Murph to bring Cooper home and to save humanity]], Cooper [[spoiler: fulfilling his promise to come home to Murph]] and to [[spoiler: get Cooper and Brand together]].
* The 2013 Creator/{{CBC}} movie ''Film/{{Jack|2013}}'', about Canadian [[UsefulNotes/CanadianPolitics politician]] Jack Layton, shows him fighting the uphill battle throughout his political career against powerful rivals, and dismissiveness from those who figured he never had a chance; eventually, though, he made it to opposition leader status before he died. Granted, it's not an ''entirely'' happy ending, but it's uplifting compared to most of the movie.
* ''Film/JaggedMind'': {{Zigzagged}}. Billie manages to undo all the harm Alex did with Rose's help. She cuts off both her and Christine after this, opening herself to finding someone better in the future. However, she kept the crystal instead of giving it to Papa Juste as Rose instructed, which could lead her to become corrupted by its power just as Alex was.
* ''Film/JasonsLyric'': The main character, Jason, has gone through a lot since childhood; growing up in a violent ghetto neighborhood, witnessing his used-to-be-loving father turn abusive toward them, especially his mother, that he [[spoiler:''must'' kill him.]] As an adult, he spends his youth looking out for his family, particularly [[AllTakeAndNoGive putting up with]] his troubled younger brother, Joshua. So is [[LoveInterest Lyric]]; growing up with a gangster older brother, Alonzo "A-1", and [[InvisibleParents no parents]], prompting her to dream of an escape as she longs for a peaceful life. Ultimately, when Joshua (accidentally) shoots Lyric out of jealousy in the climax, Jason [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere finally brings himself to turn his back on his brother and chooses to rather save her]], after feeling torn between his love for his family or his girlfriend for so long. In the end, after earning his mom's blessing for his wish to be together with Lyric and leave his past behind, Jason and Lyric eventually gain their mutual wish; riding on a bus together to escape town and start a new life .
* In ''Film/TheLastSamurai'' after the destruction of the samurai army and the death of [[spoiler:Katsumoto]], although the Narrator says that no one is sure what happened to Algren, the final scene shows that he made it back to the village and Taka to find "some small measure of peace."
* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' has more of a BittersweetEnding than most examples. Still, after three movies of constant conflict, impossible odds, and certainty of death, the ring is destroyed, taking down Sauron and all his power, freeing Middle-Earth and the world from his shadow once and for all. Gondor and the world of men can begin to rebuild, Aragorn is crowned king and marries Arwen, the hobbits return to the shire and Sam marries Rosie Cotton. On the bitter side, Boromir, Theoden, and innumerable beings have died in the war; Frodo's wounds will never fully heal, so he takes a ship with Gandalf and Bilbo to the Undying Lands, splitting the fellowship forever; and the elves, now with their rings powerless, will also go to the west and live with their kind, forsaking Middle-Earth until the end of the world.
* ''Film/LostGirlsAndLoveHotels'': Margaret suffers from severe depression and suffers greatly due to this during the film, with her coming close to dying. By the end though it seems she's turned this around somewhat and goes home into the US, feeling reborn.
* In ''Film/LoveActually'', most of the couples fought and made sacrifices for the name of love. Sam learned how to play the drums and then escaped the security guards at the airport to reach his crush. Both Jamie and Aurelia learned the other's language so they could properly speak to each other when they meet again. David and Natalie went through a SecondActBreakup, only to realize that it was a misunderstanding and they make up. Colin sold his apartment to go to America, where he meets four stunning American girls who were [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench very interested in his British accent.]] The couples that didn't work was because they didn't take the chance to make it work or were unable to move on (like Sarah whose duties to her mentally illy brother took priority over her crush Karl).
* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'': Furiosa, Max and the wives have defeated Immortan Joe, taken control of the Citadel and restored some sense of peace to their world. Max chooses to leave to continue to wander on his own, but has largely reconnected with his humanity and regained his empathy and compassion.
* ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'': After losing her wings due to her betrayal by her childhood friend King Stefan, Maleficent curses Stefan's daughter Aurora to fall into a "sleep like death" on her [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday sixteenth birthday]], and can only be awakened with True Love's Kiss (a CurseEscapeClause Maleficent adds out of spite, as Stefan's betrayal made her lose her belief in true love). As Aurora grows into her teens, Maleficent comes to care for her, and ultimately decides to revoke the curse she placed on her. Unfortunately, the curse cannot be revoked, and once Aurora realizes who Maleficent is and what role she played in the former's infant years, she becomes heartbroken, and runs back to her father, wherein the ''curse itself'' possesses her and causes her to fall into her death sleep. Maleficent pursues Aurora, bringing Prince Phillip (who Aurora has feelings for) and knowing full well that, should she enter Stefan's castle, she may not come out alive. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, Phillip and Aurora's feelings for each other, while sweet, are not strong enough to free the latter. When Phillip leaves, Maleficent tells an unconscious Aurora how she regrets hurting someone she grew to love, and kisses her on the forehead. ''This'' kiss, however, is the True Love's Kiss that frees Aurora from her curse, and the two prepare to run back to the Faerie Moors, only to be cornered and separated by Stefan's knights. Running to safety, however, allows Aurora to find Maleficent's wings and free them, allowing the fairy to fight back against the man who betrayed her, and ultimately come out as the victor. The film's ending shows Maleficent crowning Aurora Queen of both humans and fairies, hoping to end the FantasticRacism between the two races. Able to fly once more, Maleficent takes to the skies, content for the first time in a long while; back on the ground, Aurora reunites with Phillip, implying that the two [[MaybeEverAfter may someday be together as a couple]].]]
* ''Film/TheMatingHabitsOfTheEarthboundHuman'': After having overcome their differences, Billy and Jenny reconcile in the end, and welcome their conceived baby.
* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
** ''Film/Godzilla2014'' ends with Godzilla saving the world from the [=MUTOs=], and the human lead making it home to his family after all the hell he's been through.
** Despite worldwide destruction and potentially ''millions'' of innocents dead in ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', the film ends with Godzilla triumphant over Ghidorah, and the hope of humanity rebuilding, with a little help from the [[{{Kaiju}} Titans]] and [[FertileFeet their beneficial ecosystem effects]].
** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' likewise ends on a surprisingly happy note [[spoiler:with Godzilla and Kong burying the hatchet after all the villains have been defeated]].
* ''Film/TheMuppets2011'': For both The Muppets and Walter:
** For the former, after so many years since their last show, The Muppets were practically forgotten by the general public, and when they attempt a comeback to save their theater, new obstacles keep on appearing, Kermit comes close to losing it, and they initially don't even succeed in reaching their goal either, but they won back the hearts of the general public and have become as beloved as ever, and even getting their theater back thanks to a change of heart from Tex Richman, [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial and not because of Gonzo's bowling ball knocking him out]].
** For Walter. His whole life growing up was a constant struggle, and one of the few things that helped him get through was his brother Gary and his love for the Muppets. He not only managed to bring back his heroes together to save the show, but was acknowledged as one of them so unconditionally that it was nothing less of a dream come true. The scene just before the final music number was him being lifted by the Muppets in front of their cheering fans.
* The characters in ''Film/MysteryTeam'' had to go through their first REAL case in order to grow up and become respected.
* For both parties in ''[[Film/{{Neighbors2014}} Neighbors]]''. [[spoiler: The fraternity moves closer to the campus i.e away from Mac and Kelly, allowing them to raise Stella in peace, and Teddy grows up and gets a post-college career as a male model while taking night courses to boost his GPA. He and Mac also make up]].
* ''Film/NewPoliceStory'': Inspector Chan Kwok-wing has gone through a lot; watching his squad died in gruesome ways with his very own eyes. Not only [[ItsAllMyFault does he blame himself]] but he is also blamed by his fellow cops that he [[DrowningMySorrows binged-drink almost-to-death]] for years and briefly quit as a cop. When he slowly moves on and goes back as a cop, he almost loses his girlfriend at the hand of the same enemy. After going through so much, with the help of Frank Cheng ([[spoiler:his partner who owes his kindness when he was a kid]]), he finally earns his happiness; winning a race to assemble a semi-automatic pistol (which he lost earlier that caused his squad's deaths) as well as successfully saving Frank from death and could [[spoiler:eventually get together for good with his girlfriend after she accepts his dramatic-yet-heartwarming proposal]].
* ''Film/{{Noah}}'' has the closest one we'll see in an [[Creator/DarrenAronofsky Aronofsky]] movie. [[spoiler:After enduring the violence of man, the flood wiping out humanity, Noah almost killing his newborn children and their son Ham leaving them, Noah and his family prosper on their new land with the animals, with The Creator bringing life to the planet once more.]]
* In ''Film/NurseBetty'', after all the bad stuff which happens to the main character [[spoiler: (Like for example, being traumatized as a result of witnessing her husband's brutal slaying, to the point of not being able to tell the difference between fiction and reality.)]] things end well for her: [[spoiler: She not only recovers her sanity and also manages to don´t be killed by the two hitmen that were trying to eliminate her, but also gets a job in her favorite show and the movie concludes with her taking a vacation in Rome, while she plans to pursue nursing as a career.]]
* ''Film/{{Pandorum}}'': [[spoiler: The ''Elysium'' space ark leaves to colonize the habitable planet of Tanis, but during the journey the crew of the ''Elysium'' receives a final message that makes them discover that the entire Earth has somehow been destroyed, meaning that they're all that remains of mankind. Corporal Gallo is affected by "Pandorum syndrome" becoming a StrawNihilist [[GoneMadFromTheRevelation from the revelation]] and murders his team to then release some passengers from hypersleep and force them into cannibalism, while he goes back to sleep into Payton's cryopod while the now-savage passengers keep on living on the GenerationShip, and after a few generations they mutate into "Hunters", due to an enzyme that was meant to help them adapt living on Tanis, and they periodically feed on unfrozen passengers. The main character Bowen is one of them, and his experience on the decaying ''Elysium'' is nothing short of traumatizing, as he realizes that his wife died back on Earth and has to struggle to survive against the Hunters, and to top it all off, he finds out that the ''Elysium'' [[EarthAllAlong has been on Tanis all along for over 900 years]], having automatically landed at the bottom of the ocean. Thankfully, Bowen manages to evacuate the surviving passengers and finally begin the new life on Tanis, while Gallo/Payton and the Hunters are left to drown.]]
* ''Film/PainAndGain'': [[spoiler:Paul Doyle. Though he continues apologizing.]]
* ''Film/PerfectAddiction'': After a long period of difficulties and heartbreak, Sienna pursues fighting professionally as she seems to get back with Kayden as well.
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** According to WordOfGod, Will is freed from his curse during the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd third film]]'s Post-Credits scene because Elizabeth remained faithful to him.
** Also, Philip and Syrena in the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides fourth movie]]. And boy, did they earn it.
* ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles'': After suffering every possible transportation setback you can imagine, [[ButtMonkey Neil]] finally makes it home to his beautiful wife and kids in time, and he brings Del (who has been homeless for eight years) with him to have the first proper Thanksgiving he's had since Marie's death, and stay with them for however he needs to get his life back on track.
* In the final scene of ''Film/PlayingItCool'', [[spoiler: [[NoNameGiven the Narrator]] tells [[NoNameGiven Her]] that they may well end up making each other miserable but he still wants to try, and convinces her to give their relationship a shot.]] The movie ends abruptly there, leaving it unsaid how it turned out.
* The world of ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' may be a CrapsackWorld, with the ''official'' stances of the CIA and [=MI6=] to let Quantum, the NebulousEvilOrganisation, do what they want in the name of oil, but at the end of the film, Film/JamesBond has torn open a huge hole in Quantum, earned his solace over Vesper's betrayal and death, helped Camille get revenge and remove a would-be dictator, and given the Bolivian people their resources back. Leiter also gets promoted to his corrupt chief's position.
** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' might feature the series' most (and only) genuinely happy ending in the franchise's history. [[spoiler: [[BigBad Blofeld]] has been captured and imprisoned by [=MI6=], Bond finally recovers from the events of ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' and ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' and is able to pursue a normal life with someone he loves.]]
* Creator/DavidMamet's ''Film/{{Redbelt}}''. Through a veritable DeusAngstMachina noble jujitsu instructor Mike Terry [[spoiler:loses his business, his reputation, and his best friend, and is forced to fight in a PPV match. Once there he not only discovers the matches are fixed, but that it was his own wife who caused his downfall. After a brief HeroicBSOD he becomes determined to make it to the ring and reveal the truth about the fixes. On the way there, he defeats the [[ArrogantKungFuGuy arrogant jujitsu guy]], is awarded the championship belt, has a moment with the woman whose life he probably saved, and when he reaches the ring is embraced by his life-long mentor, who gives him the highest honor in jujitsu -- the eponymous red belt.]]
* Mark has to do this big time in "Film/SaveMe", and in two directions: first he has to get out of the drug-and-sex-fueled disaster area that was his life at the beginning of the film, and then he has to disentangle himself from the distortions and corruptions of Genesis House, the thing that got him out of drugs and meaningless promiscuity in the first place.
* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' ends its WarIsHell theme with this quite explicitly, with Captain Miller telling the eponymous private to ''earn it'' when he returns to the 'States. The Epilogue shows him as an old man at Captain Miller's grave in France with his wife, children and grandchildren, and has him breaking down and asking his wife if he was a good man. ManlyTears were shed, especially by battle hardened old men in the audience.
* ''Film/SchindlersList'': The movie adaptation of his life implies he never recovers from the events of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, either emotionally or financially, but seeing Creator/LiamNeeson portraying Oskar Schindler standing in front of all the people he saved at the cost of virtually everything he owned, hundreds of people there, and then having a HeroicBlueScreenOfDeath because it was only ''virtually ''everything he owned, when if he'd gotten rid of ''literally'' everything he may have saved perhaps a dozen more... and then the epilogue reveals that the Final Solution in Poland was so severe that fewer than four thousand Jews remained there at the time of the film's release... and then, finally, TheReveal that the descendants of the Jews Schindler saved number over six thousand.
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' ends with the people of Miranda avenged, River somewhere closer to sanity, and Mal having put some of his demons to rest... but only at the cost of two of his crew members and a lot of innocents. It says something about Creator/JossWhedon's SignatureStyle when ''Serenity'' has one of the more ''upbeat'' endings of his works.
* ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption.'' [[spoiler:The possibility that Andy could escape was given hints earlier on that were deliberately so subtle that one was likely not to notice them until [[RewatchBonus re-watching the movie]], partly because of the overwhelmingly dire nature of the situation he was in. One particular example is the rock hammer; Red thought it'd take centuries to tunnel out of prison with it, but it was vaguely hinted at, by the scene where it took a decent sized chunk out of the wall, that taking it one day at a time still left the possibility of an eventual escape.]]
** In the end, he gets what he deserves: after having his peak years taken away; a carefree life, on a beach with his own boat, and his best mate by his side.
* ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire'', applies this literally -- almost every horrific thing that happens to the characters contributes to Jamal's win.
** This trope applies to Creator/DannyBoyle movies in general. ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'', ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'', ''Film/OneHundredAndTwentySevenHours'', all of them.
* In ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' Kirk and the others sacrifice almost everything, including the ''Enterprise'' and Kirk's son, in order to bring Spock back to life.
-->'''Sarek:''' Your ship... your ''son''.\\
'''Kirk:''' If I hadn't tried, the cost would have been my soul.
* It takes two trilogies' worth of ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies, but at the end, the sith, the empire, and the dark side are defeated forever, thanks to the jedi, the rebellion, and Vader's redemption. Anakin/Vader himself gets this, becoming a ghost with the force, having saved his son, regaining his humanity and fulfilling his role as the chosen one.
* In ''Film/TellNoOne'', Alexandre gets [[ClearMyName falsely accused of murder twice]], finds himself on the run from both the police and vicious killers, and [[spoiler: discovers he's been lied to and betrayed by his sister and his father-in-law]]...but at the end, [[spoiler: he finally reunites with his wife Margot, whom he thought was dead for the past eight years]].
* ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'' mixes this trope with a DancePartyEnding. [[spoiler:Thanks to their selfless actions and enduring Hell on Earth, Seth, Jay and Craig get to go to Heaven and enjoy all of the luxurious things that it has. One of which is partying with Music/BackstreetBoys, a life long dream of Jay's.]]
* ''Film/ThreeGenerations'': After lengthy family drama and struggle regarding Ray's identity, both his parents give him consent to start testosterone. His entire family also has accepted him by the end, with Ray also reconnecting with his father and father's family.
* ''Film/TommyBoy'': Tommy (a guy almost everyone expects to fail) endures one misfortune after another and nearly loses his entire inheritance. But by the end he has saved Callahan auto, become the company's new president (and it's implied that he will be a BenevolentBoss just like his dad), become friends with Richard, and has entered a romantic relationship with Michelle.
* ''Film/TowerOfLondon'': John Wyatt and Lady Alice, after having to deal with separation more than once, political conspiracies, and taking dangerous risks to help kickstart a war to bring Richard down, finally are reunited and able to marry.
* ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' has Sentinel Prime [[FallenHero turn out to be a traitor]] to the Autobots, Chicago devastated by Decepticon forces, Sam and Carly having relationship troubles, and the Autobots untrusted by the world. But by the end of it all, Sentinel Prime and all of the Decepticons are killed and defeated, Sam and Carly get together again by the end, and the Autobots have proved they're ''not'' the reason the Decepticons are staying on Earth.
* ''Film/TrappedTheAlexCooperStory'': After much hardship and a 6 month court battle, teenage lesbian Alex wins her freedom from the Simms (who ran the brutal [[CureYourGays conversion therapy camp]] where she was essentially held prisoner) and her homophobic parents (who sent her there). According to the ending message, they have reconnected since then and accept her now.
* ''Film/TheTruthAboutJane'': After lots of hostility toward her and her {{gayngst}}, Jane's parents accept her, going to a Pride parade at the end.
* ''Film/TronLegacy'': There is a major HappyEndingOverride to the first film; the protagonist to the first film is a mess, the title character is forced to work for the bad guys, Alan is alone and friendless in a soulless corporation, the insane AI still has plans to take over the world, and Sam's father is stuck in the Grid which has been turned into a hellhole. Despite all this, [[spoiler: Flynn integrates with Clu to avert total disaster, Sam makes Alan Chairman of the board, and Quorra is freed from the Grid. And in a really heartwarming last moment, Sam grants Quorra's wish, riding off into the sunrise with her, with hints of a romantic relationship blooming between them.]]
* In ''Film/{{Ujala}}'', Ramu goes through a lot for his kindness and honesty to pay off. After the death of his sister, he becomes a pickpocket, gets framed for a murder he didn't commit, framed for stealing a knife and has to go on the run, but fortunately he is taken mercy on and though he is injured in a knife fight, he's not too badly injured and gets to be with his love interest.
* Jenna has to go through a lot of abuse and self assessment in ''Film/{{Waitress}}'' till she gets her independence.
* ''Film/WhatDreamsMayCome'' -- "[[YouAreWorthHell Let this hell be our heaven.]]"
* ''Film/WomenIsLosers'': Celina has to go through a long struggle with her family, poverty, her son's dad etc to finally have money to buy a house for herself, her son and her friends in triumph as the ''Roe vs. Wade'' decision is also announced, overjoying her as it can spare more women like her friend dying from botched abortions.
* In a rare example of this trope spanning several connected films instead of just applying to the course of the plot throughout one film, ''Film/YoungFrankenstein''. All the five earlier ''Frankenstein'' films in the original series (alluded to being in continuity with ''Young Frankenstein'' with the line, "We're still having nightmares..from five times before!") had unhappy endings. ''Young Frankenstein'' was the first to end quite happily--because it was the first Frankenstein film in which the doctor ''does'' take responsibility for his creature and even shows fatherly caring for it.
* Apparently so in ''Film/YouthInRevolt''. [[spoiler: Nick wins Sheeni's love, and she agrees to wait for him while he's in juvie. Whatever he may have done, no one can say he didn't work to earn her love.... But, if you keep watch during the credits, a cartoon epilogue scene plays where Nick escapes from juvenile hall and finds Sheeni driving down the road, so then he gets in the car with her and they fly around the world.]]
** Not to mention that everyone from Nick's deadbeat parents to Francois seems to have given them their blessing, in spite of everything that's occurred...
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