Heartwarming / I ♡ Arlo

Arlo the Alligator Boy heartwarming moments
Original film | I ♥ Arlo

It's all gonna be okay as long as they got each other.

Friendship Couch

• It's Played for Laughs, but Bertie's Establishing Character Moment upon hearing Arlo banging on her door to get her attention is to rush out, hold him, and ask if there's anyone after him (while promising to destroy the seagulls if it's them). She hasn't lost her protective streak at all.
• Arlo's gift to Bertie is a large couch that he and Alia found. Even if it's kind of disgusting and rips in half upon being grabbed, the boy's just happy that they can each have a half.
• Bertie giving Arlo a portrait of him and her as a gift for his housewarming party. It moves him to Tears of Joy almost instantly.
• Everyone having fun at Arlo's housewarming party.
• After hearing just how sad Arlo is about living alone through the wall separating them, Bertie decides to join both their opposite sides of the couch AND their homes by smashing through the barrier between them. Needless to say, they're much happier than they were before after that.
  • The song they sing throughout this, "The Way". Like "Follow Me Home", it starts out a bit sad, but the moment the wall comes down, it's a pure (and catchy) ode to how much Arlo and Bertie's friendship means to them.
• Arlo reuniting with Jeromio when the frog gets mailed to him by Edmée.

A Memory of Pizza

• Seeing how much Ansel has changed since the movie. He's a lot more casual inside and out, and he wants nothing more than for Arlo to enjoy his new home.
• There's something rather sweet about Arlo dressing up as a ballerina and no one calling it weird or even anything worth giving too much attention to.
• Ansel being drawn to Ol' Bessie, which is the name he gave to Seaside's Ferris wheel when he was a kid. It proves that while his childhood was far from perfect, he at least had something he liked about his old home back then.
• Mayor Elena, over the course of the episode, is revealed to absolutely love Seaside as it is instead of what Arlo tried to make it into in order to impress her. She's also a very sweet person altogether.
  • Her and Arlo deciding to throw a block party (the Uncondemning) to celebrate Seaside's resurrection, setting up the Half-Arc Season revolving around the preparations.
• Ansel reassuring Arlo that he's doing a fine job bringing Seaside back just being the way he is, followed by them getting a secret handshake down.

Be the Turtle

• Arlo's complete, unwavering faith in Alia throughout the episode. Despite everyone's objections, especially Tony's, not once does he ever doubt her ability.
  • During their talk at the bench:
  Alia: Maybe Tony's right. Maybe I'm just a lost cause. (hides her face with her hoodie).
  Arlo: That's not true. You're Alia, and you are great. Just because you're having a hard time right now doesn't mean you're bad or you can't do it.
  Alia: It doesn't?
  Arlo: No, it just means you haven't found a way that works for you yet.
  Alia: You think so?
  Arlo: I know so.
  • Arlo then tells her that because she has such great senses, she sees what others fail to appreciate, to the point where he wishes he could be more like her. It lifts her spirits up significantly.
  • Later, after Alia is on the verge of giving up completely after getting distracted by hatching sea turtles:
  Alia: This is impossible. I just can't do this.
  Arlo: Hey, what if instead of punishing yourself, you just let yourself be you? (holds Alia's hands) Stay with the turtles if that's what you're feeling.
  Alia: They're so tiny, and they have such a long way to get to the water. So many obstacles.
  Arlo: But they'll get there. They take their time, and if they get off track...
  (a stray turtle gets back on the path with its siblings)
  Alia: They just refocus and they try again.
  Arlo: Exactly Alia. Just be the turtle.
  • Arlo and Alia sharing a fist-bump after she successfully makes the delivery, with the former stating how proud he is of her. Everyone joins in on congratulating her as well (though Tony's compliments are a bit on the hypocritical side of things).
• Really, this whole episode might as well be called "Twelve Minutes of Ship Tease".

The Shedding

• It was completetly misguided, but Alia wastes no time trying to save Arlo from what she believes to be a ghost (actually his shed skin). Naturally, everyone joins in to help (except Marcellus).
• Furlecia and Tony relaxing and having dinner with each other on a bench under the moonlight.
• In a surprising display of empathy, Marcellus of all people offers to hear about Arlo's embarrassing secret regarding his skin. His reaction? Treat it like it's no big deal and offer him advice (even if he takes a bit too much pride in it). Arlo's spirits are lifted almost instantly.
  Marcellus: The trick to not being ashamed...is not to hide it. That's why I dress up like this! You gotta love the skin you're in! Or, not in.
• Alia being the first to reassure Arlo that his disgusting bodily function was nothing to be ashamed of, as they all have ones of their own that don't make them any less valid. She's also keen to let him know that if she knew that the "ghost" was something that came from him, she wouldn't be scared at all.
  • Marcellus caps it off by declaring everyone "all equally disgusting."
• Arlo manages to deliver his shed skin to Edmée, who proudly hangs it up with the rest of them.

Community Garden

• Arlo (and later Tony) offering to help Bertie make her private zone better. It works...at least until it snowballs into the place becoming not so private.
• Arlo declaring that Bertie's private place could be a new community garden, even if Bertie isn't all that enthused about it. Either way, everyone else loves the idea, and the place flourishes as a result. The song of the same name that Arlo sings is no slouch either, as it's just him celebrating coming together to make something beautiful.
• Furlecia's delight at Arlo remembering her plan to sell homegrown conditioner.
• Arlo's song, "Community Garden", is about the Seasiders coming together to do their part. A lot of his lines actually take the cake ("'Cause we got care for the ones who grow with the love right beside you!"; "It's a you, me, her and him show!").
• During the song, Marcellus decides "what the heck" and joins in on the fun making the garden, even if he seems more interested in the food.
• Arlo offering to add Bertie-only hours at the garden so that she can be there by herself again. She appreciates it.
• In a Call-Back to the film, Bertie decides to sing about her feelings to help Arlo understand. The boy even recognizes it as his language.
  • The song, "Even in the Garden", is pretty sweet too.
• Arlo and his friends building a rooftop garden for Bertie to have for herself.
  • This:
  Arlo: After your song, I realized that we are different. I don't understand this alone time at all.
  Bertie: Yeah, I know.
  Arlo: But it's okay! Cause I don't need to understand to see. (covers eyes) And I don't even need to see to FEEL how important alone time is...to you.
• Bertie absolutely loving the spot that her friends made for her.

Blow Out

• Bertie trying to comfort Furlecia after her disastrous session with Thao, telling her that she needs a break.
• Furlecia's conscious (taking the form of a doodle on a sticky note) encouraging Furlecia to find some time to take care of herself instead of being Married to the Job. Not long afterwards, she decides to go rollerskating outside for a bit, and enjoys every second of it. Some of her hair even grows back, signifying that she's finally on the road to recovery.
• Furlecia's second session with Thao goes much smoother than the last one thanks to the former's Character Development.
• Elena congradulating Furlecia for establishing boundaries.

In the Blue With You

• Arlo being utterly ecstatic at the idea of bonding with his old man via fishing trip.
• Bertie making sure that Arlo doesn't leave without a packed lunch, even if she's not totally on board with the concept of fishing.
• The Beast is shown to no longer be the feral animal he once was, now looking a lot less menacing and with a respectable job.
• After failing to impress Arlo with things like singing sailors and narwhals, Ansel is at a loss as to what he did wrong. Arlo then tells him that all he wanted...was him.
  Ansel: Really? That's...that's enough?
  Arlo: Yes! You, me, some sammiches, the sea...
  Ansel looks to the surrogates he hired fishing together.
  Arlo: ...that's the perfect day to me.
  Ansel (after looking to the sky): Well, the day isn't over yet. Did you say you were working on a song?
• While fishing, Arlo decides that he doesn't need the banjo, stating that there's music all around. Sure enough, some fish start to sing (something he brought up earlier), segueing into "In the Blue", a Parental Love Song between him and Ansel that closes out the episode. Highlights include Arlo teaching Ansel how to use a rod without getting his wings caught, and Ansel drying Arlo off by patting him on the head with his wing.
• The final scene of the episode is father and son lying close together in the raft looking up at the night sky together.

Jeromio, Jeromio

• While searching for Jeromio, Arlo ends up in a talk with an inanimate bench statue. Although it doesn't speak, it gives him something to talk to as he realizes that sometimes, what a friend really needs is for someone to hear them. He then hugs the statue, calling it the wisest person he ever met.
• Arlo finally realizing what had Jeromio in a Heroic BSoD. He was homesick from missing the swamp. The boy decides to let his frog roam free in Central Park. Upon seeing everything, Jeromio goes from depressed to ecstatic at his new environment. It's the happiest we've ever seen him ever.

Make a Fish

• After Bertie tearfully wishes for a new guitar to replace the one she broke, Marcellus coldly tells her that wishes don't come true, causing her to run off sobbing. At fist, he tries to ignore it, but her crying gets the best of him, and while he seemed to be more motivated by the money she thew in the well, it doesn't change how he got her a new guitar anyway. He even smiles upon hearing Bertie sing with it.
  • Him granting his friends' wishes is pretty sweet, even if, again, he's Only in It for the Money.
• Arlo's wish is for him to have a large condor egg to give to Ansel on his birthday.
• It's heavily implied that Bertie is in on Marcellus' wish scheme, and she subtly encourages him not to exhaust himself granting so many wishes.
• Bertie taking the fall for Marcellus when everyone demands their money back for their ungranted wishes.
• It is revealed that Marcellus is only alive after his near-death by sunlight because Bertie intervened. She explains that she wanted to return the favor for all the good things that he did. Marcellus claims that he only did it for the money, but when Bertie offers Arlo's giant coin for retrieving the egg, the fish tells her that he did it for free. Bertie kisses him on the cheek for his noble act.

Frog Day the 13th

• After spending the whole episode being terrorized by Jeromio, who's acting more erratic than usual due to the storm, Bertie ends up being faced dead to rights by him...and as it turns out, all the frog wanted was for her to hug and comfort him. Upon realizing this, Bertie changes her tune, and soothingly sings Jeromio to sleep in her arms.

Swamp Itch

• Ansel's senses are almost exclusively for making sure that his son is okay.
  • Later, he swoops in to announce that he'll take care of his boy, earning the adoration of everyone.
• Despite being something of a Bumbling Dad, Ansel does everything he can to make sure his son is okay during his swamp itch.
• Ansel finally managing to calm Arlo down by building a giant nest and wrapping Arlo up in a blanket. By morning, Arlo's back to normal, loving his dad and not hesitating to take care of him once he gets swamp itch too.

Moody Tuesday

• After a whole episode of everyone at each other's throats due to Bertie's bad mood (aside from Marcellus who revels in it all), she decides the fix things through, what else, song. Specifically, "I Can Lift You Up", in which both she and Arlo realize that it's so much better to treat others the way they would want to be treated, and they spend the whole night making everyone feel better. And sure enough, it causes a chain of good deeds in contrast to what happened earlier.
  • Arlo and Bertie reinvigorate Furlecia's fashion sense, inspiring her to form a Mohawk out of her messy hair.
  • Furlecia gives Tony a tuft of her hair to act as a mustache, snapping him out of a Heroic BSoD.
  • Tony making a pizza for Alia with a happy face on it.
  • Everyone singing at Marcellus' fountain before wishing each other a good night.

Lily Lost and Found

• Arlo encouraging Lily to move in to Seaside, stating that everyone is welcome, no matter who or what they are. Sure, it kick-starts the whole conflict, but his heart is in the right place.
• Even after being told about Lily's larcenist ways by Marcellus, Arlo is adamant that Seaside be a place where anyone can belong, even if they've done bad things in the past. It's heavily implied he was inspired by Ansel's Character Development for that one.
• After ousting Lily for being a larcenist, the gang finds out that while she's a bad thief, she's great at finding things that were once thought to have been lost (including Alia's pom-pom party turtleneck, Tony's cookie tin of secrets, and Bertie's old teacup). Arlo's given a "Eureka!" Moment, and decides that Lily can put her kleptomaniac tendencies to good use, and gives her a lost-in-found to be in charge of, hence the title.
• Marcellus and Lily burying the hatchet after the latter establishes her new business, even if she still seems intent on giving him a bad time.
• Everyone making a welcoming mat for Lily, after she had established earlier that no one ever gave her such a thing. Arlo delivers it to her, and she's crying Tears of Joy just looking at it. She then declares Arlo the larcenist for stealing her heart.

Stay Cool

• Alia befriending Peggy's tentacle, believing it to be a party snake. A pity the feeling wasn't mutual at all.
• Marcellus actively encouraging Arlo to have fun on the yacht.
• When Peggy apprehends Alia, Furlecia attacks the Kraken with a blender, demanding it lets go of her "fur sister".
• It seems that Ansel might disown Arlo for letting his yacht get destroyed...however, not only did his dad get a new one, but Ansel's just glad that he and his friends are safe. As he explains this, the instrumental to "In the Blue" starts playing.
  Ansel: A yacht is just a thing. It's replaceable. I literally just replaced it! But you're not replaceable, Arlo. All I care about is that you're safe.

Tony Baloney

• The gang pitching in to help Tony look great in front of his parents.
• Arlo gushing over Tony's makeover, complete with heart-shaped Wingding Eyes.
• Tony's parents' utter joy at seeing their boy again.
• After Tony comes clean about his masquerade (rather angrily), his parents are completely proud of him for fooling them the way he did, and even offer to eat at his parlor for once.

Get Lost!

• Arlo offering Bertie an opportunity to play Get Lost to get her mind off her writers block.
• Towards the end of "Just Another Night in New York", Bertie finally manages to come to grips with her self-doubt, and finds the inspiration she was looking for.
• Immediately after the song, Arlo comes back to tell her that they got the bus, but not the notebook. Bertie cheerily states that she won't need that, because for her, getting lost in the city ensured that the song found her instead of the other way around. As she explains this, the instrumental for "Follow Me Home" plays.

Going It Arlone

• "Coming Together", the Hard-Work Montage of Arlo and his friends working to ensure that the uncondemning party goes perfectly. Seeing everyone pitch in is very sweet...at least until reality bites, that is.
• Elena congratulating Arlo for getting Seaside ready for the celebration in record time.
• Arlo's goal in the episode is to get Ol'Bessie the Ferris wheel fixed for Ansel. As he explains, Ol'Bessie was his dad's favorite part of Seaside when he was a kid, as it let him feel like he was at the top of the world. Seeing kid Ansel so happy in his otherwise lousy childhood is a nice change of pace. To Arlo, seeing Ol'Bessie fixed would make him the happiest ever, even if everyone sees it as an un-salvageable wreck.
• Despite Arlo destroying Ol'Bessie, and a lot of Seaside in the process, Ansel doesn't care about any of that at all. Once again, his concerns are squarely on the safety of his son. And he has no bad blood about anything whatsoever. In fact, he's touched that Arlo tried to surprise him, something that no amount of money could ever do for him. Needless to say, everyone's touched as well.
• After Arlo asks if his friends are still willing to help him repair Seaside:
  Tony: Like my nonna always says, "Family doesn't go by the slice, you take the whole pizza, or you get outta my restaurant!"
  Alia: Yeah, we got your back, Arlo.

Alro

• One of the pics on Arlo's String Theory board is one of Alia surrounded by hearts and XOX Os. Tellingly, she's the only person that Arlo doesn't interrogate during the episode. Either he didn't suspect her all that much, or he didn't have the heart to do that.
• After Arlo's Jerkass Realization, he's pleasantly surprised that Bertie came back not only with his package, but also forgiveness for him accusing her. He immediately hugs her when she arrives.
• Arlo is initially doubtful that anyone would want to help him rescue Edmée after how he acted for the whole episode, only for them to come to his place and instantly forgive him while gladly signing up for the rescue.
  Tony: If a crusty mood is all it takes to end a friendship, I would've been alone since birth!
• Ansel promising Arlo that he won't let him down while he watches Seaside.
• Arlo and company setting sail on Ansel's yacht to find and rescue Edmée.

The Uncondemning

• Arlo singing his devotion to rescuing and reuniting with Edmée in the heartfelt ballad of his, "Back to You".
• While under the Bog Lady's trance, it's Alia's voice that snaps him out of it.
• After the Bog Lady has everyone in her clutches, Arlo apologizes to Edmée for indirectly causing this mess. The old lady reassures him that he couldn't possibly leave something behind when it's a part of his heart (in this case, the swamp). Arlo gets it immediately, and even uses this newfound knowledge to try and appeal to the Bog Lady. If she weren't such a horrible villain, they might have not had to blow her up to escape.
• Arlo and Edmée officially reuniting on top of the train.
• Arlo giving the Seasiders a Rousing Speech over how far he's come, symbolizing the end of his Character Development from the Pilot Movie:
  Arlo: Hi, everyone! We are so excited to welcome you to Seaside! A lot of you probably came a long way to be here. I know I have; life can be a wild journey. But, someone very wise once told me: Where you're from will always be a part of where you're goin'.
• The Uncondemning party. ALL OF IT. For one thing, almost everyone shows up to it, including some of the more minor characters. Also, Arlo and his friends are recognized as heroes for bringing Seaside back to its former glory, and then some. And to top it all off, Bertie finally sings the song teased in "Get Lost!". Said song, "As Long As We Got Each Other", is a fantastic ode to the unbreakable bond they all have. Everyone is dancing to it, including Lilly and Sammy, Edmée and Jeromio, and Ansel and Elena. From there, everyone, and we mean EVERYONE, is shown enjoying the night in their own way.
  • Even Ol'Bessie got repaired for it all!
  • Ansel and Elena blushing and giggling on their part, hinting at a possible Ship Tease.
  • Once again, Arlo and Alia really like holding hands throughout.
  • Edmée and Ansel officially meeting and getting along.
• The final shot, in which everyone hugs each other after having come so far (pictured above).
  Bertie: I love you, Arlo!
  Arlo: I love you too, Bertie!