"You and I appear different indeed, but in our hearts, we are the same."
While the book by Takashi Yanase and short film do enter Tear Jerker territory, The Kindly Lion does contain a fair share of sweet and heartwarming moments between Buru-buru and his mother Muku-muku.- The film begins with an orphaned Buru-buru crying, blind, and malnourished. Happily, a female rabbit spots the lonely lion cub and immediately takes him to Muku-muku, who is mourning the loss of her puppies. The rabbit cheers the saddened dog by convincing her
◊ to become Buru-buru's new mother. Muku-muku quickly agrees to becoming his new mother and her first action is giving him a hug.◊ - As Buru-buru is trying to drink milk from his mother's teats, he loses his grip and falls flat on his back, reducing him to tears. She walks back and decides to carry him on her back to calm him down◊ (complete with both of their tails intertwining with each other). The scene later cuts to Muku-muku rocking him back and forth on her back as she's singing a lullaby to him◊. During her lullaby, we see Buru-buru drinking from his mother before both characters fall asleep peacefully.
- The song about how much Buru-buru loves his mother's milk. The setting takes place on a hill which is formed by a white water drop representing milk. Muku-muku is shown happily feeding the lion cub alongside hugging him. As Buku-buku is drinking his mother's milk, his tail begins wagging as a sign of relaxation and happiness.◊
- Buru-buru, now an adolescent lion cub, learning how to become a dog. Instead of roaring, he barks, whimpers, and is seen eating biscuits. While he's learning how to eat from a dog bowl, his mother simply smiles and giggles to herself as he starts enjoying the dog biscuits.◊ Special mention goes to the scene where Muku-muku is teaching him how to pee like a dog by lifting his hind leg near a tree, how to pant, and rolling over.
- Later in the story, a grown Buru-buru and an elderly Muku-muku are admiring a small lake at the zoo. Buru-buru quickly gets frightened by his appearance, hoping he would look like an actual dog. However, his mother tells him "You and I appear different indeed, but in our hearts, we are the same." since she strongly believes "The heart is the most important thing" between a mother and son. The scene then transitions to both characters happily dancing with each other, with a song expressing how much they love each other.
- In a bittersweet way, when Buru-buru manages to reunite with his mother who is very weak and on the verge of death. The final time Buru-buru and Muku-muku are shown interacting is with both characters giving a long hug after years of separation. After both characters are gunned down by a group of policemen, the lifeless bodies of Buru-buru and Muku-muku are lying down. However, Buru-buru is still embracing his mother.
