Heartwarming / The Secret Life of Pets

• Let's face it, the whole movie is one "Aww" moment after another.
• Chloe is lazy and selfish, but when the other pets are hesitating to help Gidget find Max, she's the one who convinces them to do it.
• While the climax in the sinking van is both Nightmare Fuel and a Tearjerker, it does have a couple touching moments:
  • After the keys are lost and they can't break the cage door open, Max stays with a trapped Duke even though he was free to swim out of the van.
  • Snowball does a Heel–Face Turn by diving into the water and getting the keys to give to Max.
• Max returning Gidget's feelings for him at the end, and the two becoming an Official Couple.
  • Gidget's tail wagging uncontrollably as Max sweetly and awkwardly tries to spit out his feelings for her before she leaps on top of him overjoyed and licks him affectionately.
• Snowball being adopted by a little girl on the street, and actually being happy about it.
• When all the pets greet their owners coming home from work, there's a myriad of sweet moments. Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" just seals it.
  • Sweet Pea's owner lets him eat bird seed off his bald head. The fact that Sweatpea's large, muscular owner looks really mean makes it even cuter.
  • Pops' owner actually comes home to give him a scratch.
  • Mel runs around happy to see his master, then brings him his slippers. Of course, he knocks over a bunch of things in the process, but it's the thought that counts!
  • Buddy's owner, a young boy, gives him a big hug. Buddy hides under an end table to surprise and amuse his boy.
  • Chloe accidentally bites her owner's finger when being hugged, but then licks the wound to make up for it.
  • After leaping about (as tiny dogs do) to greet her owners, Gidget eats dinner at the table with them.
  • Tiberius actually nuzzles his elderly owner.
  • Norman finally finds his home after 3 weeks being lost in the air ducts. The young boy is overjoyed to finally have him back.
    • All the sweeter in that the boy immediately casts aside a stuffed-toy replica of Norman with which he'd been sleeping, in favor of having his real guinea pig lie down beside him. The implication is that he'd been so heartbroken to lose Norman that his parents made him that toy in an attempt to console their son.
    • The boy's bedroom walls are covered with charming finger-paint pictures of Norman playing the hero in all sorts of adventures. That kid's got imagination, as well as an abiding love for his pet.
  • The goldfish gives his child owner a fish-kiss through his bowl.
  • The turtle puts its feet up on the edge of its bowl and extends its neck, smiling, when its owners open the door.
  • And Max, Duke and Katie rest together on their balcony, happy to be home together again.
    • Which leads into a pull-back shot of all the nearby apartments' windows, in which dozens of silhouettes of pets happily welcoming their owners home can be seen.
• The fact that the flushed animals kept contact with Snowball even after he became a pet shows that no matter what, they will always stick by their boss.
• The touching flashback of Duke's early life with Fred.