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I saw Despicable Me for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and it occurred to me that Gru's character arc in this film is an extremely common and specific one, especially in family-friendly movies: the adult who is a grouchy, grumpy son of a bitch because they long ago lost contact with their inner child, and the story that tells how something renews that contact, leading to the adult becoming a considerably nicer and happier person. It can happen to any character of any type, hero or villain, although it's probably more common with villains. Is there a trope that specifically covers this? It seems to me that it's not quite Beneath the Mask, and it's not quite Hidden Heart of Gold — so what is it?
Edited by walking-wolf