History Heartwarming / ShrekTheThird

* Near the end, the cyclops bouncer of The Poison Apple is playing with his young daughter and says warmly, "To think a monster like me could have a little girl as beautiful as her", which helps Shrek feel less worried about becoming a father.

* After the play is disrupted and Charming is defeated, Shrek tells Fiona his confidence in Artie as a king. Fiona assures him that he would have been to. He smiles and rubs her pregnant stomach saying, "I have something much more important in mind." Shrek is now actually looking forward to the birth of their children.

-->''[[HiddenDepths I grow daffodils, and... they're beautiful.]]''

* A subtle one -- when Shrek thinks he woke up from his nightmare, he immediately calls for Donkey. And when he is fully awake, and Donkey starts annoyingly singing, Shrek snaps and ask him to get to the part of making him feel better. These separate but connected moments show how Shrek has come to emotionally rely on Donkey, showing their strong bond.

* A small and humorous moment -- after Shrek attempts to catch Artie from the joust fields, he is stopped a girl who earlier scoffed at him when asked questions. Why is she there? She's trying to convince Shrek to take her friend to the upcoming dance, with said girl, in the background, shyly approaching them. It's pretty sweet gesture from a friend, even though she's a minor character.

* Fridge-Heartwarming: When Artie convinces all the villains to think of what else they would be if they weren't villains, Captain Hook brings up that his particular hobby is growing petunias and commenting on how lovely they are. In any other scenario, Captain Hook wouldn't ''dare'' imagine doing anything that didn't further his revenge on Peter Pan. Yet, there's something strangely wholesome about James Hook realizing he can have a life, not just beyond being a villain, but also beyond revenge.

* Near the end, the cyclops bouncer of The Poison Apple is playing with his young daughter and says warmly, "To think a monster like me could have a little girl as beautiful as her", which helps Shrek feel less worried about becoming a father.

-->'''Fiona''': ''(kicks down the door)'' Hi honey. Sorry we're late. You ok?

* Before his death, the King and Shrek address each other as "dad" and "son".

* When Shrek starts stressing about being a father after Fiona reveals that she's pregnant, Donkey tries assuring his best friend that parenthood won't be as bad as he thinks it will be--and then Shrek admits that he's mostly just worried that he won't be a good father, especially since ogres in general aren't exactly the "nurturing" type. It is actually quite touching that Shrek wasn't worried about how much his life was going to change, but how he would treat his children.
** It turns out he actually has valid reasons for his fears. His own father was abusive to him so he was probably afraid of repeating the cycle.

* When the princesses arrive at the play to rescue Shrek, there is a rather touching moment between Shrek and Fiona

* The movie is quite satisfying how it manages to continue to subvert typical fairy tale endings. The case is how, with the exception of Prince Charming, the ''villains'' he enlisted [[HeelRealization realize from]] [[WorldOfCardboardSpeech Arthur's speech]] that they ''can'' get their own happy endings, from their rather odd jobs that made them happy in the first place. Before, Prince Charming played on their own universal sadness to get back at the happier folk (like Shrek stealing his arranged princess), but they all decided not to be so mean about their [[FreudianExcuse Freudian Excuses]] anymore and be who they really are inside. As a movie series, Shrek certainly knows how to bring it close to home.

* When Donkey tries assuring Shrek that parenthood isn't as bad as he thinks it will be, Shrek explains that he's just worried he won't be a good father (especially since ogres aren't known for being kind and nurturing). It is actually quite touching that Shrek wasn't worried about how much his life was going to change, but how he would treat his children.

* The movie is quite satisfying how it manages to continue to subvert typical fairy tale endings. The case being how, with the exception of Prince Charming, the ''villains'' he enlisted [[HeelRealization realize from]] [[WorldOfCardboardSpeech Arthur's speech]] that they ''can'' get their own happy endings, from their rather odd jobs that made them happy in the first place. Before, Prince Charming played on their own universal sadness to get back at the happier folk (like Shrek stealing his arranged princess), but they all decided not to be so mean about their [[FreudianExcuse Freudian Excuses]] anymore and be who they really are inside. As a movie series, Shrek certainly knows how to bring it close to home.

** A couple blink and you miss it moments during the mass HeelFaceTurn are especially adorable, most notably the Ugly Stepsisters reconciling (since one of them, Doris, already turned out to be good) and a guard giving Gingy a tiny little high-five.

-->'''Fiona''': ''(kicks down the door)'' "Hi honey. Sorry we're late. You ok?"
-->'''Shrek''': ''(chuckles)'' "Much better now that you're here."

--> '''Donkey''':"I'm gonna be an uncle. I'm gonna be an uncle. I'm GONNA BE AN UNCLE!!"

-->'''Fiona''':(''kicks down the door'') "Hi honey. Sorry we're late. You ok?"
-->'''Shrek''':(''chuckles'') "Much better now that you're here."

* While it turns out to a dream (read: nightmare), but it begins with Shrek waking up to arrive back at his home after being away for a long time.
* When Harold dies, Shrek is very attentive to Fiona and comforts her.

** Even though Shrek is actually completely terrified by Fiona's announcement, he tries to put on a brave face and tell her that he thinks it's great. He at least loves Fiona enough to make her feel insecure about this.

** Seeing everyone have fun with the triplets. They're already surrounded by affection they'll no doubt have lots of growing up from their parents, grandmother, and friends.

* While it turns out to a dream (read: nightmare), but it begins with Shrek waking up to arrive back at his home after being away for a long time.

* A small thing, but the fact that when Shrek appears onstage during the play, there are people who start ''cheering'' for him [[FunnyMoments (before being shot by arrows)]] even though he is obviously the villain in the play. It just shows how far he's come since the first movie.

* Charming keeps a picture of his dead Fairy Godmother in his back alley dressing room, showing that EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas.