History Heartwarming / TheMuppets

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlxoWD1ZiKQ For Lunar New Year, Animal finally gets to hug the bunnies.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJD4eLytkUY Hey, Listen. You know what the frog and the dog have in common? I think it's that guy up there]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJD4eLytkUY Hey, Listen. You know what the frog and the dog have in common? I think it's that guy up there]]

!!2011 film:

* Seeing the Muppets on the big screen again for the first time in over a decade. It's like seeing old friends again.
* Mary and her students bidding each other farewell before she and Gary embark to Los Angeles.
-->'''Mary:''' Oh, there's the bell. That means it's time for Spring Break.
-->'''Students:''' Awww!
-->'''Mary:''' Don't worry. We'll be back to studying in two weeks.
-->'''Students:''' Yay!
** Speaking of Mary, for all the angst she goes through over how her intended anniversary with Gary is ''completely'' derailed to focus on Walter and the Muppets...she still makes it a point to help wherever she can.
** Despite the hijacking of her anniversary trip, Mary never shows any resentment towards Walter and is just as proud and happy for him as Gary. Considering Mary and Gary appear to be high school sweethearts and have been dating since they were 20, she's known Walter for years and has a very good relationship with her [[spoiler: soon to be brother in law.]]
* Kermit's reunion with Fozzie.
--> '''Kermit:''' Hi-ho, Fozzie.
--> '''Fozzie:''' [without missing a beat] Hi-ho, Kermit. ({{beat}}) Kermit?!
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtJqxWOL5Jc Kermit and Miss Piggy duet]] ''[[Film/TheMuppetMovie Rainbow Connection]]''. The others eventually join in, including Animal playing drums again for the first time in years.
** Not just that, Kermit ''kisses'' Miss Piggy on her snout. Say it with me everyone, "Awww...."
-->'''Kermit:''' ...will you stay? ...for me?
** Along the same scene, Floyd giving Animal his old drumsticks back, saying that he'd been saving them for years and telling him "You know what to do." It's a very sweet nod to the two's long friendship.
** Loved how the first version that Kermit sang became so memorable and uplifting? ''Try hearing a whole chorus of it!'' Definitely helped the in-universe audience go "ALL MY MONEY" and boosted the donations!
** There are reports of entire theaters singing along with it.
** Animal looks ''truly happy'' for the first time in the movie, finally back to playing the drums again!
* The Muppets rebuilding the theater after years of neglect. Highlights include finding out that [[TheDitz Beauregard]] has been trying to clean up, unaware that everyone left, and the living food in Chef's old fridge [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther being overjoyed to see him again.]]
* This movie [[PlayingWithATrope plays around with]] NarmCharm, and there are a lot of moments like this involving Walter and his AscendedFanboy-ness.
* "Pictures in My Head," in which Kermit recounts how even though the other Muppets' acts would drive him crazy, he couldn't live without them.
* The moment when Kermit takes out his half of the photo of himself and Piggy. And from behind him, hears her softly say, "You saved it...". When he turns around, she is holding up her half and they put the two pieces together. Sweeeeeeet.
* The speech Kermit gives to the Muppets after the telethon ends.
-->'''Kermit:''' Listen everybody. We've got nothing to be ashamed of - and you know why? Because, thanks to Walter here, we ''tried''. And if we failed, we failed together and, to me, that's not failing at all. And I don't care what anybody says. I don't care if no one believes in us because... '''I''' believe. I believe in you... and you... and you. You know, what's important isn't this building or our name. It's each other. So I say fine - let's just start at the bottom and work our way back up to the top. Let's all walk out through these doors with our heads held high! [[FamilyOfChoice As a family... because that's what we are.]]
** Then afterwards when they walk outside and find a [[GroupieBrigade Fan Mob]] filling the entire length and breadth of the street waiting for them, cheering loudly and holding up signs... [[TearJerker *sniff*]]
* "Maybe you don't need the whole world to love you. Maybe you just need one person..."
** Even more as it's a {{Call Back}} to the song played at Jim Henson's funeral.
** Because, in fact, it was Jim's favorite song. Awww...
* "'''[[ArcWords You're My Hero]]'''".
* In a crazy sort of way, the revelation that Gonzo had been secretly dreaming of a reunion, and had worn his stage outfit under his suit for years.
* The entire movie is this trope; reviving a dying franchise to its former glory for a brand-new generation while keeping to its old, much-cherished tone.
** What's particularly showing is the number of big name celebrities that make guest appearances to show their support for the franchise...most with one or two minute appearances.
*** According to the production team, ''more celebs volunteered for cameos than they could fit in the script.''
*** To put the above in perspective, when ''The Muppet Show'' first came out, Henson and Co. had a hard time getting celebrities to agree to appear. Times do indeed change...
* Veronica's [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting]] over the course of the telethon, until she's openly cheering for the Muppets after their performance of "The Rainbow Connection."
* The various {{Shout Out}}s to Jim Henson, especially seeing the photo of him posing with Kermit right in the middle of all the other celebrity photos on Kermit's wall.
* The Muppets did various cross promotions for this movie, including (at one point) appearing on ProfessionalWrestling shows. The people doing the most fan-squeeing? ''[[http://youtu.be/dmIO3ghSSJI The wrestlers]]''.
** When you consider wrestling as all around dudes in speedos and grappling (this troper having been a wrestling fan), seeing this is just amazing. [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee This goes to show that all sorts of people love the Muppets and they aren't afraid to show that.]]
*** The topper during this visit was Hornswoggle, [[http://www.tmz.com/2011/10/29/hornswoggle-wwe-muppets-tattoo-photo/ who is such a fanboy of the Muppets]] that he ''actually got a tattoo of them'' (Miss Piggy, Kermit, and Beaker) prior to his wrestling career, and added ''more'' (Gonzo, Fozzie, JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf) in honor of their visit to RAW.
* The way Kermit, after thanking Walter for helping him get the gang back together again, tells him "welcome aboard" -- no fanfare, no big speech. Walter is shocked; it's been a life-long dream of his to be accepted among the Muppets, and to Kermit it almost goes without saying that of ''course'' he's welcome to the team.
* In a more Meta example, the fact that there hasn't been a ton of [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgic uproar]] about the film is quite heartwarming in and of itself.
* While it gets outdone later and she's very spiteful about it, Miss Piggy returning to do the show for the rest of gang despite her current relationship problems with Kermit is both very sweet and highly professional of her.
* '''[[ArcWords "Why don't you join us?"]]''' Cue epic music as Walter's dream comes true!
** I don't know how they did it, but that is some fantastic facial acting on the Walter puppet as he walks over to them.
* Uncle Deadly's HeelFaceTurn speech:
-->'''Uncle Deadly''': Enough! Just because I have a terrifying name and [[EvilBrit an evil English accent]], does not preclude the fact that, in my heart, I am a Muppet, not a Moopet!
* During the post credits segment when, after Tex Richman gets hit by Gonzo's stray bowling ball and Fozzie makes a typical Fozzie joke, which makes Tex to start to smile, and then... he finally laughs, resulting in him giving back the studios.
* The Behind-the-Scenes features on the UsefulNotes/BluRay and DVD keep the Muppets in character so it doesn't ruin the illusion for children.
* The scene where Kermit makes his uplifting speech - 'We have each other and that's what makes us who we are, and we'll start over from the beginning if we have to.' As soon as Kermit opens the stage door, he's greeted by camera flashes and cheers. The shot pulls back to reveal Hollywood Boulevard is absolutely packed with screaming fans waving signs and cheering the Muppets.
* The entire opening musical number from the original show being recreated brings lots of nostalgia!
** An understated moment, but Statler and Waldorf occupying the same balcony they did all those years ago and not even missing a beat on their heckling. Surly though they may be, [[SarcasticDevotee they'll always be a part of the Muppet Family]].
--->'''Statler:''' I always dreamed we'd be back here! \\
'''Waldorf:''' Dreams? Those were nightmares! (''both laugh'')

!!2015 series
* As hilarious as it is, Kermit [[StatusQuoIsGod manipulating Piggy to break up with Josh Groban]] in episode 2 has a bit of heartwarming factor to it. He doesn't play any cruel tricks, he simply relies on his knowledge of her - putting Groban's name above Piggy's on the backlot poster and merely revealing that Groban likes the idea.
* From the same episode, Bobo trying really hard to sell cookies to get his daughter a mountain bike. He succeeds when Scooter convinces him to have them sold to the Electric Mayhem (given how they're always happy... [[TheStoner "legally now"]]).
* Creator/ChristinaApplegate going along with Piggy's plan to have Scooter hit her in the face with a cake because she doesn't want him to get in trouble.
* In the middle of "Bear Left Then Bear Write", Nick Offerman calls Kermit "World's Greatest Producer" based on the fact that the latter is holding a mug with that phrase on it. The next scene is a ConfessionCam segment where Kermit talks about how Fozzie (who had left ''Up Late'' earlier in the episode to become a writer) got him that mug.
-->'''Kermit''': A few years ago, I got passed over for a job I really, really wanted. I was gonna quit the business and do something else, you know. Had a shot to go to medical school, but... turns out they just wanted to dissect me. But Fozzie wouldn't let me feel sorry for myself. He got me out of the house and stayed with me until I snapped out of it. He never let me give up. That's what a friend does, he was there to help me, but.. [[TearJerker I don't know, I guess I wasn't there to help him.]]
* Fozzie visiting Statler in the hospital with some flowers, apologizing for the T-shirt incident in the ColdOpen. While it turns out to be for naught, it's very sweet to see that Fozzie was genuinely worried about Statler's well being. Keep in mind this is one half of JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf, who take every opportunity to heckle Fozzie during the shows.
* Sam's expression as he watches Janice sing "Stay" during karaoke night.
* In "Walk The Swine", after her public embarrassment with Reese Witherspoon, instead of getting even with her, she invites to her show again to genuinely apologize to her. Granted, said apology consists of a big, expensive musical number, but it was nice for Piggy to swallow her pride and admit that she was wrong for once.
* "The Ex Factor" had quite a few heartwarming moments.
** Kermit's plate depicting his first date with Denise has a very cute kid aesthetic to it.
** Piggy getting the jewelry box for Kermit to give to Denise. While that's heartwarming in itself, it plays "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", which had earlier been established as Kermit and Piggy's song.
** Denise's {{Adorkable}} reactions to meeting Creator/KristinChenoweth.
** To a lesser extent, the fact that, aside from one snide comment from Piggy, Kristin Chenoweth and Miss Piggy are genuinely friendly towards each other for the entirety of their interaction. This is a huge contrast from previous episodes with female guests, which all had Piggy having some sort of feud with the guest star.
* In "Pigs in a Blackout", Kermit has a talk with Rowlf in the tavern that [[CallBack easily brings to mind their duet in]] ''Film/TheMuppetMovie''.
** The ''Up Late'' working their way around the blackout that Scooter inadvertently caused.
** At the end, Kermit is revealed to have a swamp in his home. He proceeds to launch into a sweet, toned-down rendition of "Rainbow Connection". Even better is that he sings it all the way through the credits, pre-empting the typical OhCisco moment.
** Scooter accidentally referring to [[TeamDad Kermit]] as his "father" was pretty sweet as well.
** While Gonzo is typically pretty silly or cynical he's the one that talks Scooter into sticking around. Especially when he's miffed he was passed over for being in charge for the day.
* Kermit and Fozzie's heart to heart after they had a fight.
* Bobo offering (and giving) Kermit a hug after Fozzie and Becky leave in a huff.
* Gonzo going ahead with the cannon stunt, and Kermit and Gonzo celebrating it.
** Kermit's SoProudOfYou line to Gonzo fits as well.
* "Single All The Way", being a ChristmasEpisode, was full of these. For once, happy holidays means it's a time for employees to show some cheer to each other.
** Piggy gives 2 different kinds of advice to Fozzie to deal with the fact Becky broke up with him (cause he joked too much). One is to use materialism to hide the pain. But then she mentions that couples can get back together. Causing Fozzie to both [[ComicallyMissingThePoint comically]] and [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint dramatically]] think that she was pushing him to try again, cause she and Kermit never tried again. And lo and behold, he and Becky talked it out, and he came back to the show, happy to be Santa again.
** Yolanda the Rat rigs the secret Santa to give herself all the gifts cause she didn't get any last year. But once everyone finds out about it, instead of being angry, they instead offer her the gifts anyways as a way of saying sorry for leaving her out last year.
** Kermit and Miss Piggy talk through some unresolved feelings for each other just as Piggy didn't want to go on the show, thinking she was alone on Christmas now.
** All the Muppets come on to sing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to mask the fact their guest star Creator/MindyKaling can't sing. Even Kermit gets invited in.
** At the Bar after the show, Piggy manages to put her anger aside, hanging with Kermit and Denise so they wouldn't be alone on the holidays.
** Sam wanted Janice to kiss him under mistletoe, but got tripped up by Chip. However, at the bar afterwards, Janice said that it was sweet of him to be making a friend with Chip who isn't exactly well liked around the studio, and gives him a cheek kiss. Sam then gives a starstruck, "God bless Christmas."
* "Swine Song"
** The tweak to the opening sequence. We still see Kermit overwhelmed by his many coworkers, treats picked clean and the like, but instead of sighing at the end, Piggy brings Kermit his coffee, and Kermit with much more enthusiasm says, "Time to get things started!"
** The gang, stuck in the meeting room desperately trying to come up with new, relevant ideas, are left alone while Kermit and Piggy step outside. Left alone, they start tapping pencils or strumming fingers. After a moment, they soon break out into a percussion rendition of... what else? The theme song. Seeing this is what gives Kermit the confidence to tell Piggy they don't need some executive's ideas. They've got each other.
** Series/KeyAndPeele are forced to drop out due to some in-universe ExecutiveMeddling. To fill the void, Kermit asks Piggy to sing a song with him. And she agrees.
** Everything about [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter the penguin]] Piggy brought home from Argentina.
* After Piggy's wardrobe malfunction, a younger pig girl comes up to her backstage and wants to talk to her. Piggy initally brushes her off like she does to every other fan until she tells her she had a similar experience at school and seeing it happen to someone like Piggy inspired her and made her feel better about it. Piggy embraces her and decides to take a stand for all pigs and [[ForcedMeme #UnveilTheTail]].
** When Piggy can't do her "[[ForcedMeme #UnveilTheTail]]" stunt on her show, Kermit breaks this news to a disappointed audience.. but states that there's no rule in ''frogs'' showing off their pig tails before turning around and revealing that he has a fake pig tail on. Cue all the Muppets (and Music/JoanJett) showing off their fake pig tails.
** With the revelation as to the prejudice against pig tails, the fact that Kermit thinks this maligned feature is what makes pig women so cute becomes HeartwarmingInHindsight.
* "Got Silk?"
** Piggy spends the whole episode worried that she doesn't have a real friend. Then at the end, as Uncle Deadly is coaching her through her duet with Ingrid Michaelson, she realizes that Deadly, beneath his gruff, snarky exterior, is her one true friend.
** The whole crew showing up to Deadly's community theater play.
* Piggy's playing CoolAunt for Robin. More so since it's ''Ms. Piggy''.
* Meta example; the way the "starring" credits are arranged. In the first episode, the seven main Muppeteers are listed alphabetically, Bill Barretta first and Steve Whitmire last. In the second episode, Barretta is moved to the end of the line and Dave Goelz is credited first, and so on until Whitmire is first and the cycle starts over, basically giving all seven actors equal billing.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJD4eLytkUY Hey, Listen? You know what the frog and the dog have in common? I think it's that guy up there]]

* [[https://youtu.be/0KvK1NED4ak It’s a little thing, but seeing everyone cheer for the Muppet performers as themselves, after their truly Epic 2 hour “Muppets Take the O2” live show they did, is rather heartwarming.]]

* Any of the 2015 Disney Junior "Muppet Moments" interstitials. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G84ekcz19x4 You can't say no to little kids hugging the Muppets.]] You just can't.