Belligerent Sexual Tension in film
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Animation
- Lucille and Raoul in A Monster in Paris; they're described as bickering non-stop since childhood. And even though they still do, it's obvious Raoul has a thing for her. It's revealed that Lucille feels the same at the end.
- Anya and Dimitri in Anastasia. Mentioned by Vlad who calls it an unspoken attraction.
- The centipede and the spider from James and the Giant Peach are constantly fighting and teasing each other in the beginning of the film but end up in love with each other. At one point the spider says that she doesn't know if she wants to kill or kiss the centipede.
- The "Martins and the Coys" segment of Make Mine Music ends with Grace Martin and Henry Coy fighting each other after having gotten married.
- Surly and Andie from The Nut Job as it follows in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature until the climax of the same sequel
- Alas, they mellowed out in the end of the first movie
- Friendly rival, yet pompous Grayson may be handsome like Surly, but he ended up much worse
- Tiana and Naveen from The Princess and the Frog, although the sexual tension only surfaces when the belligerence starts to die down.
- Blu and Jewel from Rio. Though Blu is definitely not a jerk, Jewel's initial judging of his inability to fly and him being a pet does tend to rub him the wrong way. They actually do end up together at the end, though, even having chicks as well.
- Sinbad & Marina in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, especially the early parts of the film. Mellows down when they start to fall in love.
- Strange Magic: Marianne and The Bog King almost immediately during their duet duel.
- Doctor Doppler and Captain Amelia of Treasure Planet. In the beginning, they fight like cats and dogs, but by the end of the movie, they've developed a fondness for each other and bicker Like an Old Married Couple. Heck, they even have four kids together!
Live-Action
- In Angels with Dirty Faces, Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan play two neighbors have hated each other since they were kids, but their bickering turns largely playful in adulthood. The two genuinely grow to care for each other's safety as Grant's characters life gets more dangerous, ultimately resulting in Sheridan's character admitting she loves Grant's.
- Anyone but You, a Setting Update of Much Ado About Nothing retains the sexual tension between the leads from the play. Bea and Ben are very vocal about their dislike for each other but everyone around them can see they still have sparks. Their friends and family attempt to get these two stubborn idiots together.
- It's implied that this was the backstory for the protagonist's first serious relationship in the Adam Sandler's Big Daddy. We first see Sonny and Vanessa at the beginning of the movie, during (what is presumably) their third-to-last encounter, and their very last encounter on at least superficially friendly terms. They can't stop arguing, with Vanessa telling Sonny he's lazy and childish and Sonny (a bit more charitably) telling Vanessa she's uptight. Vanessa finally storms out of the apartment, and it becomes clear that Sonny might never see her again. But the funny thing is, he actually falls into depression about this for a time, and ponders how to win her back. We also hear him discussing Vanessa with other characters, his best friend at one point saying that she "worshipped" him ten years ago when they were at college, and at another point Sonny himself remembering that she used to go to the sports bar with him and tease him by rooting for whichever team was playing against the one he liked. So there was something there for all those years, but we just arrived too late to see it.
- Boys on the Side: Jane and Robin quip and snark at one another and at one point they have a big fight and stop talking to one another before reuniting at Robin's deathbed where they admit their love for one another.
- Calamity Jane: Calamity and Bill Hickok, who are Vitriolic Best Buds until their Relationship Upgrade, have this on multiple occasions and perhaps most memorably so during their duet, I Can Do Without You
. - Lo and Jen from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, especially in the desert scenes. This trope has been translated for your convenience into martial arts action!
- Love Me if You Dare: Sophie and Julien like each other for sure, but they're both too proud to admit it, resulting in them frequently lashing out and hurting each other.
- A classic example from the film The Mad Miss Manton, there's Melsa Manton and Peter Ames who hate each other at first, but they eventually get used to each other.
- In Once Upon a Spy, Jack Chenault and Paige Tannehill spend the first 2/3rds of the movie alternating between sniping at each other and flirting. Things start to defrost after an Intimate Healing moment.
- Mia and Nicholas in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Mia starts off charmed by him, then learns that he's out to steal her throne, at which point their relationship shifts towards a Slap-Slap-Kiss. On Nicholas's end he gradually develops genuine feelings for her, which colors his belligerent seduction attempts.
- In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, everyone keeps giving Jack and Elizabeth crap about having the hots for each other. Do they admit it? No way in hell.
- The Proposal: Throughout their ruse as an engaged couple for citizenship, Andrew and Margaret spent most of the trip to Alaska bickering and snarking at each other.
- Tori and Junior in Roll Bounce, from the second they meet. They have The Big Damn Kiss right after X and Naomi do to the surprise of only Tori's mother. For that matter, given the argument they have on first meeting, Vivian and Curtis certainly seem on track for a relationship by movie's end.
- Alfred Kralic and Clara Novak in The Shop Around the Corner. To make matters worse, each has got a wonderful pen pal with whom they're falling passionately in love...
- In Singin' in the Rain, Don Lockwood's relationship with Kathy Selden is quite belligerent, but quickly develops into sincere attraction. Subverted by Don's behavior toward Lina Lamont—Lina fancies herself in this kind of relationship with Don, but he genuinely dislikes her, and his efforts to reject her only fuel her delusions of romance.
- Star Wars: Princess Leia and Han Solo. They're already bickering when they meet, but come The Empire Strikes Back they bicker constantly. And then she kisses Luke to annoy Han. And then he tells her she could use a good kiss... And then the bickering itself becomes flirting, to the point that, as one reviewer jokingly said, the flight to Bespin couldn't have taken too long or they'd have either killed each other or had a baby. They're warmer towards each other after they reach the Cloud City, but the snarky bickering never completely goes away.
- Suspect: Between Kathleen and Eddie as they bicker and are constantly at odds with one another before falling for one another.
- Upstream Color has a very unusual example. Jeff and Kris have both unknowingly come under the influence of a parasite that causes their minds to be linked with others. They're subconsciously drawn to each other due to the lingering effects of the parasite, but their first few scenes together are awkward, tense and irritable. They have no reason to be with each other except for reasons that are beyond their understanding.
