I thought I'd never know / that warm and loving glow...
"Cause I still believe in miracles, I swear I've seen a few / And the time will surely come when you can see my point of view
I believe in second chances and that's why / I believe in you!"
I believe in second chances and that's why / I believe in you!"
There are certain moments in popular culture that feel so right, where something happens in stories that feels so good and so appropriate in the story, that you can't help but be moved by it.
These could include a character helping another when it was especially needed, or when a villain finally has a real change of heart in response to the earnest efforts of the hero.
That is where the Heartwarming Moments come in, when the writers actually pull off a glowing scene that makes the whole audience say, against their better judgment, "Awww".
This trope can have massive overlap with Squee, when the moment is aimed at fulfilling the (mostly sexually or romantically oriented) wishes of the fanbase. And what may be heartwarming for one may be more of a case of Tastes Like Diabetes for another, since opinions may vary vastly on a highly subjective trope like this one. A failed attempt at creating a heartwarming moment can result in Narm if the producers muck it up. To create a genuinely heartwarming moment is a lot harder than it seems without plunging into sentimentality.
- Tears, if any, are primarily tears of joy and/or emotional relief, not sadness. Some examples include tears shed at weddings, when babies are born, when parents come home from wars, when your kids graduate, when lost kids at the mall find their parents, when the world has gone to hell and someone holds you and tells you it will be okay, etc.
- It has got to fit the story's narrative and tone. It can't come out of the blue as something tacked on.
- It has to be original; clichéd nice things happening would induce more "yawn" than "awww", although Narm Charm may also take effect.
- It has to feel sincere, like the writer and/or director wanted it there to make a real point for the story, not just for a coldblooded audience appeal.
- It must not involve setting literal hearts on fire or heart burn.
Also see W.A.F.F. for a related trope. Contrast Tear Jerker for tragic examples. Expect unmarked spoilers.
Tropes that often result in Heartwarming Moments
Categories:
- Adopt the Dog: A morally-grey character does something nice to show that they're becoming more moral.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: A character who has long avoided revealing their feelings for a person ends up confessing their love when it looks like the two of them will die.
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: A character is reprimanded for the wrongs they've done, then commended for the one thing they did right.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: A character who otherwise acts ungrateful and mean towards someone reveals that they actually do care about the other person.
- Babies Ever After: The story ends with the main characters having children.
- Baby's First Words: Scenes where a baby speaks for the first time tend to be adorable and sweet, especially if their first word is the name of a relative or whoever has lately been trusted to look after them.
- Back from the Dead (if used positively)
- Bait-and-Switch Sentiment (for a subversion): A character seems to be doing something for sentimental reasons but isn't.
- Big Damn Heroes: Saving the day in a showy way.
- Big Damn Reunion: Characters reunite after a long time.
- Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: Two lovers break up, or two friends end a friendship, but they get back together.
- Cannot Kill Their Loved Ones: The inverse of Kill the Ones You Love.
- Comfort the Dying: Someone is dying, but they have someone there to make them feel better.
- Commonality Connection: Two people hit it off after they learn that they have something in common.
- Creating Life Is Awesome: Giving a new being, maybe even a new species, a chance at life.
- The Cutie: An adorable character with a sweet, innocent personality.
- Cheerful Child: An adorable, optimistic, and innocent child.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: A character gets their happy ending after enduring a lot of suffering.
- Everybody Lives: The story ends with no one dying.
- First Kiss: Either the first time someone has kissed anyone romantically, or the first time a couple kisses.
- First Time in the Sun: Someone who's been living somewhere bleak sees nature for the first time (often paired with Cue the Sun).
- Forgiveness: An Aesop about when to forgive.
- Friendship Moment: A character expresses friendship in an uncharacteristically affectionate way.
- Fright-Induced Bunkmate: A scared character who woke up at night wants to share an older character's bed.
- Golden Moment: The scene where the moral is delivered.
- Good All Along: A character finds out that someone they believed was working against them and distrusted, was good the entire time and was using a suspicious façade to hide their benign ulterior motives.
- Good Parents: Parents who are caring towards their children and willing to do anything that will make life better for them.
- Group Hug: The protagonists all hug one another.
- Happily Adopted: A single character or a childless couple adopt(s) homeless or parentless children with great kindness and compassion.
- Happily Ever After: A love story that ends with a mention that the couple lived happily ever after.
- Heal the Cutie: An adorable and lovable character had their innocence shattered by a horrible experience, but begins an emotional healing process (probably with help from their friends) and shows signs of their sweet, loving side again.
- Heel–Face Turn: An evil character becomes good. Alternatively, they are Reformed, but Not Tamed, but either way they're not evil anymore.
- Her Heart Will Go On: A bereaved lover doesn't let the death of their significant other prevent them from moving on with a new love.
- Holding Hands: Expressing love (romantic or platonic) by holding hands.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: A character defends someone being picked on because they don't want anyone other than themselves picking on this person.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: A character allows someone they love to get together with another person when convinced that their beloved would be happier that way.
- It's Okay to Cry: A character who has suffered and is Trying Not to Cry is assured that it's okay to let their emotions out.
- Kneel Before Frodo: High praise is given to a hero who is lower on the social scale.
- Milholland Relationship Moment: Someone apologises for a wrong they did, but the other person doesn't make a big deal out of it.
- Nice Guy: Kindness and compassion are (some of) this character's defining traits. Contrary to the trope's title, they are not male-exclusive — there are plenty of kind and compassionate female characters, too.
- No One Gets Left Behind: A character puts themselves at risk to help another character get out alive.
- Now, Let Me Carry You: A character gets support from someone who gave them support in the past.
- Official Couple: Two characters who are officially in a relationship.
- Open-Minded Parent: This parent loves their child for who they are and doesn't care how "different" they are.
- Pet the Dog, especially when done particularly kindly (Someone does something kind for its own stake to establish them as a hero or a Jerk with a Heart of Gold).
- Platonic Declaration of Love: A character admits non-romantic love toward another person.
- Prized Possession Giveaway: A character gifts a valued object or tool to another, knowing that they'll take care of it and likely will need to use it.
- Rousseau Was Right: The best of humanity is shown onscreen, and even the worst individuals have potential for good. Bonus points if the character who holds this idea is an All-Loving Hero.
- Security Cling: Holding onto a larger and/or stronger character in fear.
- Selfless Wish: During a scenario involving wish-granting, a character makes a wish on behalf of someone else.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: When a good person is suspected to secretly be a bad egg, their supposed bad deeds turn out to have benign ulterior motives.
- Sleep Cute: Two lovers, friends, or relatives sleeping together in a cute way.
- Smile of Approval: Someone who formerly disliked a character or their actions finally smiles to show approval.
- Smooch of Victory: Somebody kisses another person to thank them for saving them. Usually, the kisser is a former Damsel in Distress and the kiss-ee is a man.
- Someone to Remember Him By: A widow or bereaved girlfriend ends up having a child conceived by her dead husband or boyfriend.
- So Proud of You: Someone does something good and their parent, teacher or similar expresses pride.
- Take My Hand!: A character is about to fall and must take another's hand.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: Talking a suicidal person out of killing themselves by giving them a reason why they shouldn't throw their life away.
- Tear Jerker can sometimes overlap with this.
- Tears of Joy: Crying for joy.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: The unfortunate character at last has something go right for them.
- Triumphant Reprise: A happier reprise of an earlier song, which will often be sung by the main character to express their satisfaction at achieving their goals or coming out on top.
- True Companions: Friends who are as close as family, and just as protective.
- Video Game Caring Potential: Video-games encourage players to show their capacity for kindness, whether towards NPCs or other players.
- We Really Do Care: A character tries to run away but their friends stop them.
- When She Smiles: It can be endearing to see a character smile after spending most of their screentime frowning.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Telling a person with low self-esteem that they are not worthless.
- You Are Not Alone: A person is told that they are not the only one who faces their kind of problems and hardships.
- You Are Worth Hell: Someone has to go somewhere terrible, but their lover goes too just to stay with them.
Works that consist of a lot of Heartwarming Moments overall are also Sweet Dreams Fuel. This page covers the individual Heartwarming Moments more thoroughly.
Compare Heartwarming in Hindsight. Compare and contrast Unnervingly Heartwarming, the Evil Twin of heartwarmingly heartwarming fuzzies you'll find here.
Examples:
- Advertising
- Anime & Manga and Light Novels
- Comic Books
- Comic Strips
- Creators
- Fan Works
- Film
- Let's Play
- Literature
- Live-Action TV
- Magazines
- Manhwa
- Music
- Opera
- Play-by-Post Games
- Podcast
- Professional Wrestling
- Radio
- Real Life Sports
- Roleplay
- Tabletop Games
- Theatre
- Theme Parks
- TV Tropes
- Video Games
- Visual Novels
- Webcomics
- Web Original
- Web Animation
- Western Animation
- Other Media
- Real Life
