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, "Aw."
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.
Several Tropes that are common methods of achieving this:
- Adopt the Dog
- 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 Life Saving: 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.
- Back from the Dead (if used positively)
- Bait-and-Switch Sentiment (for a subversion)
- Big Damn Heroes
- Big Damn Reunion
- Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario
- Comfort the Dying: Someone is dying, but they have someone there to make them feel better.
- 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
- First Time in the Sun
- Forgiveness
- Friendship Moment
- Fright-Induced Bunkmate
- Golden Moment
- Good Parents: Parents who are caring towards their children and willing to do anything that will make life better for them.
- Group Hug
- Happily Adopted: A single character or a childless couple adopt(s) homeless or parentless children with great kindness and compassion.
- Happily Ever After
- Heel–Face Turn: An evil character becomes good.
- 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
- 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.
- Kneel Before Frodo: High praise is given to a hero who is lower on the social scale.
- Milholland Relationship Moment
- No One Gets Left Behind: A character puts themselves at risk to help another character get out alive.
- Now, Let Me Carry You
- Official Couple: Two characters who are officially in a relationship.
- Pet the Dog, especially when done particularly kindly.
- Platonic Declaration of Love: A character admits non-romantic love toward another person.
- 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
- Selfless Wish
- 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
- Smile of Approval
- Smooch of Victory
- 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
- Take My 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
- Throw the Dog a Bone: The unfortunate character at last has something go right for them.
- 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
- 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
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.
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
- Tabletop Games
- Theatre
- Theme Parks
- TV Tropes
- Video Games
- Visual Novels
- Webcomics
- Web Original
- Web Animation
- Western Animation
- Other Media
- Real Life
