The Lion King/Heartwarming

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The Lion King

The Lion King

  • After saving Simba from the hyenas and scolding him for endangering both himself and Nala, Mufasa and Simba have a heartwarming father/son moment:

Simba: Dad? We're pals, right?
Mufasa: Right.
Simba: And we'll always be together, right?
Mufasa: Simba, let me tell you something my father told me. Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars.
Simba: Really?
Mufasa: Yes. So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you... and so will I.

    • What makes it even better is that Mufasa diverts Simba's question a little, whilst answering it at the same time. He's effectively telling Simba that he won't always be around, but that he will always be with him. This is proven true when he appears to Simba many years later as a Great King of the Past.
    • Simba expected to be getting the stern disciplinary lecture that no kid wants, and it turns into a father/son moment from there.

Mufasa: Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble.
Simba: But you're not scared of anything.
Mufasa: I was today. I thought I might lose you.

  • Plenty of obvious examples in this movie, from some of Mufasa's talks with Simba to the "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" song, but especially worthy of mention is when Timon, despite his earlier rudeness and being a shameless slacker, says, "Well Simba, if it's that important to you, we're with you to the end!", because Simba's his friend and they're in this together no matter what.
  • The end, with the "Circle of Life" reprise playing as Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's new baby to the world, just as he did with Simba himself at the beginning of the movie.
  • Simba as as a newborn cub in the beginning is just adorable.
    • The audio commentary even mentions that the moment where baby Simba turns around always got an "Awwwww..." whenever they saw the film with an audience.
  • That moment when Simba feels most alone, then suddenly Rafiki appears, chanting his rhyme, to help him.
  • When Sarabi sees a grown up Simba for the first time.

Sarabi: Mufasa?
Simba: No. It's me.
Sarabi: Simba? But how...?
Simba: It doesn't matter. I'm home.

  • Rafiki when he discovers Simba's alive. He starts laughing hysterically as he takes red paint and paints a mane on the picture of Simba he smudged when he thought he was dead. Accompanied by awesome music.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

  • The entirety of "Love Will Find A Way", but especially the moment when Kiara and Kovu run towards each other and Kiara buries her head in his mane as the camera circles around them.
  • The lyrics alone of "Love Will Find A Way" can be this, combined with a serious Tear Jerker, especially for the LGBT community. ("They can have the world; we'll create our own..." "...and if only they could feel it too, the happiness I feel with you...")
  • The end of this exchange:

Kovu: He [Scar] wasn't my father, but he was still... a part of me.
Kiara: My father said there was a... a darkness in Scar that he couldn't escape.
Kovu: Maybe there's a darkness in me, too.
Kiara: (lifts his head up with her own, and the two snuggle and purr softly)

  • The ending of Simba's Pride, especially Simba admitting he was wrong and accepting Kovu and the other Outlanders into the pride.

"Let's go home. All of us."

The Lion King 1½

  • In The Lion King 1½, it is suggested that even though Simba's life with Timon and Pumbaa was considered reckless and carefree, Timon and Pumbaa were still caring guardians to him, especially during Simba's cubhood when he was still coping with the loss of his father.
  • Timon keeps getting woken up by the young Simba, and finally snaps -- until Simba tells him he had a bad dream (and we can all make a pretty well-educated guess at what it was about). After that, Simba always sleeps with Timon and Pumbaa.
  • Timon, after years of taking for granted that he had all he always wanted, spends a day alone in his "dream home", only for Rafiki to show up and coax out of him that his real rest and joy was with his friends.

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