Heartwarming moments in classic cartoons

[Richie]

We have discussed best shorts whose quality makes them unforgettable and ageless. We've also mentioned those horrid ones in which we can't help but wonder what the staff behind them was thinking. Funny, violent and creepy situations have also been brought up to the table in the past.

But what about the heartwarmers? And I'm talking about those true moving scenes, not those who deliver diabetes and are badly executed. I refer to those scarce, nice moments that put a smile on your face, a warm sensation on your heart, and make you happy that they're there. Let's talk about them here.

They don't need to be long, nor last for the entire cartoon. Usually, it's just a small gesture that qualifies. If you want to bring up something longer, it's of course acceptable. The more you can comment on a moment you bring up, the better.

It's no secret how big of a Donald Duck fan I am, so please excuse me on my fanatism, because it's the first example I'm posting.

Wet Paint (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBjPDjCqCRw)
Donald's encounters with small creatures ended with the Duck being beaten, humiliated, or just plain tortured 90% of the time. However, this one is one of the very, very few shorts in which both sides end up happy with each other, and it's played out wonderfully.The short's soundtrack lacks some energy in the first half, but it works out perfectly in this ending. Donald's pupils following Susie until she lands on his beak, and rubs against his face, along with the Duck chuckling...It's beautiful, darn it.

I would also like to nominate Lickey Splat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0D-WVJ7wSE) and Zoom And Bored 's endings. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dugWFBCilkU)
If only because the first has the Universe allowing the Coyote to end the cartoon unharmed, and the second show's a bit of a good personality for the Road Runner. I'm aware of the "Can you please end the cartoon before I hit? Thank you", but that's more funny than heartwarming in my book.
[/URL][URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBjPDjCqCRw"] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dugWFBCilkU)

[kaseykockroach]

As much as I prefer Satan's Waitin, the ending to Heavenly Puss is still somewhat effective to me, as is Cat & Mermouse's closing.

[cartoonfan4ever]

I like the ending of Lost And Foundling. After raising a little bird, Sniffles found out that he raised a hawk and they eat mice. At first the hawk was going on instinct and went after Sniffles, but he thought about how Sniffles took care of him. At the end of the cartoon, the hawk points out that hawks with a red dot under it's wing does not eat mice and he has the dot. Then the camera pans over to a corner (I think behind a chair or a curtain) showing a can of red paint with a paint brush.

I thought it was sweet that the hawk thought of Sniffles as his Dad and wanted to keep the relationship.

[nickramer]

The end of "Feed the Kitty" where the mistress agrees to let Marc Anthony keep Pussyfoot was heartwarming.

I also like the end of "Mickey's Pal Pluto"/ "Lend a Paw", where Pluto's good conscience is proud of the pup's rescue and "Go Fly a Kit" where the flying cat's girlfriend gets reunited with him and reveals the airborne off-springs.

[Brandon Panther]

The only thing I can't think of (that hasn't been mentioned yet) is the ending to the Tom & Jerry short "The Night Before Christmas".

[frizfrelengfan]

The end of "The Lost Chick" (MGM), when the mother hen welcomes the squirrels into her home, always warms my heart.

[Glowworm]

"Tom Thumb in Trouble"- I honestly enjoy this cartoon and find the ending with the little bird curled up in Tom's father's beard to be adorable.

"Feed the Kitty"-not just the ending with Marc Anthony covering Pussyfoot with his fur as a blanket to sleep in-but also the sequence in which Marc Anthony is weeping for his kitten-with the cat cookie on his back-Pussyfoot sees his tears and mews at him and rubs against him-as if to say "I'm okay." The look of delight on Marc Anthony's face is wonderful.

"Snowbody Loves Me"--Tom bringing a frozen Jerry in (similar to "The Night Before Christmas" sequence-except that Tom gives Jerry some Shnapps!:D

[J. J. Hunsecker]

The end of "Feed the Kitty" where the mistress agrees to let Marc Anthony keep Pussyfoot was heartwarming.


"Feed the Kitty"-not just the ending with Marc Anthony covering Pussyfoot with his fur as a blanket to sleep in-but also the sequence in which Marc Anthony is weeping for his kitten-with the cat cookie on his back-Pussyfoot sees his tears and mews at him and rubs against him-as if to say "I'm okay." The look of delight on Marc Anthony's face is wonderful.
Let me be the third to recommend Feed the Kitty.

I'll add:

The Tom and Jerry cartoon That's My Mommy, where Tom is overcome with motherly love and adopts the duckling Quaker as his own.

The same thing happens in A Mouse Divided -- Sylvester's heart melts when the baby mouse calls him daddy, and he tries to protect him from other cats. The baby is real cute, too.

[kaseykockroach]

Anyone who doesn't succumb to the Baby Mine scene in Dumbo requires therapy, pronto.

[Thad]

How about Horton Hatches the Egg? A real rarity for Clampett. It still doesn't beat out Feed the Kitty though.

[J Lee]

I'll throw in two from the Fleischers, since they definitely aren't known for "heartwarming" stuff -- the end of "Play Safe", when the St. Bernard outraces the train to save the boy (and gets his tail off the track just in time), and the final scene back in the toy store in "Raggedy Ann", where the Pinto Colvig-voiced store owner gives the girl the dolls.

[Paul Penna]

The aforementioned "Baby Mine" sequence from "Dumbo," the color Disney "Ugly Duckling" and the first ten minutes of "The Rescuers Down Under."

[Marty26]

The end of "Feed the Kitty" where the mistress agrees to let Marc Anthony keep Pussyfoot was heartwarming.


That's what I was thinking, too.

[cartoonlover675]

"The Enchanted Square." That's all I have to say.

[quack-up]

The Dot and the Line seems heartwarming to me.

[Alf]

Even though it may seem strange in a Ralph Bakshi film, I found the ending of Marvin Digs heartwarming.

[Vdubdavid]

I'll second The Enchanted Square and the ending to the Fleischer Raggedy Ann short, and add one of my own: Chuck Jones' Mouse Warming. The scene where the boy mouse reads the (albeit forged) love note and immediately faints. And the ending where they share a soda in the refrigerator. A very sweet short that often gets overshadowed by the equally great Feed the Kitty.

[R.J. Smith]

I'll add the "puppy dog eyes" scene from Broomstick Bunny and the final scenes to Snow White, Pinocchio, and Bambi.

[Mac]

Wet Paint (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBjPDjCqCRw)
Donald's encounters with small creatures ended with the Duck being beaten, humiliated, or just plain tortured 90% of the time. However, this one is one of the very, very few shorts in which both sides end up happy with each other, and it's played out wonderfully.The short's soundtrack lacks some energy in the first half, but it works out perfectly in this ending. Donald's pupils following Susie until she lands on his beak, and rubs against his face, along with the Duck chuckling...It's beautiful, darn it.


When I saw the title of this thread this was the first cartoon that came to mind. I thought "no one else will think of that", but it's the first one in the thread! You're right this ending works perfectly. I'm not sure what makes it work so well. Maybe it's the combination of emotions. Donald goes from blind rage to relief and and some amount of shame. This is mixed in with the mother bird's fear, bravery and love. A lot is packed in to a very brief amount of screen time and it rings true because real emotions can be like that. The wonderful music helps too.

I also vote for Horton Hatches the Egg. I think the hilarious ridiculousness of "An Elephant-Bird!" really helps. It's preposterous, but it's so right!

I find a couple of heart warming moments in "Donald's Dream Voice". I think it's because Donald tries so hard, Daisy is so supportive of him and Donald genuinely wants to propose.

Although I can't think of a specific moment right away, Popeye has some heart warming moments when, despite his gruffness, will always do the right thing. I guess one example would be the one where he takes Olive's grandmother out on New Year's Eve.

[Richie]

This is such an old thread, but I found out about the Popeye cartoon "Bulldozing the Bull" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAya0rGUCRk) and I HAD to bring it back from the dead.

It isn't corny by any manners, it doesn't sacrifice the humor to show its message, and was also ahead of its time regarding animal cruelty. A true gem.

[LooneyFan]

The aforementioned "Baby Mine" sequence from "Dumbo," the color Disney "Ugly Duckling" and the first ten minutes of "The Rescuers Down Under."


I was leaking tears at just the comic adaption of "The Ugly Duckling".

[zavkram]

It's been mentioned already, but I'll also vote for "Feed the Kitty". From the moment when Marc Anthony thinks the kitten had been pulverized in a mixing bowl to the end of the cartoon I always get teary-eyed. When the cartoon plays to a live movie-theatre audience, it never fails to elicit a similar response.

If it hasn't already been mentioned, I'll add the mourning scene from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The image of Grumpy with his back turned, sobbing uncontrollably, is one of the most poignant moments in all cinema... right up there with the final scene in Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights".

[oceansoul]

Feed the Kitty
Heavenly Puss
That's My Mummy
Horton Hatches the Egg
many Barney Bear cartoon endings

[oceansoul]

The Dot and the Line seems heartwarming to me.

Yes, I forgot that one.

[J. A. Boschen]

One of my favorite Tom & Jerry cartoons, " The Night Before Christmas" (1941), always had a very nice ending to it.

[gdX]

You bet I'm gonna mention Feed The Kitty again.

Perfect blend of tragedy and comedy. And yet another entry in Jones' Festival of Facial Expressions.

Perfect cartoon drawings.

.

[Thad]

You bet I'm gonna mention Feed The Kitty again.

Perfect blend of tragedy and comedy. And yet another entry in Jones' Festival of Facial Expressions.

Perfect cartoon drawings.

.

What I really love is the proceeding take before the middle one - where Marc Anthony's jaw drops and inadvertently smothers the kitten. Now that's 'subtle acting'.

[DaffyDave]

Fleischer - Somewhere In Dreamland. Especially when the Mother cries and the kid recants his declaration of hunger...

[BloodyChamp]

I agree with many choices mentioned, including "Feed the Kitty." There are some absolutely get wrenching moments in that cartoon, but because of the happy ending they make for one on the best cartoons of all time imo. I also agree with what the first poster said about properly done cartoons that warm your heart. Some cartoons were intedded to be heartwarming and happy, but as the poster also said, they only gave us diabetes.

"Bulldozing the Dozer" is 1 of 2 Popeye cartoons that I love for these reasons. The other cartoon is "Be Kind to Animals." "...Animals" is also worth seeing for the cartoon violence at the END of the cartoon. The sad character in 1 of these cartoons actually get some revenge while keeping the heartwarming sense until the very end. The moment where Popeye takes the lashing for the horse is possibly my favorite Popeye moment ever.

I haven't seen all of the Color Classics but every 1 that I have seen exemplifies what we are talking about here, perfectly. These things make me want to...like...cry. I'm not as high on "Song of the Birds" as most people but I like it and the others that I've seen.

Since my absence from GAC, I watched most of the first Lantz set that I'd bought and never watched all the way through (can't believe I haven't posted about it actually...the cartoons are as good as the people who fought for their release say they are). I couldn't believe "Born to Peck." That ending came out of nowhere and I grinned and grinned. I was glad to see atleast 1 entry of that nature in Woody Woodpecker's catalog (the entire Lantz catalog even!) because I've fell short on ways to defend him before. "Born to Peck" was a great cartoon that had you on the edge of your seat, thinking Woody was going to DIE...but he didn't :)

Many Disney movies go here, along with the better Disney specials and the classic theatrical short whose name escapes me. It's an ancient 1 where Mickey sells Pluto for food on Christmas and regrets it.

"Peace on Earth" is fantastic. "Little Tinker" is a guilty pleasure but it counts. I also agree with the poster who mentioned some of the Sniffles cartoons. They are not ALL bad cartoons, and neither is "Tom Thumb in Trouble."

[oceansoul]

One of my favorite Tom & Jerry cartoons, " The Night Before Christmas" (1941), always had a very nice ending to it.

Another one I forgot.

+

Bedtime for Sniffles

I think Christmas cartoons are usually about heartwarming moments.

[nickramer]

I know people are going to hate me for this, but one heart -warming cartoon I like is the Paramount cartoon, "Pedro and Lorenzo" (1956). Somthing about a boy and his calf's friendship sorta touches me. I think this was based on a book as it had a special closing which was cut when Harvery aired it on television.

[DaffyDave]

Another one I forgot.

+

Bedtime for Sniffles

I think Christmas cartoons are usually about heartwarming moments.

Agreed. Christmas cartoons are by far my personal favorites. Fleischer's "Christmas Come's But once A Year" & "Rudolph..", Richard Williams/Chuck Jones's as well as Mr. Magoo's "Christmas Carol"s, "Peace On Earth" and "Christmas Flintstone" come to mind as favorites.

[Der Captain]

This is such an old thread, but I found out about the Popeye cartoon "Bulldozing the Bull" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAya0rGUCRk) and I HAD to bring it back from the dead.

It isn't corny by any manners, it doesn't sacrifice the humor to show its message, and was also ahead of its time regarding animal cruelty. A true gem.

I'll second that one, a sharp contrast to all those Popeye-kills-animals gags that became so obnoxious and repetitive over the years.

I'll add some that haven't been mentioned yet.

From MGM: "The Field Mouse", "Old Rocking Chair Tom", "Mouse in Manhattan"

COLUMBIA: "The Little Match Girl"

PARAMOUNT: "Cilly Goose"

[Lawrence Hall]

I third Buldozing the Bull! It's beautiful to see Popeye not be a hippocritt with his 'be kind to aminals' notion. :sailor:

[Don59]

I'll cast a vote for the Little Audrey cartoon "Song of the Birds". This really is a touching story, as you can feel the guilt and heartache Audrey is experiencing, and then the joy that comes when the little bird wakes up.