History Main / CueTheSun

** In ''Super {{Castlevania}} IV'', it's both!
** [[spoiler: In the original novel, Dracula's appearances were foreshadowed by the sunset.]]

* In most ''{{Castlevania}}'' games, when you finally defeat the BigBad {{Dracula}}, the sun will come up moments later to herald the endgame cutscene.
** [[CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest THE MORNING SUN HAS VANQUISHED THE HORRIBLE NIGHT.]]

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings:

** ''FrightNight'' has a simpler version where the hunters have had a harrowing time fighting the vampire and are barely holding him back when the sun comes up. As the vampire reels in horrified realization, Peter Vincent, now having passed his trial by fire, notes, "You are out of time..."
** In ''{{Thirst}}'', the sunrise is awaited by the vampire as the only way he can end his sinful life.
* Convenient sunbeams illumine Pride Rock in ''Disney/TheLionKing'' when a new monarch (lion cub) is presented. When Simba regains his throne, the clouds part to reveal the starry sky where the former kings are said to reside.
** [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Aala wainya! Iimala iya away!]]
** Used somewhat famously in [[http://youtu.be/HwSKkKrUzUk?t=1s the opening seconds of the film.]]
* In ''PrincessMononoke'', the culmination of the movie is a race to return the head of the Forest Spirit before the sun rises, and the forest dies forever. Naturally, the heroes retrieve the head and hold it aloft to the 'Nightwalker' just as the first rays shine across the hills...

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'':
** The coming of the morning after Shifu's argument with Po that ended after Po confessed his deep sense of worthlessness and Shifu likewise admitted he did not have an idea of how to fix that. After a night of racking his brain for an answer, the sun comes up as Shifu hears a ruckus in the kitchen and finding Po doing some impressive physical feats for food. Thus with the sun rising, so does the critical inspiration for Shifu concerning a way to train Po effectively.
** And then ''again'' near the end, after Shifu and Tai Lung's intense duel in the rain. The sun rises as soon as Po appears, signifying that the dark part is over and it's time for the hero to kick ass. It's at this point that the real final battle begins.
* Used straight in ''Film/PitchBlack'', as the shuttle lifts off and the triple suns reappear from behind their respective planets (meaning no more dark-loving beasties)
* Inverted in ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', where Riddick finds himself on a prison planet where the sun can actually kill you. (And thus a [[OutrunTheFireball desperate sprint]] away from ''sunrise'' manages to not be full of {{Narm}}.)

* At the end of ''Film/TheMatrix Revolutions'', the Oracle and Sati are sitting on a bench in a green park under a stunning sunrise. Which was made by Sati ("for Neo"), showing her to be pretty GenreSavvy where symbolism is concerned.

* "Spaceballs" "Nice dissolve!" They go on to be rescused by the Dinks, and meet Yogurt later that day.

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Igor}}'', this is [[spoiler:justified since Igor has destroyed the BigBad's WeatherControlMachine]].
* WakkosWish, near the end; "Mr. Speilburg ''loves'' this shot!"

** In ''The Two Towers'', when Gandalf and the Rohirrim arrive to save the day. They ride down the hill, bearing down on the Uruk-Hai army, who form lines with spears out, but just before the two groups clash...'''SUNRISE!''' and it is so sudden and so fast that the light from the sun '''blinds the spear-wielding Uruk-Hai on the front line,''' making them turn away, thus enabling the Rohirrim to crash through what is normally a cavalry-charge-breaking defensive tactic. The cinematic effects make it look as if Gandalf helped it along quite a bit, too. Which matches the magic he used for his dramatic reveal earlier. (And to bring the symbolism full-circle, remember that he identified himself as a "wielder of the flame of Anor" to the Balrog. ''Anor'' is the Sindarin name for the sun.)

* DouglasAdams lampshades this in ''DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency''

* The final shot of ''{{Fantasia}}'', [[HeartwarmingMoments set to Franz Schubert's ''Ave Maria'', no less.]]

* In ''ThePaleKing'', DavidFosterWallace says that a rural Midwest sunrise is as soft and romantic as someone’s abruptly hitting the lights in a darkened room.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The Sun shows up near the end of ''WebAnimation/{{Ducktalez}} 7'', indicating a new beginning for Scrooge and his nephews.
[[/folder]]

* The Sun shows up near the end of ''WebAnimation/Ducktalez 7'', indicating a new beginning for Scrooge and his nephews.

* Helm's Deep: Gandalf said "Await me at Helm's Gate!" Erkenbrand and Gandalf are specifically noted as arriving from the west, while on the east the valley is said to be "too sheer and stony" for the anyone to escape. Further, they only actually arrive while Saruman's hosts are already in retreat.
** As dawn breaks, Aragorn speaks to the orcs and tells them they should flee. They mock him, but he says that every dawn brings a new hope.
** In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Bilbo is caught by three trolls, and the dwarves are captured in their turn when they arrive to find out what has become of him. While Bilbo escapes to hide in a bush during the fight with the dwarves, he can do nothing but listen helplessly while the trolls argue about how to cook them; but Gandalf, unseen, keeps re-igniting the argument until sun-up, when he shouts, "Dawn take you all!" and they turn to stone in the sunlight.

-->-- '''Music/GeorgeHarrison''', "[[Music/TheBeatles Here Comes The Sun]]"

* During the final battle of ''[[{{Blade}} Blade II]]'' (which has taken place entirely at night) inside the top of the BigBad's EvilTowerOfOminousness, the MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter is [[TheVirus bitten by the mutant vampire]] (who just happens to be her brother). After the hero wins the battle, she requests he [[DyingAsYourself destroy her before she becomes one of them]], prompting him to walk outside to the end of the tower's pier-like balcony cradling her limp form, allowing the sunrise to turn her to dust in his arms and blow away in the breeze.

* In the movie ''{{Westworld}}'', the technicians watch for sunrise, and cue all the robots to start up at the instant where the sun rises above the horizon. A western town is frozen in mid movement, then everything starts up when the sun rises.

* An overcast clears when Cure Passion makes her debut in ''FreshPrettyCure''. Same with Cure Sunshine in ''HeartcatchPrettyCure''.

* Done AWESOMELY in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Two Towers]]'', in which [[DeusExMachina Gandalf and the Rohirrim]] arrive to save the day. They ride down the hill, bearing down on the Uruk-Hai army, who form lines with spears out, but just before the two groups clash...'''SUNRISE!''' and it is so sudden and so fast that the light from the sun '''blinds the spear-wielding Uruk-Hai on the front line,''' making them turn away, thus enabling the Rohirrim to crash through what is normally a cavalry-charge-breaking defensive tactic.
** The cinematic effects make it look as if Gandalf helped it along quite a bit, too. Which matches the magic he used for his dramatic reveal earlier. (And to bring the symbolism full-circle, remember that he identified himself as a "wielder of the flame of Anor" to the Balrog. ''Anor'' is the Sindarin name for the sun.)
*** The video game adaptation replays Gandalf's line from ''Fellowship'' over this scene, implying perfect timing rather than any actual magic. Still awesome:

** Alternatively, the priest and the king decide that the astronomical event is spectacular enough to justify their oppressive and exploitative regime to the masses. After that point, sacrificing more victims is unnecessary.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', the coming of the morning after Shifu's argument with Po that ended after Po confessed his deep sense of worthlessness and Shifu likewise admitted he did not have an idea of how to fix that. After a night of racking his brain for an answer, the sun comes up as Shifu hears a ruckus in the kitchen and finding Po doing some impressive physical feats for food. Thus with the sun rising, so does the critical inspiration for Shifu concerning a way to train Po effectively.

* At the end of ''Film/TronLegacy'', Sam shows Quorra something she so eagerly wanted to see for herself: a sunrise. She's enraptured by the sight.
** In some theaters, the lights rose with the sun.

* At the end of the War of the Ring in Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Aragorn and the rest's HeroicSacrifice at the gates of Mordor is averted, when the successful destruction of The One Ring causes the perpetual cloud-cover to disappate, letting the sun break through -- and sending the bad guys fleeing in panic.

** Perhaps the most striking movie example is when Gandalf and Éomer arrive precisely at dawn to break the siege of Helm's Deep in the second movie. "A wizard is never late, nor is he early. [[BigDamnHeroes He arrives exactly when he is needed most]]." (when the plot dictates it) A bonus is that the sun illuminates the two of them as they thunder down the 70-degree incline leading to Helm's Deep that definitely wasn't there when the battle started.
*** The scene is rather different from the books. Gandalf never said anything about "the fifth day" or "looking to the east," but rather simply "Await me at Helm's Gate!" In the books, Erkenbrand and Gandalf are specifically noted as arriving from the west, while on the east the valley is said to be "too sheer and stony" for the anyone to escape. Further, they only actually arrive while Saruman's hosts are already in retreat.
*** Also in the book- as dawn breaks, Aragorn speaks to the orcs and tells them they should flee. They mock him, but he says that every dawn brings a new hope.

* In the climactic FinalBattle of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', [[spoiler:the morning sun rises while Harry and Voldemort are talking to each other,and it's the cue they use to attack for the last time. It was a long night after all...]]

* The Blood Harvest campaign in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' ends with the sun rising over the horizon as the survivors escape the zombies.

** "Behold!" I thundered--augmenting my voice, I'll admit--and I pointed dramatically toward the south. I didn't want the moon or the northern lights lessening the impact of what I was going to do.

Then, posing like a charlatan in a country fair, I spoke the words that released my Will in a voice they probably heard in Kell.

"Rise up!" I roared--and the sun came up.
-------------------------------------------------
Oh, come now. You know better than that. Nobody can order the sun around. Don't be so gullible.

It looked like the sun, though. It was a very good illusion, even if I do say so myself.

** At the end of ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'', Pteppic causes the sun to rise, which brings Djelibeybi back into contact with the outside world.

* The sun rises as you leave Ravenholm in ''[[HalfLife Half Life 2]]''.

See also NaturalSpotlight, RidingIntoTheSunset (when a character is shown driving towards the sun at the end of a story), AgainstTheSettingSun, WatchingTheSunset, FirstTimeInTheSun and SuicideBySunlight. Contrast MelancholyMoon and CueTheRain, which are [[InvertedTrope inverses]]. Connected to RedSkyTakeWarning. Subverted with DaylightHorror.

* At the end of the Story Mode in ''VideoGame/{{Mortal Kombat|9}}'', after Raiden [[spoiler: defeats Shao Kahn and the Elder Gods take him away]], the sun shines down on him, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade.

* At the end of the Story Mode in [[MortalKombat9 Mortal Kombat]], after Raiden [[spoiler: defeats Shao Kahn and the Elder Gods take him away]], the sun shines down on him, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade.

* Happens a lot in {{Saiyuki}} for numerous reasons thematically. The first is obviously to imply that the heros are, well, heros, can't you tell? Look at this heroic shot! The second is as part of a symbolic bet between Ukoku Sanzo and Koumyou Sanzo, the first being thematically attached to darkness the second to the moon. Their bet is over who will be the rising sun who finally defeats Ukoku, and Koumyou obviously bet on his student, Sanzo. The third is just the obvious fact that the main characters are [[JourneytotheWest traveling west]]. What else travels west? WHY THE SUN! There are actually more, but they mainly support Sanzo's thematic ties with the sun as per the bet Koumyou and Ukoku made, so I won't bother mentioning them. So I suppose this could perhaps be the most justified use of this trope? Ever?

* "Sonne" by Music/{{Rammstein}} is pretty much a [[PyroManiac love song to the sun]].

** Many Grass Pokémon are typically taught Sunny Day and Solarbeam in tandem; under Sunny Day, the charge time for Solarbeam is thrown out, meaning four rounds (ten if Groudon is called out for any reason) of nonstop solar-powered bombardment.
** Contrast Rain Dance, which, of course, makes it rain. As long as it's raining, Fire attacks deal ''less'' damage, Solar Beam needs two turns to charge instead of one (none when it's sunny); and Thunder has a 100% chance of striking (in Diamond and Pearl, it never misses the target unless it's using Protect or Detect - and even then it penetrates 30% of the time).
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Sky'', special episode five, Grovyle, Dusknoir and Celebi all finally see a sun rise right before the disappear. This shows that the world of darkness has been stopped, and symbolizes a new future.

* At the end of the War of the Ring in Creator/JRRTolkien's ''TheLordOfTheRings'', Aragorn and the rest's HeroicSacrifice at the gates of Mordor is averted, when the successful destruction of The One Ring causes the perpetual cloud-cover to disappate, letting the sun break through -- and sending the bad guys fleeing in panic.

* The triumphant appearance of the sun marks the climax of the Music/LedZeppelin song, "The Battle of Evermore". This song is about [[TheLordOfTheRings The Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], though, so that's quite appropriate.

** The dramatic high point of the Siege of Gondor turns around the sun rising during the confrontation between Gandalf and the Witch-king of Angmar in the ruins of the main gate of Minas Tirith. Also the simultaneous charge of the Rohirrim during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
** Perhaps the most striking movie example is when Gandalf and Eomer arrive precisely at dawn to break the siege of Helm's Deep in the second movie. "A wizard is never late, nor is he early. [[BigDamnHeroes He arrives exactly when he is needed most]]." (when the plot dictates it) A bonus is that the sun illuminates the two of them as they thunder down the 70-degree incline leading to Helm's Deep that definitely wasn't there when the battle started.