Heartwarming / Arlo the Alligator Boy

Arlo the Alligator Boy heartwarming moments
Original film | I ♡ Arlo

We're beautiful together!

I needed a hand on my back
Remind me I'm all right
To keep from falling
Follow the voice in my head
Tells me I'll be just fine
It's you that's calling
And when I wandered the world on my own,
Could've been so afraid and alone,
You showed me the way to my home!

"Beautiful Together"

Arlo the Alligator Boy is all about friendship and acceptance. It would be a crime not to have a page dedicated to its tender moments.

---

• When Arlo's baby basket floats all the way to Edmée's home, she doesn't hesitate at all to raise him for more than fifteen years. Not to mention, baby Arlo is just adorable.
  • Edmée in general. Sure, she's an anti-social swamp hermit hiding from the Feds, but she's been Arlo's mother figure for so long, and loves him like anyone would love their own son.

• Baby Arlo's journey has small moments too. These include a Kraken-sized cephalopod harmlessly playing with his basket, and a seagull offering him a fish when he got hungry.

• Arlo himself is a walking heartwarming moment. He's just an endlessly optimistic ball of sunshine who loves nothing more than to make new friends and sing. And as many moments listed later here demonstrate, he's a Blithe Spirit of the highest degree!

• Jeromio, despite being a simple toad with a blank expression, seems to be the only animal who doesn't get annoyed or hostile around Arlo in the swamp. If anything, he's his Only Friend, and a loyal companion.

• After learning about his father's whereabouts, Arlo is ready to set off to New York City. And Edmée wholeheartedly supports his decision to leave, fully confident that the world at large will be a better place with Arlo in it. It's a rather nice goodbye. Maybe not forever, but still.
  Edmée: "Now remember, if you ever get lost, you just let that wonderful heart and all that joy inside your soul be your guide."

• Arlo and Bertie's friendship. The latter starts off a bit distant, but it's clear from the start (said start being rescuing him from gator catchers in style) that she's a deeply caring individual who will not hesitate to protect the boy. And of course, she's Arlo's first ever true friend, something he immediately gushes over.
  • Arlo's first impression of Bertie: "You look like an angel!"

• Arlo singing Bertie's name over and over is both silly and cute.

• Arlo actually shows genuine concern for Furlecia when she gets stabbed in her "love handles" by a pitchfork during the wrestling scene, despite the fact she's pulling a Wounded Gazelle Gambit and survived the impalement just fine.

• It's a small moment, but when Arlo says to the angry farmers that he's from the swamp, they immediately stop being hostile, and cheerily admit he's one of them. Of course, it's subverted when Arlo says he has New York heritage.

• When Furlecia sees Arlo and Bertie running to catch up with the bus, the first thing she immediately does is reach out a hand for them to grab on.

• At first, everyone (especially Tony) is angry at Arlo for giving the money back to the farmers, screwing them out of a good deal. Then Bertie immediately goes to his defense, and upon telling them that they know what it's like to barely get by due to being judged by looks, it's Furlecia who goes from ticked off to empathetic and concerned. Instantly afterwards, Furlecia gets Tony to shut up, and everyone quickly warms up to the two.

• While camping out, Marcellus thanks Arlo for saving him from the aquarium.

• "Follow Me Home". It starts off as a longing, tragic song from Bertie about how alone and aimless she is in the world, but then Arlo joins in, telling her the exact opposite. Before they know it, everyone else joins in, enamored by the sight of the two friends bonding through song. Even after a big wave ends the whole thing abruptly the gang (sans Marcellus) gets a laugh out of it. It can safely be said that this was the moment these outcasts started feeling like a family.
  • What precedes it is pretty sweet too. Bertie proclaims to Arlo that she will help him find his father, no matter what, even if she has to leave afterwards.
  • After the song, Arlo presents to Bertie what he calls a "best friend rock". It's a seashell, but that just means to Arlo that they can both have one (the different sides of the shell). Needless to say, Bertie holds onto it for the entire movie.
    Bertie (eyes glistening with awe): I love it.

• The montage in NYC is mostly full of funny moments, but one sticks out. Arlo thinks he sees his father...but it's just the shadow of a guy with a funny haircut, causing the poor boy to tear up at the disappointment while the guy gives him a concerned look. Cut to the guy inviting him to dance as he plays the bongos to cheer the kid up while pedestrians watch with intrigue.

• Upon getting to Ansel's penthouse, Arlo gives a heartfelt goodbye to Bertie and the rest of the gang. They're all understandably hesitant to leave him, but they assure him that the rest is up to him. the group hug cements it.
  Bertie: No squirming.
  • Shortly afterwards, Tony doubts that Arlo can make it past the typically gruff doorman...only for the kid and said doorman to share a laugh and a hug. That's just the kind of person Arlo is. A shame about what follows...

• Despite being cruelly disowned, Arlo's first reunion with Ansel does have loads of initial father-son bonding:
  • Right when Ansel opens the door, Arlo immediately plows into him and looks up at him with gleaming eyes.
  • The two dancing together during "Better Life"; they're constantly smiling at each other genuinely as well. Also when Ansel is standing up from the piano and begins getting into the number, Arlo can be seen smiling with interest as that he found he's not the only one of the family who likes randomly bursting into song. In other words, it's musical family bonding!
  • Ansel singing to Arlo from a chandelier, making his son beam happily.
  • Ansel's initial bewilderment at the sight of Arlo's birth bracelet, as if he's secretly happy his son has come home despite forsaking him to protect his secret.

• After hearing about what happened between Arlo and his father, Bertie wastes no time reminding him of how great he is as a person, as well as how he was her first true friend. Naturally, it snaps Arlo right out of his Heroic BSoD.
  • After everyone finds out about Ansel's plans, Furlecia joins in to cheer Arlo up, telling him that he made all of their lives better. Even Tony pipes in, earnestly telling him that he helped him realize the value of friendship. Quite a far cry from The Napoleon he was when they met.
    • Really, Tony seemed to mellow out significantly between the night in Alabama and the day in New York. He even affectionately calls Bertie "Berts" before allowing her to console Arlo!

• Arlo and Ansel's bittersweet duet, "Something's Missing". Sure, it's more tearjerking, but Arlo is determined to know the truth from Ansel, who is struggling with hiding his birdman identity and begins to fear it's time to expose the truth.
  • Before the song begins, Bertie manages to snap Arlo out of his nervousness by giving him the same advice he gave her back at the beach: "Sing it."
  • Just after the song, Ansel begins to feel enamored by his son's attempts to reconnect with him and even comments on it with a little smile.
    Ansel: You're a pretty tough kid, aren't you?
  • When Arlo asks Ansel one final time if he's his dad (and right before Ruff and Stucky appear and capture him), Ansel turns and looks his son in the eyes — just like he asked him to in the song earlier.

• After spending the whole film trying to avoid his son, Ansel saves Arlo from Ruff and Stucky by revealing his identity as a bird-man, and getting him out of their clutches. Not long after that, he explains everything to Arlo, and by extension, his audience, outright admitting that he had made the worst mistake of his life abandoning his son. Yet despite everything he did, Arlo still instantly forgives him.
  • Following that, Arlo politely turns down living with Ansel in favor of being with his Family of Choice, that being his friends. Cue a huge group hug and Furlecia letting Ansel join in when he gripes about not getting much love.]]
  • Ansel and Arlo breaking down in tears as they officially reunite, which is a complete opposite of their first encounter.
  • Ruff and Stucky are so touched by the whole display that they give up on wanting to capture Arlo, having been so fascinated by how their trek taught them about the human experience. Ruff immediately declares how much he loves his partner.

• The ending. After everything, Ansel puts Arlo and his friends in charge of repairing Seaside by the Seashore instead of him destroying it. The film ends on a montage of them doing just that, all to the tune of Arlo singing a song fittingly titled "Beautiful Together", which perfectly encapsulates how far he's come since the start of his journey.
  • And not only is the boardwalk restored and reopened, Ansel even lets Arlo and his friends live there as well. Arlo has finally come home!
    Arlo: This... is where I belong.

• The montage of the friends fixing Seaside by the Seashore has its moments:
  • Them patching up signs and lawns together. They even put their hand prints in one of the cement paths they make.
  • Bertie singing "Beautiful Together" along with Arlo.
  • Tony getting his own pizza restaurant, and looking grateful beyond words for it.
  • Alia getting her van back after it got towed earlier, and everyone pitching in to clean it.
  • Marcellus loosening up and joining in on the fun when they all fill up a fountain.
  • Ansel looking proudly at everyone's work from up in the air while carrying the Beast, who is now wearing a nice suit and panting happily as the both of them soar into the sunset.
  • Arlo placing a flower in Bertie's hair near the end. Then Alia shows up and asks for one too. Arlo obliges, and gets an adorably flustered giggle out of her. Those two kids should really hang out more often.
  • Finally, Arlo and Bertie watching the sun set near the ocean in a Call-Back to the scene that preceded "Follow Me Home", the both of them finally feeling like they've found a place they can call home.
    Bertie: Yeah, home...

• The mid-credits scene. Edmée gets a postcard in the mail featuring Arlo and his new family hoping she can come visit one day. Needless to say, she's as proud as can be.
  Edmée: Well, rickety biscuit.

---

"Yeah... home."

---