Tear Jerker / Fantastic Mr. Fox

• Felicity Fox lashing out on Mr. Fox shortly after digging down to escape the farmers. She takes a shaking deep breath before telling him that she's about to lose it. When she slaps/claws Mr. Fox, tears are forming in his eyes, not for the pain, but more because he's being punished by his beloved wife. It gets worse when she chews him out for breaking the promise he made, and when he tries to explain himself by saying he's just an animal, she replies that he's ALSO a husband and a father as well, he has other responsibilities that he isn't committing to, it's not just about him anymore. When he further tries to excuse himself with "I'm just telling the truth about myself", she bluntly responds that she doesn't care about it. To her it's just another excuse Mr. Fox is making to avoid admitting that he's endangered everyone because he couldn't control his urges, and Meryl Streep's performance conveys all of Mrs. Fox's desperate frustration.
  • On Mr. Fox's side, he's doing all this because he's essentially going through a midlife crisis. He isn't malicious, he loves his wife and son, but at the same time he has existential turmoils now that he's gotten this far in life. He has a hard time admitting his faults because acting like his former fox self brought him a form of solace that he desperately needed. And similar to his son Ash, Mr. Fox wants to be the most cunning and successful trickster fox because he wants to be viewed that way, he seeks approval from others, but he's been handling this issue in the wrong way, much like how Ash does in his attempts of getting his dad's approval, resulting in disasters (the animals being forced underground by Fox's actions, and Kristofferson getting kidnapped due to Ash's plan of getting his dad's tail back).
• Later, after being flushed away in the sewers, Mr. Fox finally accepts that it's all his fault and is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of saving Kristofferson and possibly have the others spared. Making it worse is Felicity's devastating Armor-Piercing Response to her husband when he tells her that deep down, she loves him—"I love you too... but I shouldn't have married you." You can tell this is what truly pushes Mr. Fox to reform.
• Despite the character's relationship with Mr. Fox, the death of Rat is quite sad... even if it features a few laughs with Kylie commenting that "he went bananas" and Mr. Fox breaking the soberness by agreeing.
• Not a complete tear jerker, but still stronger than Heartwarming, seven words one statement: Ash, I'm so glad he was you.
• Ash and Kristofferson's rivalry
  • Ash feels threatened and usurped because Kristofferson unwittingly proved himself better than Ash and immediately gained favor with Mr. Fox, who Ash feels ignored by. Kristofferson does not mean to upset Ash and is already dealing with his father suffering from pneumonia and fears that it could turn fatal. Kristofferson is mature enough to understand what's going on with his father but is too young and powerless to help.
  • Kristofferson's family likely sent him away to avoid further traumatizing him but likely didn't realize that Kristofferson needs emotional support too because he's seeing someone he deeply loves and cares about in a compromised position and is afraid of losing them.
  • When Ash and Kristofferson are getting ready for bed, Ash forces him to sleep under a table but hears Kristofferson crying after he turns off the light. After confirming that Kristofferson is indeed crying, he silently realized he pushed him too far and they make amends by turning on a model train and watching it. It doesn't stop their rivalry but it shows that Ash understands where the boundaries are with him and understands that he can't push him too far.
  • The song during the bedroom scene is Buckeye Jim by Burl Ives, and the lyrics that play as Kristofferson starts crying are "Way down yonder in a wooden trough, an old woman died of the whooping cough." Given that pneumonia, double and otherwise, has symptoms that include harsh coughing, it's no wonder he was brought to tears.
• The wolf scene when you realize what it all means is this and heartwarming at the same time. Mr. Fox encounters the wild animal he wishes to be but can never truly become. The revelation is enough to bring him to tears...

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