10 Movie Characters Who Died Happy

10. Jean Valjean - Les Misérables (2012)

It would be a bit of an understatement to say that Jean Valjean has rather a lot on his plate for most of Les Misérables. He's on the run from a psychotic, obsessed lawman who loves repeating his own name, dealing with a teenage daughter and there's also the small matter of a burgeoning rebellion in Paris. It's no wonder that dying was something of a relief for him. Valjean's end comes on the day of his adopted daughter Cosette's marriage to revolutionary Marius. Satisfied that his pursuer is dead, the political unrest is over and Cosette is set for happiness, he retreats to a convent to pass away peacefully. He is soon joined by Marius and Cosette, where he finally offloads the burden of his past to his daughter. With the spirit of departed friend Fantine at his side, he ascends to the holy barricade of heaven where he can sing to his heart's content. Given that pretty much every other death sequence in the film is remarkably bleak, Valjean's ending is a nice farewell to a life fulfilled.