Puppy love

The significant moment for me takes place when Tallahassee spills his feelings to the other main characters by revealing that his son was killed by zombies. Early on when we are introduced to Tallahassee, he says he had a puppy that was killed by the zombies, and laugh-out-loud ridiculous shots of Tallahassee pampering a cute puppy adorn the screen as Columbus imagines the rough, tough Tallahassee cuddling an animal. What's more, the audience isn't even tipped off that this moment is a significant one, other than the fact that in Columbus's narration, he says that Tallahassee hates zombies for some reason, even moreso than most normal people would hate zombies, in fact. And on top of that, the next scene shows Tallahassee's love for Twinkies. This scene is so ridiculous that the audience's attention shifts to the humorous idea of a badass with a Twinkie fetish. Furthermore, the scene that takes place before Tallahassee's big reveal is perhaps the funniest part of the whole movie, courtesy of Bill Effin' Murray. So when Tallahassee brings up his dead puppy again and says his puppy had his laugh and his voice, I couldn't help but laugh when I first saw this. But right when Columbus realizes that Tallahassee's "puppy" is actually a son, I realized I had been had. This moment suddenly makes the movie have a serious backbone. We as audience members now have a reason for all four main characters, with Tallahassee in particular, to survive. The scene reminds us how precious their old lifes were and how precious life is in general. So when Tallahassee bravely diverts the attention of the majority of the zombies at Pacific Playland, we want him to survive even moreso than just any normal human. Even badasses like Tallahassee have hearts and weaknesses (other than Twinkies).

This scene sharply contrasts the introduction to the film--were you expecting an emotional moment like this?