I love and adore Don Bluth's Thumbelina with all my heart and soul. No question. It's cute, it's fun, it's romantic, it's funny, there's singing, and it all wraps up in a big happy ending. It is my feel-good movie, and I will fight anyone who badmouths it.

However, even I can't help but notice a few moments where the happy ending could have come just a bit sooner if the characters (mostly Thumbelina) had done just one little something different.

This is also a chance for me to really get into the minds of some of the characters, which may be played upon in another story.

So here are 5 "what if" instances, starting from the end of the movie to the beginning, that I feel could have gone differently.

Absently twisting the ring on her finger, Thumbelina stood behind the curtains, waiting for her cue from the organist. She was determined not to get cold feet now, moments before her wedding. She wished her mother was here, but Thumbelina could go visit her in the spring, right? That's what Ms. Field-mouse had said, and she owed Ms. Field-mouse so much already. Saving her from the cold, feeding and housing her, setting up her wedding to Mr. Mole, Thumbelina should've been grateful and happy.

Cornelius would have wanted her to be happy, right?

Cornelius… The name shot through her heart, warming and clenching it at the same time. Just then, the organist played her cue and the curtain rose. Thumbelina took once last glance at her ring before covering it with her other hand and started the wedding march.

But as she walked, her mind was still stuck on her late beloved. Happening to look to her right, Thumbelina saw her reflection in the glass and could easily picture Cornelius standing next to it, singing their song.

Let me be your wings,

Let me be your only love,

Let me take far beyond the stars…

"Uh, Mr. Mole. Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?" The voice of the priest snapped Thumbelina out of her trance, and she whirled back to the front to resume walking. She only made it a few more paces before the urge to look at her ring again beckoned to her like a siren's song.

The emerald gem reminded her of Cornelius' eyes so strongly that Thumbelina could have sworn that his face was part of its shine, and their song echoed in her head.

Let me be your wings,

Let me lift you high above,

Everything we're dreaming of

will soon be ours…

"Ahem. I do." Struggling, Thumbelina tore her eyes from her ring at Mr. Mole's voice only for the melting wax in the candle to grab her attention, the vision of her prince already there singing his heart out to her.

Anything that you desire,

Anything at all…

"And Thumbelina, do you take this Mole to be your lawful wedded husband?" But Thumbelina was still too deep in memories to fully acknowledge the priest. Images of Cornelius and their night together rolled through her head before a particularly vivid one played out.

"Do not forget me?" Thumbelina begged as she took her new necklace off and gently placed it around Cornelius' neck. She was terrified of waking up and discovering this was all a dream, or worse, Cornelius waking tomorrow morning and thinking it was just a dream. She wasn't sure she'd be able to live if he forgot about this night, though she knew she'd never be able to forget. Thumbelina wanted this moment to last forever.

Cornelius' eyes softened and filled with love as he looked at his new accessory. "'Forget-Me-Not's," he breathed, before remembering the royal ring on his finger. "Oh, I'll never forget you," he vowed as he took the ring off and slipped it on her left ring finger. A perfect fit. "Never."

"Never, never," Thumbelina replied, and they leaned into each other, the gap between their lips shrinking…

"Speak up!" The voice of the priest prompting her broke through her trance once more, but Thumbelina's heart was decided. She simply couldn't follow through with this wedding. If she married without love, her life would be empty and meaningless.

And this mole, no matter how rich he was, could never gain her heart and love.

"Never," she murmured.

"I beg your pardon?" the priest gasped, startled. He'd performed weddings for years, and he was sure that wasn't in the script.

Thumbelina looked up at the priest, emboldened by finally being able to speak for herself since she was kidnapped. "Never!" she repeated, her voice growing in intensity. "I cannot marry Mr. Mole. I don't love him!"

Suddenly, she glanced over to said mole. He looked thunderstruck and a little hurt, and Thumbelina's intensity softened. Though Mr. Mole was greedy, vain, ugly, and a rather horrid person altogether, he had been nice to her, cared about her, and had just wanted her companionship. She supposed that he did deserve a proper explanation.

Placing her hand on his arm, Thumbelina spoke kindly yet firmly, "I'm sorry Mr. Mole, but we are just too different. You are a creature of riches and the dark. I will always be yearning for nature and the sun every single day, and no amount of jewels or gold can ever change that. And I know now that I could never marry someone who doesn't hold my heart. You are a good mole, so you deserve better than a girl who cannot love you."

Mr. Mole bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I understand," he murmured. "I won't hold you here if you do not wish to be."

Beaming, Thumbelina gave Mr. Mole a brief hug before running back down the aisle to head for the surface. Halfway down the aisle though, Grundel the toad burst through the ceiling with a yell and landed right in front of Thumbelina. "You!" she gasped. The toad from the family who kidnapped her! The one she was almost forced to marry!

"I marry her!" Grundel proclaimed proudly, holding his arms out as if he expected her to happily leap into them.

However, hearing those words again filled Thumbelina with more anger and frustration than she'd ever felt in her life. In fact, the look on her face caused Grundel's smile to vanish and his arms to droop a little, confusion and fear flashing across his face.

Stomping right up in his face, Thumbelina shouted, "Why won't you just leave me alone! You've been following me this entire time, all in the hope that I'd marry you! You never even thought that maybe I didn't want you? I ran at the thought of being your wife!" Tears pricked her eyes as she grew quieter, though just as angry. "The only man I'll ever love is dead because your mother kidnapped me! So I no marry you, I go home!"

With that, Thumbelina pushed Grundel out of her way and marched down the aisle. The toad fell onto his butt, too stunned and terrified to even think of following her.

Finally making it out from the church, Thumbelina began retracing the path to Ms. Fieldmouse's home in her head, planning on changing out of her silly wedding dress and going up outside. However, her path was obstructed once again by none other than Mr. Beetle.

"Hiya, toots!" he proclaimed, grinning toothily. Thumbelina, still angry from seeing Grundel again, had zero tolerance for Mr. Beetle's antics at the moment.

"I'm not your toots!" she snapped, glaring at him. "I don't know what you're doing here, but I really don't care! You forced me to be part of your stupid ball, embarrassed me in front of an audience, and called me ugly, so I never want to see you again! Now get out of my way and don't ever come near me again!"

Mr. Beetle, being a very big coward, quickly scurried far to the side, muttering apologies as he moved. Thumbelina, satisfied, continued down the path, ripping off the frilly collar on her neck and reaching up to undo her hair as she went to help placate her anger a little.

Hair down and anger gone, Thumbelina strolled down the path that she remembered led to Ms. Fieldmouse's burrow. Daydreaming about the possibility of the sun being out again, she didn't even notice Gnatty the Jitterbug until he flew right into her. Startled, Thumbelina looked down to see Gnatty hugging her waist with all his might.

"Thumbelina!" he cried, ecstatic. "We've been looking all over for you! I almost thought we'd never find you in these tunnels, but I remembered Jaquimo telling us to just follow our hearts, so I did, and I found you!"

"Gnatty!" Thumbelina laughed, hugging him back. "Take a moment to breathe! I've missed you so much. Where's Li'l Bee and Baby Bug? They are with you, right?"

Gnatty blinked for a moment, then let go of Thumbelina to fly a bit further down the tunnel. "Oh yeah, they're down this way!" Turning to the darkness ahead, Gnatty shouted as loud as he could, "HEY GUYS! I FOUND HER! I FOUND THUMBELINA!"

Cries of relief and the fluttering of wings was what Thumbelina heard from the darkness as she waited with excitement at the thought of seeing her friends again.

The very last thing she expected to see as well was Cornelius, alive and well, flying from the darkness to land next to Gnatty. She could hardly believe her eyes, and was in such a state of shock that she didn't even notice the Jitterbugs hovering next to her.

"You," she breathed, tears beginning to run down her face. "It's you. Cornelius, you're alive!"

And with that, the two ran for each other, and collided into such an embrace that one would think they were trying to mold into a single being. They took a moment to look into each other's eyes, before connecting into the sweetest and most loving kiss the world had ever known.

I hope you enjoyed! A review would be greatly appreciated.