Compassion for animals in laboratories is not "sentimentality"; it goes hand-in-hand with compassion for humans, both of which would be served by leaving cruel and demonstrably unnecessary monkey experiments behind in favour of truly humane and human-relevant science.
The story could easily have gone awry but never belly-flops into sentimentality – its feelgood factor is earned.
It is such a difficult tone to strike but Payne manages it with grace and charm, never dipping into sentimentality.
Even 1990s Steven Spielberg would be embarrassed by the level of sentimentality, and Steven Price's this-is-where-you-cry score certainly doesn't help in this regard.
Robin Gardner West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire Your editorial concludes with a chilling phrase: "... that urge to understand which seems uniquely human should triumph over sentimentality and fear".
Other than depictions of the nativity, there is no work of art that has furnished society so comprehensively with what we now think of as Christmas: the generosity of spirit, the personal rebirth through reflection, the gaucheness and sentimentality, even saying "Merry Christmas" to one another.
Ange Postecoglou has shown an invigorating lack of sentimentality in cutting the golden generation loose.
No sentimentality, no entitlement, no fuss, but – most likely – some regal flicks out of midfield and a couple of battling headers along the way.
Which has meant creating an ethos of gross sentimentality and predatory bullying.
There is no room for sentimentality: it's simply about moving forward, about next year's spreadsheet.
Words and analysis did not seem to be his natural medium: rather, he combined a phenomenal musical instinct and formidable emotional control – precluding, in his earlier playing, sentimentality or bombast – with physical gifts of a very rare order.
