While it is powerful, you have to admit they are trying to manipulate the audience emotionally. Using a father and young daughter as the ones left behind, rather than a father and young son. It'd be interesting to see how the dialogue would've come off had they had a different kid in the role. Particularly the bit about wanting a new car. Using a long-haired girl and putting a bow in her hair is also designed to get a specific reaction from the audience that they wouldn't get with a short-haired butch tomboy. To borrow an incident from my fantasy novel, i'm only surprised that they didn't put her in a pink satin dress with white underskirt.
