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[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hitchhikers_guide_to_the_galaxy_movie.jpg]]

->''"So long and thanks for all the fish, so sad it had to come to this. We tried to warn you all but oh, dear..."''

For two decades, a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptation]] of Creator/DouglasAdams's ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' rotted in Main/DevelopmentHell. But in 2003, pre-production began, and in 2005, an all-out big-budget feature film rolled out to theaters, directed by Creator/GarthJennings and featuring an AllStarCast.

The film's plot starts off following the story of [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1 the first book]]/[[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy radio series.]] However like every other adaptation of the material, it diverges sharply not too far in. This time, the divergence is far sharper than any before, but this was done intentionally by Adams himself (who thought of making Humma Kavula the BigBad, the face-paddling scene, and the POV gun entirely on his own.) This film is also the farthest adaptation to date, even going so far as to have [[RapidFireComedy broad humor more akin to family films, and some American sensibilities]].

Where the other versions go straight to Magrathea, the movie takes a side-trip to Viltvodle VI, where we meet the guy Zaphod beat to become President, and the quest for the mysterious [[StealthPun "POV Ray"]] is engaged upon. Originally, Zaphod was trying to find the true ruler of the universe, but here he's just as shallow as he seems. There's also the home planet of the Vogons, the focus on Arthur and Trillian as a couple, the location of the ending and the way the good guys win...

----
!!So long, and thanks for all the tropes:

* AchievementsInIgnorance: When Zaphod's given manual control to evade the missiles, he somehow manages to ''brake'' in space.
* AdaptationDeviation: The film follows the novel's plot in BroadStrokes, and adds some new scenes.
* AdaptationExpansion:
** The laser blade toaster, point of view gun, Humma Kavula, and the Galactic High Chancellor are introduced.
** Viltvodle VI is explored further where it was a short description in the book.
** In addition to calculating the answer, Deep Thought has been spending time watching cartoons.
* AdaptationalContextChange:
** Arthur remarks that he's already met Zaphod, but here it is not so improbable to the audience as the sequence of events are presented in chronological order.
** Deep Thought has spent time not only attempting to answer the question, but has also been watching cartoons.
** Deep Thought is shaped more like a computer monitor, with a structure resembling an arm to support its chin at the base of the monitor. In the book, Deep Thought is more of a straightforward super computer.
** Viltvodle VI is described as a culture of small blue beings in the book, but here it is visited by the crew and inhabited by multiple alien life forms, including an entire church inhabited by humanoids who follow the religion of the Great Green Arkleseizure. The crew visits their religious leader, Humma Kavula, who demands they find the Point-of-View gun.
** Frankie and Benjy the mice are the Deep Thought programmers Lunkwill and Fook in disguise, and are killed by Arthur. In the book, they are not related, have no ulterior motive, and do not attempt to lobotomize Arthur.
** Gag Halfrunt is quoted in the book. Here, he is shown on a monitor, acting a little different.
** Zaphod is the Galactic President in the book, but there is no Vice President Questular Rontok in the novel.
** The Point-of-View gun and toaster knife are exclusive to the movie. The scene with the point of view gun being used on Arthur, Zaphod and Trillian is not in the book.
** The restaurant at the end of the universe is at the end of the universe in terms of distance, not time.
* AdaptationalVillainy:
** The inhabitants of Viltvodle VI are benign blue beings in the book. Here, they have a more fanatical religion with a creepy cult leader who may not be the most trustworthy.
** Lunkwill and Fook are Deep Thought programmers searching for the answer. Here, they are disguised as the mice Frankie and Benjy, and want to remove Arthur's brain.
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: Ford approaches Arthur with a shopping trolley filled with cans of beer and packets of peanuts. In the book he explains that these are necessary for combatting TeleportationSickness but not here. With teleportation not being mentioned, we also aren't told how Arthur and Ford got on board the Vogon ship.
* AnAesop / AuthorTract: Something that Douglas Adams said himself is repeated by Slartibartfast. It comes off as the smartest thing stated in the film.
-->'''Slartibartfast:''' Perhaps I'm old and tired, but I think that the chances of finding out what's actually going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say, "Hang the sense of it," and keep yourself busy. I'd much rather be happy than right any day.
-->'''Arthur:''' And are you?
-->'''Slartibartfast:''' ''(self deprecatingly)'' Ah, no. ''(snorts a giggle)'' Well, that's where it all falls down, of course.
* AlternateNumberSystem: Vogons write numbers in base 1, meaning 1,000 would be written as a thousand ones.
* AnswerCut: When Trillian asks [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough who could've]] signed the order to destroy Earth. Cut to Zaphod grinning like an idiot with a thinking cap.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Trish [=McMillian=] shortened her name to "Trillian" because it sounded "spacey".
%% Art Shift shouldn't be confused with Medium Shift Gag; entirely different tropes.
* AsceticAesthetic: The Heart Of Gold.
* AstronomicZoom: The scene does an astronomic zoom out leading into the EarthShatteringKaboom. It does this with camera jumps with every "beat" of the music. All [[OverlyLongGag fifty-five]].
* AttackOfThePoliticalAd: It's mentioned that Zaphod Beeblebrox became president only after surviving his opponent Humma Kavula's vicious "Don't Vote for Stupid" campaign. Kavula would later claim Beeblebrox only won because people thought they were voting for the "Universe's Worst-Dressed Sentient Being."
* AudibleSharpness: Ford's towel produces this when pulled out in the scene where they meet Marvin for the first time.
* BadVibrations: The cup on Arthur's table shakes violently and falls off due to the drilling outside the house.
* BalefulPolymorph: Happens briefly to the main cast a couple of times, courtesy of the Infinite Improbability Drive.
-->'''Arthur:''' Ford... I think I'm a sofa.
-->'''Ford:''' I know how you feel.
* BBCQuarry: Vogsphere.
* BigDamnHeroes:
** Marvin has one of these in the movie, in which he wipes out an entire Vogon army with one shot from the P.O.V Gun, making them all depressed like him. And this was after he was shot in the back of the head with a laser gun.
** Arthur '''tries''' to do this while rescuing Trillian from the Vogons, but [[spoiler:he bursts into the wrong building]].
* BookEnds: The film begins with dolphins leaving the planet (after a musical number) and ends with them returning to the new one.
* BrownNote: While it just seems to perplex Arthur Dent, judging by Ford's wickedly contorted facial expressions, Vogon poetry seems akin to electric torture.
* TheCameo:
** One scene features Simon Jones, the actor who played Arthur Dent in the original radio drama and TV versions of the series, as a pre-recorded Magrathean hologram.
** The last image of the entire movie is Creator/DouglasAdams.
** There's also Jason Schwartzman in a news report about Zaphod.
** The old woman who is reading a newspaper at the cafe after the Vogon announcement is played by Douglas Adams' mother.
** The TV version of Marvin appears in the queue on Vogsphere.
* CanonForeigner: Questular.
* CloudCuckooLander: Sam Rockwell's over-the-top portrayal of Zaphod. To his credit, he makes it hilarious.
-->'''Zaphod:''' In the name of people and democracy and, uh, stuff like that... heh heh... I hereby kidnap myself - and I'm taking the ship with me! Woo!
* CompositeCharacter: Lunkwill and Fook are also the mice Frankie and Benjy.
* ContrivedCoincidence: You can survive in outer space with lungs full of air for 30 seconds. The odds of being picked up within that time are 2 to the power of 2079460347 to 1 against, which by a staggering coincidence is also the telephone number of the Islington flat where Arthur went to a fancy dress party and blew it with Trillian.
** Arthur and Ford hitchhike onto a spaceship that happens to be run by a woman Arthur met at a party and who ran off with an alien. That alien happens to be Ford's cousin/half-brother AND the president of the galaxy. Coincidences are a ''huge'' theme in this franchise.
* DeadpanSnarker: Marvin, to the Nth degree.
-->'''Marvin:''' ''(grumbling)'' "Give me a hand." Ha, ha, stupid human.
* DeconstructorFleet: Both in the trope sense - sci-fi standards have no power here! - and also in the very literal sense of having a large fleet of de-constructors.
* DemotedToExtra: Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, the leader of the Vogons, has a small role in the film, specifically the destruction of Earth and the Vogon poetry.
* DenserAndWackier: A lot of the fundamental elements of the first book make it in, but are crowded together to make room for a largely original second act. New arrivals to the franchise may find some scenes sheer ''randomness'' - for instance, the Vogon Poetry session has lost pretty much all foreshadowing and explanation.
* DisneyDeath: During the climax Marvin gets shot in the back of the head by the Vogons. He collapses onto the ground and his eyelights extinguish leading everyone to assume he's dead. A few minutes later he reboots and turns the P.O.V. Gun on the Vogons.
* DivingSave: When Arthur Dent first meets Ford, Ford is standing in the middle of the road trying to greet an approaching car. Arthur runs over and pulls him out of the way, saving his life.
* DontExplainTheJoke: A variation. Slartibartfast takes a bit too much time trying to explain his threat.
* {{Eagleland}}: Mixed variety. Trillian is American (as she was on the TV version), whom Arthur adores, while Zaphod acts like a JerkAss American stereotype (not surprising considering he's played by Sam Rockwell). Ford, too, is a sympathetic American type of TheStoner variety. As the director commented, the only character who absolutely '''needed''' to remain British was Arthur.
** And really, given that Ford and Zaphod aren't even from Earth...
* EarthShatteringKaboom: Ironically, rather than a "terrible, ghastly noise" (as the book describes), the destruction of the Earth is silent (more like an earth ''imploding'' "zip").
* EmotionBomb: When Marvin uses the Point of View Gun in the climax, it ends up causing ''all'' of the Vogons to keel over in soul crushing depression.
* EscapePod: The gang have to fly to Vogsphere in one after mice disable The Heart Of Gold's engines. It looks like a racing car and seems to be capable of FasterThanLightTravel.
* EverythingIsAnIpodInTheFuture: Fitting considering Creator/DouglasAdams was allegedly the first[[note]] It's disputed between him and Creator/StephenFry[[/note]] man to buy an Apple computer in England.
** The Starship Heart of Gold.
** Also, [[MasterComputer Deep Thought]] is an [[http://i.imgur.com/ybPPO.png Apple product]].
** The film predates it[[note]] predates Apple tablets, anyhow. Microsoft debuted a tablet PC running XP in 2002[[/note]], but the Guide itself is basically a tablet.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Lampshaded.
--> '''Book:''' The Point-Of-View gun, conveniently, does ''precisely'' what its name suggests. That is, if you point it at someone and pull the trigger, they instantly see things from your point of view.
* ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation: In the trailer, the Guide fell into this a bit. For the film, its UI was changed to a more minimalist, flat-graphics style.
* EyeLightsOut: Played straight, then inverted by Marvin.
* FakeOutOpening: The film actually has ''two'' title sequences. If you excised the entire dolphin musical number, there would be no loss, except for a damned catchy song.
* FedToTheBeast: The Vogons try to execute Trillian by feeding her to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.
* FlyAtTheCameraEnding: The movie ends with The Heart of Gold flying at the camera and engaging its Infinite Improbability Drive.
* FollowTheBouncingBall: The DVD of the movie includes a sing-along version of the "So Long, and Thanks for All The Fish" song with a bouncing ''dolphin'', naturally.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Arthur's costume at the party is Dr. Livingstone, the famed explorer.
* FreezeFrameBonus: When Arthur is standing in the middle of the wreckage of his house with the Vogon ships above him, you can see a newspaper on the ground with a headline telling us about the dolphins vanishing from the Earth.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: After Ford explains to the barman that the Earth is going to be destroyed, as Ford leaves you can hear the barman call out "last orders then".
* GeckoEnding: Earth being rebuilt and restored to its pre-destruction state, which would eventually be revealed to have happened in ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'' but presumably would have taken much longer. Done despite obvious plans for a sequel, but especially fortunate given that it was cancelled.
* HairTriggerSoundEffect: The AstronomicZoom from the beginning of the film. FIFTY-FIVE jump cuts. FIFTY-FIVE dramatic stings.
* HumansAreMorons: We have always assumed that we were the most intelligent species occupying the planet, instead of the ''third'' most intelligent, behind mice and dolphins, the latter of whom curiously knew of the impending destruction of the planet Earth.
** Presumably all species regard humans as this for being so incredibly wrong about how they assume the universe works. It's also probably why they were never noticed as the dominant lifeforms (see Mistook the Dominant Lifeform).
* HumansAreSpecial: They're the key part of the planetary computer calculating the Ultimate Question.
* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:Arthur is offered the opportunity to return to a recreation of his home on Earth, exactly like he left it (well, without the imminent demolition by Prosser). He chooses to stay with Ford, Zaphod and Trillian and continue exploring the galaxy.]]
* IToldYouSo:
-->'''Marvin:''' I ''told'' you this would all end in tears.\\
'''Arthur:''' ''(high pitched {{Angrish}})'' DID YOU? ''DID YOU?''
* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Marvin objects to the order of "freeze" because he assumes he's meant to freeze something.
-->'''Marvin:''' Freeze? I'm a robot, not a refrigerator.
* ImmuneToMindControl: Marvin the Paranoid Android in the movie isn't attacked by the spade-shaped things on Vogsphere that rise from the ground and smack the other characters in the face whenever they have ideas. WordOfGod explains that this is a psychic creature that feeds on original thought, which is why the Vogons have evolved to be exceptionally dull, and thus become the bureaucrats of the galaxy. Presumably Marvin isn't affected because of his inorganic brain.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy. {{Lampshaded}} by Marvin. When the group is surrounded by blaster wielding Vogons, everyone takes cover except Marvin, who remarks that Vogons are the "worst marksmen in the galaxy." Then he is immediately shot in the back of the head.
* InAWorld: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGNcoB2Y4I trailer]] was narrated by the titular ''Guide'', and formatted in the style of an official Guide entry on movie trailers, spoken by Creator/StephenFry in a pleasant BBC-announcer voice, except for when he says that "trailers often employ '''''[[Creator/DonLaFontaine a deep voice]], that sounds like a seven foot tall man who's been smoking cigarettes since childhood.''''' (clears throat as he returns to normal)." It consisted of one continuous LampshadeHanging and parody of science fiction action movie tropes.
--> "Often, this section is preceded by the words, 'In a world' ...[earth explodes] but sometimes not."
--> "The goal is to provide a piece of advertising that is original and exciting, yet intelligent and provocative - in other words: [[StuffBlowingUp lots of things blowing up]]." ''(cue rapid series of clips of explosions from other films)''
--> "Occasionally interrupted by [[MsFanservice a girl in a bikini]]."
* InhumanEyeConcealers: Humma Kavula wears very thick glasses with welding goggle-like rims that completely hide his eyes when in profile. In the middle of a conversation with Zaphod, he very casually begins cleaning them, revealing that his "eyes" are actually holograms projected onto the lenses; to Zaphod's shock, Kavula's real eyes are just sunken black pits in his face.
* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Want to know why the Vogons all share an IdiotBall? Ford closes a knee-high white picket gate on the Vogons, who moan they have to go the ''other'' way around, thanks to their being extremely LawfulStupid. Note that he locks the gate by reaching over to ''their'' side and locking it.
* InternalReveal: Trillian learns Earth was destroyed, and that it was because of Zaphod signed the approval for its destruction thinking they want his autograph. Arthur was there but kept it a secret from Trillian (partly under threat by Zaphod), then found out the truth from Trillian after they rescued her. Even Zaphod didn't know what he'd done until Trillian called him out.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Zaphod for most of the film.
* JerkassRealization: Zaphod thanks to the POV gun. It's telling that his behavior and treatment of the others gets better after he's shot with it.
-->'''Zaphod:''' ''(sadly)'' Oh, babydoll...
* KarmaHoudini: Zaphod was responsible for the destruction of Earth just because he's so mindblowingly dumb that he didn't bother reading a destruction permit before signing it. Besides a couple of slaps from Trillian and a JerkassRealization, he had absolutely no repercussions for it, and got a happy ending.
* LampshadeHanging: Ford is played in an American accent by American actor Mos Def; his mentioning having come "not from Guildford after all" (albeit from Brooklyn, rather than a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse) takes on a slightly surreal edge presumably unintended by Adams. Later, Arthur mentions wondering about Ford's atypical accent.
* LaserCutter: For slicing and toasting bread at the same time. With Star Wars lightsaber effects. They actually got royalties from Lucas to use them.
* LightBulbJoke: One of the questions Arthur proposes to the answer JustForFun/FortyTwo is "How many Vogons does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
* TheLoad: Zaphod spends the latter half of the movie somewhere between this, TheMillstone, and vaguely useful, because he's missing one of his heads. Ford actually has to drag him around in one or two scenes. Also, when they're getting shot at, he apparently thinks it's a dance party. Fortunately, Vogon soldiers make even the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy look good by comparison.
* LoveTriangle: Arthur, Trillian, and Zaphod; this was a background element in other versions, but is pushed to the forefront here.
* LyricalDissonance: The last ever dolphin message was misinterpreted as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt to do a double backward somersault through a hoop while whistling the Star-Spangled Banner, when in fact the message was this: "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish." Cue a very upbeat and catchy tune with a choir singing about the impending destruction of the Earth. "The world's about to be destroyed / There's no point getting all annoyed / Lie back and let the planet dissolve around you"
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Trillian, as played by Creator/ZooeyDeschanel. [[spoiler: Deconstructed later when she realizes the "boring" [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Arthur cares far more for her than the spontaneous Zaphod.]]]]
* MassOhCrap: "Um, people of Earth, this is Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council. As you are probably aware, plans for the development of the outlying regions of the Galaxy involve the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system. And your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition." We are shown shots of various locations around the world that show that ''every single person'' is screaming in terror, except for one serene woman who sips her tea.
-->'''Jeltz:''' There’s no point in acting all surprised about it. The plans and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for '''fifty''' Earth years. If you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Apathetic bloody planet. I've no sympathy at all.
* MatchingBadGuyVehicles: The Vogon fleet is composed of identical black ships. They're yellow in the novel.
* MatterReplicator: As well as the infamous Nutrimat, Trillian shows Arthur a machine you can stick your face into and it will instantly create whatever food you're craving.
* MediumShiftGag: After the Infinite Improbability Drive is used to jump to Viltvodle VI, everything is animated in stop motion yarn for a few seconds. Arthur gets nauseous, and the art cuts back to live action just as he vomits a yarn ball, leaving him with a yarn thread sticking out of his teeth.
* {{Meganekko}}: [[http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kzg5lw0zha1qat0bfo1_500.png Trillian]].
* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Zaphod unwittingly signs the order to destroy the Earth, thinking he was signing an autograph.]]
* MillionToOneChance: The S.S. ''Heart of Gold'' has an Infinite Improbability Drive which causes MillionToOneChance events to occur all the time. Not just Million to One, infinity to one, hence the name of the drive. Of course, ''which'' extremely improbable outcome you get... It was a plot device Adams conceived when he realized he'd worked the original story into a point where he was stuck and needed a [[DeusExMachina quick resolution]].
* MistookTheDominantLifeform: In reference to the original stories, we see a flashback of how Arthur first met Ford: he pushed him out of the way as he tried to shake hands with an oncoming car (an actual Ford Prefect), having thought cars were the dominant life form on Earth.
* ModestyTowel: Trillian is about to emerge from a shower when she asks Arthur for a towel, adding to the already well-established Most Versatile Object in the Universe gag.
* MultipleHeadCase: Zaphod Beeblebrox's second head.
* MythologyGag:
** Using "Journey of the Sorcerer" (the original radio[=/=]TV InstrumentalThemeTune) in the film; casting Simon Jones (Arthur Dent from the TV series) as the voice -- and face -- of the Magrathean security system; Zaphod accidentally referring to Ford as "Ix"; the Vogons sitting on fawns and smashing crabs.
** In the FlashbackCut of Arthur and Ford's first meeting, we see Ford stepping out into the street to "shake hands" with an oncoming car, having [[MistookTheDominantLifeform assumed that they're the dominant species on Earth]]. The car is a Ford Prefect, from which Ford got his name (a joke that was infamously LostInTranslation, as the Prefect was sold only in England).
** There's a Hyper-intelligent shade of Blue present in the first Deep Thought scene. [[spoiler:Look to the left of the gates when they're opened.]]
** When he finds his friends under fire on Viltvodle VI, Ford Prefect lets rip with "Belgium", which AsYouKnow is widely regarded as the rudest word in the galaxy.
** Ford mutters "Belgium" as a curse in a few other scenes as well.
** The teaser trailer features the song "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, which was used in the closing credits of the last episode of the radio broadcast and the TV series.
** There ''is'' a Restaurant at the End of the Universe - if you're feeling peckish. Make sure you travel in the right direction, though. In one direction is that restaurant, in the other is the Big Bang Burger Bar.
** The Vogon guard who grabs Ford and Arthur telling them [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration "Resistance is useless."]]
** Arthur asking Trillian if Zaphod "has two more of anything else?" is a reference to the Zaphod costume from the TV series being designed to look like he has [[GagPenis just that.]]
** Marvin from the original TV series can be seen at the Vogsphere queue; Arthur even takes a DoubleTake while passing him.
** The Guide's advice on what to do when you have no hope of rescue from being eaten by a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal is the same advice it gives when you're stuck under a boulder from the radio series.
** At the very end, when the ''Heart Of Gold'' flashes through several shapes via its Infinite Improbability Drive, the very last shape it assumes is that of Creator/DouglasAdams's face.
* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: Arthur introduces himself several times as, "Dent. Arthur Dent." Which leads Slartibartfast to comment, "Late, as in the late Dentarthurdent."
* NeverTrustATrailer: One of the trailers is set up as the Guide's entry on movie trailers, detailing tricks such as the inclusion of shots of violent explosions and scantily clad women which do not appear in the actual movie, implying the movie would be more clever.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: "Vogons are one of the most unpleasant races in the Galaxy. Not evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous. They wouldn't even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without orders - signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters. '''On no account should you allow a Vogon to read poetry at you.'''"
* OffWithHisHead: Surgical variant when Humma Kavula takes one of Zaphod Beeblebrox's heads as collateral before their trip to Magrathea.
* OhCrap:
** "Oh, ''bollocks''!"
** Questular [[spoiler: when she sees Marvin aiming the P.O.V. gun in her direction. Then he fires it at the Vogons, defeating them by giving them all his depressed views.]]
* OverlyLongGag:
** Right before the Earth is destroyed by the Vogons, we get an AstronomicZoom that goes from ground level to seeing the entire earth in a dramatic series of ''fifty-five'' jump-cuts. With every single beat.
** Also the sequence on-board the first Vogon constructor when a microphone is dropped down to Jeltz that comes from the ceiling of the shaft in the middle of the ship, EXTREMELY high up.
* PlanetOfHats: The Vogons are a race of [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Obstructive Bureaucrats]].
* PoorCommunicationKills: The dolphins made many attempts to alert mankind to the impending destruction of the planet Earth, but most of these attempts were misinterpreted as amusing attempts to punch footballs or whistle for tidbits. So they eventually decided that they would leave Earth by their own means. The last ever dolphin message was seen as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt at a double backwards somersault through a hoop while whistling the Star Spangled Banner, when in fact the message was this: "So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish."
* ThePowerOfLove: Subverted:
-->'''Lunkwill:''' Rubbish, we don't want to be happy, we want to be famous!\\
'''Fook:''' Yeah! What is all this "is she the one" tripe?\\
'''Lunkwill:''' Take his brain!
** However, Trillian disagrees. Even in a deep haze, she manages to mumble, "That's a good answer."
* PragmaticAdaptation: Zaphod's second head and third arm are made infinitely discreet, so that 1) Zaphod could visit Earth without anyone taking a second glance, and 2) It looks too goofy in practice, and allowed Sam Rockwell to act without having to deal with extra prosthetics.
* ProfaneLastWords: The Mice, after Arthur gets free of his restraints, manage to utter, "Oh, [[KilledMidSentence boll-]]"
* PromotedToLoveInterest: Trillian, aka Trish [=McMillan=].
* PunchClockVillain: Invoked ''literally'' by the Vogon as [[spoiler: Zaphod and crew escape the Vogsphere, the Vogon President [[ItMakesSenseInContext takes a bit of crab to the face]]. He then decides to lead the hunt for Zaphod "personally", but is interrupted by the whistles announcing lunch. All the Vogon immediately stop working, giving the heroes at least an hour headstart. The Vogons may be all about revenge for slights, but ''won't'' work through lunch!]]
* RaceLift:
** Ford Prefect is now played by a black American. The director/producers figured since Ford is an alien it doesn't really matter what his race is. It makes Arthur's comment "So, you're ''not'' from Guildford", and remarking Ford's accent was sort of off, even funnier.
** Trillian, who was AmbiguouslyBrown in the books, is white in the film.
* Really700YearsOld: Lunkwill and Fook are at ''least'' 17.5 million years old.
* RetractableAppendages: Zaphod has a second head that retracts from his chest once in awhile. He also has a third arm that doesn't quite ''retract'', but which he holds across his body so it looks like he's wearing a sash most of the time.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: A crab sees the ship crash land on the Vogon homeworld. It starts running towards it, jumping, and saying "yeah!" It got too close and got crushed by the opening door.
* RightOnQueue: "I'm British; I know how to queue."
* RobotBuddy: As usual Marvin is a DeconstructiveParody of this trope.
* SavedForTheSequel: Attempted with Humma Kavula. The Point of View Gun was clearly setting up a plot where he tries to brainwash everyone in the galaxy and take Zaphod's place. Too bad there won't be a second movie to make these things worthwhile.
* SceneryPorn: The Magratheans' planet factory floor.
* SedgwickSpeech:
--> '''Marvin''': I don't know what all the fuss is about, Vogons are the worst marksmen in the galaxy. [''Zap''] Ow.
* SevenMinuteLull: Arthur suffers one during the flashback to the party where Arthur and Trillian met. Arthur is criticizing the other party-goers for not recognizing her costume (Charles Darwin), and ends up blurting out "All these people are idiots!" when the [[RecordNeedleScratch record player gets bumped]].
* SexyShirtSwitch: The first time we see Trillian (outside of the party flashback) is aboard the Heart of Gold where she's wearing a shirt with an extra sleeve draped around the neck, obviously one of Zaphod's.
* ShackleSeatTrap: The mice trap Arthur in one when he meets them and the others in [[spoiler: his house on Earth Mk. 2.]]
* ShoutOut:
** The [[StarWars lightsabre]] toasters, complete with authentic Lucas sound effects.
** The ''Heart of Gold's'' dropships are a direct reference to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.
** The original Marvin from the TV series makes a cameo appearance, playing an anonymous robot in a queue.
** The commentary on the DVD claims that one of the actresses who played Trillian prior to the film appears in place of the usual boozehound during the scene in the Bar and Groom. Whether this is [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Susan Sheridan]] or [[Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Sandra Dickinson]] is not made clear.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: Zaphod wants to "[[Theatre/TheTempest trip the light fantastic]]" with Questular.
* ShowerScene: Trillian has a (notably chaste, from-the-shoulders-up) one after she was spattered with the saliva of a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast.
* SinisterGeometry: The ships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet are rectilinear, [[MythologyGag riffing off the line]] about how "they hung in the air the way [[{{Dissimile}} bricks didn't]]."
* SpheroidDropship: The movie has a lot of fun with this trope.
* SpiderLimbs: Humma Kavula.
* StaggeredZoom: The movie used this as the camera zooms out past the Vogon ships at the beginning. [[OverlyLongGag And zooms. And zooms. And zooms...]]
* StiffUpperLip: You can see Creator/DouglasAdams' mother sitting outside a cafe reading a paper even as the world ends. [[spoiler:And is equally stoic when the world is remade -- as if expecting it would be a minor inconvenience at best.]]
* StuffBlowingUp: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGNcoB2Y4I trailer]], framed as the Hitchhiker's Guide entry on movie trailers, notes "the goal is to create a piece of advertising that is original and exciting, yet intelligent and provocative. In other words: lots of things blowing up, ''[cue montage of movie explosions]'' occasionally interrupted [[MsFanservice by a girl in a bikini]]."
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeaM1MtXwJQ Zaphod's ad campaign]]:
-->Zaphod Beeblebrox for President, building bridges between the stars\\
[[BlatantLies In no way is he stupid, in no way is his brain impaired]]\\
It's just not true, [[TakeThat he's smarter than you - and he's better looking too]]
* TheStoner: Ford, though subtle.
* TemptingFate: The moment Marvin remarks that Vogons are "the worst marksmen in the Universe", BoomHeadshot.
-->'''Marvin:''' Oof. ''{{{beat}}}'' [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction Now I have a headache]]. ''(collapses)''
* ThoughtAversionFailure: Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox have finally caught on to the fact that while they're on the plains of Vogsphere, paddle creatures stick up and hit you in the face every time you think something. Ford declares "Okay, don't think. Nobody think. No ideas, no theories, no nothing." {{Beat}} and then everyone is swatted simultaneously.
* ThrownOutTheAirlock: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when the airlock door opens up from underneath them, instead of the opposing wall like it does with every other airlock scene like this.
* TrickedIntoSigning: The President of the Galaxy (the vain Zaphod Beeblebrox) signed the document authorizing the destruction of Earth while thinking he was giving an autograph -- though it's unclear whether someone deliberately tricked him, or if he's just that dim and just assumed it was an autograph.
* UngratefulBitch: Trillian, after the rest came to rescue her. Though this is justified, since she found out that Zaphod is the reason Earth was destroyed. Although she's also angry at Arthur for not telling her about it, and becomes exasperated by his spinelessness when he explain that Zaphod threatened him if he told her.
* UnusualEuphemism:
** In-universe, Arthur thinks Zaphod's exclamations of "Humma Kavula!" are a strange curse word.
** Arthur also thinks Zaphod wanting to show Trillian his spaceship is sexy innuendo as well.
** While not explained in the film, "Belgium" is the most offensive word in the entire galaxy. Ford uses it as a curse a few times.
* VomitIndiscretionShot: Done very cleverly after they use the Infinite Improbability Drive while they are all knit figures. Knit Arthur goes over to a trash can and lets loose a giant load of multicolored yarn. Once they go back to normal, you can see him pulling out more yarn.
* WhamLine: When Slartibartfast announces they're going to start up Earth 2.0.
-->'''Slartibartfast:''' Is... you know... anything you want to change? Something... you think your planet... could do without?\\
''(Arthur gazes out over the restored English countryside.)''\\
'''Arthur:''' Yeah. [[spoiler:Me.]]
* WhatAnIdiot: [[invoked]]
** Zaphod, InUniverse. Just ask Humma's "Don't Vote For Stupid" campaign. Well, after all, the guy ''did'' sign the demolition orders for Earth thinking he was signing a fan autograph book.
** Lunkwill and Fook both think this of the Vogons for destroying Earth, since it was central to their plans of fame and fortune.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Zaphod has his third hand and second head surgically removed as collateral before going on the search for the POV Gun, but he never goes to get them back. See SavedForTheSequel.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: The ''Encyclopedia Galactica'', in its chapter on love, states that it is far too complicated to define. ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' has this to say on the subject of love: "Avoid, if at all possible." Unfortunately, Arthur Dent has never read the ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''.
* WhereItAllBegan: The climax of the film takes place in Arthur's (reconstructed) home on Earth (2.0).
* WhileRomeBurns: When the earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, an old lady can be seen calmly reading a newspaper while everyone around her panics. The old lady is Creator/DouglasAdams's mother making [[TheCameo a cameo appearance]]. Director Garth Jennings did not feel comfortable in giving her direction and, with no specific instructions on how to act in the scene, she just kept doing what she was doing while everyone panicked around her.
* WithholdingTheirName: PlayedForLaughs when Slartibartfast initially refuses to give his name [[UnfortunateNames because it's embarrassing]].
* WiperStart: On an escape pod for a space ship.
* WomenAreWiser: The Point of View Gun won't work on Trillian because she is "already a woman" and therefore naturally considerate. [[spoiler: A subversion is hinted at in the same scene when the POV gun forces Zaphod to think about how poorly Trillian treated Arthur for seeming "boring."]]
* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: At the end when Earth Mk. II's lifecycle is starting back up. This is in stark contrast to Douglas' earlier opinion on things. Ultimately subverted when it ends on a ''Film/{{Koyaanisqatsi}}''-like view of society. ''Nature'' is awesome. People are ... less awesome.
----

to:

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hitchhikers_guide_to_the_galaxy_movie.jpg]]

->''"So long and thanks for all the fish, so sad it had to come to this. We tried to warn you all but oh, dear..."''

For two decades, a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptation]] of Creator/DouglasAdams's ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' rotted in Main/DevelopmentHell. But in 2003, pre-production began, and in 2005, an all-out big-budget feature film rolled out to theaters, directed by Creator/GarthJennings and featuring an AllStarCast.

The film's plot starts off following the story of [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1 the first book]]/[[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy radio series.]] However like every other adaptation of the material, it diverges sharply not too far in. This time, the divergence is far sharper than any before, but this was done intentionally by Adams himself (who thought of making Humma Kavula the BigBad, the face-paddling scene, and the POV gun entirely on his own.) This film is also the farthest adaptation to date, even going so far as to have [[RapidFireComedy broad humor more akin to family films, and some American sensibilities]].

Where the other versions go straight to Magrathea, the movie takes a side-trip to Viltvodle VI, where we meet the guy Zaphod beat to become President, and the quest for the mysterious [[StealthPun "POV Ray"]] is engaged upon. Originally, Zaphod was trying to find the true ruler of the universe, but here he's just as shallow as he seems. There's also the home planet of the Vogons, the focus on Arthur and Trillian as a couple, the location of the ending and the way the good guys win...

----
!!So long, and thanks for all the tropes:

* AchievementsInIgnorance: When Zaphod's given manual control to evade the missiles, he somehow manages to ''brake'' in space.
* AdaptationDeviation: The film follows the novel's plot in BroadStrokes, and adds some new scenes.
* AdaptationExpansion:
** The laser blade toaster, point of view gun, Humma Kavula, and the Galactic High Chancellor are introduced.
** Viltvodle VI is explored further where it was a short description in the book.
** In addition to calculating the answer, Deep Thought has been spending time watching cartoons.
* AdaptationalContextChange:
** Arthur remarks that he's already met Zaphod, but here it is not so improbable to the audience as the sequence of events are presented in chronological order.
** Deep Thought has spent time not only attempting to answer the question, but has also been watching cartoons.
** Deep Thought is shaped more like a computer monitor, with a structure resembling an arm to support its chin at the base of the monitor. In the book, Deep Thought is more of a straightforward super computer.
** Viltvodle VI is described as a culture of small blue beings in the book, but here it is visited by the crew and inhabited by multiple alien life forms, including an entire church inhabited by humanoids who follow the religion of the Great Green Arkleseizure. The crew visits their religious leader, Humma Kavula, who demands they find the Point-of-View gun.
** Frankie and Benjy the mice are the Deep Thought programmers Lunkwill and Fook in disguise, and are killed by Arthur. In the book, they are not related, have no ulterior motive, and do not attempt to lobotomize Arthur.
** Gag Halfrunt is quoted in the book. Here, he is shown on a monitor, acting a little different.
** Zaphod is the Galactic President in the book, but there is no Vice President Questular Rontok in the novel.
** The Point-of-View gun and toaster knife are exclusive to the movie. The scene with the point of view gun being used on Arthur, Zaphod and Trillian is not in the book.
** The restaurant at the end of the universe is at the end of the universe in terms of distance, not time.
* AdaptationalVillainy:
** The inhabitants of Viltvodle VI are benign blue beings in the book. Here, they have a more fanatical religion with a creepy cult leader who may not be the most trustworthy.
** Lunkwill and Fook are Deep Thought programmers searching for the answer. Here, they are disguised as the mice Frankie and Benjy, and want to remove Arthur's brain.
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: Ford approaches Arthur with a shopping trolley filled with cans of beer and packets of peanuts. In the book he explains that these are necessary for combatting TeleportationSickness but not here. With teleportation not being mentioned, we also aren't told how Arthur and Ford got on board the Vogon ship.
* AnAesop / AuthorTract: Something that Douglas Adams said himself is repeated by Slartibartfast. It comes off as the smartest thing stated in the film.
-->'''Slartibartfast:''' Perhaps I'm old and tired, but I think that the chances of finding out what's actually going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say, "Hang the sense of it," and keep yourself busy. I'd much rather be happy than right any day.
-->'''Arthur:''' And are you?
-->'''Slartibartfast:''' ''(self deprecatingly)'' Ah, no. ''(snorts a giggle)'' Well, that's where it all falls down, of course.
* AlternateNumberSystem: Vogons write numbers in base 1, meaning 1,000 would be written as a thousand ones.
* AnswerCut: When Trillian asks [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough who could've]] signed the order to destroy Earth. Cut to Zaphod grinning like an idiot with a thinking cap.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Trish [=McMillian=] shortened her name to "Trillian" because it sounded "spacey".
%% Art Shift shouldn't be confused with Medium Shift Gag; entirely different tropes.
* AsceticAesthetic: The Heart Of Gold.
* AstronomicZoom: The scene does an astronomic zoom out leading into the EarthShatteringKaboom. It does this with camera jumps with every "beat" of the music. All [[OverlyLongGag fifty-five]].
* AttackOfThePoliticalAd: It's mentioned that Zaphod Beeblebrox became president only after surviving his opponent Humma Kavula's vicious "Don't Vote for Stupid" campaign. Kavula would later claim Beeblebrox only won because people thought they were voting for the "Universe's Worst-Dressed Sentient Being."
* AudibleSharpness: Ford's towel produces this when pulled out in the scene where they meet Marvin for the first time.
* BadVibrations: The cup on Arthur's table shakes violently and falls off due to the drilling outside the house.
* BalefulPolymorph: Happens briefly to the main cast a couple of times, courtesy of the Infinite Improbability Drive.
-->'''Arthur:''' Ford... I think I'm a sofa.
-->'''Ford:''' I know how you feel.
* BBCQuarry: Vogsphere.
* BigDamnHeroes:
** Marvin has one of these in the movie, in which he wipes out an entire Vogon army with one shot from the P.O.V Gun, making them all depressed like him. And this was after he was shot in the back of the head with a laser gun.
** Arthur '''tries''' to do this while rescuing Trillian from the Vogons, but [[spoiler:he bursts into the wrong building]].
* BookEnds: The film begins with dolphins leaving the planet (after a musical number) and ends with them returning to the new one.
* BrownNote: While it just seems to perplex Arthur Dent, judging by Ford's wickedly contorted facial expressions, Vogon poetry seems akin to electric torture.
* TheCameo:
** One scene features Simon Jones, the actor who played Arthur Dent in the original radio drama and TV versions of the series, as a pre-recorded Magrathean hologram.
** The last image of the entire movie is Creator/DouglasAdams.
** There's also Jason Schwartzman in a news report about Zaphod.
** The old woman who is reading a newspaper at the cafe after the Vogon announcement is played by Douglas Adams' mother.
** The TV version of Marvin appears in the queue on Vogsphere.
* CanonForeigner: Questular.
* CloudCuckooLander: Sam Rockwell's over-the-top portrayal of Zaphod. To his credit, he makes it hilarious.
-->'''Zaphod:''' In the name of people and democracy and, uh, stuff like that... heh heh... I hereby kidnap myself - and I'm taking the ship with me! Woo!
* CompositeCharacter: Lunkwill and Fook are also the mice Frankie and Benjy.
* ContrivedCoincidence: You can survive in outer space with lungs full of air for 30 seconds. The odds of being picked up within that time are 2 to the power of 2079460347 to 1 against, which by a staggering coincidence is also the telephone number of the Islington flat where Arthur went to a fancy dress party and blew it with Trillian.
** Arthur and Ford hitchhike onto a spaceship that happens to be run by a woman Arthur met at a party and who ran off with an alien. That alien happens to be Ford's cousin/half-brother AND the president of the galaxy. Coincidences are a ''huge'' theme in this franchise.
* DeadpanSnarker: Marvin, to the Nth degree.
-->'''Marvin:''' ''(grumbling)'' "Give me a hand." Ha, ha, stupid human.
* DeconstructorFleet: Both in the trope sense - sci-fi standards have no power here! - and also in the very literal sense of having a large fleet of de-constructors.
* DemotedToExtra: Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, the leader of the Vogons, has a small role in the film, specifically the destruction of Earth and the Vogon poetry.
* DenserAndWackier: A lot of the fundamental elements of the first book make it in, but are crowded together to make room for a largely original second act. New arrivals to the franchise may find some scenes sheer ''randomness'' - for instance, the Vogon Poetry session has lost pretty much all foreshadowing and explanation.
* DisneyDeath: During the climax Marvin gets shot in the back of the head by the Vogons. He collapses onto the ground and his eyelights extinguish leading everyone to assume he's dead. A few minutes later he reboots and turns the P.O.V. Gun on the Vogons.
* DivingSave: When Arthur Dent first meets Ford, Ford is standing in the middle of the road trying to greet an approaching car. Arthur runs over and pulls him out of the way, saving his life.
* DontExplainTheJoke: A variation. Slartibartfast takes a bit too much time trying to explain his threat.
* {{Eagleland}}: Mixed variety. Trillian is American (as she was on the TV version), whom Arthur adores, while Zaphod acts like a JerkAss American stereotype (not surprising considering he's played by Sam Rockwell). Ford, too, is a sympathetic American type of TheStoner variety. As the director commented, the only character who absolutely '''needed''' to remain British was Arthur.
** And really, given that Ford and Zaphod aren't even from Earth...
* EarthShatteringKaboom: Ironically, rather than a "terrible, ghastly noise" (as the book describes), the destruction of the Earth is silent (more like an earth ''imploding'' "zip").
* EmotionBomb: When Marvin uses the Point of View Gun in the climax, it ends up causing ''all'' of the Vogons to keel over in soul crushing depression.
* EscapePod: The gang have to fly to Vogsphere in one after mice disable The Heart Of Gold's engines. It looks like a racing car and seems to be capable of FasterThanLightTravel.
* EverythingIsAnIpodInTheFuture: Fitting considering Creator/DouglasAdams was allegedly the first[[note]] It's disputed between him and Creator/StephenFry[[/note]] man to buy an Apple computer in England.
** The Starship Heart of Gold.
** Also, [[MasterComputer Deep Thought]] is an [[http://i.imgur.com/ybPPO.png Apple product]].
** The film predates it[[note]] predates Apple tablets, anyhow. Microsoft debuted a tablet PC running XP in 2002[[/note]], but the Guide itself is basically a tablet.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Lampshaded.
--> '''Book:''' The Point-Of-View gun, conveniently, does ''precisely'' what its name suggests. That is, if you point it at someone and pull the trigger, they instantly see things from your point of view.
* ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation: In the trailer, the Guide fell into this a bit. For the film, its UI was changed to a more minimalist, flat-graphics style.
* EyeLightsOut: Played straight, then inverted by Marvin.
* FakeOutOpening: The film actually has ''two'' title sequences. If you excised the entire dolphin musical number, there would be no loss, except for a damned catchy song.
* FedToTheBeast: The Vogons try to execute Trillian by feeding her to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.
* FlyAtTheCameraEnding: The movie ends with The Heart of Gold flying at the camera and engaging its Infinite Improbability Drive.
* FollowTheBouncingBall: The DVD of the movie includes a sing-along version of the "So Long, and Thanks for All The Fish" song with a bouncing ''dolphin'', naturally.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Arthur's costume at the party is Dr. Livingstone, the famed explorer.
* FreezeFrameBonus: When Arthur is standing in the middle of the wreckage of his house with the Vogon ships above him, you can see a newspaper on the ground with a headline telling us about the dolphins vanishing from the Earth.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: After Ford explains to the barman that the Earth is going to be destroyed, as Ford leaves you can hear the barman call out "last orders then".
* GeckoEnding: Earth being rebuilt and restored to its pre-destruction state, which would eventually be revealed to have happened in ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'' but presumably would have taken much longer. Done despite obvious plans for a sequel, but especially fortunate given that it was cancelled.
* HairTriggerSoundEffect: The AstronomicZoom from the beginning of the film. FIFTY-FIVE jump cuts. FIFTY-FIVE dramatic stings.
* HumansAreMorons: We have always assumed that we were the most intelligent species occupying the planet, instead of the ''third'' most intelligent, behind mice and dolphins, the latter of whom curiously knew of the impending destruction of the planet Earth.
** Presumably all species regard humans as this for being so incredibly wrong about how they assume the universe works. It's also probably why they were never noticed as the dominant lifeforms (see Mistook the Dominant Lifeform).
* HumansAreSpecial: They're the key part of the planetary computer calculating the Ultimate Question.
* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:Arthur is offered the opportunity to return to a recreation of his home on Earth, exactly like he left it (well, without the imminent demolition by Prosser). He chooses to stay with Ford, Zaphod and Trillian and continue exploring the galaxy.]]
* IToldYouSo:
-->'''Marvin:''' I ''told'' you this would all end in tears.\\
'''Arthur:''' ''(high pitched {{Angrish}})'' DID YOU? ''DID YOU?''
* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Marvin objects to the order of "freeze" because he assumes he's meant to freeze something.
-->'''Marvin:''' Freeze? I'm a robot, not a refrigerator.
* ImmuneToMindControl: Marvin the Paranoid Android in the movie isn't attacked by the spade-shaped things on Vogsphere that rise from the ground and smack the other characters in the face whenever they have ideas. WordOfGod explains that this is a psychic creature that feeds on original thought, which is why the Vogons have evolved to be exceptionally dull, and thus become the bureaucrats of the galaxy. Presumably Marvin isn't affected because of his inorganic brain.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy. {{Lampshaded}} by Marvin. When the group is surrounded by blaster wielding Vogons, everyone takes cover except Marvin, who remarks that Vogons are the "worst marksmen in the galaxy." Then he is immediately shot in the back of the head.
* InAWorld: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGNcoB2Y4I trailer]] was narrated by the titular ''Guide'', and formatted in the style of an official Guide entry on movie trailers, spoken by Creator/StephenFry in a pleasant BBC-announcer voice, except for when he says that "trailers often employ '''''[[Creator/DonLaFontaine a deep voice]], that sounds like a seven foot tall man who's been smoking cigarettes since childhood.''''' (clears throat as he returns to normal)." It consisted of one continuous LampshadeHanging and parody of science fiction action movie tropes.
--> "Often, this section is preceded by the words, 'In a world' ...[earth explodes] but sometimes not."
--> "The goal is to provide a piece of advertising that is original and exciting, yet intelligent and provocative - in other words: [[StuffBlowingUp lots of things blowing up]]." ''(cue rapid series of clips of explosions from other films)''
--> "Occasionally interrupted by [[MsFanservice a girl in a bikini]]."
* InhumanEyeConcealers: Humma Kavula wears very thick glasses with welding goggle-like rims that completely hide his eyes when in profile. In the middle of a conversation with Zaphod, he very casually begins cleaning them, revealing that his "eyes" are actually holograms projected onto the lenses; to Zaphod's shock, Kavula's real eyes are just sunken black pits in his face.
* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Want to know why the Vogons all share an IdiotBall? Ford closes a knee-high white picket gate on the Vogons, who moan they have to go the ''other'' way around, thanks to their being extremely LawfulStupid. Note that he locks the gate by reaching over to ''their'' side and locking it.
* InternalReveal: Trillian learns Earth was destroyed, and that it was because of Zaphod signed the approval for its destruction thinking they want his autograph. Arthur was there but kept it a secret from Trillian (partly under threat by Zaphod), then found out the truth from Trillian after they rescued her. Even Zaphod didn't know what he'd done until Trillian called him out.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Zaphod for most of the film.
* JerkassRealization: Zaphod thanks to the POV gun. It's telling that his behavior and treatment of the others gets better after he's shot with it.
-->'''Zaphod:''' ''(sadly)'' Oh, babydoll...
* KarmaHoudini: Zaphod was responsible for the destruction of Earth just because he's so mindblowingly dumb that he didn't bother reading a destruction permit before signing it. Besides a couple of slaps from Trillian and a JerkassRealization, he had absolutely no repercussions for it, and got a happy ending.
* LampshadeHanging: Ford is played in an American accent by American actor Mos Def; his mentioning having come "not from Guildford after all" (albeit from Brooklyn, rather than a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse) takes on a slightly surreal edge presumably unintended by Adams. Later, Arthur mentions wondering about Ford's atypical accent.
* LaserCutter: For slicing and toasting bread at the same time. With Star Wars lightsaber effects. They actually got royalties from Lucas to use them.
* LightBulbJoke: One of the questions Arthur proposes to the answer JustForFun/FortyTwo is "How many Vogons does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
* TheLoad: Zaphod spends the latter half of the movie somewhere between this, TheMillstone, and vaguely useful, because he's missing one of his heads. Ford actually has to drag him around in one or two scenes. Also, when they're getting shot at, he apparently thinks it's a dance party. Fortunately, Vogon soldiers make even the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy look good by comparison.
* LoveTriangle: Arthur, Trillian, and Zaphod; this was a background element in other versions, but is pushed to the forefront here.
* LyricalDissonance: The last ever dolphin message was misinterpreted as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt to do a double backward somersault through a hoop while whistling the Star-Spangled Banner, when in fact the message was this: "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish." Cue a very upbeat and catchy tune with a choir singing about the impending destruction of the Earth. "The world's about to be destroyed / There's no point getting all annoyed / Lie back and let the planet dissolve around you"
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Trillian, as played by Creator/ZooeyDeschanel. [[spoiler: Deconstructed later when she realizes the "boring" [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Arthur cares far more for her than the spontaneous Zaphod.]]]]
* MassOhCrap: "Um, people of Earth, this is Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council. As you are probably aware, plans for the development of the outlying regions of the Galaxy involve the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system. And your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition." We are shown shots of various locations around the world that show that ''every single person'' is screaming in terror, except for one serene woman who sips her tea.
-->'''Jeltz:''' There’s no point in acting all surprised about it. The plans and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for '''fifty''' Earth years. If you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Apathetic bloody planet. I've no sympathy at all.
* MatchingBadGuyVehicles: The Vogon fleet is composed of identical black ships. They're yellow in the novel.
* MatterReplicator: As well as the infamous Nutrimat, Trillian shows Arthur a machine you can stick your face into and it will instantly create whatever food you're craving.
* MediumShiftGag: After the Infinite Improbability Drive is used to jump to Viltvodle VI, everything is animated in stop motion yarn for a few seconds. Arthur gets nauseous, and the art cuts back to live action just as he vomits a yarn ball, leaving him with a yarn thread sticking out of his teeth.
* {{Meganekko}}: [[http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kzg5lw0zha1qat0bfo1_500.png Trillian]].
* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Zaphod unwittingly signs the order to destroy the Earth, thinking he was signing an autograph.]]
* MillionToOneChance: The S.S. ''Heart of Gold'' has an Infinite Improbability Drive which causes MillionToOneChance events to occur all the time. Not just Million to One, infinity to one, hence the name of the drive. Of course, ''which'' extremely improbable outcome you get... It was a plot device Adams conceived when he realized he'd worked the original story into a point where he was stuck and needed a [[DeusExMachina quick resolution]].
* MistookTheDominantLifeform: In reference to the original stories, we see a flashback of how Arthur first met Ford: he pushed him out of the way as he tried to shake hands with an oncoming car (an actual Ford Prefect), having thought cars were the dominant life form on Earth.
* ModestyTowel: Trillian is about to emerge from a shower when she asks Arthur for a towel, adding to the already well-established Most Versatile Object in the Universe gag.
* MultipleHeadCase: Zaphod Beeblebrox's second head.
* MythologyGag:
** Using "Journey of the Sorcerer" (the original radio[=/=]TV InstrumentalThemeTune) in the film; casting Simon Jones (Arthur Dent from the TV series) as the voice -- and face -- of the Magrathean security system; Zaphod accidentally referring to Ford as "Ix"; the Vogons sitting on fawns and smashing crabs.
** In the FlashbackCut of Arthur and Ford's first meeting, we see Ford stepping out into the street to "shake hands" with an oncoming car, having [[MistookTheDominantLifeform assumed that they're the dominant species on Earth]]. The car is a Ford Prefect, from which Ford got his name (a joke that was infamously LostInTranslation, as the Prefect was sold only in England).
** There's a Hyper-intelligent shade of Blue present in the first Deep Thought scene. [[spoiler:Look to the left of the gates when they're opened.]]
** When he finds his friends under fire on Viltvodle VI, Ford Prefect lets rip with "Belgium", which AsYouKnow is widely regarded as the rudest word in the galaxy.
** Ford mutters "Belgium" as a curse in a few other scenes as well.
** The teaser trailer features the song "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, which was used in the closing credits of the last episode of the radio broadcast and the TV series.
** There ''is'' a Restaurant at the End of the Universe - if you're feeling peckish. Make sure you travel in the right direction, though. In one direction is that restaurant, in the other is the Big Bang Burger Bar.
** The Vogon guard who grabs Ford and Arthur telling them [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration "Resistance is useless."]]
** Arthur asking Trillian if Zaphod "has two more of anything else?" is a reference to the Zaphod costume from the TV series being designed to look like he has [[GagPenis just that.]]
** Marvin from the original TV series can be seen at the Vogsphere queue; Arthur even takes a DoubleTake while passing him.
** The Guide's advice on what to do when you have no hope of rescue from being eaten by a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal is the same advice it gives when you're stuck under a boulder from the radio series.
** At the very end, when the ''Heart Of Gold'' flashes through several shapes via its Infinite Improbability Drive, the very last shape it assumes is that of Creator/DouglasAdams's face.
* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: Arthur introduces himself several times as, "Dent. Arthur Dent." Which leads Slartibartfast to comment, "Late, as in the late Dentarthurdent."
* NeverTrustATrailer: One of the trailers is set up as the Guide's entry on movie trailers, detailing tricks such as the inclusion of shots of violent explosions and scantily clad women which do not appear in the actual movie, implying the movie would be more clever.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: "Vogons are one of the most unpleasant races in the Galaxy. Not evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous. They wouldn't even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without orders - signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters. '''On no account should you allow a Vogon to read poetry at you.'''"
* OffWithHisHead: Surgical variant when Humma Kavula takes one of Zaphod Beeblebrox's heads as collateral before their trip to Magrathea.
* OhCrap:
** "Oh, ''bollocks''!"
** Questular [[spoiler: when she sees Marvin aiming the P.O.V. gun in her direction. Then he fires it at the Vogons, defeating them by giving them all his depressed views.]]
* OverlyLongGag:
** Right before the Earth is destroyed by the Vogons, we get an AstronomicZoom that goes from ground level to seeing the entire earth in a dramatic series of ''fifty-five'' jump-cuts. With every single beat.
** Also the sequence on-board the first Vogon constructor when a microphone is dropped down to Jeltz that comes from the ceiling of the shaft in the middle of the ship, EXTREMELY high up.
* PlanetOfHats: The Vogons are a race of [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Obstructive Bureaucrats]].
* PoorCommunicationKills: The dolphins made many attempts to alert mankind to the impending destruction of the planet Earth, but most of these attempts were misinterpreted as amusing attempts to punch footballs or whistle for tidbits. So they eventually decided that they would leave Earth by their own means. The last ever dolphin message was seen as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt at a double backwards somersault through a hoop while whistling the Star Spangled Banner, when in fact the message was this: "So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish."
* ThePowerOfLove: Subverted:
-->'''Lunkwill:''' Rubbish, we don't want to be happy, we want to be famous!\\
'''Fook:''' Yeah! What is all this "is she the one" tripe?\\
'''Lunkwill:''' Take his brain!
** However, Trillian disagrees. Even in a deep haze, she manages to mumble, "That's a good answer."
* PragmaticAdaptation: Zaphod's second head and third arm are made infinitely discreet, so that 1) Zaphod could visit Earth without anyone taking a second glance, and 2) It looks too goofy in practice, and allowed Sam Rockwell to act without having to deal with extra prosthetics.
* ProfaneLastWords: The Mice, after Arthur gets free of his restraints, manage to utter, "Oh, [[KilledMidSentence boll-]]"
* PromotedToLoveInterest: Trillian, aka Trish [=McMillan=].
* PunchClockVillain: Invoked ''literally'' by the Vogon as [[spoiler: Zaphod and crew escape the Vogsphere, the Vogon President [[ItMakesSenseInContext takes a bit of crab to the face]]. He then decides to lead the hunt for Zaphod "personally", but is interrupted by the whistles announcing lunch. All the Vogon immediately stop working, giving the heroes at least an hour headstart. The Vogons may be all about revenge for slights, but ''won't'' work through lunch!]]
* RaceLift:
** Ford Prefect is now played by a black American. The director/producers figured since Ford is an alien it doesn't really matter what his race is. It makes Arthur's comment "So, you're ''not'' from Guildford", and remarking Ford's accent was sort of off, even funnier.
** Trillian, who was AmbiguouslyBrown in the books, is white in the film.
* Really700YearsOld: Lunkwill and Fook are at ''least'' 17.5 million years old.
* RetractableAppendages: Zaphod has a second head that retracts from his chest once in awhile. He also has a third arm that doesn't quite ''retract'', but which he holds across his body so it looks like he's wearing a sash most of the time.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: A crab sees the ship crash land on the Vogon homeworld. It starts running towards it, jumping, and saying "yeah!" It got too close and got crushed by the opening door.
* RightOnQueue: "I'm British; I know how to queue."
* RobotBuddy: As usual Marvin is a DeconstructiveParody of this trope.
* SavedForTheSequel: Attempted with Humma Kavula. The Point of View Gun was clearly setting up a plot where he tries to brainwash everyone in the galaxy and take Zaphod's place. Too bad there won't be a second movie to make these things worthwhile.
* SceneryPorn: The Magratheans' planet factory floor.
* SedgwickSpeech:
--> '''Marvin''': I don't know what all the fuss is about, Vogons are the worst marksmen in the galaxy. [''Zap''] Ow.
* SevenMinuteLull: Arthur suffers one during the flashback to the party where Arthur and Trillian met. Arthur is criticizing the other party-goers for not recognizing her costume (Charles Darwin), and ends up blurting out "All these people are idiots!" when the [[RecordNeedleScratch record player gets bumped]].
* SexyShirtSwitch: The first time we see Trillian (outside of the party flashback) is aboard the Heart of Gold where she's wearing a shirt with an extra sleeve draped around the neck, obviously one of Zaphod's.
* ShackleSeatTrap: The mice trap Arthur in one when he meets them and the others in [[spoiler: his house on Earth Mk. 2.]]
* ShoutOut:
** The [[StarWars lightsabre]] toasters, complete with authentic Lucas sound effects.
** The ''Heart of Gold's'' dropships are a direct reference to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.
** The original Marvin from the TV series makes a cameo appearance, playing an anonymous robot in a queue.
** The commentary on the DVD claims that one of the actresses who played Trillian prior to the film appears in place of the usual boozehound during the scene in the Bar and Groom. Whether this is [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Susan Sheridan]] or [[Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Sandra Dickinson]] is not made clear.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: Zaphod wants to "[[Theatre/TheTempest trip the light fantastic]]" with Questular.
* ShowerScene: Trillian has a (notably chaste, from-the-shoulders-up) one after she was spattered with the saliva of a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast.
* SinisterGeometry: The ships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet are rectilinear, [[MythologyGag riffing off the line]] about how "they hung in the air the way [[{{Dissimile}} bricks didn't]]."
* SpheroidDropship: The movie has a lot of fun with this trope.
* SpiderLimbs: Humma Kavula.
* StaggeredZoom: The movie used this as the camera zooms out past the Vogon ships at the beginning. [[OverlyLongGag And zooms. And zooms. And zooms...]]
* StiffUpperLip: You can see Creator/DouglasAdams' mother sitting outside a cafe reading a paper even as the world ends. [[spoiler:And is equally stoic when the world is remade -- as if expecting it would be a minor inconvenience at best.]]
* StuffBlowingUp: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGNcoB2Y4I trailer]], framed as the Hitchhiker's Guide entry on movie trailers, notes "the goal is to create a piece of advertising that is original and exciting, yet intelligent and provocative. In other words: lots of things blowing up, ''[cue montage of movie explosions]'' occasionally interrupted [[MsFanservice by a girl in a bikini]]."
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeaM1MtXwJQ Zaphod's ad campaign]]:
-->Zaphod Beeblebrox for President, building bridges between the stars\\
[[BlatantLies In no way is he stupid, in no way is his brain impaired]]\\
It's just not true, [[TakeThat he's smarter than you - and he's better looking too]]
* TheStoner: Ford, though subtle.
* TemptingFate: The moment Marvin remarks that Vogons are "the worst marksmen in the Universe", BoomHeadshot.
-->'''Marvin:''' Oof. ''{{{beat}}}'' [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction Now I have a headache]]. ''(collapses)''
* ThoughtAversionFailure: Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox have finally caught on to the fact that while they're on the plains of Vogsphere, paddle creatures stick up and hit you in the face every time you think something. Ford declares "Okay, don't think. Nobody think. No ideas, no theories, no nothing." {{Beat}} and then everyone is swatted simultaneously.
* ThrownOutTheAirlock: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when the airlock door opens up from underneath them, instead of the opposing wall like it does with every other airlock scene like this.
* TrickedIntoSigning: The President of the Galaxy (the vain Zaphod Beeblebrox) signed the document authorizing the destruction of Earth while thinking he was giving an autograph -- though it's unclear whether someone deliberately tricked him, or if he's just that dim and just assumed it was an autograph.
* UngratefulBitch: Trillian, after the rest came to rescue her. Though this is justified, since she found out that Zaphod is the reason Earth was destroyed. Although she's also angry at Arthur for not telling her about it, and becomes exasperated by his spinelessness when he explain that Zaphod threatened him if he told her.
* UnusualEuphemism:
** In-universe, Arthur thinks Zaphod's exclamations of "Humma Kavula!" are a strange curse word.
** Arthur also thinks Zaphod wanting to show Trillian his spaceship is sexy innuendo as well.
** While not explained in the film, "Belgium" is the most offensive word in the entire galaxy. Ford uses it as a curse a few times.
* VomitIndiscretionShot: Done very cleverly after they use the Infinite Improbability Drive while they are all knit figures. Knit Arthur goes over to a trash can and lets loose a giant load of multicolored yarn. Once they go back to normal, you can see him pulling out more yarn.
* WhamLine: When Slartibartfast announces they're going to start up Earth 2.0.
-->'''Slartibartfast:''' Is... you know... anything you want to change? Something... you think your planet... could do without?\\
''(Arthur gazes out over the restored English countryside.)''\\
'''Arthur:''' Yeah. [[spoiler:Me.]]
* WhatAnIdiot: [[invoked]]
** Zaphod, InUniverse. Just ask Humma's "Don't Vote For Stupid" campaign. Well, after all, the guy ''did'' sign the demolition orders for Earth thinking he was signing a fan autograph book.
** Lunkwill and Fook both think this of the Vogons for destroying Earth, since it was central to their plans of fame and fortune.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Zaphod has his third hand and second head surgically removed as collateral before going on the search for the POV Gun, but he never goes to get them back. See SavedForTheSequel.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: The ''Encyclopedia Galactica'', in its chapter on love, states that it is far too complicated to define. ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' has this to say on the subject of love: "Avoid, if at all possible." Unfortunately, Arthur Dent has never read the ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''.
* WhereItAllBegan: The climax of the film takes place in Arthur's (reconstructed) home on Earth (2.0).
* WhileRomeBurns: When the earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, an old lady can be seen calmly reading a newspaper while everyone around her panics. The old lady is Creator/DouglasAdams's mother making [[TheCameo a cameo appearance]]. Director Garth Jennings did not feel comfortable in giving her direction and, with no specific instructions on how to act in the scene, she just kept doing what she was doing while everyone panicked around her.
* WithholdingTheirName: PlayedForLaughs when Slartibartfast initially refuses to give his name [[UnfortunateNames because it's embarrassing]].
* WiperStart: On an escape pod for a space ship.
* WomenAreWiser: The Point of View Gun won't work on Trillian because she is "already a woman" and therefore naturally considerate. [[spoiler: A subversion is hinted at in the same scene when the POV gun forces Zaphod to think about how poorly Trillian treated Arthur for seeming "boring."]]
* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: At the end when Earth Mk. II's lifecycle is starting back up. This is in stark contrast to Douglas' earlier opinion on things. Ultimately subverted when it ends on a ''Film/{{Koyaanisqatsi}}''-like view of society. ''Nature'' is awesome. People are ... less awesome.
----
[[redirect:Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005]]

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* IToldYouSo:
-->'''Marvin:''' I ''told'' you this would all end in tears.\\
'''Arthur:''' ''(high pitched {{Angrish}})'' DID YOU? ''DID YOU?''



* InternalReveal: Trillian learns Earth was destroyed, and that it was because of Zaphod signed the approval for its destruction thinking they want his autograph. Arthur known about Earth's destruction, but kept it a secret from Trillian (partly under threat by Zaphod), then found out from Trillian after they rescued her. Even Zaphod didn't even know what he'd done until Trillian called him out.
* IToldYouSo:
-->'''Marvin:''' I ''told'' you this would all end in tears.\\
'''Arthur:''' ''(high pitched {{Angrish}})'' DID YOU? ''DID YOU?''

to:

* InternalReveal: Trillian learns Earth was destroyed, and that it was because of Zaphod signed the approval for its destruction thinking they want his autograph. Arthur known about Earth's destruction, was there but kept it a secret from Trillian (partly under threat by Zaphod), then found out the truth from Trillian after they rescued her. Even Zaphod didn't even know what he'd done until Trillian called him out.
* IToldYouSo:
-->'''Marvin:''' I ''told'' you this would all end in tears.\\
'''Arthur:''' ''(high pitched {{Angrish}})'' DID YOU? ''DID YOU?''
out.


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* UngratefulBitch: Trillian, after the rest came to rescue her. Though this is justified, since she found out that Zaphod is the reason Earth was destroyed. Although she's also angry at Arthur for not telling her about it, and becomes exasperated by his spinelessness when he explain that Zaphod threatened him if he told her.
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** Vitvodle VI is explored further where it was a short description in the book.

to:

** Vitvodle Viltvodle VI is explored further where it was a short description in the book.
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For two decades, a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptation]] of Creator/DouglasAdams's ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' rotted in Main/DevelopmentHell. But in 2003, pre-production began, and in 2005, an all-out big-budget feature film rolled out to theaters, directed by Garth Jennings and featuring an AllStarCast.

to:

For two decades, a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptation]] of Creator/DouglasAdams's ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' rotted in Main/DevelopmentHell. But in 2003, pre-production began, and in 2005, an all-out big-budget feature film rolled out to theaters, directed by Garth Jennings Creator/GarthJennings and featuring an AllStarCast.
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* DisneyDeath: During the climax Marvin gets shot in the back of the head by the Vogons. He collapses onto the ground and his eyelights extinguish leading everyone to assume he's dead. A few minutes later he reboots and turns the P.O.V. Gun on the Vogons.
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--->Zaphod Beeblebrox for President, building bridges between the stars
--->[[BlatantLies In no way is he stupid, in no way is his brain impaired]]
--->It's just not true, [[TakeThat he's smarter than you - and he's better looking too]]

to:

--->Zaphod -->Zaphod Beeblebrox for President, building bridges between the stars
--->[[BlatantLies
stars\\
[[BlatantLies
In no way is he stupid, in no way is his brain impaired]]
--->It's
impaired]]\\
It's
just not true, [[TakeThat he's smarter than you - and he's better looking too]]

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* MassOhCrap: "Um, people of Earth, this is Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council. As you are probably aware, plans for the development of the outlying regions of the Galaxy involve the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system. And your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition." We are shown shots of various locations around the world that show that ''every single person'' is screaming in terror. Which is either utterly hilarious or utterly horrifying. Except for that one serene woman who sips her tea even as the world ends[[note]]Played by Douglas Adams' mother, no less[[/note]]. "There’s no point in acting surprised about it. The plans and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for '''fifty''' of your Earth years. If you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Apathetic bloody planet. I've no sympathy at all."

to:

* MassOhCrap: "Um, people of Earth, this is Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council. As you are probably aware, plans for the development of the outlying regions of the Galaxy involve the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system. And your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition." We are shown shots of various locations around the world that show that ''every single person'' is screaming in terror. Which is either utterly hilarious or utterly horrifying. Except terror, except for that one serene woman who sips her tea even as the world ends[[note]]Played by Douglas Adams' mother, no less[[/note]]. "There’s tea.
-->'''Jeltz:''' There’s
no point in acting all surprised about it. The plans and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for '''fifty''' of your '''fifty''' Earth years. If you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Apathetic bloody planet. I've no sympathy at all."



* MillionToOneChance: The spaceship "Heart of Gold" has an Infinite Improbability Drive which causes MillionToOneChance events to occur all the time. Not just Million to One, infinity to one, hence the name of the drive. Of course, ''which'' extremely improbable outcome you get... It was a plot device Adams conceived when he realized he'd worked the original story into a point where he was stuck and needed a [[DeusExMachina quick resolution]].

to:

* MillionToOneChance: The spaceship "Heart S.S. ''Heart of Gold" Gold'' has an Infinite Improbability Drive which causes MillionToOneChance events to occur all the time. Not just Million to One, infinity to one, hence the name of the drive. Of course, ''which'' extremely improbable outcome you get... It was a plot device Adams conceived when he realized he'd worked the original story into a point where he was stuck and needed a [[DeusExMachina quick resolution]].



* StuffBlowingUp: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGNcoB2Y4I trailer]], framed as a Hitchhiker's Guide entry on movie trailers, notes "the goal is to create a piece of advertising that is original and exciting, yet intelligent and provocative. In other words: lots of things blowing up, ''[cue montage of movie explosions]'' occasionally interrupted [[MsFanservice by a girl in a bikini]]."

to:

* StuffBlowingUp: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGNcoB2Y4I trailer]], framed as a the Hitchhiker's Guide entry on movie trailers, notes "the goal is to create a piece of advertising that is original and exciting, yet intelligent and provocative. In other words: lots of things blowing up, ''[cue montage of movie explosions]'' occasionally interrupted [[MsFanservice by a girl in a bikini]]."



* ThoughtAversionFailure: Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox have finally caught on to the fact that while they're on the plains of Vogsphere, a flyswatter-like object comes up and hits you in the face every time you think something. Ford declares "Okay, don't think. Nobody think. No ideas, no theories, no nothing." {{Beat}} and then everyone is swatted simultaneously.

to:

* ThoughtAversionFailure: Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox have finally caught on to the fact that while they're on the plains of Vogsphere, a flyswatter-like object comes paddle creatures stick up and hits hit you in the face every time you think something. Ford declares "Okay, don't think. Nobody think. No ideas, no theories, no nothing." {{Beat}} and then everyone is swatted simultaneously.



** In-universe, Arthur thought Zaphod's exclamations of "Humma Kavula!" were a strange curse word.
** Arthur also thought Zaphod wanting to show Trillian his spaceship was sexy innuendo as well.

to:

** In-universe, Arthur thought thinks Zaphod's exclamations of "Humma Kavula!" were are a strange curse word.
** Arthur also thought thinks Zaphod wanting to show Trillian his spaceship was is sexy innuendo as well.
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* InhumanEyeConcealers: Humma Kavula wears very thick glasses with welding goggle-like rims that completely hide his eyes when in profile. In the middle of a conversation with Zaphod, he very casually begins cleaning them, revealing that his "eyes" are actually holograms projected onto the lenses; to Zaphod's shock, Kavula's real eyes are just sunken black pits in his face.
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** Presumably all species regard humans as this for being so incredibly wrong about how they assume the universe works. It's also probably why they were never noticed as the dominant lifeforms (see Mistaken the Dominant Lifeform).

to:

** Presumably all species regard humans as this for being so incredibly wrong about how they assume the universe works. It's also probably why they were never noticed as the dominant lifeforms (see Mistaken Mistook the Dominant Lifeform).

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** Presumably all species regard humans as this for being so incredibly wrong about how they assume the universe works.

to:

** Presumably all species regard humans as this for being so incredibly wrong about how they assume the universe works. It's also probably why they were never noticed as the dominant lifeforms (see Mistaken the Dominant Lifeform).



* KarmaHoudini: Zaphod was responsible for the destruction of Earth just because he's so mindblowingly dumb that he didn't bother reading a destruction permit before signing it. Besides a couple of slaps from Trillian, he had absolutely no repercussions for it, and got a happy ending.

to:

* KarmaHoudini: Zaphod was responsible for the destruction of Earth just because he's so mindblowingly dumb that he didn't bother reading a destruction permit before signing it. Besides a couple of slaps from Trillian, Trillian and a JerkassRealization, he had absolutely no repercussions for it, and got a happy ending.



* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Trillian, as played by Creator/ZooeyDeschanel. [[spoiler: Deconstructed later when she realizes the "boring" [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Arthur cares far more for her than the spontaneous Zaphod.]]]]



* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Trillian, as played by Creator/ZooeyDeschanel. [[spoiler: Deconstructed later when she realizes the "boring" [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Arthur cares far more for her than the spontaneous Zaphod.]]]]
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* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: At the end when Earth mrk. II's lifecycle is starting back up. This is in stark contrast to Douglas' earlier opinion on things. Ultimately subverted when it ends on a ''Film/{{Koyaanisqatsi}}''-like view of society. ''Nature'' is awesome. People are ... less awesome.

to:

* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: At the end when Earth mrk.Mk. II's lifecycle is starting back up. This is in stark contrast to Douglas' earlier opinion on things. Ultimately subverted when it ends on a ''Film/{{Koyaanisqatsi}}''-like view of society. ''Nature'' is awesome. People are ... less awesome.
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Adorkable cleansing


* {{Adorkable}}: Slartibartfast, with his snorting giggle. But then, he is played by Creator/BillNighy.
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Black Best Friend has been renamed, and this may or may not fit the trope, no context to tell


** Ford Prefect is now played by [[BlackBestFriend a black American]]. The director/producers figured since Ford is an alien it doesn't really matter what his race is. It makes Arthur's comment "So, you're ''not'' from Guildford", and remarking Ford's accent was sort of off, even funnier.

to:

** Ford Prefect is now played by [[BlackBestFriend a black American]].American. The director/producers figured since Ford is an alien it doesn't really matter what his race is. It makes Arthur's comment "So, you're ''not'' from Guildford", and remarking Ford's accent was sort of off, even funnier.
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* AlienNumberSystem: Vogons write numbers in base 1, meaning 1,000 would be written as a thousand ones.

to:

* AlienNumberSystem: AlternateNumberSystem: Vogons write numbers in base 1, meaning 1,000 would be written as a thousand ones.

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