History Film / WelcomeToTheDollhouse

* [[DownerEnding Downer Everything]]: [[spoiler: In the end, nothing at all has improved for Dawn, and she's in the exact same miserable state as before.]]

* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:Despite all her trials and tribulations, Dawns' situation has not improved by the end of the movie. She's just as miserable as she was before.]] When you take the sequel into account, [[spoiler:it becomes a ShootTheShaggyDog story as Dawn's life only gets worse before she finally kills herself.]]

* {{Lolicon}}: The obese neighbor who kidnaps Missy and films her twirling in her tutu, but does nothing more. (Far from being traumatized, Missy was happy because she was allowed to gorge on junk food and watch whatever she liked on TV). He is said to have played Santa Claus for the neighborhood children, a possible shout-out to John Wayne Gacy.

While ''Palindromes'' is considered a nominal sequel, as of 2015, ''Weiner Dog'' has [[http://variety.com/2015/film/news/todd-solondz-weiner-dog-julie-delpy-greta-gerwig-brie-larson-1201527570/ begun shooting]].

* SoundtrackDissonance: Pretty much deliberate, as the movie is a BlackComedy.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Steve.

* HopeSpot: Ironically, Missy's abduction. For a little while it even seems that Dawn is now appreciated by her family at least.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Implied to be the way Dawn sprained her finger. Or so he wants Steve to think.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Implied to be the way Dawn sprained her finger.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: In the end, nothing at all has improved for Dawn, and she's in the exact same miserable state as before.]]

* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:Despite all her trials and tribulations, Dawns' situation has not improved by the end of the movie. She's just as miserable as she was before.]]
** [[spoiler:ShootTheShaggyDog]]: When you take the sequel into account. [[spoiler:Dawn's life did not improve once she finally grew up and got out of the hellish neighborhood. She gained weight, got pregnant, and committed suicide.]]

* BlackComedyRape: A number of examples.Brandon arranges ahead of time that he was going to rape Dawn and they reschedule when it doesn't work out the first time. [[spoiler:He doesn't actually go through with it]].

* ImGoingToDisneyWorld: In the end, Dawn is on the school bus with a band choir traveling to Florida, though it's not said where it was going.

* DawsonCasting: 24 Year old Eric Mabius (Steve Rodgers) is in high school. Four years later he was still in high school for ''CruelIntentions''.

* LoveHurts

*** Mary Ellen Moriarity, a girl who spoke at Dawn's school about the dangers of talking to strangers, was kidnapped while memorizing her lines for "Hello Dolly." It is also hinted that she may have been raped.

* AlphaBitch: Cookie at school, Missy at home.

* ForTheEvulz: Seemingly the ''raison d'etre'' of anyone who makes Dawn miserable.

* TedBaxter: Steve.

''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' is a 1995 film by Creator/Todd Solondz. It stars Creator/HeatherMatarazzo in her breakout role, as well as being Solondz's breakout movie as a director.

''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' is a 1995 film by Todd Solondz. It stars Creator/HeatherMatarazzo in her breakout role, as well as being Solondz's breakout movie as a director.

* ComedicCreepyPedophile: The obese neighbor who kidnaps Missy and films her twirling in her tutu, but does nothing more. (Far from being traumatized, Missy was happy because she was allowed to gorge on junk food and watch whatever she liked on TV). He is said to have played Santa Claus for the neighborhood children, a possible shout-out to John Wayne Gacy.

* BlackComedy: Darker than the darkest death metal band playing in a pitch-black abyss populated by {{EldritchAbomination}}s who hold teens in a state of AndIMustScream while shouting "bloody murder" in a collective groan composed of the cries of dying children. Ah, TheNineties...

* BlackComedy

* CrapsackWorld

* {{Jerkass}}: Most of the characters.

* CreepyComedicPedophile: The obese neighbour who kidnaps Missy and films her twirling in her tutu, but does nothing further. He is said to have played Santa Claus for the neighborhood children, a possible shout-out to John Wayne Gacy.

* BlackComedyRape: Brandon arranges ahead of time that he was going to rape Dawn and they reschedule when it doesn't work out the first time. [[spoiler:He doesn't actually go through with it]].

* PhotosLie: The film opens with a close up of a family portrait of the Wiener family in which everyone is beaming happily at the camera (poor Dawn especially)