History Literature / MacdonaldHall

* CanadaEh: The books are set near the (fictional) town of Chutney, Ontario, an hour or so out of UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In ''This Can't Be Happening!'', Boots enthusiastically goes along with any and all of Bruno's mad schemes, even coming up with and executing some of them independently. In later books, he's much more the OnlySaneMan trying to talk Bruno out of his latest ZanyScheme. Of course, despite any misgivings he may privately have, Boots had a much more personal stake in this particular plotline; that may have had something to do with his willingness to follow along.

* PantyThief: Bruno and Boots try to frame Elmer and George as this.

* BavarianFireDrill: In ''Something Fishy'', Bruno and Boots are on dishwashing duty when the dishwasher overflows because a prankster has overloaded it with detergent. Overwhelmed by the cascade of suds, Bruno yells, "Fire!" and everyone on the kitchen staff rushes in. The irritated chef points out that there is no fire, and Bruno defends himself by [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments saying that nobody would have come if he had yelled "Bubbles!"]]

-->'''Miss Scrimmage:''' What do you mean coming over here in the middle of the night and frightening my sweet, innocent young girls?
-->'''Police Officer:''' Lady, ''[[NervesOfSteel GODZILLA]]'' [[NervesofSteel couldn't frighten these girls!]]

* LaymansTerms: As a mild RunningGag, resident genius Elmer is frequently asked to translate what he just said.
-->'''Elmer:''' ''(explaining a side effect of his cold cure)'' There is a reaction rather similar to the ingestion of large quantities of alcoholic beverages.
-->'''Bruno:''' Elmer, speak English!
-->'''Elmer:''' Mr. Flynn is drunk.

-->'''Elmer:''' Sir, you have three fractured metatarsals.
-->'''Bruno:''' Elmer, speak English!
-->'''Elmer:''' Mr. Flynn has a broken foot.

-->'''Boots:''' "How come the bathroom and the closet are in your half? Not to mention the door."
-->'''Bruno:''' "First come, first served. You can use all three. ''Especially'' the door."

* ActionGirl: Cathy Burton. "The riot squad is afraid to come back here! We're ''SOMEBODY!''"
* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: What happens to Elmer in ''The Zucchini Warriors.''
** [[spoiler: Don't worry, finding the Manchurian Bush Hamsters [[ResetButton changes him back to normal]].]]

* BlueBlood: While not exactly royalty, George Wexford-Smyth III definitely comes off as this.
* BoardingSchool: Where the story takes place.

* CaptainOblivious: Mr. Fudge, the housemaster of Bruno and Boots' dorm.

* DeanBitterman: Averted. The Fish may be well-named, but underneath it all he cares deeply about his students.
** Mr. Wizzle has shades of this, when faced with the fact that some students are attempting to subvert the micromanaging regimen to which he is subjecting the school. Once Bruno, being the obvious ringleader, has accumulated a certain amount of demerits, Wizzle recommends he be expelled immediately. Here Mr. Sturgeon puts his foot down and vetoes the request.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Miss Scrimmage, natch.

* FundraiserCarnival

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Bruno and Boots, naturally.
* HeyLetsPutOnAShow: One of the money making schemes in the second book.

* TheJinx: Bruno, to Perry Elbert.
* TheKlutz: Sidney Rampulsky. Especially in a tie.
* LargeHam: Bruno and Cathy

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Bruno and Boots to each other, as seen on the few occasions when they fight.

* MamaBear: Miss Scrimmage will come after you with her shotgun in hand if you endanger her students.

* RousingSpeech: Bruno has a knack for these ([[CatchPhrase "Our world is crumbling around us!"]])
** However, people who have known Bruno for a long time aren't particularly roused by his speeches because they're so predictable. At the beginning of ''The War With Mr. Wizzle'', Boots and a few other students imagine how Bruno will react when he hears about the school's new dress code. Wilbur thinks he'll rant about how their world is crumbling around them, and Larry thinks he'll complain about the sanctity of Macdonald Hall being threatened. Sure enough, Bruno says both of these things when he finds out about the dress code.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Elmer often speaks this way.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Cathy and Diane, though Cathy is more of TheLadette.

* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Mr. Wizzle

* YouGoGirl: Cathy in ''The Zucchini Warriors''
* ZanyScheme: Bruno is a big fan.

* {{Nerd}}: Elmer Drimsdale and Mr. Wizzle.
** LovableNerd: Elmer.

* PlanetOfHats: Miss Scrimmage's girls are an army of irrepressible hellions, with Cathy Burton being the worst of the bunch.

** Mr. Wizzle has shades of this, when faced with the fact that some students are attempting to subvert the micromanaging regimen to which he is subjecting the school. Once Bruno, being the obvious ringleader, has accumulated a certain amount of demerits, Wizzle recommends he be excelled immediately. Here Mr. Sturgeon puts his foot down and vetoes the request.

* SuddenSchoolUniform: Not a true uniform, but a dress code mandating shirts and ties, is only the first change introduced by assistant headmaster Mr. Wizzle in ''The War With Mr. Wizzle''; by the end of the novel, when [[spoiler: he - and Miss Peabody at Miss Scrimmage's - have left the school mid-school year due to the students' combined efforts, the dress code has been cancelled, or at any rate is no longer being enforced, together with all of Mr. Wizzle's other changes.]] Played with in ''The Wizzle War'' (the film version): Macdonald Hall already uniforms to begin with, such as are typical at an elite private school. What Mr. Wizzle (portrayed in this version as a utilitarian minimalist) introduces are uniform overall suits, such as would be worn in an industrial facility - or a jail.

* SuddenSchoolUniform: Not a true uniform, but a dress code mandating shirts and ties, is only the first change introduced by assistant headmaster Mr. Wizzle in ''The War With Mr. Wizzle''; by the end of the novel, when [[spoiler: he - and Miss Peabody at Miss Scrimmage's - have left the school mid-school year due to the students' combined efforts, the dress code has been cancelled, or at any rate no longer enforced together with all of Mr. Wizzle's other changes.]] Played with in ''The Wizzle War'' (the film version): Macdonald Hall already uniforms to begin with, such as are typical at an elite private school. What Mr. Wizzle (portrayed in this version as a utilitarian minimalist) introduces are uniform overall suits, such as would be worn in an industrial facility - or a jail.

* SuddenSchoolUniform: Not a true uniform, but a dress code mandating shirts and ties, is only the first change introduced by assistant headmaster Mr. Wizzle in ''The War With Mr. Wizzle''; by the end of the novel, when [[spoiler: he - and Miss Peabody at Miss Scrimmage's - have left the school mid-school year due to the students' combined efforts, the dress code has been cancelled, or at any rate no longer enforced together with all of Mr. Wizzle's other changes.]] Played with in ''The Wizzle War'' (the film version): MacDonald Hall already uniforms to begin with, such as are typical at an elite private school. What Mr. Wizzle (portrayed in this version as a utilitarian minimalist) introduces are uniform overall suits, such as would be worn in an industrial facility - or a jail.

* MistakenIdentity: Bruno and Boots try to force this by pretending to be George Wexford-Smyth III and Elmer Drimsdale in order to frame them for a panty-raid at Scrimmage's in ''This Can't Be Happening!'' The Fish is not fooled. Later played completely straight in ''Go Jump In the Pool'' when Wilbur sells Miss Scrimmage's shotgun at the garage sale, and she gets arrested for armed robbery later than night.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Mr. Sturgeon, despite the stern and unforgiving image he wants to impart to his students.