History Literature / TomThumb

The Aarne Thompson type is 700; see Literature/{{Thumbelina}} for the DistaffCounterpart. Full text [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/english/tomthumb.html here]]; there are [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/thumbelina/other.html similar tales]] in many countries.

* SwallowedWhole: Happens to Tom with a fish and a cow. Modern versions usually tone it down to simply being stuck in the cow's mouth.

The most notable Tom Thumb stories include Richard Johnson's ''The History of Tom Thumbe'' published in 1621. A 1730 play by English dramatist Creator/HenryFielding by the same name name, and which he rewrote in 1731 as ''The Tragedy of Tragedies''. A 1958 movie musical stars [[Theatre/WestSideStory Russ Tamblyn]] as Tom. Creator/ChuckJones did two radically different cartoons based on the story for Creator/WarnerBros, decades apart: the {{Disneyesque}} "Tom Thumb In Trouble," and the Pythonesque "I Was a Teenage Thumb."

The most notable Tom Thumb stories include Richard Johnson's ''The History of Tom Thumbe'' published in 1621. A 1730 play by English dramatist Creator/HenryFielding by the same name name, and which he rewrote in 1731 as ''The Tragedy of Tragedies''. A 1958 movie musical stars [[Theatre/WestSideStory Russ Tamblyn]] as Tom. Creator/ChuckJones did two radically different cartoons based on the story for Creator/WarnerBros, decades apart: the Disneyesque "Tom Thumb In Trouble," and the Pythonesque "I Was a Teenage Thumb."

The most notable Tom Thumb stories include Richard Johnson's ''The History of Tom Thumbe'' published in 1621. A 1730 play by English dramatist Creator/HenryFielding by the same name name, and which he rewrote in 1731 as ''The Tragedy of Tragedies''. A 1958 movie musical stars [[Theatre/WestSideStory Russ Tamblyn]] as Tom. Creator/ChuckJones did two radically different cartoons based on the story for Warner Brothers, decades apart: the Disneyesque "Tom Thumb In Trouble," and the Pythonesque "I Was a Teenage Thumb."

The origin of Tom Thumb is often cited as a poor, childless couple in the days of Myth/KingArthur allowing an old beggar (secretly the magician {{Myth/Merlin}}) to take refreshment in their home. The couple longs for a son and would be content even if he was no bigger than a thumb. Amused by this notion, Merlin casts a spell which resulted in the birth of the diminutive Tom Thumb. The tiny child is blessed by the fairy queen.

Stories involving Tom Thumb include typical fairy tale plot lines such as killing [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], wooing various women and embarking on innumerable other tasks in order to achieve/gain/prove something. These tasks are further complicated by the size of Tom Thumb, though he inevitably manages to utilize his tiny size to overcome obstacles in his way in roundabout ways. With unsettling frequency he gets eaten by various animals and escapes by various means, including cutting his way out, yelling so that a nearby parson thinks the animal is possessed, and just getting pooped out.

Stories involving Tom Thumb include typical fairy tale plot lines such as killing giants, wooing various women and embarking on innumerable other tasks in order to achieve/gain/prove something. These tasks are further complicated by the size of Tom Thumb, though he inevitably manages to utilize his tiny size to overcome obstacles in his way in roundabout ways. With unsettling frequency he gets eaten by various animals and escapes by various means, including cutting his way out, yelling so that a nearby parson thinks the animal is possessed, and just getting pooped out.

* DownerEnding: Dinah Mulock's version ends with Tom Thumb being killed by a spider.

* DownerEnding: Richard Johnson's version ends with Tom Thumb being killed by a spider.

The most notable Tom Thumb stories include Richard Johnson's ''The History of Tom Thumbe'' published in 1621. A 1730 play by English dramatist Creator/HenryFielding by the same name name, and which he rewrote in 1731 as ''The Tragedy of Tragedies''. A 1958 movie musical stars [[Theatre/WestSideStory Russ Tamblyn]] as Tom.

The most notable Tom Thumb stories include Richard Johnson's ''The History of Tom Thumbe'' published in 1621. A 1730 play by English dramatist Henry Fielding by the same name name, and which he rewrote in 1731 as ''The Tragedy of Tragedies''. A 1958 movie musical stars [[Theatre/WestSideStory Russ Tamblyn]] as Tom.

The Aarne Thompson type is 700; see {{Thumbelina}} for the DistaffCounterpart. Full text [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/english/tomthumb.html here]]; there are [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/thumbelina/other.html similar tales]] in many countries.

The origin of Tom Thumb is often cited as a poor, childless couple in the days of KingArthur allowing an old beggar (secretly the magician {{Myth/Merlin}}) to take refreshment in their home. The couple longs for a son and would be content even if he was no bigger than a thumb. Amused by this notion, Merlin casts a spell which resulted in the birth of the diminutive Tom Thumb. The tiny child is blessed by the fairy queen.

* ImprovisedClothes: To an extent - Tom's wardrobe gets pretty imaginative, with [[{{ImprovisedWeapon}} a needle for a sword]]. There's even a touch of GardenGarment with a leaf for a hat, a thistledown jacket, and stockings made out of apple rinds.

* LiteralGenie[=/=]JerkassGenie: Oddly enough, Merlin can seem to be this in many versions giving the childless couple such a tiny child out of amusement. Though it worked out well.

The most notable Tom Thumb stories include Richard Johnson's ''The History of Tom Thumbe'' published in 1621. A 1730 play by English dramatist Henry Fielding by the same name name, and which he rewrote in 1731 as ''The Tragedy of Tragedies''.

Tom Thumb is a traditional hero in English folklore who is no bigger than his father's thumb. Most commonly used as a stock FairyTale character in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

* LilliputianWarriors: In many of the tales, Tom is quite the BadAss.

The origin of Tom Thumb is often cited as a poor, childless couple in the days of KingArthur allowing an old beggar (secretly the magician {{Merlin}}) to take refreshment in their home. The couple longs for a son and would be content even if he was no bigger than a thumb. Amused by this notion, Merlin casts a spell which resulted in the birth of the diminutive Tom Thumb. The tiny child is blessed by the fairy queen.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: An obscure independent stop-motion adaptation called ''The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb'', made in 1993. Harsh, squalid environments; giant bugs and creatures crawling everywhere; violence, death and experimentation as major plot points and a BittersweetEnding involving a nuclear reactor exploding and killing everyone. Also, Tom Thumb himself looks like a fetus.

Stories involving Tom Thumb include typical fairy tale plot lines such as killing giants, wooing various women and embarking on innumerable other tasks in order to achieve/gain/prove something. These tasks are further complicated by the size of Tom Thumb, though he inevitably manages to utilize his tiny size to overcome obstacles in his way in roundabout ways.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: An obscure independent stop-motion adaptation called ''The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb'', made in 1993. Harsh, squalid environments; giant bugs and creatures crawling everywhere; violence, death and experimentation as major plot points and an EsotericHappyEnding involving a nuclear reactor exploding and killing everyone. Also, Tom Thumb himself looks like a fetus.