History Main / BigShadowLittleCreature

* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{[Mulan}}'', Mushu the Dragon's introduction to the titular heroine uses this trope.

* One of the secrets in ''VideoGame/SeriousSam - The Second Encounter'' has a demon shadow on the spiral staircase room in The Pit. The caster of the shadow is a very tiny variation of one of the enemies.

* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/Mulan'', Mushu the Dragon's introduction to the titular heroine uses this trope.

* ''Film/{{Zathura}}'', when the Robot first appears.

* The movie adaptation of ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King]]'' portrays the scene where Sam scares away the orcs of Cirith Ungol as this, unlike the book where it was the Ring's evil aura that frightened them. This was likely done because the latter is an abstract concept that's a lot harder to convey in a visual medium.

* Mushu, the [[NonHumanSidekick dragon sidekick]] in Disney's ''{{Disney/Mulan}}'' does this: he casts a nice dragon-shaped shadow, until she realizes he's only a foot high. This scene is repeated in the game, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', which Sora and the gang initially mistake for a heartless attacking Mulan.
* ''Disney/{{Dumbo}}'': As Timothy Mouse approaches the ringleader's bed to whisper in his ear, he casts a huge shadow that is a direct homage to ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}''.
* Mama Odie's introduction in ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''. The DVDCommentary references ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'' as an inspiration.
* In ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', when Yzma drinks one of the last potions, she briefly casts a huge shadow, and is then revealed to have transformed into [[spoiler:a cute kitten]].

** A decade before "What's Opera, Doc?" we have the ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}'' parody, "A Corny Concerto", which begins with the silhouette of a tall, strapping figure stepping up to a podium in a fashion similar to Leopold Stokowski, only to be revealed to be Elmer Fudd in a suit that seems to hang off of him like a set of drapes.

* ''Theatre/WesterosAnAmericanMusical'': An uplifting take on the trope shows up in "The Siege of King's Landing" as Tyrion is giving himself a pep talk:

''Theatre/WesterosAnAmericanMusical'': An uplifting take on the trope shows up in "The Siege of King's Landing" as Tyrion is giving himself a pep talk:

* Subverted in one ''JimmyNeutron'' episode where they're camping - we see the shadow, and it turns out to be a squirrel. Then we see the bear who's really casting the shadow.

* Near the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', [[spoiler: Pepita casts a shadow resembling his Alebrije form in the living world, but then enters in the form a normal-sized cat.]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', in the Tomb of the Unknown King, after the party runs into Sacred (one half of what will become the Brothers [[SummonMagic Guardian Force]]) the second time, he tells the heroes that he's going to call on his older brother to aid him. The screen briefly gets obscured by a huge silhouette, until it shrinks to reveal Minotaur

* In the film version of ''InspectorGadget'', the villain makes a giant shadow puppet with his hands on the city's skyscraper, tricking people into thinking that a [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant monster]] is attacking.

* In ''Series/{{Lassie}}'', Jeff and Lassie notice the shadow of someone walking through the barn. He alerts his parents, noting that it looks like there's a big guy in there. They go in to investigate, only to find a young orphan named Timmy.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Plato's Stepchildren", our heroes beam down to the planet and are greeted by a booming voice and an enormous looming shadow, which turns out to be cast by Alexander, the four-foot-high court jester. The actor playing Alexander was 3 feet, 11 inches tall.

* Oddly, the movie adaptation of ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King]]'' turns Sam Gamgee sending Orcs running before him because they sense the power of the One Ring which holds into this, played entirely straight in the middle of a climactic scene despite still looking very funny.
** Probably a necessary adaptation, as conveying their awareness of the Ring's invisible aura of menace would be hard to do on camera, rather than in prose form.

* Mr. Big, a villain on ''RockyAndBullwinkle'', appeared as an enormous shadow on the wall for several episodes before finally being revealed to be smaller than Rocky.