History Main / CueTheFallingObject

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': "Going! Going! Gosh!" The Coyote tries to launch an arrow on which dynamite is attached, but it's the bow that leaves instead. He looks down, sees the arrow still in his paws, and KABOOM!!! When the explosion clears, the middle half of the arrow falls off.

* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "When Aliens Attack", Fry remarks that the key to a good television show is [[StatusQuoIsGod having everything back to normal by the end]]. Then the camera zooms out to show New New York in ruins, the Statute of Liberty in the foreground as her torch falls over.

* ''Film/WildWildWest'': After Jim West manages to dodge an assassin (which was concealing himself as a "living artwork" in the office of Loveless, and kills Miss West at the same time), he pulls out his gun and shoots every piece of artwork in the room that is man-sized. After he does so and walks away, we find out that said artwork included an assassin on the roof when he crashes down onto Loveless' desk.

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The quest to reclaim HK-55 as a companion begins with a cutscene of HK gunning down every other droid in the testing chamber, as panicked technicians run to and fro, until the Outlander arrives and surveys the scene with HK and the lead tech standing amidst the devastation as one burning droid in the background slowly collapses.

%%[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/massacre_8.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:Falling bodies say "Shhlumpf!"]]

* In ''Film/TheMatrix'' after Neo and Trinity have a big gunfight with the guards to rescue Morpheus, they casually enter the elevator. The camera then shows the extent of the damage to the lobby, one of the pillars' marble collapsing onto the floor. [[note]]This happened by coincidence during the filming and was not planned, but [[LeftItIn was left since it seemed appropriate]].[[/note]]

-->[[TheDragon Redcloak]]: As of right now, we own this city!
-->''They look at the ruined city. One of the castle's towers collapses.''
-->[[BigBad Xykon]]: ...I don't suppose we kept the receipt?
* ''WebComic/{{Lackadaisy}}'': Seen in over on the right side of [[http://www.lackadaisycats.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=216 this mini comic]] as Viktor and Mordecai stand surrounded by a gang they just slaughtered, one of the bodies is slumping over.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/massacre_8.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Falling bodies say "Shhlumpf!"]]

1. The main characters have just had a big fight. It was brutal and half the building they are in just got trashed, but they emerge victorious. The characters then continue with their quest, and the following shot shows the place lying in ruins as something falls over or breaks.

2. The main characters have, in one form or another, found themselves in a place that needs tidying up and/or fixing (badly). One of them might say something along the lines of [[TemptingFate "This place isn't a mess" or "We'll clean this up in no time!"]] which, as a form of the universe laughing at you, will have something falling over or breaking.

In both scenarios the trope is invoked for comedic effect, although the former one is usually to show how badass the characters are that they are nonchalant as if big fights trashing buildings are normal and expected, while the latter is a form of InstantlyProvenWrong. Note that while the above are the two most ''likely'' scenarios there are also other situations where this trope is invoked, usually when whatever the characters are doing end up with everything trashed.

* In ''Film/Deadpool2016'' a corpse drops from the traffic sign after the highway fight at the beginning, just as Deadpool is trying to convince [[spoiler:Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead]] that nobody got hurt.

* In ''Film/Deadpool2016'' a corpse drops from the traffic sign after the highway fight at the beginning, [[spoiler:during the conversation with Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead]].

* In the 2009 version of ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', Holmes and Watson look upon the aftermath of their fight with a giant mook at the wharf. In a comedic moment Holmes blames Watson for the havoc while we see [[https://youtu.be/okWfbWav60w a structure topple]] in the background.

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' contains a parody of the gunfight mentioned in the entry for ''Film/TheMatrix'' above. Sure enough, at the end, the game faithfully reproduces the shot in which a piece of pillar crumbles to the floor. There's an amusing catch, however. Unlike the original scene being parodied however, in the game the pillars are only as destroyed as they became during gameplay when you used them for cover. It is possible to clear the scene with minimal to no damage to the pillars, and since the enemy corpses in this game fade away to save on memory, you can end up being presented with a shot of an empty, pristine lobby, at which point the scripted shard of pillar breaks off and crumbles to the floor... emerging from a completely intact pillar.

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' contains a parody of the gunfight mentioned in the entry for ''Film/TheMatrix'' above. Sure enough, at the end, the game faithfully reproduces the shot in which a piece of pillar crumbles to the floor. Unlike the original scene being parodied however, in the game the pillars are only as destroyed as they became during gameplay when you used them for cover. It is possible to clear the scene with minimal to no damage to the pillars, and since the enemy corpses in this game fade away to save on memory, you can end up being presented with a shot of an empty, pristine lobby, at which point the scripted shard of pillar breaks off and crumbles to the floor... emerging from a completely intact pillar.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': After Bob gets home after a frustrating day, he accidentally slams the door so hard it shatters, causing a mild freakout. He lifts the car over his head about to do something, but notices a neighborhood kid watching him. As the two stare at each other, a piece of glass falls out of the window, then Bob puts the car down and goes into the house.

* ''WebComic/{{Lackadaisy}}'': Seen in over on the right side of [[http://www.lackadaisycats.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=216 this mini comic]] as Viktor and Mordecai stand surrounded by a gang they just slaughtered, one of the bodies is slumping over.

In both scenarios the trope is invoked for comedic effect, although the former one is usually to show how {{Badass}} the characters are that they are nonchalant as if big fights trashing buildings are normal and expected, while the latter is a form of InstantlyProvenWrong. Note that while the above are the two most ''likely'' scenarios there are also other situations where this trope is invoked, usually when whatever the characters are doing end up with everything trashed.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The quest to reclaim HK-55 as a companion begins with a cutscene of HK gunning down every other droid in the testing chamber, as panicked technicians run to and fro, until the Outlander arrives and surveys the scene with HK and the lead tech standing amidst the devastation as one burning droid in the background slowly collapses.
[[/folder]]

* In the 2009 version of ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', Holmes and Watson look upon the aftermath of their fight with a giant mook at the wharf. In a comedic moment Holmes blames Watson for the havoc while we see [[https://youtu.be/okWfbWav60w a structure topple]] in the background.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/TheMatrix'' after Neo and Trinity have a big gunfight with the guards to rescue Morpheus, they casually enter the elevator. The camera then shows the extent of the damage to the lobby, one of the pillars' marble collapsing onto the floor. [[note]]This happened by coincidence during the filming and was not planned, but [[LeftItIn was left since it seemed appropriate]].[[/note]]

* ''Films/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': After Eddie crashes his car while in Toontown, he looks at the wreckage and sees a bowling ball rolling over and crushing a wind-up doll.
* ''Film/WildWildWest'': After Jim West manages to dodge an assassin (which was concealing himself as a "living artwork" in the office of Loveless, and kills Miss West at the same time), he pulls out his gun and shoots every piece of artwork in the room that is man-sized. After he does so and walks away, we find out that said artwork included an assassin on the roof when he crashes down onto Loveless' desk.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': After Bob gets home after a frustrating day, he accidentally slams the door so hard it shatters, causing a mild freakout. He lifts the car over his head about to do something, but notices a neighborhood kid watching him. As the two stare at each other, a piece of glass falls out of the window, then Bob puts the car down and goes into the house.

* ''WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter'': After Shrek smashes the birthday cake and leaves the party, everyone stares in horror while Gingy's pastry chaps fall from his legs.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'': Most of the main characters cross the road to try and rescue Woody. Mr. Potato Head says "Well that was easy" and the camera cuts to show the massive traffic accident they caused before a lamppost falls over.

* ''Mickeys Once Upon A Christmas'': In the Stuck on Christmas story, Donald's decorated living room is trashed after his nephews' prank involving a live turkey gets out of hand. While examining the wreckage, Donald sees that the Christmas tree is still standing and remarks "Well, we still have the tree", after which the tree falls down on him.

See also CueTheRain, GilliganCut.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes, even a nice still image won't do. You want to really emphasize on your point, in this case, the fact that the place you're showing is a mess, so what do you do? Make something fall over, obviously, so the audience knows just how much the place is in shambles. This trope will usually play out in two ways: