History Main / FlatJoy

Can frequently be used sarcastically, when the "joy" is invoked by something very much ''not'' joyful. In this circumstance, it is inevitably said by the DeadpanSnarker. Just as often, however, the character in question may actually be truly joyful, and simply [[TheStoic isn't an emotional or expressive person]], or is incapable of being loud. Deadpan or Flat is the character's normal tone of voice, even when expressing happiness. This trope also works for characters who are so overjoyed that they are absolutely floored and stunned and not able to express their happiness properly. Just pure flat awe.

--> '''Olympia:''' So...gonna remake all these sandwiches! Yay.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Raven would occasionally indulge in the DeadpanSnarker version of this trope:

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', one of the Koopa Troopas says a clearly unenthusiastic "Yeah..." upon hearing Bowser wanting to marry Peach.

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', this happens when Kirito, who's recently been inducted to the Knights of the Blood, is forced to partner with Kuradeel, whom he'd previously quarreled with and beaten in a duel, under the supervision of Godrey, the frontline commander. Neither Kirito nor Kuradeel are happy about it, [[spoiler:and Kuradeel is plotting to murder Kirito and Godfrey]].

* Ben Stein's schtick, as a spokesman for Clear Eyes eyedrops, was always him giving a flat, disinterested "Wow." after demonstrating the power of Clear Eyes.

* ''{{Anime/Aggretsuko}}'' has [[TheStoic Fenneko]], who doesn't so much "laugh" as "say the word 'ha' repeatedly."

* ''Manga/KiniroMosaic'': In episode nine of the second season of the anime adaptation, we learn that the Inokuma twins are going to the pool, running around the room with arms up chanting "Pool. Pool. The School Pool." in a synchronized deadpan. Though it's worth noting that they are genuinely keen, it's just that the pair like to speak in a cute monotone fairly often.

-->"Whoopde-freaking-meow."

* In a one-page ''ComicBook/RichieRich'' comic book gag, Richie tells his butler Cadbury a joke, which fails to elicit an emotional response from him, but later on as Cadbury goes for a walk, he lets out a single "haw."
* ''ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}}'': In the animated episode "State Visit", the "enthusiastic crowd" assembled to acclaim the visiting sultan sound thoroughly bored as they say, "Hurray. Hurray. Long live Haroun el-Plassid. Hurray. Hurray. Long live Iznogoud." Similarly, the "ruthless crowd" watching the imprisoned Iznogoud on public display at the end of the episode are almost as listless as they say, "Boo. Boo. Get rid of Grand Vizier Iznogoud."

* In one ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' comic, Charlie Brown rewards Snoopy with "The greatest reward a dog can receive from a human: A pat on the head." In the next panel, Snoopy rolls his eyes and thinks, "Thrillsville."
* An early ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' comic had Jon Arbuckle making a ''really big deal'' out of what Garfield was going to get for dinner. When he finally revealed that it was "Liver!", Garfield put on a disgusted expression and thought, "Oh hooray, hop about, clap paws, squeal with glee."

* In ''Film/{{Fletch}}'', the title character responds to the arrival of a corrupt police chief with an utterly dry and deadpan "Thank God, the police."
* ''Film/RealityBites'' gives us Troy Dyer's somewhat non sequitur, very {{deadpan| snarker}} "I'm bursting with fruit flavor."

* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'': Laurence Dominic's reaction when he and Echo finally get what the guy in the Attic meant when he said that they have to [[{{autocannibalism}} "enjoy themselves."]]

** Whenever Dr. Rush, and sometimes, Eli Wallace, come up with a "solution" to a problem that ends up highlighting difficulties ahead, Dr. Volker will respond to the news with a very deadpan "Yaaaaaaay." Since Dr. Brody is no fan of Dr. Rush, he'll often join in with a bit more sarcasm.
** In one of the last episodes, when [[spoiler:they are forced by aggressive automated drones to refuel using a class-O supergiant star instead of the usual red dwarf, and are facing a future of being dogged by said drones, Dr. Rush points out that at least they have a full tank of gas.]] Volker, Brody, AND Colonel Young all responded with a rather joyless "Yay."
* George's surrogate in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' ignores affect: "Oh boy. Goodie."
* Lilith Sternin, Frasier's girlfriend and eventual wife on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' was famous for this. As she said in an early appearance, speaking perfect truth, "You'll never know how happy this makes me."

* {{Music/Nirvana}}'s "Smells Like Teen Spirit": "A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido. Yeeeaah! ... ''Yay''."

* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'': "Wheeeee..."

* In an ''WebAnimation/ExtraCredits'' episode, Daniel Floyd introduces ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezTheCartel'' with a very flat "ta-dahhhh."

* ''WesternAnimation/BountyHamster'': While Marion is usually very emotive, his growl is a near-emotionless "Grrr."

* WesternAnimation/{{Droopy}} could be considered the TropeCodifier, he did so often. It never seemed like he was being sarcastic; rather, this was as expressive as he was physically able to get. Occasionally, he might break character for the sake of humor, erupting in joy and doing over-the-top {{Wild Take}}s and back flips, only to very suddenly stop and look at the camera, and give his usual flat joy line "You know what? I'm happy." This tended to happen when at the end of the episode he received a large sum of money, or [[SmoochOfVictory a kiss from a beautiful woman.]]

** {{Subverted|Trope}} in the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]": Fluttershy ''is'' sincere when she practices cheering for Rainbow Dash, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xczDd2_X0DI it comes out as this]] because she's so meek and soft-spoken: "Yay..." [[spoiler:When Rainbow Dash pulls off the eponymous move and saves Rarity and the Wonderbolts' lives, Fluttershy breaks into cheering so ecstatic that her voice cracks]].

** In "Bart on the Road", Lisa is spending her days goofing off with Homer while he is on the job at the power plant, but after Bart calls her and swears her to secrecy as he admits that he, Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin are stranded in Knoxville after he forged a driving licence and used it to hire a car that has since been demolished, she is left grappling with an ethical dilemma. A few days later, Homer sits Lisa on his chair and spins it around and around, and when it finally comes to a stop, Lisa's reaction is a monotone "Whee." [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness This is enough to clue Homer into something being wrong.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'': In the episode "The Golden Smurf Award", when Brainy nominates himself as the winner of the titular award in order to break a 98-way tie after his friend Clumsy was unable to cast a vote to break the tie, every Smurf groans, and Vanity flatly says, "I'm so happy for you."

* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' had an episode where the students of Acme Looniversity face their rivals Perfecto Prep in a football game. Although the Acme cheerleaders (Babs, Fifi, and Shirley) are quite enthusiastic, all the Perfecto cheerleaders can manage is a halfhearted "Perfecto. Rah."
* In an episode from the 1975 Hanna-Barbera ''WesternAnimation/TheTomAndJerryShow'', Robin Hood (here called Robin Ho Ho) tries to get his Merry Men to laugh, and they all respond with a mirthless "ha ha ha...ho ho ho...hee hee hee." This kind of laugh becomes the RunningGag of the whole episode right up to the end, when the Merry Men break out of this habit and have a truly joyous laugh at Robin Hood's expense.

* In ''Film/CarryOnAbroad'', the tour rep played by Creator/KennethWilliams pressures his assistant to liven up the party. This is her response.
-->'''Stuart:''' Moir, dear, a lot depends on the report they give when they get back. For goodness' sake, do something to brighten it up!\\
'''Moira:''' (deadpan, raising her glass in the air) Whoopee.

* Some people with Aspergers/Autism can have this problem sometimes. Feeling it but not quite able to express it.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Jafar, Jafar, he's our man, if he can't do it..."[[note]][[SuddenlyShouting GREAT!!!]][[/note]]]]

->''"You know what? I'm happy."''
-->-- '''WesternAnimation/{{Droopy}}'''

* In episode nine of the second season of the anime adaptation of ''Manga/KiniroMosaic'', we learn that the Inokuma twins are going to the pool, running around the room with arms up chanting "Pool. Pool. The School Pool." in a synchronized deadpan. Though it's worth noting that they are genuinely keen, it's just that the pair like to speak in a cute monotone fairly often.
* The English dub of ''Anime/SuperGals'' played this joke with the person in the cat suit giving prizes.
-->"Whoopde-freaking-meow."

* ''{{Anime/Aggretsuko}}'' has [[TheStoic Fenneko]], who doesn't so much "laugh" as "say the word 'ha' repeatedly."
* In ''Anime/BangDream'', this often happens with Tae, who is a perfectly sweet girl but quite a bit of a CloudCuckooLander who very rarely expresses emotion beyond neutral pleasantness. In the game, one of her post-live reactions has her saying in a monotone "Yay, woo. Ummm...I'm super happy! Am I doing this right?", and Kasumi responding "You're still a bit stiff. You have to smile when you're happy, O-Tae!" And in another, after Arisa pulls a characteristic {{Tsundere}} move, Tae notes sympathetically that they both have trouble showing it when they're happy.
* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', this happens when Kirito, who's recently been inducted to the Knights of the Blood, is forced to partner with Kuradeel, whom he'd previously quarreled with and beaten in a duel, under the supervision of Godrey, the frontline commander. Neither Kirito nor Kuradeel are happy about it, [[spoiler:and Kuradeel is plotting to murder Kirito and Godfrey]].
-->'''Godfrey:''' Awesome. Now, LET'S GO CLEAR A DUNGEON!\\
'''Kirito & Kuradeel:''' Yaay...

* ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} 8'' takes this to its logical extreme with one of its male "Loner" voice sets. ''Every single line'' is read as though the character is perpetually bored or depressed (although balanced with some vicious [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarking]]). Just imagine flat lines like: "Woo-hoo," on killing a high-level monster; "How exciting," on a level up; "I'm... very excited," on entering the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon; and "I'm... filled with glee," on ''winning the game''.

* Rochelle, from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', especially concerning Ellis' and Coach's enthusiasm over Jimmy Gibbs Jr.
* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'':
-->'''Pandora:''' You made it. Yay.
* The intro to ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic IV'' has random peasants saying "yaaaay" in the manner of this trope, in a very obvious shout-out to the TropeNamer for AndThereWasMuchRejoicing (the line prompting the Flat Joy was "and there was much rejoicing").
* ''VideoGame/NamuAmidaButsuUtena'': Kongōki Bosatsu "Ureshī" represents the offering of Joy in the Diamond Realm Mandala and is a skilled and hard-working entertainer, but despite all that, the guy himself is a staunch [[TheStoic stoic]].
* While most champions in ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' have enthusiastic "woohoo" emotes, Seris is so aloof that her "woohoo" almost sounds sarcastic.
* When the gates first open at the start of the match in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'', the heroes say something to start the game off, usually a whoo-hoo, a cheer, or some kind of battle-roar. Instead of that, [[DeadpanSnarker Sylvanas]] gives out [[http://rpboyer15.github.io/sounds-of-the-storm/vo/vo_hero/Sylvanas/Sylvanas%20-%20Default/Sylvanas_VOX_Cheer05.mp3 the flattest "yay" you will ever hear]].
* Used as {{Foreshadowing}} in ''VideoGame/DeathEndReQuest'': [[spoiler:Cecilia's underwhelming response to the team arriving at Odyssia serves as a hint that she has been there before, and doesn't find it impressive.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' series, Sig has such a stoic demeanor that he will typically express joy in a deadpan manner. The official audio plays and novels give him a very flat, fake-sounding laugh that Amitie recognizes is genuine due to having been around him for so long. In Chapter 4 of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris'', Sig cheers in his typical deadpan manner when he introduces a Puyo match between Amitie and Raffina, with the UnsoundEffect saying "*Crowd-gone-wild cheer*".

* Any crowd of people on ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' cartoons, or any other Creator/JayWard production, always gave very unenthusiastic, half-hearted, deadpan "yay"s and equally unenthusiastic "boo"s. This was most notable in ''Tom Slick'', where at least one yay and boo was expected per episode (cued by the narrator's mention of Tom Slick and Baron Otto Matic, respectively).

* A cut-away gag on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' shows Prince on ''The Price is Right'', reacting this way upon making a perfect bid in Contestant's Row.

* Egon in ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostBusters''. His deadpan, monotone voice is prevalent, even when he is legitimately happy.
* Lor in ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' is a [[BadBadActing bad actor]], so when she's given the line "After all these years I finally feel truly alive," this is how it turns out.
* Raven in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' would occasionally indulge in the DeadpanSnarker version of this trope:
-->'''Cyborg:''' ''[[[NotHimself under the effects of a computer virus]]]'' I know what we should do! Lets go get some waffles! Raven you like waffles, don't you?\\
'''Raven:''' More than life itself.
* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' had an episode where the students of Acme Looniversity face their rivals Perfecto Prep in a football game. Although the Acme cheerleaders (Babs, Fifi, and Shirley) are quite enthusiastic, all the Perfecto cheerleaders can manage is a halfhearted "Perfecto. Rah."

* The heroine of ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}},'' quite often. Usually the sarcastic variety, but even when legitimately happy, the most one usually gets out of her is a slight, sly smile.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "Demon in the Mattress", when Eustace struggles to exorcise the demon out of Muriel with his failed attempt to read the printed incantation correctly, Courage waves a flag and responds with an unenthusiastic "Yay farmer".

** In "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment", we have HardboiledDetective Rex Banner, whose seriousness creates this trope even when he is happy. He reacts exactly the same way to seeing a message that his services are needed to enforce prohibition in Springfield and another message that the family dog had puppies: a slight narrowing of the eyes. Then there's his attempt to laugh off the idea that the Beer Baron was real - or, rather, his attempt to laugh - which sounds like he has dry heaves.

* The animated version of ''Radio/TheRickyGervaisShow'' employs this in the cartoon for Creator/KarlPilkington's diary entry about learning the word "wewe",[[note]] a reference to Wewe Gombel, a female ghost with drooping breasts who kidnaps children according to Javanese and Sundanese mythology[[/note]] which Creator/StephenMerchant pronounces "woo". When Steve reads Karl's comment that he could not imagine a situation where he would ever need the word "wewe", Karl is shown sitting at a table in a pub with a pint, looking around the room, then mouthing "wewe" (in time with Stephen's voice) with an expression of flat joy.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' episode "The Golden Smurf Award", when Brainy nominates himself as the winner of the titular award in order to break a 98-way tie after his friend Clumsy was unable to cast a vote to break the tie, every Smurf groans, and Vanity flatly says, "I'm so happy for you."
* The Goths of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' run on this trope. Even at their most joyful neither goes anything above deadpan and they even tell each other to calm down for being too exuberant even though their delivery is still completely flat.
* Tina Belcher of ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' doesn't emote well, or much.
* Mermista in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is a DeadpanSnarker most of the time, and has a little trouble turning it off when she actually is happy. After winning a fight and getting her kingdom's magical protective barrier recharged by Adora, all she can manage is a flat "yay that was cool".
* ''WesternAnimation/BountyHamster'': While Marion is usually very emotive, his growl is a near-emotionless "Grrr."
-->'''Marion:''' [[BerserkButton Don't! CALL! ME!]] '''[[BerserkButton CUTE!]]''' Grrr. (cue BigBallOfViolence)
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': "The Test" has Garnet do this while playing [[CalvinBall a complicated cooking-based board game called "Citchen Calamity"]].
-->'''Garnet:''' I am now the owner of the golden can opener. (''beat'') Yesss.

* The English dub of ''Manga/SuperGals'' played this joke with the person in the cat suit giving prizes.

''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14026808/1/Daphne-Greengrass-and-the-Preemptive-Adulterer Daphne Greengrass and the Preemptive Adulterer]]'':