History Main / OpenSesame

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "The Invasion of Time", there was a hidden doorway that opened when a particular phrase was spoken. The phrase was "There's nothing more useless than a door with a voice lock."
** In "Battlefield," the door is keyed to the Doctor saying "Open up -- it's me."

* The PC adventure ''KingsQuestV'' has a treasury used by a band of thieves open with the very same phrase as the title of this trope, most likely as a shout out to ''ArabianNights'', given the series' tendency to reuse fairy tales in their plots.

** The DisneyAnimatedCanon version of ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' (the adaptation of ''{{Aladdin}} and His Magic Lamp'' from ArabianNights) featured this in the third movie, where this was the magic phrase used to part the ocean to get to the base of the 40 Thieves.

* The name of this trope comes from the tales of "AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves", where the 40 Thieves hide their stolen loot in a cave. The entrance uses a rock that moves only when you say, "Open Sesame" (Ali Baba follows them there).
** OlderThanRadio: Though often included in editions of ''The ArabianNights'', the oldest known version of Ali Baba is an 18th-century French translation by Antoine Galland.

The fact that it sounds an awful lot like [[OpenSaysMe "Open Says-A-Me"]] is a coincidence: the phrase comes from Arabic, and the pun doesn't work, but the translation remains the same: "Iftaḥ yā Simsim" are the traditional words, and they literally mean "Open, Simsim." Simsim is Arabic for sesame. The use of "simsim" is a just a random word, which makes sense; [[ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish why would you make the magic words to a secret chamber of riches something someone could figure out?]]

* The name of this trope comes from the tales of "AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves", where the 40 Thieves hide their stolen loot in a cave. The entrance uses a rock that moves only when you say, "Open Sesame" (Ali Baba follows them there). That makes this OlderThanPrint.

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* The name of this trope comes from the tales of "AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves", where the 40 Thieves hide their stolen loot in a cave. The entrance uses a rock that moves only when you say, "Open Sesame" (Ali Baba follows them there). That makes this probably OlderThanPrint.

* "Opensesame" is the CheatCode in ''DeusEx'' to unlock any door you target.

* ''DoctorWho'': In "The Invasion of Time", there was a hidden doorway that opened when a particular phrase was spoken. The phrase was "There's nothing more useless than a door with a voice lock."

* The name of this trope comes from the ''ArabianNights'', where [[strike:Ali Baba and]] the 40 Thieves hide their stolen loot in a cave. The entrance uses a rock that moves only when you say, "Open Sesame" (Ali Baba follows them there). That makes this probably OlderThanPrint.

* Want to get into the [[HarryPotter Chamber of Secrets?]] Then you'd better know how to speak Parseltongue!

* ''{{Sneakers}}'' has a voiceprint lock that requires a specific phrase; unlike in ''Shadowrun'', it ends up being possible to beat the lock with a tape recorder.

* The Battle School lockers in ''[[EndersGame Ender's Game]]'' have voice-activated locks.
* Want to get into the [[HarryPotter Chamber of Secrets?]] Then you'd better know how to speak Parseltounge!

* In the [[BattleTech BattleTech]] universe, the standard activation sequence for a 'Mech involves a voiceprint match ''followed by'' a code phrase.

* The PC adventure ''[[KingsQuest King's Quest V]]'' has a treasury used by a band of thieves open with the very same phrase as the title of this trope, most likely as a shout out to ''ArabianNights'', given the series' tendency to reuse fairy tales in their plots.
** Used again in the sixth game where Alex breaks into the EvilChancellor's secret room with "Ali Zebu"

-->Uh...Open, sasparilla? Open, Saskatchewan? Open, saddle soap?

* RobertAHeinlein's ''Stranger in a Strange Land''. Ben Caxton's apartment had a door lock that opens when a specific phrase is spoken.

* The name of this trope comes from the ArabianNights, where [[strike:Ali Baba and]] the 40 Thieves hide their stolen loot in a cave. The entrance uses a rock that moves only when you say, "Open Sesame" (Ali Baba follows them there). That makes this probably OlderThanPrint.
** The DisneyAnimatedCanon version of Disney/{{Aladdin}} (the adaptation of ''{{Aladdin}} and His Magic Lamp'' from ArabianNights) featured this in the third movie, where this was the magic phrase used to part the ocean to get to the base of the 40 Thieves.

* An episode of ''MissionImpossible'' requires the mark the IMF is seeking to open the warhead room by saying the words, "January Suborbital Denomination."

* ''DoctorWho'': In "The Invasion of Time", there was a hidden doorway that opened when a particular phrase was spoken. The phrase was "There's nothing more useless than a door with a voice lock."
* In the ''{{Shadowrun}}'' TabletopRPG, voiceprint locks are designed so simply tape recording and using the voice of an authorized person won't work.

* ''{{Sneakers}}'' has a voiceprint lock that requires a specific phrase; unlike in ''Shadowrun'', it ends up being possible to beat the lock with a tape recorder.

* In the [[BattleTech BattleTech]] universe, the standard activation sequence for a 'Mech involves a voiceprint match ''followed by'' a code phrase.
* In one episode of DextersLaboratory, the titular laboratory only opens when you use the spoken password "StarWars". Any other phrase, such as ''Omelette de fromage'', won't work.
* Used amusingly in {{WALL-E}}, when Auto prompts the captain for voice confirmation, he replies "Huh?" - which, of course, is accepted.
* An episode of {{Leverage}} has a safe with a voice activated lock. The thieves get in by being able to record every possible sound from the safe's owner by getting him to say the name of a very complicated French dish, then have him drop the F-bomb when he realizes it's raw shrimp.
* The PC adventure ''[[KingsQuest King's Quest V]]'' has a treasury used by a band of thieves open with the very same phrase as the title of this trope, most likely as a shout out to ''ArabianNights'', given the series' tendency to reuse fairy tales in their plots.
** Used again in the sixth game where Alex breaks into the EvilChancellor's secret room with "Ali Zebu"
* Mr. Krabs used a voice-activated lock in one episode of ''SpongebobSquarepants'', "Jellyfish Hunter", on the enclosure with all the jellyfish he had Spongebob capture. However, while telling Spongebob about the lock he says "The door is voice-activated, and will only open if I say 'open'." You can guess what happens next.

* "Opensesame" is the CheatCode in ''DeusEx'' to unlock any door you target.

* The LooneyTunes short ''AliBabaBunny'' involves {{Characters/Bugs Bunny}} and Daffy Duck accidentally tunneling into the cave of a wealthy sultan. When the sultan's guard sees this, he tries to invoke the phrase in order to open the cave and capture them, but finds that he's forgotten the proper word:
-->Uh...Open, sasparilla? Open, Saskatchewan? Open, saddle soap?
* A 1950s movie has the wives and daughters of the original Forty Thieves, seeking vengeance for their slaughtered families, living in a cave worked by this means... sort of.
-->Open Sesame! (door opens, woman enters with friend)
-->Close Sesame! (door closes, woman picks up a carrot, walks around a wall)
-->Good girl, Sesame. (gives the carrot to Sesame. Sesame is a trained mule.)

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* ''The Arabian Knights'' cartoon on ''TheBananaSplitsShow''. The entrance to the title characters' cave was covered by a rock that slid aside when one of them said "Open Sesame!"

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* A ShoutOut on the JamesBond film ''Moonraker'' where the BigBad's laboratory opens when you play the first five tones from the ''CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'' tune.

* ''DoctorWho'':
** In "The Invasion of Time", there was a hidden doorway that opened when a particular phrase was spoken. The phrase was "There's nothing more useless than a door with a voice lock."
** In "The Five Doctors" there was a door that could only be opened by playing a certain tune on a harp. The tune itself was HiddenInPlainSight.
* ''BatmanBegins'' has an piano act as a musical lock to get to the elevator for the Batcave.

* In the ''{{lonelygirl15}}'' story "lonelygirl15 Season One Finale", the door to the Order base would only open if certain musical notes were played in sequence.

** Used again in the sixth game where Alex breaks into the [[EvilChancelor]]'s secret room with "Ali Zebu"

* In ''XiaolinShowdown'', the vault for the [[MacGuffin Shen Gong Wu]] is opened by playing specific notes on wind chimes.
* ''Myst'', has a whole island based on using sound clues to open doors. To get there you have to play a certain tune on an organ in a rocket ship.

* One of the adventure games in the ''Trapped'' series (not [[TheTrappedTrilogy those ones]], [[http://jayisgames.com/tag/trappedseries these ones]]) requires you to play the tune from a music box on the piano to open a secret door.

* One of the adventure games in the ''Trapped'' series (not [[TheTrappedTrilogy those ones]], [[http://jayisgames.com/tag/trappedseries these ones]]) requires you to play the tune from a music box on the piano to open a secret door.

* The LooneyTunes short ''Ali Baba Bunny'' involves {{Characters/Bugs Bunny}} and Daffy Duck accidentally tunneling into the cave of a wealthy sultan. When the sultan's guard sees this, he tries to invoke the phrase in order to open the cave and capture them, but finds that he's forgotten the proper word: