History Main / OpenTheIris

* JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E4TaskForceX: Plastique’s iris narrows every time she has a OhCrap moment.

* Happens to [[EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks Bruce]] in ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' as a result of him suddenly reverting back into "a mindless eating machine" after accidentally sniffing Dory's blood.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' provides the page image. The animation uses eye tropes heavily to convey emotions, and OpenTheIris is used to show, just for example, epiphany, wonder, greed, insanity, terror, emphasis of a key phrase, and the sensation of [[ItMakesSenseInContext burping up a scroll]].

* Common trope in WesternAnimation, especially happening to children when they are surprised by something (to the perspective of a kid) mortifying. Used at least once in nearly every {{Nickelodeon}} and Creator/CartoonNetwork show.

* Common trope in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', Gary gets this when Spongebob informs him it's time for a bath...though in his case, his pupils growing bigger means he's ''scared.''

* A prominent visual in Music/LadyGaga's video "BadRomance."

* ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' plays with the trope. Curt Connors' iris ''narrows'' to a vertical slit, then opens back up to a normal human one. Well, sort of. None of the people in this AnimatedSeries ''have'' pupils, just irises.

* This is used along with HellishPupils in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' - probably because [[spoiler:any character with this effect is usually in the grip of some serious paranoia]].

* People in ''Anime/GundamSEED'' who enter SEED Mode have much larger irises, though their emotional range typically doesn't change much.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', this is one of Homer's reactions as he chows down on Krusty Burger's barbecue sandwiches, repeated along with the action itself and fat and suchlike flooding into his system (a ShoutOut to Film/RequiemForADream'').

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', this is one of Homer's reactions as he chows down on Krusty Burger's barbecue sandwiches, repeated along with the action itself and fat and suchlike flooding into his system.

* A prominent visual in LadyGaga's video "BadRomance."

* ''DominicDeegan'' features irises getting huge and limpid when someone is feeling touched or romantic toward someone else.

* In ''{{Blip}}'', Hester's irises are massive by default, larger than any other characters' (it's even {{lampshaded}} [[http://blip.rampagenetwork.com/22/ early on]]); a visual indication that she's the most emotional of the bunch.

* In ''RustyAndCo'', [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-25/ even in minature, we can see how white Madeline's eyes get what she sees what Cube is doing.]]
* ''BearNuts'' makes heavy use of this.

* Common trope in ''TheFairlyOddparents''.

* In ''TheSimpsons'', this is one of Homer's reactions as he chows down on Krusty Burger's barbecue sandwiches, repeated along with the action itself and fat and suchlike flooding into his system.

** In general, this is the way Simpsons characters show that a psychoactive drug/medication is kicking in. ''{{Futurama}}'' uses the trope in the same way.

The opposite, when the irises are drawn in a shrunken state to indicate fear, pain, or shock is WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises. Compare ExpressiveMask.

When the pupils are drawn abnormally large, the eyes generally appear pleading or wistful. That trope is PuppyDogEyes

* In ''{{Blip}}'', Hester's irises are massive by default, larger than any other characters' (it's even {{lampshaded}} [[http://blipcomic.com/22/ early on]]); a visual indication that she's the most emotional of the bunch.

Opening the [[TeleFrag iris]] in ''Series/StargateSG1'' has nothing to do with this trope.

* Since just about every main character in ''PeacemakerKurogane'' spends a lot of time indulging in {{Angst}} over past and/or current traumatic events this happens often. (The most notable characters who do this are Tetsunosuke and Suzu.)
* Done in many {{Reaction Shot}}s in ''SerialExperimentsLain''.
** Similarly used in ''GhostHound'', by the same director.

* People in ''GundamSEED'' who enter SEED Mode have much larger irises, though their emotional range typically doesn't change much.

* [[ChisSweetHome Chi]]'s irises got HUGE when she saw a shopping bag filled with kitty toys. Of course, [[KidsPreferBoxes she went straight for the bag.]]

Normally, the eye filters light by widening or closing the hole in the centre of the iris, called the pupil. Emotional reactions can achieve this as well: shock might narrow the pupil, while relaxing could widen it considerably. However, in animated fare or ComicBooks, this can be very hard if not impossible to show, since a typical human pupil, at its widest, is 3-4 millimeters.[[note]]For the metric-impaired, that's 0.12-0.16 inches.[[/note]] This trope is a way to sidestep that difficulty. Instead of just changing the size of the ''pupil'', you change the size of the ''iris'' (the colored ring surrounding the pupil) as well.

* ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' plays with the trope. Curt Connors' iris ''narrows'' to a vertical slit, then opens back up to a normal human one. Well, sort of. None of the people in this AnimatedSeries ''have'' pupils, just iris.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' Dee Dee sees Dexter with chicken pox and this happens to her.