History Main / PerspectiveMagic

* Similarly, the Cutout mechanic in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'' works in a similar way: When objects line up into geometrical shapes or straight lines from the camera's perspective, Mario can then use those shapes. For instance, if a rectangle of a particular size and dimensions is created onscreen, Mario can then place a Thing card there to summon an object at that location.

* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' could be an example: in 2D things are blocking your way, but if you flip into 3D you can go around.

* [[Creator/MCEscher M. C. Escher's artworks make use of this]], like the Penrose Staircase and infinitely flowing water made possible from isometric depictions.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire_on_False_Perspective#/media/File:William_Hogarth_-_Absurd_perspectives.png William Hogarth: Satire on False Perspective (1753)]]. Originally intended to show the kind of mistakes an artist can make, but it's a fine example of this trope in its own right.

* [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP]]-[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2501 2501]] is a claw-like gauntlet that lets the wearer crush anything (including asteroids) as long as the wearer views it as if it's between the fingers of the claw. [[AuctionOfEvil Marshall, Carter, and Dark Ltd.]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards recognized how dangerous it was]] and opted to send it to the Foundation for safekeeping rather than sell it.

* Played for laughs in ''Franchise/DotHack'' when Kite wins a battle by violating the laws of perspective in .hack 4Koma. [[spoiler:He flicks his opponent off of a cliff because she looks small from that distance.]]

* In ''Music/DavidGuetta's'' [[https://youtu.be/BPiW0tkWfeg?t=78 Lovers On The Sun]], a girl stops riding her horse, with the Sun behind her on her right. The men in front of her watch as she turns around, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments ''plucks the Sun from the sky'']], and stows it away.

* In ''Creator/DavidGuetta's'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPiW0tkWfeg&ab_channel=DavidGuetta Lovers On The Sun]], a girl stops riding her horse, with the Sun behind her on her right. The men in front of her watch as she turns around, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments ''plucks the Sun from the sky'']], and stows it away.

* A villain from one of the ''Anime/ReadOrDie'' episodes had this as his power. If, in his perspective, his bo-staff 'hit' you, it actually did hit you.

* In a 2010 ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' storyline, Reed's new man-friends (alternate Reeds) helped saved millions from a sun nova by perspective magic. They "got big" with techno-babble and pulled out the defective parts of a sun.

* In the [[{{Main/FrancoBelgianComics}} Franco-Belgian]] comic [[{{ComicBook/Philemon}} Philemon]], this is used to great effect to travel to the "Lettres de L'Ocean Atlantique". By looking through either end of a magic telescope, the subject is either increased or decreased in size proportional to the image seen through the scope.

* In Creator/BillPlympton's first feature film, ''The Tune'', as the main character approaches the town of Flooby Nooby, he notices that the trees seem to get ''smaller'' as he approaches them. The mayor explains that perspective is an illusion: things really do get bigger when one gets nearer as a defense mechanism. But at Flooby Nooby, everyone is so relaxed that the opposite is true.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'' features a non-size related variation: the film's distinct flat style is just decorative for most of it, but in one scene it allows Brendan to [[spoiler:trap a Celtic god in a chalk circle]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong take a shortcut to the Train of Thought through Abstract Thought and become abstracted. When they become 2-D shapes, the door that was far away is now too small for them to go through until they become lines and are able to wriggle through.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' has the awesome "LeapOfFaith scene", where Indy steps onto a stone bridge that has been crafted to appear invisible from where he is standing.

* The fate of Mike Teevee in ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. Sadly, miniaturizing is easier than biggifying.

* Bruce of ''Film/BruceAlmighty'', after pulling the moon closer to the earth, casually creates a few stars, then wipes one out, by poking the sky with his fingers. Considering the effect the moon's gravity had, the star manipulation has some pretty horrible implications.
* A sight gag in ''Film/TopSecret'' used a phone which appeared to be huge from being extra close to the camera. Wrong! The phone really was huge.

* PlayedForDrama in ''Film/AtFirstSight''. When Creator/ValKilmer's character regains his sight after having been blind since childhood he's incapable of distinguishing distance. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os50D-aOZQo the trailer a 1:37]].
* [[TechnologyPorn Technologized]] in ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol''. Using an extremely hi-tech television screen that's as thin as fabric, and a camera that tracks the eyes of a viewer, IMF agents can sneak down a hallway in "plain sight." Aside from the obvious necessary advancements in screens and cameras, it's actually pretty realistically handled: the trick works on ''one'' viewer, but when a second enters, the system can't handle it and switches back and forth between their two perspectives, breaking the illusion. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydIPKkjBlMw Watch it here.]]
* Possibly invoked in ''Film/{{Mermaid}}'' where Alice seemingly shields Aleksandr from oncoming cars by steepling her hands around him.

* A guru in one of the ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' books has the ability to step between a series of pillars and the mountains behind them.

* Zorya Polunochnaya uses version 1 in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' to pick the moon out of the sky and give it to Shadow, in the form of a coin.
* In ''Literature/TheScar'', a grindylow magical artifact can give its user this power, and is used by a human spy to impressive effect. However, it comes with the price of [[TheCorruption starting to mutate him into something that doesn't quite seem human or grindylow...]]
* In ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' perspective is said to be one of the types of magic that works in Mundania as well. Notably, in the AntiMagic zone inside Xanth, perspective doesn't work, so things are the same size no matter what distance you are from them.[[/folder]]

* In one of Creator/SpikeMilligan's sketches Milligan walks over to a perspective backdrop of a street and leans over the rooftop to shout at the supposed occupants.

* A famous scene from an episode of ''Series/FatherTed'' has Ted attempting to explain the concepts of 'small' and 'far away' to Dougal with the use of some toy plastic cows and a view of some real cows in a field.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'', heroes with the "Moon" and "Sun" Purviews can use this trick to, respectively, pluck the moon or the sun out of the sky (and pocket it for later use). The sun can be used to create a Sun Crown, which is basically a halo that will shoot incoming projectiles out of the air with a solar laser, while the moon is a reflective disc that hovers around the user, deflecting energy-based attacks. Combining them both on a single character, either by having both powers, or by having two characters combine their abilities, and you get the rather scary Eclipse Crown...
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Godlike}}'', there's a Talent who can use his shadow's hands to move objects -- and the larger his shadow, the stronger his power.

* This is basically Lisa's superpower in one ''[[Franchise/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' video game.
* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' could be an example: in 2D things are blocking your way, but if you flip into 3D you can go around.
* Similarly, the Cutout mechanic in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'' works in a similar way: When objects line up into geometrical shapes or straight lines from the camera's perspective, Mario can then use those shapes. For instance, if a rectangle of a particular size and dimensions is created onscreen, Mario can then place a Thing card there to summon an object at that location.
* It's the major gameplay element on ''VideoGame/{{Echochrome}}''. If it's covered, it doesn't exist. If it appears to be above, below or connected, it is. ''Echochrome 2'' does Perspective Magic with shadows instead of objects.

* Commodore 64 offering ''Realm of Impossibility'' featured this sort of dungeon design in the titular Realm. It also took full advantage of the 2D graphics to blur the lines between horizontal and vertical surfaces.

* ''[[ShootEmUp Revolver360 Re:Actor]]'' has this as its central mechanic. Collisions of ships and bullets in 3D space is handled on the screen's 2D plane. One of the central mechanics, being able to rotate the game's viewpoint, means you can take advantage of this by moving a far away enemy into the background so you can shoot it, or rotate a massive wave of bullets into an easily dodged line.
* In ''Videogame/{{Fez}}'', you rotate the world in a way so it is treated as a single plane and therefore many gaps suddenly appear and disappear.
* The Mad Hatter has this power in the game version of Tim Burton's ''VideoGame/AliceInWonderland''. It's mainly a way to fix {{Broken Bridge}}s, but can also be used to crush enemies between his fingers.
* When the Savior, a ''massive'' demon-powered LivingStatue activates in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', Dante notices it from some distance away. He covers it by bringing his hand up to his face, mockingly saying that it's not so big before he crushes his fist.
** ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' has the demon Phineas, who is able to warp his local environment by making it resemble his own perspective. He uses this to [[NobleDemon aid Dante]] in crossing a [[EldritchLocation twisted hellscape of scattered debris]].

* The [=DigiPen=] game ''[[https://arcade.digipen.edu/games/perspective Perspective]]'' has this as its gimmick. Your character moves in 2D within a 3D world and can jump from any blue surface to any other blue surface no matter how far away it is (from the player's POV), as long as it's visible. You can also move the camera as if it were a character in a first-person game, in order to make platforms "appear" and "disappear".

* The last point has an example in ''VideoGame/{{Closure}}'', where it's the entire game mechanic. The whole level is dark save for certain places illuminated by portable globes, spotlights, or ambient lighting that is there for puzzle purposes. You pass through everything that's not visible. See a path that looks easy to reach, but when you go to it with your light, there's a tall wall? Drop the light in a spot it doesn't show the wall and jump across.
* ''VideoGame/FateExtra'': Passionlip can take any object that will fit between her giant clawed gauntlets and crush it down to a 5cm data cube, which is then stored in the HammerSpace [[VictoriasSecretCompartment between her breasts]]. Passionlip's perception of reality is so distorted that it asserts itself on the world around her, and she believes the ExactWords of her ability - anything she can see through FingerFraming can be drawn into her claws and crushed, with no defense or escape. Even the other characters note what a StoryBreakerPower this is. The only things keeping her in check are a mental disconnect that means she never thinks of using a "data processing" ability for combat, and [[ExtremeDoormat a total lack of independent drive]] the keeps Passionlip from fighting even in self-defense unless ordered.

* Used on ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' when Montana Max air-drops garbage and toxic waste in Wackyland. Gogo Dodo stops him by picking his airplane out of the air.
* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies'', Gonzo uses a magnifying glass to make a mouse hole big enough to go through.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' episode where [[ChaoticEvil Hexadecimal]] gets her hands on an art program, perspective gets worse the farther you go into Lost Angles. Her "cat" Scuzzy gets in on the fun by appearing normal-sized at a distance and HUGE close up; when he's frightened by the heroes he runs away to become tiny. Never mind when she was literally cutting and pasting things around: since it was based on the size of the windows, at least one building disappeared from one area, and reappeared ''grossly'' out of proportion in another.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' episode showing [[{{Sizeshifter}} Apache Chief's]] origin, he grows to about a hundred feet tall, picks up a bear that had been menacing him, and sets it down behind a mountain on the horizon. The creators chuckle over the scene on the DVDCommentary.
* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': In "Your World Is an Illusion", Holo-Jane tries to convince K.O. that [[MediumAwareness he's just a cartoon character]]. K.O. doesn't believe her, until he sticks his hand out and accidentally knocks down a pterodactyl flying by in the background.

* During the season 2 finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', the Collector moves [[spoiler:''the moon'']] by just reaching out and swiping at it, much like dragging something on a touch-screen. Unusually, this is PlayedForDrama because the feat is ''completely literal''. The sheer gulf between that casual action and the object's actual size illustrates that, despite the Collector's childishness, he's a terrifyingly powerful RealityWarper, capable of magic far beyond anyone else.

* This is basically Lisa's superpower in one ''[[VideoGame/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' videogame.

** ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' has the demon Phineas, who is able to warp his local environment by making it resemble his own perspective. He uses this to [[NobleDemon aid Dante]] in crossing a [[EldritchLocation twisted hellscape of scattered debris]].

* The Digipen game ''[[http://games.digipen.edu/games/perspective Perspective]]'' has this as its gimmick. Your character moves in 2D within a 3D world and can jump from any blue surface to any other blue surface no matter how far away it is (from the player's POV), as long as it's visible. You can also move the camera as if it were a character in a first-person game, in order to make platforms "appear" and "disappear".

* The video game "Tandem: A Tale of Shadows" requires navigation with a magical teddy bear who walks on walls and shadows, the latter needing an additional skill to switch from the normal environment to one of shadows. This triple perspective allows one to see extra routes/hazards.

* During the season 2 finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', the Collector moves [[spoiler:''the moon'']] by just reaching out and swiping at it, much like dragging something on a touch-screen. Unusually, this is PlayedForDrama because the feat is ''completely literal''. The sheer gulf between that casual action and the object's actual size illustrates that, despite the Collector's childishness, he's an utterly terrifying RealityWarper.

* During the season 2 finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', the Collector moves [[spoiler:''the moon'']] by just reaching out and swiping at it, much like dragging something on a touch-screen. Unusually, this is PlayedForDrama; the sheer gulf between that casual action and the object's actual size illustrates that, despite the Collector's childishness, he's an utterly terrifying RealityWarper.

* PlayedForDrama in ''Film/AtFirstSight''. When Creator/ValKilmer's character regains his sight after having been blind since childhood he's incapable of distuingishing distance. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os50D-aOZQo the trailer a 1:37]].

* When the Savior, a ''massive'' demon-powered LivingStatue activates in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'', Dante notices it from some distance away. He covers it by bringing his hand up to his face, mockingly saying that it's not so big before he crushes his fist.

** Discworld witch Granny Weatherwax employs this to a great deal, coupling her understanding of people with her excessive magical ability to pull off some incredible feats, which include transporting a kingdom through fifteen years to the future by condensing the time into a span of minutes and disguising herself so that anyone looking for her had to see a coatrack with clothes in the right light.

* WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}} {{exploited|Trope}} this by using glasses and making himself smaller.

* WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo: A kid trying to act like Johnny says, while hitting on a girl twice his height, "I'm not short, baby, I'm just really far away."

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' has the awesome "leap of faith scene", where Indy steps onto a stone bridge that has been crafted to appear invisible from where he is standing.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP]] [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2501 2501]] is a claw-like gauntlet that lets the wearer crush anything (including asteroids) as long as the wearer views it as if it's between the fingers of the claw.

[[caption-width-right:229: Amazing! Wait, does the ocean look weird to you?]]

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/{{Sourcery}}'', the [[RealityWarper Sourceror]] has this power.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

* Similarly with ''VideoGame/{{Crush}}''. You can choose to view the level in 3D or in 2D; in 3D, normal physics apply, but when viewing the world in 2D, this trope comes into full force. You can jump to the other end of the map just by stepping from a block in the foreground to one in the background.

* The ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "1 + 1 = Ed" did this when they ended up taking apart parts of their cartoon reality. Eddy stumbles behind some houses in the background like they're standees, then plucks the sun out of the sky and takes a bite out of it, turning it into a crescent moon and turning day to night.

* Taikobu manages to defeat Raishinishi in ''Anime/HoushinEngi'' through a combination of drunken boxing kung fu and changing the format of the manga to a 4koma.