History WesternAnimation / TheWrongTrousers

* HandyRemoteControl: The titular trousers have the controls mounted on them at first; but Feathers modifies them by creating a remote control for them. He first has fun making Wallace go everywhere unwillingly, then uses them in his elaborate diamond heist.
* HatDamage: When Gromit being shot at by Feathers, the bullets bounce off the hat-like lampshade on Gromit's head.

* StockSoundEffects: "Castle Thunder" can be heard accompanying the lightning bolts that strike during the night when Gromit decide to leave for good.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

The story begins on Gromit's birthday, and Wallace has a special present for him: "Techno-Trousers," robotic pants with the ability to move by themselves ("[[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} Ex-NASA!]] Fantastic for walkies!"). At the same time, Wallace decides to rent out a room in the house to deal with his growing debt. Their lodger is Feathers [=McGraw=], a shady penguin who immediately takes a liking to the trousers and a disliking to Gromit. As Feathers becomes favoured by Wallace, Gromit starts to feel like he's being replaced and makes plans to leave. But the morning after his departure, Wallace gets stuck in the Techno-Trousers, the controls of which have mysteriously disappeared, along with Feathers...

* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins: Very purposefully subverted with Feathers [=McGraw=]. You'll never look at this trope quite the same way again.

* KnightOfCerebus: Despite being, well, [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins a penguin]], Feathers [=McGraw=] is arguably the most overtly (and realistically) evil villain in the whole franchise, being not a cartoonish supervillain who tries to kill the heroes with some elaborate death trap, but a sociopathic thief motivated only by personal gain. He remains the only ''Wallace and Gromit'' antagonist who simply tries to ''[[WhyDontYouJustShootHim shoot]]'' the duo dead with an ordinary handgun when they get in his way.

* ManlyTears: Gromit sheds these during his first night in Feathers's presence. Feathers forces him out of the house by playing loud organ music to keep him awake and displace him. After presumably hours of being kept awake (which somehow doesn't affect Wallace), Gromit is in his kennel with earmuffs on, thinking Feathers is upstairs in his (Gromit's) bedroom, but then he sees Feathers enter the back yard and go into the house, and moments later, the music stops. Gromit promptly breaks down in tears. One almost can't help but wonder if he cried himself to sleep...

* EmpathicEnvironment: It’s raining (along with thunder and lightning) when Gromit leaves home, along with the {{WhamShot}} of Feathers afterwards.

** In the original version, the ''Open University'' fanfare[[note]]A British correspondence/home learning university that used to have classes/courses broadcast on [=BBC1=] and 2 in the 70s, 80s, and 90s; they've since dropped [[http://www.open.ac.uk/ in favour of using the internet]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w6fodbcTfk/ The fanfare itself]] was, ironically replaced by a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp37awSLwTA/ newer animation and fanfare]] by the time the short was released in 1993.[[/note]] can be heard when Gromit watches TV. In the re-release, it's simply something generic.

* NewspaperThinDisguise: Gromit spies on Feathers as he cases out the museum by cutting eye holes into a cardboard box. [[spoiler:As chance would have it the suspicious villain notices something is off but ignores it because Gromit's eyes are peeking through the eyes of the cartoon dog drawn on the box.]]

* HeavySleeper: Invoked and exploited by Feathers [=McGraw=]. When he traps Wallace in the techno-trousers, the first thing he does is force Wallace to walk through the city all day, leaving Wallace completely exhausted afterwards. So exhausted, in fact, that he sleeps like a baby while Feathers pulls off the actual jewel heist. It takes the museum's alarm system to finally wake Wallace up.

* DidNotThinkThisThrough: During the heist, one security laser is in a position that barely blocks Wallace from simply walking under it. Feathers is only able to navigate Wallace through because he's asleep and randomly yawns, which moves his head in such a way that it lets him pass by.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: All Feathers McGraw has to do is walk past Gromit in the hallway, pause, and then abruptly turn and ''stare'' [[DeathGlare straight at him[[ with those beady black eyes, and you immediately know without a single word of dialogue that this penguin is, at best, not to be trusted, and at worst possibly evil incarnate.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: The climax features what may be the only cinematic example of a ''model railway'' TraintopBattle.

* PiggyBank: Wallace keeps one in a wall safe behind a portrait of a piggy bank. Unfortunately, he finds himself down to his last few coppers, which leaves him unable to pay the bills. Fortunately, when Wallace and Gromit receive the reward money for the capture of Feathers, it not only pays off their debts, but there's plenty leftover to fill up Wallace's pig.

* HighSpeedTrainReroute: Three instances, all during the ChaseScene while TheVillain attempts to escape aboard Wallace's model railroad:

* AirVentPassageway: Feathers [=McGraw=] gets Wallace into the museum through a rooftop ventilation duct that's large enough for Wallace to stand upright inside. It is shown to be [[RealityEnsues cacophanously loud]], however ([[HeavySleeper not that a slumbering Wallace is bothered]]).

* RealityEnsues:
** The Techno-Trousers' ability to walk on walls and ceilings is really impressive, but Feathers finds out the hard way that suspending the heavy equipment on an unstable surface made from old flexible ceiling tiles simply held in with fixative will cause problems.
** Gromit confronts Feathers [=McGraw=] with a rolling pin. Feathers, being a professional criminal, simply pulls a gun on him.

* StealthPun: Although Gromit is mute, he still has his ''Bach'' (i.e. a Brandenberg Concerto playing in his bedroom, which Feathers turns off in favour of loud, tacky Hammond organ music).

* StealthPun: Gromit has his ''Bach'' (i.e. a Brandenberg Concerto playing in his bedroom, which Feathers turns off in favour of loud, tacky Hammond organ music).

** In the original version, the ''Open University'' fanfare [[note]]A British correspondence/home learning university that used to have classes/courses broadcast on [=BBC1=] and 2 in the 70s, 80s, and 90s; they've since dropped [[http://www.open.ac.uk/ in favour of using the internet]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w6fodbcTfk/ The fanfare itself]] was, ironically replaced by a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp37awSLwTA/ newer animation and fanfare]] by the time the short was released in 1993.[[/note]] can be heard when Gromit watches TV. In the re-release, it's simply something generic.

[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Wrong_Trousers_9094.jpg]]

!!Tropes appearing in ''The Wrong Trousers'' include: