Line #67 Main/BaitAndSwitchSilhouette


1	%%
2	%%
3	%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
4	%%
5	%%
6	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1611929960028834400
7	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
8	%%
9	[[quoteright:298:[[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/manshaped_rock.png]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:298:"You were talking to a rock."]]
11	%%
12	%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
13	%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
14	%%
15	A VisualGag where a silhouette, outline, or shadow looks like something important, but upon closer inspection, it is something completely unrelated.
16
17	The reveal usually comes in one of two ways: Either a light is shined on the silhouette to show it in more detail, and/or the actual object is shown nearby.
18
19	Compare with ScaryShadowFakeout, which shows a character mistaking the vague silhouette of something ordinary for a threat. This is a ComedyTrope where the silhouette is extremely specific to the point where it seems like there's nothing else it could possibly be, only to reveal an improbable arrangement of objects that replicates its outline exactly.
20
21	Subtrope of BaitAndSwitch and NotWhatItLooksLike.
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* The first season of the ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' has an episode where the characters take a quiz identifying Pokémon based on their silhouettes. One silhouette is a perfect circle. Most assume that it's a Voltorb or an Electrode, two spherical Pokémon, but it is actually "Jigglypuff, as seen from above."
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Fan Works]]
32	* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': From "Extended Mining Operations":
33	--> A bright light shone right into his eyes, forcing him to squint at the grossly obese visitor who was wearing a yellow helmet with a lamp in its centre. No, wait, it was actually just an imp standing behind a large metal pot.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
37	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'' opens with a silhouette of New York City buildings as Z talks about living in the big city, only to reveal they're actually blades of grass.
38	* ''WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'': In ''The Autograph Hound'', Donald gawks at the silhouettes of three beautiful women belly dancing in a tent; however, as they dance towards the entrance they reveal awkward feet wearing large male shoes, then red, goofy-looking girdles in bodies that are not graceful or feminine at all. Then the mystery trio leaves the tent, revealing they are the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritz_Brothers Ritz Brothers]] (a comedian trio that started performing at the 20s). Donald is not at all disappointed... until they start making fun of him.
39	* ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'': ''WesternAnimation/OlafsFrozenAdventure'' begins with Olaf coming out of hiding places to yell "Surprise!" One scene shows a pile of presents, with one looking a lot like Olaf. But when a servant approaches it, Olaf instead comes up from behind him to surprise him.
40	* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'':
41	** In Mr. Ping's first scene, Po comes downstairs with a shadow resembling a panda on the floor in front of him. The camera then shows that the shadow is from Mr. Ping holding a bunch of pots and bags in front of himself, which he puts aside to reveal to the audience that Po's father is actually a goose.
42	** After the final battle, Po walks toward the crowd surrounded by a dust cloud so that his silhouette matches the legendary warrior from his opening dream, complete with a rounded hat and a cape billowing in the wind. After the dust clears, it turns out he has a wok as his "hat" and an apron as his "cape".
43	* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''. After Moses humiliates a slave girl by the name of Tzipporah, the latter is sent off to his bedchambers. Moses seems to regret what he'd done, so he follows her there in hopes of talking to her. He sees her silhouette sitting on his bed behind the curtains, arms crossed and facing away from him. After he works up the nerve, he pulls the curtains back, instead finding the servant that had escorted her there BoundAndGagged, as well as a BedsheetLadder out of his window.
44	* The short ''WesternAnimation/MaggieSimpsonInPlaydateWithDestiny'' references the Simpson's [[Creator/{{Disney}} new corporate overlords]] by opening with a silhouette that resembles WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse before the lights come up to reveal that it's Homer with a couple donuts over his head.
45	* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', the shadow of a cloaked figure comes up behind Miles in the cemetery, and part of The Prowler's theme music plays. It turns out to be Peter B. Parker wearing a trenchcoat.
46	* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': When Mei finally arrives at Tyler's party, her silhouette appears to be her Red Panda form behind the tinted glass door. Upon opening the door, while it is Mei, she's actually wearing her cardboard red panda mascot costume.
47	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', we see the shape of a man in the fog, and hear a male voice. It turns out, however, that the voice is Dug the talking dog, and the "man" was just a man-shaped rock.
48	* In ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', what at first appears to be [[MsFanservice Jessica Rabbit]] turns out to be a similarly dressed [[AbhorrentAdmirer Lena Hyena]].
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
52	* ''Film/AustinPowers'':
53	** In ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe'', guards see what seems to be Felicity Shagwell [[AssShove removing various different objects out of Austin's ass]]. It's actually a bag on a table next to Austin, who's hunched over a map.
54	** In ''Film/AustinPowersInGoldmember'', a {{mook\|s}} believes he is seeing an impossible silhouette of a man with a small arm for a penis, who shakes hands with it and bites it before giving birth. It turns out to be Austin, Mini-Me, some tubing and an apple.
55	* ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'': In the climax, the dock is foggy and full of statues, confusing Harley. After a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Black Mask, she attempts a OneBulletLeft victory. True to this trope, it hits a statue instead. It turns out he was behind it.
56	* ''Film/{{Culture}}'': Tim is already getting creeped out by his secretary Fay, who is a TerseTalker to the point of muteness and uses office equipment from the 1950s (the film is set in 1997). He looks through the frosted glass and sees Fay seeming to stab something with a huge knife. He jumps out of his office and sees her working a very, very old mimeograph machine.
57	* The teaser trailer for the live-action ''Film/ScoobyDoo2002'' movie culminates on a shot of what looks like ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s silhouette, only for the camera to quickly pan around and reveal that it's actually Scooby. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eshuCXFx0Lk&pp=ygUZc2Nvb2J5IGRvbyB0ZWFzZXIgdHJhaWxlcg%3D%3Dhere]]
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Literature]]
61	* In ''Happy Birthday, Pumpkin and Beanpole'', a children's book, the eponymous two witches invoke this as a prank on each other's birthdays by casting spells so the wrapped gifts resemble things they aren't. For instance, one present appeared to be a teddy bear but it was actually a hot water bottle and two pairs of bed socks.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Video Games]]
65	* Early on in ''VideoGame/{{The Dig\|1995}}'', Boston Low swims through a tunnel. The swim is shown from his point of view and at one point, he sees what appears to be a man's shadow. Then he rounds the corner and sees that the shadow was of a pair of rocks that happened to form a man's silhouette.
66	* ''VideoGame/TheFairlyOddparentsShadowShowdown'': In the final level, when Timmy is about unveil the mastermind behind everything when a shadow appears in front of them, the person he was expecting is standing behind him and the figure in front of them is actually a LivingShadow.
67	* ''VideoGame/FatalFury'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyb4BXkGC5k Andy Bogard's ending from Real Bout 2]] seems to show both him and Mai Shiranui getting intimate, with the camera showing a silhouette of Mai lying down and Andy bracing above her. A second view from the other side simply shows the two are lying down on separate mats parallel to each other, Mai on her back reading a book while Andy is doing push-ups.
68	* ''VideoGame/LegoBatman3BeyondGotham'' ends with [[http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141115012428/lego/images/e/e2/Endcredits.png a silhouetted group shot]] framed to suggest that despite being a Creator/DCComics game, several Creator/MarvelComics characters like ComicBook/SpiderMan and ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk are appearing. Then the lights flip on and it's revealed that no, it's all DC characters (ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} and ComicBook/SwampThing being the ones standing in for the two mentioned).
69	* ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'': After Esme tells Amelia the story of the Pie Ghost, the latter sees an eerie silhouette peering into the romantic date room muttering "pies, pies, pies..." just like them, but it turns out to be Edwina.
70	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-gfC1upmoA reveal trailer]] for [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry King K. Rool]] has a silhouette of a {{large\|AndInCharge}}, [[AdiposeRex rotund]] [[PrimateVersusReptile crocodile]] appear outside of Donkey Kong's house, only for it to be the similarly large [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} King Dedede]] wearing a costume and playing a prank on the Kongs... [[SubvertedTrope until]] the ''real'' K. Rool appears and smacks him out of the way, apparently none too amused with the joke. The gag was reused for the fighters of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyJ4djjQOr0 Challenger Pack #3,]] with the mammal-and-avian team VideoGame/DuckHunt Duo pretending to be the mammal-and-avian team [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo and Kazooie]].
71	* A similar gag occurs in the Fighter Pack 3 trailer for ''VideoGame/Injustice2'' where a [[BadassLongcoat familiar-looking trench coat]] starts EmergingFromTheShadows... except instead of [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] it's the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles.
72	* A variation of this appears in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' where the player character has to hide behind a lamp that is the exact shape of the character's sprite. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] (no pun intended) by Sans, who says, "quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp!"
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Web Animation]]
76	* ''WebAnimation/SpookyMonth'':
77	** In "It's spooky month", Skid is introduced sitting in a dark room lit only by a computer screen, slowly swivels his chair to face the viewer with an eerie smile and stare, only for the lights to instantly turn on and he loudly starts goofing off.
78	** In "The Stars", Skid confronts two burglars in his home. In the darkness, he looks like an incredibly creepy and realistic looking skeleton, scaring the beejezus out of the crooks, but cheerily greets them when they shine a light on him and he returns to normal.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Web Videos]]
82	* A RunningGag on ''WebVideo/{{Defunctland}}'' is introducing something as a silhouette that then changes to what the thing actually is when host Kevin Perjurer says its name, with the silhouette and revealed image often not matching each other at all.
83	** In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msbBGwXb9Zs&t=441s Club Disney episode]], Kevin discusses the restaurant play places that influenced Club Disney's creation, eventually covering Discovery Zone's ill-fated history. Several of its play places were acquired by a rival company, which Kevin represents with a silhouette of WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse. At first, it seems Creator/{{Disney}} made the purchase, as many viewers would have expected by this point. But then, the silhouette changes into a picture of an old Chuck E. Cheese animatronic, representing the company that ''actually'' made the purchase: [[MemeticMutation a powerful rat named]] [[Creator/ChuckECheese Charles Entertainment Cheese]].
84	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZQGtnEL2xs&t=36s The DisneyQuest video]] opens by saying Creator/{{Sega}} partnered with "a familiar entertainment company that starts with a D" to make arcade entertainment centers, which is accompanied by a silhouette of the D in the Disney logo... and promptly changes to the Creator/{{DreamWorks\|SKG}} logo of a child fishing from a crescent moon once Kevin says who Sega was actually working with.
85	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK3Yr80lPOY&t=490s The Garfield's Nightmare video]] has a downplayed version where both the silhouette and revealed image are of the same thing, but ''different versions'' of the same thing: the silhouette is of ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'s modern look, while the revealed image is from a late '70s comic where Garfield smokes Jon's pipe.
86	* A variant occurring in a few ''WebVideo/ScottTheWoz'' episodes such as "Wii Channels" and "Borderline Forever". Scott would show the silhouette of a console, only to reveal a completely different console's picture, poorly shopped and fitted onto the silhouette. An example from "Wii Channels":
87	-->''[silhouette of a Platform/{{Wii}} appears]''\
88	'''Scott:''' [...] The system with a menu setup and pre-installed software I remember the most fondly, will always be... the Platform/NintendoSwitch.\
89	''[a picture of a Nintendo Switch suddenly appears, oriented sideways to fit into the Wii's silhouette]''
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Western Animation]]
93	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'':
94	** Hop Pop walks through a hostile desert environment. One scene opens on the image of what appears to be Hop Pop’s dried-out skull on the ground. But then, the still-alive Hop Pop walks into frame. It is never addressed who the skull belonged to or why it looks exactly like Hop Pop.
95	** In the episode "Truck Stop Polly", Polly sees a stump of rotting wood that looks exactly like Mrs. Croaker when it’s behind a layer of fog.
96	** In the episode "Mr. X", Mr. X chases the protagonists into a storage closet of a movie theater. He spots what looks like Hop Pop in the dark, but it was actually just a promotional standee of a movie character.
97	** In the episode "Escape To Amphibia", the Plantars are captured by government agents. Anne breaks into their facility to save them, and finds a glass tank with what looks like Hop Pop inside, but when the lights turn on, it is revealed to be a rock with some clumps of moss.
98	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': In the opening segment of "[[Recap/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBoldS3E1JokerTheVileAndTheVillainous Joker: The Vile and the Villainous!]]", a silhouette emerging from a portal originally appears to be Batman, but turns out to be ComicBook/TheJoker.
99	* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy:'' In the episode "If It Smells Like An Ed", the Eds see a silhouette in an old shed that seems to look like Rolf. When Eddy starts yelling at "Rolf" for apparently framing them, "Rolf" breaks apart into three separate figures, revealing it to have actually been the Kanker Sisters standing in-front of each other.
100	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E3CastleManeia Castle Mane-Ia]]'', Fluttershy is looking for Angel when she sees a silhouette of what seems a (huge)rabbit, but it is actually a pile of rocks with two leaves. A panicked Applejack knocks down a column on the rocks, making Fluttershy think her precious little rabbit was crushed.
101	* In a ''[[WesternAnimation/NoddysToylandAdventures Make Way for Noddy]]'' episode, Noddy sees what appears to be the shadow of a rabbit, but it's actually the shadow of Bumpy Dog with his ears sticking up.
102	* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' episode "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door". Luz briefly mistakes the shadow of a lamp in the basement for Amity's hair, and she remembers how stupid it would be for even Amity to be in their basement...only for it to turn out that Amity is actually trapped in the owl pellet in front of the lamp.
103	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': In "[[Recap/ThePatrickStarShowS2E3TenAndOneToiletsFamilyPlotz Family Plotz]]", Squidina is playing hide-and-seek with Patrick in the cemetery. She sees the shadows of multiple star-shaped things that she assumes to be Patrick until lightning illuminates what they really are: a bush, a gravestone, and a mausoleum decoration. Patrick is actually right behind her, "hiding" by covering his eyes with a flower wreath, despite very clearly still being visible.
104	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'':
105	** In "[[Recap/PhineasAndFerbFlopStarz Flop Starz]]", one gag involves Candace telling Linda that her brothers Phineas and Ferb were about to perform on-stage at the auditions for a television talent show. The silhouettes on stage end being the OneShotCharacter "Marty the Rabbit Boy and his [[EverythingIsAnInstrument Musical Blender]]", which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Cue Candace contemplating that she should have taken "blender lessons." This later becomes a RunningGag, where Marty and his blender show up in the unlikeliest of places.
106	** Played with in "[[Recap/PhineasAndFerbSummerBelongsToYou Summer Belongs to You!]]" Phineas and Ferb's Sun-Beater 3000 is hidden beneath a tarp that is somehow shaped like the Statue of Liberty, which Phineas doesn't even notice until Isabella points it out. The boys later reveal a scale model of the solar system behind a tarp that's shaped like The Thinker statue.
107	** In the ShowWithinAShow ''That's The Norm!'' from the episode "[[Recap/PhineasAndFerbFerbTv Ferb TV]]", Suzy continually hides her giant robot friend Norm from her older brother Jeremy. In the third segment, Suzy claims to be running a lemonade stand, and is sitting at a "lumpy table" that is obviously Norm with a tablecloth draped over him. However, once Jeremy leaves, Norm walks into frame, revealing that it really was just a lumpy table.
108	** In "Meatloaf Surprise" Perry goes to a tent with what looks like Dr. Doofenshmirtz inside, put when Perry opens the tent entrance, it turns out to be a bird on a perch, with it's body looking like Doof's head. Perry then get caught in a sling trap and Doof appears.
109	--->'''Doofenshmirtz''': I never thought you'd fall for the "distract Perry the Platypus with a weird bird trap". I've got to say though.. [[HypocriticalHumor that is quite an ugly bird.]]
110	* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'': In "Love Spanked", Rocko ends up on ''The Love Seat'' dating show where the audience participants end up choosing which female Rocko is going to go out with. A dead corpse chooses Number 3 (by simply falling on the buzzer), who has the silhouette of a sexy human woman, complete with her slender arms on her HartmanHips. Rocko gets very aroused at the silhouette as the host describes her, but then the host concludes with "...your date, HEFFER!" To which "her" window lights up and the silhouette changes into Heffer Wolfe's head from the neck up. Among seeing this, the [[WingdingEyes hearts in Rocko's eyes turn into flames]], and he deflates like a balloon in shock.
111	* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': In "Jack and the Zombies", when walking through a graveyard, Jack sees a young child moving through the fog, only to find a motionless statue instead.
112	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
113	** In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E15HomerAlone "Homer Alone"]], Maggie wanders through town in search of Marge (who had left for a spa getaway). At one point, she sees what looks like Marge's shadow with her iconic BeehiveHairdo, but it turns out to be a young man wearing a British guard uniform to promote Buckingham Palace Quick Lube.
114	--->'''Salesman:''' ''(with awful accent)'' 'Allo, gov'nor. Lube job while you wait?
115	--->'''"Just Stamp The Ticket" Man:''' Don't touch me.
116	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E20TheBoyWhoKnewTooMuch The Boy Who Knew Too Much]]", Bart is relaxing by the lake after escaping from school when he sees [[https://frinkiac.com/img/S05E20/251617.jpg two apparent silhouettes of a prestigious man in a tall hat and a young boy approaching on a raft]]. Bart assumes his ImagineSpot of him hanging out with Literature/HuckleberryFinn and UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln is coming true, [[https://frinkiac.com/img/S05E20/256622.jpg only for the silhouettes to come close enough to make it clear they're just two creepy hobos]].
117	--->'''Hobo:''' Hey kid, you wanna see a dead body?\
118	''[Bart screams and runs away]''
119	** The episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E24LemonOfTroy Lemon of Troy]]" has Bart looking for the Springfield Lemon Tree. He is about to give up, saying the adventure is as worthless as the "lemon-shaped rock" in the grass. The audience assumes that this is actually a lemon, but then he says, "Wait a minute... There's a lemon behind that rock!" The camera pans to a lemon nearby, revealing that the lemon-shaped rock really was just a rock.
120	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E17ThreeGaysOfTheCondo Three Gays of the Condo]]", Homer leaves the house after a falling out with Marge and wanders around the neighborhood on a lonely night. He sees what appears to be Marge through a second-story window. He contemplates going to meet whoever it is up there until the figure is revealed to be Ned Flanders with a towel wrapped around his head.
121	--->'''Ned:''' Uh, Homer, I think you want ''your'' house, next door.\
122	'''Homer:''' Stupid Flanders with his misleading silhouette.
123	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': The episode "A Song of Ass and Fire" begins with a female narration, then cuts to a silhouette of a beautiful tall woman... which turns out to be [[WholesomeCrossdresser Princess Kenny]] standing on a rock.
124	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
125	** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E1YourShoesUntiedSquidsDayOff Squid's Day Off]]", Squidward becomes paranoid that [=SpongeBob=] is spying on him while he takes his "day off". When he tries to take a bath, he sees a silhouette of what looks like [=SpongeBob=] wearing two Krusty Krew hats behind the curtain, but it turns out to be his toilet with a spray can and toilet-paper roll on top of it.
126	** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E16GraveyardShiftKrustyLove Graveyard Shift]]", a dark figure enters the Krusty Krab who bears a strong resemblance to the Hash-Slinging Slasher, the character from the horror story Squidward had told [=SpongeBob=]. [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward are scared, but when the figure moves into the light, he is revealed to be a young kid looking for a job at the restaurant.
127	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In "Cry for Help", Steven assumes he sees Peridot hiding behind some rocks, upon taking a closer look, he finds it was just a cactus.
128	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': In "[[Recap/TotalDramaNewfKidsOnTheRock Newf Kids on the Rock]]", Courtney and Gwen spot a silhouette on a rock outcrop near shore that resembles Duncan. They climb up the outcrop ready to berate Duncan for leaving the show, but once near they realize it's only a peculiarly shaped rock.
129	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BaitAndSwitchSilhouette