Line #32 Main/AllBalloonsHaveHelium


1	A SubTrope of HollywoodDensity, common in cartoons, characters will inflate a balloon (or [[InflatingBodyGag another person]]) with their breath and automatically it starts to float. A bubblegum-based variant exists.
2	See also {{Balloonacy}} for when the same balloons, inflated with human breath, actually can lift something else up, and BalloonOfDoom if the same balloons are PlayedForHorror. Related to RuleOfFunny.
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4	----
5	!!Examples with actual balloons:
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7	[[foldercontrol]]
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9	[[folder:Advertising]]
10	* There is a ''very'' old [=McDonald=]'s ad where Ronald inflates ''his clothes'' (apparently a jumpsuit) with lung power in order to fly.
11	* A commercial for a Clinique skin care product has a ''water balloon'' floating.
12	[[/folder]]
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14	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
15	* The title character of ''Animation/KuangKuang'' can blow into a condom to make it float like a helium balloon.
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18	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
19	* ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} once caused "the world's largest balloon" to [[https://garfield.com/comic/1987/05/03 float the house away.]]
20	[[/folder]]
21
22	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
23	* Happened in ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', where Shrek and Fiona inflated a frog and a snake, respectively, that then floated like helium balloons.
24	* In Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'', [[RuleOfFunny Sir Hiss inflates a balloon (from the inside!) and is able to zoom around like a helicopter using his tail as a propeller]].
25	* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'', the human version of Pinkie Pie briefly floats around the gym at Canterlot High with a balloon she inflated.
26	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBirdsMovie2'', the hatchlings inflate Zoe to try to rescue some eggs they lost. Despite Zoe only being inflated by the other birds blowing into her, she does float upward into the sky, and even into space.
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29	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
30	* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', Bond kills Mr. Big by [[BalloonBelly blowing him up with compressed air]] so that he floats up to the ceiling before [[PopGoesTheHuman exploding]].
31	-->'''Bond:''' [[BondOneLiner He always did have an inflated opinion of himself.]]
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33
34	[[folder:Literature]]
35	* ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'':
36	** In the first ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'' story, Pooh uses a balloon to pretend to be a cloud. It's not 100% clear whether it was already inflated (in which case it could be filled with helium) or whether it got inflated via lung power during the course of the story, possibly because this story is very specifically being told by Creator/AAMilne to Christopher Robin (with interruptions and such): on the one hand, Christopher Robin had brought it home from a party; on the other hand, the illustration shows him blowing it up and the text also says "and when the balloon was blown up as big as big". It's also notable that the balloon conveniently rises so it's exactly level with the top of the tree.
37	** One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'', "Balloonatics", had a balloon that Christopher Robin described as being "made of rubber and air" but was capable of carrying Pooh just like in the book. Later, Christopher reinflates it with his breath and it is buoyant enough to carry not just Pooh, but the other animals who grabbed on to try to bring him back down (except Tigger, who clearly wanted to go along for the ride).
38	* Subverted in one ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'' story. A witness claimed he saw a man known for handing out balloons abducting a child when one of his trademark balloons flew into a tree and got stuck. The witness said he climbed the tree to retrieve it when he saw the balloon man put the kid in his car and drive off. Encyclopedia deduced the witness was lying because the aforementioned balloon man always inflated his balloons by mouth, and therefore none would have flown.
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41	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
42	* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': Both averted and played straight in the "Golden Age of Ballooning" episode. When Barry Zeppelin blows up balloons, they immediately fall to the ground when he releases them. However, when he tries to blow up a large balloon, the air rushes back into his body and inflates ''him'', and he floats away.
43	* Played with in ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'': Mrs Slocombe is accused of being drunk, and she's asked to blow into a breathalyzer balloon. She does so and the balloon floats away.
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46	[[folder:Manhua]]
47	* ''Manhua/OldMasterQ'' have the titular character filling up Chiu's flat football, with helium (it's ambiguous if he had the gas mixed-up by accident, or did it on purpose to pull a prank). When Chiu tries kicking it, the football promptly ''floats away''.
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50	[[folder:Music Videos]]
51	* Music/TheKillers inflate and release balloons in the video for "Read My Mind". Mocked in the literal video version. "How'd we make these fly?"
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53
54	[[folder:Video Games]]
55	* ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'': Aerodent, the aerial rodent, blows up its own teddy-bear balloon.
56	* In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', Lanky Kong can "inflate himself just like a balloon" to float himself places once he buys the potion.
57	* Wes in ''VideoGame/DontStarve'' can blow balloons at the cost of five sanity points apiece. He must exhale helium, because they do indeed float.
58	* ''VideoGame/FlowerKnightGirl'': Balloon Vine specializes in creating balloons, whether for achieving [[CallOfTheWildBlueYonder her dream of flight]] via {{Balloonacy}} or [[ImprobableWeaponUser weaponizing them against pests]]. {{Justified\|Trope}}, as aside from her use of magic [[AppliedPhlebotinum being one way to sidestep the issue]], her handmade efforts are made possible via a special type of medicine that makes one's breath lighter than air, allowing for the buoyant effect when the balloons are inflated by just blowing into it.
59	* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' can inflate himself to fly around as one of his standard abilities, though some games limit this flight by how long he can hold his breath. [[FriendlyEnemy King Dedede]] can pull this trick as well, though it's a little harder to justify a [[{{Acrofatic}} fat blue penguin]] flying than a little, pink ball creature.
60	* ''VideoGame/MarioParty1'': Happens in the Balloon Burst mini-game, in which the Bowser balloons float up simply from inflating them with hand-operated air pumps. The two teams of players have to inflate it by rapidly pulling and pushing the pumps, and whichever team manages to make their balloon burst first wins. The minigame returns in ''VideoGame/MarioParty2'' and works exactly the same way, with the only difference being the scenery.
61	* Some ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games have an ''Air'' Balloon item that causes the holding Pokémon to float and evade Ground-type moves.
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64	[[folder:Web Comics]]
65	* ''Webcomic/{{XKCD}}'' had Beret Guy [[http://xkcd.com/1395/ inflate a laptop through its power cord.]]
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67
68	[[folder:Western Animation]]
69	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': At the end of ''Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!'', the Quick Brown Fox lies dazed on a tablecloth. Rapid Rabbit inflates a big balloon simply by blowing into it, ties the four corners of the tablecloth to it, and sends the poor fox flying.
70	* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' had two examples involving Dick Dastardly. In the ''The Great Cold Rush Race'', Dastardly inflated an inflatable version of the Mean Machine from ''inside'' it to overtake the other cars into first place, but it backfired when Muttley tapped him on the back, inflating Dastardly. In ''Whizzin' to Washington'', Dastardly uses his breath to inflate a giant balloon hoping to send the other cars away by popping it. The balloon floats while Dastardly is inflating it, allowing the cars to pass.
71	* ''Animation/VinniPukh'', the balloon Pooh uses to reach the beehive was already inflated, but then Pooh blows even more air into it to make it bigger and only then he manages to fly up with it. Earlier, Piglet tried blowing air into it and inflated ''himself''.
72	* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': In "Toon Physics", [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Orson Whales]] gave a lecture on this after Furball falls victim to an InflatingBodyGag, [[DiscussedTrope pointing out]] that "any old gas will do" for making an object float in cartoons. He also said that a can of baked beans would've been funnier.
73	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop'' episode "London Town Treachery": After Penelope is kidnapped, Pockets blows up a balloon with his breath and it floats up into the air for use as an observation balloon.
74	* Happens in the second season credits for ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes''.
75	* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'' in the episode ''Mummy Pig's Birthday''.
76	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CliffordTheBigRedDog'', Clifford inflates a balloon, which floats.
77	* An episode of the ''ComicStrip/BeetleBailey'' cartoon had Sgt. Snorkel eat so much that he got a literal BalloonBelly and floated away. Makes even less sense than normal examples of this trope, as he's stuffed with ''food'', not air.
78	* Subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''; a child photographer tries to get Maggie to smile by increasing the pitch of his voice, only to dejectedly realize that the balloon just contains air.
79	* Happens in the opening sequence for ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg'', where Lu attempts to inflate a balloon, but the air blows back inside her, causing her to inflate and float away.
80	* Mr. Funny did this once in ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow''.
81	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRobonicStooges'', Curly inflates himself so he, Larry and Moe can escape a castle where all the exits are locked.
82	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', the brothers create a soap bubble with a super-strong skin similar to a balloon. When it threatens to burst by touching the ground, Baljeet panics and starts hyperventilating - which makes the bubble grow and start rising again.
83	** Semi-averted because hyperventilating would increase the temperature of the bubble, and the rise in temperature would cause the bubble to rise.
84	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''
85	** In the episode "The Sponge Who Could Fly," [=SpongeBob=] accidentally tucks a hairdryer in his pants, which causes them to inflate and thus allows him to float.
86	** In the episode "Rock Bottom", a fish blows into [=SpongeBob=]'s Glove World balloon with his breath causing it to float up with [=SpongBob=] tied to the other end causing him to float up and allowing him to escape Rock Bottom.
87	* ''WesternAnimation/InchHighPrivateEye'': The end of the opening titles has Inch High, plummeting to the ground, blowing up a balloon that manages to keep him airborne.
88	* ''WesternAnimation/TennesseeTuxedoAndHisTales'': Done by Commander [=McBragg=] in a flashback, in which he was a balloon vendor.
89	* Occurs at the end of an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'' when Christopher Robin re-inflates the balloon that Pooh and the others thought was popped when it was really deflated.
90	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther'':
91	** "Dial P For Pink" has a thief inserting a balloon in a hole in the side of a safe he's trying to crack (with the Panther inside it thwarting his every move) and inflating it with his breath. The safe rises, as the thief walks off with the safe tied to a string floating above him.
92	** "Pink Outs" (a series of 12 unrelated comedy vignettes) has a segment where the Panther offers to blow up a little boy's balloon. It is inflated to giant proportions, then the air in it suddenly expels back into the Panther. He is now balloon sized, floating in mid-air, as the little boy walks off with him, holding Pink's tail.
93	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/PippiLongstocking'', as she manages to inflate her father's ''hot air balloon'' with nothing but her breath and have it fly. Then again, we're talking about [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Pippi]], so this isn't too surprising.
94	* The 1947 WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck short ''WesternAnimation/WideOpenSpaces'' ends with a wobbling tree branch pounding onto the pump attached to Donald's air mattress, which floats up in the sky as it expands.
95	* The 1956 ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' short "Muscle Beach Tom" has a probable example of this trope. Tom uses a tank from a balloon stand to inflate his bathing suit, which causes him to float in the air. The tank is labeled simply with "AIR" by the animators, which could lead to some confusion as to what gas the tank is actually filled with, though in every instance of use, the gas behaves as helium.
96	[[/folder]]
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98	!!Examples with bubblegum balloons:
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100	[[folder:Advertising]]
101	* ''Advertising/{{Skittles}}'': In "Inflate the Rainbow", after refusing to share ''Skittles Bubble Gum'' with someone, a man blows a bubble, grabs hold of it, and floats away.
102	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4clfO06TMkI An Old Navy commercial from 2006]] had a woman blow a bubble that lifted her into the air, and people started forming a human chain to make sure she doesn't float away. Said bubble eventually became the size of a house and the chain had at least 15 people wearing denim jeans.
103	* A series of animated commercials for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa2AHMGqRzk Bubblicious bubble gum]] from the early 80's had kids blowing "The Ultimate Bubble" with their product, allowing them to float off the ground and ''travel through outer space''.
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106	[[folder:Comic Books]]
107	* One issue of the comic book version of ''Series/{{ALF}}'' plays with this trope, [[JustifiedTrope justifying]] it with BizarreAlienBiology: Melmacians (at least when on Melmac) exhale helium.
108	* In ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' #28, the Fool escaped prison by blowing a bubble of sufficient strength to carry his weight and float over the prison walls.
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111	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
112	* In ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', Lucy has been known to chew bubble gum and blow bubbles that make her float.
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115	[[folder:Video Games]]
116	* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'': The Bubble Monkey has the ability to levitate himself with bubblegum.
117	* In ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', blowing gum is Vector the Crocodile's chosen method of hovering.
118	* Storm Jaxon, the hero of ''Skuljagger'', uses a variety of gum as power-ups. The cherry gives him hovering abilities.
119	* In ''Sid & Al's Incredible Toons'' and ''The Incredible Toon Machine'', a pack of bubble gum is one of the objects in the game and may be used by Sid or Al to take flight.
120	* ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' has a puzzle whose solution is to inhale a helium balloon and then chew some bubble gum so that it floats out of a window. Besides this being [[RuleOfFunny physiologically impossible without Guybrush passing out from lack of oxygen]], one wonders how both helium and bubble gum were accessible in the [[AnachronismStew 17th century]].
121	** Guybrush is famously capable of holding his breath for a very long time.
122	* Two optional quests in ''VideoGame/LilGatorGame'' give you an item you can equip to let you float. One (for rescuing the kid who was riding a bunch of balloons) is an actual helium balloon that appears and disappears, and the other (for cleaning the cardboard monsters off the old man's roof) is gum that you blow bubbles with.
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125	[[folder:Webcomics]]
126	* ''Webcomic/StupidFox'': The titular character [[https://stupidfox.net/art/core/73-bubbly.jpg blows some bubblegum]] and floats away.
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129	[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
130	* ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'' used the bubble gum variant of this trope in one episode where Rudy is telling a story of one of his escapades in the titular [=ChalkZone=]; while [=ChalkZone=] ''is'' a different dimension with things that make little to no sense in the real world, the trope still applies. Penny [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on this implausibility.
131	* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
132	** The episode "For Your Ed Only" starts off with Edd showing the two other Eds some type of chewing gum he made, Ed uses this to blow a bubble and is then lifted away by it.
133	--->'''Edd:''' Ed, are you blowing a bubble? Heavens, I don't have data for this!\
134	'''Eddy:''' HEY! Get back here with my gum!
135	** Later in the episode, the Eds are cornered by Sarah ready to tear them to pieces when Ed and Eddy make Edd chew the gum so they can float and escape. When he can't chew it fast enough, Ed blows into Edd's mouth causing his hat to inflate.
136	* The ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "The Big Flub" centered on a bubble gum-like substance that was marketed as Pep. It allowed its user to float using the bubbles that were blown. The advertising campaign and its effect made it incredibly popular until its horrific side-effects were discovered.
137	* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'': Wacko once made gum with "helium crystals" that, when blown, creates bubbles capable of levitating children into the air in another one of his ultimately omnicidal plans.
138	* ''Series/SesameStreet'' had an animation where an aviator orders [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CydzJ1rz1Y4 5 pounds of bubble gum.]]
139	[[/folder]]

Context Main / AllBalloonsHaveHelium