Line #20 Main/ContagiousLaughter


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5	[[quoteright:200:[[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joker_batman_laugh.png]]]]
6
7	->''"It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things that, while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour. When Scrooge’s nephew laughed in this way – holding his sides, rolling his head and twisting his face into the most extravagant contortions – Scrooge’s niece, by marriage, laughed as heartily as he. And their assembled friends, being not a bit behindhand, roared out lustily."''
8	-->-- ''Literature/AChristmasCarol''
9
10	Once a character starts to laugh, all those around him start to laugh as well.
11
12	TruthInTelevision (particularly in instances of {{Corpsing}}), but useful in fiction for [[TensionCuttingLaughter getting a group some release from tension.]] Also, when [[HumiliationConga a proud character is humiliated]], this lets [[TheFreelanceShameSquad the crowd join together against him]]. A character who has been driven into a corner may utilize this as well in an attempt to stall for time or to get their attackers to let their guard down, or both.
13
14	A character who does not join in is separate in some way -- this may be good, because the humor is unsuitable, or bad, because he's too proud to see the humor. It can result in an attempt to fake it.
15
16	Drives the EverybodyLaughsEnding. When a villain doesn't receive this, it results in a LaughWithMe moment.
17
18	Contrast EverybodyCries and ReactiveContinuousScream.
19
20	----
21	!!Examples
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
25	* Happens in Part 3 of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. When minor villain Hol Horse warns Polnareff that his sword (Or rather Stand, Silver Chariot) can't beat Hol's gun (Emperor), Polnareff twists that into a fairly crass joke ("What's that? I can beat your bum? Oh, you're into THAT stuff!") and laughs to himself...which causes Hol Horse to lose control and laugh along with him.
26	** In part 4, during card game where Josuke is flagrantly cheating but Rohan can't figure out how, Rohan starts laughing. Josuke starts nervously laughing as well, and then [[ItMakesSenseInContext Rohan stabs himself in the finger]].
27	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Ms. Joke's Quirk lets her inflict this on her foes to incapacitate them.
28	* During the Dressrosa Arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'', Pica, one of Donquixote Doflamingo's henchmen, is a giant brute that can assimilate stone. His only flaw? His uncharacteristically high-pitched voice. Luffy ends up laughing hysterically when he hears Pica speak, which in turn also gets the group he was unintentionally leading into a charge to join in.
29	* In ''Manga/TheNightmareBeforeChristmasZerosJourney'', if Lock, Shock, or Barrel starts laughing, at least one of the other two will join in, primarily at [[ButtMonkey the third one's expense]], or if [[ComedicSociopathy misfortune befalls someone else]]
30	* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Hajime Saito does this in his fight against Usui after deducing that the latter [[spoiler:BecomingTheMask has become complacent regarding his vendetta against Shishio]]. Of course, after laughing together like madmen, [[HaHaHaNo Usui tells him to shut up]], stating that it's not even funny.
31	* In ''Anime/YuYuHakusho'', when [[spoiler: Yusuke dies and comes back to life a second time,]] Yusuke mentions his heart has stopped beating. Kurama and Hiei start laughing at him. He starts to laugh at himself, too, even though he has no idea why they're laughing at him.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Comic Books]]
35	* ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' has the Joker tell a joke at the end and start laughing maniacally. [[NotSoStoic Batman joins in too.]]
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Film — Animated]]
39	* In ''Anime/MyNeighborTotoro'', once the father starts to laugh, the children are able to join in.
40	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', after Mei makes a joke about Ming grounding her and starts laughing, her friends join in.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
44	* In ''Film/EvilDead2'', laughter spreads through inanimate objects in the room until Ash is unable to resist joining in.
45	* In a cross with TensionCuttingLaughter, ''Film/InAndOut'' has a bunch of old ladies doing a bunch of confessions. "My husband has three testicles!" leads to awkward silence... but once one starts to laugh, everyone joins her.
46	* In ''Film/TheKnowledge'', Mr Burgess deliberately laughs hysterically while giving Chris a test; the latter tries to keep a straight face.
47	* In ''Film/AManForAllSeasons'', Henry VIII and his court are visiting Thomas More by boat, and when stepping onto the riverbank, the king lands directly in the mud and is covered in it. Since he can be tyrannical and has an awful temper, the court collectively holds their breath, waiting for the king's reaction. Suddenly he starts to laugh hysterically, and the whole of the court joins in, still terrified of the king.
48	* ''Film/MaryPoppins'': Part of Uncle Albert's affliction is that his laughing fits cause others to join in, and by consequence, float into the air like he is at the moment.
49	--> '''Uncle Albert:''' "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1dkTrNH92Y I love to laugh! Long and loud and clear! It's getting worse every year! The more I laugh, the more I'm filled with glee! The more the glee, the more I'm a merrier me!]]"
50	* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'', the main characters on the Black Pearl get involved in a MexicanStandoff (Barbosa, Gibbs, Jack, Will, and Elizabeth). After several ''very'' tense seconds of everyone aiming their guns at everyone else, Barbossa starts laughing, and eventually he can't hold his gun up. Everyone joins in, and lowers their guns too.
51	** And then Barbossa [[MoodWhiplash breaks up the laughter]], and everyone instantly resumes their positions in the standoff. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS4eo-f8aOg See the scene here.]]
52	* ''Film/{{Se7en}}'', despite being a ''very'' dark film has a moment where the main characters all think about the absurdity of the "vibrating" home (it's right on top of a subway,) and all break into fits of giggling despite trying to hold it in.
53	* In ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'',
54	** The weasels will set each other off. Since they are easily amused, it's less likely to spread beyond.
55	** In the speakeasy, when the man saying he had seen a rabbit feigns that he has Film/{{Harvey}} next to them, all the rest laugh together.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Literature]]
59	* In ''Literature/TheGordianEvent'' by Lee Deadkeys, Mason has giggle fits when Jess nearly drops an industrial-sized can of pears on him. Jess starts laughing and snorting, which sets Ox off too. The noise attracts the two children, who start shrieking and laughing just because everyone else is.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
63	* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'': "The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner" is about a comic book villain who enters our world and his power is a laugh that causes anyone who hears to turn into a giggling idiot.
64	* Near the end of season 6 of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Giles has just come back after a long absence. Buffy details all of the crap the cast has gone through since he's been gone. After she's finished, Giles stares at her for a minute...then bursts out laughing. Buffy's confused at first, but eventually can't help but laughing too.
65	* An episode of ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'' had Don Ramón laughing uncontrollably, and when Quico approaches, he joins in and starts laughing too. Doña Florinda arrives and asks Quico why he's laughing and he says he doesn't know and continues, [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious until she calls him]] [[FirstNameUltimatum "Federico"]].
66	* A memorable segment of ''Series/{{Coupling}}'' had Jeff describe the concept of 'The Giggle Loop' - the compulsion to laugh in inappropriate situations that only intensifies the more you think about how inappropriate it would be. Later on, they all [[TheFunInFuneral go to a funeral...]]
67	* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'': Near the end of "Striptease for Two", Uncle Phil bursts into laughter after Will and Carlton get in serious trouble for dancing as strippers to recoup the money they lost from a bad stock tip when they found out that selling one of Aunt Vivian's bracelets wouldn't cover the cost. Will and Carlton nervously laugh along with Phil, hoping that he doesn't blow up at them. It doesn't work.
68	* In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', when Blake talks of what kidders they are, Burns tries to join Hawkeye and Trapper John's laughter.
69	* ''Series/WaltDisneyPresents'': In "The Goofy Success Story", Goofy became an accidental star by laughing in a theater. The onstage gag wasn't funny to anyone else, but his laugh got them going.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Video Games]]
73	* The Best Jokes mythic power in ''VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous'' makes it so that if one enemy fails its initial saving throw against the [[HelplessWithLaughter Hideous Laughter]] spell, another nearby enemy must save or be affected. If that enemy also fails, Best Jokes triggers again; only a successful saving throw can stop the chain.
74	* In ''VideoGame/SpaceStationSiliconValley'', hyenas use this as an attack.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Web Original]]
78	* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': During combat in campaign 2, episode 116, Creator/MatthewMercer meant to say that some entities "quiver and shift". What came out instead was [[{{Spoonerism}} "shiver]] and [[AccidentalInnuendo quiff/queef"]]. Unsurprisingly, the resident 7-year-old Creator/LauraBailey (who has earned her reputation as the Queen of Innuendo) starts grinning, followed by Creator/MarishaRay (Mercer's wife) giggling, before the table gradually starts laughing all together. Because the cast was particularly punch-drunk and tired, the laughter kept going around in circles. At one point, Marisha complained because she had ''just'' calmed down and got set off again. Matt's reaction was laughter, resignation, and threats of [[TotalPartyKill murdering the party.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt9y5ae9ha8 Video for reference.]]
79	* Website/{{Reddit}} has the subreddit [[http://www.reddit.com/r/ContagiousLaughter /r/ContagiousLaughter]], which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. It's videos of people laughing or doing funny things, only for everyone around them (and hopefully, the viewer) to start laughing with them.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Western Animation]]
83	* In one episode of ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' an EvilLaugh in a haunted house has this effect on Zoidberg.
84	-->'''[[EvilSoundsDeep Voice]]:''' [[EvilLaugh Bwhahahahahaha...]]\
85	'''Leela:''' What's that!?\
86	'''Zoidberg:''' I don't know, but it's contagious! Heh heh heh!
87	* In ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunninghamNinthGradeNinja'', Randy laughs when Evil Julian asks him for the power ball, which causes Evil Julian to start laughing too and makes them go into an infinite loop of laughing uncontrolablly. Later in the same episode, when [[SecretIdentity Randy, as the Ninja]], asks Evil Julian to give him back the power ball, Evil Julian giggles, making them both laugh back and forth at each other again, until the cycle is ended by the use of [[HaHaHaNo another trope]].
88	* On the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "[[WesternAnimation/RobinHoodDaffy Robin Hood Daffy]]", WesternAnimation/PorkyPig as Friar Tuck laughs at WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck's clumsy attempts at being Myth/RobinHood. Daffy walks up to confront him, but soon starts laughing as well. They spend several seconds laughing together...until Porky climbs into Daffy's arms and slaps him on the back.
89	-->'''Daffy:''' Oh, knock it off! How jolly can you get?
90	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/RubyGloom,'' Iris tells a joke so she can break the record for "Best Joke". Ruby is the only one who gets it and starts to laugh. Pretty soon, anyone who hears it, including a squirrel and the moon, start to laugh as well. Poe then congratulates Ruby for breaking the record for "Most Contagious Laugh".
91	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
92	** Bart mentions that due to TV he has a very poor memory and can't remember even 8 seconds in the past. The rest of the family laugh at him. "No, really, I can't! It's a serious problem." They continue to laugh. After a moment he starts to laugh too; then while still laughing he anxiously asks "What are we all laughing about?"
93	** In another episode Burns enjoys an EvilLaugh over his latest plan, and Homer (who the Evil Plan will directly affect) joins in the laughing. Then Burns stops but Homer keeps going for a while.
94	** This also happened between Homer, Patty and Selma, much to the two sisters' immense chagrin.
95	--->'''Patty:''' Cut him a check and get him the hell outta here!
96	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'' episode "All Pets are Off," Jude is stuck in the air vents and runs into Caitlin's missing pet ferret, Muffin. The ferret then crawls into Jude's shirt, tickling him. As the gang hear Jude's laughter, Jen mentions that it's "kinda infectious," which causes the whole gang, as well as Ron the rent-a-cop, to get a bad case of the giggles.
97	* ''WesternAnimation/Hero108'': "Cats Castle" ends with Jumpy Ghostface putting on a show where the cats wear special glasses that allow them to see the former imagining something hilarious. The cats start laughing and so does the audience (despite not seeing what the cats see) simply because laughter is contagious.
98	* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'': In "Zeke's Collection Selection," Mr. E overhears Sammy's collection of soundbites of people laughing, then he starts laughing hysterically. Sammy now has Mr. E's laugh for his collection.
99	[[/folder]]
100

Context Main / ContagiousLaughter