Line #79 Main/HumanCannonball


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11	[[quoteright:258:[[Platform/{{Atari 2600}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cannonball_small_9949.jpg]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:258:There are few men of his [[{{Pun}} caliber]].]]
13
14	->''Well, fire and smoke belched\
15	Out of the cannon\
16	And the earth trembled for a while\
17	And the big gun roared\
18	And Hugo soared\
19	Through the air like a projectile''
20	-->-- Music/RayStevens, "Hugo, The Human Cannonball"
21
22	Shooting a person out of a cannon is done in RealLife as a stage act. In fiction, it's a practical way to travel long distances instantly. This is especially popular in video games.
23
24	Fiction treats being shot out of a cannon in a very literal way. Cannons used for this purpose in RealLife are powered by a large spring or compressed air, but those in fiction use gunpowder, and are often set off by lighting a fuse.[[note]]Any explosions you might see in circus acts are just for show – using gunpowder to fire a living person becomes less like a human cannonball and more like [[LudicrousGibs human grapeshot]].[[/note]] Their range is even longer than that of real artillery, often on the country-wide or even interplanetary scale.
25
26	Expect the ballistic passenger to make a sudden stop by hitting a wall or a solid piece of ground (or [[SoftWater water]]) at the other end. In some works, there will be no apparent effect of gravity on anyone in midflight, meaning [[NoArcInArchery their flight path will be a completely straight line from point A to B]].
27
28	[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_cannonball The human cannonball]] is, of course, an old circus staple that still sees some use today in many performance acts. Obviously, no explosive propellant is used, so springs or compressed air is used to eject the human, with the housing still structured to look like a cannon to keep the idea of the trope alive. The targets are usually nets, air bags or bodies of water, but as noted on Website/TheOtherWiki, it still comes with its share of risks, specifically during [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou the landing part]] of the act.
29
30	May be done with [[CatapultToGlory a large medieval catapult]] in comical settings.
31
32	See FastballSpecial and HumanHammerThrow for when the person is thrown by another character, not a cannon.
33	----
34	!!Examples:
35
36	[[foldercontrol]]
37
38	[[folder:Advertising]]
39	* A Advertising/WilkinsCoffee commercial featured Wilkins firing Wontkins from a cannon.
40	-->'''Wilkins:''' Did you drink your Wilkins Coffee this morning?\
41	'''Wontkins:''' Of course not!\
42	'''Wilkins:''' Okay. ''(BOOM)'' That boy's got a ''long'' way to go.
43	* An Australian drink-driving PSA used the slogan "RBT[[note]]Random Breath Testing[[/note]] means [[TimeForPlanB you need a Plan B]]". The ad showed a man having a series of {{Imagine Spot}}s as he contemplated ways other than driving to get home as he's been drinking. One of these was being fired out of circus cannon.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46
47	[[folder:Anime & Manga ]]
48	* During the forty-first chapter of ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'', the cast discusses the Dobsonian telescope. After looking at a few pictures of it, Chikage thinks they look like human cannons, and Mira falls into an ImagineSpot of her using it to launch into the space to [[GoalInLife find asteroids]]. Ao has to tell Mira ''that'''s not possible.
49	* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Kuukaku Shiba sent Ichigo and co. to the Sereitei this way. It's also the only to get around [[spoiler:the "Palaces" of the Zero Squad]] and then to [[spoiler:the Spirit King's palace.]]
50	-->"IS THIS THE ONLY WAY TO GET AROUND HEEEEEEERE?!"
51	* One of the gadgets in ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'', the Youzooka, is a big gun that can be used to shoot people into the air.
52	* One filler villain in the ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' anime has developed a martial art based on being a human cannonball. His entire army uses it.
53	* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Yahiko befriends a girl named Marimo who performs this act in the [[CircusBrat circus she works for]]. At the end of the episode, Sanosuke picks up the cannon and uses it as shoulder-mounted artillery to fire her at the VillainOfTheWeek. The gunpowder question is handwaved by saying that the circus owner had a special, proprietary mix of powder that was just strong enough to launch the girl without risking injury.
54	* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'' ''Super S'' one [[MonsterOfTheWeek motw]] has female Lemure who attacks as this.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
58	* In episode 3 of ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', Big M. and Little M. steal a cannon from a circus act and attempt to use it to launch themselves back to their home planet. As with all of their attempts to get back home, the plan doesn't work.
59	* ''Animation/MotuPatlu'': Not a ''human'' cannonball, exactly. In "Ants Attack", one of the attacks the ants use on Motu and Patlu is to shoot some of the other ants at them through cannons.
60	* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'', sometimes Wolffy gets punished by getting shot out of a cannon and flying away into the sky.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Comic Books]]
64	* The various Corps used Dove as one against the Anti-Monitor in ''ComicBook/BlackestNight''.
65	* The Circus of Crime in Creator/MarvelComics is, you guessed it, a traveling circus that doubles as a criminal outfit. One of its mainstays is the Human Cannonball, who is fired at enemies while wearing a suit of armor that makes him invulnerable to harm.
66	* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: In issue 10 Diana has herself shot out a cannon straight into the Saturn Emperor's throne room.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Fan Works]]
70	* In ''Fanfic/FracturedSovereignGFC'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]], Lilith is placed in a canister and blasted out of a magnetic railgun. In a nod to what would [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome normally happen]] in such situations, it's [[HandWave handwaved]] by saying the gun fired at "minimum power." Plus, she's a Siren, so her physiology is [[SuperToughness more robust]].
71	* ''Fanfic/WonderfulMazinja'': When [[AntiHero Wonder Shadow]] formed her giant crossbow, [[FlyingBrick Vicky]] became the ammo.
72	-->It took perhaps a few more moments than it had for her-which likely said something about the relationship between Sophia and the rest-but in a matter of moments, Sophia was holding out a massive, glimmering black crossbow.\
73	Despite its size, Sophia held it up with ease, took careful aim, and fired.\
74	Glory Girl, encased in a black forcefield shaped like a bolt, led out another startled cry as she was shot towards the tank, piercing straight through it.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Film -- Animated ]]
78	* In ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'', Rocky is part of a circus act where he is shot out of a cannon. After one performance, he drops out of the sky into the lives of the main characters, who assume he can fly, setting off the plot.
79	* In ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatTheMovie'', during a circus performance, Felix's Magic Bag of Tricks vacuums him up, then shoots him out on a cannonball.
80	* Marty and Stefano take this role in the circus act in ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted''.
81	* At the climax of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'', Pinkie Pie and the rest of Twilight Sparkle's friends use [[ChekhovsGun the giant cannon Pinkie Pie made near the beginning of the movie]] to launch themselves across Canterlot in time to save Twilight from the Storm King.
82	* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': In one flashback, Puss attempts to have himself shot out of a cannon. Given that the flashback is part of a DeathMontage, it doesn’t end well.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Film -- Live Action ]]
86	* In ''Film/LoveAndDeath'' LovableCoward [[Creator/WoodyAllen Boris Grushenko]] hides in the cannon barrel. During the [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars battle of Austerlitz]]...
87	* In the Crosby/Hope comedy ''Film/RoadToZanzibar'' one of the scams the duo run is a human-cannonball act; it turns out Hope's character hides in a secret compartment in the base of the cannon and it's a dummy that gets launched out. (And catches fire, and crashes into a tent, and causes an entire carnival to [[DisasterDominoes burn down]].)
88	* In ''Film/SuckerPunch'', two orcs attack the girls' plane by launching themselves from a catapult.
89	* ''Film/ThingsToCome''. The first interplanetary expedition involves a [[AdamAndEvePlot young man and woman]] loaded into a capsule and blasted off from a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything vertically-standing cannon to spread the seed of Mankind]] across the Universe.
90	* ''Film/{{Le Voyage dans la lune}}'' has our heroes blasted to the Moon in a capsule fired from an enormous cannon. The Moon cops it right in the eye, and doesn't look happy about it.
91	* A porcine version occurs in the 2005 Russian {{mockumentary}} ''Pervye Na Lune'' ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_on_the_Moon First on the Moon]]) when a pig is [[DutchCourage filled up with vodka]], packed into a heavy mortar shell and fired off. Fortunately both shell and cosmopig passenger parachutes safely back to Earth.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder: Live Action TV]]
95	* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Sue decides to use a Human Cannonball as a gimmick in the cheerleading routine to win another National Championship. Sue has a very cartoonish way of looking at the world and in her delusion completely ignored how dangerous this stunt is outside a cartoon. Her top cheerleaders tell her she is crazy and quit the team in protest.
96	* ''Series/TheGoodies''. In "Cunning Stunts", Bill tries to kill himself by firing himself into the air from a cannon. Tim and Graeme see this and load a parachute pack into the cannon for Bill to use, but fail to realise the straps are tangled around their legs, causing them to get shot into the air as well.
97	* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' had a recurring act called the Flying Zuccini Brothers Human Cannonball Act. They were rarely on stage, but their cannon was used by Bob Hope as a means of fast and cheap travel. "Eat your heart out, Concord." They also tried to make a cow-cannonball act with the live-action cow wandering around backstage in the Julie Andrews episode.
98	* This is the deployment method for the Super Zeozords, Red Battlezord, and Warrior Wheel in ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'': Being shot out of a cannon.
99	* ''Series/SesameStreet'':
100	** In the ''Series/ElmosWorld'' episode about hats, Dorothy at one point imagines Elmo being shot out of a cannon, wearing a special helmet required to perform this stunt.
101	** In the ''Elmo's World'' episode about school, Slimey uses a cannon to launch himself to school, but only if he's running late.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder: Literature]]
105	* Jules Verne's ''Literature/FromTheEarthToTheMoon'', although the characters at least use a vehicle there. While Verne's calculations are surprisingly close to the truth considering the lack of data at his time, in RealLife the resulting G-forces (around 22000 g) would have crushed the vehicle and its passengers.
106	* ''King David's Spaceship'' or "A Spaceship For The King" by Creator/JerryPournelle uses a variant of this because... supposedly they weren't sophisticated enough for orbital rockets and yet were inexplicably able to build a cannon firing a steady stream of explosive propulsion shells at the rear end of the capsule.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder: Music]]
110	* "Earl's Dead - Cadillac For Sale" by Music/JimmyBuffet is about the life and death of a human cannonball, followed by his widow launching his ashes out of the cannon and selling his car.
111	* "Hugo the Human Cannonball" by Music/RayStevens. One of his darker songs. The title character flies 250 feet into the air, looks down and realizes he's going to miss the net, then splatters all over the upper bleachers.
112	* Webb Wilder's "Human Cannonball" features the title character relating how awesome his job is.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
116	* ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' had to use a cannon as transportation when his company was cutting back on travel budgets. A later arc involves him visiting [[{{Ruritania}} Elbonia]], which reuses this joke... except the Elbonians are both so primitive and so incompetent that they launch Dilbert to his destination via ''giant slingshot'' instead.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Pinball]]
120	* In ''[[Pinball/BugsBunnysBirthdayBall Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball]]'', the SkillShot consists of launching Wile E. Coyote out of a cannon to chase the Road Runner.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Theatre]]
124	* The end of P.T. Barnum's stand-up act in the Creator/MichaelCrawford version of ''Theatre/{{EFX}}''... however, nothing goes as planned as the cannon is pointed at the stage and explodes with Barnum inside of it.
125	* In ''Theatre/{{Zarkana}}'', Pocus winds up being one — and winds up traveling to another planet as the transition to the cyr wheel/aerial hoops act.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
129	* ''Ride/DudleyDoRightsRipsawFalls'': When she is freed, Nell throws Snidely into a cannon and blasts him away.
130	* ''Ride/SpaceMountain'' at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland Paris]] has guests being shot into space via a giant cannon, in homage to ''Literature/FromTheEarthToTheMoon''.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Toys]]
134	* Parker Brothers had a game in 1990 called ''Flying Pirates'' which featured nutty pirates using this method to board an enemy ship. (The game itself involved each player having a toy ship, where the objective was to launch the small figures onto the opponent's ship; first player to tip the opposing ship over wins.)
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Video Games]]
138	* ''VideoGame/SeventySevenPEggwife'' has one in the last stage for you to reach and shoot at ''the sun''.
139	* Averted in ''VideoGame/AeroTheAcroBat''. Aero on several occasions launches themselves out of a cannon to get somewhere, but it's the air powered circus type complete with 'FWHOOMP!' sound effect.
140	* In The Sega Genesis version of ''VideoGame/{{Animaniacs}}'', when Wakko first comes across a cannon, he must light the fuse with his mallet. Then, he must jump inside the cannon so it can launch him in the air.
141	* Sometimes there will be cannons dotted around a map for Ed to shoot himself out of in ''VideoGame/BenAndEd''.
142	* In the ''VideoGame/ABoyAndHisBlob'' Wii game, one of the jellybeans transforms a blob into a cannon. A boy is one of things that can go in the cannon to be shot and there occasionally happens to be an enemy that can be shot from there too.
143	* ''VideoGame/CarnEvil'' has the player getting into a cannon to launch them up to the top of the tent.
144	* The artillery cannon in ''VideoGame/{{Clonk}}'' provides a quick way of getting clonks over large canyons or mountains.
145	* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', the only way out of the Russian unit Bullfrog is via the "Man Cannon". It's portrayed more realistically though since the infantry units descend with parachutes after being fired from the cannon.
146	* Most matches in ''VideoGame/CustomRobo'' start out like this, if Transforming Miniature Robot Cannon Cube doesn't stretch the definition too much.
147	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry''. Barrel cannons. Heck, the spinoff ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongBarrelBlast''/''Jet Race'' uses them as [[{{Jetpack}} jetpacks]]!
148	* ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' is a very badass example. At one point in the story, the Doom Slayer loads himself up to a giant cannon and shoots himself out of it (after kicking out the actual ammo) in order to get to a drifting space vessel. He's blasted straight through the hull like an actual cannonball and ''still'' lands on his feet and ready to start shooting.
149	* ''VideoGame/DT3'' has cannons that launch the player so fast that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0czGDbvwUko you apparently trail rainbows]]
150	* Used offensively in ''VideoGame/{{Dwarfs}}'' Each outpost has a cannon that can be loaded with its patrolling warrior dwarves and fired at whatever you need dead.
151	* ''VideoGame/EverybodyEdits'': The Daredevil smiley was once named the ''Cannonball'' smiley. Its introduction update came with a promotional world where players are shot out of cannons using boost arrows.
152	* In ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLightMultiverse'', the Clone Cannon essentially weaponizes this by firing clones of one of your crewmembers at your enemies, although it doesn't have to be a human that gets cannonballed...
153	* Each level of ''VideoGame/FreezeME'' has one or more cannons you can use to shoot yourself around it. Some are necessary to reach new areas.
154	* [[PirateGirl May's]] new [[OneHitKill Instant Kill]] move in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear X-Sign'' is basically this. She grabs her opponent, stuffs him/her inside the [[CoolAirship Mayship's]] ''actual'' cannon and, with the help of her best friend April, she ''shoots him/her off'' from there. It's both [[Awesome/GuiltyGear awesome]] and [[Funny/GuiltyGear hilarious]].
155	* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'':
156	** A FAIL in ''Diamond'' involves Henry trying to use a cannon to launch himself past a pair of guards. He falls out, tries to get back in, and winds up crashing into the door when it fires.
157	** Henry can also try this in the Thief/Ghost route of ''Mission'', to cross a gap. The cannon instead just blows him up.
158	** In the Government/Allies route of ''Mission'', Charles's helicopter has a cannon designed to fire humans, which Henry and Ellie use to get inside the rocket, being shot through the rocket cafeteria's window.
159	* A catapult version is done in ''[[VideoGame/{{Hexen}} Hexen 2]]'', to get over a wall at one point in the game. However, you have to position yourself so that it only flings you far enough to pass the wall: letting it toss you high enough into the air will cause you to take falling damage when you land.
160	* Unsurprisingly, the Platform/{{Atari 2600}} video game ''VideoGame/HumanCannonball'' is all about this trope. The player must set the cannon's position, angle, and blast strength in order to shoot the subject into a water tank.
161	* In ''VideoGame/{{Jumper}}'', there are "shooters", pink boxes which Ogmo can hop in to be shot in direction indicated by spinning cursor. Variations include blue faster ones (''Jumper Redux'') and one-time use yellow ones (''Jumper Two Editor''). ''VideoGame/MoneySeize'', a game by the same author, features those as well.
162	* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' Pit gets shot out as more an "Angel Cannonball". He doesn't like the idea one bit.
163	* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' sometimes uses these to get from place to place. They serve as "beat the clock" challenges, because Kirby has to light the fuse and get inside the cannon before it goes off. Also, ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry''-style floating cannons appear in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' (''Ultra''), and later, ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' and ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe''.
164	* In ''[[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon The Legend of the Mystical Ninja]]'', the protagonists are offered a ride to Izumo in a "Miracle Flying Transport," which turns out to be a cannon. It misfires, and they wind up at Tengu Mountain instead.
165	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
166	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': After the Sky Cannon is repaired, Link fires himself out of it to reach the City in the Sky.
167	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Yunobo has an ability to [[BeehiveBarrier become immune to any form of damage]]. As a result, he makes a very good cannonball and contributes to the Rudania fight by being used as ammo for the Goron Cannons.
168	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': At the start of the Fun Fun Island minigame, Link launches skyward from a cannon to parachute back to the spinning platform of the island.
169	* Later stages of ''VideoGame/LifeGoesOn'' have you firing your knights around the map, they don't survive the impact.
170	* A good way to get around in ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'' is to purchase and use giant cow cannons, which made getting back to places like the Skull Plains a lot less difficult.
171	* In ''VideoGame/LostSoulsMUD'', one of the methods of getting from the ground to the floating castle Darkhold is by being launched in a catapult.
172	* ''VideoGame/MailMole'': Well, mole cannonball in this case, but [[PlayerCharacter Molty]] uses cannons to travel from level to level.
173	* ''VideoGame/{{Maribato}}'': Yoshino's throw turns her oponent into this: Yoshino starts by stuffing her opponent into a trick cannon, and fires her up into the sky, slamming her against a wall.
174	* In ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'', The Tank has a skill called Human Cannonball, which involves them loading an allied Mii into their cannon and launching them at the enemy. The launched Mii will not be happy about this.
175	--> '''Ally''': [[WhatTheHellHero Why would you DO that?]]
176	* In the final stage of ''VideoGame/{{Miner 2049er}}'', Bounty Bob has to load a cannon with TNT and then shoot himself out of it. Overloading the cannon will produce a fatal explosion.
177	* ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate]]'' features the Artillery Mask for your [[NonHumanSidekick Shakalaka companions]] to wear. The mask's special power is to turn the wearer into a cannon and fire the other Shakalaka out of it, making for a surprisingly effective projectile.
178	* Used as an actual ImprovisedWeapon in one level on ''VideoGame/TheOutfoxies''.
179	* A bonus event in ''VideoGame/{{Pilotwings}} 64'' has you launch yourself into a target in this manner.
180	* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesGardenWarfare'': The Driftwood Shores map has cannons that launch characters (mostly the attacking Zombies) towards the final objective. Launched Zombies must dodge the anti-air Flax Cannons of the Plant defenders while trying to make a safe landing. These reappear in the [[HubLevel Backyard Battleground]] of ''2'', used as a fast method of traveling across the map.
181	* The Mistralton Gym in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' is rife with this kind of transportation. The second-to-last one before your meeting with Skyla is... maladjusted.
182	* ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures:''
183	** In the original game, King El Zebulos launches Sparkster out of a cannon as a means of getting from Stage 3 (LethalLavaLand) to Stage 4 ([[AirborneAircraftCarrier airship]]).
184	** In the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] spin-off, ''Sparkster'', in the seventh level, Sparkster is shot into [[SpaceZone space]] with a cannon, starting up an UnexpectedShmupLevel.
185	* In ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'s'' "A Clockwork Syringe" quest, firing yourself out of the cannon ''directly'' is too dangerous, so you weld a chain to the cannonball, attach a barrel to it, and ride in that instead! In "Between a rock" quest. player is launched out of the cannonball towards a rock wall with a golden helmet on.
186	* One DLC vehicle in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'', the Genki Manapault, uses this as its main weapon. Driving into pedestrians, gang members, or even ''your own homies'' sucks them up, at which point they can be promptly fired out of the cannon atop the car, leaving a trail of sparkling stars along the way.
187	* In ''{{VideoGame/Scribblenauts}}'', you can summon a Human Cannon, which spawns with a clown already inside. Firing the cannon launches the clown, after which you can reload it with other people.
188	* Near the beginning of ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'' Guybrush can earn some money by letting the acrobatic Fetuccini brothers use him as a guinea pig for their human cannonball act, with a cooking pot as a makeshift helmet. Much later, he uses the same technique to shoot himself out of his ship's cannon in order to reach the shores of Monkey Island.
189	* ''VideoGame/ShadowGambitTheCursedCrew'': Gaëlle can load a mook or an ally into the cannon on her back and then shoot them to another location.
190	* In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsVirtualBart'', the goal of the Baby Bart level is to get Baby Bart into the cannon at the end of the circus tent. The cannon fires him out of the tent and into the ice cream truck he pursues in the following cutscene.
191	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
192	** In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'', one of the more fun ways of getting around Oil Ocean Zone is to shoot yourself out of the various cannons dotted throughout the level.
193	** In the Carnival Night Zone in ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic 3]]'', circus cannons appear throughout both acts, and allow the player to launch themselves into the air, and one is used to enter the next zone after the boss battle.
194	** In ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland Sonic 3D Blast]]'', there are two cannons in [[GreenHillZone Green Grove Zone]], one in each act. The one in Act 1 takes Sonic to Knuckles, who will take him to a Special Stage if he has 50 rings, and the one in Act 2 takes him back to the beginning of the stage if there's something he missed there.
195	** ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'':
196	*** The game features cannons where how it fires will depend on who the team leader is when you enter it.
197	*** During the Bullet Station Zone the player team will occasionally use a really big cannon, which is the size of an entire building.
198	** In ''VideoGame/SonicRushAdventure'', the Ghost Titan, who is the boss of Big Swell, is in the air, out of Sonic's reach. On the platform Sonic is on, there are cannons protected by force fields. Sonic has to use the Ghost Titan's projectiles to destroy these force fields, since any contact with these force fields will damage him. Once the force fields are gone, these cannons will shoot at Sonic. He then needs to hit the cannon enough times so that he can enter it and use it to launch himself at the Ghost Titan to damage it.
199	* In ''VideoGame/SpankysQuest'' (SNES version), both player and enemy characters can shoot out of cannons, though neither exactly qualifies as human.
200	* In ''VideoGame/SpiritOfTheNorth'', it's more of a ''vulpine'' cannonball to be precise. There are rings that, when powered by auroral energy, launch the player fox through the air.
201	* ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'' has a ninja level that allows you to do this, though ''human cannonball'' might be a bit of a misnomer.
202	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
203	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'': Certain levels feature diagonal pipes from which Mario and Luigi can launch by entering a nearby vertical pipe.
204	** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'': Several levels feature cannons from which Mario can launch to reach high or distant spots. However, using them requires prior permission from a Bob-omb Buddy, for which you have to find him and talk to him (and in Bob-omb Battlefield, you must also have defeated King Bob-omb).
205	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': Delfino Plaza features a giant cannon that launches you to Pinna Park. A similar cannon can be found in the second mission of Pinna Park itself, but entering it will take you to a special obstacle course instead.
206	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'': Square-shaped cannons can be used by Mario (as well as Luigi in the NewGamePlus) to launch onto distant spots. Gravity is never a problem here, so it's always a straight trajectory.
207	** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'': In all games of the subseries minus the fourth (which also excludes its Luigi-based MissionPackSequel), cannons are used as a WarpZone to later worlds. You have to unlock them by reaching secret exits in nearby levels.
208	** ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' has many tracks, often those based on the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series, where you and your vehicle get launched out of a cannon with tremendous speed. These are, namely, DK Mountain from ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'', Waluigi Pinball in ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'', and DK Pass and Maple Treeway in ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'' (DK Mountain from ''Double Dash!!'' is featured here as well).
209	** ''VideoGame/MarioParty1'': In Wario's Battle Canyon, launching oneself from one of the cannons is the only method of transport between areas, since these are disconnected otherwise.
210	** ''VideoGame/MarioParty4'': One of the 1 Vs. 3 mini-games is "Hide and Go Boom". Each of the three team players must choose one of four cannons to hide in (indicated by the controller buttons), while the single player is given three torches to light them. If the single player manages to shoot all three team players out of the cannons, then it wins, but if at least one team player is still in a cannon when the three torches are used up, then the team wins.
211	** ''VideoGame/MarioParty7'': The minigame Target Tag has each player enter a cannon and get launched airborne. While they fly, they have to hit the aerial targets to earn points (the numbers they show will indicate their worth), but they must also dodge the Bowser targets to avoid losing ''all'' points. Whoever gets the most points after they land onto the ground wins, though more than one can win in case they share the same high score.
212	** ''VideoGame/MarioPartyIslandTour'': The aptly-named minigame Cannonball! has the four players crank their respective cannon's handles as quickly as possible during four seconds. They then hop onto the cannons to be shot. The faster they cranked the handles, the farther will they be shot. The player who lands onto the farthest spot wins.
213	** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' has a giant Bob-Omb-powered cannon that is used to launch Mario to the moon.
214	** In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'', Mario can get blown out of a cannon if he answers incorrectly in the Sudden Death question in the ''Shy Guys Finish Last'' quiz show. However, since the show takes place on a FloatingContinent, Mario gets blown through the roof straight into a NonStandardGameOver.
215	* Several stages in the Subspace Emissary mode of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' feature the barrel cannons as a ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry''.
216	* In ''VideoGame/{{Terramex}}'', you need to do this to cross a lake. By the time you reach the cannon, you will have collected three kegs of gunpowder of varying sizes. Use too much gunpowder and you will end up smashing yourself against a mountain, too little and you will fall into the lake. Choose wisely. [[spoiler:It's the medium sized keg.]]
217	* In ''VideoGame/TinyToonAdventuresBustersHiddenTreasure'', in the [[SlippySlideyIceWorld ice mountain levels]], when Buster finds a cannon, it launches him into space. As he falls back down, he can collect airborne bonuses if he is positioned correctly.
218	* ''VideoGame/ToontownOnline'':
219	** In one case, this is used as a pun. After you beat the CEO, you get pink slips to fire enemy Cogs. By fire, of course, the game means fire from a cannon.
220	** In the battle against the Chief Justice, the second round involves firing NPC Toons into the jury using a cannon to ensure at least 8 out of 12 jury spots are filled with Toons instead of Cogs.
221	* ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'' has this as a way of travel in several levels. Sometimes even with moving cannons.
222	* Cannon travel is a staple of ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games (featured in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure'', ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'', and ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'')--just hop in and shoot off, as your characters [[ArtisticLicensePhysics don't ever have to worry about fall damage]]!
223	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Not truly a cannon, but the Ultrasafe Personnel Launcher used by the gnomes in Steelgrill's Depot (and anyone allied with them, like your character) to get past the enemy and their base camp is the same idea. (Luckily, a parachute is provided when you use it, and the guy you report to assured the disorientation lasts only a minute or so.)
224	** A more straightforward example is the cannon in the Darkmoon Faire, which provides some magic wings that allow you to fall down slower. Of course, the point of the attraction is to get rid of the wings at the right time so you can land in a ring floating in the coast (the closest to the bullseye, the more points you get). If you unsummon the wings too late, you'll still land in the water. The problem comes if you do it too soon...
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Webcomics]]
228	* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', the main characters have once to use a cannon to travel to their next destination. Of course, the first test is with [[ButtMonkey Black Mage]] and the explosion happens, but Black Mage isn't sent on the way.
229	* In ''Webcomic/HazardsWake'', Talon delivers [[TeamPet Fluffy]] to [[CloudCuckooLander Maple]] by firing him out of a cannon. Fluffy is resilient enough to survive this, but [[spoiler:his impact destroys Maple's ship]].
230	* Variant in ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience'': A one-man pod is shot into space with a giant cannon, design courtesy of a mad scientist. When it fails, LudicrousGibs result. (Fortunately the failure rate isn't very big...)
231	* Subverted in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', in the Barsoom circus arc. A human cannonball's gunpowder was replaced with higher-grade explosive and he splattered into a concrete dam miles away.
232	* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' Zoe dated a professional HumanCannonball for a while. They met after he crash landed on another guy Zoe was trying to chat up.
233	* In one ''Webcomic/UserFriendly'' story arc, Pitr is launched to the moon by trebuchet.
234	[[/folder]]
235
236	[[folder:Web Original]]
237	* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Done in a rather spectacular fashion with Jamie by everyone working together and combining their powers in the flashback in "Over and Under" to seal the Overlord of Evil away.
238	* In the Youtube video ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4f9m4OYkCY Friendship is Magic Bitch,]]'' it turns out that this is how [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Princess Celestia]] banishes her adversaries to the moon. Or not quite.
239	* Cuddles is shot out of one in an episode of ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'', with gruesome results (due to Toothy misinterpreting Mime's instructions to put two scoops of gunpowder in; Toothy put ''two barrels'' in instead).
240	* The anime-styled animation ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMM9P04DcbA&feature=youtu.be Zazel]]'' has this as its premise. In the future, Human Cannonball Racing is a sport, where contestants are fired from a series of cannons from a platform, and compete to reach the goal through the circular city hovering high in the sky. The plot happens when the titular girl who's a maintenance lady is accidentally mistaken for a contestant and is thrown into the tournament.
241	[[/folder]]
242
243	[[folder:Western Animation]]
244	* [[RollingAttack Cannonbolt]] is shot out of Rex's [[ArmCannon Slam Cannon]] in ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10GeneratorRexHeroesUnited Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United]]''. Justified in that Cannonbolt can survive reentering Earth and the Slam Cannon is designed to shoot projectiles the size of small cars.
245	* ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'': Roberto Benigni [[AchievementsInIgnorance accidentally wins]] his bout with Benito Mussolini this way.
246	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'': In the season 2 episode ''The Dreamland Job'', the circus troupe performing for King Zog end their show with one of these. This in order to mask the explosion in the vault they were robbing at the same time.
247	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': In the original pilot, as one of the many things Cosmo and Wanda do to Vicky, Vicky ends up shot out of a circus cannon. She lands ChainedToARailway.
248	* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Yug Ylimaf", we see a reversed flashback of Peter [[RunningGag damaging Cleveland's house]] by trying to travel to Australia as a human cannonball.
249	* ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatJoeOriolo'': In "Felix's Gold Mine", Professor tries to launch Rock Bottom up to the summit where the eponymous gold mine is located by using a cannon, but he's too big to fit inside of it. The Professor decides to launch himself up instead, only to completely miss the summit--fortunately for him, he had a parachute on hand.
250	* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short ''Daffy the Commando'', Daffy hides from a Nazi officer in a cannon. The officer fires the cannon and Daffy flies through the air in a human cannonball costume, complete with American flags. He lands right next to a rotoscoped Hitler and interrupts the Fuehrer's speech by conking him over the head with a mallet.
251	* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E12PinkiePride Pinkie Pride]], Pinkie Pie fires herself out of her party cannon, followed by Rainbow Dash being fired out of [[Music/WeirdAlYankovic Cheese Sandwich's]] party artillery piece.
252	* In the ''WesternAnimation/Rugrats1991'' episode, "[[CircusEpisode Circus Angelicus]]", when Angelica stages her own circus in Tommy's backyard, she wants Chuckie to be a "[[{{Malaproper}} human candyball]]". However, Chuckie can't remember what he's supposed to do, and as Angelica tries to explain it to him [[SeesawCatapult by sitting on one end of a seesaw, Phil and Lil jump onto the other end, launching her into the air]].
253	* Krusty the Clown in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' once shot his half-brother Luke Perry out of a cannon. The shot missed, sending Luke out of the studio, through a sandpaper factory and a display of half-price acid at the Kwik-E-Mart before he landed in a mattress warehouse. Which was then blown up. He also often shot Sideshow Bob out of a cannon, which contributed to Bob's hatred of him in "Krusty Gets Busted." (This later comes back to good use in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E6TheGreatLouseDetective The Great Louse Detective]]", when Bob has to shoot himself out of the cannon on one Mardi Gras float in order to save Homer from getting ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice in the swordfish museum.)
254	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' cartoons:
255	** In the opening credits of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Coconuts attempts to shoot Grounder out of a cannon at Sonic. He tugs so hard on the detonator, that [[EpicFail it thrusts Grounder into the direction]] [[OhCrap of him and Scratch]] and explodes.
256	** ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'':
257	%% *** In "[[CircusEpisode Circus of Plunders]]", Knuckles becomes one of these when he, along with Sonic, Amy, and Sticks get jobs at T.W. Barker's Circus of Wonders.
258	*** In "[[Recap/SonicBoomS1E13UnluckyKnuckles Unlucky Knuckles]]", in an attempt to shift the luck balance of the universe (the idea given to him by [[ConspiracyTheorist Sticks]]), Knuckles fires himself out of a cannon at the bottom of a deep pit.
259	*** In "Role Models", Knuckles launches Tails out of a cannon and Tails lands in a trash can. Before Knuckles can do the same with Amy, he is stopped by [[MoralGuardians D.B. Platypus]]. When Sonic protests against D.B. calling him and his friends bad role models, he hits the cannon, launching Amy into a tree.
260	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' had a supporting cast member called The Human Bullet who was frequently fired at the episode's climactic battle scene by his child (or neighbor in one case). He usually had little beneficial effect on the fight, if he ever made it in time at all.
261	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': In the ''World Tour'' episode, "Sweden Sour", [[BigFun Owen]] uses himself as one to sink the other team's ship.
262	* ''WesternAnimation/{{W}}'': William does this in one episode.
263	* ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner'': Wile E. has attempted to fire himself out of a cannon multiple times in his neverending quest to catch the Road Runner. What he has achieved are multiple new ways to injure himself.
264	[[/folder]]

Context Main / HumanCannonball