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1[[quoteright:300:[[Creator/BusterKeaton https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keatonpratfall.jpg]]]]
2 [[caption-width-right:300:Creator/BusterKeaton showing fine form.]]
3
4->''"A pratfall is better than anything."''
5-->-- '''Creator/PrestonSturges''', ''Eleven Rules for Box Office Appeal''
6
7The buttocks. The fundament. The behind. The posterior. The sitter-downer. Whatever you call it, it's [[JokeOfTheButt inherently funny]]. Falling down and landing on it? Comedy gold!
8
9The Pratfall (named for an archaic word for buttocks) is a staple of {{Slapstick}} humor and one of the most [[{{Pun}} fundamental]] forms of {{Schadenfreude}}. Many comedians have built entire careers around variations on this theme. A stock gag for the circus clown, the pratfall is OlderThanRadio and dates back at least to the days of vaudeville and music hall theater, and it was very popular in early silent films. It may well be as old as comedy itself. One suspects even our primitive ape-like ancestors must have found it hilarious when a fellow ape sat down a bit harder than expected.
10
11The humor often comes from the exaggerated nature of the fall, and many physical comedians practice their pratfalls carefully to make sure they are funny enough. (Online lessons are available.) The humor value may also depend on what the falling character lands on (or ''in'').
12
13A favorite technique for TheKlutz. May involve a BananaPeel, [[ToiletHumor dog droppings]], or just a [[SlipperySkid slippery surface]].
14
15Subtrope of AmusingInjury and LiteralAssKicking. Compare FacePlant, which is a similar way of going from upright to sprawled very quickly for humor, the closely related FaceFault, and ForgotToMindTheirHead, where humor can be achieved by hitting one's head on something.
16
17----
18!!Examples:
19
20[[foldercontrol]]
21
22[[folder:Advertising]]
23* A 2018 US ad for Domino's Pizza features a guy who does a pratfall on snow while carrying a pizza from his car to his house, to promote something they call "pizza insurance".
24[[/folder]]
25
26[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27* Expect this to happen to the resident CuteClumsyGirl quite often. If she's wearing a skirt when it happens, a PantyShot is often unavoidable.
28* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' (1993 ver.) - Keichi has a pretty good one in the second episode.
29* Excel performs an excellent one during the intro to ''Anime/ExcelSaga''.
30* ''Manga/DeathNote'': When discovering about the true nature of Kira, L is so surprised he [[PeopleFallOffChairs falls out of his chair]]. WordOfGod confesses that this scene was drawn just for the visual image of L flat on his ass.
31* In the Act 1 ColdOpen of ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal,'' Usagi's status as TheKlutz is cemented when she manages to take a StaircaseTumble by losing her footing and falling on her rear down the last eight steps to her house's first floor, finishing with an OffScreenCrash.
32* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'':
33** Mimimi's skin is so smooth that she slips and falls if she's not wearing shoes.
34** Yamame tends to fall over when something spooks her, accompanied by a "Thwoom" sound effect due to her large size.
35[[/folder]]
36
37[[folder:Fan Works]]
38* ''Fanfic/EverydayCrazinessInPontypandy'': In "Bronwyn's Helper", Elvis fails to pull a wooden spoon out of a pot of sticky toffee, and ends up falling onto his bottom.
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
42* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'': Toward the end of the movie, Twilight crosses the portal back to Equestria with her crown, the Element of Magic, causing the earlier MagicalGirl transformations of the five human counterparts to her pony friends to revert. Rainbow Dash is flying at the time with her brand-new wings, and she falls on her tush when they disappear.
43* Plenty from the toons in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' [[spoiler:and when Judge Doom has one, it's a clue that he's a toon]]. The previously humorless Eddie Valliant does a bunch during his dance to make the weasels DieLaughing.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
47* Gretchen in the "circle of trust" did this in ''Film/MeanGirls''.
48* Creator/CharlieChaplin used this in many of his early movies when playing the character '''The Little Tramp'''.
49* Creator/BusterKeaton perfected the pratfall and even made a variation of it called the backward roll, where he would fall on his ass and continue the momentum, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V86ODBSXtZs flipping backward over his head and back up to his feet]]
50* Silent film stars Creator/LaurelAndHardy were also fond of this trope, so much that it's one of their trademarks. There's even a Laurel and Hardy fan magazine called ''Pratfall''.
51* ''Film/BringingUpBaby'': David slips on an olive Susan dropped and falls really hard on his butt.
52* In the automat scene from ''Film/EasyLiving'', there are so many pratfalls that it's hard to count them all. Being a Preston Sturges script gives you an idea why this is the case.
53* ''Film/{{Clockwise}}'': Creator/JohnCleese (playing an uptight overstressed headmaster) gets a car stuck in the mud, and when he gets out, furious, he kicks it, slips, and ends up sitting in the mud himself.
54* Lou Costello of Creator/AbbottAndCostello was a master of the technique.
55* Curly Howard of Film/TheThreeStooges also made regular use of it.
56* ''Film/SinginInTheRain'': Cosmo goes through countless pratfalls during his "Make 'Em Laugh" dance.
57* Creator/YukiMeguro's work as Lupin in ''Film/StrangePsychokineticStrategy'' is as professional as American Vaudeville acts. With a completely stiff, still body, he falls straight back like a cartoon cat recently hit by an anvil.
58* ''Film/{{Sunset|1988}}'': Alfie Alperin was a slapstick comedian before becoming a producer, and stays in shape. At the first Academy Awards, he puts on a display of his old act, including a classic pratfall where he attempts to put both feet on a table despite not sitting on anything.
59* ''Film/TheWreckingCrew'': Freya Carlson establishes herself as a CuteClumsyGirl in her first scene as she falls butt first on [[TheHero Matt Helm]]'s camera case.
60* Kevin James in ''Film/{{Zookeeper|2011}}'' performs an excellent flying one after running into a large metal crossbar with his head.
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder:Literature]]
64* In the ''Literature/AuntDimity'' series, some of the comedy is physical, including the occasional pratfall:
65** Emma and Lori go for a walk in ''Aunt Dimity Digs In'' and wade in a nearby stream to cool off until Emma's dog Ham bounds in to join them, causing them to flail for balance and land in the water. At least they got cooled off.
66** In ''Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter'', Lori tries very hard to remain upright while following Kit down a steep hillside, only to land on her rump in Gypsy Hollow. Kit teasingly suggests renaming the place "Lori's Bottom".
67** Early in ''Aunt Dimity and the Buried Treasure'', Lori is in her dusty attic to retrieve a blender for new neighbours from among the many duplicate wedding gifts she and Bill have stored there when she sneezes, and the jerk of her hands topples the boxed small appliances "knocking me onto my bottom but doing no real harm until a plummeting juicer struck the flashlight and sent it spinning around the old trunk and into the dark corner."
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
71* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Mr. Conklin is an occasion victim of pratfalls. He's an easy target given his pompous nature:
72** In "Connie and Bonnie", Mr. Conklin has multiple tumbles in the hallway trying to rush from his office to the Vice Principal's office next door.
73** In the episode "School on Saturday", Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass loosen the doorknob to Mr. Conklin's office so when he next pulled the knob he's fall to the floor.
74* The intro to ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'' features Dick performing a very tricky full somersault version after tripping over an ottoman.
75* In the first season of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' Chevy Chase did this a lot when doing his "impression" of UsefulNotes/GeraldFord.
76* Chevy Chase's character Pierce does this almost once an episode in ''Series/{{Community}}''. Occasionally other characters will also do pratfalls. Notably Annie in an alternate timeline that results in the death of [[spoiler: Pierce]].
77* Manuel on ''Series/FawltyTowers'' would sometimes perform these when Mr. Fawlty got mad and started pushing him around.
78* The classic ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch, ''Upperclass Twit of the Year Awards'', features some unusual, highly stylized, and deliberately awkward pratfalls.
79* Amateur versions are regularly featured on ''Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos''.
80* In ''Series/FTroop'', Captain Parmenter frequently showed us how it's done by tripping over nearly everything, including rugs, floorboards, hitching posts, and, in one unfortunate instance, the fort well. Ken Berry's dancing talents allowed him to pull them off beautifully, including one instance where Parmenter encounters several obstacles on a stroll through town and not only manages to still land on his feet in the end, but does all of them while distracted by a letter he's reading.
81* An episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' features a disturbing but still funny version. Agent Booth is anxious to find a corpse's missing head, because he has another appointment. In his hurry, he slips on a muddy riverbank, and slides into the water, then triumphantly holds up the head.
82* On ''Series/FatherTed'', Mrs. Doyle wins a date for tea with her idol, TV heartthrob Eoin [=McLove=]. When she meets him, she begins shaking uncontrollably, then goes rigid as a board and falls right over on her arse.
83* Jack Tripper of ''Series/ThreesCompany'' practically ran on this trope.
84* There's one memorable stance of this in ''Series/ElGranJuegoDeLaOca''. Lydia Bosch slips on gunge at the end of a challenge and gives one of her over-the-top reactions. As seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfrdKrQauUw here.]]
85--> "¡He hecho el ridículo delante de toda España!" [[note]]"I look ridiculous in front of all of Spain!"[[/note]]
86* Creator/HughLaurie is very good at falling, usually from getting punched in one of his early ButtMonkey roles. Even uses this to his advantage in ''Series/{{House}}'', as when he falls or stumbles, PlayedForDrama or PlayedForLaughs, it always looks painful.
87* In one episode of ''Series/TheGoodLife'', Margo and Jerry are trying to help Tom and Barbara with their harvest. When Margo comes out, she promptly slips in the mud and lands on her backside; later, she tries to pick up a sack of potatoes and knocks the other three over domino-style.
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Pinballs]]
91* Creator/{{Sega}}'s ''Pinball/{{Sapporo}}'' shows several skiiers suffering various pratfalls and tumbles.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Video Games]]
95* Used as a game mechanic in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' -- there's a random chance of pratfalling whenever the control stick is hit, discouraging excessive dashing and pivoting.
96** In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' there's a score bonus called "Pratfaller" for always landing on your back after being knocked down during a match. Alternatively, always landing face down gives you the "Face Planter" bonus.
97** This is, funny enough, one of Toon Link's victory poses. He fails to catch a pig, trips and lands on his backside. You get to watch rest of the participants of the match applaud him while he stays on the floor, rubbing his butt.
98* The "Pratfall CheatCode" for ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' allows players to perform pratfalls and faceplants for their own amusement.
99* The Bouncywild enemies in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' throw out {{Banana Peel}}s that cause Sora to fall on his ass.
100* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', the Minstrel class can unlock the Pratfall Ability, staging a slapstick fall for the amusement of the local Slimes, hopefully depriving the enemy team of a turn as a result of side-splitting hilarity.
101* The classic (and classically hard) track and field Flash game ''VideoGame/{{QWOP}}'' is so difficult that pratfalls are virtually inevitable.
102* One of the few times Bastila shows a sense of humor in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' involves using the Force to knock Mission over, after insisting (to Mission's questioning) that she's above such things.
103-->'''Mission:''' Hey! That wasn't funny!\
104'''Bastila:''' I have ''no'' idea what you're talking about, Mission. Let us move on and, please, do try to be less clumsy in the future.
105* There's a specific type of stagger in ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' called a "butt drop" that leaves victims unable to do anything for less than a second while they get back up.
106* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' you can get Titles for characters which are like a combination of VideoGameAchievements and [[CharacterClassSystem Classes]], one for the character of Regal is "Pratfall King" and you get it for being knocked down repeatedly in one battle. Presumably Regal gets an achievement for getting knocked down a lot because since his hands are [[ChainedByFashion constantly bound in handcuffs]] because [[FridgeBrilliance he'd be the character who'd have the hardest time getting up on his own.]]
107* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has a scene in the Bermia Gorge, with an assassin located on a ledge and ready to shoot arrows at any of the party in her view. They party decides that Jude will act as a decoy, while Milla sneaks up on the assassin. Depending on [[AnotherSideAnotherStory which route the player picked]], the scene plays out differently. On Milla's route, the assassin shoots an arrow into the ground in front of Jude, who is so surprised by the attack that he falls flat on his ass.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Web Original]]
111* In ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'', [[WebVideo/LukeMochrieAndTheInners Luke]] pulls off one when he trips [[spoiler:over [[WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown Film Brain's wand]] while running from the Cloaks]].
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Western Animation]]
115* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', resident klutz Amy Wong is prone to this.
116* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Multiple examples
117** Bart awakens after falling, to find himself staring into the eyes of an attractive young girl.
118--->'''Bart's brain:''' She's beautiful! Say something clever.\
119'''Bart:''' I fell on my bottom.\
120'''Bart's brain:''' D'oh...
121** When Homer slides down the banister at Mr. Burns' mansion on his belly and feet first, he somehow goes airborne at the end and manages to embed his posterior in a wall (and a valuable painting that was hanging on the wall).
122* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Zecora suffers a fall on her backside when Twilight Sparkle disturbs her meditation in "Swarm of the Century".
123* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'', we see young Ben defeating an alien named Malware, after which he proceeds to do a celebratory jump with the alien's enhanced jumping abilities, but the Omnitrix's timer runs out and Ben returns to normal form, landing on his butt. He still takes a moment to taunt the fleeing enemy before he starts rubbing his backside.
124[[/folder]]

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