Line #67 MundaneUtility/Film


1	!!Animated
2	* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6''. Hiro invents his microbots with peaceful purposes in mind, but the BigBad weaponizes them.
3	* The Madrigal family in ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' use their various magical gifts to make everyday life easier in the small farming town where they live. Pepa uses her WeatherManipulation powers to provide favorable growing conditions, Julieta hands out HealthFood in the town square, Luisa uses her SuperStrength to help with building repairs and other labor, and so on.
4	* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Queen Elsa uses her [[AnIcePerson ice powers]] to make an ice-skating rink in summer.
5	** ''WesternAnimation/OlafsFrozenAdventure'' introduces Elsa casually using her magic to apply frost trimming to the wreaths decorating the castle's stair railings, and at the end of the special, creating a giant Christmas tree of ice.
6	** ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'', Elsa is seen using her magic to make a milkshake while relaxing backstage at Oh My Disney.
7	** ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' shows Elsa using her magic to make ice toys for children at the Harvest Festival.
8	* In ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'', Dracula uses his telekinesis to change Mavis' diaper. Every parent probably dreams of having that ability.
9	* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'':
10	** The Parrs' homelife in a nutshell -- especially Helen, who finds a way to apply her superpowers to nearly every household chore despite her oft-expressed desire to live a normal life. And, related to PowerPerversionPotential, having an elastic body probably came in very handy during the pregnancies. (For that matter, a rubbery woman is the least likely for Bob to [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex accidentally crush with his strength]]).
11	** Helen is also seen to use her stretching powers to control her children when they are misbehaving. She does this in the dinner scene where her also super children are using their powers to fight. But it seems she's done this enough times for her children to simply run under the table and start fighting, pinning their mother down.
12	*** In the same scene, Bob, out of annoyance over the scene that's taking place, simply lifts the table up while they're fighting.
13	** Inverted in one brief scene, when Helen realizes (much to her chagrin) that in spite all the cool stuff that she can do with her stretching powers...she can't seem to control the size of her butt.
14	** There's also the brief scene where Helen's arms stretch to pull Bob back into the bedroom with clearly amorous intent without actually ''leaving'' the bedroom.
15	** At one point Bob uses his super strength to throw a football an extreme distance, and his son Dash uses his super speed to catch it.
16	** Violet turns invisible to hide from her crush at school (and from her parents when she overhears them fighting), and summons a force field to stop Dash from hitting her in the middle of a fight.
17	** Dash uses his super speed to put a tack on his teacher's chair during class and play football with his father. He also uses it to fight his sister when they start bickering.
18	** Jack-Jack uses his powers to escape his crib when his parents aren't looking.
19	** Mini-Omnidroids were reprogrammed into being workers for Nomanisan Island Paradise, despite their original purpose being to kill heroes and cause mass destruction.
20	** In the [[WesternAnimation/Incredibles2 sequel]], Frozone uses his ice powers to summon ice balls for Jack-Jack to gnaw on, thus keeping him quiet and calm.
21	* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'':
22	** One of [[ImaginaryFriend Bing-Bong]] and Riley's past adventures had them traveling back in time so they could eat breakfast twice in one day.
23	** One of the trailers shows Anger's [[BurningWithAnger flaming head]] used for cooking marshmallows. In the actual film it's used at the climax [[spoiler: to cut a hole in the windows of Headquarters and let Joy and Sadness back inside.]]
24	* In ''WesternAnimation/KuboAndTheTwoStrings'', Monkey uses the Sword Unbreakable to make sushi.
25	* In the backstory established in the opening of ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}'', one of the main things thing magic was used for was mundane stuff like lighting fires for cooking or for lighting rooms, so eventually it wast just done way with because it was easier to do it via technology.
26	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': When Django finds out that Rémy has very advanced sense of taste and smell, even for a rat, he is suitably impressed, but to Rémy's annoyance, instead has him become the colony's food tester, making sure that the food they find isn't poisoned through scent.
27	* In the first trailer for ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'', as Miles is frantically clearing off clutter from his bed, he picks up a couple of the stray items using the sole of his bare foot. His fine control of his stickiness-power has definitely improved.
28	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', Princess Peach places her hand over a Fire Flower, giving her the ability to shoot fireballs, for the express purpose of lighting a campfire.
29	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'' - Merlin's borderline RealityWarper powers are used to help "Wart" do his chores so Merlin can sneak Wart off for lessons. Though this inevitably backfires when Wart's guardians stumble upon this and ground Wart for quite some time.
30	* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'': Buzz uses his karate-chop action to cut through a tall bush.
31	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei's giant red panda transformation was granted to her just as it was to her female ancestors with the intention to be used to defend her family and community from assailants but she uses it to look cute for pictures which are then sold to raise funds.
32
33	!!Live-Action
34	* ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' zig-zags this: In the future, we've perfected mech-suit technology... and we build them maybe twice the size of a human, tops, and use them as forklifts. And then Ripley uses it to fight the Xenomorph Queen, because hell yes [[ChekhovsGun that's what we came here to see someone do with that]], complete with the single most bad-assed PreAssKickingOneLiner in cinema history:
35	--> '''Ripley:''' Get away from her you BITCH!!!
36	* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4331uXY0nxA Peter uses his webshooters to grab Gwen and twirl her in for a kiss]] when he's [[CannotSpitItOut unable to spit out to her]] that he's the masked Spider-Man her dad is chasing.
37	* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'': Peter uses his webshooters to write a spider-webbed "I LOVE YOU" message to Gwen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VflasoWmuoA on the side of the Brooklyn Bridge.]]
38	* Used all over the place in ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'' with the three main characters' telekinesis. Apart from the usual pranks they play, Andrew uses it to lift and maneuver his camera throughout the film, Steve uses it to shovel potato chips into his mouth, and (in a deleted scene) Matt uses it to stir his milkshake.
39	* In ''Film/{{Clockstoppers}}'', the protagonist has vast time-stopping powers at his fingertips. He uses them to impress his date and pull pranks.
40	* In ''Film/DevilFish'', West Ocean International has apparently mastered LegoGenetics and can clone animals that went extinct hundreds of millions of years ago, to create a maneating monstrosity that will [[FromASingleCell disintegrate and spawn countless more of its kind]], with the ultimate goal of scaring off anyone who might interfere with their undersea mining operations.
41	* At the start of ''Film/DocSavageTheManOfBronze'', the title character is shown in his arctic Fortress of Solitude laboring on inventions that (TheNarrator declares) may one day be useful to Mankind! After gazing at the stars through a telescope, Doc appears to be building a RetroRocket to take him there, but it turns out to be a RubeGoldbergDevice for ice fishing.
42	* In the movie ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'', as the former knight, Bowen, struggles to start a fire with flint and steel to cook his meal, his newly befriended dragon, Draco, mocks him good-naturedly by lighting it for him in the most hilarious way possible (by blowing fire out of one nostril while holding the other closed).
43	* ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' does hedges, makes ice sculptures, cuts hair and grooms dogs.
44	* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': Kruger uses his katana to help him cook food over an open fire. Although, Kruger was already fairly unhinged, and this may have doubled as a heads-up to his AxeCrazy nature.
45	* ''Film/FantasticFour2005''
46	** Johnny casually uses his flame powers to pop some popcorn in one of those expanding foil bags usually used for barbeque or camp cooking. He once used it to dry himself after a shower.
47	** Ben uses his SuperStrength to make some freshly-squeezed orange juice without even removing the oranges from their mesh bag.
48	** It also has Mr. Fantastic stretching the skin on his face to make shaving easier, and using his stretchy arms to either reload the toilet paper without having to leave the loo, or slide his hand under Ben's locked door to open it and check on him.
49	** The [[Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer second movie]] keeps up this trend with Sue using her power to make Reed's Blackberry invisible when he's ignoring her and Reed using his stretching ability to dance up a storm at his bachelor party.
50	* ''Film/{{Flubber}}'': This quasi-sentient green goo can release enormous amounts of energy. What does Brainard use it for? Cheating at basketball. This particular version ups the ante by introducing his digital assistant Weebo, who, in addition to AI that would make Apple's entire Siri division jealous, can also hover without any kind of visible propellers. This is significant because Brainard inventing a flubber-powered hover drive for his car is a major plot point.
51	* ''Film/FreaksOut'' has among the villains Nazi officer Franz, ashamed for being a freak and thus not being able to serve Hitler and his homeland. Franz has twelve fingers in his hands and suffers fits of some sort that make him see the future, but for most of the film he uses these abilities to play the piano, specifically songs that hadn't been written yet at the time. [[spoiler:Though he also has plans to turn the titular "good" freaks into Nazi supersoldiers thanks to his visions, and 12 fingers make one a more efficient strangler...]]
52	* ''Film/{{her\|2013}}'': Self-aware, human level (at least) artificial intelligence has been created, and it's used as an OS for home computers.
53	* In ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005'', a mini (knife sized) light saber is used to simultaneously slice and toast bread.
54	* The wizard Gandalf in ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' is seen using a small fire spell to light his pipe. [[spoiler: He uses the same spell later on in the movie to much greater effect by turning pine cones into fire bombs.]]
55	* In ''Film/{{Horsefeathers}}'', Professor Wagstaff (Groucho) uses the telephone to crack nuts.
56	* The title character of ''Film/{{Jumper}}'' uses his power of teleportation even when it's just to retrieve the remote without having to physically walk to it.
57	* Film/JamesBond is always using Q's fantastic gadgets for mundane (or just 'other') purposes. For example, at the beginning of ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' M and Moneypenny give Bond a watch containing a powerful electromagnet. Almost immediately after M and Moneypenny leave, Bond uses it to open the zippered dress of his latest 'conquest'.
58	* The titular ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', in addition to all the magical goings-on to confuse and deter intruders, also has some mystical things going on to keep the place ''clean''. Hoggle reveals at one point that [[PortableHole propping a door against the wall]] in the Oubliette the wrong way around accesses a broom closet instead of the exit, and the [[AdvancingWallOfDoom "Cleaners"]] Jareth unleashes to chase Sarah actually ''does'' apparently just exist to clean the tunnels: the goblins operating it pay no attention whatsoever when Sarah gets out of their way and just drive right by.
59	* ''Film/{{Looper}}''
60	** Part of the film's premise is that the mob uses TimeTravel for corpse disposal.
61	** Inverted in the case of telekinesis: most psychics in the film are barely capable of lifting coins a few inches above their hands, and mainly use their ability for party tricks... [[spoiler: except for [[PersonOfMassDestruction Cid]], AKA [[TheDreaded the Rainmaker]].]]
62	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
63	** In ''Film/IronMan3'', [[TheDragon Savin]] [[FreezeFrameBonus can be seen]] using his [[PlayingWithFire Extremis powers]] to keep his coffee hot.
64	** In ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}} mentions that the same ImprobableAimingSkills he uses to fight crime also make him unbeatable at golf. Possible overlap with BlessedWithSuck, given his tone when he claims he "just can't seem to miss".
65	** In ''Film/{{Doctor Strange\|2016}}'' the title character uses his AstralProjection to study up while his physical body is asleep. Likewise, TheStinger for ''Series/WandaVision'' shows Wanda attending to her cabin while her astral form studies [[spoiler:the [[TomeOfEldritchLore Darkhold]]]].
66	** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel\|2019}}'': Carol demonstrates her [[LightEmUp photon blasts]] by tapping her hand against her friend's tea kettle, causing the water to boil immediately.
67	** In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', post-TimeSkip, Thor has repurposed Stormbreaker into a glorified bottle opener for the gallons of beer he drinks.
68	** In the denouement for ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'', Scott, Hope, and Cassie use the Pym Particles to turn toy cars and a laptop into their personal drive-in movie, and Hank and Janet enlarge a scale model of a house by the sea as their new home.
69	** ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'': While [[spoiler:the Spider-Man from [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries Earth-120703]]]] is proving that he has spider powers by sticking to the ceiling, Ned's lola asks him to clean up a cobweb while he's up there, which he begrudgingly does.
70	* ''Film/{{Matilda}}'' uses her telekinesis to get books off the shelf.
71	* ''Film/MenInBlackII'': Jeeves says that he used the exhaust from the [[spoiler:Deneuralizer]] to make hot air popcorn.
72	* In ''Film/MortalEngines'', undead cybernetic killing machine Shrike is shown using his razor-sharp steel talons to open cans.
73	* One of the early hints in ''Film/MrAndMrsSmith2005'' that Jane Smith has hidden skills (as an assassin) comes when she fixes the way a curtain is hanging by balancing perfectly on a chair that is standing on only one of its legs. John also uses this trope to verify his suspicions that Jane is indeed an assassin--he pretends to drop an open bottle of wine and by instinct Jane uses her better-than-average reflexes to save the carpet.
74	* In the ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000TheMovie Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' movie, Tom Servo mentions that he uses his Interocitor, a device from the movie they're watching that can do everything from fire disintegrator rays to pilot spaceships, to make hot chocolate.
75	* In ''Film/{{Next\|2007}}'', Cris uses his powers to earn a very modest living as a StageMagician.
76	* In ''Film/PacificRim'', after {{Kaiju}} attacks have become a fact of life, enterprising scavengers have adapted accordingly, learning to harvest Kaiju parts for public use. Just for starters, Kaiju excrement is said to possess enough phosphorous in one cubic meter to fertilize an entire field.
77	* Used throughout ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''. Need firefighters, get a Squirtle team. Need a grill, just use your Charmander's tail. Need a sound system, get a group of Loudred. Need a spy, use a [[spoiler: Ditto]]. As Pokemon battles are a rarity in the setting, this is the primary use of Pokemon in the movie.
78	* In ''Film/ProjectAlmanac'', a bunch of high school kids have a working, reusable time machine and settle for doing things like winning the lottery and getting backstage at a concert several months back. They actually discuss better uses for it, including [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct killing Hitler]], but they can only get enough power to send themselves back a few months at most.
79	* In ''Film/RealGenius'', Val Kilmer's character uses cuts coin-sized slices of frozen nitrogen, something insanely difficult to produce on Earth[[note]] and looks nothing like it does in the film[[/note]] which he uses to cheat the vending machine out of free coffee.
80	* ''Film/ShaolinSoccer'' stars a martial artist who wants to teach people kung fu techniques that can help them with their everyday lives - for instance, parallel parking by pushing your car into place, or trimming a tree using WireFu jumping techniques. To gain publicity, he uses his skills to compete in soccer.
81	* ''Film/SkyHigh'':
82	** Most of the kids' powers get used for this throughout the movie. Layla uses her GreenThumb powers to spruce up houseplants and grow fruit trees for quick snacks, Gwen's {{Technopath}}y is put to use helping Will in Mad Science class, Zach illuminates a classroom when the power goes out, [[SuperSpeed Speed]] and [[RubberMan Lash]] bully kids and dominate gym class, a kid with Eyebeams uses them and a crystal to make a makeshift disco ball, etc. One scene lampshades it; [[PlayingWithFire Warren]] offers to heat up Layla's cold meal while she's at the restaurant he works at, but when she protests that they're not supposed to use their powers outside the school, he clarifies he was just gonna put it in the microwave (and then [[FingerSnapLighter lights up a candle for her]]).
83	** Among the school staff, Nurse Spex uses XRayVision to check students for broken bones, Principal Powers uses her ability to turn into a comet to teleport anywhere in the school, and Coach Boomer uses his voice to...[[LargeHam sound intimidating]].
84	* ''Film/TheSorcerersApprentice'',
85	** Dave is trying to clean up his lab (an abandoned subway station) before his date with his LoveInterest. Realizing he's running out of time, he uses magic to [[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} enchant a broom]], a bucket, and a few other objects to do the cleaning for him. Naturally, it all goes out of control, flooding the place and nearly getting Dave electrocuted in the process. In fact, he's falling into the electrified water as his [[Creator/NicolasCage master]] Balthazar comes back and freezes him in mid-air. Balthazar is ''not'' pleased.
86	** Drake, Dave's Morganian counterpart, uses his magical abilities to be an illusionist. Downplayed in that, due to his training getting cut short, he wasn't exactly in position to do much ''else''.
87	** Dave also uses Tesla coils to impress a girl by making them "play music" ("Secrets" by Music/OneRepublic).
88	* ''Film/SpiderMan2'': The film opens with Peter transforming into Spider-Man so he can beat traffic after he runs late to his job as a pizza delivery guy. This results in the memetic moment where a bystander quips "Whoa! He stole that dude's pizzas!" He still misses the deadline.
89	* ''Franchise/StarWars''
90	** Anakin uses the Force (which is [[InformedAbility supposedly]] so mighty that the ability to ''annihilate a planet'' pales in comparison) to... make a [[CallARabbitASmeerp Shuura]] fly to his girlfriend's fork. He notes that Obi-Wan would be quite upset if he saw him.
91	** Obi-Wan casually uses the Force to retrieve a data module from a projector as he and Yoda are leaving the room.
92	** Even Yoda is not immune. At the conclusion of his duel with Count Dooku, he uses the Force to retrieve his walking stick, which was near enough that he could have simply bent down and picked it up. Prior to this, Yoda takes his lightsaber from his belt with the Force. As a Force Ghost in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', he uses it just to give Luke a DopeSlap with his stick!
93	** There are multiple examples from the Expanded Universe of Jedi using their lightsabers in lieu of flashlights. There's also one in the Disney canon: Rey in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''. It's PlayedForLaughs, too, as Poe brought a regular flashlight which isn't nearly as bright.
94	** Certain of the Expanded Universe and other novels make note of the fact that the Sith are generally quite willing to use the Force for whatever they want and that any restrictions are just a Jedi shackle placed upon power.
95	* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''
96	** In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', Perry White reassures Lois Lane that newly-hired Clark Kent won't be dead weight as a reporter, in part because he's [[SuperSpeed the fastest typist Perry's ever seen]].
97	** In a deleted scene from ''Film/SupermanII'', Superman cooks a soufflé with his heat vision.
98	** In ''Film/SupermanIII'', Superman makes Lana Lang a diamond for a ring by crushing it in his bare hands.
99	* The protagonist in the 1959 movie ''Film/TheImmoralMrTeas'' gains some sort of x-ray vision. The significance of this movie comes from the facts that it is the first commercially successful Russ Meyer movie and that it was the first movie since the pre-code era which showed female nudity and was openly advertised (until that time, movies depicting nudity were only sold "under the counter").
100	* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990'': Leonardo's katanas as cutting food:
101	** Casey Jones can be seen cutting food up with one of Leonardo's katanas at the farmhouse.
102	** Leo uses his blades to slice up a pizza.
103	* In ''Film/TheTuxedo'' a full espionage squad assists Creator/JackieChan in asking a girl out.
104	* Adam from ''Film/UpsideDown'' gets a job at [[MegaCorp Transworld]] and uses the pink pollen (with its [[ArtisticLicensePhysics double-gravity]]-canceling properties) to design…an anti-aging cream.
105	* The main villain in ''Film/TheWaxMask'' has invented technology that allows him to create cyborgs in the 20th century, which he uses to make lifelike wax mannequins out of kidnapped people for his museum.
106	* ''Film/{{Wolves}}'': After being taken on as a farmhand by John Tollerman, Cayden finds his SuperStrength useful in getting his work done really fast. One part shows him throwing straw bales into the barn loft single-handed.
107	* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
108	** ''Film/X2XMenUnited'': When Logan wants a cold drink, he gives a Dr. Pepper to Bobby Drake, who uses his powers to chill it.
109	** ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'': Bobby Drake uses his [[AnIcePerson ice powers]] to turn the school fountain into a makeshift ice skating rink and also create a pair of ice skates for himself by freezing a layer of ice on the bottom of his normal tennis shoes.
110	** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'': Bradley, who can power electrics, has a job as a carney after he quits Team X.
111	--->"Turn the light off, get a prize. Three tries for a buck."
112	** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'':
113	*** Shaw makes Emma Frost use her ability to turn into diamond to chip off an ice cube for his drink.
114	*** Starting in this movie, shapeshifter Mystique is shown using a "default" human form--simply Creator/JenniferLawrence without the prosthetics--to pass as normal in public when she doesn't need to impersonate anyone but doesn't want to draw attention with her natural blue skin. This actually contradicts the earlier movies that take place later in the continuity. In ''X2'', Nightcrawler asks her why she ''doesn't'' use her powers this way and she replies, "I shouldn't have to." One could argue that Mystique grew out of the practice as she got older, but the reality is that it lets Lawrence spend less time in the makeup chair.
115	** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':
116	*** Quicksilver uses his super speed to play ping-pong with himself.
117	*** Magneto uses his metal-controlling powers to stitch his head wound and to raise the volume control knob on the television set.
118	** ''Film/XMenApocalypse''
119	*** After a [[CrashIntoHello Bump-Into Hello]] with Scott, Jean Grey uses her telekinesis to grab her school papers before they hit the floor... and her mind-reading to address him by name before he gives it.
120	** ''Film/DarkPhoenix'': Scott has Storm makes ice cubes for his drink at a party in the woods. Dazzler meanwhile is throwing a light show for everyone.
121	* ''Film/XTheManWithTheXRayEyes'' has the protagonist use his x-ray vision to diagnose medical problems, peep at women, and cheat at blackjack.

Context MundaneUtility / Film