Big Lipped Alligator Moment

A Non Sequitur is a bit or line of dialogue that is intentionally out of place, usually designed to elicit a comedic reaction. They have no actual bearing on the plot, although they are staples of characters who are part of their own little world like the Cloudcuckoolander or The Ditz.

Springboarding from there, we find the Big-Lipped Alligator Moment, or BLAM (an appropriate term in itself, as they tend to show up with all the subtlety of a shotgun blast). This is a very bizarre scene in an otherwise normal story that veers off into the surreal or strange. Upon exiting that scene, the plot continues on like it never happened.

There are three precise criteria for measuring a Big Lipped Alligator Moment:

1. Appears out of Nowhere —
   • The plot comes to a halt as the scene takes its spot in the running time. There can't be any Foreshadowing and it can't take a logical place in the plot (e.g., coming across a trap while Storming the Castle is not random, but expected.)
2. Strange in Context —
   • The fictional setting, characters and narrative devices have to be at odds with the scene. In that regard, World Building moments, strange personalities, and a surreal story structure that can explain its origin are exempt from this trope. For instance, All Just a Dream gives a good reason, as using the trope tends to go hand-in-hand with the surreal (although for some genres and franchises, using the scenario of All Just a Dream itself may qualify).
3. Never Goes Anywhere —
   • Most scenes have components that are relevant to future scenes and the overall plot, following The Law of Conservation of Detail. Not so for a BLAM, which will be swept under the rug and forgotten as quickly as possible; removing it would not create any Plot Holes. Compare Wacky Wayside Tribe.

Simply being random, strange, or inconsequential to the story is not enough. All three criteria have to be met. If a scene is considered "borderline", it is likely not an example. BLAMs are often Level Breakers as well. Usually, this is done just because.

The Trope Namer is All Dogs Go to Heaven, and the Trope Codifier is The Nostalgia Chick and The Nostalgia Critic from their review of FernGully while commenting on another example. In the trope naming scene (in a movie that mostly deals with talking dogs, the afterlife, and mafia undertones, somewhat strange itself) a big-lipped, Cajun-accented, bone-through-the-nose alligator takes a liking to the main character Charlie and forces him to sing a duet "Let's Make Music Together". While the alligator goes on to have a role in the plot later on, Charlie is noticeably very confused over the whole song.

The Nostalgia Critic and The Nostalgia Chick have had to post supplementary videos on this topic, due to confusion on what does and does not count. One is that it is a moment, not a subplot or entire episode (For that we have Bizarro Episode). And they emphasized that it has to go against what is considered normal.

Context and the nature of the situation matters immensely in comparison to the sliding scale of realism used by the story in question. This trope can be objectively observed but because of the dissonance between the audience and the characters (the audience doesn't live in the exact same world, so what is strange to the audience might be commonplace for the characters) this often ends up as a debatable topic. Even the trope namer has been subject to debate.

Adding to the controversy is the fact that, in certain circumstances at least, belief in this trope could be considered an example of the Perfect Solution Fallacy; defined in this case as excessive pedantry about adherence to the Law of Conservation of Detail. Aside from anything else, there are works where irrelevant or obfuscating details are actually important; pare down the details too much in a murder mystery, for instance, and you risk making the plot obvious from the outset. Being excessively paranoid about avoiding this trope or conserving detail, also potentially puts constraints on creativity in general terms, as well.

Compare these other tropes and consider whether an example would better fit there:

• Bizarro Episode: An installment of an franchise is weird and out of place.
• Brick Joke: It comes out of nowhere, seems like it has no relevance at first (or only marginal relevance), disappears for awhile then comes back like a boomerang later on at some random point and becomes relevant, even if only to a very minor plot element. If it does so more than once, it becomes a Running Gag.
• Cutaway Gag: A throwaway joke that has a framing device of a character reminiscing of an unrelated past story/flashback or an Imagine Spot or a What If? scenario.
• Disney Acid Sequence: A surreal visual and musical scene that may or may not have plot relevance; because of the occasional lack of relevance there tends to be overlap. Is usually just a chance for animators to Show Their Work.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: A sudden boss encounter, in video games, that has nothing to do with the plot.
  • Diabolus ex Nihilo: The equivalent of this outside video games.
• Gainax Ending: A similarly bizarre Mind Screw ends up being the resolution to the plot!.
• How Unscientific!: A moment that breaks Genre Consistency, but may or may not break consistency of tone.
• Non Sequitur: A line of dialogue that doesn't follow the regular or normal conversation.
• Non Sequitur Thud: A line of dialogue spoken by a character just before they go unconscious (or sometimes when waking up from a dream).
• That Reminds Me of a Song: When a character suddenly starts singing a song that has no plot relevance.

Also compare What Happened to the Mouse?, Aborted Arc, Makes Just as Much Sense in Context, and Flash Mob (a Real Life BLAM). If the BLAM is used to sell products, it may be a Product Promotion Parade.

Often confused with an Arcadian Interlude. Also has nothing to with KaBlam! or Boom, Headshot. For actual alligators, see Never Smile at a Crocodile.

---

BLAMs By Medium:

• Anime and Manga
• Comic Books
• Fan Works
• Film
• Interactive Fiction
• Literature
• Live-Action TV
• Music
• Professional Wrestling
• Puppet Shows
• Tabletop Games
• Theater
• Theme Parks
• Video Games
• Web Comics
• Web Original
  • YouTube Poop
• Western Animation

---

I am the very model of a modern major general, I've information vegetable, animal and mineral. I know the kings of England and I quote the fights historical from Marathon to Waterloo in order categorical. I'm very well acquainted too with matters mathematical, I understand equations both the simple and quadratical. About binomial theorem, I'm teeming with a lot of news with many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse. I'm very good at integral and differential calculus. I know the scientific names of beings animaculous. In short in matters vegetable, animal and mineral, I am the very model of a modern major general.

---