History Main / TheUnSmile

* ''Manga/SpyXFamily:'' Not wanting to start anything on the first day of school, Anya attempts to shrug off a boy's bullying by smiling like her mom, Yor, advised her to. Unfortunately, Anya's smile is accidentally one of the most [[ https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/040/241/anya_heh_thumbnail.jpgsmug looking faces]] ever put to paper (and later anime). Her bully ends up being freaked out by that smile.

* ''Manga/SpyXFamily:'' Not wanting to start anything on the first day of school, Anya attempts to shrug off a boy's bullying by smiling like her mom, Yor, advised her to. Unfortunately, Anya's smile is accidentally one of the most [[https://i.imgur.com/od5GKJa.png smug looking faces]] ever put to paper (and later anime). Her bully ends up being freaked out by that smile.

* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': At one point in Season 2, [[TheStoic Careful S.]] gets advice on how to be more approachable. Part of this advice is that he's told to smile more. He tries... But ends up [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/happy-heroes/images/2/2e/Smiling_Careful_S.png/revision/latest?cb=20201024040712 looking like]] ComicBook/TheJoker. It then becomes a RunningGag that whenever he tries to smile on command, he looks utterly terrifying. Not even the [[ArtEvolution new art style]] takes this away, although the effect is slightly [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] as he just looks really pissed off. When he does smile naturally (usually with [[HeterosexualLifePartners Kalo]]) [[WhenSheSmiles it's quite adorable]].
** Strangely, this is sometimes [[https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV1o54y1Q7hn shown to be natural]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', when Hiccup feigns a smile after eating the raw fish Toothless regurgitated for him (ItMakesSenseInContext), Toothless attempts to copy him. The result is less scary than you'd think coming from a giant predator, in large part because his teeth are still retracted.

** Sora's smile comes back in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' as the "Funny Face Special," which he gets to use on Boo in [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc Monstropolis]].

Those characters that [[TheStoic never show any emotion]]? Or, if they do show emotion, it's always [[PerpetualFrowner anger and/or despondency]]? Yeah, every single one of them was at one point told to "cheer up a little". The result? Horrible. It can range from merely discomforting to downright {{Squick}}, as they just don't get it. Expect more or less horrified reaction from their friends. Sometimes appears alongside HaHaHaNo when they're especially not buying it.

** In ''ComicBook/BatmanSupermanWorldsFinest'': When Negative Man manages to filter the Kryptonite radiation out of Superman's blood, Batman's face displays an expresion which could charitably be called a smile... even though it creeps the Doom Patrol out.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13239859/1/Unlimited Unlimited]]'', Izuku's teacher Kurobayashi's smiles are described as nightmare inducing due to the fact his Quirk has given him a shark head.

* ''Literature/LesMiserables'' describes the smiles of InspectorJavert as being rare, quick and really unnerving, more like a predator's snarl than an expression of pleasure: "Javert, serious, was a watchdog; when he laughed, he was a tiger."

* Harold Lauder in ''Literature/TheStand'' is a downplayed example. To most people his smile looks normal, but Nick Andros finds it fake and untrustworthy because he notices Harold has a "'smiletight' compartment between his mouth and his eyes."

* In the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' novels is stated that not a single member of the [[SociopathicSoldier Night Lords]] legion "smiled with anything aproaching grace" even in the few instances where they are not [[SlasherSmile actively trying to scare someone.]]

** In "The Griffin Equivalency": Sheldon, both with and without teeth. But don't take our word for it, see the page picture.

* A fantastically memorable one occurs in an episode of ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', where Ray tries to get his equally (if not more-so) mopey and pessimistic cousin, Gerard, to smile. The result is hilariously terrifying.
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Niles is a master of the non-smile. One of the best examples is "The Apparent Trap", when Niles learns that Frasier and Lilith are remarrying (they're not):

* In ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Chandler has a nice smile, but whenever he gets his picture taken it turns into a grimace.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': The Captain. Marshall eventually figures out what it is about the captain that creeps them out: even when he smiles, his eyes seem completely serious and empty. Marshal highlights this by covering half of a photo of him.

*** The show also has Drive's main partner Kiriko who's very stoic and serious most of the time and rarely smiles. At one point one of the other characters tries to motivate him by saying he's a got a "Cute Beauty" looking up to him and Kiriko attempts to humor this by giving a very fake and strained looking smile accompanied by the sound of breaking metal. Shinnosuke isn't particularly comforted by this frightening sight though which annoys her. Kiriko is however capable of smiling geniunely when she's truely very happy, that's just fairly rare.

** All the Scientists attending Lab-Con in "Oscar Strikes Back" make these when ordered to by President Obbs. He even remarks on how the smiles are creepy, but keeps them regardless.

* In ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'', the normally sullen, cynical Darlene had a boy, Barry, over to study in the hopes of getting him to ask her to an upcoming dance. Becky gives her some tips on flirting which includes smiling and being interested in what Barry has to say. Cue Darlene with a very over-the-top smile and craning her neck to try and get in his line of view. Roseanne sums it up thusly while her and Becky watch on:

* Selina Meyer on ''Series/{{Veep}}'' suggests that Amy flirt with a reporter for favorable coverage. Amy assures Selina that she can do that, and demonstrates with a horrifying "flirtatious" smile that quickly changes Selina's mind.

* Henry from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' is a PerpetualSmiler, and his "angry" portait is no exception, but there's an unnerving tightness to the expression that clearly betrays its insincerity.
* Stoic Post-Apocalyptic Samurai Uthid in ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' is asked to smile by another character in some after mission dialog, and is accused of grimacing rather than smiling.

* ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' has Sagiri, who was [[spoiler: abducted by the assassin group Nether Gate as a child and trained to smile disarmingly all the time. Their logic was that a pleasantly-smiling girl would put their victims off-guard. [[GoneHorriblyRight It worked so well]] that, until the end of the game, she's incapable of doing anything ''but'' smiling.]]

* ''VideoGame/MedievalCop'': Dregg's smile is so ghastly he uses it as his Halloween costume every year. It ''always'' wins the costume contest.

* In ''VideoGame/RobocopRogueCity'' OCP holds a press conference with Robocp on stage. The presenting executive Max Becker tells Robocop to try smiling. Robocop awkwardly pulls his lips to sides and up to reveal just a bit of teeth. Becker immediately decides not smiling is better.

* Akio Mutou, ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo''[='s=] resident AbsentMindedProfessor, is a nice enough man, but his face is incapable of making a smile that wouldn't "scare little children senseless".

** Aristotle Means frequently provides attempts at a toothy smile that look more like he's grimacing, baring his teeth and gums in a way Athena finds unsettling. [[spoiler:At the end of his VillainousBreakdown, he grins so hard his teeth ''shatter.'']]

* ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}'' has PJ, the [[UndeadChild ghost boy]] that lives in Max's house. When Max first makes friends with him, he sports a smile that is described as "a 9.4 in the international creepy scale". PJ claims it's because he hasn't smiled in a long time. His smile gets better later on.

* In ''WesternAnimation/The7D'' episode "Oh Happy Grumpy", Grumpy is cursed by a witch so he can't get angry or be turned into melted cheese. After being sung a song by Happy, Grumpy puts on a facade of happiness, [[https://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/the7d/images/a/a6/S2e01a_very_wide_grumpy_smile.png/revision/latest?cb=20160215214658 sporting a grin]] that not only creeps out the other 7D but is so huge that it takes up the bulk of his face. [[spoiler: Fortunately, the woman turns out to not be a real witch and the curse was a fake.]]
* Lemongrab of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' does this in "Too Young". A perpetually bitter, angry sourpuss, he assumes that a harmless prank was some kind of personal attack. Once he was informed that it was a prank, he tries to understand what a prank is. Not entirely grasping the concept of a joke, he smiles a very quick, little goofy smile... then starts LaughingMad in a HaHaHaNo sort of fashion. Then he sends everyone in the room to the dungeon. (In later episodes, he is shown smiling rather cutely when he is actually genuinely happy.)

** Villainous sociopath Azula. She can [[http://media.photobucket.com/image/azula%20smirk/Sara_Shadow/Avatar/azula-smirkhd-thebeach.png smirk]] without a problem, but [[http://media.photobucket.com/image/azula%20smile/Vig0r/vlcsnap-223570.png sincere smiling?]] Interestingly, she ''can'' give a real smile, after she practices a bit. She used a charming smile on a hapless partygoer later in the evening, to great effect. Then she went on a tangent about how she and the partygoer would rule the world (in [[AxCrazy typical Azula style]]), which ruined the whole effect, and sent the poor guy running for the hills.

* Occurs in ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''. In one episode, when Mandy smiles, it causes their universe itself to fall apart and transports Grim, Billy, Mandy, and Irwin into the universe of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. This wasn't because it was ugly, but because it "[[RealityBreakingParadox messed with the natural order.]]" Funnily enough, this is only after {{Flanderization}} changed her from an AntiHero to a VillainProtagonist. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness At least a couple earlier episodes]] (including the pilot) ended with Mandy flashing an evil smirk.

** Moe, beaten down into misanthropy by a hard life, rarely tries to smile, and it always looks forced, desperate and a little creepy when does.
** In "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment", Rex Banner, the no-nonsense police officer trusted with keeping Springfield dry when it briefly enacted Prohibition. He tries to laugh at some point, but only ends up choking and coughing.

* Ice Bear usually plays TheStoic on ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'', giving only small, occasional smiles. Then he gets a job as a cupcake mascot, and his boss insists on a huge, stiff and overly toothy grin that makes babies cry. It doesn't help that he goes around saying "Cup-Cake" in his usual monotone.
* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'': While Mr. E is capable of a genuine smile, his attempt to smile for the camera in "Zoom In Zadie" make it look like he's in pain.

** ''Webcomic/ItsWalky'': PerpetualFrowner [[{{Jerkass}} Mike Warner's]] [[http://www.itswalky.com/d/20020407.html first attempt]] at smiling when not under the [[SentimentalDrunk influence of alcohol]]. Gah! (Second time was only a [[SlasherSmile slight improvement]]).

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': The Green Beetle pulls one off when trying to endear himself to The Team to gain their trust. [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/26ee8bfc7fd2a9be6bb7553663963401/tumblr_mh8qfdYAUc1ryv3uoo1_500.gif It doesn't go so well.]] What really makes it creepy is that he isn't smiling physically; if you watch closely, he's using his shapeshifting powers to ''rearrange his face'' into the ''shape'' of a smile.

* In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'', Jameson's smiles creeping people out serves as a Running Gag.

--->'''Elastic Girl:''' ''"Is Batman...smiling?"''\\
'''Robin:''' ''"It happens."''\\
'''Elastic Girl:''' ''"And you accuse us of looking spooky."''

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'' when the characters have to get Creator/LeonardoDaVinci to paint Art/MonaLisa's portrait. He encourages her to smile, but it turns out she has really bad teeth.