History Main / YourBrainWontBeMuchOfAMeal

* ''Film/HorrorExpress'': The brain-sucking alien finds the crazy monk Father Pujardov not worth killing, and eventually the crazy monk starts worshiping the alien (which the alien finds somewhat annoying). Similarly, the alien doesn't target kids because they wouldn't have anything it's interested in.

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[[quoteright:320:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brainnotameal01_5477.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''No braaaaiiins?'']]

A subtrope of DisabilityImmunity. Compare/contrast with TooSpicyForYogSothoth. Related to TooDumbToFool. If the potential victim seems ''insulted'' by the rejection it can overlap with ArentYouGoingToRavishMe. Often used as a StealthInsult.

* During Creator/JossWhedon's run on ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' set in the early 20th century (TimeTravel shenanigans), the Runaways meet up with a gang of metahumans called the Street Arabs. One of them, Dead George Pelham, is a friendly neighborhood zombie. Later in the arc, several of the Arabs are killed by Kid Twist, a vicious member of [[spoiler:the Yorkes' gang]] with the power to [[AlwaysAccurateAttack fire bullets that never miss their target]]. In the middle of the final battle of the story arc, Dead George makes a point of tracking down Kid Twist to avenge the Arabs. As Kid Twist futilely fires bullets at the angry zombie, Dead George says this:

* One Halloween issue of ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' had a zombie become ''sick'' after eating Alfred E. Neuman's brain.

* ''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}'':

--->'''Garfield:''' (to Jon) Notice how he walked right past you.

* Seen in the Creator/PeterCushing[=/=]Creator/ChristopherLee movie ''Film/HorrorExpress''. The brainsucking alien finds the crazy monk not worth killing, and eventually the crazy monk starts worshiping the alien (which the alien finds somewhat annoying). Similarly the alien doesn't target kids because they wouldn't have anything it's interested in.
-->'''Crazy Monk''': Are you going to kill me?\\
'''Brainsucking Alien''': Oh, there's nothing in your head of any use.

* An old joke: Grab someone by the head and start moving your hand up and down then say "This is a brain-sucker... and it's starving."
* The counter to that is, when the person grabs your head, you say "Stop making the brain-sucker fat!" before they can call it starving.

* A variation in ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'': When [[SpoiledBrat Veruca Salt]] is captured by Wonka's army of intelligent nut-cracking squirrels, their first instinct is to treat her as just another walnut. They tap her head to test, and then, to the observers' alarm, begin dragging her to the garbage chute.
-->'''Wonka:''' I'm afraid her head must have sounded quite hollow!

* ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'': In the Season 3 episode "Undead Patrol", the zombified Doom Patrol members sniff [[spoiler:Darren Jones]] and say that he doesn't smell like he actually has a brain.
* Referenced in ''Series/RedDwarf''. When the crew is confronted by brain-eating monsters, Rimmer deadpans that there's "barely a snack onboard."
* Referenced in the ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'' episode "Captain Cook", with cannibals this time.
-->'''Edmund''': Your brain's so minute, Baldrick, that if a hungry cannibal cracked your head open, there wouldn't be enough to cover a small water biscuit.
* On ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'', Ryan Stiles was supposed to be a zombie and attacked Drew Carrey... and then walked away, looking for brain somewhere else.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
** Not only can't she eat vampire brains (though it's a MindRape than a physical eating), Glory rejects one of her own sycophantic minions, who offers up his own brain as emergency nourishment.
--->'''Glory''': "I said a ''brain'', you worthless dirt!"
** Inverted with the demon in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E9ThePuppetShow The Puppet Show]]"; Buffy and the Scoobies are realizing that Giles is the target of a brain-eating demon, and become especially worried after remembering that he's very smart.
* In one episode of ''Series/ModernFamily'', a zookeeper arrives at the Dunphy house for a birthday party. When an iguana ends up on Luke Dunphy's head, he asks what it eats and is replied with a faux-dramatic "little boys' brains". Luke's sister Alex then snarks that he should be safe.

* During the Christmas 2020 ZombieApocalypse on ''Roleplay/NoPixel'', all the zombies completely ignore Mike Block and go after other characters.[[note]]Likely due to a glitch in the game causing the NPC zombies to ignore him; the roleplayers involved decided to just roll with it.[[/note]] Mike himself doesn't understand why.

* TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons: At least as of [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition 5e]], rules as written in the Monster Manual, the iconic [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} Mind Flayer's]] [[BrainFood Extract Brain]] action only works on Humanoids. Some player character races, such as the Fairy and the Satyr, are [[TheFairFolk Fey]], not Humanoid. [[LoopholeAbuse This leads to player characters whose brains would do nothing for the Mind Flayer.]]

--->''--Riptide Project researcher''
* Much as in the ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' example below, mind flayers in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' often invoke (the first variation of) this trope in supplementary materials, as they prefer to eat newly-acquired captives over long-term slave populations. This is because their slaves, especially those born into it, are dull-witted from mental domination and the drudgery of years of service, and so are sustaining but dreadfully bland. This is also the reason for why mind flayers don't simply eat the brains of animals, or even regenerating creatures like hydras; they could do it, but to them, it'd be like a king spending his whole life eating gruel so as to not offend the poultry.

* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', [[TheWormThatWalks Arakune]] [[TheUnintelligible (sort of)]] says this when given the chance to consume [[IdiotHero Bang Shishigami]] when the former wins.
* In ''VideoGame/TheDarksideDetective'', when Dooley is trapped in a crypt with a group of zombies, they seem strangely uninterested in eating him. When [=McQueen=] asks one of the zombies why, she replies, "Brains!", which isn't that helpful, since she has a OneWordVocabulary, but in this case [[TheDitz the obvious interpretation might be the correct one]].
* Variation in ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', where Raz unsuccessfully tries to warn [[TheBully Bobby Zilch]] about someone stealing the campers' brains.
-->'''Raz''': Hey, Bobby! Someone's stealing kids' brains!
-->'''Bobby''': Well in that case, you've got nothing to worry about! Ah-ha-ha-ha!
-->'''Raz''': ...[[ActuallyPrettyFunny Good one]].
-->'''Bobby''': [[DontExplainTheJoke BECAUSE YOU GOT NO BRAINS!]]
-->'''Raz''': ''[Sighs]''

-->"What's that [[CompanionCube Brain Maggot]]? You're starving?... Yeah, I'm hungry too."
* Near the end of ''VideoGame/SewerShark'' (''Really'' obscure Sega CD game), [[BigBad Commissioner Stenchler]] decides to sic something called 'Serks' onto the heroes. What are Serks? ''Brain eating fireflies.''
-->'''Stenchler:''' Pity, I'm afraid you won't be much of a meal for them, Beach Bum!
* A snarky Crime Computer can grace you with a nice "YOU don't have to worry about brain-eating zombies" if you use an item at the wrong place in ''[[VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove]]''.

* ''VideoGame/IdleChampionsOfTheForgottenRealms'' has a campaign variant called "Starve Them Out", where a giant Intellect Devourer (an intellect-eating monster) shows up as a miniboss. It takes a massive amount of individual hits to go down, but its [[MaximumHPReduction maximum health is reduced]] by 10 for every point of Intelligence less than 12 among your active champions. For example, Bruenor with 8 Intelligence will reduce its max health by 40 if he is in the party.

** The print only prequel volume ''Start of Darkness'', which traces [[StartOfDarkness how Xykon and Redcloak first became villains and teamed up]], has Xykon joking about this trope at one point. When a group of zombies under Xykon's command attack [[GranolaGirl the elf druid Lirian]], they're calling for brains. Xykons cracks that they can look inside Lirian's head if they want, but he doubts they'll find anything, as [[DumbBlonde Lirian is a blonde]] afterall.
* ''Webcomic/{{Concerned}}'': After Gordon walks away with a headcrab on his head for the better part of a chapter, it eventually [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-01-04 falls off,]] having died of malnutrition. Gordon provides a {{Lampshading}} in the background.
* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'', first type, [[http://xkcd.com/397/ when]] Zombie [[HardOnSoftScience Feynman]] wants brains after explaining how ''Series/MythBusters'' are true science:

'''Zombie Feynman:''' I said BRAINS. All they've got are string theorists.
** Pulling double duty there, that punchline is also a StealthPun and a GeniusBonus.[[note]]branes[[/note]]
* In [[http://www.dorktower.com/2006/05/05/comics-archive-781/ this]] ''Webcomic/DorkTower'' strip, Igor engages a mind flayer with purple nurples and "the dreaded doom wedgie". Since this effectively proved his character didn't ''have'' a brain to flay, he actually won.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'', Sette complains that as a zombie, Duane should be eating brains and that hers is full of cunning and knowledge. His response is to knock on her head and declare it "hollow".
* Invoked in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' when the Light Warriors encounter an orc zombie.
-->'''Black Mage''': (to [[TheDitz Fighter]]) This thing desires brains. Speaking to [[TooDumbToLive you]] is a waste of its valuable time. A man dying of thirst can't drink sand, ya get me?\\
'''Fighter:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint We're in a desert?]]\\
'''Black Mage:''' Go play.
* Webcomic/EvilInc's "Undead Affairs" division once tried sending zombie lobbyists to Congress, [[http://evil-inc.com/comic/mystics-and-the-occult-dept-3/ six zombies starved to death before they could get them out of D.C.]]
* [[http://grim.snafu-comics.com/index.php?comic_id=19 Referenced]] in ''Webcomic/GrimTalesFromDownBelow'' during the recap of the original show:
-->'''Grim''': I do believe that if the world was populated by [Billy's] ilk, zombies everywhere would starve to death.
* ''Webcomic/CavesAndCritters'' has [[https://cavesandcritters.com/cnc_webcomic/interlude-01/ a short arc]] where an Intellect Devourer enters the main party's minds while they're sleeping. It doesn't find much to eat in [[DumbMuscle Theran's]].

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In an online WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes short, Sylvester has a nightmare of being trapped in a house surrounded by zombie Tweeties, a pretty obvious parody of ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968''. As the zombie birds pull themselves out of the ground, groaning for brains, one of them stops and asks, "If we want brains, why are we after the puddy tat?". The Tweeties shrug and keep advancing.
[[/folder]]

* WebVideo/FreshyKanal: In a rap battle between cannibals, Hannibal Lecter insults Leatherface's intelligence by remarking that his stomach would still be empty after eating Leatherface's brain.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''
** The brain-eating meteor didn't find anything in Billy's head. Although that creature wasn't complaining about other variants.
** Human and Martian zombies also find nothing appetizing in Billy's head.
** The gang once rented a movie from an underworld video store that caused a chupacabra to materialize. When Grim sees it trying to suck Billy's brain out, Mandy comments that it's going to starve.
* Trope namer is from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' episode "Last Action Zero", where a humanoid brain-eating rock monster comments about Brad's brain after his recklessness caused him and Jenny to get captured in their own net.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', the girls defeat a brain-sucking "Robbin' Leech" by tricking him into attacking [[AuthorityInNameOnly the Mayor]]. He tries to suck out information from the Mayor's noggin, but finds none.
* A variation in the ''{{WesternAnimation/Dilbert}}'' cartoon where a brain-sucking alien devours a marketing guy's brains ([[TakeThat not that he cares or notices]]) and dies from something akin to food poisoning.
-->'''Other Alien:''' He starved to death with a full stomach.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BigGuyAndRustyTheBoyRobot'', a brain-eating monster begins sucking the intelligence of Quark Industries' scientists. When he goes after Donovan, Quark's PointyHairedBoss[=/=]CorruptCorporateExecutive, both Donovan AND his monkey try to use this trope in order to escape. The monster just shrugs it off, wanting to attack out of dislike. In a later episode, Donovan's nephew gains the same brain-sucking powers but decides against attacking Donovan. ("I crave nutrition, not empty calories!")

* Another brain-sucking alien example in the ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode "Third Dork from the Sun", where said alien attempts to absorb Johnny's intelligence only to realize there was nothing to absorb, resulting in his brain overloading.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' features a brain-eating alien targeting The Brain, using machines designed to suck out the target's brain. When his machinery grabs Pinky instead, it produces nothing but a warning that "Intelligence of entree is dangerously low" and (possibly also because Brain is trying to remove Pinky from the device) [[MadeOfExplodium explodes]].

* In an online WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes short, Sylvester has a nightmare of being trapped in a house surrounded by zombie Tweeties, a pretty obvious parody of ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead''. As the zombie birds pull themselves out of the ground, groaning for brains, one of them stops and asks, "If we want brains, why are we after the puddy tat?". The Tweeties shrug and keep advancing.

** [[https://garfield.com/comic/2011/03/02 Jon was afraid an insect was eating his brain and Garfield said it'd starve.]]
** [[https://garfield.com/comic/2017/10/27 An]] [[TheIgor Igor-like]] character shows up and claims he "must have human brain".

-->'''George:''' I'm partial to brains myself. But you just emptied your gun into a dead man so I doubt this'll be much of a meal. (Bites into Kid Twist's skull)

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'', we see a [[PuppeteerParasite Brain Slug]] starve to death after it gets on Fry's head. [[spoiler:Though this isn't just because Fry is [[TheDitz a bit dim]]; according to "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid", Fry has abnormal brain waves that make him resistant to mind control.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The "Treehouse Of Horror III" segment "Dial 'Z' For Zombie'' had a zombie horde clamoring for "Braaaains" crashing the Simpsons home. [[BumblingDad Homer]] invokes HeroicSacrifice, telling the zombies to leave his family alone and eat him only. However, they inspect Homer's head, say "No braaaaains" and abandon him in disgust. One zombie taps Homer on the head and [[HollowSoundingHead a very hollow sound is heard]] before it moves along. Homer is left offended.
* On ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', the girls defeat a brain-sucking "Robbin' Leech" by tricking him into attacking [[AuthorityInNameOnly the Mayor]]. He tries to suck out information from the Mayor's noggin, but finds none.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the third "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" special had a zombie horde clamoring for "Braaaains" crashing the Simpsons home. [[BumblingDad Homer]] invokes HeroicSacrifice, telling the zombies to leave his family alone and eat him only. However, they inspect Homer's head, say "No braaaaains" and abandon him in disgust. One zombie taps Homer on the head and [[HollowSoundingHead a very hollow sound is heard]] before it moves along. Homer is left offended.