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a Hope Spot is a specific moment in the story where it seems like it is going to be all right
Deleted line(s) 40 (click to see context) :
* HopeSpot: Jim remains optimistic that the emergency services will soon be along to assist them, completely unaware that ''all'' emergency services were wiped out when the nuke hit. In fact, there isn't much government left.
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None
* HopeSpot: Jim remains optimistic that the emergency services will soon be along to assist them, completely unaware that ''all'' emergency services were wiped out when the nuke hit. In fact, there isn't much government left.
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
* MoodWhiplash: The cheery approach the Bloggses take to the whole thing is made more heart wrenching as the story keeps cutting to the enemy preparing to launch the nuke, letting the reader/watcher know that yes, there is indeed a nuke coming. Even after the nuke comes, the Bloggses cling to their CosyCatastrophe memories of surviving UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and try to remain optimistic about the whole thing.
to:
* MoodWhiplash: The cheery approach the Bloggses take to the whole thing is made more heart wrenching as the story keeps cutting to the enemy preparing to launch the nuke, Soviets setting up for launch, letting the reader/watcher know that yes, there is indeed a nuke coming. Even after the nuke comes, the Bloggses cling to their CosyCatastrophe memories of surviving UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and try to remain optimistic about the whole thing.
Changed line(s) 52 (click to see context) from:
* TooDumbToLive: Though they are more naive than dumb, the Bloggses, especially Hilda, just have no grip whatsoever on the true implications of "the bomb" being dropped. [[spoiler: Yes, they do fail to survive.]]
to:
* TooDumbToLive: Though they are more naive than dumb, the Bloggses, especially Hilda, just have no grip whatsoever on the true implications of "the bomb" being dropped.dropped, likening it to the nightly bombings carried out by the Luftwaffe on the British mainland during World War II. [[spoiler: Yes, they do fail to survive.]]
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None
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* FateWorseThanDeath: What's worse than being killed by the bomb? ''Surviving'' the bomb. [[WebOriginal/ReactionAndReview Emer Provost]], in his (glowing) review of the movie, accurately described it as "winning the world's worst lottery".
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Linked to Barefoot Gen
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Compare to ''Film/TheDayAfter'' and ''Film/{{Threads}}''
to:
Compare to ''Film/TheDayAfter'' and ''Film/{{Threads}}''
''Film/{{Threads}}'', and the Japanese ''Manga/BarefootGen''.
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None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* CosyCatastrophe: Deconstructed.
to:
* CosyCatastrophe: Deconstructed. Jim and Hilda have very rose-tinted memories of WWII, so they adopt the same attitude towards nuclear war.
Changed line(s) 48 (click to see context) from:
* StiffUpperLip: Deconstructed.
to:
* StiffUpperLip: Deconstructed. Nothing really seems to bother Jim and Hilda all that much, not even their ruined house, the post-apocalyptic state the bomb has left the countryside in or the nausea they suffer as the radiation [[spoiler:is killing them]]. No, they keep calm and carry on despite the futility of the situation.
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Deleted "It Was Quite a Looker". Due to the cutesy cartoon style, in the flashbacks to their youth they aren't "attractive" or "good looking" by any stretch of the imagination, they just look like younger versions of themselves. The only "pretty" character that appears in the film is the young woman that Jim imagines rescuing from a burning house when he imagines himself as a fireman.
Deleted line(s) 42 (click to see context) :
* IWasQuiteALooker: Jim and Hilda were good looking when they younger and quite cute as children.
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Edited the downer ending bit, which makes it sound like Hilda dies first. They both die together right as the story ends.
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* DownerEnding: First Hilda, and then Jim inevitably succumb to radiation sickness in the days following the bombing.
to:
* DownerEnding: First Hilda, [[spoiler:Hilda and then Jim inevitably succumb to eventually die from radiation sickness in the some days following after the bombing.]]
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None
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* EverybodysDeadDave: After the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life. The only wildlife are a few rats, a dog, and a dying bird.
to:
* EverybodysDeadDave: After the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life. The only wildlife shown are a few rats, a dog, and a dying bird.
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None
Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* HappilyMarried: Jim and Hilda are an old married couple and are so sweet and innocent, all of which is just used to driver the true horror of what becomes of them home harder.
to:
* HappilyMarried: Jim and Hilda are an old married couple and are so sweet and innocent, all of which is just used to driver drive home the true horror of what becomes of them home harder.
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None
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life. The only wildlife are a few rats, a dog, and a dying bird.
to:
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after After the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life. The only wildlife are a few rats, a dog, and a dying bird.
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None
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Compare to ''Film/TheDayAfter'' and ''Film/{{Threads}}''
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None
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life and it is unknown if there are other survivors elsewhere. Though, we don't know if that is just England or, at least, that part of England and we see no other survivors besides these two. The only wildlife are a few rats, a dog, and a dying bird.
to:
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life and it is unknown if there are other survivors elsewhere. Though, we don't know if that is just England or, at least, that part of England and we see no other survivors besides these two.life. The only wildlife are a few rats, a dog, and a dying bird.
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None
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life and it is unknown if there are other survivors elsewhere. Though, we don't know if that is just England or, at least, that part of England and we see no other survivors besides these two but we do hear a dog howling at brief point when they are outside after the bomb goes off, also, we do see a bird attempting to fly when it pans to the devastated city and a couple of rats at different points of the film.
to:
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life and it is unknown if there are other survivors elsewhere. Though, we don't know if that is just England or, at least, that part of England and we see no other survivors besides these two but we do hear a dog howling at brief point when they two. The only wildlife are outside after the bomb goes off, also, we do see a bird attempting to fly when it pans to the devastated city few rats, a dog, and a couple of rats at different points of the film.dying bird.
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Jim and Hilda are *not* Like An Old Married Couple, because the trope explicitly doesn\'t apply to actual old married couples.
Changed line(s) 36 (click to see context) from:
* HappilyMarried: Jim and Hilda are literally LikeAnOldMarriedCouple and are so sweet and innocent, all of which is just used to driver the true horror of what becomes of them home harder.
to:
* HappilyMarried: Jim and Hilda are literally LikeAnOldMarriedCouple an old married couple and are so sweet and innocent, all of which is just used to driver the true horror of what becomes of them home harder. harder.
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None
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* ArtStyleDissonance: The art style is really cute and a little simplistic. The comic and film are anything but "cute".
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None
Added DiffLines:
* HappilyMarried: Jim and Hilda are literally LikeAnOldMarriedCouple and are so sweet and innocent, all of which is just used to driver the true horror of what becomes of them home harder.
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Removing word cruft
Changed line(s) 49,50 (click to see context) from:
* TruthInTelevision: There actually were government leaflets on how to survive a nuclear attack. Pretty much everything they do (when following it, at least) is [[http://www.atomica.co.uk/culture.htm exactly what the leaflet said one should do]].
** Also, more importantly the symptoms the Bloggses suffer from are the actual symptoms of radiation sickness that align with real accounts.
** Also, more importantly the symptoms the Bloggses suffer from are the actual symptoms of radiation sickness that align with real accounts.
to:
* TruthInTelevision: There actually were government leaflets on how to survive a nuclear attack. Pretty much everything Everything they do (when following it, at least) is [[http://www.atomica.co.uk/culture.htm exactly what the leaflet said one should do]].
**Also, more More importantly the symptoms the Bloggses suffer from are the actual symptoms of radiation sickness that align with real accounts.
**
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None
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* TechnologicallyBlindElders: The Bloggses' knowledge of the political situation in the world and the current technological trends is hopelessly outdated. In addition, they often confuse the current events with those from the youth - for example Jim still thinks Montgomery is the head of the British army, that the USSR is led by Khrushchev etc. Most importantly, they don't really understand the difference between a conventional bombing and a nuclear one.
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None
Changed line(s) 59 (click to see context) from:
** Having the animated move across dollhouse-type sets seems to deliberately mimic the animation style of the ''Protect and Survive'' TV shorts.
to:
** Having the animated characters move across dollhouse-type sets seems to deliberately mimic the animation style of the ''Protect and Survive'' TV shorts.
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None
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** Having the animated move across dollhouse-type sets seems to deliberately mimic the animation style of the ''Protect and Survive'' TV shorts.
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None
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* InsistentTerminology: "Inner Core or Refuge". Jim's deference to authority is so strong, and unthinking, that he refuses to drop the 'or' and call it an 'Inner Core' or 'Refuge'.
to:
* InsistentTerminology: "Inner Core or Refuge". Jim's deference to authority is so strong, and unthinking, that he refuses to doesn't drop the 'or' "or" and call it either an 'Inner Core' "Inner Core" or 'Refuge'.a "Refuge".
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None
Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
* DumbassHasAPoint: Deliberately invoked. Jim's quintessentially British respect for authority and means he tries to follow the government's advice regardless of how self-contradictory it is, exposing all its flaws. Hilda spots a few of the flaws as well (How are you supposed to close the doors to prevent fire spreading if you've used them to build your Inner Core Or Refuge? How are you supposed to get a whole family into a makeshift shelter that can barely hold two pensioners?), but they both just brush them off.
to:
* DumbassHasAPoint: Deliberately invoked. Jim's quintessentially British respect for authority and means he tries to follow the government's advice regardless of how self-contradictory it is, exposing all its flaws. Hilda spots a few of the flaws as well (How are you supposed to close the doors to prevent fire spreading if you've used them to build your Inner Core Or Refuge? How are you supposed to get a whole family into a makeshift shelter that can barely hold two pensioners?), but they both just brush them off.
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None
Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
* DumbassHasAPoint: Deliberately invoked. Jim's slavish devotion to following the government advice regardless of how self-contradictory it is results in all the flaws in it being fully exposed. Hilda spots a few of the flaws as well (How are you supposed to close the doors to prevent fire spreading if you've used them to build your Inner Core Or Refuge? How are you supposed to get a whole family into a makeshift shelter that can barely hold two pensioners?), but they both just brush them off.
to:
* DumbassHasAPoint: Deliberately invoked. Jim's slavish devotion quintessentially British respect for authority and means he tries to following follow the government government's advice regardless of how self-contradictory it is results in is, exposing all the flaws in it being fully exposed.its flaws. Hilda spots a few of the flaws as well (How are you supposed to close the doors to prevent fire spreading if you've used them to build your Inner Core Or Refuge? How are you supposed to get a whole family into a makeshift shelter that can barely hold two pensioners?), but they both just brush them off.
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* InsistentTerminology: "Inner Core or Refuge". Jim's deference to authority is so strong, and unthinking, that he refuses to drop the 'or' and call it an 'Inner Core' or 'Refuge'.
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What To Put At The Top Of A Page explicitly says not to put trope potholes in page quotes. If you want to point out that it\'s an example of a trope, that\'s what the trope list is for.
Deleted line(s) 5,7 (click to see context) :
->"[[SkewedPriorities The cake will be burned!]]"
-->-- ''Hilda Bloggs''
-->-- ''Hilda Bloggs''
Added DiffLines:
* SkewedPriorities: "The cake will be burned!"
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None
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->"The cake will be burned!"
to:
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None
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[[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with]] the novel by Creator/JamesPatterson.
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None
Changed line(s) 22 (click to see context) from:
* BreakTheCutie: The Bloggses are perfectly nice and harmless people, but Mutally Assured Destruction and radiation poisoning don't care about that. Eventually becomes a case [[spoiler:KillTheCutie.]]
to:
* BreakTheCutie: The Bloggses are perfectly nice and harmless people, but Mutally Assured Destruction and radiation poisoning don't care about that. Eventually becomes a case of [[spoiler:KillTheCutie.]]
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None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* DoomedProtagonist: In an anti-war film like this, what would you expect?
to:
* DoomedProtagonist: In an anti-war film comic/film like this, what would you expect?
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None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_whenthewind_1854.jpg]]
->"The powers that be will get to us in the end."
-->-- ''Jim Bloggs''
->"The cake will be burned!"
-->-- ''Hilda Bloggs''
''When The Wind Blows'' is a 1982 comic book and 1986 animated film written by Creator/RaymondBriggs. There was also a [[Creator/TheBBC BBC Radio]] adaptation of the original comic. It concerns the Bloggses, a mildly dim but cheerful elderly English couple, and their preparations for an imminent nuclear war. This war commences mid-story, and the focus switches on their efforts at keeping a stiff upper lip while waiting for help, all the while succumbing to radiation sickness.
A classic weapon of the anti-nuclear weapon movement, ''When The Wind Blows'' uses its bright colours, eccentric characters and art style similar to Briggs's classic children story ''ComicBook/TheSnowman'' to [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped hammer home the horrors of nuclear war]], and [[BlackComedy make dark satire]] about government leaflets advising how best to survive a nuclear attack. Naturally, its child-like style in both art and the characters' personalities make it one of the more famous examples to come from the AnimationAgeGhetto.
----
!!''When The Wind Blows'' provides examples of:
* AccidentalPun: Done several times, and ''not'' for comedy, since EverybodysDeadDave.
**
--->'''Hilda:''' He may be closed due to the bomb, dear.\\
'''Jim:''' What, old Sponge? Heh heh. Miss a day's trade? Oh not him. He'd rather die.
**
--->'''Jim:''' The milkman's not been yet. He's late.
**
--->'''Jim:''' Ron will be all right. He won't go to pieces. The whole family will [[BodyHorror stick together]].
* BreakTheCutie: The Bloggses are perfectly nice and harmless people, but Mutally Assured Destruction and radiation poisoning don't care about that. Eventually becomes a case [[spoiler:KillTheCutie.]]
* CatchPhrase:
** "It's the correct thing!"
** [[GoshDangItToHeck "Crumbs!"]]
** "The powers that be will get to us in the end."
* CosyCatastrophe: Deconstructed.
* DespairEventHorizon: When Hilda's hair starts to fall out.
* DoomedProtagonist: In an anti-war film like this, what would you expect?
* DownerEnding: First Hilda, and then Jim inevitably succumb to radiation sickness in the days following the bombing.
* DumbassHasAPoint: Deliberately invoked. Jim's slavish devotion to following the government advice regardless of how self-contradictory it is results in all the flaws in it being fully exposed. Hilda spots a few of the flaws as well (How are you supposed to close the doors to prevent fire spreading if you've used them to build your Inner Core Or Refuge? How are you supposed to get a whole family into a makeshift shelter that can barely hold two pensioners?), but they both just brush them off.
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life and it is unknown if there are other survivors elsewhere. Though, we don't know if that is just England or, at least, that part of England and we see no other survivors besides these two but we do hear a dog howling at brief point when they are outside after the bomb goes off, also, we do see a bird attempting to fly when it pans to the devastated city and a couple of rats at different points of the film.
* FilkSong: "When the Wind Blows" by Music/DavidBowie (made for the movie, see PopStarComposer below), and "When the Wild Wind Blows" by Music/IronMaiden (which replaces the ending with [[spoiler:the couple mistaking an earthquake for a nuclear bomb and killing themselves]]).
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: "Don't you dare start stimulating, James! I'm not in the mood!"
* GoshDangItToHeck: Being kindly English folk, the strongest language used in the comic is "Blimey!". In the film, on the other hand, James calls Hilda a "stupid bitch" to hurry her into the inner core or refuge once the nukes start coming down. This has the effect of slowing her down as she stops to demand an apology.
* IdiotBall: Partially due to not taking the whole thing seriously at first, and partially due to not fully understanding the concept of radiation, and simply misunderstanding the pamphlets leads the Bloggses to make some big mistakes. It only makes the situation that much more tragic, although the fact that their house was caught in the blast made their death by fallout extremely likely anyway.
* IllGirl: Both Jim and Hilda falling ill of radiation sickness.
* IWasQuiteALooker: Jim and Hilda were good looking when they younger and quite cute as children.
* {{Malaproper}}: Jim Bloggs does this a ''lot'' in regards to modern warfare and politics. For example, assuming that all the major decisions by the Powers That Be are handled by "commuters" (computers).
* MoodWhiplash: The cheery approach the Bloggses take to the whole thing is made more heart wrenching as the story keeps cutting to the enemy preparing to launch the nuke, letting the reader/watcher know that yes, there is indeed a nuke coming. Even after the nuke comes, the Bloggses cling to their CosyCatastrophe memories of surviving UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and try to remain optimistic about the whole thing.
* ANuclearError: Done on purpose, as the Bloggses don't quite understand the full effects of the bomb.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Jim is a decent chap who who wouldn't dream of being rude to his wife. When they hear the four minute warning that the missiles have been launched, Hilda fails to grasp the seriousness of the situation, decides to get the washing in and dithers about the cakes in the oven, panicking Jim so much that he shouts "Get in the shelter, you stupid bitch!"
* ShootTheShaggyDog
* StiffUpperLip: Deconstructed.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: The characters first appeared in an earlier work of Briggs's, ''Gentleman Jim''. Apparently they were so well-received he brought them back--only to kill them off in a nuclear apocalypse!
* TooDumbToLive: Though they are more naive than dumb, the Bloggses, especially Hilda, just have no grip whatsoever on the true implications of "the bomb" being dropped. [[spoiler: Yes, they do fail to survive.]]
* TruthInTelevision: There actually were government leaflets on how to survive a nuclear attack. Pretty much everything they do (when following it, at least) is [[http://www.atomica.co.uk/culture.htm exactly what the leaflet said one should do]].
** Also, more importantly the symptoms the Bloggses suffer from are the actual symptoms of radiation sickness that align with real accounts.
* WideEyedIdealist: The Bloggses. Mostly Jim, though. It's surprising how they are mostly optimistic about the whole thing, save for a few worries here and there.
* WorldWarIII: Takes place in the middle of the story.
!!Tropes specific to the animated film include:
* DarkReprise: The music to the rhyme on which the title is based shows up, sometimes to horrifying effect.
* DoubleMeaning: Once the Blogges' health has declined far past the point of denial, Hilda suggests they pray. Jim, unable to think clearly, asks, "who to?" One gets the impression the question [[GodIsDead has meaning]] beyond his sickness-induced absent-mindedness.
* DerangedAnimation: The nuclear attack. In the comic, possibly even more terrifying, the two pages after the bomb are almost entirely white.
* PopStarComposer: Music/RogerWaters did the score, Music/DavidBowie wrote the title song, and Music/{{Genesis}}, Music/{{Squeeze}} and Paul Hardcastle appear in the score too.
* ShoutOut: During their telephone conversation James' son quotes a line from Music/TomLehrer's song "We All Will Go Together When We Go".
----
->"The powers that be will get to us in the end."
-->-- ''Jim Bloggs''
->"The cake will be burned!"
-->-- ''Hilda Bloggs''
''When The Wind Blows'' is a 1982 comic book and 1986 animated film written by Creator/RaymondBriggs. There was also a [[Creator/TheBBC BBC Radio]] adaptation of the original comic. It concerns the Bloggses, a mildly dim but cheerful elderly English couple, and their preparations for an imminent nuclear war. This war commences mid-story, and the focus switches on their efforts at keeping a stiff upper lip while waiting for help, all the while succumbing to radiation sickness.
A classic weapon of the anti-nuclear weapon movement, ''When The Wind Blows'' uses its bright colours, eccentric characters and art style similar to Briggs's classic children story ''ComicBook/TheSnowman'' to [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped hammer home the horrors of nuclear war]], and [[BlackComedy make dark satire]] about government leaflets advising how best to survive a nuclear attack. Naturally, its child-like style in both art and the characters' personalities make it one of the more famous examples to come from the AnimationAgeGhetto.
----
!!''When The Wind Blows'' provides examples of:
* AccidentalPun: Done several times, and ''not'' for comedy, since EverybodysDeadDave.
**
--->'''Hilda:''' He may be closed due to the bomb, dear.\\
'''Jim:''' What, old Sponge? Heh heh. Miss a day's trade? Oh not him. He'd rather die.
**
--->'''Jim:''' The milkman's not been yet. He's late.
**
--->'''Jim:''' Ron will be all right. He won't go to pieces. The whole family will [[BodyHorror stick together]].
* BreakTheCutie: The Bloggses are perfectly nice and harmless people, but Mutally Assured Destruction and radiation poisoning don't care about that. Eventually becomes a case [[spoiler:KillTheCutie.]]
* CatchPhrase:
** "It's the correct thing!"
** [[GoshDangItToHeck "Crumbs!"]]
** "The powers that be will get to us in the end."
* CosyCatastrophe: Deconstructed.
* DespairEventHorizon: When Hilda's hair starts to fall out.
* DoomedProtagonist: In an anti-war film like this, what would you expect?
* DownerEnding: First Hilda, and then Jim inevitably succumb to radiation sickness in the days following the bombing.
* DumbassHasAPoint: Deliberately invoked. Jim's slavish devotion to following the government advice regardless of how self-contradictory it is results in all the flaws in it being fully exposed. Hilda spots a few of the flaws as well (How are you supposed to close the doors to prevent fire spreading if you've used them to build your Inner Core Or Refuge? How are you supposed to get a whole family into a makeshift shelter that can barely hold two pensioners?), but they both just brush them off.
* EverybodysDeadDave: ''Implied''; after the bomb drops, the Bloggses find no other sign of human life and it is unknown if there are other survivors elsewhere. Though, we don't know if that is just England or, at least, that part of England and we see no other survivors besides these two but we do hear a dog howling at brief point when they are outside after the bomb goes off, also, we do see a bird attempting to fly when it pans to the devastated city and a couple of rats at different points of the film.
* FilkSong: "When the Wind Blows" by Music/DavidBowie (made for the movie, see PopStarComposer below), and "When the Wild Wind Blows" by Music/IronMaiden (which replaces the ending with [[spoiler:the couple mistaking an earthquake for a nuclear bomb and killing themselves]]).
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: "Don't you dare start stimulating, James! I'm not in the mood!"
* GoshDangItToHeck: Being kindly English folk, the strongest language used in the comic is "Blimey!". In the film, on the other hand, James calls Hilda a "stupid bitch" to hurry her into the inner core or refuge once the nukes start coming down. This has the effect of slowing her down as she stops to demand an apology.
* IdiotBall: Partially due to not taking the whole thing seriously at first, and partially due to not fully understanding the concept of radiation, and simply misunderstanding the pamphlets leads the Bloggses to make some big mistakes. It only makes the situation that much more tragic, although the fact that their house was caught in the blast made their death by fallout extremely likely anyway.
* IllGirl: Both Jim and Hilda falling ill of radiation sickness.
* IWasQuiteALooker: Jim and Hilda were good looking when they younger and quite cute as children.
* {{Malaproper}}: Jim Bloggs does this a ''lot'' in regards to modern warfare and politics. For example, assuming that all the major decisions by the Powers That Be are handled by "commuters" (computers).
* MoodWhiplash: The cheery approach the Bloggses take to the whole thing is made more heart wrenching as the story keeps cutting to the enemy preparing to launch the nuke, letting the reader/watcher know that yes, there is indeed a nuke coming. Even after the nuke comes, the Bloggses cling to their CosyCatastrophe memories of surviving UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and try to remain optimistic about the whole thing.
* ANuclearError: Done on purpose, as the Bloggses don't quite understand the full effects of the bomb.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Jim is a decent chap who who wouldn't dream of being rude to his wife. When they hear the four minute warning that the missiles have been launched, Hilda fails to grasp the seriousness of the situation, decides to get the washing in and dithers about the cakes in the oven, panicking Jim so much that he shouts "Get in the shelter, you stupid bitch!"
* ShootTheShaggyDog
* StiffUpperLip: Deconstructed.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: The characters first appeared in an earlier work of Briggs's, ''Gentleman Jim''. Apparently they were so well-received he brought them back--only to kill them off in a nuclear apocalypse!
* TooDumbToLive: Though they are more naive than dumb, the Bloggses, especially Hilda, just have no grip whatsoever on the true implications of "the bomb" being dropped. [[spoiler: Yes, they do fail to survive.]]
* TruthInTelevision: There actually were government leaflets on how to survive a nuclear attack. Pretty much everything they do (when following it, at least) is [[http://www.atomica.co.uk/culture.htm exactly what the leaflet said one should do]].
** Also, more importantly the symptoms the Bloggses suffer from are the actual symptoms of radiation sickness that align with real accounts.
* WideEyedIdealist: The Bloggses. Mostly Jim, though. It's surprising how they are mostly optimistic about the whole thing, save for a few worries here and there.
* WorldWarIII: Takes place in the middle of the story.
!!Tropes specific to the animated film include:
* DarkReprise: The music to the rhyme on which the title is based shows up, sometimes to horrifying effect.
* DoubleMeaning: Once the Blogges' health has declined far past the point of denial, Hilda suggests they pray. Jim, unable to think clearly, asks, "who to?" One gets the impression the question [[GodIsDead has meaning]] beyond his sickness-induced absent-mindedness.
* DerangedAnimation: The nuclear attack. In the comic, possibly even more terrifying, the two pages after the bomb are almost entirely white.
* PopStarComposer: Music/RogerWaters did the score, Music/DavidBowie wrote the title song, and Music/{{Genesis}}, Music/{{Squeeze}} and Paul Hardcastle appear in the score too.
* ShoutOut: During their telephone conversation James' son quotes a line from Music/TomLehrer's song "We All Will Go Together When We Go".
----
