History LiteralMetaphor / WesternAnimation

* In the first episode of the obscure series ''The Fairy Tale Police Department'', the female officer Chris gets a call from her male partner informing her that he's been attacked by the Three Little Pigs (''very'' long story) and she responds "You're pulling my leg!" He remarks "Funny you should use that phrase." as one of the pigs pulls his leg.

{{Literal Metaphor}}s in western animation.

** After Lydia got mad at him, a depressed Beetlejuice remarks that watching "a little TV" might cheer him up. Cue him sitting on a small stool, watching a ridiculously tiny television set. (A "little TV.")

* Done a fair number of times on the ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' cartoon, with its love of {{visual pun}}s. In one episode, Beetlejuice is hosting a ShowWithinAShow and excuses himself for "a few words from our sponsors"... the words turn out to be "BUY!", "NEW!" and "FREE!"

** In "A Fish Called Selma", when members of the LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub catch sight of Troy [=McClure=].

** When Howard K. Duff is attempting to denounce Homer as a liar, he gets hold of film depicting Homer [[ManOnFire literally with his pants on fire]].

** In ''Recap/WhoopassStew'', the series' pilot, the girls' superpowers were the result of Professor Utonium accidentally busting open a can of Whoopass[[note]]slang for going all-out on an opponent[[/note]] over the concoction that made them instead of breaking a beaker of Chemical X.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Beat Your Greens" the Broccoloids intend to hypnotize people through spores placed in broccoli. The girls inspect the field where the broccoli came from but hide in a scarecrow when they see an approaching spacecraft. They jump out to fight, with Blossom wearing the scarecrow's hat, Buttercup the shirt, and Bubbles the pants and shoes. The girls scream after seeing the aliens regenerate and Bubbles jumps out of her extra attire, saying that scared the pants off her.

** In "The Intruder", when Eda asks Luz where magic comes from, Luz guesses "The heart?" Eda tells her that's technically true... because [[HumanOutsideAlienInside witches have a "bile gland" attached to their heart]] that helps provide power for their spells.

** Played straight in "WesternAnimation/KnightyKnightBugs" where WesternAnimation/YosemiteSam is the Black Knight, who owns a fire-breathing dragon who tends to sneeze a lot, breathing fire uncontrollably when it does. At the climax, Bug manages to lock Sam and the dragon in a tower full of explosives. Sam desperately tries to keep the dragon from sneezing, shouting, "No! No! Don't sneeze, you stupid dragon! Or you'll blow us to the moon!" Unfortunately for him, the dragon does sneeze, and the tower takes off like a rocket, towards the moon. (With Sam growling, "Dragons is ''so'' stupid!")

'''Eddy:''' Duh, Ed, we heard her! Just keep your shorts on! ''[Ed's shorts are around his ankles]'' No, seriously, keep your shorts on. ''[pulls them back up]''

** In "Irrational Treasure" Quentin Trembly, the 8th and 1/2 President of the United States, is said to have won the election in a landslide. Said landslide buried everyone else running, leaving him the only suitable person for the role.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SonicPrime'', Sonic tries to convince [[MirrorSelf Rusty Rose]] not to serve the Chaos Council because the Amy Rose he knows isn't that heartless. Rusty Rose responds by [[{{Cyborg}} opening her chest cavity]] to show that the only thing inside is a little bird being used as a LivingBattery, proving how heartless she truly is.

** In ''The Art of Self Defense'', to illustrate shadow boxing, Goofy's shadow [[LivingShadow literally comes to life]] and starts beating the snot out of him.