History Main / DeliberatelyCuteChild

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[[quoteright:300:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/calvinbambieyes_5702_4316.png]] ]]

->'''Dogbert:''' Is it true that you ''pretend'' to be cute in order to ''manipulate'' adults!!
->'''Little Girl:''' ''[[[CryCute sniff, sniff]]]''
->'''Dogbert:''' Oh, hey, wait... I'm just kidding. Can I buy you something expensive?
-->-- ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'', [[http://www.dilbert.com/fast/1990-05-17/ May 17, 1990]]

This is a kid who has all the stereotypically adorable childlike mannerisms: [[SecurityBlanket thumb-sucking]], [[BabyTalk lisping]], PuppyDogEyes, and so on. Really, though, [[ObfuscatingStupidity they're just faking it all]]; they've [[WiseBeyondTheirYears figured out]] it's a good way to get what they want.

Sometimes characters like this are ReallySevenHundredYearsOld (and probably took the form of a small child precisely because it lends itself to being manipulative). On the other hand, they might just be kids who've [[ManipulativeBastard figured out their elders' emotional cheat codes]].

In Japan, this often overlaps with the ''burikko'', that is, a fake {{Kawaiiko}}.

Compare {{Kawaiiko}}, as well as the more sinister EnfantTerrible, who just might use this to get away with their horrible deeds, and TheFakeCutie, who does something similar, despite being an adult. Contrast the genuinely-adorable CheerfulChild. A favorite tactic of LittleMissConArtist.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', there was once a wild [[BearsAreBadNews Teddiursa]] that behaved like this to get food from trainers and tourists. He became a nuisance until he evolved into Ursaring, when he couldn't use his charms to get stuff anymore. Except from Team Rocket.
** Two regions later, in Sinnoh, a Togepi played everyone for saps to get full run of Team Rocket's new base. [[spoiler:Including the built-in ''space rocket'']].
* Sora in ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' plays up his cute angle to get Yuya's mom to fawn over him, give him free food, and possibly a place to sleep. He even tries to entertain the crowd by playing up the cuteness of his monsters during his duel against Shun. Though largely, his cuteness is mostly an act to cover up his mission to eliminate Yuto and Shun.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':
** The very powerful and very evil Demon Lord Hellmaster Fibrizo often takes the form of a young child to deceive people. He fools everyone who sees him, up to and including another Demon Lord. The only one to see through his disguise is Xelloss, who in any case is [[LovableTraitor openly working for him]]. [[EnigmaticMinion Sort of]]. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder For a while, anyway]]. In the manga, Fibrizo takes the form of [[spoiler:a girl who happens to also be an actual character from Lina's past]]. When Fibrizo is defeated, [[spoiler:the girl is set free, so it might have been some sort of possession]].
** Lina herself has been known to do this occasionally (prominently early in the first novel), taking advantage of her slight build and, ah, flat figure to appear cute, harmless and slightly ditzy.
* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'':
** Conan Edogawa often does this to throw people off from suspecting he's really seventeen-year-old Shinichi Kudo. Though he can on occasion take it too far and has a time or two been called out by his ''kid'' friends for doing it. The really impressive part is that, when he's nosing around crime scenes, he has to walk a very fine line so that his adorable-little-kidness draws the adults' attention to important clues, without drawing their attention to how frequently this happens (or, worse, that he's doing it deliberately), and, for the most part, he pulls it off.
** Fellow shrinkee Ai Haibara typically doesn't bother with this, though one of the movies subverts the trope by having [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECxDIOi4nEY her attempt to be a Deliberately Cute Child]] freak the hell out of Conan.
* Murumo, the little brother of the main character of ''Manga/MirumoDePon!'', acts like the sweetest kid in front of most people, but his dark side is usually revealed to the audience and his older brother. One of his [[http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/wagamamafairy/mutekinopuriti.htm image songs]] is about this trope.
* Czes from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''. ReallySevenHundredYearsOld. He does tend to drop the AdorablyPrecociousChild act pretty quickly, but keeps claiming that he's not used to being treated any other way.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'''s successor series, ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', [[spoiler:Aoba]] is one. He's so good at pulling it off that he's managed to [[spoiler:frame his brother for many crimes as well as getting away with many of them]]. Add the fact that he's described with a baby face despite being a high school student. Of course, he lets it slip every now and then...[[CuteAndPsycho and when he does]]...
* Rita from the Final OVA of ''Anime/HareGuu'', who appears to be the nicest person in the whole class, until it turns out she does it selfishly to get praise and make herself happy [[spoiler:In the end, Haré's presence and comforting turn her into a genuinely nice person]]. Guu herself does this on occasion, most notably during her introduction.
* Saki from ''Manga/{{Kanamemo}}''. While a LittleMissSnarker at work, she acts cute in public in order to sell newspaper subscriptions.
* [[spoiler:Pride]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', [[spoiler:aka Selim Bradley]], pretends to be a sweet and kind young boy. In reality, he is a cruel little monster who has a habit of eating his allies when they are no longer of use to him.
* Amber of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' suffers from MerlinSickness and thus has the form of a {{moe}} girl. She talks in a cute voice and will do things such as, for instance, suffer from CutenessProximity when interacting with Mao. She is also an incredibly ruthless (albeit well-intentioned) MagnificentBastard.
* Miharu from ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' fits this trope to a T. He blushes wildly in order to get his way in what seems like a hundred different situations, from forcing a basketball player on the opposing team to let him make a basket to getting a shopkeeper to give him free clothes.
* Stella from ''Manga/ArakawaUnderTheBridge'' appears to be a sugary-sweet orphan girl who just wants to give people [[TheGlomp a big hug]] when Kou first meets her. She quickly reveals her true nature as a CuteBruiser with a mean streak who can and will beat him up to hold dominance over him.
* Medusa of ''Manga/SoulEater'' attempts this once or twice [[spoiler:after she takes over the body of a young girl]]. Doesn't really work, actually.
-->'''Medusa:''' Why do I have to wear this, Mister? It gives my hands ouchies!
** In the manga she convinces [[BumblingDad Spirit]] to unchain her by appearing cute and so reminding him of his own, not-possessed daughter. Typical Medusa, she pulls off a similar trick in reverse--remind the daughter of her father--on Maka in the Baba Yaga arc. Forget the Clowns, pulling such simple tricks ([[UnwittingPawn justifiably]], given who and how) like that is why she, not Asura, is the proper Big Bad.
* Inverted in ''Anime/TanteiOperaMilkyHolmes'' where a teenager act cute to get something from a child. When Kokoro and Sherlock, are both want [[WiseBeyondTheirYears Irene]] to give them the last banana they have to eat, since [[OlderThanTheyLook Kokoro]] know that Irene find her [[CutenessProximity irresistibly adorable]], she act cute and call the little girl "onee-tan" to win.
* ''Manga/BreakBlade'''s Niko is the borderline codifier. She's an AxCrazy BloodKnight, [[OlderThanTheyLook older than she looks]], and knows exactly what she's doing. The guy caught up in the cuteness? ''Still'' reacting that way despite coming across her with her gun pointed at someone's head and her knife pointed at his crotch.
* Mitsukuni Haninozuka from ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub''. Despite being [[OlderThanTheyLook a high school senior]], "Honey" just loves to play the role of a AdorablyPrecociousChild for the Host Club's customers. But don't take him lightly because of his short stature and his love of cake and stuffed animals; he's also [[CuteBruiser the latest in a long line of martial artists]] and ''will'' [[BewareTheNiceOnes kick your ass if you threaten his friends]].
* ''Manga/BlackButler'':
** The master of this trope is Ciel Phantomhive, at least in the manga. He's cold and calculating ([[DeclarationOfProtection unless you're Lizzie]]) to a vicious degree...and he will remind you of this every chance he gets if you work with him. Even then, however, when he acts his age, you may still fall into the trap. Ask the resident FunnyForeigner. However, the Phantomhive Manor Murder arc averted this as hard as it could: ''everyone'' present aside from Arthur Conan Doyle was well aware that Ciel was mentally capable of anything from being adorable and sweet to cold-blooded murder. [[spoiler:And then played it straight at the same time, by tricking Arthur--the ''only'' person there who didn't know of Ciel's reputation beforehand--into thinking of Ciel as a child with too many responsibilities who mostly pretends to be stronger and colder then he is]].
** A more innocent version of this trope is [[spoiler:Ciel's cousin/fiancée Lizzie]], who just wants to be a proper girly-girl, not a tough sword-fighting LittleMissBadAss.
* Last Order ([[CloningBlues Misaka Imouto 20,001]]) of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' does this every once in a while. She'd probably be more effective if her VerbalTic didn't force her to [[ThirdPersonPerson narrate herself]].
* ''Manga/{{Gangsta}}'' features Doug, a Twilight wielding kukris, who (of course) isn't [[OlderThanTheyLook actually a child]].
* Ruka from ''Anime/IdolProject'' plays this up to the max.
* Though a little older than most examples of this trope, Yokosuka Jou from ''Manga/RainbowNishaRokubouNoShichinin'' learns to use his innocuous beauty to manipulate the perverted doctor working at the reformatory institute he is held. In the ensuing conversation, he plays up his cuteness by switching pronouns, using the more soft-spoken "boku" rather than the rough "ore" he ordinarily employs.
* We learn in ''Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman'' that the entire Saiyan race is this trope. Saiyans have long childhoods to stay cute and young to throw off their enemies, thinking they're [[JustAKid harmless]], before quickly growing into their adult size. Which is why [[Franchise/DragonBall Goku]] looked so young when he was a child.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': How Eren managed to stab two men to death in order to save Mikasa.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Molly Hayes from ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'' is a slightly older (eleven at the opening of the story) variation.
* In the All Ages ComicBook/PowerPack comics, Franklin Richards uses this on a ticket collector when he and Mass Master run away, complete with lisp and puppy dog eyes.
* Comicbook/{{X 23}} exploited this for many of her early assassinations, taking full advantage of her appearance to get close to targets without arousing suspicion of what she ''[[TykeBomb really]]'' [[KillerRabbit is]]. ''Especially'' her first assassination, (she even fooled ''Captain America'' with her act) and later when she rescued her cousin Megan from a serial pedophile and child-killer.
** Her younger sister, Gabby, plays this much straighter, frequently flashing PuppyDogEyes to butter people up rather than resorting to force like Bellona.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Vivio in the ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' FanWebComic by [[http://www.q-ice.com/ Q-Ice]] does this mostly to annoy her JerkAss [[KidFromTheFuture future mother]]. [[http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9450/nano106trxp8.jpg Karma's a bitch]].
* In the first arc of ''FanFic/TouhouIbunshu'', Rumia combines this with a WoundedGazelleGambit to manipulate Remiu into removing [[RestrainingBolt her ribbon]]. Later, Reimu falls for this ''again'' when [[spoiler:Remilia]] pretends to a scared child helping her escape, only to eventually turn on her.
* In ''FanFic/FourDeadlySecrets'', Ruby ''ruthlessly'' exploits her cute and innocent appearance to pull the wool over everyone's eyes or avoid awkward questions. [[spoiler:Miltia learns to see through it]].
* Bubbles in ''Fanfic/TheUtoniumTrials'' still looks five even at age nine. She's a genuinely innocent kid but even she knows when it's best to lay it on thick and pretend to be more innocent than she actually is. When the Professor is under arrest for breaking the Neo-Tokyo Protocol, Bubbles' first instinct is to look like an adorable five year old to gain others trust.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* Veruca Salt in Tim Burton's ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' tries this out on Willy Wonka, but he's not fooled. Ditto for her counterpart in the [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory 2013 West End stage musical]] based on the novel.
* ''Film/{{Orphan}}'' has Esther Coleman, who can charm any adult she wants with her carefully-calculated veneer of wistful cuteness. It's so deliberate she even wears her hair in curls and only dresses in old-fashioned classic little-girl clothing.
* In ''Film/KickAss'', Mindy pulls this trick on D'Amico's goons by showing up at his place in school uniform and pig-tails, claiming to have lost her mommy and daddy. It doesn't work out well for the goons.
* In ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'', Claudia uses this kind of behavior to lure and play with her prey. One particular scene shows her sitting on a bench crying and letting the woman who comes to help her hug for longer than necessary before biting her.
* Harley tries to use this tactic on Tony Stark in ''Film/IronMan3'' so he can be Tony's TagalongKid. However, Tony realizes what he's doing and instead redirects the impact of the ruse back as a trollish remark.
-->'''Tony:''' Wait, you're guilt-tripping me, aren't you?\\
'''Harley:''' ''I'm cold.''\\
'''Tony:''' I can tell. You know how I can tell? ''Cause we're connected''. ''[drives away]''\\
'''Harley:''' It was worth a shot.
* Played for horror in ''Film/{{Screamers}}'', where an orphaned child carrying a teddy bear [[TheyLookLikeUsNow turns out to be a Type III Screamer]], a KillerRobot designed to play on a soldier's sympathy so he'll take the 'child' into a sealed bunker.
-->'''Type III:''' Can I come with you?
* In ''Film/TheAnnunciation'', it's unclear how old Lucifer is supposed to look at the start of the film, since he's played by a young girl, but in his initial appearance, he pulls a number of child-like strategies to endear himself to Adam and Eve.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Jerin of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' deliberately uses childish words [[spoiler:when he's kidnapped]], in order to make himself seem more harmless. He's 15, but lives in a world where boys are extremely sheltered because they're so rare, (and other boys of his age actually act like they're eleven or twelve) so it's somewhat believable. He never tries to pull this off in front of his own family, probably because his mothers taught him how to do it in the first place - they're descended from grandmothers who were spies.
* Twyla from ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'':
-->'''Twyla:''' I'm afwaid of the monster in the cellar, Thusan. It's going to eat me up.
-->'''Susan:''' What have I told you about trying to sound ingratiatingly cute, Twyla?
-->'''Twyla:''' You said I mustn't. You said that exaggerated lisping is a hanging offense and I only do it to get attention.
* Twinkle from ''Literature/HouseOfManyWays'' by Creator/DianaWynneJones, who falls into the ReallySevenHundredYearsOld box. Well, 'Really About Thirty'. He has a good reason for it: [[spoiler:he's deliberately drawing attention away from the ''real'' child, his son, so that any potential kidnappers will go after him instead. It works, too]].
* Bane from ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'' is a particularly creepy combination of this trope with EnfantTerrible.
* When April from "Dustbin Baby" enters into her fourth foster home, she realizes that one of the older girls will like her better if she acts this way. Because April is a little lost and needs a friend and caregiver, she obliges.
* Aphrael, the Child-Goddess of Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheElenium'' and ''Literature/TheTamuli''. As her name suggests she usually manifests in the form of a child, and knowingly uses this to manipulate others into giving her what she wants. To her credit, she feels genuine love and affection for those around her and goes to great lengths to protect them. (She notes that it doesn't just work on mortals. Even her fellow gods can be swayed if she climbs into their lap.) She also observes that [[spoiler:Danae]] will be a new experience for her, as she can't exactly rightly ''avoid'' growing up as a [[spoiler:supposedly mortal princess]] -- while she remains one throughout the series, she at one point a bit into ''The Tamuli'' meets another of Aphrael's incarnations, Flute, and they comment on the first physical hints of her maturing out of this being there while Flute remains the same as she's always been.
* Kalianah, the Goddess of Love in Jennifer Fallon's ''Demon Child Trilogy'', pulls this as well. Unfortunately, the gods in that universe are more than a little self-centered.
* From ''Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara'', there is Tib Arne. What a [[{{Keet}} cute, enthusiastic]] [[EnfantTerrible little boy]]. Oh, one more thing, [[spoiler:he's a member of TheHeartless, ripped people apart frighteningly easily, and then delivered TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to [[ActionGirl Wren]]. It is actually not an act in this case, and even when revealed as the mole, [[PsychopathicManchild he acts like a child about it]]]].
* Baby Dwopple in the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' book ''Marlfox'' steals food and shoots adults with a miniature sling, then clings to his adoptive mother, weeping and exaggerating his BabyTalk beyond even usual Dibbun levels, until she yells at the others for trying to tell him off.
* Markie in ''[[Literature/MythAdventures Little Myth Marker]]'' does adorable little-kid things like mispronouncing words and bluntly spitting out offensive statements. [[spoiler:She turns out to be an character assassin sent to ruin Skeeve's reputation and a full-grown woman to boot; natives of her dimension just happen to look like seven-year-old Klahds their entire lives]].
* Willie Connolly in the J.R. Lowell novel ''Daughter Of Darkness'' carefully maintains a facade as a darling, adorable, and very happy ChildProdigy. She really is twelve, but that's about it.
* In Mark Clifton's novella "Star Bright", five-year-old Star Holmes has an IQ somewhere in the quadruple digits, but is legally required to go to kindergarten, so she pulls an adorable-dimwit act. The class leader (a "stupid"--that is, someone of normal intelligence) takes charge of her and tells everyone they have to like her.
* Amber Brown in the ''[[Literature/AmberBrown A is for Amber]]'' books.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** In the season 3 finale, {{Tomboy}} ActionGirl Arya Stark acts like a miserable, vulnerable, wide-eyed child in order to catch a soldier off guard. [[spoiler:She then [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior stabs him, repeatedly and viciously]], for his role in killing her mother and brother]].
** The warlock assassin in "Valar Dohaeris" takes this form to disarm suspicions.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' features an immortal with the body of a ten-year-old boy. He uses his seeming innocence to get close to other immortals, and then takes their heads when they aren't looking.
* Michelle Tanner on ''Series/FullHouse'' fits this trope to a T during her toddler years--it's even {{lampshaded}} by her uncles a few times. When she grows older, the role gets filled by twins Nicky and Alex.
* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Safe Haven", the [=UnSub=] is a thirteen-year-old who gets his victims to trust him by being cute and appearing vulnerable.
* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Malcolm and his brothers often accuse Dewey of being a Deliberately Cute Child. Dewey himself is aware of this and exploits it (usually to get affection by crying).
* In one episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'', two cute little girls turn out to be super-genius psychopaths who killed their respective fathers at the exact same time thousands of miles apart, and continuously use their cuteness and youth to trick and manipulate the unwary.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* The title character of ''ComicStrip/BusterBrown'', with his pageboy haircut, fancy clothes, and delicate features, is able to get away with all kinds of mischief.
* In ''Comicstrip/{{Garfield}}'', Nermal is a perpetually wide-eyed kitten. When asked how he's stayed that way for so many years, he replies, "I think small...and the coffee and the cigarettes don't hurt."
* [[http://www.dilbert.com/fast/1990-05-17/ This]] ''Comicstrip/{{Dilbert}}'' strip.
* As the page image shows, ComicStrip/{{Calvin| and Hobbes}} does this repeatedly, with varying amounts of success.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Babette, a 300-year old vampire and member of the Dark Brotherhood (assassin's guild) in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. She became a vampire at age 8, so that's how she still appears, and uses this appearance to her advantage.
* Remember that little girl that got captured at the beginning of ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankSizeMatters''? Turns out [[spoiler:she's actually a puppet created by tiny monsters to fool the protagonists into rescuing "her" so that the BigBad can clone one of them]].
* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay:'' There is a little girl trapped in the war laboratory, but she just uses that to lure the invading rodent special-ops teams into deadly ambushes. Said little girl is actually [[spoiler:grafted to a twenty-foot hulking monstrosity with multiple doomsday weapons equipped]]. You kill them both.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* From ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', [[spoiler:Rika Furude]] is universally adored by everyone in the town, especially her friends. However, [[spoiler:she's also fully aware of the town's GroundhogDayLoop and remembers all of her past lives, meaning she's arguably one of the [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld oldest]] and [[WiseBeyondTheirYears wisest]] people in Hinamizawa, despite being stuck in the body of a prepubescent girl.]] She is [[CreepyChild extremely unsettling]] whenever she drops her cheerful and innocent facade, to the point that the sharp contrast can easily be misattributed to DemonicPossession in the early chapters (before the audience understands [[JigsawPuzzlePlot what's really happening]] in [[TownWithADarkSecret Hinamizawa]]). Her reason for adopting the CheerfulChild persona is less about manipulating people and more about not wanting to alarm anyone unless the situation is serious.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Annie of ''Webcomic/{{Catena}}'' uses this (and a flail) to get into a D&D game.
* Though an adult, Kalki from ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' really pushes the borders of cutesy behavior. She's probably trying to avoid being associated with the mass slaughter she took part in some years back.
** She clearly takes after her mother, who also uses cuteness and sexiness to mask her ruthless political backstabbing skill and Caligula-overshadowing omnicidal insanity.
* Autumn of ''WebComic/{{Precocious}}'' uses a schoolgirl uniform to try to invoke this in others. Dionne is also said to do this when enrolled a beauty pageant; off the clock, she prefers her throne of bones.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Elsa from ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'' fakes being TheIngenue as part of her ''modus operandi''.
* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'':
** The Three Little Witches, from [[http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php/stories/371-the-three-little-witches their eponymous story]], when its discussed how they get away with things if it isn't Mrs. Grimes who's handling them:
--> “My MC 050- ‘Common Sense for Dingbats’- class is here,” Grimes said in a martyred tone. [[WritingLines “They’re churning out a hundred pages of the Code of Ethics.]]”
--> “Oh, what did they do now?”
--> ...
--> Grimes sighed, “... I know that they have to be disciplined and taught better, but dammit all, why do _I_ have to be ‘Miss Hardbroom’ all the time?”
--> “Because you’re good at it?” Caduceus answered wryly.
--> “Yes,” Earth Mother agreed, her round merry face smiling wanly. “Lords of Light know _I_ couldn’t handle them. I mean every time I try to talk simple sense to Clover, she just looks at me with those big eyes, and she is just ''So Kyute''! And then Abra starts nattering about some triviality and Palantir starts fussing, and before I know it, they’ve completely weaseled their way around me!”
--> ...
--> When Grimes got back to the classroom, she found all three of her charges with their heads on their desks, eyes closed, breathing deeply with their pencils still in their hands. “Oh,” Grimes cooed, “The little darlings are asleep! How cyuuute!” She leaned over and snapped in Palantir’s ear, “It’s not working, Irene! I said twenty times, and I MEANT twenty times!”
--> “NUTS!”
** Ayesha Harrow, seen in [[http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php/original-timeline/802-the-final-trump-working The Final Trump (Part 1)]]:
--> ‘Asha’ (the pronunciation of ‘Ayesha’) was JJ’s younger sister, and the baby of the family. She was 6 years old, and looked like a little blonde angel with big guileless blue eyes; and she had already learned how to use that fact like a club.
--> ...
--> They were seated by the proper protocols, except for Asha, who was allowed to have Musette seated next to her on her own chair.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Tinny Tim from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is programmed to act this way. In one episode, where he sells lemonade, he says he's even programmed to make cute little backwards letters on signs.
** Though not technically children, Nibbler and the Catz from "Those Darn Catz" do this.
--->'''Nibbler:''' Nothing acts that cute without some ulterior motive. ''[[[IResembleThatRemark starts acting cute in order to get Amy to change his diaper]]]''
* Tweety Bird of ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' fame. "Aw, da poor puddy tat. He faw down an' go '''boom'''!" This, after carefully arranging poor Sylvester's defeat.
** Charley, a frequently-abandoned dog who appeared in a few Creator/ChuckJones cartoons, also employed this trope. "Big-soulful-eyes routine. Gets 'em every time." When people walk on past and ignore him, he remarks, "Well, ''nearly'' every time."
** In the Creator/ChuckJones cartoon "Baby Buggy Bunny", diminutive bank robber Baby Face Finster, aka Ant Hill Harry, impersonates an adorable baby to evade the police, and later infiltrates WesternAnimation/BugsBunny's rabbit hole when Bugs accidentally gets his hands on his stolen money. Bugs falls for it initially. Once he realizes he's been had, it's bad news for Finster.
* All three Watterson children from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' can pull this off, but Darwin does it the best. In fact, in ''The Safety'', he becomes an all powerful dictator, just because everyone thinks he's too adorable to say no to.
* In ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', Brain once [[PaperThinDisguise disguises himself]] as an overly cute little ''girl'' to ([[OnceAnEpisode you guessed it...]]) TakeOverTheWorld.
* The one-shot characters called the Cuddlemuffins from ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey''. They pretend to be [[TastesLikeDiabetes very cute]] for Adam so that they can take his money to buy food pellets, which they do CONSTANTLY. Jake, Slips, and Windsor eventually help Adam when he sells his hair to pay the Cuddlemuffins off, but when they show up to act cute towards their next 3 victims, Adam stops it once and for all [[spoiler:by shaving off the Cuddlemuffins' coats, as well as his friends']].
* Pupert from ''WesternAnimation/TheBuzzOnMaggie'' is insanely good at this.
* Angelica Pickles from ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' acts this way around grown-ups. Around the babies, [[BitchInSheepsClothing it's another matter]].
* Suzy Johnson, Jeremy's little sister, from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. She fools her brother, but not Candice or Buford, who are both terrified of her.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', the villain Baby Doll tries this on Batman and others. However, because she is actually a woman in her late thirties with a [[NotGrowingUpSucks defect that prevents her from physically aging past 10 years old]], and is also [[AxCrazy completely out of her mind]], it doesn't work for her.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'', Cornelius Fillmore and Ingrid Third are on their way to a store to get evidence. By the time they get there, the store's closed. In order to charm the store owner into letting them in Ingrid, normally a PerkyGoth, announces, "I'm going to have to use my cute face. This won't be pretty." Later, Fillmore comments, "You sure took one for the team, Ingrid."
* June of ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam''. If you were to look at the "cute" act she puts on every once and a while, with no prior knowledge of her character, you wouldn't guess that she's one of the most (if not ''the'' most) hot-headed characters on the show.
* Appeared on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' when Jay's boss tried to improve his image. Jay suggests having his son appear on the show with him--but, rather than use Jay's actual son, his boss brings in a child actor whose cuteness comes complete with an "adowable" speech impediment. When Jay declares the kid "wepuwsive" the boy's voice goes down an octave, the impediment disappears, and he informs Jay (in a Brooklyn accent) that [[TradeSnark the speech impediment is trademarked]].
* Dot Warner of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' exploits her cuteness for all it's worth.
* Claire from ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'' is a twenty-one-year-old who looks eight, but she also talks and acts like she's eight, complete with an obsession for cuteness, and using words such as "sowwy". She's also an expert assassin.
* Wilykat and Wilykit in ''WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}}'' are {{Catfolk}} [[CuteKitten kittens]] depicted as a pair of {{Artful Dodger}}s who survived the slums of Thundera by playing up their cuteness when they weren't simply outsmarting and running circles around their targets. This is especially obvious when they first ask if they can tag along with Lion-O's group after Thundera is sacked, complete with FauxPaw and kittenish mewling.
* Gideon Gleeful of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' uses this whenever he can to get out of trouble.
** [[PolarOppositeTwins Dipper and Mabel]] do this to get more "Summerween" candy out of people when trick or treating. They even wear matching costumes.
--->'''Mabel''': Twins in costumes, the people eat it up.
* The ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Sweet N Sour" had one-shot villains which were three adorable baby animals who held up banks and jewelry stores. But since they were [[TastesLikeDiabetes SO CUTE]] the clerks in the store just give them everything, and if the Powerpuff Girls so much as come near them, THEY will be labeled as the bad guys. In truth, the three cute animals are rude, manipulative, greedy, and threaten the Girls that they will invoke this trope if they try and put them in jail. And they DO. They end up defeating them by making them think a kindergarten is a bank and they get cuddled and manhandled by a bunch of little kids.
* Darla Dimple in ''WesternAnimation/CatsDontDance''.
* {{Subverted}} on ''{{WesternAnimation/Daria}},'' when the title character is roped into babysitting the [[ChildrenAreInnocent ridiculously well-behaved]] Gupty kids.
-->'''Daria:''' Okay, you can drop the angel act.
-->'''Tricia:''' What do you mean?
-->'''Tad:''' ''(excitedly)'' Is it time to floss yet?
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Tom and Jerry}}'' cartoon, Nibbles qualifies as this.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', a young [[CreepyChild Princess Azula]] can put on this facade, contrasting with other behavior such as [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior throwing rocks at baby turtle ducks, burning a doll her uncle sent her as a gift and cheerfully telling her brother in a sing-song voice that their dad is planning to kill him]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Mr. Cat tries to {{invoke|d trope}} this trope, [[SubvertedTrope but it usually doesn't work]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', Manon is an expert at playing cute in order to keep Marinette wrapped around her little finger. Naturally, her Akumatized form, the Puppeteer, has the power to manipulate people.
* [[spoiler:Cozy Glow]] of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is an adorable little filly and a cunning power-hungry sinister sociopath who came dangerously close to victory and shows no remorse for her crimes.

[[/folder]]

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* Bubbles in ''Fanfic/TheUtoniumTrials'' still looks five even at age nine. She's a genuinely innocent kid but even she knows when it's best to lay it own thick and pretend to be more innocent than she actually is. When the Professor is under arrest for breaking the Neo-Tokyo Protocol, Bubbles' first instinct is to look like an adorable five year old to gain others trust.

* ConkersBadFurDay: There is a little girl trapped in the war laboratory, but she just uses that to lure the invading rodent special-ops teams into deadly ambushes. Said little girl is actually [[spoiler:grafted to a twenty-foot hulking monstrosity with multiple doomsday weapons equipped]]. You kill them both.

* We learn in JacoTheGalacticPatrolman that the entire Saiyan race is this trope. Saiyans have long childhoods to stay cute and young to throw off their enemies, thinking they're [[JustAKid harmless]], before quickly growing into their adult size. Which is why [[Franchise/DragonBall Goku]] looked so young when he was a child.

* Bubbles in ''Fanfic/TheUtoniumTrials'' still looks five even at age nine. She's a genuinely innocent kid but even she knows when it's best to lay it own thick and pretend to be more innocent than she actually is. When the Professor is under arrest for breaking the Neo-Tokyo Protocol, Bubbles first instinct is to look like an adorable five year old to gain others trust.

* Cozy Glow of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePony'' is an adorable little filly and a cunning power-hungry sinister sociopath who came dangerously close to victory and shows no remorse for her crimes.

[[/folder]]

* Appeared on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' when Jay's boss tried to improve his image. Jay suggests having his son appear on the show with him--but, rather than use Jay's actual son, his boss brings in a child actor whose cuteness comes complete with an "adowable" speech impediment. When Jay declares the kid "wepuwsive" the boy's voice goes down an octave, the impediment disappears, and he informs Jay (in a Brooklyn accent) that the speech impediment is trademarked.

--->'''Nibbler:''' Nothing acts that cute without some ulterior motive. ''[[[HypocriticalHumor starts acting cute in order to get Amy to change his diaper]]]''

** She clearly takes after who mother, who also uses cuteness and sexiness to mask her ruthless political backstabbing skill and Caligula-overshadowing omnicidal insanity.

* All three Watterson children from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' can pull this off, but Darwin does it the best. In "The Safety", he takes off ''his entire town'' just because everyone thinks he's too adorable to say no to.

* Pupert from ''WesternAnimation/TheBuzzOnMaggie'' is definitely this.

* All three Watterson children from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' can pull this off, but Darwin does it the best.

* Jerin of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' deliberately uses childish words [[spoiler: when he's kidnapped]], in order to make himself seem more harmless. He's 15, but lives in a world where boys are extremely sheltered because they're so rare, (and other boys of his age actually act like they're eleven or twelve) so it's somewhat believable. He never tries to pull this off in front of his own family, probably because his mothers taught him how to do it in the first place - they're descended from grandmothers who were spies.

* ConkersBadFurDay: There is a little girl trapped in the war laboratory. Said little girl is [[spoiler:grafted to a twenty-foot hulking monstrosity with multiple doomsday weapons equipped]]. You kill them both.

* We learn in JacoTheGalacticPatrolman that the entire Saiyan race is this trope. Saiyans have long childhoods to stay cute and young to throw off their enemies, thinking they're [[JustAKid harmless]], before quickly growing into their adult size. Which is why [[DragonBall Goku]] looked so young when he was a child.

* In the season 3 finale of ''Series/GameOfThrones'', {{Tomboy}} ActionGirl Arya Stark acts like a miserable, vulnerable, wide-eyed child in order to catch a soldier off guard. [[spoiler:She then [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior stabs him, repeatedly and viciously]], for his role in killing her mother and brother]].

---> Mabel: Twins in costumes, people eat it up.