History Main / DontLookDown

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vertigo-photography-6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Just another day at the office.]]

* ''Series/AlteredCarbon''. Takeshi Kovacs gets thrown off a cliff for the cliffhanger ending of "I Wake Up Screaming". In the next episode, he wakes up to hear Trepp Imani telling him repeatedly: ''"Don't'' move, ''don't'' look down, ''don't'' open your left hand." Turns out his left hand is clutching onto a tiny ledge on the cliff face, thanks to the subconscious survival instincts built into his [[SuperSoldier military-grade body]].

* One example in ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' when the fighters get to the forest zone they're teleported there, several hundred feet up in the air. At first they wonder where the zone is (since when they're teleported there there's nothing there at all. Then Taiki decides to look down. He then tells the one person in their party with a height phobia how his fear of heights is doing then tells him this trope's name. Cue GravityIsAHarshMistress.

* Inverted in a different manner in an episode of ''{{LightNovel/Slayers}}''. The gang is clinging to a rope across a chasm, and Filia tells Gourry to not look ''up''. This is because he's holding on to her legs and she's wearing a dress.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' says this to Donkey as they're crossing the RopeBridge to Dragon's castle. When Donkey looks down and freaks out, Shrek teases him and has a good laugh about it.

* Used hilariously in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': Helen and Jack-Jack are falling, with a huge explosion above them, and Helen reassures Jack-Jack in this way.

'''Durkon:''' Dinnae look down, dinnae look down, dinnae look down...

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' says this to Donkey as they're crossing the rope bridge to Dragon's castle. When Donkey looks down and freaks out, Shrek teases him and has a good laugh about it.

* ''WesternAnimation/Chowder'' features [[IronButtMonkey Shnitzel]] trying to cross over to a rooftop by balancing on a chain hanging between two buildings, with Mung not helping in the least.

* ''Free Solo'' is a film about the mountaineer Alex Honnold. In a Q&A session in the DVDBonusContent, he is asked if he ever looks down. He replies that he has to look where he puts his feet, so he is continuously looking down.

-->-- '''Bill Rago''' (Danny [=DeVito=]), ''Renaissance Man''

%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'': Timothy Mouse to the title character.
* Used hilariously in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': Helen and Jack-Jack are falling, with the huge explosion above them, and Helen reassures Jack-Jack in this way.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''Disney/{{Dumbo}}'': Timothy Mouse to the title character.

* Used hilariously in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': Helen and Jack-Jack are falling, with the huge explosion above them, and Helen reassures Jack-Jack in this way.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'': The Marquis de Carabas says this to Richard, who, predictably, doesn't listen. It doesn't help that they're underground, and Richard doesn't expect to [[AlienGeometries suddenly find himself high up.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* {{Lampshaded}} in WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries episode "The Lost Ones", after Al & co. go through a magic portal into a place that seems to be in midair.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'':
** Done in the episode "The Big Candy Store":
--->'''Dot:''' Don't look down! You might fall and hit your head and die and your brains would leak out all over!
** Also used in ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'':
--->'''Yakko:''' Whoa! Just don't look down.\\
'''Wakko:''' Do you get vertigo?\\
'''Yakko:''' No.\\
'''Wakko:''' Me neither.\\
'''Yakko:''' Yeah, I've seen [[Film/{{Vertigo}} that movie]] three times and I ''still'' don't get it.

* Zig-zag: In the ''WesternAnimation/LaffALympics'' episode taking place at the Grand Canyon, Huckleberry Hound uses this reasoning as to why the tightrope walk across the canyon doesn't make him nervous.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' in "The Neptune Adventure"
-->'''Lenny:''' ''[on the ladder; panicking]'' Whatever you do, don't look down! I mean up! I can't do this anymore! It's too confusing! ''[falls to his death]''\\
'''Carl:''' It's not that confusing.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'': in "Under Construction" (about engineering), Wanda says this to Arnold as he's [[ItMakesSenseInContext slowly crawling across a suspension bridge made of Q-tips, dental floss, and bandages over a bathtub with a baby alligator in it.]] He looks down, alligator snaps jaws shut, and Arnold books it to the other side.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', after [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie's]] antics allowed [[CowardlyLion Fluttershy]] to temporarily get over her fear of heights in "Dragonshy", she finally attempts to jump over a mountain chasm only for Twilight Sparkle to say this phrase as words of encouragement. Sure enough, Fluttershy does just that and immediately loses her momentum in fright, causing her to drop like a rock... on top of a narrow gap that she could have just walked over.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', Ron says this to ''himself'' as he's being chased through a towering collection of machinery in Drakken's lair, and promptly steps on and breaks through a flimsy grillwork, falling into the tube it is covering.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', Bulkhead gets a little nervous when going out to fight in space. "Don't look down. Or up. Or left."

* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'': Doc to Clara.
* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings: The Two Towers'' - Frodo to Sam.
** Also done humorously in the third film when Aragorn tells Gimli not to look down because they were walking on skulls.
* ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' (1972) - Reverend Scott to Linda Rogo.
* ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' (2005): Ray Ferrier

* In ''Film/AceVentura: When Nature Calls'', Ace tells the racoon that he's rescuing not to look down the crevice that they're roping across. Naturally, the racoon looks down.

* One example in ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' when the fighters get to the forest zone they're teleported there, several hundred feet up in the air. At first they wonder where the zone is (since when they're teleported there there's nothing there at all. Then Mikey decides to look down. He then tells the one person in their party with a height phobia how his fear of heights is doing then tells him this trope's name. Cue GravityIsAHarshMistress.

[[folder: Anime & Manga ]]

[[folder: Films -- Animated ]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Music ]]
* The 80s music group Go West has the trope as the [[TitleDrop title]] as well as the lyrics:
-->''Don't look down, girl! (Don't look down!)''
--->''You know you're holding aces''
-->''Don't look down, girl! (Don't look down!)''
--->''Don't give the game away!''

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

--> '''Elan''': Woooooo! Wind Walk is the best cleric spell ever!!!
--> '''Durkon''': Dinnae look down, dinnae look down, dinnae look down...

* Done in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' episode "The Big Candy Store":
-->'''Dot''': Don't look down! You might fall and hit your head and die and your brains would leak out all over!

-->'''Yakko''': Whoa! Just don't look down.
-->'''Wakko''': Do you get vertigo?
-->'''Yakko''': No.
-->'''Wakko''': Me neither.
-->'''Yakko''': Yeah, I've seen [[Film/{{Vertigo}} that movie]] three times and I ''still'' don't get it.
* WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and Creator/HannaBarbera cartoons, which combine ToonPhysics with GravityIsAHarshMistress. The classic case: a cartoon character can run over or stand on thin air untill he realizes something is wrong and looks down. Only then does gravity take over.
** Zig-zag: In the ''WesternAnimation/LaffALympics'' episode taking place at the Grand Canyon, Huckleberry Hound uses this reasoning as to why the tightrope walk across the canyon doesn't make him nervous.

-->'''Lenny:''' ''(on the ladder; panicking)'' Whatever you do, don't look down! I mean up! I can't do this anymore! It's too confusing! ''(falls to his death)''
-->'''Carl:''' It's not that confusing.

-->'''Anais''' ''(while telling Gumball and Darwin to cross a log)'': It's OK, just don't look down.
-->''(Gumball and Darwin look down)''
-->'''Gumball''': AAAHHH! Why did you do that?!
-->'''Anais''': What? I said, ''don't'' look down.
-->''(Gumball and Darwin look down again)''
-->'''Gumball''': AAAHHH! You did it again!!
* In WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Bulkhead gets a little nervous when going out to fight in space. "Don't look down. Or up. Or left."