History Main / LittlePeople

[[AC:Live-Action Television]]
* ''Series/PitBoss'', a documentary series on Creator/AnimalPlanet that focuses on a talent agency based out of Los Angeles that specializes in and is run by little people that doubles as a non-profit pit bull rescue.

[[AC:Music]]
* Music/FrankZappa's song "The Torture Never Stops" from ''Music/ZootAllures'' features a "sinister little midget with a bucket and a mop", whose job it is to clean up the blood spilled during the tortures committed.
* Music/TomWaits also loves little people in his lyrics. He describes a one-armed dwarf in "Singapore" (''Music/RainDogs''), a German dwarf dancing with the butcher's son in "A Little Rain" (''Music/BoneMachine'') and mentions real life freakshow artist Lya Graf in "Lucky Day Overture" (''Music/TheBlackRider''). He also covered "Heigh Ho!" from ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' in ''Music/OrphansBrawlersBawlersAndBastards''.

* Koehnes (and the race of Sidhe she's from) in the WhateleyUniverse. She has just showed up on [[SuperheroSchool campus]] and set herself as servant to [[TheFairFolk Fey]] despite the fact that Fey has a roommate and lives in a dorm.

-->--''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''

Just about every fantasy world has at least one race whose defining characteristic is that they're short. They typically fill the role of "comic relief" in an adventuring group (when they're not the protagonists), and often serve as the "cute" race in a FiveRaces setup. Not always, though; the LittlePeople can be made to fit pretty much any of the FiveRaces, with the exception normally being High Men (that spot's always reserved for taller races). If any race of the LittlePeople is to be considered tall compared to the rest of those races, it's most likely gonna be a [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarf]]. Because they resemble a child, there's a good chance the LittlePeople [[ChildMage are magic users]].

* The LittlePeople in Robert E. Howard's and Arthur Machen's fiction (not related, but have very similar, if vague descriptions) are AlwaysChaoticEvil creatures that form a degenerate civilization in places where the Celtic people believed TheFairFolk to dwell, and occasionally kill people or rape women crossing their territory for [[ForTheEvulz no particular reason]]. The [[HalfHumanHybrid offspring]] born from the latter cases are always mentally retarded and physically [[BeautyEqualsGoodness at least slightly deformed]], and they seem to [[GeneticMemory subconsciously know the language of their fathers]] though how that is possible is never actually explained. There's more than a sprinkling of ReptilesAreAbhorrent associated with them as well, especially in the Howard story "Worms of the Earth".
* The LittlePeople who work for Mr. Tiny in the ''Literature/CirqueDuFreak'' series. While the small, blue-hooded, (mostly) mute Little People are minor characters in the beginning, one of them, Harkat Mulds, quickly becomes a major character.

** The Dragonlance setting introduced the Kender, which served as a different take on the LittlePeople at the time (even if it was considered the [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] race due to annoying players playing up the kender's natural curiosity, fearlessness, and kleptomania). This helped evolve the Halfling in later editions past "hobbits with the serial numbers filed off".

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' also has Gnomes and Dwarves as its LittlePeople.

[[AC:Live-Action Television]]
* ''Series/PitBoss'', a documentary series on AnimalPlanet that focuses on a talent agency based out of Los Angeles that specializes in and is run by little people that doubles as a non-profit pit bull rescue.

* The comic relief bit is oh-so-averted in ''{{Arcanum}}''. Gnomes are {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s who [[spoiler:organize the mass kidnapping and rape (by ogres) of human women to breed [[HalfHumanHybrid half-ogres]] for use as a bodyguard race]].

* In works by Creator/TerryPratchett, all the LittlePeople tend to be [[TheNapoleon violent and mean tempered]].

* The Matoran and Agori of {{Bionicle}}

-> '''Brock:''' Kids? You're kiddin' right? They're achondroplastic dwarves.

-->--'''Dr. Venture''' showing his sensitivity; ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''.

Just about every fantasy world has at least one race whose defining characteristic is that they're short. They typically fill the role of "comic relief" in an adventuring group (when they're not the protagonists), and often serve as the "cute" race in a FiveRaces setup. Not always, though; the LittlePeople can be made to fit pretty much any of the FiveRaces, with the exception normally being High Men (that spot's reserved for taller races, always). If any race of the LittlePeople is to be considered tall compared to the rest of those races, it's most likely gonna be a [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarf]]. Because they resemble a child, there's a good chance the LittlePeople [[ChildMage are magic users]].

Not to be confused with LittlePeopleAreSurreal, DepravedDwarf, or the [[WesternAnimation/LittlePeople animated series of the same name]]. Should be distinguished from RealLife little people, lest you sound like Dr. Venture above.

* ''TheLegendOfZeldaMinishCap'' gives you the titular Minish. Your NiceHat / ExpositionFairy [[spoiler:(who is a Minish himself, cursed by the BigBad into said hat form)]] also doubles as a way to shrink down to their size, thereby enabling interaction with them.

* The TropeCodifier, of course, are Creator/JRRTolkien's Hobbits, and also Dwarves (''LordOfTheRings'', ''Literature/TheHobbit'').

* In LloydAlexander's ''PrydainChronicles'' series, [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Doli]], [[TheEeyore Gwystal]] and the rest of TheFairFolk are smaller than humans in size.

* The LittlePeople who work for Mr. Tiny in the CirqueDuFreak series. While the small, blue-hooded, (mostly) mute Little People are minor characters in the beginning, one of them, Harkat Mulds, quickly becomes a major character.

* The ancestral High Ones in ''ElfQuest'' were as tall as humans, [[spoiler:being shapeshifting extraterrestrials]], but over the course of time many of their descendants evolved into shorter forms.

* The Lalafell in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' are a diminutive race of adorable childlike people that love their AddedAlliterativeAppeal. The Plainsfolk have a more standard history of being farmers and shepherds. But much like the Lilties the Dunesfolk of Ul'dah however live in a WretchedHive of a MerchantCity filled with [[GladiatorGames blood sports]], vicious gangsters, corrupt merchants, {{Loan Shark}}s, {{DirtyCop}}s and is run by TheSyndicate in a DeadlyDecadentCourt that undermine their PuppetKing and they also have an added bonus of having a history of violent racial strife. Both versions however have a history of being carried off by {{Giant Flyer}}s and tend to be the favorite food of larger monsters.

* Halflings and Gnomes serve this purpose in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' (and many other fantasy RPGs).

* Halflings and Gnomes serve this purpose in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''.

* The Oompa-Loompas of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' tend to be portrayed as this in ''adaptations''. In the original novel, they're {{Liliiputians}}.

* [[Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory Oompa-Loompas]].

* Halflings and Gnomes serve this purpose in ''DungeonsAndDragons''.

* Elves (both Christmas and cookie based) in ''SluggyFreelance''.

* ''{{Warcraft}}'' also has Gnomes and Dwarves as its LittlePeople.

[[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]], {{Hobbits}}, {{Leprechaun}}s, [[OurGnomesAreWeirder Gnomes]], ChristmasElves, and some [[TheFairFolk Fairies]] are specific subtropes. If these people are ''really'' little and are the main characters, it is a MouseWorld; for other mouse-sized people, see {{Lilliputians}}. Not to be confused with an [[WesternAnimation/LittlePeople animated series of the same name]].

Not to be confused with LittlePeopleAreSurreal or DepravedDwarf.

* [[CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory Oompah-Loompahs]]