History Main / LittlePeople

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Lalafell 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 live in a WretchedHive of a MerchantCity filled with [[GladiatorGames blood sports]], vicious gangsters, corrupt merchants, {{Loan Shark}}s, {{Dirty Cop}}s and is run by TheSyndicate in a DecadentCourt that undermine their PuppetKing. 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 are [[RunningGag often noted]] to be the favorite food of larger monsters.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Lalafell 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 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 DecadentCourt that undermine their PuppetKing. 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 are [[RunningGag often noted]] to be the favorite food of larger monsters.

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). If any race of the Little People 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 Little People [[ChildMage are magic users]].

* ''Literature/CirqueDuFreak'': The Little People, created from the souls of the dead by Mr. Des Tiny to be his servants, are the true source in that universe of all of these legends around the world. They have stitched together grey skin, glowing green eyes set too high on their faces, no hair, no eyelids, no sense of smell or taste, no speech unless Tiny decides to bless them with it, and they must wear special masks because if they breathe the air, they'll die.

%%* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': The Matoran and Agori.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' 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.

* ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'': The Firbits are half the size of the protagonists, addicted to [[FrothyMugsOfWater grape juice]], and their eyes are always covered with [[BlindingBangs hair]] or [[OpaqueLenses glasses]]. While relatively mature, they have a habit of lapsing into childish responses, not unlike the Moon Folk from the [[VideoGame/DarkCloud previous game]].

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'': Tarutaru take the cuteness factor, throw in some {{Verbal Tic}}s, and aim for being as [[TastesLikeDiabetes adorable and sweet]] as possible. Thankfully, the {{Narm}}-factor whenever they try and act serious is enough to make up for this.

* Though not the comic relief variety, the beings from ''Superman And The Mole People'' (don't really fit the MoleMen trope because they aren't rodent-like, just like tiny humans mostly)

* ''Literature/CirqueDuFreak'': The small, blue-hooded, (mostly) mute Little People who work for Mr. Tiny. They're minor characters in the beginning, one of them, Harkat Mulds, quickly becomes a major character.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Ratlings, though they don't have much presence in the game besides being specialist snipers for the Imperial Guard.

%%* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' also has gnomes and dwarves as its Little People. Also goblins, but their only comic trait is their tendency to make things go boom. The Battle for Azeroth expansion adds the FoxFolk Vulpera, based on Fennec Foxes.

%%* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' also has gnomes and dwarves as its Little People. Also goblins, but their only comic trait is their tendency to make things go boom.

%%* ''Videogame/GranblueFantasy'' has the Harvins.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Lalafell 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 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. 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 are [[RunningGag often noted]] to be the favorite food of larger monsters.

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 Little People 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 Little People 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 Little People [[ChildMage are magic users]].

* The Deku Scrubs and the Fairies in ''Fanfic/TheBlueBlurOfTermina''.
* Although ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'' averted the trope by having no race of small folk, ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone'' rectified this lapse by having any number of small folk races running around the rebooted C'hou. Some outworlders are small folk as well, such as Theecat.

* The Munchkins of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.
* ''StarWars'' has Ewoks and Jawas.
* The Nelwyn, from the movie ''Film/{{Willow}}''.

* Along with the Munchkins, there's also the people of China Country in ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''.
* The TropeCodifier, of course, are Creator/JRRTolkien's Hobbits, and also Dwarves (''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Literature/TheHobbit'').

* In Creator/LloydAlexander's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' series, [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Doli]], [[TheEeyore Gwystal]] and the rest of TheFairFolk are smaller than humans in size.
* Warrows in the ''Mithgar'' series by Dennis [=McKiernan=] fit here.
* The Little People 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 Little People 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.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "The Web" our heroes encounter the Decima, a genetically-engineered ServantRace four-feet high on a planet [[DidNotThinkThisThrough covered in five-foot high bracken]].

[[AC:Tabletop [=RPGs=]]]
* Halflings and Gnomes serve this purpose in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' (and many other fantasy [=RPGs=]).
** The Dragonlance setting introduced the Kender, which served as a different take on the Little People 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".
** The Dwarves of the D&D settings were short, but they don't fit the cute or childlike part of the trope. They tend to be characterized as dour, tough, and warlike, and they tend to make good fighter characters.

* The Ratlings of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', though they don't have much presence in the game besides being specialist snipers for the Imperial Guard.
** Also, before their tragic death by Tyranid, the fabled Squats.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' also has Gnomes and Dwarves as its Little People.
** Also goblins, but their only comic trait is their tendency to make things go boom.
* Tarutaru in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' take the cuteness factor, throw in some {{Verbal Tic}}s, and aim for being as [[TastesLikeDiabetes adorable and sweet]] as possible. Thankfully, the {{Narm}}-factor whenever they try and act serious is enough to make up for this.
* The Lilties in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'' are a very small and cute race. They're also super-adorable (and can [[NoBiochemicalBarriers crossbreed with people]]). Oh, and they used to be TheEmpire and can be extremely hardy and gruff, are incredibly strong for their size, can forge some mean weaponry, and can hold a grudge with the best of dwarves. Do ''not'' cross a Lilty of you know what's good for you.
* 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 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. 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 are [[RunningGag often noted]] to be the favorite food of larger monsters.

* The comic relief bit is oh-so-averted in ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura''. 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]].
* The yordles from ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' are short humanoids who come in a number of variants; some are furry and animal-like, such as Teemo and Rumble, while others are more like small humans, such as Corki and Poppy.
* The Firbits in ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' are half the size of the protagonists, addicted to [[FrothyMugsOfWater grape juice]], and their eyes are always covered with [[BlindingBangs hair]] or [[OpaqueLenses glasses]]. While relatively mature, they have a habit of lapsing into childish responses, not unlike the Moon Folk from the [[VideoGame/DarkCloud previous game]].
* Everquest II has a vast array of little folks for players to take on, including five races (Fae, Arasai, Froglok, Gnome and Ratonga) who are half the height of humans or less!
* ''Videogame/GranblueFantasy'' has the Harvins, who are physically identical to the Lalafells.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Elves (both Christmas and cookie based) in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''.

* Koehnes (and the race of Sidhe she's from) in the Literature/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.
* The Proles in ''WebAnimation/LuckyDayForever''. This trope is used to show that they are the lower class of a society ruled by tall, rich Whites.

* The Matoran and Agori of ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}.''
* Several of the [[HiveCasteSystem gem castes]] in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' are about the size of young children, including Rubies, Sapphires, Peridots (at least the ones made in Era 2), Aquamarines, and Larimars. A few are even ''[[{{Lilliputians}} smaller]]''.

* The Munchkins of [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Oz]].

* Though not the comic relief variety,the beings from ''Superman And The Mole People'' (don't really fit the MoleMen trope because they aren't rodent-like, just like tiny humans mostly)

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

* {{Leprechaun}}s, natch.

* The Ratlings of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', though they don't have much presence in the game besides being specialist snipers for the Imperial Guard.

* Many mythical depictions of [[OurElvesAreBetter elves]] were like this ([[ChristmasElves Santa's elves]], for instance), until [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkien]] repopularized the 'tall' elves of ancient myth into modern fantasy.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has dwarfs, pictsies (ViolentGlaswegian smurfs), goblins (mostly peaceful edge folk with a surprising talent for mechanisms), and gnomes (the least detailed, although [[Discworld/TheLightFantastic the first to appear]], but known to be good shoemakers).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has Galvans, Grey Matter's species. Ditto and Echo Echo also are really small, but not as small as Grey Matter, and they share the duplication gimmick. In a bit of a subversion, Galvans are the setting's HigherTechSpecies, ruling over a vast technological empire and being responsible for building most of the cool ImportedAlienPhlebotinum, including one of the races Ben can turn into (Upgrade) and the Omnitrix itself.

* Though not the comic relief variety,the beings from ''SupermanAndTheMolePeople'' (don't really fit the MoleMen trope because they aren't rodent-like, just like tiny humans mostly)

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has Galvans, Grey Matter's species. Ditto and Echo Echo also are really small, but not as small as Grey Matter, and they share the duplication gimmick. In a bit of a subversion, Galvans are the setting's HighMen, ruling over a vast technological empire and being responsible for building most of the cool ImportedAlienPhlebotinum, including one of the races Ben can turn into (Upgrade) and the Omnitrix itself.

->'''Dr. Venture:''' Some people just shouldn't breed. Those're some ugly kids.
-> '''Brock:''' Kids? You're kiddin' right? They're achondroplastic dwarfs.
-> '''Dr. Venture:''' And they're almost as good as you or I and they deserve this camp as much as any kid here. You're such a racist.
-> '''Brock:''' They're not really a race, doc.
-> '''Dr. Venture:''' Will you listen to yourself, Hitler?
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''

Not to be confused with the [[WesternAnimation/LittlePeople animated series of the same name]]. Also not to be confused with RealLife little people, lest you sound like Dr. Venture above -- for tropes relating to humans with dwarfism, see LittlePeopleAreSurreal and DepravedDwarf.

* Though not the comic relief variety,the beings from ''SupermanAndTheMolePeople'' (don't really fit the MolePeople trope because they aren't rodent-like, just like tiny humans mostly)

* Along with the Munchkins, there's also the people of China Country in Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz.

* The Matoran and Agori of Toys/{{Bionicle}}

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' 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.