History Main / PaperThinDisguise

* PaperThinDisguise/AnimatedFilms

* PaperThinDisguise/{{Film}}

!!Examples without subpages:

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Happens a few times in ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''. The most notable example is a polar bear with a penguin mask that doesn't even cover his whole face. And yet the penguins wonder why their numbers are diminishing.
* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'':
** Subverted when Calvin assumes (probably from seeing too many TV shows where this trope is in effect) that he'll be unrecognizable in his "Stupendous Man" costume, and is thoroughly confused and frustrated when it fools nobody. Especially funny is that his mom, one of the people he expects will be fooled, ''made the costume for him in the first place''.
** Calvin attempts to do this trope with Hobbes (wearing a trenchcoat with Hobbes on top) in order to sneak into an X-rated movie. Going by the ticket seller's remark in the final panel ("This is a new one."), she evidently did not fall for it.
** Calvin once donned a fake nose, glasses and mustache and when Mom came to ask him about a broken lamp, he altered his voice and asked, "Who ees thees Kahlveen?"
* ''ComicStrip/PricklyCity'': How to disguise a coyote as the Lost Bunny of the Apocalypse: bunny ears.
* Spoofed in ''ComicStrip/BrewsterRockitSpaceGuy'', where the [[IdiotHero dumber than bricks main character]] Brewster mistakes an alien that looks like Mr. Potato Head wearing just a wig for Lieutenant Pamela.
* Subverted in ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}''; Alice is clearly not fooled by the [[PointyHairedBoss PHB's]] disguise [[http://www.dilbert.com/2014-02-22/ here]], nor is his secretary fooled in [[http://www.dilbert.com/2014-02-24/ the following strip.]]
* In [[http://garfield.com/comic/1990-06-07 this]] ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' strip, Liz may not be fooled, but as the next day's strip showed, Jon sure is.
* In one series of ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' strips, Peppermint Patty enlisted Snoopy's help to find out who took her teacher's box of golden stars. Snoopy disguised himself as Patty and took her place in class; however, it was little more than a wig resembling Patty's hair. Still, it fooled her teacher ''and'' Marcie, although Marcie was a little suspicious. ("What kind of illness makes your nose grow but the rest of you shrink?" she mused.) Meanwhile, Patty's disguise while she looked for the box of stars was just as absurd; she put on a fake mustache and work clothes and posed as a janitor named "Hans Hanson". She didn't fool Marcie, but she did fool the teacher. (And she did manage to find the box of stars, which had fallen into a wastebasket. Ironically, Snoopy did so well in class, he got one on his test.)
* Parodied and Averted in a ''ComicStrip/{{Heathcliff}}'' strip where Heathcliff goes trick or treating on Halloween [[{{Irony}} wearing a devil costume]]:
-->'''Fish store owner:''' Heathcliff! I recognized you right away!
* The crocs do this often in ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine''. They never fool anyone.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Podcast/DiceFunk: Rinaldo concocts an entire alter ego, only for it to immediately fall apart under the slightest bit of scrutiny.
-->'''Leon:''' I'm Filet Mignon from Pottsylvania!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
* The late Linda Smith had a routine complaining about the use of this trope in opera: "Someone puts on a big hat and suddenly no-one can recognize them, even people who they've been talking to for half an hour. If that worked in real life, the witness protection program would consist of a selection of headgear."
[[/folder]]

* Kaine's "imposter". In 2006, Wrestling/Kaine feuded with an imposter who was wearing his old mask (but didn't look anything at all like him otherwise) who beat the actual Kaine several times using his old moves. While it was obvious to fans who was who, nobody affiliated with the actual WWE could tell them apart. (Probably why they were content to drop the storyline without even revealing who he was after Kaine ''did'' kick the phony's ass.)

%% Image moved to Video Games subpage per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1360054887073940100

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/ScoobyDooMonstersUnleashed http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paperthindisguise.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Glasses + Wig + Necklace + Clothes = Human]]

While this is not quite a DiscreditedTrope, these days Paper Thin Disguises are parodied as often as they are used seriously. The trope is still an important dramatic convention in live theater and opera productions -- where a really good disguise would render the character unidentifiable from the cheap seats, and be beyond the scope of the prop budget to boot -- but is usually employed along with some kind of nod to audience acknowledging the absurdity. This can sometimes be exaggerated for comedic effect, for example wearing bunny ears and becoming indistinguishable from a real rabbit, or pretending to be an ancient statue by simply [[NobodyHereButUsStatues standing still in a specific pose]]. Children's shows still employ this trope regularly without any parody element.

** ''Trials and Tribulations'' subverts this with [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] when she appears to turn up in ''"Bridge to the Turnabout"'' with a different hair colour and nun's garments (retaining the same hairstyle and mannerisms, thus the PaperThinDisguise). The subversion? [[spoiler:It's actually her twin sister.]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paperthindisguise.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Glasses + Wig + Necklace + Clothes = Human]]

** Furio Tigre disguises himself as Phoenix Wright in order to frame someone for murder. This 'disguise' consists of a suit, a fake attorney's badge (''made of cardboard!'') and loudly proclaiming himself to be Phoenix Wright. It works despite every major player in the case knowing Phoenix personally. Because they have the same [[AnimeHair hairstyle]]. ... Furio Tigre is ''[[http://aceattorney.wikia.com/wiki/Furio_Tigre huge and orange.]]'' The defendant mentions that everyone in the courtroom had "big question marks on their faces" when Not Phoenix made his appearance, but every time someone tried to point this out, Furio [[ScreamingWarrior literally roared them into silence]]. Even more bizarrely, the disguise is apparently good enough to ''fool the player'' -- the first you see of Furio Tigre is in the chapter intro where Phoenix Wright loses a case... and he's rendered as completely indistinguishable from the real Phoenix.

*** In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', another character, [[spoiler:the international master spy only known as the "phantom" has disguised himself as a police officer named "Bobby Fulbright" (he killed the real one) and even has a mask of Phoenix' face. Unlike Tigre, he pulls the act very well, even imitating his voice. And phantom is a far greater menace to society in comparison to Tigre (a loan shark who solely relies on intimidation vs an international master spy '''incapacable of feeling emotions like normal people'''.]]

->''"Mr. Burns, it '''was''' naive of you to think I'd mistake this town's most prominent 104-year-old man for one of my elementary school students."''

* In ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'''s "Safe" ending, [[spoiler:Junpei pulls one on Ace, revealing the latter as the villain. Justified in that Ace suffers from prosopagnosia (better explained in the Real Life subpage) and cannot tell faces apart at all, which means Junpei only needed to get the clothes of another "player" to impersonate that person successfully.]]

The external reason for the flimsy disguise may be that the creators want to signal the presence of a disguise to the audience before the other characters catch on (a sort of ReverseWhodunnit). Sometimes, the character may also be a SpecialGuest the director wants to get their money out of. All the same, you often get TheReveal staged in such a way to make it clear that the director really thought [[ViewersAreMorons you wouldn't have worked it out by now]]. For the more perceptive viewers, it's a case of TheUntwist.

* PaperThinDisguise/Advertising

[[folder:Advertising]]
* The Trix rabbit has tried about a million of these. Subverted in that they never work for more than a few seconds, and the few that do work are foiled by the Rabbit's [[GRatedDrug undeniable addiction]] to the cereal.
** One ''good'' disguise the Trix Rabbit once used was to somehow turn himself into a cute, adorable bunny (they used a ''real'' rabbit in the commercial) and changed tactics, not talking at all and simply trying to sneak up on the kids. Unfortunately, his addiction to it gave him away as it always did.
** Similarly, [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Barney Rubble]] in the Pebbles commercials, who's been doing this ''since 1978''. Though Barney has had his share of [[LatexPerfection ultra-realistic disguises involving rubber masks]]; the only time the Trix rabbit did so was in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plmFkZHjt6Y this infamous commercial]].
*** This 1972 commercial was one of the first to show Barney pulling this stunt. In this case the '''ONLY''' change was putting a fake beard on. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrlxFBGdrzw And he still managed to fool Fred]].
* An ad for cheap cell phone service featured a woman who was saving money for her expensive cell plan by having her son travel free on a plane trip. She'd dressed him in a floppy-eared Halloween costume and stuffed him inside a pet carrier; hearing them converse, a baggage handler marvels at the "talking dog".
* The dog from the Bush's Baked Beans commercials once appeared in a labcoat and false mustache, posing as a food science researcher. For those who haven't seen these ads, be aware that the dog is a ''real'' golden retriever, not a cartoon mascot. He's also shown up as a BedsheetGhost of the recipe owner's grandfather, but is revealed when the man explains, "Grandpa didn't have a tail."
* Seen in a TV ad for Speedway, featuring a contest for their Speedy Rewards card loyalty card. A man keeps coming in and using his card, wearing a series of ridiculous disguises. Finally, the clerk, who isn't fooled for a minute, tells the customer that he can use the same card as many times as he wants and still be entered in the contest each time. MST3KMantra, since if you think about it for more than a few seconds, you realize that no matter how well he disguises ''himself'', the card always carries the same computerized details about his identification. (Then again, he might not be smart enough to realize that.)
* A Dunkin' Donuts ad had Fred the Baker(who's a portly little guy with a moustache) spying at a rival donut place dressed as a woman, coyly holding a hand over his moustache and not fooling the anxious counter man.
* In one UsefulNotes/McDonalds commercial from the '70s, Ronald dresses up as a mailman to thwart an attempt by Grimace ([[CharacterizationMarchesOn who was evil at this time]]) to steal some milkshakes. The disguise is little more than a hat.
* One of the ''[[Film/TheNakedGun Naked Gun]]''-type ads for Red Rock Cider has the ComedicHero working undercover in an ice cream van called "Mr Policey" and labelled UNMARKED POLICE CAR. This naturally leads to a VisualPun where a customer asks for a couple of cones and gets two traffic cones instead.
-->'''Frank Drebin:''' A hot tip led Sgt. Doughray and me to Ascot. We mingled unobtrusively for a while before dividing forces. ''(Doughray and Drebin are wearing dark men's suits and fancy ladies' hats.)''
* Subverted in a commercial bumper for Creator/CartoonNetwork. A cop is chasing a thief down the street and the thief ducks in an alley. The cop follows him to find the thief dressed in drag, and tries to flirt with him. [[RealityEnsues The cop isn't fooled for a second and promptly arrests him.]] A caption then appears saying "You are not WesternAnimation/BugsBunny."
* At the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, newbie game developer Joakim Mogren and his studio, [[MeaningfulName Moby Dick]], surprised everyone by showing a trailer for what seemed to be a stealth/horror game called The Phantom Pain. By the end of the trailer, fans had deduced that [[spoiler:Joakim was an anagram for [[Creator/HideoKojima Kojima]] and Mogren was a reference to his mysterious Project Ogre, identifying the main character from the trailer as Naked Snake. Finally, the negative space in The Phantom Pain's logo? It happens to perfectly fit the words [[MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Metal Gear Solid V]].]] Despite all this being figured out immediately, [[spoiler:Kojima]] kept the ruse up until the real game and the real developer, [[spoiler:Kojima Productions, obviously,]] was finally announced at GDC 2013.
[[/folder]]

* It's not unusual for disguises to ''seem'' paper-thin on stage, a dramatic convention to make allowance for limited props and budget. WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief is encouraged in this scenario.
* In Ken Ludwig's ''Lend Me a Tenor'', the theater manager's assistant Max disguises himself as the visiting tenor Tito Merelli after Tito is found dead in his hotel room. This works on the opera's audience, as they have never seen the real Tito and won't know the difference. However, Tito's NotQuiteDead, and is running around Cleveland in the same costume Max is wearing (Tito brought two identical costumes). Saunders, the manager, runs into Tito several times without realizing the costumed tenor is not Max, despite Max and Tito, even in costume, looking nothing alike.

Also see ConspicuousTrenchcoat, NotAZombie, NewspaperThinDisguise, ClarkKenting, MrSmith, HughMann, HoldingBothSidesOfTheConversation, CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown, and MostDefinitelyNotAVillain. Contrast with FullBodyDisguise and LatexPerfection.

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In one episode of the Podcast/TheJohnDredgeNothingToDoWithAnythingShow, regular character Derek [[Characters/DoctorWhoAliensAndMonsters Dalek]] tries passing himself off as Derek Dolak - but not very successfully, because even John grows suspicious:
-->'''John''': I must say, you rather remind me of someone.\\
'''Derek''': Well, I am well known locally.\\
'''John''': Your telescopic manipulator arm in particular looks familiar.\\
'''Derek''': What? This little thing? (''boing'')\\
'''John''': Yes.\\
'''Derek''': It's just there for show, John! JUST! THERE!! FOR!! SHOW!!! (''exterminates a tree'')
[[/folder]]

* At the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, newbie game developer Joakim Mogren and his studio, [[MeaningfulName Moby Dick]], surprised everyone by showing a trailer for what seemed to be a stealth/horror game called The Phantom Pain. By the end of the trailer, fans had deduced that [[spoiler:Joakim was an anagram for [[Creator/HideoKojima Kojima]] and Mogren was a reference to his mysterious Project Ogre, identifying the main character from the trailer as Naked Snake. Finally, the negative space in The Phantom Pain's logo? It happens to perfectly fit the words [[MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Metal Gear Solid V]].]] Despite all this being figured out immediately, [[Spoiler:Kojima]] kept the ruse up until the real game and the real developer, [[spoiler:Kojima Productions, obviously,]] was finally announced at GDC 2013.