History Main / PlayingWithPuppets

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]] is usually relatively responsible and [[ItOnlyWorksOnce economical]] with his HypnoticEyes, but during one of many [[HeroicBSOD emotional fits]], he commands some drug dealers to do push ups, squats, handstand (he quite [[SquishyWizard dislikes PE class]]), dance, howl and clap. The catch is that his mind control is ''permanent'' and forces the victim's body beyond its limits if necessary to carry out the command. And Lelouch did not specify a time limit.

[[folder:Film]]

* WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender has the water tribe member who is teaching Katara start doing this with Aang and Sokka, both to demonstrate how powerful bloodbending is and to force Katara to use bloodbending to stop her.
* ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'', "[[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesPuppetMaster Puppet Master]]": Puppet Master, who has just discovered what his radioactive clay can do, makes Reed's powers go out of control on TV.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', [[BigBad Slade]] gains access to [[spoiler: Terra]]'s powers via a special suit with neural interfaces, supposedly to [[spoiler: help her control her powers]]. But later when [[spoiler: Terra]] starts to have second thoughts, he uses the suit to practically hijack her body and forces her to fight her former LoveInterest while she's clearly in distress.

* Done in a variety of ways, and over the course of an entire day, to the main character of ''Heir Apparent'' by Vivian Van Velde. Under the control of a magical ring, she does indeed cluck like a chicken, not to mention singing "I'm a little teapot." Fortunately for her, the ResetButton is soon activated.

* In ''ComicBook/EarthX'', the Skull takes over the minds of everyone in America and most of the world's heroes. He's too inexperienced to do this on that vast a scale, but he has great fun with his superpowered army--[[PowerPerversionPotential especially pretty girls like MaydayParker]]. He is, however, squicked when Spiders Man and the Iron Maiden profess love for each other, and makes them stop.

* Spider Robinson's ''[[Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon Callahan's Lady]]''. A villain uses her MindControlDevice to force the people in Lady Sally's House to perform disgusting and embarrassing acts for her own amusement.
* The Imperius Curse in ''Literature/HarryPotter'', doesn't ''usually'' fit the trope because normally it's used to put [[TheMole moles]] in the Ministry, but Voldemort does ''try'' to use it to humiliate Harry at one point (in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]'') and earlier in the same book is the antics in defense against the dark arts class when [[spoiler: fake]] Moody is teaching them to resist said curse. Justified as it's stated that one has to ''enjoy'' dominating others for the curse to be at its most effective.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Plato's Stepchildren": The Platonians use their telekinetic powers to make the Enterprise crew members act in absurd and humiliating ways.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' has Scorpius taking control of [[VillainousGlutton Grunchlk's]] body with a MindProbe, and forcing him to [[{{Fingore}} eat two of his own fingers]]- partly for Scorpy's amusement, but mostly to get him to talk.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has Eric Doyle, whose superpower is controlling other people's actions with his mind. He uses this power to force Claire, Sandra, and Meredith into a twisted three-person game of Russian Roulette, among other things.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', [[BigBad Slade]] gains access to [[spoiler: Terra]]'s powers via a special suit with neural interfaces, supposedly to [[spoiler: help her control her powers]]. But later when [[spoiler: Terra]] starts to have second thoughts, he uses the suit to practically hijack her body and forces her to fight her former LoveInterest while she's clearly in distress.
* ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' - Under the control of a hypnotizing experiment he just captured, Experiment 625 and Hamsterviel force Gantu to: eat a peanut butter sandwich with sardines, hop on one foot and say 'blah, blah, blah', dance like a ballerina and say he's a 'big blubberhead', stick out his tongue and make spitting noises, and balance himself on a rolling pin while juggling sandwiches and a cake on his head....with a cherry on top. Lilo herself does this to her rival, Mertle, by using the same experiment to make her act like a chicken.
* ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'': Huey does this when he accidentally gets braces laced with mind-control head gear. He forces his brothers to pull their own underwear and act like monkeys, and then orders [[WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck Donald]] to recite Creator/WilliamShakespeare's soliloquies.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]] is usually relatively responsible and [[ItOnlyWorksOnce economical]] with his HypnoticEyes, but during one of many HeroicBSOD / VillainousBreakdown's he's subjected to, he commands some drug dealers to do push ups, squats, handstand (he quite [[SquishyWizard dislikes PE class]]), dance, howl and clap. The catch is that his mind control is ''permanent'' and forces the victim's body beyond its limits if necessary to carry out the command. And Lelouch did not specify a time limit.

* ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'': Huey does this when he accidentally gets braces laced with mind-control head gear. He forces his brothers to pull their own underwear and act like monkeys, and then orders [[DonaldDuck Donald]] to recite Creator/WilliamShakespeare's soliloquies.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the bully Nelson is fond of grabbing his victim (typically Milhouse), forcing him to slap himself, and taunting, "Hey, why are you hitting yourself?" This is, of course, a way of PlayingWithPuppets when you don't have any phlebotinum, and the idea came from bullies in [[TruthInTelevision real life]].

* In ''ComicBook/EarthX'', the Skull takes over the minds of everyone in America and most of the world's heroes. He's too inexperienced to do this on that vast a scale, but he has great fun with his superpowered army--[[PowerPerversionPotential especially pretty girls like MaydayParker]]. He is, however, [[HetIsEw squicked when Spiders Man and the Iron Maiden profess love for each other,]] and makes them stop.

* In [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney's]] ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', when Jafar takes over Agrabah, he humiliates Sultan and Jasmine with PeoplePuppets. One of his cut songs involved doing this to Aladdin.

* The Imperius Curse in ''Literature/HarryPotter'', doesn't ''usually'' fit the trope because normally it's used to put [[TheMole moles]] in the Ministry, but Voldemort does ''try'' to use it to humiliate Harry at one point (in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]'') and earlier in the same book is the antics in defense against the dark arts class when fake Moody is teaching them to resist said curse. Justified as it's stated that one has to ''enjoy'' dominating others for the curse to be at its most effective.

* ''Film/EllaEnchanted'': When Edgar demonstrates to Ella that he's aware of her curse (which forces her to obey any order she's given), he makes her touch her toes, jump up and down on the spot, and dance the Hokey-Cokey before getting on with his actual plan.

* ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'': Huey does this when he accidently gets braces laced with mind-control head gear. He forces his brothers to pull their own underwear and act like monkeys, and then orders [[DonaldDuck Donald]] to recite Creator/WilliamShakespeare's soliloquies.

* In ''AVeryPotterMusical'', Voldemort and Quirrell use the Imperio spell to make Harry dance during the song "Dance Again".

* Before turning the principal into CaptainUnderpants, George and Harold made him pretend to be a chicken and give them money with their hypnotic ring.

* In ''EarthX'', the Skull takes over the minds of everyone in America and most of the world's heroes. He's too inexperienced to do this on that vast a scale, but he has great fun with his superpowered army--[[PowerPerversionPotential especially pretty girls like MaydayParker]]. He is, however, [[HetIsEw squicked when Spiders Man and the Iron Maiden profess love for each other,]] and makes them stop.

* ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'', "Recap/PuppetMaster": Puppet Master, who has just discovered what his radioactive clay can do, makes Reed's powers go out of control on TV.

* In [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney's]] ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', when Jafar takes over Agrabah, he humiliates Sultan and Jasmine with PeoplePuppets. One of his cut songs involved doing this to Aladdin.

Compare HypnoFool, which is more benign and usually accidental. Not to be mistaken for ConsultingMisterPuppet.

Compare HypnoFool, which is more benign and usually accidental.

* ''FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'', "Recap/PuppetMaster": Puppet Master, who has just discovered what his radioactive clay can do, makes Reed's powers go out of control on TV.

* On TheSimpsons, the bully Nelson is fond of grabbing his victim (typically Milhouse), forcing him to slap himself, and taunting, "Hey, why are you hitting yourself?" This is, of course, a way of PlayingWithPuppets when you don't have any phlebotinum, and the idea came from bullies in [[TruthInTelevision real life]]. In one of the "Treehouse of Horror" specials, which parodies Literature/HarryPotter, he does use phlebotinum in the form of a magic wand, and he engages in the same mocking of Milhouse for "hitting himself."

* This trope was exaggerated for the creepy factor in TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth when the evil aliens took over ''every child on Earth'' to make them SpeakInUnison to deliver the aliens' ultimatum.

* On TheSimpsons, the bully Nelson is fond of grabbing his victim's (say, Millhouse), forcing Millhouse to slap himself, and taunting, "Hey, why are you hitting yourself?" This is, of course, a way of PlayingWithPuppets when you don't have any phlebotinum, and the idea came from bullies in [[TruthInTelevision real life]]. In one of the "Treehouse of Horror" specials, which parodies Literature/HarryPotter, he does use phlebotinum in the form of a magic wand, and he engages in the same mocking of Millhouse for "hitting himself."

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]] is usually relatively responsible and [[ItOnlyWorksOnce economical]] with his HypnoticEyes's, but during one of many HeroicBSOD / VillainousBreakdown's he's subjected to, he commands some drug dealers to do push ups, squats, handstand (he quite [[SquishyWizard dislikes PE class]]), dance, howl and clap. The catch is that his mind control is ''permanent'' and forces the victim's body beyond its limits if necessary to carry out the command. And Lelouch did not specify a time limit.