History Main / ScreenTap

* WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}} did this in one of his movie's promos, accidentally cracking the screen.

* [[{{Deadpool}} Sometimes, in my game]] ''MarvelVsCapcom3'' I'll shake the screen and berate the player (that's you) for your laziness after winning a fight.

* In the patient select screen of DieAnstalt, Lilo will sometimes tap on the screen with one of his blocks.

* Happens on ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}.''

** This trend is carried on in both "Meet The Medic" and "Meet The Pyro", albeit being a bit of a fake-out (the "screens" he runs into ends up being a window and a camera, respectively). Even though the "Meet The Director" comic establishes that these cameras exist in-universe, it's still in line with his personality being aware of BreakingTheFourthWall (i.e. acknowledging that he's a character class, referring to the base as a "map", and teasing his opponents about ragequitting).

* In 1991, after Bo Jackson broke his hip, Nike ran a new "Bo Knows" [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOVHVII4tXI commercial]] showing him training to get back into shape. DenisLeary, the narrator, ends the commercial by saying "I think you hear me knocking, and I think I'm coming in, and I'm bringing Bo and his big bad hip with me" before knocking on the screen twice.

* In a TV spot for ''[[SlyCooper Sly 2: Band of Thieves]]'', Sly taps the screen with his cane and asks "So, uh... you in?"

* The German [[LongRunners long-running]] micro-series ''Aeffle und Pferdle''[[hottip:*:a series of very short -- ca. 9 seconds -- animations used as fillers or spacers between commercials]] did this often... sometimes with Aeffle banging on the screen demanding that the viewers wake up, and once with Aeffle trying to wash the screen with a squeegee, only to have Pferdle admonish him that he's risking getting water in the viewer's TV.

* In ''LimboOfTheLost'', the hero will tap the screen to get your attention if you spend too much time doing nothing. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that, unlike most video games, you are actually a character: his guardian, who is guiding him.
* In ''[[PacMan Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures]]'', Pac-Man will tap the screen if you leave the game paused for too long.

* If the player idles for too long in Ken Griffey Junior's Winning Run, the umpire will turn around, tap the screen with a baseball, and say "Play the game, kid."
* ''SimonTheSorcerer'', Simon does this to show the player he is 'getting bored' when the player does nothing for too long.

* The main menu of ''VideoGame/LEGORacers'' has a LEGO character (specifically the next circuit champion you have to beat) on it, dancing around. If you wait long enough, the character will bang on the screen in a sort of ContinueYourMissionDammit.

* The first series of [[Victor Lewis-Smith]]'s ''[[Ads Infinitum]]'' opens with an animated Victor proclaiming "Hello, my name is Victor, I am a TV critic, and I live inside your television." He then taps several times on the screen with his remote control, accidentally smashing it on the last tap.

[[quoteright:350:[[TheCartoonChroniclesOfConroyCat http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/breakingda4thwall_5132.png]] ]]

* The Microsoft Office Paper Clip.

-->I'm Mr. Opportunity, ''knocks on glass'' and I'm knockin'!

* ''BubsyTheBobcat'', at least in the first of his games, knocked on the screen as one of his {{Idle Animation}}s. In a nice little touch, [[ScreenShake the screen even ''shook'']] when he did it.

* Daniel Tiger Jr. will nuzzle the screen in WesternAnimation/DanielTigersNeighborhood.

[[folder:{{Video Games}}]]

* ''{{Bubsy the Bobcat}}'', at least in the first of his games, knocked on the screen as one of his {{Idle Animation}}s. In a nice little touch, [[ScreenShake the screen even ''shook'']] when he did it.

* [[{{Deadpool}} Sometimes, in my game]] ''MarvelVsCapcom 3'' I'll shake the screen and berate the player (that's you) for your laziness after winning a fight.

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[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* [[FindingNemo "Find a happy place! Find a happy place!"]]

* [[HomeStarRunner Strong Bad]], in a bid to escape the [[BreakingTheFourthWall 'tiny box,']] actually 'breaks' your screen at the end of many of the "Podstar" versions of the episodes.