History Main / SurprisinglyFunctionalToys

* Played with in ''Literature/SixtyEightRooms'' using a magical key that only shrinks a girl who holds it - along with anyone else in physical contact. Not only do the miniatures in the Thorne rooms work, including a violin that plays and an awesomely comfy bed, the painted backgrounds are transformed into portals to the time period whichever room is dedicated to. However, a certain miniature object must be present for the portal to function.

* Justified in ''Film/AntMan1''. Hank Pym blows a tank keychain up to normal size and uses it to bust out of a building, but his line to the effect of "this isn't a keychain" indicates that it's an actual tank that he shrank to keychain-size in the first place. Averted with the TraintopBattle involving the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' toy, as it stays well within a toy train's capabilities and merely runs around a circular track.

* Played straight in the ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E110Miniature Miniature]]". The single doll woman comes alive and starts playing a piano, two other people show up, and at the end, the main character Charlie Parkes shrinks and joins the woman, sharing a stereoscope.

* ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}''. After Adam is shrunk down to a couple of inches tall, he drives a toy truck that handles and sounds like a real truck. The HandWave being that Betelgeuse had been using the Maitlands' scale model of their town as his hideout, and he and other ghosts have the supernatural ability to add in whatever stuff they want.

* ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}''. After Adam is shrunk down to a couple of inches tall, he drives a toy truck that handles and sounds like a real truck.

* {{Justified|Trope}} in UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}} adventures of Doll Man: the protagonist (who can [[IncredibleShrinkingMan shrink to six inches tall]]) eventually obtains a gas-powered model airplane, and modifies it to have functional controls. (Inevitably, it's dubbed the [[ThemeMobile Doll Plane]].)

* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'';

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Semi-averted in ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E9NightTerrors Night Terrors]]"; the dollhouse itself is way too realistic, but contains fake food and wooden frying pans.

* Played straight in the ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "Miniature". The single doll woman comes alive and starts playing a piano, two other people show up, and at the end, the main character Charlie Parkes shrinks and joins the woman, sharing a stereoscope.

* ''WebOriginal/SCPFoundation'': [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-115 SCP-115]] is a plastic toy dump truck that functions exactly like a real dump truck, except that it's smaller. It weighs about 90 tons, can carry 120 tons, and runs on diesel fuel.

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* Justified in a ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' NonSerialMovie - a pint-sized alien crash-lands near Nobita's house, and Doraemon uses his pocket full of goodies to create a fully functional living space out of one of Shizuka's dollhouses.

When a character is [[IncredibleShrinkingMan shrunken]] or is naturally under three inches tall, and said character encounters a recognizable object scaled to the character's tiny size, the object will retain the function and properties of the full-sized object, SquareCubeLaw and LawOfConservationOfDetail be damned. For example, characters small enough to fit in a ''Toys/HotWheels'' car will be able to actually drive it as if it were a real car, characters the right size for a dollhouse will be able to actually cook with the plastic kitchen appliances, and so on. This is much easier to HandWave away in stories that involve shrinking characters, since some type of [[AWizardDidIt magic]] or AppliedPhlebotinum is obviously already in play.

* The ''Misterjaw'' cartoon "Shark and the Beanstalk" involves the titular shark and his catfish sidekick [[Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk encountering a giant in a castle]]. After a lengthy chase, the two find a room filled with toys and make their escape from the castle using a toy plane to fly off.
* The miniature boat used by WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale in the short "Chips Ahoy!", one can only guess why a former Ship in a Bottle is equipped with miniature captain and sailor outfits for the chipmunks to use, a miniature mop and a bucket, a fully functional miniature water pump, fully equipped cabin quarters, a rather heavy miniature anchor (as WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck [[AgonyOfTheFeet found the hard way]]) and a rudder that's actually connected to the ship's wheel.

* The 1941 Warner Brothers cartoon ''The Brave Little Bat'' opens with Sniffles the Mouse driving in a toy car through the countryside. The car breaks down and literally falls apart, forcing Sniffles to take shelter in a nearby barn.

* [[https://www.mbandf.com/en/parallel-world/a-working-scale-model-ferrari-the-perfect-present A telecom engineer by the name of Pierre Scerri]] spent 20,000 hours over 12 years building a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeUMDY01uUA fully functional 1/3 scale replica of a Ferrari 312 PB.]] Each and every part of the original car was reproduced in the model, including a working engine and transmission.

** The movie runs into a lot of this with the Roman and Western displays, presumably {{Handwave}}d due to the tablet magic.

* Somewhat inverted and played with in ''Anime/PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea'' where, instead of shrinking, a toy boat is expanded until it's big enough to carry two young children, and works perfectly well. This is all part of the magic, of course. Played with when a couple of items are left in the boat when it shrinks back, really ''do'' become perfect miniatures.

** Averted, however, with Jebediah's useless plastic guns. "Now you know Jebediah's secret shame."

* Justified in ''Film/AntMan1''. Hank Pym blows a tank keychain up to normal size and uses it to bust out of a building, but his line to the effect of "this isn't a keychain" indicates that it's an actual tank that he shrank to keychain-size in the first place. Averted with the TraintopBattle involving the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' toy, as it stays well within a toy train's capabilities and merely runs around a circular track.

** ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum2'' has a ''fully functional'' model plane, and judging by the urgency involved in trying to stop it, a ''space rocket.'' Bear in mind they're at the Smithsonian.

* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'' runs into a lot of this with the Roman and Western displays, presumably {{Handwave}}d due to the tablet magic. (Though that doesn't explain the RC car.) Averted, however, with Jebediah's useless plastic guns. "Now you know Jebediah's secret shame." The sequel has a ''fully functional'' model plane, and judging by the urgency involved in trying to stop it, a ''space rocket.'' Bear in mind they're at the Smithsonian.

* Justified in a ''Anime/{{Doraemon}}'' NonSerialMovie - a pint-sized alien crash-lands near Nobita's house, and Doraemon uses his pocket full of goodies to create a fully functional living space out of one of Shizuka's dollhouses.

* Justified in ''Literature/TheIndianInTheCupboard'' series; toy objects don't work ''as they are'', but can be turned into functional versions of themselves through the same "magic of the cupboard" that brings toy people to life. For example, putting a toy doctor's bag in the cupboard turns it into a fully-stocked medical kit, and toy guns (unfortunately) turn into functional guns.

* Justified in ''Film/AntMan''. Hank Pym blows a tank keychain up to normal size and uses it to bust out of a building, but his line to the effect of "this isn't a keychain" indicates that it's an actual tank that he shrank to keychain-size in the first place. Averted with the TraintopBattle involving the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' toy, as it stays well within a toy train's capabilities and merely runs around a circular track.

* Averted in ''Literature/TheRescuers'' series of children's novels (the inspiration for [[Disney/TheRescuers the Disney movies]]). In the novels Miss Bianca is the pet of an ambassador's son, so she lives in a dollhouse, but most other objects are not simply mouse-scaled props, but are indeed fabricated from other objects. For example, spools of thread are used as chairs, the salt shakers are really thimbles with bottoms attached, combs leaned against piles of books are staircases, and so forth. This happens in the movies as well a bit, but most of the props there are literally shrunken versions of human objects.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', Link's equipment stays with him as he grows and shrinks. Some things, like rupees, are the same size relative to Link, regardless of how big Link is!

* Justified in ''Film/AntMan''. Hank Pym blows a tank keychain up to normal size and uses it to bust out of a building, but his line to the effect of "this isn't a keychain" indicates that it's an actual tank that he shrank to keychain-size in the first place. Averted with the TraintopBattle involving the Thomas the Tank Engine toy, as it stays well within a toy train's capabilities and merely runs around a circular track.