History Main / Thumbelina

'''''Thumbelina''''' can refer to the following works:

* ''Literature/Thumbelina1835'', the fairy tale from Creator/HansChristianAndersen.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Thumbelina}}'' (1994), the animated adaptation by Creator/DonBluth.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThumbelinaGoldenFilms'' (1992), a Golden Films version.

* ''Literature/Thumbelina(1835)'', the fairy tale from Creator/HansChristianAndersen.

* ''Literature/{{Thumbelina(1835)'', the fairy tale from Creator/HansChristianAndersen.

* ''Literature/{{Thumbelina}}'' (1835), the fairy tale from Creator/HansChristianAndersen (currently no page).

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* "Literature/{{Thumbelina}}" (1835), the fairy tale from Creator/HansChristianAndersen (currently no page).

* "Thumbelina" (1835), the fairy tale from Creator/HansChristianAndersen (currently no page).

'''''Thumbelina''''' is the name of two works:
* "Thumbelina", the fairy tale from Creator/HansChristianAndersen (currently no page).
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Thumbelina}}'', the animated adaptation by Creator/DonBluth.

[[redirect:WesternAnimation/{{Thumbelina}}]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hans_christian_andersens_thumbelina.jpg

DonBluth's adaptation of the Creator/HansChristianAndersen fairy tale.

It sticks to the basic story fairly closely. A woman pines for a child and, magically, she is gifted with a little girl no bigger than her thumb. Thumbelina, as she is promptly named, is a [[ThePollyanna happy person]] but secretly pines to meet someone tiny like herself. Over the course of the film, she gets into several misadventures with [[WackyWaysideTribe various characters]] who want to marry her (come to think of it, this is a pretty odd story). Eventually she finds the enchanted Fairy Prince of her dreams. They get married and Thumbelina transforms into a Fairy and good times are had by all.
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!!''Thumbelina'' shows examples of the following troperoonies:

* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: Jacquimo wears only a hat, a scarf, gloves, and boots.
* AdaptationDistillation: Say what you will about the overall quality of the movie, but most of its weird and or confusing points (e.g., Thumbelina being born out of a flower and inexplicably growing wings at the end) were already in the original story by H. C. Andersen. The romance between Thumbelina and the fairy prince was, if you can believe it, even more abrupt in the fairy tale. Also, Thumbelina's toad suitor and the beetle [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse were never heard from after]] their initial appearances, whereas the film expanded their roles.
* AcrophobicBird: Why doesn't Jacquimo just take Thumbelina on his back and fly her home?
* {{Adorkable}}: Thumbelina.
* AllAnimationIsDisney: When test audiences first saw this movie with the WarnerBros logo, the reviews were mediocre at best. When aired with the {{Disney}} logo, reviews on average were much higher.
* AllKnowingSingingNarrator: Jacquimo.
* AlmostKiss
* AnalogyBackfire: Jacquimo's examples of love conquering the impossible, suggesting [[DidNotDoTheResearch he should probably read more]]:
-->'''Jaquimo:''' [[TheBible Samson loved Delilah...]] [[RomeoAndJuliet Romeo, et Juliet]]... oh, impossible!
** The weird part is that "Marry the Mole" uses Romeo and Juliet properly as an example of love causing more trouble than its worth.
** It could be Fridge Brilliance in that he's listing impossible romances that failed before getting to the 'most impossible romance of all"... that ''[[HappilyEverAfter succeeded]]''.
* AnimalTalk
* AnimatedMusical
* AwardBaitSong: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Z3uT-gGiI "Let Me Be Your Wings"]].
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: If you stop and think about it, there's a pretty messed-up world view presented in this here story. The PowersThatBe wait around as the woman pines away for a child. Then she says, offhand, "I don't even care if it's as tiny as my thumb." And then ''that'' comes true just to inconvenience everyone.
* BishieSparkle: Any scene with Cornelius or the other fairies; it's somewhat justified in that their wings are ''really'' sparkly.
* BornAsAnAdult: When Thumbelina is born, she is at least a teenager.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Jacquimo interrupts a sentient fox hunting a sentient rabbit. Everyone involved treats the situation strangely matter-of-factly.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Ms. Field Mouse is a bit... off her rocker. If you wear a pincushion as a dress while singing about Romeo and Juliet's death, you are a Cuckoolander.
** Being voiced by Carol Channing does not help matters.
* DarkReprise:
** The song "Let Me Be Your Wings" from Thumbelina has a dark reprise halfway through the movie, called "Once There Was The Sun". She sings this in lamenting Cornelius' apparent death.
** When Thumbelina goes missing, her mother sings a sad reprise of Thumbelina's IWantSong "Soon".
* DisneyDeath: Cornelius, twice.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Averted with The Toad, because the credits show that he survived with a broken leg and married a toad who is as ugly as he is.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When Cornelius and Thumbelina exchange tokens, Cornelius gives Thumbelina a ring, which he places on the third finger of her left hand, where the engagement ring is traditionally placed. Even though he never actually makes a marriage proposal until several months later, its evocation of betrothal is made far from subtle by Thumbelina's statement "I think I'm gonna marry him" and a later scene when she looks at the ring [[YouHaveWaitedLongEnough as she walks down the aisle to marry Mr. Mole]] and is reminded of her love for Cornelius, which she cites as a reason for refusing to go through with marrying the mole. [[GeniusBonus It's additionally brilliant for those who know that back when the story takes place, betrothal to a third party was considered a legitimate impediment to marriage between a man and a woman]].
* DownOnTheFarm: Where Thumbelina initially lives with her mother.
* EarnYourHappyEnding
* EmoTeen: Thumbelina after the ''bugs'' throw her out for being "ugly."
* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Fairy wings are ''very'' sparkly.
* {{Expy}}: Jacquimo is basically a dreamier version of Henri from AnAmericanTail. French birds in DonBluth films who sing a bouncy number early on about never giving up? Yeah.
* {{Fainting}}: Mocked mercilessly by TheNostalgiaChick: "And like all animated heroines she has a tendency towards fainting. Boom! Unconscious!"
* FairyCompanion: The Fairy Prince, literally. Jacquimo the Swallow, to some degree, though he's much larger than Thumbelina.
* FollowTheLeader: [[DrinkingGame Take a shot]] for everything in this movie that appears to have been cribbed from a recent Disney film.
* FollowYourHeart
* FourLeggedInsect: All of the insects except for the Fairy Prince's pet bumblebee.
* FourthDateMarriage: Thumbelina falls in love with a fairy prince after ''half an hour'' and goes on a quest to find him and marry him. This is all ''just because he's the same size as she''.
-->'''Thumbelina:''' I think I'm gonna marry him.\\
'''TheNostalgiaChick:''' I mean I've known him for all of twelve hours!
** Incidentally, this is a step up from the Creator/HansChristianAndersen fairytale, which has Thumbelina meet the prince for the first time, fall in love with him, and marry him ''at the very end of the story''.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Thumbelina.
* FurryConfusion: The Fairy Prince's pet bumblebee the only realistically drawn animal in the entire movie. According to some it's the fairy equivalent of a motorcycle, but it's still noticeable as there is a cartoony bee in the Jitterbugs gang. As a whole, the Jitterbugs look like they've wandered off the set of a different movie entirely.
* GagBoobs / NonMammalMammaries: Mrs. Toad. They're not massive, exactly, but there's just no ignoring them.
* GayParee: The prologue takes place here. Odd, since the rest of the film has nothing to do with Paris and given the author's nationality you would expect the story to take place in Denmark.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The beetle spanking Thumbelina after her bug costume comes off, and her reaction to said spanking.
* HappilyEverAfter
* HeroesWantRedheads
* HesAFriend: The dog wants to attack the prince, as Thumbelina forgot to greet him as a guest.
* HumansAreUgly: The opinion of the bugs at the club after Thumbelina's bug costume falls off.
* HurricaneOfPuns: The entirety of the ''Yer Beautiful Baby'' musical segment.
* IAmSong: The title song.
* IdiotBall: ''Thumbelina.'' Every time she gets kidnapped, she keeps letting the kidnappers take advantage of her, and while she does eventually stand up for herself, it's not really until about ten minutes from the end of the movie. Yeah...
** Well, she really has no other choice, you know. There really wasn't anything she could do.
** Arguably justified by her sheltered existence. She takes Mrs. Toad's word for it that she'll be allowed to see her mother again later, Mr. Beetle pressures her to perform for him before helping her (and balks on the actual helping part), and Mrs. Field Mouse shoves her to marry Mr. Mole while the poor girl is in mourning over the apparent death of Cornelius.
* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The movie's full title is ''Creator/HansChristianAndersen's Thumbelina''.
* TheIngenue: Thumbelina, to the point that she cannot defend herself in any way until the end of the movie.
* InkSuitActor: Mrs. Toad was modeled after her voice actress. [[HumanoidFemaleAnimal Jarringly so]].
* InterspeciesRomance: Discussed by the mole.
* IWantSong: "Soon".
* LoveAtFirstNote
* MarryForLove: Thumbelina. Ms. Field Mouse begs to differ.
* MarsNeedsWomen: Against her will, Thumbelina is ''very'' popular with other species, though it's partially subverted at the end of ''Yer Beautiful Baby'' when the crowd realizes she ''isn't'' a bug, but "an ugly human". At first [[AngstWhatAngst she takes it in stride]] and seems slightly annoyed about it, yet in the ''very next scene'' she has turned into an EmoTeen.
* MissedHimByThatMuch: Don Bluth must love this trope.
* MoleMiner
* NonMammalMammaries: Mrs. Toad. Good God, Mrs. Toad.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: See FurryConfusion above.
* PaintingTheFrostOnWindows: The fairies are responsible for changing the seasons.
* PepTalkSong: "Marry the Mole" is a strange pseudo-example. While Miss Field Mouse thinks she's giving Thumbelina good advice and encouragement, she's also telling her to marry someone for their money and that love is over-rated.
* PopStarComposer: Oh, Barry Manilow.
* RandomEventsPlot: Thing is it's not all the movie's fault either, the original fairy tale is just that odd.
* RapunzelHair: Even when Thumbelina has her hair in a high ponytail, it still goes down to her thighs.
* RedHeadedHero: Thumbelina and Cornelius.
* TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Prince Cornelius covers a surprising distance (considering his size), nearly dies in a frozen lake, and fights a large irate frog to save Thumbelina.
* SealedWithAKiss
* [[ShesAManInJapan She's A Man In The Original Fairy Tale]]: Ms. Field Mouse.
* ShoutOut: Mr. Beetle's first name is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busby_Berkeley Berkeley]], though the ballroom sequence isn't a BusbyBerkeleyNumber.
* SongsOfSolace: "Soon" is sung by Thumbelina to comfort herself because she's lonely. Her mother later sings it to comfort herself over her missing daughter.
* SpeciesSurname: Mrs. Toad, Mr. Beetle, Miss Field Mouse, and Mr. Mole.
* {{Spexico}}: Los Sapos Guapos say they come from Spain. Yet the song has snippets of samba (Brazil), conga (Cuba), tango (Argentina), and mentions Mexican foods. Mrs. Toad may be parodying Charo, but her hairstyle looks more like that of Marie Antoinette (from France). And the Toad boys are dressed like Harlequins (from Italy). Spain is spelled as both Espana and Espagna. And though the troupe is called Los Sapos Guapos (The Handsome Toads), they seem more like frogs at times and Mrs. Toad says "ranitas" (frogs) once as well.
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: In an equal-opportunity instance of this trope, almost every animal sports some kind of clothing or hairstyle that marks him or her as male or female.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Yes, you see [[spoiler:Thumbelina grow a pair of wings and her wedding with Cornelius]] right there in the trailer.
* {{Troperiffic}}: The strongest amalgam of Disney tropes before ''{{Enchanted}}''.
* TrueBlueFemininity: Thumbelina.
* VillainSong: Depending on who you consider to be the villains and who are just [[JerkAss mean]], we have "On the Road", "Yer Beautiful Baby", and "Marry the Mole".
* WackyWaysideTribe: Pretty much of the whole damn movie.
* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What Happened to the Mother?]]: This is something that's been bothering people about the original story. This is averted in the movie as we see clips of Thumbelina's mother worrying about where Thumbelina is. Later we see her at Thumbelina's wedding at the end of the film.
* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Oh, hell yes, but it all comes from the original story. Thumbelina is courted, over the course of the story, by a toad, a beetle, and a mole. She finally marries the cute Fairy Prince.
** And it's also played with (and again, it has roots in Andersen): the Beetle intentionally disguises Thumbelina for the Beetle Ball because, to bugs, ''she'' is ugly. When the disguise falls apart, she's jeered so badly that he has no problem helping the others kick her out.
* WonderChild
* YouHaveWaitedLongEnough: Miss Field Mouse pressures Thumbelina into marrying Mr. Mole when she has ''only just'' been notified of her true love's [[DisneyDeath apparent]] death.
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DonBluth's adaptation of the HansChristianAndersen fairy tale.

** Incidentally, this is a step up from the HansChristianAndersen fairytale, which has Thumbelina meet the prince for the first time, fall in love with him, and marry him ''at the very end of the story''.

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The movie's full title is ''HansChristianAndersen's Thumbelina''.

* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: Jacquimo wears only a hat, a scarf and boots.

* AllKnowingSingingNarrator: Jacquimo

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When Cornelius and Thumbelina exchange tokens, Cornelius gives Thumbelina a ring, which he places on the third finger of her left hand, where the engagement ring is traditionally placed. Even though he never actually makes a marriage proposal until several months later, its evocation of betrothal is made far from subtle by Thumbelina's statement "I think I'm gonna marry him" and a later scene when she looks at the ring [[YouHaveWaitedLongEnough as she walks down the aisle to marry Mr. Mole]] and is reminded of her love for Cornelius, which she cites as a reason for refusing to go through with marrying the mole. [[GeniusBonus It's additionally brilliant for those who know that back when the story takes place, betrothal to a third party was considered a legitimate impediment to marriage between a man and a woman.]]

* EmoTeen: Thumbelina after the ''bugs'' throw her out for being "ugly".

* VillainSong: [[YourMilageMayVary Depending on who you consider to be the villains and who are just]] [[JerkAss mean]], we have "On the Road", "Yer Beautiful Baby", and "Marry the Mole".

* DownOnTheFarm

{{Don Bluth}}'s adaptation of the HansChristianAndersen fairy tale.

** More like its not a ripoff, just an average Disney movie.
*** No, it doesn't [[{{Disneyfication}} change enough]] from the original story for [[{{Bowdlerization}} worse]] or [[AdaptationDistillation better]].

* DarkRepeise:

** Incidentally, this is a step up from the HansChristianAnderson fairytale, which has Thumbelina meet the prince for the first time, fall in love with him, and marry him ''at the very end of the story''.

* InterspeciesRomance: discussed by the mole

* NonstandardCharacterDesign: See FurryConfusion above.