History Main / VengefulVendingMachine

* One episode of the recurring "Pluto Gets the Paper" shorts in ''WestermAnimation/MickeyMouseWorks'' features Pluto trying to get a newspaper out of a vendor. At one point, he falls inside a storm drain trying to recover a dime for the machine and somehow winds up trapped inside the kiosk itself. For some reason, this is one of the two shorts that were never rerun in ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' (the other being [[BannedEpisode the controversial]] "Minnie Takes Care of Pluto").

** "[[Recap/FuturamaS1E7MyThreeSuns My Three Suns]]": A machine selling "Refreshing Crack" gets stuck, and the customer whines "Don't hold out on me, man!"

* In the live-action ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' film, the power of the Cube animates a soda machine, which sprouts limbs and goes berserk.

* A ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' omake strip showed him dealing with one of these, but the ending reveals that a tiny imp was behind it, not the machine itself.
* ComicBook/LukeCage, Power Man, had a RunningGag feud with the coffee machine at the local police station based on its supposedly hostile behavior. He experienced similar difficulties with the soda machine at his old office. Clearly, Luke had no luck with crazy vending machines.

* In one ''ComicBook/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' one-shot, Aunt Hilda gets cheated by a vending machine and kicks it in frustration. The machine retaliates by ''punching'' her, and Sabrina remarks that they're making vending machines that can fight back.
* In one ''Franchise/XMen'' comic, Beast complains that he may have experimented on the coffee machine a tad too much after [[AIIsACrapshoot it comes alive and tries to strangle him to death]].

DontTryThisAtHome. Those stickers that warn you not to rock the vending machine? Those are '''not''' for show. A vending machine is a very large and very heavy appliance with only gravity and a power cord keeping them in place. And there are few fates more humiliating than getting crushed to death for having a tantrum over a snack.

DontTryThisAtHome. Those stickers that warn you not to rock the vending machine? Those are '''not''' for show. A vending machine is a very large and very heavy appliance only gravity and a power cord keeping them in place. And there are few fates more humiliating than getting crushed to death for having a tantrum over a snack.

* In the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' supplement AC11 ''The Book of Wondrous Inventions'', one of the inventions is Ardraken's Refreshment Simulacrum, which is basically a soda vending machine. Unfortunately it doesn't work: its malfunctions include attacking the customer trying to use it and dispensing drinks with negative effects.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' supplement AC11 ''The Book of Wondrous Inventions''. One of the inventions is Ardraken's Refreshment Simulacrum, which is basically a soda vending machine. Unfortunately it doesn't work: its malfunctions include attacking the customer trying to use it and dispensing drinks with negative effects.
* The campus vending machines in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS IOU}}'' will dispense almost anything a character might need: from a cold soda to a flamethrower. However, they don't always give you what you ask for.

** In ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'', a vending machine in Hephaestus has been sabotaged to dispense a live grenade -- and then ''laugh at you'' -- as soon as you try to use it. If you pay close attention, you can actually hear the saboteur mumbling about it as you approach from around the corner.

* ''Series/{{ER}}'' pulls this gag at least once a season.

* A minor RunningGag in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' involves Gyro's enmity with an uncooperative vending machine.
-->'''Gyro:''' You miserable piece of rust. ''I'' am man, ''you'' are machine! Do as I command or I will ''pull your plug!''
* ''WesternAnimation/BeCoolScoobyDoo'': Shaggy and Scooby stop for a snack while investigating a ghost. The snack gets stuck in the vending machine, so Shaggy reaches in to try to get it. He somehow winds up fully inside. So Scooby reaches in to try to get him out, and ''he'' winds up fully inside. Then the ghost comes in and tries to meance them, but they're protected, so ''he'' reaches in to try to get them, and ''he'' winds up fully inside.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersBotBots:'' In the second episode, Dave the Security Guard tries to get a cupcake from a vending machine since it's his birthday. Trouble is it's a [=BotBot=] who's gotten stuck there, and the Lost Bots try freeing him and stalling Dave. Eventually Dave gets to the vending machine, and it rejects his money. A very determined Dave repeatedly shoves the bill back in, and he manages to win... then the cupcake gets stuck between the glass. Dave's anger sets off the machine's alarm and he has to go deactivate it, by which point the other Lost Bots have freed their associate. However, their antics leave behind another, non-sentient cupcake, which Dave is happy with.

* In the ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' episode "Fatal Charm," a vending machine eats Starsky's dime, and he gets his arm stuck trying to get his drink. Hutch has to pull him loose.

* ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' features soda machines that can transform into [[CoolBike motorcycles]]. But one time when Eiji tries to activate the bike to use against the MonsterOfTheWeek, it swallows his coin and does nothing. (In this case, it's not simple mechanical failure -- the bike mode requires authorization, and the machines' owner has Eiji temporarily locked out of the system to prove a point about their necessity while arranging a payment contract.) Eiji reacts how most people would with a busted vending machine; checking the coin slots and [[PercussiveMaintenance hitting the machine a few times]]. It gets so bad that he eventually knocks the machine over on its side, and sits on top briefly ''miming motorcycle riding in desperation'' while waiting for it to work.

* Comic Dan Cummins noted those vending machines that dispense pricy electronics and questioned whether this is a problem they have, too:

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' supplement AC11 ''The Book of Wondrous Inventions''. One of the inventions is Ardraken's Refreshment Simulacrum, which is basically a soda vending machine. Unfortunately it doesn't work: its malfunctions include attacking the customer trying to use it and dispensing drinks with negative effects.

* ''VideoGame/MikeShadowIPaidForIt'' [[http://www.kongregate.com/games/Tanoku/mike-shadow-i-paid-for-it has you buying upgrades to beat the crap out of an uncooperative vending machine]].
* When you reach New Haven in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', you can find Dr. Zed's Claptrap assistant running around all over the place. He stops at the medical vending machine and pounds on it, frustrated that it isn't working. The vending machine works just fine for the player.
* {{Inverted|Trope}} with Tina in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' after [[BerserkButton she gets a raisin cookie from one]]. That poor machine should have known better...
* Early in ''VideoGame/HalfLifeOpposingForce'', Shepard encounters a fat security guard named Otis with his hand stuck in a vending machine. The guard curses, going like "Stupid machines!" and asks the player for a quarter. It's possible to operate the machine with the Use key, and this makes a candy bar pop out. However, the guard does nothing if you do.
* Greeters in ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'' are the result of an experiment in creating self-promoting vending machines, which was deemed a failure because they kept [[AIIsACrapshoot electrocuting their customers]]. The [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Magog Cartel]] decided to exploit their psychotic tendencies and had them redesigned as security guards for their factories.
* Used as part of a puzzle in ''VideoGame/TheFeebleFiles''. Feeble tries to buy an item from a vending machine, which takes his money and refuses to dispense. Do this three times and he'll kick the vending machine in frustration, then feel guilty about it, which opens access to the confession booth area.
* Inverted in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' when you occasionally get a bonus drink, much like actual Japanese vending machines.

* ''VideoGame/BioShock'':
** In ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'', a vending machine in Hephaestus has been sabotaged to dispense a live grenade -- and then ''laugh at you'' -- as soon as you try to use it. If you pay close attention, you can actually hear the saboteur mumbling about it as you approach from around the corner.
** In the multiplayer mode of ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', this a valid strategy to kill other players. After hacking a vending machine to freely use it, it will drop a bomb if someone not from your team or anyone besides you (in case you are not playing a team-based game mode) tries to use it.
** This tactic can be used in the single-player campaign of both games, though it's limited specifically to Health Stations. If you hack a Health Station, not only does it give you discounts on healing (and a freebie in 2 if you hit a bonus zone), but any Splicer that tries to use it gets hit with poison gas instead.
* In the third level of ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', a mook kicks a vending machine because it refuses to give him the item he bought. Another mook then sings about a "killer vending machine".
* The first time you enter the Shinra Tower in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', you can put some money into a vending machine for an energy drink. Unfortunately, it gets jammed, and any attempt to apply PercussiveMaintenance on it will fail because a nearby attendant will tell you to knock it off. Near the end of the game, you can return to that very same machine and ''finally'' get your drink, which comes in the form of a couple of [[RareCandy stat-boosting source items]].
* ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' features old [[BlandNameProduct Nuka-Cola]] vending machines that can be interacted with. For 1 dollar, they will dispense a Nuka-Cola bottle at great speed and if your character fails an Agility and Luck check the bottle will [[GroinAttack hit them in the groin]] for a few HitPoints worth of damage.
** The ''Lonesome Road'' DLC for ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has a bit of BlackComedy with a skeleton crushed under a vending machine.
* In ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'', a [[TheManyDeathsOfYou Die-O-Rama]] involves Crash putting a coin in a soda machine and not getting anything out of it. He tilts the machine, causing it to fall on him.
* Opened Can of Wellcheers from ''VideoGame/LobotomyCorporation'' is an abnormality that takes the form of two humanoid shrimp standing next to a vending machine. Get a good work result and you get a free buff from it. Get a bad work result on it, and the employee will fall asleep after drinking the soda and be taken away somewhere, never to be seen again.
* In ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'', Kirby can suck up a vending machine and use it to kill enemies and break down some walls.

* ''Webcomic/CosmicDash'': In chapter "Grounded", Dash encounters one such machine and promptly decides to take it apart and repair it. Since he has no accreditation to do so, the owner calls security on him.

* The PFY from ''Literature/BastardOperatorFromHell'' has encountered a few of these. The first was a drinks machine in the office, specifically designed by a friend of the Bastard’s to randomly dispense crappy products instead of the desired ones, and to randomly eat the buyer’s money as an ''intended feature''. The second, and more notable, appliance was a snack machine on a Tube line. Its stubborn refusal to dispense a packet of salt and vinegar chips pissed the PFY off enough for him to build a refrigerator-sized EMP device ''specifically'' to destroy it. This led to him, the BOFH, and the Boss taking the “Pinch” on a Main/RoaringRampageOfRevenge against every machine and establishment they felt had wronged them, ending with their being trapped in an elevator after accidentally setting the device off.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E18SoItsComeToThisASimpsonsClipShow So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show]]", Homer, who just regained use of his legs, walks to a vending machine. The chocolate bar he tries to buy gets stuck and he tries using PercussiveMaintenance on it, causing it to tip over him and start force-feeding him chocolate until he passes out, sending him into a coma.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E6MargeOnTheLam Marge on the Lam]]", Homer puts his arm inside a vending machine to get a free "invisible cola" (actually a Crystal Buzz Cola). When he reaches into it Carl warns him, telling him that someone lost an arm doing that once. (We see the inside of the machine where there's a skeleton arm from the last guy who tried to get a free soda, still holding onto a can of Fresca.) Homer eventually grabs the soda, but his arm gets stuck and Lenny and Carl run off screaming. Then, Homer gets his other arm stuck inside a candy vending machine. (In a scene [[EditedForSyndication cut from syndication]], he imagines himself at Maggie's wedding with his arms still stuck to the vending machines.) Just as the rescue workers are about cut off Homer's arms, it turns out this could've been avoided if he ''[[EpicFail let go]]'' of the can in the first place. The firemen write a note up for Marge to prove that the incident wasn't some wild excuse to avoid going to the ballet (with said note mentioning that while they were wasting their time with Homer, a lumber mill burned down).
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E20TheTroubleWithTrillions The Trouble with Trillions]]", Homer keeps trying to use Burns's (stolen) [[ZillionDollarBill trillion dollar bill]] in the vending machine. This time, [[InvertedTrope much to everyone's relief]], the machine keeps spitting it back.
--->'''Mr Burns''': ''There's soda on the plane!!''
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E7TisTheFifteenthSeason 'Tis the Fifteenth Season]]" had Homer at a SecretSanta exchange at work where, after receiving a DVD player from Carl and [[ConvenienceStoreGiftShopping being asked by Lenny where ''his'' present was, he says to Lenny, "Your present is right in the other room."]] He then goes offscreen to the other room and is clearly heard saying "C'mon, machine, take my dollar! ... Fine, we'll play it ''your way!''" He then tackles the machine (still offscreen) and returns with a tube of Certs breath mints.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E17TheHeartbrokeKid The Heartbroke Kid]]", Bart attacks the school vending machines and they retaliate by firing their contents at him ("I'm gonna cap a pop in yo ass!"), with Bart blocking them.
--->'''Bart:''' [[BondOneLiner I'm ending your vending, dawg.]]
** A FunnyBackgroundEvent in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E2AStreetcarNamedMarge A Streetcar Named Marge]]" has Homer beating the crap out of an uncooperative vending machine.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E2YouOnlyMoveTwice You Only Move Twice]]", Homer struggles to get a vending machine to accept his incredibly beat-up dollar bill.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E2122ShortFilmsAboutSpringfield 22 Short Films About Springfield]]", Homer tries to get a newspaper while walking the dog and carrying Maggie and groceries simultaneously. While he does manage to get the paper, he ends up accidentally locking Maggie in the vendor, and since he has no money left, he attempts to free her through various methods before ultimately taking the vending machine itself home with him.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' had Hamton get frustrated over such a vending machine.
* In the animated special of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldHis9Lives'', Garfield attempts to use a vending machine aboard his spaceship to order lunch, in the form of a cup of coffee and some pie, during his [[CatsHaveNineLives ninth and final life]]. The machine drops the pie, pours coffee on it, and then crushes it with the coffee mug.
--> ''"Rats!"'' *beats his fists against the machine* ''"Oh well, it all tasted like lettuce anyway."''
* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'': Larry has gotten his candy stuck. In a vending machine.
** ''Lunch: An Animated Parable'' loves this trope to the point where the vending machine ends up ''falling'' on Ed (the blue man). He then comes out '''''unharmed.'''''

* In the episode "Rock Bottom" in ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', Spongebob is waiting for the bus so he can go home. He gets hungry and runs across the street to the vending machine to buy a candy bar. The machine itself works properly, but the bus showed up and drove off everytime he tried to put a dollar into the machine or to reach for the candy bar after it was dispensed. Keeping his eyes on the bus, he slowly moves to grab the candy bar, with the bus revving the engines everytime he gently touches the bar. He tries to run back across the street to catch the bus, but it drives off. A random stranger walks up to the machine and just takes the candy bar.
** In "Wet Painters", the bill Patrick tries to use in a vending machine is repeatedly rejected. This is actually a ''good'' thing, because he and [=SpongeBob=] need that dollar to replace Mr. Krabs' [[NumberOneDime First Dollar Earned]], which they got paint on. Unfortunately, the machine eventually accepts it after Patrick's numerous attempts to buy a candy bar.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeriesS2E3ThePracticalJoker The Practical Joker]]", after the Enterprise passes through a mysterious energy field the ship's computer starts playing practical jokes on the crew. When Mr. Scott tries to obtain a sandwich from the food replicator it sprays food all over him, including a custard PieInTheFace.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SevenLittleMonsters'', Four tries his hardest to get a sheriff's badge from a prize machine, only for it to keep giving him princess crowns.
%%* This ''WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther'' clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzVhQG-c7SA See RealLife below for more.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': The bit from the movie is called back in an episode when Doofenshmirtz gets hit by an Inator that causes his greatest fear to materialize... enter the vending machines...
* One ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' episode features the pair trying to buy a bag of pork rinds from a vending machine, only for it to get stuck. The rest of the episode revolves around them trying to get it out. Butt-Head eventually wanders off to get change for a dollar he managed to panhandle up, but ends up spending the whole thing on a ton of expired nachos at the Maxi-Mart, and promptly forgets about Beavis, who is left still standing around the machine.
* In a ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' short episode, Ben tries to get a candy bar from a vending machine, only for it to fall against the glass. Ever the {{Determinator}}, Ben decides to go Grey Matter to get the candy bar. The only problem is when the Omnitrix times out, leaving Ben's [[ExaggeratedTrope ENTIRE BODY]] trapped in the machine.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheOblongs'', plumbing issues leave the entire city save the Oblongs' house without water. In order to cut down on bathroom lines, a hundred-dollar cash slot is installed on the door. When Bob's boss tries to use it and his bill is rejected, another character quips "the great equalizer".

* The "Prom Night Special" episode of ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' has Johnny Gomez announce that there will be two hours detention after the evenings matches for anyone caught tipping over vending machines in the arena lounge, [[KarmicDeath with a cutaway to two teenagers doing exactly that, with one getting crushed to death for his troubles]].
* ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'': in the episode "Vicious Cycles", Greasepit ends up in a fight with a vending machine; the machine keeps firing its goods at him, and he returns fire with a machine gun. Carbuncle and Limburger watch the whole thing from a distance, to which Limburger casually remarks that his money is on the vending machine.

* A series flashback in the ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' about the Wattersons [[TaughtByExperience learning things the hard way]] shows Gumball getting stuck entirely inside a vending machine while trying to grab some candy without paying, a fireman cutting him out with a buzzsaw, then just paying for one regularly the next time.
* In the "Indie Movie" episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Snot attempts to buy a bag of off-brand Cheeto knockoff's called Cheeso's, the same his now deceased absent father used to buy him. When it gets stuck, he has an emotional breakdown in a parody of heavy-handed symbolism prevalent in indie films.
* One episode of the recurring "Pluto Gets the Paper" shorts in ''Mickey [=MouseWorks=]'' features Pluto trying to get a newspaper out of a vendor. At one point, he falls inside a storm drain trying to recover a dime for the machine and somehow winds up trapped inside the kiosk itself. For some reason, this is one of the two shorts that were never rerun in ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' (the other being [[BannedEpisode the controversial]] "Minnie Takes Care of Pluto").
* The vending machines at the school in ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' seem to be this. In one episode, Nicholas is hitting one of them and complaining that it's trying to "drive [him] bananas". In another, Odd complains that the hot chocolate from it [[ItTastesLikeFeet tastes like "dirty sweatsocks and an old pair of sneakers" or the soup tastes like dishwater]]. Once the hot chocolate machine didn't dispense a cup and just spilled hot chocolate liquid all over itself. Another had it jammed up, prompting Odd to hit it and wince at the recoil.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode "Transcendental Tourists" has a scene where Slimer tries to buy some milk from a vending machine. The vending machine won't work, so Slimer resorts to using his ghostly powers to phase through the machine and consume a carton of milk from the inside.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' episode "The Full Mounty", Cow and Chicken try to get snacks from a vending machine that doesn't work. The Red Guy, who was dressed as a Canadian Office Mountie, ends up squashed by the vending machine when he tries to capture them at that moment.
* The ''WesternAnimation/BureauOfAlienDetectors'' episode "Gifted" involved LivingToys, one of which was a miniature gumball machine that could fire its contents like bullets that left the recipients CoveredInGunge.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Near the start of "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E8BlendinsGame Blendin's Game]]", Dipper and Mabel try to get some candy from the vending machine in the Mystery Shack's gift shop. The kids are naturally upset when it gets stuck (with Mabel crying "Everything is terrible forever!"), but Soos shows them a way to not only unstick the machine, but open it up so they can get all the candy they want.
* The ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' episode "Good Ol' Buzz" has XR get frustrated at a vending machine not working.

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv-636Fi5sE this]] Advertising/GotMilk commercial, ''a priest'' almost loses his temper at one.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkgQFOOr7ug These "improved" 7-up machines.]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'' has Sasahara get similar treatment when his vending machine dispenses the drink into an ''upside-down'' cup, only catching a very small amount on the understand indentation. Being a CloudCuckooLander, Sasahara merely admires the vending machine's gall.

* In ''[[Manga/{{Trigun}} Trigun: Badlands Rumble]]'', Wolfwood is found nearly dying of dehydration because a water vending machine refused to accept his crumpled bills.
* In ''Manga/AnneHappy'', part of Hanako's [[ButtMonkey misfortune]] is that if she tries to buy something from a vending machine, it will dispense something completely random and gross instead.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' Twilight's first encounter with a vending machine in the human world goes this way, not because the machine is broken, she just doesn't know how to ''use'' one and nearly ends up bucking it in frustration.
* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'': Chicken Little asks Runt to get him a soda from the vending machine to [[ItMakesSenseInContext rocket himself to the school bell]] to warn the town about the invasion. When the machine won't take his dollar, Runt goes into a ferocious rage, thrashing and pounding the machine, much to the astonishment of the others. The machine reluctantly spits a single soda bottle out.
-->'''Runt''': What happened? I blacked out there for a second.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/SilentMovie''. The three protagonists encounter a Coca Cola vending machine that fires out cans of soda like grenades. They later use it as a weapon against the {{villains}}.
* In ''Film/DrStrangelove'', Col. Guano has to shoot a Coca-Cola vending machine to get change for a crucial phone call to the President. He gets Coke squirted in his face.

* ''Film/MaximumOverdrive'':
** A man is [[GroinAttack struck first in the nuts]] and [[TapOnTheHead then on the forehead]] by soda cans that shoot violently out of a vending machine. It's unclear, but likely, that he dies from the second blow.
** In the beginning, there is a scene where a [[CreatorCameo cameoing]] Creator/StephenKing gets called an asshole by an ATM.
* In the adaptation of ''Literature/TheTommyknockers'', some guy tries to retrieve a soda can from a vending machine, which is possessed or powered by the alien technology and has a greenish glow. His hand gets stuck in there and the whole thing blows up, killing him.
* At the beginning of ''Film/TheXFilesFightTheFuture'', Mulder goes to buy something to drink from a machine. He puts money in, pushes a button, then the next one, then all of them, then whacks the machine and then jiggles it angrily. He then notices that the machine is not plugged in and finds out that a bomb, the very bomb he and the rest of the FBI agents are looking for, is ''inside'' the machine.

* The talking bowling ball polisher in ''Film/{{Gutterballs}}'' is a dick.
* In ''Film/HereComesTheBoom'', Scott tries to buy a snack from a vending machine, but it gets stuck. He rams the vending machine causing several snacks to fall out. A student sees him do this and he tosses him one of the extra snacks telling him to keep quiet.
* In the 2015 movie ''Demolition'', Davis (Creator/JakeGyllenhaal) tries to buy some candy from a vending machine in the hospital following his wife's death, only for the candy to get stuck. He is so frustrated by this that he writes a letter to the vending machine company about it, which delves into him talking about his personal life and his marriage. The customer service representative at that company is so moved by the letter that she writes him back, and they eventually develop a friendship.
* In Film/BulletTrain, a girl tries to buy a bottle of water from a vending machine, but the water gets stuck. Later, Lemon tries to buys some bubble milk tea from the same machine, and [[ChekhovsGun that unsticks the water.]]

* Eve Dallas in the ''Literature/InDeath'' series has a generally antagonistic relationship with most technology, and where vending machines are concerned the feeling seems to be entirely mutual. They tend to malfunction whenever she attempts to use one. It's so bad that she habitually has someone else put her money in for her and press the button whenever she wants to buy something from one.
* ''Nexus'' magazine #2, short story "Firepoint Five". The main computer of a starship has a tendency to malfunction. One example of its problems is was preparing Lieutenant Simms' breakfast. It scrambled his fried eggs, and his sausage came out burned - and was supposed to be bacon. His toast was buttered (he hated buttered toast) and the coffee nozzle missed his cup - but ''didn't'' miss his lap.
* In ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'', Arthur Dent, sick of getting bad tea from the Nutri-Matic machine, gives it a lengthy lecture on the nature and history of good tea. The machine hijacks the starship's entire computing power to work on the problem, leaving the ship defenceless against a missile attack. Arthur gets his tea in the end, though.
* In a short story by Axel Hacke. He is talking to his sentient fridge named Bosch about this trope. Some American soldiers who were crushed by vending machines are mentioned. Bosch thinks it's the soldiers' fault, since they shook up the machines. The narrator gets angry and mentions the many times he got nothing for his money.
* ''Literature/DaveBarrySleptHere'' presents a "chilling excerpt from a nineteenth-century New York factory worker's diary" describing the horrors of vending-machine food. Among the complaints:
-->The machine for some reason is constructed in such a way that it drops these items from a great height, causing the contents, already brittle with age, to shatter into thousands of pieces. Also half the time it just eats your money, and ''forget'' about getting a refund...
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' spin-off ''Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook to the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Railway'', it's mentioned that many of the vending machines in New Ankh Station are like this, due to [[{{Magitek}} badly trained and mistreated imps]]. Mrs Bradshaw suggests that the chocolate machines in particular might be violating Thieves Guild demarcation rules.

* In ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'', there is a sketch with the puppet of French politician Philippe Séguin (portrayed as TheEeyore due to his real life looks) orders a can of orange juice from a vending machine. The machine gives him an orange, a knife, a press and a glass, then the message "Do that shit yourself" appears on it.
* ''Series/GodzillaIsland'' has a variation in that the vending machine itself isn't malicious, but its contents are; The [[https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Monster_Vending_Machine Monster Vending Machine]]! A gigantic vending machine floating in deep space, the Xillien Zagres used it to dispense an enhanced version of [[Film/GodzillaVsKingGhidorah Mecha-King Ghidorah]] dubbed "Hyper Mecha-King Ghidorah", though judging by signs on the machine it could also dispense a regular King Ghidorah, Battra, a pre-transformed Fire Rodan, Moguera and Dogora.

* Brass on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' once helped a witness's mother get a soda from the lab's vending machine, which had taken her for $2. He rattled its controls in the right way to get it to cough up the stuck can for her.
* In ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Pete Hornburger spends an entire episode with his hand trapped in a vending machine.
* ''Series/{{ER}}'' pulls this gag at least once a season.
* In the Austrian police procedural parody ''Series/KottanErmittelt'', one character has a long-running feud with the police department's coffee maker.
* ''Series/SledgeHammer'':
** When the soda dispenser in the police HQ goes on the fritz, takes money and fails to dispense soda. The member of the public involved, who must be from out of town, complains to the nearest policeman, Lieut. Hammer. Who obliges by un-holstering the Amigo, at which sign everyone runs for cover and Captain Trunk begins to bellow '''''"No, Ham..."'''''. The dispenser gives in after several direct hits from Hammer's unfeasibly large weapon.
** In a different episode, Hammer does the same thing to a bank ATM that has swallowed his card and refused to give cash.
* On ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', Turk gets his hand caught in a vending machine not once but twice. The second time is when he's getting ice chips for his wife when she starts giving birth, and it almost causes him to miss his daughter being born. The first time is because of...a less pressing issue.
--> I paid for my Rolos! I'm getting my Rolos!
** The ice machine is also revealed to be the reason for the security guard's hook hand, but because of it Kelso installed a release switch on it, which sets Turk free and he doesn't miss the birth.
* In the ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' episode "Rooms with a View", Niles is having bypass surgery, and the rest of the main cast are in the waiting room. Martin debates which of two candy bars he wants, but when Frasier makes the decision for him, the machine swallows his money. Frasier makes an attempt to prise the the bar out, until Daphne - who has been getting increasingly tense as she waits to hear how her husband is doing - smashes the glass front of the machine with a fire extinguisher and hands him the candy.
* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' had a nutty talking vending machine called Vendaface:
** In its first appearance, it offers psychiatric advice; after Fozzie deposits a coin, Vendaface asks for another, and then ''another''. Then, it tells Fozzie that his problem is "You are much too generous." (Fozzie gets angry, to which it responds "You also have a rotten temper." and starts strangling him.).
** The second time it appears, it gives facelifts; it works okay the first time, giving a rather ugly Muppet a beautiful face. Then, another Muppet (who doesn't really have anything wrong with her face), likes the results and tries out Vendaface, but Vendaface gives this one the same features that the last customer originally had.
** The third time it's also giving out facelifts, and tells its customer, Statler, it can "rearrange your looks"; [[LiteralMetaphor which it does]], slugging him in the chin.
** There was also the similar Vendawish, which appeared in Season 3 and seemed to be an upgraded Vendaface. When its customer, a generic Muppet, wanted to be taller, it obliged by grabbing his neck and stretching it higher.
* In "The Dealership" episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', a vending machine gives George no small amount of trouble. First he tries to pay with a dollar bill that's so old and crinkly that he can't get the machine to accept it. He has to scrape whatever money he needs to buy a Twix bar off the floor and under the machine (where something bites him). Then the Twix he buys gets stuck in the machine. And when he finally gets a manager to come get it out for him, the Twix is gone and in the hands of an auto mechanic who also bought a Twix and got George's for free. The mechanic denies eating George's Twix, claiming he bought a [=5th=] Avenue bar instead, so George devises some convoluted plan involving purchasing multiple Twix and putting them in a "candy lineup" which would somehow prove the mechanic's guilt. Before he can go through with it, all these other Twix are eaten by the staff (including the mechanic again). [[RevengeBeforeReason He never thought to eat any of them himself, despite being extremely hungry]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHFWq-YIOk&fmt=18 An old Irn-Bru advert]] ended with a guy whacking a vending machine in frustration (possibly because it's sold out). It responds with [[UseYourHead a Glasgow Kiss]]. Yes, really.

* Boxxo the protagonist of ''Literature/RebornAsAVendingMachineINowWanderTheDungeon'' is a man [[ReincarnatedAsANonHumanoid reincarnated as a vending machine]]. He can pull tricks on people if he wants but only does it when he is pushed by bandits / thieves. For example when a man tries to break into him for the cash inside he seemly vends him a free water, then as soon as the would-be-thief reaches in for it drops a burning hot can of soup on the thief's hand in retaliation.

* In the web novel ''I, who was Reborn as a Vending Machine, am Loitering Around in the Labyrinth'', a self-proclaimed vending machine fanatic tries to save one of his beloved machines from falling off a truck--that is, he tried to stop a 400kg machine from falling off a truck with his own puny body. You might just possibly be able to guess what happened to him and how he ended up.