History WesternAnimation / ShopAPopOpera

* AnAesop: Every episode and ingredient in the miniseries illustrates a moral.
** '''Milk''': Be sure to live your life meaningfully and to the fullest so you're not left wasting chances for novelty at the very end and you leave a fulfilling and positive legacy.
** '''Bread''': Be yourself and don't buy into elitist possessions and status symbols. The lifestyle gained by riding coattails and being pretentious is likely to lack human connection and will be unworth the investment.
** '''Paper Towels''': Life can be messy and messes are unavoidable, but it's best to accept chaos and account for it by making choices that will reduce messes and waste.
** '''Oatmeal''': Routine and planning are a pleasant fantasy, but eventually the chaos of life will step in and upend your order. Relying less on routine and embracing new experiences will make you more adaptable and enrich your life.
** '''Coffee''': Moderation is key. Don't let the things you enjoy become addictions consuming you to the point of survival, as they will harm you and the people close to you. Seek out alternatives that can give you pleasure without a dependency attached.
** '''Cheese''' (and the story by large): [[spoiler: Don't obsess over every decision and be assertive. While the options all across life are daunting, you'll know better than random chance what's ultimately best for you at the end.]]
--->''Every Milk will expire,\\
so toss your Oatmeal and eat something new.\\
Coffee in moderation,\\
Life is Messy,\\
and your Bread isn't you.''

* TemptingFate: After overthinking his entire grocery list, the protagonist comes to the very last item, anticipating that he can probably pick out some cheese without going through a whole song and dance about it. Not even two seconds later...

** Anger: ''You gouda be kidding me, I can't do this on my provolone''

** The Old Milk Lady asks the protagonist if he's deaf, and when he responds that he isn't deaf, she calls him Jeff, thinking that's his name.

* FiveStagesOfGrief: Spoofed with the "Five Aisles of Grief", when the protagonist is overwhelmed by the number of cheese choices, with lyrics that span the five stages with cheese puns mixed in as he visually wakks through aisles labeled as such.

* ObsessivelyOrganized: The Oatmeal Guy is so obsessed with scheduling his life that he has his '''meals''' [[ScheduleFanatic planned out through the next week]], and wishes he was able to plan th out even further.

** The lady in the coffee isle is addicted to caffeine to a dangerous degree.

* [[GrumpyOldMan Grumpy Old Lady]]: The Old Milk Woman is a bit rude. Instead of asking the protagonist to hand her the cookies from the shelf, she simply repeats "pecan", is dismissive, and asks him if he's deaf for not following her unclear directions.

* ObsessivelyOrganized: The Oatmeal Guy is so obsessed with scheduling his life that he has his '''meals''' [[ScheduleFanatic planned out through the next week]].

* RuleOfSymbolism: Each character (except the protagonist and the samples guy at the beginning and end) look like and represent the item the episode they're featured in is based around. What kind of grocery he gets also relates to the theme of its corresponding song:

** '''Bread:''' A loaf of plain bread, as he'll let what's on the bread speak for itself rather than show off with something fancier.
** '''Paper Towels:''' A dish towel, as no matter how many messes it cleans up, it can still be used again.
** '''Oatmeal:''' A 3-pack of mystery oatmeal, giving him a looser routine compared to the 100-pack and a chance to experience unexpected outcomes like its flavors.

** '''Cheese:''' [[spoiler:No cheese at all, as he can think of better choices than the one he initially made. He instead gets the yogurt sample from the beginning.]]

* AnAesop: Every song in the miniseries has a moral.
** '''Milk''': Be sure to live your life meaningfully and to the fullest so once your time has "expired", you can so knowing you didn't waste it.
** '''Bread''': Be Yourself. It's not wise or worthwhile to let flashy, material possessions define who you are. There's nothing wrong with being plain ol' "Wonder Bread".
** '''Paper Towels''': Life can be messy and chaotic but that's just how it is and there's nothing you can do about it. It's a matter of pushing forward and not getting hung up at low points. Have an optimistic mindset over a pessimistic one.
** '''Oatmeal''': Getting too used to following a routine and planning everything in advance will leave you open to unexpected outcomes out of your control. You have to be prepared that there will always be road bumps in life's path and it's sometimes better to go with the flow instead of against it.
** '''Coffee''': Moderation is key. Don't let the things you enjoy become addictions consuming you to the point of survival.
** '''Cheese''' (and the story by large): [[spoiler: Don't obsess over every detail of your life. Trust your judgement and know when you're making the right call.]]

* AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance: Each focal point character's head is shaped like the item that the guy met them in the aisle for. [[spoiler: This includes the main character, as his hair has a curl representing a yogurt sample.]]

* FiveStagesOfGrief: Spoofed with the "Five Aisles of Grief", when the protagonist is overwhelmed by the number of cheese choices and goes through each of them in rapid succession with cheese puns sprinkled throughout.

* SurpriseCreepy: The song for Oatmeal has an unsettling part where the protagonist appears with empty eye sockets and his voice becomes distorted.

* {{Gonk}}: The Old Milk Woman is a shriveled up old woman in a rascal scooter who has carton-shaped hair and looks 5 minutes away from death.

* RunningGag: Other characters mistaking the protagonist for deaf.

* SuperOCD: The Oatmeal Guy is so obsessed with scheduling his life that he has his '''meals''' [[ScheduleFanatic planned out through the next week]].

** The main character's tends to overthink things too much. Just meeting someone new is enough to give him a whole song's worth of an existential crisis.

* FatalFlaw: The main character's signature problem is that he overthinks things too much. Just meeting someone new is enough to give him a whole song's worth of an existential crisis.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: "Cheese", the SeriesFinale, breaks from the series's formula. Instead of the main character meeting a "Cheese" person, [[spoiler: the main character IS the "Cheese" person]]. Notably, he doesn't even decide to get cheese by the end while all the other episodes had the protagonist collecting the titular item. [[spoiler: He instead decides to get the free sample from the beginning of the series.]]