Line #70 Literature/OrigamiYoda


1	[[quoteright:185:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_strange_case_of_origami_yoda.jpg]]
2	''Origami Yoda'' is a series of books by author Tom Angleberger based around the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise.
3
4	It follows a child named Dwight Tharp, a social outcast at [=McQuarrie=] Middle School, who one day makes a Yoda finger puppet named "Origami Yoda". Dwight uses Origami Yoda to give sound advice to help the other students. This leads another student named Tommy to create a "case file" to investigate whether Origami Yoda is actually real and channeling the Force to give advice, or if he's just a hoax perpetrated by Dwight Tharp.
5
6	The first book within the series is ''The Strange Case of Origami Yoda''. It was followed by a sequel a year later titled ''Darth Paper Strikes Back'', which sees another student named [[SitcomArchNemesis Harvey]] creating an evil finger puppet of Darth Vader to counter Dwight and Origami Yoda. Those books would be followed by ''Secret of the Fortune Wookiee'', ''The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett'', ''Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue!'', and ''Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus'' (all in chronological order). The usage of the scenarios and characters of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise within the novels was officially granted by [=LucasFilm=].
7	----
8	!! Provides examples of:
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10	* AdvertisedExtra: Jabba The Puppett, the TitleCharacter of the fourth book, only shows up at the very end and for a brief scene. Though he does, in a way, play an important role by [[spoiler:showing the parents at Rabbski's meeting how obnoxious Fun Time is.]]
11	* AlliterativeName: Kellen Campbell.
12	* AmbiguouslyGay: Murky, due to how ridiculously happy he is all the time and that he always wears pink shirts.
13	** It gets discussed at one point when Murky ends up getting bullied, with the bullies assuming he's gay for these reasons. Tater Tot confesses to wondering about it himself, but he also says that he's the one who told off the bullies in the first place.
14	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Murky considers his younger sister Karina to be this. Karina enjoys snitching on her older brother.
15	* AntagonistTitle: "Darth Paper" and "Emperor Pickletine" are both named after the puppets used by [[SitcomArchNemesis Harvey]].
16	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In the final book, Tommy is upset that the field trip has a No Origami Rule. He writes, "Wug!", "[[BigNo NOOOOOOOO!]]", "I have a bad feeling about this!", "SAD WHISTLE!", and "I like nuts!".
17	* BerserkButton: Do not say that home economics is just for girls when Rhondella's in earshot.
18	* BerserkerTears: Mike has a tendency to do this. He calls them "mad tears" and says they're different from "boo hoo tears".
19	* BigEater: Quavondo loves to stuff his face at the cafeteria.
20	* BrandX: The [=FunTime=] brand, which tends to show up on the products used by the middle school from book 3 onward.
21	* BuffySpeak: Murky takes this to a whole new level; his friends even call his way of speaking "Murkyisms".
22	* TheBully:
23	** Harvey is a more psychological one. He's not ''physically'' abusive, but takes every opportunity he can to insult or demean others and put them down, or just to
24	** Zack Martin is a straighter example who actually does use his physical strength to bully people.
25	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Dwight is a quirky kid who has a hard time focusing in class or acting normal, but he is an excellent origami folder and someone who's good at planning and making logical deductions.
26	** Origami Yoda could be seen as this as well, if he is a legitimately separate being from Dwight. He's a finger puppet of a ''Star Wars'' character and Dwight doesn't even give him an accurate sounding Yoda voice, but the advice he gives is always sound. Rather appropriate, given his inspiration.
27	* ButtMonkey: Kellen. Let's review: Gets in trouble through somebody else's fault? Check. Gets his pants wet from the sink? Check. Lost his girlfriend? Check.
28	* CanonForeigner: Remi makes a Mara Jade origami figure; while the character did appear in the ''ROTJ'' radio drama she has yet to appear in a movie, and with the old Expanded Universe being thrown out it's unlikely she ever will.
29	* TheCaseOf: The first novel uses this naming pattern.
30	* CatchPhrase:
31	** Dwight has "Purple."
32	** Murky has "Stooky!"
33	** One of the squirrels Kellen draws has "I like nuts!"
34	* CliffHanger: The end of the 3rd book. [[spoiler:[[DownerEnding Sara reveals that the Fortune Wookiee that Dwight made was really made by her, and the terrible [=FunTime=] program is set to be instated at the beginning of January instead of the electives, so Tommy has no idea what to do.]]]]
35	* ChekhovsGun: ''Parasite Within: Legend of the Vampyre''. Originally it wasn't that important, and it began the running gag of the two-page chapters, but in the fifth book Lance uses it to find out about Tevon Riley, the actor who portrays Professor Funtime.
36	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Dwight. He lies down in weird places, and once banged on a locker, screaming for the squirrels to save him.
37	* ConsultingMisterPuppet: Dwight with Origami Yoda. He uses Origami Yoda to give people advice.
38	* CoughSnarkCough: In the 2nd book, Kellen writes about an annoying little kid who constantly mocks his skateboarding abilities. Tommy comments, "[The little kid] reminds me of someone. Let's see... a kid who just stands around and complains and insults people all the time? I just can't think who that reminds me of... (cough) Harvey (cough)."
39	* CuddleBug: The girls at Tippett Academy love to hug Dwight.
40	* CutLexLuthorACheck: Harvey could be seen as a micro-example of this. He is legitimately smart in a lot of subjects and also a very good origami folder from what we see, but at the same time is such an unpleasant {{Jerkass}} that even people who recognize his skills, like Tommy, don't want to give him any credit.
41	* DeadpanSnarker: Harvey. Almost every other word out of his mouth is a snark or a jab.
42	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The end of the 3rd book. The Fortune Wookiee is revealed as a fake made by Sara, and the terrible [=FunTime=] program is already set to be instated by Rabbski at the beginning of January.]]
43	* EarlyBirdCameo:
44	** Edu-Fun Products, who serve as the effective BigBad for books 3 through 5, first make their appearance in ''Darth Paper'' as the ones providing the products to sell for the school fundraiser.
45	** Remi and Ben also appear in ''Darth Paper'' as two of the people who signed the letter petitioning Rabbski to unsuspend Dwight, before becoming fairly important characters in later books.
46	* EnemyMine: At the end of ''The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett,'' it's revealed that [[spoiler:Mr. Howell, one of the strictest and most hated teachers in the school, hates Fun-Time as much as the kids do and actually helps sabotage a parent-teacher meeting in an effort to stop it.]]
47	* EveryoneHasStandards: Even before his HeelFaceTurn, even when he disliked Dwight and his weird behavior, Harvey found Dwight's turn to normal at Tippet incredibly unnerving and agreed that he should come back to [=McQuarrie.=]
48	* EvilCounterpart: Harvey makes Darth Paper as one to Origami Yoda. Origami Yoda gives people helpful advice. Darth Paper just sneers and insults people. Before this, Harvey also created his own Origami Yoda, which was much more negative to Harvey.
49	* EvilIsPetty: While it would be a bit of a stretch to call him totally "evil", in the second book Harvey tries to get Dwight sent to CREF just because he made a fool out of him in the first book.
50	* EvilKnockoff: In the first book, Harvey eventually makes his own Origami Yoda, who he uses to jeer at and insult others instead of give them advice.
51	* EvilOverlord: Principal Rabbski is imagined as one by Tommy and his friends, who compare her to Emperor Palpatine and refer to her as "Empress Rabbski".
52	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The first book details events that occur over the entire course of the kids' sixth-grade year. All five books that come after that each cover a similar number of events taking place within one or a few months, and the end of the last book is the end of seventh grade. Apparently, it was a ''really'' eventful year.
53	* FaceHeelTurn: Surprisingly [[spoiler:Harvey]] during the 3rd book after reading about his good actions at the end of the 2nd book.
54	* FanDisservice: In the 5th book, Kellen draws [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Harvey]] wearing a golden bikini after Harvey makes fun of his drawings. He also draws [[Franchise/StarWars Jabba the Hutt]] being disgusted by it.
55	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Harvey by the 2nd book. Kellen even asks Tommy why they let him sit at their lunch table, to which Tommy says he doesn't know and that Harvey just keeps coming.
56	* TheFundamentalist: Mike's mother is a devout Christian who's strict on attending church, believes prayer should be allowed in schools, and even takes away Mike's ''Star Wars'' stuff after she finds out about Origami Yoda.
57	* GiftForAnOutgrownInterest: In ''Rise of the Fortune Wookiee'', Kellen tries to get in Rhondella's good graces again by buying her a Godzilla plush toy, assuming that she still likes the series (she was obsessed with it as a kid and she's currently in middle school). He finds out the hard way that she's no longer interested in it when she's less than impressed by this peace offering.
58	* {{Gonk}}: Mr. Howell. He has creepy eyes and fishy lips.
59	* GrinOfRage: In "The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee", Principal Rabbski is in a state of TranquilFury when Harvey, Tommy and Kellen go to her office. There are illustrations of Mr. Good Clean Fun and Soapy the Monkey scowling with the caption "mad" under them both, and this is followed by a drawing of Rabbski smiling, but with a DeathGlare, and it's topped with the caption "mega mad".
60	* GuiltByAssociationGag: In the third book, Tommy, Kellen and Harvey are sent to Rabbski's office. Tommy is in trouble for blowing his nose on Harvey's origami, Harvey is in trouble for making the origami in the first place, and Kellen is in trouble for laughing at it, even though he didn't do anything other than that.
61	* HappyEndingOverride: The second book ends on a happy note, with [[spoiler:Dwight being sent to Tippet Academy (where his crush Caroline is) instead of CREF, and being in a position where Tommy and the others can still ask him for advice (via email).]] By the third book however, Dwight's been pressured into not being eccentric by Tippett, unable to see Caroline much due to how much the grades at Tippett are apart, and giving up Origami Yoda.
62	* HatedByAll: Harvey has little, if any, people who like him at [=McQuarrie=] on account of his {{Jerkass}} tendencies and sneering mockery towards anyone other than himself. In most chapters he appears in (not written by himself), one of the other characters will mention how obnoxious they find him at least once.
63	* HatesBeingTouched: Dwight doesn't like to be hugged. Unfortunately for him, the girls at Tippett Academy are {{Cuddle Bug}}s.
64	* HateSink:
65	** Zig-zagged with Harvey. While he's played as a total jerk throughout all of the first book and most of the second book, by the end of the second book he shows himself to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. While he still has his {{Jerkass}} moments, he's never shown to be a complete one.
66	** Professor [=FunTime=] is loud, obnoxious and does an awful job singing. His two {{Non Human Sidekick}}s, Gizmo and Wordsworth, are also described as being super annoying. Not even their voice actors like them.
67	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[spoiler:Harvey. He has a HeelFaceTurn at the end of the 2nd book, but has a FaceHeelTurn in the 3rd book. After that, he escapes being a {{Jerkass}}, but is still a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.]]
68	* HeelFaceTurn:
69	** [[spoiler:Harvey]] goes back and forth throughout the series, but eventually reconciles with Tommy at the end of the sixth book.
70	** [[spoiler:Rabbski joins the side of the kids and decides to veto Funtime in the 5th book.]]
71	* HeroicBSOD: Happens to Murky when [[spoiler:the other sixth graders make him miss the school pictures by telling him that the pictures are taken in the class, not the cafeteria.]]
72	* HypocriticalHumor: When Mike swore at his mom in "The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett", Soapy the monkey calls him out for it, despite swearing a lot himself. The same thing happens when Rabbski refers to "Greenhill Plantation" as "Craphole Plantation", Soapy says "I can't believe she said it either! That is really ***ing inappropriate!"
73	* InsistentTerminology: When Sara brings the Fortune Wookiee, a cootie catcher version of Chewbacca, to school, Harvey's comment on the chapter is literally nothing but a remark on how it's a "salt cellar", not a "cootie catcher".
74	** In the 4th book, Dwight insists that everyone call him "''Captain'' Dwight" as leader of the Origami Rebellion.
75	* JerkassHasAPoint: Harvey is the only kid to figure out that [[spoiler:the Fortune Wookie is a fake]] before Tommy reveals it to everyone in the case file, and he gives solid evidence towards that conclusion. He also ends up ripping it in half by accident when announcing this to the library.
76	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Harvey. He's somewhat cynical, but he respects Dwight deep down, and has some good ideas.
77	* {{Keet}}: Murky.
78	* KidDetective: Dwight when he's trying to figure something out without Origami Yoda's help. Dwight even speaks in a [[OohMeAccentsSlipping British accent]] when this happens.
79	* LaResistance: In the fourth book, the kids form an "Origami Rebellion" to fight against [=FunTime=] and Rabbski.
80	* TheManBehindTheMan: The Origami Rebel Alliance spend the entire fourth book thinking of Rabbski as TheEmperor. At the end though, Origami Yoda professes that she's not the Empress but, like them, "a pawn in a great game" being pushed on by other forces.
81	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never explained whether Origami Yoda is actually magic or not. Even the ending doesn't really clarify anything.
82	* MegaCorp: Edu-Fun Products has shades of this. They're primarily involved education services, but apparently have ventures in a number of other industries, including food service and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking floor wax]].
83	->'''Sara:''' Does Edu-Fun sell ''everything''?
84	* ModernMajorGeneral: Dwight is an excellent origami folder, well versed in subjects he cares about and can be very insightful. He also doesn't have much interest in subjects he doesn't care about and would rather do his own thing most of the time, which naturally leads to him getting in trouble a lot.
85	* NoIndoorVoice: Mr. Howell constantly yells at the students.
86	* NoodleIncident: In the 3rd book, Lance asks Sara and her Fortune Wookiee how to save himself from humiliation, because Jen had seen him taking dance lessons the night before. She asks him if Jen even knows who he is, and he says that she hasn't forgiven him due to an incident involving a pudding cup in the 5th grade.
87	** Also from the third book, it's not explained how Murky got on the roof of the school[[note]]Well, not exactly ON the roof, but according to Murky, that's beside the point[[/note]]. It's also mentioned that Lance and Ben don't believe him.
88	* NowAllowedToHug: Dwight is often noted to be extremely averse to physical contact, especially when it comes to hugging. However, he does make an exception on one occasion; when he's distraught that the cafeteria has discontinued Rib-B-Qs (his TrademarkFavoriteFood), Lunchman Jeff gives him a box of them. Dwight is so overjoyed that he hugs him, much to everyone's surprise.
89	* OldSchoolIntroductoryRap: In "The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett", a [=FunTime=] show suddenly shows up on the TV during a meeting. In that show, Gizmo starts rapping:
90	-->'''Gizmo:''' My name is Gizmo and I'm here to say, I'll teach you to divide the easy way!
91	* OnceAnEpisode: Every book has Cassie going to Dwight and Origami Yoda for advice, and Dwight (Sara in the third book) - in turn - putting on ridiculous fake Sherlock Holmes impression and doing an investigation.
92	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: The kids associate Quavondo with being obsessed with cheetos after the incident at the zoo and give him the nickname "Cheeto Hog". The reason Quavondo goes to Origami Yoda in the first place is to seek advice for how to shed the nickname.
93	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In the second book, Dwight briefly drops his usual eccentricities when he tells Cassie about Lisa's situation.
94	* PerpetualFrowner: Mr. Howell is almost always shown with an angry expression on his face.
95	* ThePeterPrinciple: In the fifth book, Rabbiski decides that she wasn't meant to be a principal, and she's was more effective as a math teacher, as the stress and politics of running a school were too much for her. In other words, she's a ''[[FunWithHomophones Peter Principal]].''
96	* ProneToTears:
97	** Mike, who cries every time he gets mad.
98	** Whenever Boba and Bossk are drawn together by Kellen, they cry over ridiculous things.
99	* {{Pun}}: During Harvey's comment on fun stuff.
100	** "Ever notice how anything with the word "fun" in it isn't actually fun?" [[spoiler:besides Fun Dip]]
101	** And the ideas he comes up with. [[Franchise/StarWars Star Fun Wars]], [[Franchise/{{LEGO}} Lego Fun Bricks]], [[VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} Funcraft]], [[Literature/CaptainUnderpants Captain Funderpants]]...
102	* PunnyName: Some of the names of the origami creations, such as Darth Paper and Han Foldo.
103	** Ki-Adi-Hungri's Food Court: Corn troopers. Anapkin Skywalkers. Vaderade. Crouton-taun. Obi-Wan Baloney. Salacious Gum. Salacious Crumbs. Cod Bane, Fry-Gon Jinn, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Chip Fisto, Kit Chipso, Chip Chipso]], and many more...
104	* RedEyesTakeWarning: Harvey gives Emperor Pickletine, his Emperor Palpatine puppet, red eyes.
105	* RivalFinalBoss: Harvey serves as TheRival to Dwight for the first two books before forming an EnemyMine with him and the rest of the kids to oppose [=FunTime=] in the fourth and fifth books, only to go back to his {{Jerkass}} ways and become the main antagonist of the final book.
106	* RunningGag: Alongside Brick Joke, the series ''loves'' this trope.
107	** Boo-Hoo Tears and Mad Tears
108	** The word "Purple"
109	** "Stooky!"
110	** Soapy the monkey's swearing.
111	** Willy the Walking Waffle.
112	** Dwight lying down in weird places.
113	** Each book has at least one extremely short chapters. In the case of the last, it has three.
114	** The squirrels. "I LIKE NUTS"
115	** The "Clone Wars StrikeTeam" guys talking about education.
116	** "That's CAPTAIN Dwight!"
117	** "Yub Nub"
118	** Bossk and Boba crying over small things.
119	* ShoehornedAcronym: In "The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett", Professor [=FunTime=] from the [[ShowWithinAShow similarly-named show FunTime]] says that he's going to help the students PREP (which stands for Preparation and RE-view Period) for their upcoming test.
120	-->'''Kellen:''' Wouldn't that be 'PARP'?\
121	'''Mr. Howell:''' Please, Kellen, this is painful enough already.
122	* ShoutOut: Unsurprisingly, the books are laden with references to their [[Franchise/StarWars source material]]. As a whole they can be seen as not just a celebration of ''Star Wars'' but also the ''Star Wars'' fandom.
123	** The "Tycho Brahe has a wax nose!" line in the first book [[note]] Tycho Brahe was an astronomer who lost part of his nose, and got it replaced. [[ArtisticLicenseHistory Although he actually got it replaced with silver and gold, not wax]] [[/note]].
124	** According to Quavondo's uncle, the Big Pink [[note]]a disgusting meatloaf served cold prepared by Quavondo's grandmother every Thanksgiving[[/note]] gets its name named from an album titled [[Music/TheBand Music from Big Pink.]]
125	** In the ''Guide to Folding and Doodling'', Tommy demonstrates his (lack of) drawing ability with an old picture of a "Music/ShipArrivingTooLateToSaveADrowningWitch". He then remakes it into an equally-simplistic "Imperial Cruiser Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Cad Bane".
126	* SirSwearsALot:
127	** Soapy the monkey is drawn cursing any time he appears.
128	** Quavondo's grandmother swears a lot as well.
129	* StealthPun: "Fortune Wookiee" is a pun on "fortune cookie".
130	* TagalongKid: Downplayed with Murky, who is a sixth-grander but hangs with the other main characters from the 2nd book onward even though they're all a grade above him.
131	* ThoseTwoGuys:
132	** The squirrels Kellen draws throughout the books.
133	** Kellen also likes to draw Boba Fett and Bossk this way.
134	* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
135	** Quavondo likes meat.
136	** Dwight loves the Rib-B-Q sandwiches served in the cafeteria.
137	** One of the squirrels likes nuts.
138	* TranquilFury: Rabbski falls into this when Tommy, Kellen and Harvey are sent to her office in "The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee".
139	-->'''Tommy:''' The calm tone in her voice was even scarier than Mr. Howell's yelling at us.
140	* UnexpectedKindness: In "Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue!", Principal Rabbski finds out that the drama club is secretly performing their Olivia Twist play during lunch. Cassie thinks they're going to be in trouble for doing this without her permission, but Rabbski is actually proud of their performance and says they've got "spunk".
141	* UnspokenRetort: In "The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee", Murky notes in his narration that whenever Randy the mall cop annoys the guys by reminding them that they can't be without an adult after 7 PM, he (Murky) thinks, "YEAH, RANDY, WE KNOW, BUT IT'S ONLY 5:30, YOU IDIOT!"
142	* UnusualEuphemism: The kids replace profanities with names of things from ''Franchise/StarWars'' (i.e., "What the Fett?") [[note]]Boba Fett is a character from ''Franchise/StarWars''[[/note]].
143	* VerbalTic: Harvey will usually say "Uh" right before a sarcastic remark.
144	* VillainyFreeVillain: Harvey isn't a true villain, but he takes every available opportunity to antagonize Dwight. He even plays it up by making finger puppets of evil characters from the ''Star Wars'' series to counter Dwight and his [[BigGood Yoda]].
145	* WarningMistakenForThreat: In the second book, Dwight's Origami Yoda gives the cheerleader Jen the rather menacing advice: "Zero hour comes! Prepare to meet your doom!" Dwight's rival Harvey reports this to the school and they assume this was a threat, leading Dwight to be nearly expelled. As it turns out, though, [[spoiler:this was actually warning Jen to not blow off her book report, lest she get a zero and thus get kicked out of JV cheerleading.]]
146	* WeUsedToBeFriends: It's implied Harvey used to at least be on friendly terms with Tommy and the others (Tommy even introduces Harvey as his friend at the beginning of the first book, but by the start of the second book he's reviled by pretty much everybody.
147	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Marcie, an 8th grader from the 1st book. She never appears after the chapter she's introduced in and isn't mentioned again in the series. Justified, since she'd have most likely graduated and be in high school by the time the second book starts, a year after the first.
148	* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Rabbski's first name is "Lougene".
149	-->'''Harvey:''' Can you believe her name is Lougene?
150	* WorthyOpponent: Harvey eventually comes to view Dwight as this, calling him an "excellent enemy", and joins the others in the third book in asking him to come back from Tippett.

Context Literature / OrigamiYoda