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3%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
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6%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1318192914055160100
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9[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frame_break_618.png]]]]
10
11A PaintingTheMedium and MediumAwareness trope, where characters interact with the confines of the scene. For example, interacting with borders around comic strip panels by crashing through the side or falling out the bottom. In live-action media, it might be implied that two characters are in two completely different locations, only to subvert this by having one of them reach into the other scene. It can also have objects in the frame enter the {{letterbox}} to emphasize or simulate a 3D effect.
12
13A SubTrope of OddShapedPanel and MetafictionalDevice.
14
15Particularly common in {{Webcomics}}, as a fairly straightforward way to employ the InfiniteCanvas.
16
17Compare CameraAbuse. Contrast BehindTheBlack.
18
19----
20!!Examples:
21
22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25* Invoked in episode 11 of ''Anime/AnimeGataris'', where Minoa nearly walks into the abyss when the aspect ratio of a scene changes from 16:9 to 4:3. [[spoiler: This is just one example of reality breaking down into anime tropes during her day, but she's the only one to notice the change.]]
26* In an early ''Manga/DragonBall'' chapter, Goku hits Yamcha so hard he flies into the top frame of the page and cracks it.
27* Obligatory ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' example: Negi, BlueWithShock, holds on to the frame in a "Kilroy was here" pose when he contemplates what Evangeline's going to do to him for losing the ring she gave him.
28* When a character is formally introduced in ''Manga/OnePiece'', they often stand outside the panel, overlapping it.
29[[/folder]]
30
31[[folder:Comic Books]]
32* ComicBook/AmbushBug once jumped back several ''pages'' to rescue Cheeks.
33* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'':
34** The characters sometimes use the comic's panel dividers to support themselves.
35** ''Recap/AsterixAndTheSecretWeapon'' features a bird being bothered by noises in the forest and flying straight into the next panel, which is at sea, where a seagull looks at it in surprise.
36* In one issue of ''Batman/Superman'', Mr. Mxyzptlk gives Calendar Man the power to see the comic panels and reach across them to interact with things in other panels.
37%%* Has been used in ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' a number of times and in the Beano Video as well.
38* The eponymous hero of the French comic ''Imbattable'' (Undefeatable) has the ability to move across panels as a superpower. Other characters see him teleporting, travelling in time, or duplicating himself, and never understand his explanations on how he's doing it.
39* ''ComicBook/{{Loop}}'': The twins use their time powers to cross panel borders, such as the red twin firing her gun at the next panel's blue twin, or the blue twin leaping back a panel. Their dad, FatherTime, also does this, reaching back a panel to poke his daughter's cheeks.
40* ''ComicBook/TheOfficialSonicTheHedgehogYearbook'': In the first iteration of this short-lived U.K. annual book, one story has [[MadScientist Dr. Robotnik]] develop an upgraded engine for his Egg-o-Matic in order to outpace Sonic. Sonic eventually outsmarts his nemesis by ducking under the flying machine when Robotnik goes to top speed, leading to the Egg-o-Matic hitting the edge of the panel. [[BreakingTheFourthWall Sonic then tells the readers that Robotnik had indeed went off the edge of the page]].
41* ComicBook/SheHulk did it once or twice. One issue of ''ComicBook/SheHulk'' has her ripping through two pages of ads to go after a villain.
42* In part 10 of the ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide'' crossover, [[spoiler:Duo]] does this when he flies off to fight [[spoiler:the Chaos Devil.]]
43* An issue of ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' has Doomsday [[spoiler:(actually a clone of him)]] smash through the entire bottom half of a page in attacking Superboy, destroying the frames in the process.
44* Issue #17 of ''ComicBook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool'' is mostly composed of Gwen going HowDoIShootWeb over her new NinjaProp-wielding abilities which culminate into her not only touching the panel border, but pushing a pencil through it, then breaking into her future (the next panel), and finally falling through the hole out of the comic.
45* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Kitty Pryde, in some comics, can [[IntangibleMan phase]] through panels.
46[[/folder]]
47
48[[folder:Comic Strips]]
49* ''ComicStrip/LibertyMeadows'' occasionally features things like Ralph trying to hold onto the panel borders while Brandy drags him off to therapy. *SNAP* "Stupid cheap panel borders!"
50* ''ComicStrip/LittleNemo'' used this on occasion. In [[http://www.comicstriplibrary.org/display/417 one strip]], Flip tears off the bottom frame of a panel and uses it to knock down letters from the comic's logo.
51* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winsor_McCay#Early_life "Little Sammy Sneeze"]] by Winsor [=McCay=] used this as early as the 1900s.
52* ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'':
53** Done fairly often; sometimes the characters sit on the top of the panels, sometimes the panels are tilted, causing issues in-strip, as well as "Panel Walking" into other comics.
54** ''Pearls'' occasionally has jokes that work best if the comics page happens to be laid out just right:
55*** ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus'' has Billy denying that he was spilling sunflower seeds in the kitchen. The ''Pearls'' strip that day has Rat throwing sunflower seeds down and out of the panel. When positioned directly above ''The Family Circus'', Rat's abuse of the long-running comic became apparent.
56*** Another has Rat comment about being able to see up Blondie's skirt. Obviously the joke worked best when Pearls was immediately beneath ''ComicStrip/{{Blondie|1930}}''.
57* Every so often a character in ''ComicStrip/{{Pogo}}'' would literally lean on the fourth wall this way (or at least against the frame border); on occasion Albert would use it to strike a match for his trademark cigars.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Fan Works]]
61* Seriously, Pinkie Pie is the primary candidate when this happens in any MLP fan-art, like [[https://derpibooru.org/1368548 this one]].
62[[/folder]]
63
64[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
65* [[https://youtu.be/s5gItC2yVBM The teaser trailer]] for ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2'' features a minion blowing a noisemaker that comes out of the frame and into the {{letterbox}}.
66* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'': The "ACADECA" song starts out with Sour Sweet and Sunset Shimmer facing off through a SplitScreen... and then, Sour Sweet pushes Sunset's half of the screen away [[AssKicksYou with a hip bump]].
67* ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar'': When the mutant penguins emerge, a {{letterbox}} appears, and this trope occurs.
68* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei jumps out of the picture she's in.
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
72* In ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'', magical elements such as the creatures and spells have a tendency to move outside the letterbox bars while everything else remains contained within the main screen.
73* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|2016}}'' (2016) had some scenes in the 3D version where characters and elements would protrude over the black {{letterbox}} bars. [[spoiler:When Erin saves Abby from falling into a dimensional portal, the ''whole movie'' expands over those bars.]] On DVD and Blu-ray, the 2D version also features these protrusions.
74* ''Film/LifeOfPi'': In one sequence, the frame [[AspectRatioSwitch narrows to Cinemascope]] to show fish jumping out of the frame.
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
78* Though it was a split screen in this case, one segment of "Formidable Opponent" on ''Series/TheColbertReport'' (where two Stephens would debate via chroma-key tricks) had Stephen Al-Bert (his terrorist counterpart) blowing up the split-screen at the end of the segment with a rocket launcher; when the smoke clears, the image is mainly broken like glass and all three Stephens have vanished.
79* One ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' animation has a ComicBook superhero bouncing off the walls of his panel in an attempt to escape.
80* Quiz show ''Series/UniversityChallenge'' always shows the two teams in split-screen, one above the other (in reality they're sitting at desks next to each other). This was parodied on ''Series/TheYoungOnes'' when its characters appeared on the show, and Vyvyan kicked through the "floor" to attack the opposing team.
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
84* In the ''TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragons2ndEdition Monster Manual'', the border around the [[ElementalEmbodiment fire elemental]] is burning up due to the close proximity. Similarly, the rust monster is corroding its border.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Video Games]]
88* ''VideoGame/ComixZone'' makes use of this trope, as it takes place ''in a comic book''. Not a comic book world, the actual pages.
89* ''VideoGame/JumpSuperStars'': You can punch through the "panels" and then [[RingOut do extra damage by hitting enemies out of the "comic"]].
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Web Animation]]
93* In the ''Blog/AskFlufflePuff'' short for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_fc3_ixN9Q "Pink, Fluffy Unicorns Dancing on Rainbows"]], [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Pinkie Pie]] weighs on her frame until it breaks, falling down on WesternAnimation/{{Dan|Vs}}.
94* ''WebAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsDigitalSeries'': In the Webisode "The Last Day of School", at one point Rainbow Dash [[https://derpibooru.org/1689554 pushes a transition bar against Twilight's side of the screen]] to speak over her, while Twilight pushes back.
95* In the ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' "Virus", one of the effects of the virus is that the frame does not scroll when Strong Bad walks, causing him to pop out of the video and into the blackness surrounding it.
96-->'''Strong Bad:''' Woah! It's cold out here...
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Webcomics]]
100* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'': During the ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'' parody, the protagonists split up and the comic began running two strips per day so the plots for both groups could update concurrently. After about a month of these updates, the characters in the bottom strip began wondering how their allies were doing, so they climbed into the strip above them to ask.
101* ''Webcomic/TheBookOfBiff'': [[http://thebookofbiff.com/2010/04/12/1000-grow/ One panel]] and all the others that [[IndexOfTheWeek same week]] have Biff end up as a giant who towers above the comic panel.
102* ''Webcomic/DarkLegacyComics'' [[http://www.darklegacycomics.com/421 #421]] features a whole page full of increasingly broken frames (eventually collapsing onto each other, with objects sticking from one frame to the next) as a result of Narya and Miji ''mining the frame sides'' to make "white platinum". [[http://www.darklegacycomics.com/411 #411]] features the clones attacking each other (accidentally) through the panel borders, even between ''rows'' in a strange form of time travel.
103* The sprite comic ''Double-U Tea F'' features [[AuthorAvatar King Lyger]] jumping into frame and kicking Mikau through the outer panel. A few issuess later, Mikau collides with the outside frame, which [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall startles the characters in the comic]].
104* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', a [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-09-03 flashback panel]] featured Grace holding onto the "pop-up" panel she's coming out of in one instance and pointing at the flashback in another instance.
105* Gavin, the main villain of ''Webcomic/TheFancyAdventuresOfJackCannon'', [[http://fancyadventures.com/2011/12/02/page-349 here]] tries to trap the titular hero in a shrinking panel frame, and Jack has to break it to escape.
106* ''Webcomic/{{Footloose}}'' may provide the most triumphant example. Faerie pirates cast a spell that lets them fire a ''cannon'' [[http://footloosecomic.com/footloose/pages.php?page=350 through the side of the panel and into the next]].
107* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=809 A massive fire spreads]] beyond the panel borders, and even onto the following page (an effect that will presumably be more impressive in the print version).
108* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
109** Late into the comic's sixth act, a villainous (and [[FourthWallObserver metafictional]]) character discovers a magical Crowbar and proceeds to use it to beat a harmless, if unsettling, clown. The narrator is disgusted and plays terrible music to punish the villain, but the AntiMagic gives the crowbar the ability to attack the website's format, and send links across the page flying around. He uses this to keep the narrator in-line and protest any story development he objects to [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/007395/ here]].
110** Cans clocking powers allow him to punch characters out of panels into the default background of ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures''. This escalates in the End of Act 6 animation, where his powers have him chasing a character across and through multiple panels until they start fighting on top of one.
111** To demonstrate John's new metafictional powers to traverse and retcon the story, when he turns into wind he dissipates past the panel borders.
112* From ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'': [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0240.html Nemen Yi]] is a master of InfiniteCanvas Style. High-level TabletopGame/{{Exalted}} are just ''that good''. Including using part of the frame [[ImprobableWeaponUser as throwing knife]].
113* ''Webcomic/LsEmpire'' has this as part of a WhamShot when [[spoiler: Temporary Dark Samus [[http://l-empire.smackjeeves.com/comics/2315292/the-end-is-nigh-pt-12/ jumps out of the frame of the comic]], [[RageAgainstTheAuthor taking one of the authors with him]].]]
114* In ''Webcomic/MixedMyth'', Tamit learns the secret of TimeTravel, and it involves seeing the comic panels. She then demonstrates her mastery by reaching through time (i.e. across the panel borders) to poke someone in an adjacent panel.
115* The aliens in the webcomic ''One Small Step'' grab the corners of the panel so they can pull apart from being stuck.
116* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' plays with this sometimes.
117** Haley gets knocked into the next strip in the fight with Tsukiko. (The strip in question is called "At Least It Wasn't the FourthWall This Time.")
118** In [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1291.html "Threadbare"]], the visible "Threads of Creation" (the raw materials making out the plane, as well as the Snarl), a sure sign that reality is getting frayed around the edge, are seen bursting through the usual panel dividers of the strip.
119* In [[http://www.out-at-home.com/archives/2197/ a strip]] of ''Webcomic/OutAtHome'', Penny bats a speech balloon from one frame to another.
120* ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}'': On [[https://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-7-page-65 this page]], when [[spoiler:the werewolf digs its claws into the Ghost Train]], one of its claws extends past the panel border, tearing a gash in the surrounding white.
121* Only the outsiders of ''Webcomic/Project0'' break panel to show that they aren't [[RealityWarper bound by reality.]]
122* ''[[http://www.rockpapercynic.com/ Rock, Paper, Cynic]]''
123** Panel-breaking is used as a version of two-dimensional time travel in the comic, "[[http://rockpapercynic.com/index.php?date=2009-03-10 Time Travel]]".
124** We see a similar trick in "[[http://rockpapercynic.com/index.php?date=2009-01-15 Free]]", where a stickman tries to dig his way out of the frame.
125* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' likes to show characters leaning into frame and holding onto the panel borders. Of particular note is that, when Tagon crashes through a ceiling to make an entrance, it also looks like [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-06-11 he crashes through the top of the panel]] with a large section missing, and bits falling off.
126* In [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=310 a strip]] of ''[[Webcomic/{{Mezzacotta}} Square Root of Minus Garfield]]'', Garfield breaks through all the panels to get a cookie jar that's [[JustOneSecondOutOfSync just two seconds out-of-sync]].
127* Near the end of the original series of ''Webcomic/StarMares'', the background ponies are trying to reach the top of the Empress's tower, but are trapped in an adjacent shaft with no way through. Maple Leaf, after having spent the entire comic telling everypony ''not'' to break the fourth wall, uses her party cannon to bust through the frame (it being more easily broken than the wall would be).
128* ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'': Mia briefly [[https://www.truevillains.com/comic.php?P=2015-09-23-Spatial%20Awareness-jpg stands astride]] two panels when Dexter teleports her into his house without warning.
129* In ''Webcomic/{{Unbound}}'', events sometimes spill over the sides of the comic. In one case a fire spreads to the 'paper' of the website's background, leaving it blackened once the fire is out.
130* In ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'', weird supernatural stuff -- like certain fires, or metaphorical snake skeletons -- extend off the page. When the characters walk through a dark tomb, the entire webpage is darkened. Interactions between the [[EldritchLocation Khert]] and the physical world are also occasionally shown through frame breaks -- Sette enters the Khert by falling through a frame, and during a later conversation she has with Murkoph he's trapped outside the page's frames while Sette is safely inside of them.
131* ''Webcomic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer'' does this. A lot. Looking at previous and future panels, climbing between panels, and even pulling a section out of a panel are common occurrences.
132* In the ArtShift [[http://www.webtoonlive.com/webtoon/Welcome%20to%20the%20Convenience%20Store/ch78/ chapter]] of ''Webcomic/WelcomeToTheConvenienceStore''.
133[[/folder]]
134
135[[folder:Web Videos]]
136* In ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic''[='s=] [[Recap/TheNostalgiaCriticS7E19 Top 11 Best]] ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episodes, Creator/DanteBasco (as Zuko) punches the Critic out of the Website/YouTube video player and down into the video comments section below.
137-->'''Critic:''' Ow.\
138'''Dante:''' Your fourth wall jokes won't save you!
139[[/folder]]
140
141[[folder:Western Animation]]
142* In the intro of ''ComicBook/TheBeano Video'' we see numerous instances of this, including Teacher being used by the Bash Street Kids as a battering ram.
143* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', when Timmy magically goes into the Crimson Chin comic book, he's able to jump from frame to frame (and time travel by doing so).
144* Several scenes in ''WesternAnimation/MayaAndTheThree'' depict objects or characters "breaking out" of the letterbox, usually for some sort of dramatic effect.
145* The ''WesternAnimation/ZekesPad'' episode "King of the Pad" combines this with SplitScreenPhoneCall. Zeke calls Jay late at night, and once the screen splits, Jay hits his head on the border when he sits up.
146[[/folder]]

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