Line #84 Main/SnoopingLittleKid


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6	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gunnerkrigg-snoop.jpg]]]]
7	->''"Well, well, well, what have we here? A snooping little girl!"''
8	-->-- '''[[OnceAnEpisode Any MAD Agent]]''', ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''
9
10	There's a kid, usually a preteen, who thinks something suspicious is going on. Those men talking in low voices, that guy who keeps sneaking away... what are they up to? Enter the Snooping Little Kid.
11
12	The Snooping Little Kid will hide where the bad guys are and try to [[LandlineEavesdropping listen in on their conversations]], usually [[ExactEavesdropping picking up just enough information]] to prove that something sinister is going on, even if the kid doesn't know exactly ''what''. That often is what kickstarts the plot, or at least advances it into high gear.
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14	Sometimes the Snooping Little Kid is spotted, or manages to make a noise that draws the attention of the bad guys. In that case, the kid will either make a narrow escape, or end up being captured and BoundAndGagged.
15
16	Common trope in adventure or mystery stories, or stories with such themes, especially when aimed at children. Happens in books as well as cartoons, TV shows, and movies.
17
18	If the kid does more investigative work than just eavesdropping, they're a KidDetective. If they actually foil the bad guys' plot, they're a KidHero. YouMeddlingKids can result once the bad guy is caught.
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20	DoNotTryThisAtHome -- tell a responsible adult or call the cops if you see something suspicious!
21
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26	* Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta in ''Manga/CaseClosed''. They style themselves {{Kid Detective}}s, but aren't quite up to snuff without Conan or Haibara helping them. They ''do'' show potential though, when they try to beat Conan to solving a mystery. They still need help, but Hattori mostly drops hints for them to work it out themselves. They also provide the occasional EurekaMoment.
27	%%** It could be said that Conan himself is this, at least from the perspective of the other characters. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
28	* Suika in ''Manga/DrStone''. She often uses this skill to spy on people and gather information for Senku without being noticed.
29	* Hayato Kawajiri from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' fits this trope to a tee. Near the end of ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'', he discovers that his father has been replaced by SerialKiller [[BigBad Kira]] while spying on his parents and ''[[BadassNormal almost defeats Kira without having a]] [[FightingSpirit Stand]]''. It's implied that he has been doing this for quite a while, which leads to some FridgeHorror.
30	* In ''Manga/MaidenRose'', while everyone is in a fluster about the train about to invade the territory, cadet Yamamoto notices a suspicious guy and convinces his friends to follow him. They discover that the man is a spy passing information to Eurote, and the boys' efforts end up revealing that there are in fact a ''lot'' of spies in their ranks, adding to the chaos.
31	%%* Spritle and Chim-Chim from ''Anime/SpeedRacer''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
32	* Anya in ''Manga/SpyXFamily'' sometimes stumbles into a plot involving one or both of her parents, and has to be careful not to reveal her PsychicPowers or that she knows that her parents are a spy and an assassin, as she subtly (or not so subtly) pushes them in the right direction.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Comic Books]]
36	* Sometimes they show up in ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}''. Being very cunning, the titular VillainProtagonist is ''terrified'' by them. And with reasons, given that random kids nearly get him arrested on multiple occasions and get him to crash his car once.
37	* A curious example can be found in the Disney Comics based on the ''[[WesternAnimation/SillySymphonies Little Hiawatha]]'' shorts, which are basically family sitcom adventures about a little Native American boy. Whenever there are enemy tribes, dishonest white traders, or greedy settlers wanting to steal stuff off tribal lands about, Hiawatha (who is eight, tops) and his little sister Sunflower are be the only ones who notice. Apparently AdultsAreUseless regardless of your ethnicity.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
41	* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'':
42	** Fievel sneaks into the secret hideout of the cats and finds out that Warren T. Rat [[spoiler:is really a cat in disguise]]. He ends up captured and locked in a bird cage.
43	** The same thing happens in the sequel ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTailFievelGoesWest'', when he overhears Cat R. Waul's evil plan to lure the New York mice out west so he can eat them. When discovered, they boot him off the train.
44	%%* T.J. in ''WesternAnimation/RecessSchoolsOut''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
48	* In ''Film/CrookedHouse'', the 12-year-old Josephine spends all of her free time sneaking around the mansion, spying and eavesdropping on her family and writing everything down in her notebook. She even has a telescope in her treehouse that allows her to see into her step-grandmother's room. She is convinced that she knows everyone's dirty secrets, and two attempts on her life convince Charles that she knows the identity of the murderer.
49	%%* Being adapted from the book, ''Literature/HarrietTheSpy''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
50	* In ''Literature/LittleWomen'''s 1949 TheFilmOfTheBook, Beth (Margaret O'Brien) and Amy (Creator/ElizabethTaylor) fulfill the role at the Christmas party (which is a mix between the Christmas party of the book and the parties Meg attends when in the Moffat household). They overhear some GossipyHens speculating about their belief that Marmee wants Jo or Meg to go GoldDigger mode on Laurie, which causes both girls to [[HeroicBSOD almost shut down]]. The same thing happens in the 1994 PG-rated version.
51	* Max in ''Max Rules'', a ''Film/SpyKids'' family movie knockoff in which a bunch of kids try to foil the plans of a baddie to steal a high-tech FBI chip. Max and his friends are usually sneaking around trying to find clues, and in one instance, he and the kids are caught by the bad guy they're spying on and left duct taped inside a car.
52	* Alexander in ''Film/MurderSheSaid''. Miss Marple harnesses his inquisitive nature by inveigling him into her investigation and using him as source of inside information on the Ackerthorpe family.
53	* ''Film/ThePresidentsAnalyst'', stressed out and paranoid, flees his job, slipping out of Washington with a tourist couple he ingratiates himself with, posing as a Presidential staff member interviewing "typical American families". At their home he telephones his own analyst, still on edge, and their son listens in with his "junior spy kit" wiretap. In the next scene Federal agents are at the door, implying that the kid ratted him out.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Literature]]
57	* Subverted by Malicia in ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'', who is clearly familiar with the trope, but very bad at the actual sneaking around. People stop what they're doing to ''watch'' her sneak around.
58	%%* Happens all the time in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' with the kids snooping on people while in some small morph. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; name a specific example)
59	%%* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', a couple of princesses and some members of the Queens Justice briefly stay at the Whistler farm, and some of the girls promptly snoop through their belongings, much to the horror and outrage of Summer Whistler. (Are they doing this to spy on bad guys or something similar, or are they just being annoying kids who doesn't respect privacy? If the former, specify this. If the latter, it's not this trope and should be removed.)
60	* This happens in ''Literature/DarkPlaces'' by Creator/GillianFlynn, as [[spoiler:Michelle Day]] is strangled to death thanks to her eavesdropping.
61	* One of the first things Zak Arrandar does in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' is wonder why his [[OrphansOrdeal new guardian]] has never told anyone his first name, and try to break into his cabin to find out. He finds said guardian shapeshifting into dangerous creatures for practice. Practice for what, Zak wonders.
62	--> Hoole's gaze was like a blaster bolt. "For eating annoying small boys."
63	* ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'':
64	** Subverted with Bran Stark, who overhears the queen and her brother's plan, and even sees them having sex. He gets spotted and thrown out the window he was perched on, putting him into a coma. An assassin almost kills him in his unconscious state too. [[spoiler:The assassin, however, was sent as an act of mercy by a psychopath who, like most everyone else, thought the fall was an accident, and when Bran wakes up he doesn't remember anything about what he saw anyway. He also has other worries, like having been crippled by said fall, and then manifesting PsychicPowers.]]
65	** Subverted again when his sister Arya witnesses a nefarious conversation between two mysterious figures. When she tries to tell this to her father, he disbelieves her of course. However, Arya isn't able to do anything with the information as other, different plots reach their conclusion. Of course, she could've been a bit more credible if she didn't mention the hall of monsters and the wizard.
66	* Children's book and later movie ''Literature/HarrietTheSpy''. She's not so much a spy as a snoop, and snoops for the sake of it.
67	%%* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
68	%%** Harry, Ron, and Hermione fit this pretty well in the first two or three books.
69	%%** In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire fourth book]], Rita Skeeter's role was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally]] going to be filled by Ron's annoyingly superior second-cousin, who would have taken snooping to a new level of art. (A person not familiar with the work doesn't know what Rita Skeeter's role is, and the example doesn't explain ''how'' they would've taken snooping to a new level of art.)
70	%%* Lyra from the ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' trilogy does this repeatedly. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; name a specific example)
71	* [[TheProtagonist P.T. Wilkie]] hides and listens in on other people's conversations quite a bit in ''[[Literature/WelcomeToWonderland Home Sweet Motel]]''. It's how he learns that Mr. Pompano and Arnold want to tear down the motel and build a bunch of condos on the land, and how he and Gloria learn that [[spoiler:Johnny and Bob Jones are the Sneemer Brothers, and that they've returned to the Wonderland to find the diamonds Sheila hid after the diamond heist they pulled back in 1973]].
72	* ''Literature/{{TACK}}'': Toria tries to listen on two men at the local soda shop after they take a strange interest in a comic book her little sister has just bought.
73	* The thirteen-year-old protagonist of the ''Literature/TrixieBelden'' series is not exactly little, but does often stick her nose into places that require an adult.
74	* Happens a couple times in ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
75	** In ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsForestOfSecrets Forest of Secrets]]'', Fireheart's nosy nephew Cloudkit tracks Fireheart and Graystripe to the river when they sneak off to share prey with [=RiverClan=], which gets them in trouble with the Clan deputy and leader upon their return.
76	** In ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsTheDarkestHour The Darkest Hour]]'', Sorrelkit knows that Darkstripe is supposed to have Brackenfur guarding him, and is curious to know what he's doing when he sneaks off on his own. He spots her and tricks her into eating poisonous berries [[HeKnowsTooMuch so that she can't reveal that she saw him plotting with an enemy warrior]]; fortunately she survives.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
80	* Every Creator/{{CBBC}} Sunday afternoon drama of the 1980s featured a young protagonist snooping around and stumbling on the BigBad's plan.
81	* Ruthie from ''Series/SeventhHeaven'' often spies on the older members of her family until she becomes a teenager.
82	%%* Dawn in season 5 of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
83	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Bran Stark. He goes exploring during King Robert's visit to Winterfell, and stumbles upon the king's wife, Cersei, [[BrotherSisterIncest having sex with her twin brother Jaime]]. To keep the boy's silence, Jaime [[WouldHurtAChild throws him from the window]]. Bran survives but is left crippled for life, and this act is what kicks off the plot.
84	* The ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E22AngelsRevenge Angels Revenge]]'' spoofs this trope. In a scene where the film's protagonists are making plans to launch an assault on a drug cartel, a young girl who hangs out with them bursts into the room, acting excited at the plan. In [[Film/AngelsRevenge the film itself]], the heroines think that this is cute and amusing, but one of the audience members remarks, in a menacing voice imitative of more sinister characters, "Kill her!"
85	* Bronson Twist often takes on this role in ''Series/RoundTheTwist'', particularly in Season 2. The Twist kids as a whole get called this at least once by Mr. Gribble.
86	* In ''Series/TomTurbo'', some Snooping Little Kids, often with the same name as the kid actor who plays them, stop the villain and their criminal scheme. This even comes complete with many BoundAndGagged situations.
87	* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S5E28CaesarAndMe Caesar and Me]]", the nosy niece of the apartment landlord spies on her aunt's tenant, which leads to his arrest for the various robberies he and his living dummy committed.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Music]]
91	* The video for Quebec metal band Exterio's song "Campanile" is about a group of snoopy kids using a mysterious map to search for something presumably hidden by the desperately-running-away man who dropped it. [[spoiler:By disturbing the seemingly useless junk they find, they inadvertently unleash a ''Film/{{Demons}}[=/=]Franchise/EvilDead''-style DemonicPossession ZombieApocalypse.]] Ouch.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Video Games]]
95	* There's a quest chain in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' that involves the Star Onion Brigade, a gang of Snooping Little Kids who operate out of Port Windurst and fight for "Truth, justice, and the onion way!", which seems to mostly involve pestering local criminal mastermind Nanaa Mihgo.
96	* ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten\|2017}}'': During lunchtime, Lily can be found eavesdropping outside the principal's office, as she believes that he's responsible for her brother Billy's disappearance. The player can tip the principal off by knocking on the door, which leads to Lily meeting a grisly end. In ''VideoGame/Kindergarten2'', she's graduated into a full-fledged KidDetective, actively investigating her new school's dark secrets [[spoiler:along with the now-rescued Billy]].
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Webcomics]]
100	* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'':
101	** Antimony from carries around a set of lock-picks (and knows how to use them) [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=49 for this very purpose]]. She also does quite a bit of snooping even without lock-picks, including, once, fooling a guard-bot into believing that she's a robot by wearing [[PaperThinDisguise a headband with antennae]] and saying, "I am a robot." It works. Robots in Gunnerkrigg Court are notoriously gullible.
102	** Jack [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=451 goes out exploring the Court]] "all the time". At least until in "[[Recap/GunnerkriggCourtChapter19PowerStation Power Station]]", when he demonstrates his discovery of an Ether Station to the other students. Rather unfortunately for him, at the same time that Zimmy (who ''does'' have a good reason) finds it too.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Western Animation]]
106	%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan''. (Adminstrivia/ZeroContextExample)
107	* Ben from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10''. He's usually found snooping around, eavesdropping on bad guys in his kid form, though sometimes when he is caught he transforms into one of his alien shape shifting forms. This only lasts for a little while though, expiring shortly after, making him realize that he's still just a kid.
108	%%* ''WesternAnimation/ClueClub''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
109	%%* Several episodes of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' see Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby fulfilling this trope. Notable examples include: (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
110	%%** "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E21DrJekyllAndMrMcDuck Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mcduck]]".
111	%%** "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E41SirGyroDeGearloose Sir Gyro de Gearloose]]".
112	%%** "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E55HotelStrangeduck Hotel Strangeduck]]".
113	%%** "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E56DuckmanOfAquatraz Duckman of Aquatraz]]".
114	%%** "[[Recap/DuckTalesS2E2SuperDuckTales The Billionaire Beagle Boys Club]]".
115	* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Several episodes have Dipper Pines (and, to a lesser extent, his sister Mabel) investigating some weird goings-on in town, ranging from [[Recap/GravityFallsS1E3Headhunters tracking down a vandal who stole the head from a wax dummy of Grunkle Stan]] to [[Recap/GravityFallsS1E8IrrationalTreasure finding out the truth about the founding of Gravity Falls]] to [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E7SocietyOfTheBlindEye confronting a memory-stealing cult]].
116	* Penny from ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' is a perfect example of this trope. She is always sneaking around the enemy's latest hideout, trying to discover their plans and stop them. She sometimes narrowly escapes capture or detection, and other times gets caught, at which point her captor utters the quote at the top of the page.
117	* Jade from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' tends to get involved to the plot this way. Valmont even lampshades it to Jackie in "[[Recap/JackieChanAdventuresS2E25TheNewAtlantis The New Atlantis]]".
118	-->'''Valmont:''' So this is why your niece is always with you? And here I just thought you were horribly irresponsible.
119	%%* The main characters of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' are [[YouMeddlingKids treated this way]], despite the fact that they clearly aren't little kids[[note]]they're all teenagers[[/note]]. Hanna-Barbera made up for this with ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'', which follows the same characters when they were children. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of snooping do they do that causes them to be treated this way?)
120	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SnoopingLittleKid