Fly-at-the-Camera Ending

The last scene of the movie is coming to a close. For some reason, something in the scene — perhaps a flying machine, an object, or even a character — decides to start flying, and comes straight at the camera. Just as it's about to "impact", the scene cuts to black and we go to the credits. If they actually "hit" it, that falls under Camera Abuse.

The flying person/object doesn't need to be actually flying, but more often than not, it is.

Most common in special-effects laden movies. After the rise of CGI, this became much more popular, but earlier movies display it as well.

Compare Body Wipe, a similar zoom-in effect happening at the transition between two scenes, and Flyaway Shot, which might be combined with this trope. Contrast Riding into the Sunset where it ends with something moving away from the camera. Often overlaps with Jump Scare, specifically in horror movie endings.

This is an Ending Trope so there may be spoilers ahead.

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Examples:

Films — Animation

• The ending of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (happens right after the Bookends), with an Atlantean flying machine obscuring the camera.
• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm ends with Batman swinging towards the screen so that his black cape covers the entire screen.
• Hiro and Baymax do this at the end of Big Hero 6 as well as at the end of the closing credits, right before The Stinger.
• Cars:
  • The first movie ends with a VW Beetle flying into the camera just right after we see the minivan couple still lost in the desert they were in.
  • The Spin-Off movie, Planes, ends with Dusty and Skipper flying at the camera. But, given that this is a movie about flying vehicles, it's highly expected.
• Despicable Me 3: Dru commandeers Gru's airplane filled with Minions and flies straight at the camera, ending the movie with a close-up on his face.
• The Incredibles inverts, by finishing with the camera "flying" at Mr. Incredible's Chest Insignia.
• Open Season ends with a rabbit thrown at the camera.
• Talking of stingers, in the post-credits scene for Scooby-Doo: Camp Scare The Specter is revealed to be a real ghost and flying towards the camera.
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut ends with two naked angels giving Kenny wings and a halo and he flies into the camera as he enters into Heaven.
• In Turning Red, Mei's nightmare ends with a couple red panda spirits flying at the camera before a Smash to Black.
• Wonder Woman (2009) has Wonder Woman charging into the camera as she is ready to take on the Cheetah.

Films — Live-Action

• Back to the Future:
  • The first movie ends with the DeLorean flying up in the air, turning around, then warping through time just as it hits the camera.
  • The third movie ends the same way, except with the train in the place of the DeLorean.
• Batman Forever and Batman & Robin both end with Batman and co. running past a light to the camera in homage to the beginning of the 1960's series.
• Batman Begins ends with Batman swinging off a rooftop and into the camera.
• Played for laughs in Blades of Glory, which ends with Jimmy and Chazz soaring out into space for no discernable reason, in a film which is otherwise completely free of anything supernatural.
• Casper ends with Casper flying up to the camera, winking, spelling out "The End", then the friendly ghost apparently trying to devour the audience.
• Death Note: The Last Name's final shot is Ryuk heading towards the screen while cackling, after having circled the Tokyo Tower.
• Daredevil throws his weapon into the camera at the end of Daredevil (2003).
• The Evil Dead (1981) inverts this with the camera flying at Bruce Campbell at the end.
• At the end of Fantastic Four (2005), Johnny does this after recreating the team's Chest Insignia in the sky. Subverted in that the movie actually ends after a minute or so, following a sequence where Doctor Doom's return is foreshadowed through an incredibly eerie Sequel Hook.

• Ghostbusters (1984) ends with Slimer flying at the camera, mouth open as if to eat it.
• Danny Zuko's car at the end of Grease.
• To many fans' horror, the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ends with a freeze frame◊ of Harry flying at the camera, so his giant face is smushed across the screen.
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) ends with The Heart of Gold flying at the camera and engaging the Infinite Improbability Drive. The visual effects used for the drive mean the very last thing we see is Douglas Adams' head.
• Justice League (2017) has a post-credits sequence with Superman and Flash about to see who is faster with a race. It ends with them blasting off toward the screen, with a moment of them in Bullet Time just before we cut back to normal and they zip past. Naturally, we don't learn who wins.
• Kung Fury ends with a giant robot eagle ridden by Adolf Hitler flying straight at the camera. It's just that kind of movie.
• The original ending to Little Shop of Horrors featured Audrey II bursting through the screen to devour the audience.
• The end of The Matrix has Neo, having become The One, challenging the Machines, declaring that he's going to show them "a world without you", and then taking flight for the first time. Downplayed as he flies by the camera before it goes black, thus slightly averting its path.
  • The Matrix Resurrections calls back to this by having Neo and Trinity flying in tandem toward the camera before cutting straight to credits.
• The end of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ends with an old fashioned biplane flying at the camera.
• One of the endings of Paranormal Activity is demon-possessed Katie attacking the camera.
• In The Stinger of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack the Undead Monkey charges at the camera.
• Resident Evil: Retribution ends with a dragon flying at the camera.
• Serenity has a chunk of the titular ship flying at the camera. And with this, it manages both Riding into the Sunset and fly-at-the-camera at the same time. And Book Ends nicely with the first time we see the ship in the movie... a piece of the ship breaks off, and Mal says, "What was that?"
• Spider-Man:
  • The first Spider-Man ends with Spidey swinging at the camera.
  • The Amazing Spider-Man ends with Spidey swinging through a region of New York after jumping from a crane, he then shoots a web-line as the moon shows clearly behind Peter in slow motion.
• Being an parody of the Superhero films, Superhero Movie ends with Rick/Dragonfly with his love interest Jill in his arms, flying off into the night towards the camera as Dragonfly gives a dramatic narration about having learned to be a true hero... only to be hit by a helicopter that was just off frame.
• Upside-Down Magic ends with Nory in her Dritten form flying toward the camera and winking at the viewers.
• Ultraman Taiga The Movie: New Generation Climax: Having defeated the monster Grimdo, the film ends with a montage of all the Ultras flying towards the camera, one at a time, into the stratosphere, taking turns waving at the audience as they do so.

Live-Action TV

• Game of Thrones:
  • The third season of ends with Drogon, one of Daenerys' three dragons, flying at the camera with a resounding screech.
  • The sixth season ends with all three dragons flying at the camera while Daenerys and her armada are crossing the sea to Westeros.
• Kamen Rider Kiva ends with the protagonist's Kid from the Future appearing with future monsters hot on his heels. Kiva, Dark Kiva, Ixa, Future Kiva and the Arms Monsters all leap into the air for another fight, with everyone freezing just before Kiva Rider Kicks the camera.
• Smallville:
  • "Warrior" ends with Chloe firing an arrow at the camera.
  • The finale ends with Clark ripping off his shirt to reveal the Superman suit and charging at the camera.
• Star Trek: Voyager concluded at least two episodes this way:
  • In "Hope and Fear", Janeway and Seven end up playing a game on the holodeck that involves knocking a floating disk around using hand phasers. Eventually, one shot finds the camera.
  • In "The Fight", after Chakotay frees Voyager from "chaotic space" with some help from the local aliens, he ends up taking some time out for boxing on the holodeck. Boothby coaches him to make an adjustment to KO his opponent; then we get the second-person point of view as Chakotay punches said opponent in the face.
• The last episode of The Vicar of Dibley ends with Geraldine flying into the air and towards the camera. Yeah.

Puppet Shows

• The PBS version of Caillou with the puppet segments have each half-hour episode end this way, with the final puppet segment concluding with a CGI Monarch butterfly flying right into the camera.
• The Sesame Street musical skit "Surprise" has a Pie in the Face ending with the pie flying straight into the face of the viewer.

Theatre

• At the end of the Screen-to-Stage Adaptation of Mary Poppins, Mary flies over the audience.

Video Games

• CyClones ends with you escaping the exploding alien mothership via an escape pod, and returning to earth. You then land in the clouds before flying at the camera - cue credits.
• Exmortis 2 ends with your Mysterious Informant Flash-Stepping at the camera, finally revealing his face: it's the Greater-Scope Villain Lord Vlaew, having decided that You Have Outlived Your Usefulness.

• The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon ends with Spyro and Cynder happily flying around in Avalar, then swoop in towards the camera.
• LEGO Harry Potter recreates the final scene from the third movie, but takes it further and ends with Harry in orbit.

• Pokémon X and Y: After the camera pans up during the ending, a Fletchling flies by and into the camera. Cut to black, and the credits roll. Doubles as Book Ends, as it mirrors how the player was woken up by their mom's Fletchling at the start of the game.
• Sonic the Hedgehog: The ending sequences to many 2D games feature Sonic (or Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, etc.) jumping towards the player and posing while suspended in air. Sonic the Hedgehog 2's ending is the most notable: both Tails' plane and Super Sonic fly away from the player only to come back head first.
• Super Metroid has Samus's gunship flies into the camera right before closing with a "See you next mission."
• Vexx ends with the title character punching the camera (presumably a shadow wraith) in the face, leaving us with just the title logo.

Western Animation

• Elena of Avalor ends it first episode with Luna flying at the camera.
• The last episode of Justice League Unlimited ends with Batman running into the screen.
• "Magical Mystery Cure", the final episode of Season 3 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ends with Twilight Sparkle flying into the camera.
• The Simpsons: The episode "Bye Bye Nerdie" features Francine, a girl bully Lisa tries to befriend who for some reason attacks only nerds and no one else. Lisa uses her for a science project, discovering that she attacks those who secrete "Poindextrose". After beating up several scientists at a science fair, Francine gets a smell of the viewer and charges at the camera.
• The ending scene of the Teen Titans (2003) episode "Sum of His Parts" has Cyborg chucking a football at a young boy with a prosthetic arm and telling him to "go long". The football flies into the vicinity of the camera, but doesn't actually hit it.
• Optimus Prime does this in the finale of Transformers: Armada.

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