Basic Trope: A character kicks their legs as they are being killed, captured, or eaten.
- Straight: As Alice is being swallowed head-first by the monstrous, man-eating Gobblor, she kicks her legs back and forth and screams.
- Exaggerated: Alice thrashes her legs in wide, over the top archs that sends both her shoes flying off and is gyrating her pelvis as well.
- Downplayed: As she's being eaten, Alice kicks her legs, but it's small and weak kicks more akin to swaying than anything.
- Justified: Alice's upper body is halfway down Gobblor's throat, with her arms pinned at her sides, so her legs are the only things free to move.
- Inverted:
- Last Grasp at Life
- Alice is getting swallowed feet-first, and all that can be seen are her arms sticking out of Gobblor's mouth, thrashing furiously.
- Subverted: Alice is swallowed head-first with only her legs sticking out, but loses consciousness from panic and is thus unable to kick her legs.
- Double Subverted: Alice regains consciousness, panics, and starts kicking her legs as she is swallowed.
- Parodied:
- Alice kicks her legs so hard that she actually knocks Gobblor off-balance, resulting in comical slapstick.
- Alice manages to kick while spinning her body in Gobblor's mouth as if breakdancing, causing both of them to fly up into the air as if her legs are helicopter blades.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice kicks her legs while being swallowed. Later, via a shot inside Gobblor's belly, we see that Alice is asleep and sleeprunning around aimlessly, since she was dreaming that she was running a marathon.
- Averted: Alice is not swallowed or in peril at any point, or if she is there is no scene of her kicking her legs.
- Enforced: "We need to show Alice kicking to demonstrate how desperate she is to survive."
- Lampshaded: "Practice the can-can in there all you like, Alice. It won't save you now."
- Invoked: Gobblor deliberately swallows Alice headfirst as he loves seeing his victims squirm helplessly on their way down.
- Exploited: Alice's comrade, Bob, tries to save her as she is being swallowed, but Gobblor directs Alice's kicking feet towards Bob to launch him away and prevent his interference.
- Defied: Although Alice is being swallowed, she accepts her fate and decides to go down with dignity, refusing to pointlessly kick her legs.
- Discussed:Gobblor: Gotta say, Alice, you actually looked kinda ridiculous when you were flailing your legs like that.Alice, inside Gobblor's belly: Well, excuse me! What was I supposed to do, hang there like an idiot?
- Conversed: "Honestly, why do characters always kick their legs like that? What do they think they're going to accomplish?"
- Played for Laughs: Alice kicks her legs in a comically over-the-top fashion.
- Played for Drama: Alice kicks her legs in a fearful way to demonstrate the peril she is in.
- Played for Horror: Alice descends towards certain death, her frantically kicking legs (accompanied by horrific screams) being the last thing the world will ever see of her before she disappears forever.
Back to Helpless Kicking
