The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at the Trope Launch Pad.
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openSurprise, It's a woman! Western Animation
I've got this trope in mind since I was a kid. I remember seeing this three times on cartoons*, the trope is as follows:
A mysterious and/or masked character appears on an episode, later, on the same episode OR in another episode, the character is unmasked, revealing that it's a woman.
- Most notably, on the "Regular Show" in-space episode, where there is an assassin with a freeze-ray gun, who later is revealed to be a woman.
openHollow Trees Western Animation
About 90% of all old tree trunks and logs laying on the ground in a forest are hollow.
They are a steady tube, strong enough to withstand any attacks of possible predators when the "preytagonist" (prey-protagonist) hides inside.
This phenomena can be observed in real life, but cartoons seems to use this all the time.
This trope might be related to hollow trees used to live in https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArborealAbode
or just one way for animators to use they artistic licenses.
openA form of One-Episode Wonder Western Animation
Long time reader, first time commenter! So I might be misformatting here... warning on that. This is a specific iteration of One-Episode Wonder that I often see in TV or in episodic media. A character shows up for one episode who then out-does a regular character who is known for being a particular person. The regular character then gets jealous or angry, but luckily the guest character leaves by the end of the episode. For example, in the "Uncle Grandpa" episode "Nacho Cheese," big-talker cool guy Pizza Steve gets stood up by his actually radical and talented father, Nacho Cheese. This makes Pizza Steve jealous and feel unappreciated by his friends. It's kind of a plot and a character - the plot is dealing with arrival of the character, the character trope is the One-Episode Wonder variant. Is this a trope, do we have it, or do you feel it has the potential to become a trope?
Edited by StrontiumsunopenBallet dancer? Western Animation
Is there a trope for when someone is a ballerina or wants to be one? Lily Fair in Rose Petal Place is one, and Tea/Anzu from Yu-Gi-Oh wants to be one. Most dancing tropes I've found are stuff like Dance Battler and not just... well, dancing.
openSaving an Oblivious Person from a Death Obstacle Course Western Animation
Hi! I'm looking for a trope I remember from Looney Tunes or adjacent cartoons where a generally stressed protector figure has to repeatedly save an oblivious character in their charge from a parade of deadly obstacles? For some reason, in my mind the oblivious character is doing something like reading while walking, and the other character is doing things like putting planks of wood over bottomless pits, catching anvils, etc. as the oblivious character keeps walking into dangerous situations.
I'm torn between this being an actual thing, or some kind of childhood thing I dreamed up, but in any case, thanks for the help!
openViewport Hole Western Animation
A hole is made in something in Bob's possession, and Bob's first thought is to look through the fresh hole.
There are a handful of cartoons which do this, but the quickest specific example I can think of is Deadpool
openSwallowing a scene Western Animation
A scene where a something swallows the universe and the scene itself. Visually the borders of the scene shrink and wiggle to reveal white nothingness behind the borders of the animated "scene". Can be used as a non canonical way to end an episode. I can't think of a specific example but I think I've seen it in futurama where nibbler "swallows the scene" to close the episode.
openCharacter naming trope Western Animation
Is there a trope other than Theme Naming for where characters have a suffix to denote which group they belong in, such as the -bory (good characters) and -gury (evil) in Noonbory And The Super 7, or isn't there such a trope?
Edited by Merseyuser1openCharacter appears but doesn't speak Western Animation
When a character in a non-live action medium (animation etc) appears and may play a role in the plot but doesn't speak, usually because of Absentee Actor.
The character has spoken in a previous appearance (esp if it's their first) and no in-universe reason is given for them not speaking now so the silence is conspicuous.
Eg: Many fusions in Steven Universe that have spoken in their first appearances but don't in their fleeting appearances thereafter, usually because the VA's are difficult to bring in again.
openCharacter runs in the same place trying to escape a threat before they actually move. Western Animation
Rule of funny always applies here. It is done when a character see's something that threatens them, either being a monster, trap or object falling to the ground. They then attempt to react by first screaming and then attempting to run. They then spend a few seconds in the air running in place until either : a) They barely escape said threat and speed off screen with instant acceleration. b) They end up getting caught/ flattened/ injured/ trapped.
openMessing with an established formula? Western Animation
I'm trying to find a trope I've seen several times through the years, especially in western animation. Alot of the shows hve an established formula. Take Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for example. They Find a problem. They shout "Oh Tootles!" Tootles shows up, then they go through a multiple choice selection of tools, asking the viewer which one will solve the problem. This happens every eppisode, several times an episode. However, sometimes they shake it up, in a surprising way. One episode see's Donald Duck in a time sensitive situation, they go through the normal beginning, only to have Donald Interupt, shout the answer, and hurry the process along. That's what I'm looking for. When a show sets up an established format, and way of doing things, but then subverts that format in a way that's often humorous. Would that be just a basic subversion trope, or does it have it's own category? Thanks for the help.
openVomit that isn't Vomit Western Animation
Is there a trope for when a character throws up, but it's not vomit? One work that immediately comes to mind with this is Gravity Falls, both with the classic rainbow gnome scene from the first episode, and later on when Stan imagines the tourists as wallets and sees one poor carsick sap projectile vomit coins. I've checked Vomit Discretion Shot and Vomit Indiscretion Shot, but the descriptions don't quite fit with this.
Edited by SpongeBob3899openYou hand it over first! Western Animation
Alice and Bob makes a deal. Bob gives Alice 3 pigs in exchange for him receiving one cow. However, they do not agree on how they are going to do this before hand.
Bob: "You give me the cow" Alice: "Not before you handover all of the pigs" From episode 3.12 of the legend of korra.
openNumbered supersoldiers Western Animation
The show had these kids with powers that were activated by biting a chip that was implanted in their teeth. I think the characters were given numbers for names. It is even possible it was an anime, but I cannot remember. I've been trying to remember forever, but its hard to remember the details.
Edited by Codimac14openInterior Decorating Gag where Western Animation
Alice tells Bob to repaint the room from boring brown to another more exciting color. After countless repaints that leaves Alice unsatisfied, Bob repaints the walls brown again, by which Alice gleefully tells him "Perfect!".
I've seen that gag on two Spongebob episodes, where Squidward tells Spogebob and Patrick the couch to a more comfortable position; and where Squidward tells Spongebob and Mr. Krabs to redecorate the hotel suite.
openEducational Inaccuracies in King of the Hill Western Animation
In King of the Hill, substitute teachers like Peggy are often shown grading papers and performing major duties as subs. Having been a sub in Texas myself, I can say that subbing involved more babysitting of classrooms of various ages rather than actual teaching. What trope would this fall under?
openSomething sounds poetic or deep, but isn't Western Animation
Is there a trope for when something (a song lyric, a line, etc.) sounds meaningful at first, but when you stop & think about it, it's meaningless?
I'm thinking about the line "Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?" in a song from Disney/Pocahontas, which as CinemaSins pointed out, is pure nonsense.
openWhat's the point if you don't need it? Western Animation
there is this Netflix show called Voltron, Legendary Defender, where the central conflict is mainly between the pilot of the ship that serves as the "head" of the most powerful weapon in the universe and the previous owner, who now has extremely powerful creatures and technology at his own disposal, separate from his old ship. however, he is desperately attached to the idea of getting his old ship back. this conflict ultimately leads to him enacting a plan to build a giant robot that he pilots solo and is capable of nearly wrecking the combined power of the five-pilot old ship.he obvioussly fails, but this is my question:
What if he won? if he's so powerful to beat the thing he's trying so hard to get to further his own personal power by such a large margin, his whole life goal was moot, because he clearly doesn't need it anymore. is there some trope like "If This Plan Succeeds, my life is a lie" or "unintentionally Trying to get the all Powerful famous weapon with an even more all powerful self-invented weapon"?
openCartoon Animals Become Food Western Animation
Is there a trope for when a talking animal of a species commonly cooked as food, when subject to intense heat, turns into that food? For instance, cartoon chickens and ducks turn into a platter of roast chicken/duck, complete with the platter itself appearing out of nowhere, or a cartoon cow turning into a steak or a hamburger (bun included).
Edited by ZombieAladdin

I was wondering if a certain trope has been classified, or has yet to be. The phenomenon spans many types of animation, and is similar, but somewhat different to the travelling pipe bulge. To give an example, imagine a cartoon character is working on, or resting near, an engine. The engine starts, and the character gets sucked into it. Then the exhaust pipe gets shorter and bulges outward, then fires the character out, almost like a cannon, or a person spitting something out. Is there a trope like that?