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 You Know That Show and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
Unresolved Conflict/Loss By Technicality Film
I'm looking for a trope that encapsulates the idea of the hero losing his first encounter with the villain on a technicality or due to intervening events preventing a resolution. It is typically used to build tension for the final encounter.
Examples include Rocky losing on points when the bell rings moments before the knock out or the canyon opening between Rey and Kylo Ren at the end of episode 7 to leave their fight unresolved.
What's the trope for this bit from Bohemian Rhapsody? Film
In Bohemian Rhapsody (the movie), Roger is proposing the idea of "I'm In Love With My Car", which none of the others take seriously. What's the trope for when he points out that Brian wrote "You call me sweet like I'm some kind of cheese" and is therefore (as far as Roger is concerned- Brian, if you read this, please do not cast some sort of outer-space hex on me) no reliable critic?
Hero realizes someone has tried this before Film
I love scenes in movies where the protagonist realizes someone has tried this before, but the only good example I can think of is Neo in The Matrix Reloaded, when (spoiler!) the Architect tells him there have been however many "Ones" before him. Or, in literature, Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus has a similar plot point. I think it's quite poignant; skeletons along the journey, a de-centering of the protagonist's perspective. But I couldn't find a trope for it. (Tried looking at the page for Matrix Reloaded but didn't see anything. But could've missed it!)
Edited by tophtucker
Lovers first name affectionately Film
Hi I was looking through the site but I had trouble finding the following trope: Lovers or people who are flirting with each other calling the partner by their first name in an affectionate way. An example can be observed in the Netflix Sabrina trailer at 0:14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybKUX6thF8Q
Fighting even though you know you'll lose Film
Character(s) head into fight/competition/election/whatever knowing they're going to lose badly, but forging ahead anyways, either because they take pride in finishing the fight or because they're trying to set an example or what have you. Different than generic underdog trope, where they don't know if they can win. The key is the characters know for sure (or genuinely believe) they will lose and then do it anyways. Happens a lot, but here is one example:
GAMLING: "Too few have come. We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor."
THEODEN: "No, we cannot But we will meet them in battle, nonetheless."
Edited by louschu
Anticipated meeting ending Film
A work is about two people who are looking for each other, or one person who dreams about meeting that special someone. Near the end they see each other, but they're separated by some physical barrier (let's say they're on opposite sides of a street). The work ends with this physical barrier being removed (the traffic signal switches to walk), but their actual meeting isn't shown.
I've seen this trope at the end of Under the Same Moon and Marshmello's "LoVe U".
Psychopathic Doctors Film
Successful and/or rich doctors who avert our expectations of them to follow their hippocratic oath and serve others. They suddenly snap, becoming monstrous and possibly murdering innocents.
Bad Guy's Glowing Eyes Film
Is there a trope for the times in films (usually animated) where a villain will stare at the screen before a fade to black or transition, and their eyes will continue to glow through the darkness until the next scene?
Extremely long movie? Film
Do we have a trope for where a movie is really long (for example, 3 hours or 3.5 hours)? I don't think this is People Sit On Chairs as a trope.
I don't think Extra Long Episode fits, as that's for Live-Action TV.
Is there such a trope for this sort of thing?
No Antagonist, Mook Horror Show, or other Film
Hey, I am searching for a trope, in which the main character has tons of characters who cause him/her conflict, but not one person is solely the Big Bad. Does anyone know any trope that might fit this? Thank you.
Movie about man that resurrects women by playing flute? Film
When I was like 7 I saw a movie that for some reason got stuck in my head but I don't remember much about it. Actually, I remember almost nothing. What I remember: It takes place in some kind of village near mountains and a glade. I remember lots of grass. From the clothes, I remember it looked like Asterix and Obelix era (plain dresses, wooden houses). Gives me the idea of northern Europe? I know, not very helpful. The villagers "find" a man who I think seemed to be from a different village and could not communicate with him for some reason. There is a nice young lady that he has a close friendship with. One day when the girl is in the field she is killed by a rock? And they create a wooden structure, they put her body there for a watch (some kind of cultural thing I assume). And the mysterious man plays some kind of instrument (flute I think) and that brings her back to life? This might sound crazy but I often think about this movie and the scenes I remember. I am not sure how much of that is my imagination after 13 years. I would really appreciate if someone could give me the title or if you also remember this movie but not the title, maybe some more scenes that could help me with my search. Have a great day!
Only one character used in adaptation and everything else discarded? Film
The reason I ask about this is, I'm thinking of writing a Sandbox article for the 2020 Willy Wonka film, a Prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
A news article states "The film uses a Dahl character, but no other characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory appear, all original characters in this Prequel. It's based on a Roald Dahl work, but you don't really have one as such, and it doesn't feel like one either.".
I think that Alternate Continuity applies, and the creators have stated it is a Continuity Reboot, but is there a trope for where a work uses only one character from an iconic work and effectively throws out the rest of the supporting characters (who are also iconic characters in their own right)? I know there's Adapted Out, but is there any other similar trope that could also apply to this film?
Do we have any tropes relating to iconic characters?
Face of the Band probably doesn't really fit for this one.
I wasn't sure if it's In Name Only, since there's no sources to say the 2020 film is for certain an In Name Only Wonka film.
This relates to the quote above.
Do we have such a trope for the two things, especially the part about characters being entirely Adapted Out?
Edited by Merseyuser1
Guy says "Hey," other guy turns around, Guy says something Film
I see this trope a lot but can't find an article about it. The usually goes like this:
[Guy 1 and Guy 2 just finished having some kind of conversation and so Guy 1 turns around and walks away, until suddenly Guy 2 has something else to say]
Guy 2: "Hey, [Guy 1]"
[Guy 1 turns back to face Guy 2]
Guy 2: Some random line, often a "Good Luck" or some final statement or instruction
[Guy 1 either replies or just smiles, and then finally walks away]
Examples that come to mind right now include:
Mallrats: https://youtu.be/YFLlwtqHINs?t=3m33s
Second Glance aka Hey Scotty, Jesus Man (Probably a more well known one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTLlzHyfyS8
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (ENDING SPOILERS): https://youtu.be/ZVxuv9ne32U?t=1m50s
There are probably a bunch more examples of this but none of the top of my head.
Thanks!
Edited by BenJia
"The book is better" or "This isn't like the book so it sucks" trope Film
"The book is better" or "This isn't like the book so it sucks". Ive haer this a lot and I'm curious if it is a trope
Animal Flys Off With Person Film
Basically a trope where an animal runs/leaves the scene with a person with its grasp/stuck/trapped/snatched/etc
Fresh Start Failure? Film
Do we have this one? It's a common plot that after some tragedy - death of a parent, death of a child etc. - for the surviving members of the family deciding to move to somewhere new to get a clean break and to get away from the place where the memories of the dead person are too overwhelming.
Inevitably it all goes horribly wrong. The new house is haunted, the locals are insular and unfriendly, all the phone lines get cut, a serial killer decides they'd make perfect new victims, they find out the property they've bought is on an old Native American burial ground, the local dormant volcano decides to erupt, a zombie plague escapes from the nearby secret government research facility etc. etc.
In short, trying to make a fresh start in a new place due to a tragedy never works.
Do we have this?
Film about show business Film
A movie where a significant part of the plot is about the production of a Hollywood movie or Broadway Play. Show Within a Show covers the actually movie within the work, but do we have a trope for this kind of plot?
why did they drop their weapon Film
I don't think this is Do Not Drop Your Weapon which is about video games.
I am thinking of cases in which the protagonist abandons weapons in spite of still being in danger. This is especially obvious in The Raid in which the protagonist loses his police baton and his knife, then makes his injured buddy drop his combat knife, then has to do some surgey using a butter knife. And after that he walks in a corridor ignoring his own baton (plainly visible onscreen), and ends up fighting weaponless against people with machetes.
(In this case this is obviously because Rule of Cool).
Edited by gropcbf
People keep firing at something invunerable Film
What's the trope for where mooks fire rains of bullets or something similar at something that clearly takes no damage at all, allowing the thing to take them down one by one? The drugs warehouse scene in Robocop is the clearest example I can think of, but it happens quite a bit elsewhere, like in various Superman incarnations. This is different from shootouts against a much more skilled opponent, where you know a lucky shot might just win the fight.
Re-capping the quest mid-story Film
I've searched on this but can't find a direct hit. It's most frequently encountered in movies aimed at children, especially in classic Disney films and more recently in some Pixar movies too.
A little ways into the second act, a character will spontaneously summarize the nature of the quest the hero is on, presumably to remind the young viewers what's going on so they remain interested in the rest of the movie.
Examples would be the cows in the barn in "101 Dalmatians," explaining why the puppies have a long journey left to accomplish, and Mater the Tow Truck in "Cars" explaining to Lightning Mc Queen himself as to why he needs to get out of Radiator Springs in time to join the big race.
Is there an accepted name for this trope?
oops - found Film
Sorry - Was gonna ask about the whole "Teacher/Administrator/Mentor who inspires troubled/wayward students" plot trope but it's already covered by Save Our Students
Edited by CDumarr
Dodging the Hand Film
I’ve been looking for a trope where a character is in a closet or other cramped space hiding from someone or something, and then that someone or something extends a hand into the area either searching for the character or for something else, and the character has to dodge the hand or appendage. The someone or something never actually LOOKS inside, they just kinda feel around. A good example of this is in the 1993 film The Adventures of Huck Finn with Elijah wood where a man is trying to pull a sack of gold out of the closet that Elijah Wood is hiding, and he has to dodge the hand. When the man puts the gold back, the hand is searching for a hook to hang the bag from and Elijah Wood grabs the bag to simulate the hook. I feel like I’ve seen other examples of dodging or of people in closets handing objects to searching hands. It may be related to the trope of Blindly Stabbing, like in the film Raid: The Redemption where the character hiding in the wall has to dodge machetes being blindly stabbed through the wall where the bad guys guess he might be hiding. I ESPECIALLY want to find this trope because i feel that its existence is what makes Brad Pitt’s death in Burn After Reading so powerful. As he hides in the closet you just assume that he will dodge a hand and live, but instead he is found and instantly shot in the face, which is incredibly shocking BECAUSE of this trope being drilled into me, probably by more Disney type children films.
girl Film