Breaking the Fourth Wall

This article is about the comedy device used in various Disney properties. For the WandaVision episode, see Breaking the Fourth Wall (WandaVision).

Breaking the fourth wall is an often (but not always) comedy device used in fictional literature and media in which a character acknowledges the fact they are a character in said fiction and media, and are actually aware of being such.

There are several ways of breaking the fourth wall: examples include when a character refers to a particular part in a movie or television episode; when a character stops others from performing an occult or criminal act by referring to the fact that it is a "children's/family movie/show"; when a character responds to a real-world person who is not physically present (such as the narrator), or when a character looks toward the camera and often talks to or interacts directly with the viewers. This last method is commonly used for shows or movies aimed at younger viewers to promote and encourage audience participation, especially when a main or supporting character asks the viewers for help to solve problems or engage in conversations by asking questions.

Listed here are scenes in Disney movies, shows, video games, etc., where such characters break the fourth wall.

Cartoon shorts[]

• Mickey's Amateurs - At the very end, after Donald finishes reciting "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", the iris-out suddenly shuts around his neck, and he pushes it open in an attempt to get himself unstuck.
• Donald's Crime - Most of the short involves Donald interacting with his conscience, whose voice goads him into stealing money from Huey, Dewey, and Louie's piggy bank, which ultimately gets Donald in trouble with his nephews.
• Motor Mania - At the very end, Goofy, as Mr. Wheeler, turns toward the camera and shouts, "AH, SHUT UP!" to the narrator, who was educating him on safe driving habits.
• Cold War - At the very end, Goofy accidentally sneezes the iris-out away.
• Plutopia - At the very end, when Pluto and Milton start fighting each other, Mickey asks the audience, "What happened?"
• Lambert the Sheepish Lion - After Mr. Stork fails to return a lion cub that he accidentally brought to a meadow alongside some lambs, he serves as the narrator for the remainder of the short.
• Working for Peanuts - At the very end, Chip looks directly at the camera and sighs.
• Grand Canyonscope - At one point, Ranger Woodlore tells the tour group, "Spread out there, folks; this is CinemaScope." (In the pan-and-scan version, his line "CinemaScope" is changed to "a big canyon.")
• In the Bag - When Humphrey tries to get rid of the litter by burning it, Smokey comes in, stomping on the fire, and says his famous catchphrase, "Remember, only you can prevent forest fires," directly to the audience.
• It's Tough to Be a Bird - The M.C. Bird educates the audience about the history of birds, as well as various different bird species.
• Tummy Trouble - At the very end of the short, Baby Herman spits out the rattle and complains to the live-action director about the rattle-swallowing idea, and that he never wants to do that again.
• Roller Coaster Rabbit - While Roger Rabbit is riding the roller coaster, he almost goes out of the film. Then, at the very end of the short, Roger and Baby Herman crash into a live filming studio, where Roger accidentally ruins the film reel for the episode. The director blames Roger and angrily demands him to do the entire scene again, but he refuses and flees from the studio while crashing through the wall.
• Trail Mix-Up - When the geyser erupts, Roger, Baby Herman, the beaver, and the bear get blown out of the studio and end up crashing into Mount Rushmore, and the four emerge with visible injuries.
• Get a Horse! - Most of the short revolves around Mickey and company being shot out of the screen and interacting with the screen itself.

Club Penguin specials[]

• We Wish You a Merry Walrus: When the protagonists are aboard the pirate ship, the Migrator, Rockhopper says: "Now, let's get down to business. You can't be hiring a pirate ship without booty," then quickly whispers at the audience, saying, "By that, I mean cash."

Programming blocks[]

• In the second intro for the Magical World of Toons block on Toon Disney, right after Zeus blows out Hades' flames, Bonkers D. Bobcat lifts up the screen. In the 2002–2003 season, when the intro was altered to feature more recent characters, Bonkers was replaced by Lloyd Nebulon, accompanied by the animated versions of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen from Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action.

Comics[]

Uncle Scrooge[]

• On the first page of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - Chapter One: The Last of the Clan McDuck, when the narrator keeps asking about Scrooge's backstory, Scrooge turns toward the reader and screams, "NONE OF YOUR GOLDURN BUSINESS!"
• In The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - Chapter Twelve: The Richest Duck in the World, Donald takes notice of Scrooge's framed Eisner Award that the story arc won in 1995 for Best Serialized Story. (It should be noted that this gag was not in the original European printing of the story.)

Darkwing Duck (comic book)[]

• In "Turnabout is F.O.W.L. Play", the first page shows Steelbeak talking directly to the reader. Additionally, the first bit of text says, "A very long prologue," referring to how the story doesn't reveal its title until the sixth page. Meanwhile, Darkwing attempts to free himself during the flashback. When the flashback that follows is only a single panel long, he criticizes it and yells out: "Show a real flashback! You guys can afford it!" Then, Steelbeak intrudes on the second flashback, pointing out that the events depicted aren't how Darkwing really got captured. After preventing Darkwing from escaping, Steelbeak declares, "And now, finally, at last, de moment youse have been waitin' for...de title page!" Finally, the story ends with a sudden return to the second flashback, with Steelbeak saying he brought them back to it and is letting Darkwing rewrite the story so that, this way, Darkwing doesn't blow him up at the end.
• In "Son of the Return of the Revenge of the 3-D Man", Darkwing figures out a plan to defeat 3-D Man by literally peeking ahead in the story, grabbing the upper-right corner of the current page and seeing what happens two pages later.
• In "Cat in a Hot Tin Suit", Launchpad informs Darkwing that they probably won't get to the heavy stuff for at least a few more pages.
• In the Joe Books retelling of "The Kitty Cat Kaper", when Darkwing resumes narrating the story following Gosalyn's interruption, it shows the same panel from before, with Darkwing telling Launchpad: "Take note, L.P.! No caption, no scene transition, and the artist gets to reuse a panel! Everyone wins!"
  • Later in the same story, when Darkwing starts yelling, "BLANKETY-BLANKETY-BLANK!", Launchpad cautions him, reminding him that children may be reading the comic.

Kingdom Hearts II manga[]

• During the "Land of Dragons" portion of the manga, Mushu is visibly shocked when he realizes Sora, Donald, and Goofy do not recognize him (although in the first game, the heroes are already familiar with the dragon due to his appearance as a summon, a role which was cut from its respective manga adaptation). Mushu then produces his own copy of the original Kingdom Hearts manga, and is annoyed to discover that he doesn't appear.

External links[]

Films[]

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/Animated films

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/Pixar films

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/Live-Action films

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/Muppet films

Shows[]

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/Pre-1990s Animated shows

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/1990s Animated shows

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/2000s Animated shows

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/2010s Animated shows

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/2020s Animated shows

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/Live-action shows

Video games[]

Main article: Breaking the Fourth Wall/Video games