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Bigger on the Inside: Difference between revisions
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* In Mighty Avengers, Hank Pym has been revealed to have one as well, using size-altering Pym Particles to hide an entire giant laboratory with multiple floors and huge rooms... all inside a single closet. Amadeus Cho immediately compares it to the TARDIS.
* In ''Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire'', the nearly omnipotent Prime Mover "lives in his own little world.... He keeps it in his quarters." Actually, it doesn't look all that little.
** He's terraforming his own planet, by hand. With a shovel. And filling an ocean with a bucket that also fits this trope. "You just need the right bucket."
* The 1980's comic ''X-Thieves'' ([[Xtreme Kool Letterz|short for "Aristocratic Extraterrestrial Time-Travelling Thieves"]]) had the protagonists ride around in a "TARDIS-40 space yacht." Despite being able to use a standard New York City parking space, this was shown to have (among many other things) a planetary surface, or at least a significant chunk of one, inside it.
* In ''[[Fables]]'', the business office of Fabletown is bigger on the inside than out: it's indicated that nobody knows the full extent of the complex, although this is because the ''actual office'' is somewhere unknown and the building acts as a portal. {{spoiler|They recently lost the building, and those inside the office are still trapped}}.
** Fables also has the very important 'Witching Cloak' which can store much inside it's folds, one of it's many powers. (Careful; the weakness is it's still a cloak and can be yanked off like any other).
* In ''[[Runaways]]'', the Steins do their mad science in a spacious laboratory that looks like a small shed on the outside. Nico suggests that it might be a hologram.
* [[Doctor Strange]] and his Sanctum Sanctorum. Of course, he's a wizard so...[[Justified Trope|you know]].
* ''[[Elf Quest]]'''s Palace of the High Ones may be bigger on the inside, though it's never stated explicitly.
** Also, in the ''Shards'' storyline, the "tallest tower" in Gromuhl Djun's fortress actually has the lowest elevation because there are more floors below ground.
* One of the comics about [[Cubitus]] shows the eponymous dog passing through several chambers of an opulent palace... and eventually emerging from his ordinary doghouse.
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** In ''[[2010: The Year We Make Contact]]'', the ''Leonov'''s interior sets aren't even remotely the right shape to fit into its hull. Peter Hyams apparently wanted all of the rooms to be interconnected on the same level in order to film [[Walk and Talk]] shots.
* In ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', when Grant and Sattler enter their trailer, from the outside it's simply a camper that looks like it barely has enough headroom. Once inside, it's as big as a double-wide, and the ceiling extends a good 2-3 feet above their heads.
* In "Mary Poppins", we see one of the earliest examples, when she opens her carpet bag and pulls out a hat stand and a large mirror, followed by a plant, and an ornate lamp. When the children Jane and Michael inspect the carpet bag it appears to be empty.
* In "[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]" The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the entire realm of Narnia is contained inside of a Wardrobe. (Technically this fits under "Literature" as well, since this was a book and a movie.)
** Narnia is another dimension, the wardrobe is just a way of getting there.
* In a lot of Hollywood Musicals, internal sets start off small but magically become bigger when there's an extended dance scene. One example is the cabin in [[Seven Brides for Seven Brothers]] which looks small and poky from the outside, much to Millie's dismay when she arrives with her new husband, Adam. Yet when she leads the brothers in the Goin' Courtin' dance, the main living room grows to barn-like proportions. This is subverted a little in the later external barn-raising dance scene when the barn in question only looks to be about 12ftx12ft.
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** [[The Library of Babel|The library of Unseen University]] also is much bigger on the inside - like a Black Hole that can read.
*** Strictly, the Library is connected to L-Space, which connects together ALL libraries, bookshops etc, so it's more than just bigger on the inside...
** In ''Sourcery'' the heroes transport themselves in a magic lamp ''which they are carrying at the same time'' (with the lamp ''also inside itself''). The trick is in pulling this off before the laws of physics find out.
** When Rincewind first sees the inside of Death's cottage, the narration comments that he's so used to this that ''"The way things were these days, he'd have laughed sarcastically if anyone had said you couldn't fit a quart into a pint pot."''
** Also the Temple of Bel-Shamharoth in ''Colour of Magic'', and the Lancre Caves in ''Lords and Ladies''. The space inside the Dancers in ''Lords and Ladies'' hangs a lampshade on this, "The circle was a few yards across, it shouldn't appear to contain so much distance."
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** In ''The Last Continent'', Bugarup University has a tower that's Taller at the Top: from the bottom, and while climbing it, it only seems to be about twenty feet tall, but the view from the top appears to be half a mile up.
*** Similarly, though not played for laughs, in [[Patricia Mc Killip]]'s ''Harpist in the Wind'' (third in the ''Riddle-Master'' trilogy) there's a tower with an external spiral staircase that appears to be finite in size, but when you try to climb it you'll find that the top is always the same distance above you... ''unless'' the owner feels like letting you in.
* Several locations in ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'', mostly those which are [[Invisible to Normals]], are hidden in small spaces: Grimmauld Place, Platform 9¾, the tents the Weasleys use at the Quidditch World Cup... but this is literally because [[A Wizard Did It]].
** Hermione's tiny little beaded handbag in ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|Deathly Hallows]]''. It fits in her sock, but it contains clothes, books (many, many books), tents, and a framed portrait.
** Arthur Weasley expands the inside of his Ford Anglia so the entire Weasley family and then some can fit inside comfortably.
*** The Ministry Cars from ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban|Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' work the same way.
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== Live Action TV ==
* The TARDIS, "[[Buffy-Speak|up-and-downy]] stuff in a big blue box" from ''[[Doctor Who]]'' is the [[Trope Codifier]].
** It is such a recognisable example of this trope that the word 'Tardis' can actually be found in the dictionary, defined as 'something which appears to be much larger on the inside than on the outside'.
** Also used to dramatic effect in the episode "Doomsday": The Daleks mention that the [[Black Box|Genesis Ark]] will establish their dominance because of "Time Lord science". The Doctor wonders what that means, and near the climax, {{spoiler|it's revealed that the Daleks meant this aspect of Time Lord science - the ark, though tiny, contains millions of Daleks.}}
*** In fact, Daleks are already shown to have this technology in the original series episode ''The Chase'', which the Doctor seems to have inexplicably forgotten.
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** The interior of the TARDIS is a great deal bigger than a mall - in the NA ''Blood Heat'' she actually materialises around an entire ''planet''!
*** Talking of malls, the doctor's dressing room, in which we see the tenth Doctor choose his new attire, resembles a very roomy clothes shop, covering a couple of floors of the Tardis.
** The episode "The Doctor's Wife" lets us see more of the TARDIS for the first time in New Who, but that's not why its so notable for this particular trope. {{spoiler|The TARDIS, upon taking a human body, feels that humans- and the Doctor- are bigger on the inside, and she's able to overcome the force which has taken control of her Police Box self because he's so much ''smaller'' on the inside.}} It's a wonderful twist which shows this trope might not just be about space.
* The myth of Baba Yaga is parodied in ''[[The Mighty Boosh]]'' with Babu Yagu, aka The Hitcher, whose travel chest contains an entire zoo.
* The Pylons from ''[[Land of the Lost (TV series)|Land of the Lost]]''
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* In ''[[Engine Sentai Go-onger]]'', The Ginjiro-go has a large-sized HQ within.
* ''[[Full House]]'' lampshades the dynamics of the family's house in the last episode.
* The spaceship ''Jupiter 2'' from [[Lost in Space]] fits this trope through a case of [[They Just Didn't Care]]. In the original unaired pilot, it had only a single deck, and the external scale clues (view ports & airlock door) were proportioned to match. By the first aired episode, however, the script had added a second living deck, which obviously could not fit inside the exterior. It got worse when you considered that they had to fit the Chariot (a van sized land vehicle) inside somehow – and became ridiculous when the Space Pod and its launch bay were retconned in during the second season. The heights of the ludicrous, however, waited for a third-season episode, in which a never-before-seen ''third'' deck was added (and then instantly forgotten). To make matters worse, the “Full Scale” crash-landing-mode mock-up was not only too small, it was obviously proportioned differently from the flight model.
* Galen's ship in ''[[Crusade]]'' looks no bigger than a standard shuttle. We are only shown a glimpse of the interior (when Gideon is rescued by Galen in a flashback), but it looks much roomier inside. Of course, given that this is a [[Magic From Technology|technomage]] ship, it makes sense (it's likely just an illusion).
* An early 2000s [[Playhouse Disney]] show called [[Out Of The Box]] took place in a house built out of several large cardboard boxes piled together, but inside it's a large room that could never be made out of a few boxes.
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== Newspaper Comics ==
* [[Beetle Bailey|Mort Walker's]] comic strip ''Boner's Ark'' takes place on a boat that from the outside looks like a rowing boat with a deep hull and one tiny cabin. Since it houses dozens, possibly hundreds of [[Furry Comic|anthropomorphic animals]] (including one tyrannosaurus rex), it's obviously much bigger than that.
* [[Peanuts|Snoopy's]] doghouse is probably one of the more "classic" examples. It looks standard on the outside, but contains several large, opulently decorated rooms (and the famous Van Gogh/Andrew Wyeth painting).
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** The Deku Tree seems bigger inside as well, but still resembles a tree, somewhat.
* The village of the Weavers in ''[[Loom (video game)|Loom]]''. Despite being simple tents (roughly as large as a pup tent), the insides are much larger. The main temple housing the Loom is a veritable cathedral. Justified, since the Weavers are capable of [[Incredibly Lame Pun|warping the fabric of time and space.]]
* The ''[[Cool Ship|Ebon Hawk]]'' in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' is noticeably larger on the inside than the outside. However, considering it is based on the aforementioned ''Millennium Falcon'', this could be [[Fridge Logic|contrived]] [[Lampshade Hanging|as a something of an]] [[Affectionate Parody]].
** Likewise, the ''Normandy'' in ''[[Mass Effect]]'' is also larger on the inside.
* Eientei and the Scarlet Devil Mansion in the ''[[Touhou Project|Touhou]]'' series. The head maid of the Scarlket Devil Mansion likes to play with time and space. Eientei contains (or contained) at least one hallway whose length is impossible and whose ultimate destination is not only outright impossible but ''makes no sense''. Since it's Eientei, there are too many ways of Handwaving its existence (supergenius doctor, eternity manipulation, insanity waves; take your pick).
** Possibly the ultimately example is Miko's pad, Senkai. It' an infinite amount of space contained in ''crack''.
* Odd as it may seem, ''[[
* ''[[Halo]]'': The outside model for the Pillar of Autumn is smaller than the (inferred) distance the player has to travel in the final level. [http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_poaconundrum/ Lookit].
** This trope is also inverted if you consider the level where you have to run from the bridge in the very front of the bow to the engine room in the stern. By that level the Pillar of Autumn is actually considerably SMALLER then the outside model.
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* In ''[[Blue Yonder]]'', [http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1190170/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-11/ Jared thinks the building might be this -- he has some trouble accepting that it's just an apartment building.]
* Nella must have infused [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s fridge with TARDIS powers before she turned evil, 'cos the inside of that thing is huge.
** Doctor Tease actually gets blamed for it.
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*** The current reigning champion of space utilization is the Honda Fit. Here they 1) Made a conscious decision that there would ''never'' be an all-wheel-drive version of any vehicle on the platform, and did without a rear axle, and 2) Put the gas tank under the ''front'' seats rather than the rear seat as is typical of front-drive cars. The result is a flat load floor with the back seat down, almost a foot lower than that of a Toyota Yaris with the same roof height and about 40% more cubic volume.
** Volkswagen Beetles also have this effect. Everybody thinks they're itty-bitty pieces of crap, but they're actually very roomy thanks to the domed shape of the Beetle, which allow things to be much bigger on the inside than they appear to be from the outside. The old Beetle also does this thanks to its rear engine leaving more than enough space in the fender available for the passengers' legs Although spread out (between the main front compartment and an often-overlooked space behind the rear seats) there is also a considerable amount of luggage space..
** The same goes for the Smart brand of vehicles. Clever placement of engine components allows very large people to drive these very, very small cars.
** The Renault Avantime was an inversion of this. An attempt to make a sporty car out of the base of their Espace minivan, it sacrificed room in the process despite still looking like a van. A book called ''The World's Worst Cars'' managed to describe it as "The TARDIS In Reverse."
** Toyota Priuses manage to pull [[Bigger on the Inside]] too; you can fit a couple of fully assembled bicycles and several sacks of groceries into the trunk if you lay down the backseat. And it's a ''compact car.''
** Some people have vans or small trucks retrofitted into tiny homes, complete with bed, kitchen, storage space, etc.
* Happens all the time in the world of computing. Data compression and procedural generation can pack vast amounts of output data into comparatively small files.
** That 5MB [[
** That DVD you rented with a 2.5 hour movie on it? Uncompressed, the video alone would take up roughly 280GB. The disc only holds 8.5GB.
** That game which takes up 4GB of disk space will almost certainly throw several thousand times that much data at you over the course of playing it from start to finish. Assuming you run it at 1440* 900 pixels, get 60 frames per second, and take 20 hours to finish the game, that's about 16 terabytes of video data thrown at you over the course of the game (with probably a couple of gigabytes worth of audio thrown in as well).
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* The Hard Knocks "tactical laser tag" arena near the University of Central Florida is quite modest from the outside: a single polarized glass door with the logo and several posters advertising operating hours and special events, with the left and right taken up by generic office blocks. Upon entering you find a full internet cafe (including a military firing range simulation) and a full warehouse and office space for combat. It's not until you enter the office arena that you realize that the "generic office blocks" were also bought out by Hard Knocks and made into the arenas.
* Related to the Disney examples above there are some cases where this can't actually be done, but it's possible to give an illusion of it with careful design. Even the choice of paint can have an effect, with bright colors tending to make a room feel bigger than it is.
* Look at the webpage you're reading. One tiny hyperlink will lead you to thousands upon thousands of more webpages, all of them with more hyperlinks to thousands upon thousands of more webpages... all within your personal computer. The internet itself fits this trope nicely.
* A common interior design trick, often used in stores and restaurants, is to give the illusion of this by having large, wall-sized mirrors which give the illusion of the space extending to far greater lengths than would be expected.
** This works right up until someone walks into it.
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