Cliff Stack

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

An Amusing Injury trope, where a group of characters running along stop just short of the cliff, or the edge of the pool, or the pit of deadly spikes.

And then....along comes the slowpoke, who doesn't manage to stop in time (or at all).

CRASH.

Sometimes found without a distinct pause between second to last and last stacker. May or may not work with stationary people/objects being knocked over a cliff or otherwise lost inadvertently. May or may not work where everyone stops, and then the cliff breaks or a similar accident sends them over.

Generally found in animated material, but sometimes found in live action as well. Almost always a Comedy Trope.

Examples of Cliff Stack include:

Anime

  • Thrice in The Cat Returns - Twice in the maze and once on the tower. Subverted or changed a few times, especially with the King. The fake wall dominoes may or may not count.

Comic Book

  • Also happens in Bone when Fone Bone is getting chased by the rat creatures in the first volume. "STUPID STUPID RAT CREATURES!!!"

Live Action Film

  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring does a four-hobbit version. Of course, it's Sam who's the last stacker. Bonus points for Pippin nearly landing in some dung and Merry breaking his, er, carrot.

Western Animation

  • Executed hilariously well in the third episode of Jackie Chan Adventures.
  • Scooby Doo, often, particularly the Johnny Bravo Crossover.
  • Looney Tunes, often.
  • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs had fun with this trope.
  • The Lion King had this happen to Banzai with large thorn bushes.
  • Due to a rather hilarious misunderstanding in Toy Story 3: Woody slides down the garbage chute to the escape route, then calls up to the gang, "Come down, but not all at once!". Cue the "What?" "I think he said 'all at once!'".
  • Mulan had a great one, as the soldiers are training by jumping along poles over water, Chen Po stops, causing Shang to come to a halt, and the soldiers behind him to pile up. They don't fall on screen, but it's only a matter of time.
  • Used in Super Mario Bros Z.