Coincidental Accidental Disguise: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Happens to Kaitou Kid in ''[[Detective Conan]]'' OVA 10. He loses just enough pieces of his costume that the Detective Boys mistake him for Shinichi his [[Expy]].

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* One comic from the anthology ''It Was a Dark and Silly Night'' (written by [[Lemony Snicket]] and drawn by Richard Sala) involves a girl spotting a [[Fun with Acronyms|somewhat intelligent, largely laconic]] [[Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti|yeti]] outside her window. She goes out to investigate, and meets another girl, who gives her some marshmallows. As she searches, she becomes covered with so much snow that she begins to resemble a yeti herself, and is mistaken for one when she approaches a house, especially since the sticky marshmallows made it hard for her to talk.

 

 

* A character in ''[[Rat Race]]'' [[Disaster Dominoes|accidentally]] disguises himself as Hitler (with a mustache-like smudge on his face being the least ridiculous aspect) and ends up on the stage of a [[World War Two]] veterans meeting.

** He's also driving a VW Sedan (Hitler's real car, in fact) and due to very precise burns on his tongue and hand he was also talking German-sounding gibberish and showing his middle finger.

** Naturally, said character was ''actually'' Jewish (Jon Lovitz, to be precise).

* In ''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'', Fozzie, while carrying a bag of money to the bank, accidentally gets painted green and is mistaken for The Grinch.

* In the opening scene of ''[[Hot Shots]]'' a pilot miraculously survives the mid-air destruction of his fighter, only to be shot by hunters as he now bears an uncanny resemblance to a moose, thanks to some sticks that have become stuck on his helmet.

* In a ''[[Scary Movie]]'' spoof-scene of ''8 Mile'', the [[Eminem]]-type character pulls on a white hoodie which makes him look like a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and then absentmindedly greets the crowd by [[Those Wacky Nazis|thrusting out his arm at a 45-degree angle]]. A jump cut shows him getting tossed out a window.

* In ''[[Mean Girls]]'', Cady walks in on Janice and Damien while wearing her Halloween costume, and this trope happens. She's supposed to be dressed up as—in her words—an 'ex-wife', but Janice and Damien were currently watching a horror movie and lightning and thunder just happened to crash as Cady walked in.

* In ''[[Wayne's World]] 2'', Wayne roes in some friends to spy on his girlfriend meeting with a sleazeball suitor. From a telephone pole Wayne, dressed as a construction worker, sees them through binoculars. He radios Garth, dressed as a traffic cop, who in turn radios their accomplices, dressed as a sailor at a USO event and a leather-wearing biker working on his chopper. When Wayne's girlfriend notices, they abort and run into a random doorway, which takes them into a gay club, and onto the stage, where the DJ sees them and mistakes them for [[Village People]] impersonators, putting on "YMCA". Then, the Indian from Wayne's dreams shows up...

* Pretty much the plot of the [[Laurel and Hardy]] short "The Live Ghost" - shanghaied onto a ship's crew, they think they accidentally killed a fellow crewman, who is merely drunk, and falls into a trough of whitewash. You can see where this is going.

* In ''[[Eurotrip]]'': The main character is in the Vatican, and he sneaks about in a private room of the Pope that leads to his balcony. There he quarrels with his friend, who puts a pope hat on his head. He slips and grabs the curtain of the balcony door, and it falls down with him. When he gets up, he accidentally opens the door and the curtain wrapped all around him looks like a pope's robe and the curtain rail in his hands like a pope's staff. With him looking like this, the huge crowd on Saint Peter's Square thinks he is the new Pope.

* In ''[[The Muppet Movie]]'', Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem paint Fozzie and Kermit's car to keep them safe from Doc Hopper. When Doc Hopper manages to recognize them anyway, Kermit spots a billboard that ''just happens'' to match the paint job, and has Fozzie [[Wallpaper Camouflage|pull up in front of it so they can hide.]]

 

* In the [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]] short story "The Andrew Invasion", the titular Andrew is mistaken for the Doctor on three occasions (admittedly by some very stupid aliens): Once on his way back from playing in a cricket match (Fifth Doctor costume); once on the way back from his cousin's wedding, where he was an usher, and the colour scheme was green and gold (Eighth Doctor costume); and once in tartan pyjamas with a cat motif, and with a red and yellow patchwork quilt around his shoulders (Sixth Doctor costume).

* One of the ''[[Hoka]]'' stories, "Don Jones," has the Hokas caught up in acting out the opera ''Don Juan'', with poor Alex Jones in the title role. At the climactic moment in the opera, a statue of a man Don Juan killed enters to drag him off to Hell. At the corresponding moment in "Don Jones," a man who accidentally got plaster dumped all over him walks in....

 

* Also happened in ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]''. Ned looked like Wild Boy, the subject of a famous painting.

* ''[[That's So Raven]]'': while sneaking into the shoot of a zombie movie Raven fell on the catering table, getting covered in food, causing her to blend in perfectly with the zombies.

** Not actually coincidental or accidental. The Janitor is a [[Magnificent Bastard]].

* Highly provocative example from ''[[Seinfeld]]'': a series of comic mishaps involving being dressed in his riding clothes, accidentally spilling ink on himself (and scratching under his nose), and so on leave Elaine's boss looking just like Hitler. Just before he goes into a meeting to discuss the "invasion" (merger) of Poland Springs.

** Similarly, in ''[[Father Ted]]'', Ted finds himself standing in the exact position required to make a square bit of a dirt on the window look like a Hitler moustache, to the consternation of the Chinese family who were invited over specifically to prove that Ted wasn't racist.

** Another Seinfeld episode culminates in Kramer carrying a cane, wearing Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, donning a woman's hat, and to complete the effect, having an altercation with a woman on the street, leading to his being mistaken for a Pimp.

* In one episode of the ''[[Dick Van Dyke Show]]'', Laura and Rob dye something black, only to find that the black dye won't come off their hands and arms... on the night Rob speaks at an NAACP dinner.

** [[Truth in Television]]. It happened with [[Boris Karloff]] when he was filming ''[[Bride of Frankenstein]]''. And since Karloff also played [[The Mummy (film)|The Mummy]] in the classic Universal movie...

* One ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' episode has a bunch of kids telling ghost stories/urban legends and one is telling a version of [[wikipedia:The Hook|The Hook]]. Then, at the right/wrong moment, Buster stumbles out of the bushes, and when the kids see his [[Hook Hand]], they run away in terror.

* The dressed-as Hitler-variation happened in one episode of ''[[Childrens Hospital]]''. Of course, Judaism was a recurring theme in the episode and the character involved was the Jewish doctor (the guy playing him isn't Jewish though).

 

 

 

* A [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace]]'' is that homicidal gangster Jonathan Brewster has been made to resemble [[Boris Karloff]] by his plastic surgeon, who was inspired by a horror movie (and very drunk at the time). No doubt it was even funnier during the original run, when Karloff himself played the part.

 

* In ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island]]'', Guybrush is mistaken for a giant chicken demon ("El Pollo Diablo") after being tarred and feathered. He can then choose to either unknowingly wonder what's going on or play along with a local chicken restaurant owner, who has a bit of a grudge against El Pollo Diablo to boot.

** You have the option of English or Spanish for this. Yes, even being confused and unaware of what's going on.

* In the first ''[[Space Quest]]'' game, setting up this kind of situation is required in order to progress. Roger Wilco needs to hide in a washer/dryer, get caught in the cycle, and emerges in one of the evil alien uniforms.

 

** [[Alt Text]] implies that this is not the first instance of such a Coincidental Accidental Disguise.

* In ''[[Freefall]]'', Florence the Antropomorphic Wolf seeks shelter from a storm and medical attention... [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00351.htm just as the house owner is watching a werewolf marathon]. Crouched (to keep a wound closed), showing teeth (trying for a smile) and backlit by lightning, Florence is [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00354.htm not a reassuring sight].

* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', the very-short Broadman sneaks into a party disguised as a chef, while still wearing fake [[Pointy Ears]] from his [[Vampire: The Masquerade]] LARP, the end result being that Torg and Riff mistake him for the cookie-elf they're looking for.

* ''Dangerously Chloe'' had a girl from Teddy's school having a date with him out of curiosity - after she witnessed a succubus impersonating him reverting to the [[Gag Boobs|''quite'' obviously female]] body shape, noticed another succubus, who didn't morph her horns away in time and [[Mistaken for Aliens|thought that Teddy and his associates are shapeshifting aliens]]... {{spoiler|Their date involved watching a silly horror movie "Killer Bikini Babes". For some strange reason, seeing a human suddenly shapeshifting into busty horned alien on screen}} made her shriek.

 

* In an episode of ''[[Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends]]'', Bloo is mistaken for a ghost out of a horror movie after he catches a nasty cold, prompting him to turn pale, emit moaning noises and spit up "ectoplasm". Ew.

* Happened also in ''[[Camp Lazlo]]'', where Raj was covered in marshmallows and looked like a yeti.

* In ''[[Catscratch]]'', a type of this happens, where Gordon has a violent allergic reaction to broccoli (that he doesn't notice), which coincidentally makes him look exactly like the monster from a movie his brothers were watching. Later, Gordon has a different reaction to chocolate, which makes him looks like another monster from a comic book his brothers were reading.

* During the ''[[Total Drama Island]]'' episode "Phobia Factor" Cody's garbage bomb explodes, covering him in sludge and trash, as he staggers back towards camp, holding his arms out zombishly and making unintelligible groaning noises (from disgust) he comes across a terrified and lonely Bridgette who immediately screams and makes a run for it.

* Every ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short featuring Pepe LePew involved Penelope the cat accidentally getting a white stripe on her back somehow.

** Notable exception: 1959's "Really Scent" starts with the cat (Fabrette) ''born'' with a stripe. Heckuva birthmark.

** There's also the episode where Goofy decided to become a [[Street Performer|street mime]], although this one was less accidental. Trying to come up with a costume for his performance, Goofy finally decides to wrap himself head to toe in aluminum foil and pretend to be a "robot" mime. Unfortunately, Max and P. J. have also decided to wrap themselves in foil to pretend to be space aliens as part of a prank; they broadcast a fake alien transmission over every television set in Spoonerville, with Max announcing: "Our mission? Quite simple: ''to take over Earth''!" Cue immediate citywide paranoia, and some pedestrians in front of an electronics store (with many TV sets in the front window) happening to glance down the street and spot Goofy going into his mime act. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'', "I Was a Penguin Zombie": Skipper escapes from the vet after breaking his wing, and through a combination of green topical ointment (which numbs his mouth, making him unable to speak), tangled gauze, talcum powder, and a sprained ankle, ends up looking and acting like the living dead.

* In the ''[[Care Bears|Adventures in Care-a-Lot]]'' episode "King of the Gobblebugs," Oopsy makes up a story about seeing the eponymous creature, getting the others all riled up to catch it. Later, Oopsy ends up falling into a barrel of glue and gets all manner of things stuck to himself, making the others think he's the king gobblebug, and they capture him.

* In the Chuck Jones cartoon ''The Bear That Wasn't'', a bear ends up on a construction site with a cigarette in its mouth and holding a cup of coffee. No one can see through the [[Paper-Thin Disguise]] and they insist he's "a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat" no matter how much the bear protests.

* In one ''[[Maryoku Yummy]]'' episode, Ooka makes up a story about the Yorglesclubber that ends up scaring not only the wishes, but herself and Fij Fij. Maryoku goes out to prove that there's no such thing, but along the way she gets covered in mud and various plants, so that when she comes back, the others think she's the Yorglesclubber and attempt to trap her.

* On ''[[Drawn Together]]'', through a series of coincidences (illness, pranks, the job wheel), Wooldoor ends up looking like a ''very'' stereotypical Hasidic Jew. This is [[Crosses the Line Twice|Drawn]] [[Refuge in Audacity|Together]] of course, so [[Hilarity Ensues]].

 

* [[Truth in Television]]: A large man reported taking a trip to China while bright red all over from a sunburn, which would have made him resemble the Buddhist lord of the underworld and judge of souls, Yama in Chinese and Enma in Japanese. He scared small children.

* Ken Kirzinger (the actor who played [[Friday the 13th (film)|Jason Voorhees]] in ''[[Freddy vs. Jason]]'') needed dental work while he was filming the movie. He went to the dentist in full Jason costume and makeup as it would be too hard to take it all off, scaring the crap outta all the doctors and nurses.

* During the 30s and 40s [[The Three Stooges]] made several films mocking [[Nazi Germany]], during which Moe capitalized on his resemblance to [[Adolf Hitler]] by dressing up as the dictator and playing him as a power-hungry buffoon. One morning they shot some footage on the birthday of Moe's daughter. As soon as the shoot was over he ran out the door without taking off his costume so that he could make it to her party in time. The police received several calls from concerned citizens who claimed to have seen Adolf Hitler running several red lights.

* This news item:

** Definitely a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].

 

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Costume Tropes]]

[[Category:Example as a Thesis]]