Little Miss Snarker

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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Strip from July 13, 1987
Calvin and Hobbes © Bill Watterson.

The Deadpan Snarker comes in many forms; it could be the non-action guy, the sidekick, the Weasel Mascot, and even the cat. This trope deals with snark coming from a little girl.

The humor here is that we don't usually think of an adorable little kid as being sarcastic, and this character type is both smart and perceptive, capable of pointing out exactly what other characters keep concealed - often their feelings for one another.

Expect her to be Wise Beyond Their Years. Compare The Snark Knight.

Examples of snarky little kids include:

Anime and Manga

Comic Books

Fanfic

Michael: "Can we all behave like adults here?"
Emma: "No, I'm still ten years old, remember?"

Film

Live Action TV

  • Dr. K in Power Rangers RPM. A little old at nineteen or so, but the trope fits like a glove.
  • Stephanie Tanner, and Michelle as well in later seasons, in Full House.
  • Julie Mayer when she was young.
  • Shannon Clemens from Rita Rocks.
  • Alex from Modern Family.
  • Bridgette DuBois from Medium.
  • Iris, the little girl in the Dollhouse episodes "Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two" once she's been imprinted with Caroline's personality.
  • The little girl on Friends (played by Dakota Fanning) that lived in the house that Monica & Chandler were going to buy.
    • There was a little girl, but she died 20 years ago. (spooky music)
  • Raj's little sister Dee on What's Happening.
  • Stargate Atlantis episode "Harmony", the eponymous heroine fulfills this trope because she is a Royal Brat.
  • Katie Knight from Big Time Rush can occasionally fit this trope.
  • Megan on Drake and Josh.
  • Morgan Matthews from Boy Meets World.
  • Zuri Ross is a little girl version from Jessie.

Literature

  • Elva from the Inheritance Cycle.
  • Adah in The Poisonwood Bible.
  • Jenny Wren in Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. She has a good reason for being so jaded, since her father's irresponsibility and severe alcholism leave her, at the age of about thirteen, to be the responsible adult of the household.
  • Elani from Broken Sky.
  • Several child characters in Dean Koontz's works would definitely qualify. Lelani Klonk from One Door Away From Heaven and Regina from Hideaway, to name a couple.
  • Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter.
    • Hermione also gets her moments.
  • Ivy aka The Archive from The Dresden Files makes an attempt at this on behalf of the incapacitated protagonist. He notes that she's not very good at it yet, but he gets choked up nonetheless.
  • While her childish curiousity or perceived psychological instability are the character traits usually played up in adaptations, Alice in Wonderland could be surprisingly sarcastic and was never one to suffer fools gladly.
  • Artemis, Zoë Nightshade and Thalia. Also subverted, since Artemis and Zoë turned out to be Really Seven Hundred Years Old.
  • Rachel from the Sword of Truth series. Has no problem calling out Chase when he complains about the poultice he's forced to apply by telling him that if he'd just listened to her in the first place, he probably wouldn't have been hurt by the Eldritch Abomination he was surprised by and he wouldn't have to take the burning medicine.
  • The Cadpig from "The Hundred and One Dalmations" and "The Starlight Barking" by Dodie Smith. Okay, so she's a puppy, but that just adds to the cuteness.
  • Pippi Longstocking combines this with being a Genki Girl and Cloudcuckoolander. Her snarky moments are most frequent in the original books, but she has her moments in most of the adaptations as well.
  • Dairine Callahan is practically this trope's poster child.

Newspaper Comics

Radio

Theatre

"Ahahaha, you can talk to birds?!"

Video Games

  • Vanilla H. of Galaxy Angel, though in the anime, she is a bit more nonsensical than most deadpan snarkers.
  • Etna from Disgaea.
  • Setsuna Kiyoura from School Days.
  • Shiori Momono in 11eyes, a returnee from Italy who spends most of her time reading. The other part of her time is spent berating Tadashi. Everyone berates Tadashi, but she does it in a manner that hits him where it hurts.
  • Lieselotte of Arcana Heart, especially in her story route.

Heart: Hey-o! Miss Kidnapper-Person! Are you ready for an awesome rescue~? ♪

Lieselotte: (...zat girl is very odd...)

To Exdeath: Inside your head is the Void!
To Cloud: Your hair is a distraction!
To Kuja: Narcissists are so last Windsday!

Web Comics

  • Rose from Homestuck has this as a major part of her personality.
  • Tycho's niece Anne from Penny Arcade has her moments.

Galahad: You're breaking up with me?
Anne: I just have a lot going on right now. With school, and, you know, zombies.


Web Original

  • Marie Swanson in Erikas New Perfume, post regression. There's something to be said about the most snarky (and for that matter, arguably most clever) character in the series being three years old.

Western Animation

"Power tools in the dark? Darwin should be paying you two goons royalties."