Staring Kid: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|He [Big Bird] can't get the courage to even ''start'' skating, at which point this little girl ''stares'' at him. Just stares. Stares at the sad, hollow shell of a bird he's become.

 

Something unusual happens, and the camera pans out, revealing a small child staring intently at the subject in blank amazement. The context of this can vary widely. In romantic comedies, the staring children will be present any time the main couple argue or have an awkward romantic moment. In action movies, they can show up anytime [[Stuff Blowing Up|something explodes]] or the hero does something cool. This can be [[Played for Laughs]] by highlighting the absurdity of the moment, or [[Played for Drama]] to emphasize the horror of the event. [[Bonus Points]] if accompanied by a "What are you looking at, kid?" or a dropped ice cream cone.

 

If the child's staring is just a little too eerie for comfort, then it's a [[Creepy Child]]. May overlap with [[Deer in the Headlights]] and [[Things That Go Bump in the Night]]. Related to [[Innocent Bystander]].

 

* Erza gets a whole group of them in ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' when she accidentally breaks into a men's public bath, complete with [[Corner of Woe]].

** In the manga, all the grown-up men are terrified and cover up with towels or steam, while a young boy with wide eyes just stares at her curiously and [[Male Frontal Nudity|doesn't care to cover up]].

* The kid in the Lost World [[Jurassic Park]] who sees a T-Rex in his window.

 

* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the TARDIS disappearing is sometimes accompanied by a child bystander looking on in awe, such as the group of children in "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S32/E12 Closing Time|Closing Time]]".

* ''[[Firefly]]'': Jayne gets his own personal one in ''Jaynestown''.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* The kid from ''[[Captain Underpants]]'' who always tries to point out the titular superhero's antics to his mum, but she never believes him. He doubles as [[Cassandra Truth]].

* Cindy Lou Who from ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (novel)|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]''.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Youngsters]]