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Utility Magic: Difference between revisions
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But not in this universe. In this universe, [[Mundane Utility]] isn't a secondary effect of all those awesome spells, but the primary one. The magic essentially has to do with things on the more mundane scale of the [[Inverse Law of Utility and Lethality]], like Cleaning Magic, or Gardening Magic, or Paper-Filing Magic. Why modify that [[Kill It With Fire|fireball spell]] to [[Mundane Utility|cook your hotdog]], when you can just have a spell that does exactly that in the first place, and to your perfect specifications?
This can get as crazy as worlds where ''everything'' is done with a spell, from cooking to transportation to brushing your teeth. Another manifestation of this trope is where everyday things or tasks seem to be ''imbued'' with magic. It might be so subtly done that it leaves one wondering [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane]], especially in a [[Low Fantasy]] or [[Magic Realism]] work.
Either way, this kind of magic is somewhat prone to the [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart Anyway]] question, especially in works where the more ordinary (less ordinary?) way we view magic is also used. It happens pretty often though that this kind of magic can turn out to be [[Lethal Harmless Powers]], when the user is pushed into a corner, implying that [[Heart Is an Awesome Power]]. If the ability is a personal power rather than a general spell the user might [[This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman|be recruited to the Hero's group for some particular task]], or the character will [[When All You Have Is a Hammer|improvise the uses of their power to match the situation using cleverness]].
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Compare [[Mundane Utility]] and [[Martial Arts and Crafts]], for the martial arts version. If the magic is incorporated into or used in conjunction with some kind of mechanical aspect, it might be [[Magitek]].
{{examples
== [[Anime and Manga]] ==
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** In ''[[Enchanted]]'' there is a scene where Giselle magically convinces the bugs in her apartment to help her clean.
** The picture for the trope page is from ''[[Fantasia]]'', and feature's Mickey as The Wizard's apprentice, using magic to do his chores. We're not really sure what the original intent of the spell is (is it an actual 'cleaning' spell or does it just make objects sentient?) so it might also be [[Mundane Utility]]. Ends pretty disastrously, either way.
** The film ''[[The
* ''[[Cast a Deadly Spell (Film)|Cast a Deadly Spell]]''. Everyone can use magic, usually for completely normal activities.
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'', Rarity's magic is mostly useful for things like sewing, and Twilight Sparkle, although she can do more impressive magic, mostly uses hers for things like turning pages and writing. In fact, it's implied that most unicorn magic works for things like this.
** Unicorn magic seems to be divided into basic telekinesis and actual spells. The former is mostly used when a human would use their hands, which is obviously mostly for everyday stuff. As for the latter, it has been said outright that most unicorns only learn a few spells directly connected to their cutiemark (i.e. destiny/special talent). Most ponies' cutiemarks aren't connected to violence. The single example of combat magic we have seen comes from Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle's brother, but he is a [[Magic Knight]] by profession and his cutie mark is a shield, so him casting massive defensive spells {{spoiler|large enough to protect the whole capital from an invading army}} is only in line with the above rules.
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