# Best Fourth-Wall Breaking Moments **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840 "2021-03-13T18:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/61 "2021-03-15T23:43:55Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The violently mediocre sitcom **Yes, Dear** I adored that show. I watched it for a few episodes when it was first on, and had the same “Meh” reaction. But when I had a newborn, and was up weird hours, it was being run in back-to-back episodes a couple of times a day by a cable network, which went through the entire series 3 times while I was dealing with breast pumps and a reluctant nurser, than a furious nurser who woke me up twice a night (would have been four, but I tried to pump, so DH could handle the third shift. If there wasn’t enough, he got some formula. Then, I was home all day with him, and unless I got myself out of bed to drive DH to work, which I did only if the babychik happened to by up, I had no transportation all day, until my cousin gave us a second car when babychik was about 7 months old. I watched the show any time it was on, and totally identified with it. Baby changes everything. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/62 "2021-03-16T00:08:32Z")
[Here is the clip. It is pretty good.](https://youtu.be/7Ja7kYfyZmI) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/63 "2021-03-16T00:48:56Z")
There’s a classic cartoon (Looney Tunes I think) where it’s a normal cartoon premise where the big bad is threatening the heroes, and at one point he looks at the “camera” and says “And none of you people in the back row can do anything about it either!” So at the end of the cartoon when all hope looks lost and the heroes are captured and at the bad guys mercy you see a bottle ome out of nowhere and hit the bad guy in the head knocking him out, freeing the heroes. The bad guy now captured looks around and says “Who threw that?!” only for the an off-camera reply from a burly voiced guy “It was me one of the guys watching from the back row!”. Audience deus ex machina is certainly a unique one. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/64 "2021-03-16T00:51:14Z")
I don’t think it’s a true 4th wall break, but there’s always “The Purple Rose of Cairo”, where the main character keeps going to watch the same movie over and over because she’s in love with the movie’s main, who then proceeds to walk off the screen to introduce himself. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/65 "2021-03-16T01:24:20Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > There’s a classic cartoon (Looney Tunes I think) where it’s a normal cartoon premise where the big bad is threatening the heroes, and at one point he looks at the “camera” and says “And none of you people in the back row can do anything about it either!” So at the end of the cartoon when all hope looks lost and the heroes are captured and at the bad guys mercy you see a bottle ome out of nowhere and hit the bad guy in the head knocking him out, freeing the heroes. The bad guy now captured looks around and says “Who threw that?!” only for the an off-camera reply from a burly voiced guy “It was me one of the guys watching from the back row!”. > > Audience deus ex machina is certainly a unique one. Along the same lines, in the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon, “Hair Raising Hare”, Bugs finally defeats the Monster (named “Gossamer” in later shorts) by pointing out that they are being watched by an audience. “Gossamer” looks out through the Fourth Wall, sees us, exclaims in horror, “People!”, and flees. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/66 "2021-03-16T01:34:44Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > Along the same lines, in the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon, “Hair Raising Hare”, Bugs finally defeats the Monster (named “Gossamer” in later shorts) by pointing out that they are being watched by an audience. “Gossamer” looks out through the Fourth Wall, sees us, exclaims in horror, “People!”, and flees. I watched that so long ago (as a kid) I don’t remember the short at all. But I could hear Gossamer very clearly shouting “People!” in my mind’s ear when reading that. It’s just stuck in my brain from back before I actually even understood the Looney Tunes shorts. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/67 "2021-03-16T01:39:18Z")
Cant’ believe we got all this way without mentioning _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_, the ending being the epitome of 4th-Wall breaking. [Ferris Bueller's Day Off - You're still here? It's Over. Go Home. Go. - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/68 "2021-03-16T01:42:29Z")
It’s up there. > [@bikergeek](#): > > Oh and I can’t believe no one’s mentioned the post-credits “stinger” to _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ yet: “What are you still doing here? The movie’s over! Go!” - ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/69 "2021-03-16T01:46:28Z")
Arrrgh, missed that @running coach; but here’s another one I don’t think was mentioned yet: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Nf8Qa50VEX8/hqdefault.jpg "The Big Lebowski (1998) - Closing scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf8Qa50VEX8) ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/70 "2021-03-16T01:48:38Z")
Lots of great ones in _Who Killed Who?_ (1943): > **[Tex Avery - 1943 - Who Killed Who? - Vídeo Dailymotion](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7vyv2u)** > > Who Killed Who? Tex Avery (c) 1943 Metro Goldwyn Meyer ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/71 "2021-03-16T02:01:35Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Cant’ believe we got all this way without mentioning _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_, the ending being the epitome of 4th-Wall breaking. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw) - And then the next video in line was [Deadpool’s imitation of Ferris.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDcOQGM_Z30)(mentioned by (@TheCuse ) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/72 "2021-03-16T03:02:45Z")
It’s at the start of the vid in post 28. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/73 "2021-03-16T21:44:44Z")
So, I was just reminiscing for some reason about one of my favorite books as a child, and I remembered that this thread was recent, and it definitely fits: Grover in The Monster at the End of this Book. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/74 "2021-03-16T21:59:37Z")
“Boston Legal” broke the fourth wall often - but my favorite occurs at about 2:00 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1W_5xBAYHx0/hqdefault.jpg "Boston Legal - What Fourth Wall?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W_5xBAYHx0) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/75 "2021-03-17T00:13:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, I was just reminiscing for some reason about one of my favorite books as a child, and I remembered that this thread was recent, and it definitely fits: Grover in The Monster at the End of this Book. My son has this book. It’s such a delightful little story. He’s too young to understand what’s going on, but I love making the voices and gesticulations. I would also contribute She-Hulk comics, I think it’s in the 2004 run of _She-Hulk_ where Marvel comics are considered legal documents that accurately catalog her clients’ behavior. They are used as evidence in court. > **[She-Hulk: Breaking The Fourth Wall Before Deadpool](https://www.fandom.com/articles/she-hulk-mcu-deadpool)** > > With She-Hulk making her MCU debut in an upcoming Disney+ series, we take a look back at her long Marvel history and how she paved the way for Deadpool. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/76 "2021-03-17T01:23:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, I was just reminiscing for some reason about one of my favorite books as a child, and I remembered that this thread was recent, and it definitely fits: Grover in _The Monster at the End of this Book_. My three siblings and I (I’m the oldest and the youngest is nine years my junior) loved this book to death; it never got old. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/77 "2021-03-17T01:32:24Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > So, I was just reminiscing for some reason about one of my favorite books as a child, and I remembered that this thread was recent, and it definitely fits: Grover in _The Monster at the End of this Book_ . > > My three siblings and I (I’m the oldest and the youngest is nine years my junior) loved this book to death; it never got old. _The Monster at the End of This Book_ was one of the books that made me fall in love with reading. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/78 "2021-03-17T22:29:03Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It’s up there. > > > [@bikergeek](#): > > > > Oh and I can’t believe no one’s mentioned the post-credits “stinger” to _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ yet: “What are you still doing here? The movie’s over! Go!” - Done earlier by Animal in The Muppet Movie (1979). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/79 "2021-03-17T23:14:10Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I think it’s in the 2004 run of _She-Hulk_ where Marvel comics are considered legal documents that accurately catalog her clients’ behavior. They are used as evidence in court. That’s great! I remember John Byrne writing/drawing the book earlier, and started kicking that fourth wall right away… to the extent that She-Hulk even got across Manhattan once by just stepping from one panel to the other. [![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71WVCHKDRlL.jpg) ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71WVCHKDRlL.jpg) [![](https://drawmeincomics.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/sensationalshe-hulkv2008-05.jpg) ](https://drawmeincomics.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/sensationalshe-hulkv2008-05.jpg) (LOTS of other examples, and references like “Spider-Man got to face Doctor Doom in his third issue, why am I stuck with Dr. Bong?” Much fun!) ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840/80 "2021-03-17T23:29:34Z")
Note the part where She-Hulk says, “Let’s see if I can do this the way Weezi showed me…”, and she says hi to “Weez”, her receptionist, who is completely unfazed by She-Hulk stepping across panels. That’s because Weezi is the retired retconned Golden Age superhero “Blonde Phantom” (or “Phantom Blonde” - I can never keep them straight - her granddaughter was the other one), whose power was the ability to pretty literally break the Fourth Wall. She could step outside comics panels, spy on the bad guys by reading their panels, and teleport by stepping out of one panel and into another panel on the same page. John Byrne always liked playing with and breaking the panel presentations of comic books, and in She-Hulk, he got the chance to do that _in-universe_. I also don’t think it’s been explicitly mentioned yet, but in that series, She-Hulk knows that she’s a comic book character, a trait that other writers still occasionally reference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fourth-wall-breaking-moments/937840.md?page=5)