# "Can a “noooo” scene be made cool?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176 "2005-11-15T16:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/1 "2005-11-15T16:42:04Z")
This question was asked in the recent poll thread re Star Wars, esp. ep III. So what’s the Straight Dope answer? Mine is - It was plenty cool enough when Frodo yelled “noooo” when Gandalf fell in the movie of “Fellowship of the Ring” Any other cool ones, or was this an exception that proves the rule? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/2 "2005-11-15T16:44:34Z")
Marcel Marceau in **Silent Movie**. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/3 "2005-11-15T16:58:09Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Marcel Marceau in **Silent Movie**. I had completely forgotten about that. And I think you’re absoutly correct. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/4 "2005-11-15T17:03:44Z")
well, technically, that was a simple “No!” as opposed to the new cliched (i don’t know how to make the accent mark ☹ ) _NOOOOOOO!_ so often wailed in slow motion in any scene in which the main character witnesses a close friend/family member/cherished pet injured/slain by whatever evil s/he is fighting ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/5 "2005-11-15T17:39:49Z")
Contains spoilers of _Dead Poets Society_ and _Once Were Warriors_, you you haven’t seen those… When the parents of the guy who killed himself found him in _Dead Poets Society_. When the mother found the daughter hanged in _Once Were Warriors_. I think they conveyed the emotions pretty successfully in those. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/6 "2005-11-15T17:50:16Z")
Do I need a spoiler for this? Hope not… Buzz Lightyear does a similar “Noooooooooo!” after he learns that the Evil Emperor Zurg™ is his father, in “Toy Story 2.” It’s a nice shot… the elevator is going down the shaft, so Buzz recedes into the distance as he shouts in dismay. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/7 "2005-11-15T17:57:46Z")
Any time someone screams, “Noooooooooo” and then they get their head lopped off, that’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/8 "2005-11-15T18:10:08Z")
You can do good scenes with people shouting “no,” sure. I think doing anything good with the ‘fall to your knees and yell “NO” until your lungs give out’ thing would be very hard. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/9 "2005-11-15T19:43:00Z")
I prefere a minimalist approach…like in So I Married an Axe Murderer when the detective guy is pleading to commandeer a vehicle unfortunately being driven by Charles Grodin: Charles Grodin: “No.” ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/10 "2005-11-15T22:48:03Z")
When Luther was getting his just deserts at the end of _The Warriors_. That was a pretty memorable "NNNNnnnooooooooooooooo!!!.. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/11 "2005-11-15T23:14:15Z")
I vote for Lois is dead from Superman the Movie – that was pretty cool and then he turned back time (was Cher watching?) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/12 "2005-11-15T23:35:43Z")
_Spaceballs_ Dark Helmet: If you do not give us the combination to your planet’s air shield, Doctor Scholtkin will give your daughter back… her old nose! Princess Vespa: _NOOOOOOOOOO!!!_ ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/13 "2005-11-16T00:13:16Z")
Hell you don’t even have to go outside of the Star Wars franchise for a cool “Nooo!” scene: when Luke sees Obi-Wan get cut down by Darth Vader. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/14 "2005-11-16T00:24:19Z")
> [@well he's back](#): > > Any other cool ones, or was this an exception that proves the rule? As noted upthread, there’s one way to make these scenes cool, and that is to dial them the hell down. Down so far, in fact, that there’s no words, let alone a whinge, coming out of the character’s mouth, and the actor does it all with his face and eyes. C.f. the first thing that came to my mind, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) coming up the stairs in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode Passions. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/15 "2005-11-16T00:30:20Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Any time someone screams, “Noooooooooo” and then they get their head lopped off, that’s cool. Not as cool if they did it _after_ they get their heads lopped off. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/16 "2005-11-16T06:38:40Z")
William Shatner on “Invasion Iowa”, with a whole set of cue cards spelling out NOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOO etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/17 "2005-11-16T07:44:49Z")
_Back to the Future_ had a good one: Marty yells “Nooooo!” when he sees the Libyans gun down Doc Brown, hops into the DeLorean to escape, accidentally goes back in time, etc. When he returns to 1985, he runs to the parking lot but arrives too late, sees Doc Brown get shot _again_ and is about to yell “Nooooo!” but is interrupted by his younger self, who he watches hop into DeLorean, accidentally go back in time, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/18 "2005-11-16T07:46:10Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Hell you don’t even have to go outside of the Star Wars franchise for a cool “Nooo!” scene: when Luke sees Obi-Wan get cut down by Darth Vader. Or Chewie’s reaction in \*Empire \* when they close the doors, leaving Han and Luke outside to freeze. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/19 "2005-11-16T08:49:22Z")
I might be remembering it wrong, but I think there’s quite a good one in the first _Matrix_ movie, uttered by Tank when Morpheus is captured. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176/20 "2005-11-16T09:32:06Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Marcel Marceau in **Silent Movie**. nitpick: “_Non_.” > [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Or Chewie’s reaction in Empire when they close the doors, leaving Han and Luke outside to freeze. That wasn’t the Wookie howl for “No!” it was the Wookie howl for “Bastard still owes me five bucks!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-noooo-scene-be-made-cool/331176.md?page=2)