Tropescilloscope: Artistic License – Physics

The creator of a work of fiction plays with the basic laws of physics in order to make the story work better. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Martial Arts Movie Adaptation Name Change Disney Villain Death Dirty Old Man You Killed My Father Wham Line Love at First Sight Dramedy Shout-Out The Vamp Well-Intentioned Extremist All Girls Want Bad Boys Big-Bad Ensemble Deal with the Devil Every Car Is a Pinto Sole Survivor Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Product Placement Soundtrack Dissonance Hell Is That Noise Stock Footage The Chessmaster Blackmail Contrived Coincidence Horror Comedy Shell-Shocked Veteran Chiaroscuro Ass Shove Madness Mantra The '50s Stalker with a Crush Anyone Can Die Punch-Clock Villain O.O.C. Is Serious Business Hoist by His Own Petard Faux Affably Evil Rule of Funny Danny Peary Cult Movies List Sci-Fi Horror She Cleans Up Nicely The Lancer British Films Your Cheating Heart Chekhov's Gun Novelization Faking the Dead Developing Doomed Characters Deadpan Snarker Reasonable Authority Figure Dramatic Gun Cock Rape as Drama Kick the Son of a Bitch Not So Different Belligerent Sexual Tension Adaptational Attractiveness Jerk with a Heart of Gold As You Know Calling the Old Man Out All Just a Dream The Brute This Is Gonna Suck Japanese Films Fourth Date Marriage Villain Ball Dark and Troubled Past It Will Never Catch On Totally Radical Ship Tease I Have Your Wife Death by Adaptation Cloudcuckoolander Undying Loyalty Reality Is Unrealistic Papa Wolf Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Vampire Fiction Your Head A-Splode You Have Failed Me The Un-Reveal Rewatch Bonus Music Stories Pretty Little Headshots Bad "Bad Acting" He Who Fights Monsters Impaled with Extreme Prejudice From Nobody to Nightmare Last-Name Basis Important Haircut Police are Useless Worthy Opponent Badass Boast Shower Scene Big Applesauce "Shaggy Dog" Story Freeze-Frame Bonus Together in Death After the End Married to the Job Not So Above It All Black Comedy Hero Antagonist Sinister Minister Rule of Cool Foreshadowing In Medias Res Jump Scare Slasher Movie Apocalypse How Shoot the Shaggy Dog Half the Man He Used to Be Romantic Comedy Gratuitous English Dull Surprise True Companions Would Hurt a Child Daylight Horror The Stinger Exact Words Annoying Younger Sibling Small Name, Big Ego Abhorrent Admirer Mythology Gag Karma Houdini Intrepid Reporter Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Parental Incest N-Word Privileges Killed Mid-Sentence Mooks Title Drop Henpecked Husband Heroes Want Redheads Storming the Castle Kick the Dog Mind Screw Time Skip The Lost Lenore Instant Death Bullet Sassy Black Woman All Men Are Perverts Parental Substitute Flipping the Bird Sequel Hook Poor Communication Kills The Casanova La Résistance Final Girl Rule of Symbolism Catapult Nightmare Pre-Mortem One-Liner Only Sane Man Villain Song Tagline Chewing the Scenery Dark Is Not Evil How We Got Here Evil vs. Evil Ominous Latin Chanting Needs Wiki Magic Love Throwing Your Sword Always Works Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Even Evil Has Loved Ones For Want of a Nail Kill It with Fire Diabolus ex Machina A.I. Is a Crapshoot Hope Spot My Beloved Smother Country Matters Meet Cute Wounded Gazelle Gambit A Date with Rosie Palms Distracted by the Sexy Face Death with Dignity And I Must Scream Due to the Dead Death by Irony Unwitting Instigator of Doom Here We Go Again! Face–Heel Turn Foil Back from the Dead Anguished Declaration of Love Foregone Conclusion Drowning My Sorrows The Alcoholic Fiery Redhead Break the Haughty "Well Done, Son!" Guy Fanservice The Quiet One No Name Given Male Gaze No OSHA Compliance My God, What Have I Done? She's Got Legs Silence Is Golden Betty and Veronica Psychopathic Manchild Arc Words Sports Stories Precision F-Strike Not Using the "Z" Word Deus ex Machina Really Gets Around Fake Shemp Interrupted Suicide Naked People Are Funny One-Word Title Nice Hat Implacable Man Bait-and-Switch Bloodless Carnage Shipper on Deck Alas, Poor Villain No Ending Heterosexual Life-Partners Continuity Nod Corrupt Corporate Executive Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Cruel and Unusual Death Shirtless Scene Accidental Misnaming Deliberately Monochrome Super Strength Put on a Bus No-Holds-Barred Beatdown The Voiceless Imagine Spot The Mafia Agony of the Feet Villain with Good Publicity Recycled IN SPACE! Evil Brit Twist Ending Sir Swears-a-Lot Only One Name Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Disguised in Drag Brother–Sister Incest Pragmatic Villainy Bland-Name Product Cool Old Guy Advertised Extra Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Heroic Sacrifice Homage Lighter and Softer Character Development Children Are Innocent The Power of Love Historical Villain Upgrade Leaning on the Fourth Wall An Arm and a Leg Covers Always Lie Awesome, but Impractical Not Even Bothering with the Accent Posthumous Character Broken Bird Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Superhero Smug Snake Romantic False Lead Word of God Heel Realization Same Language Dub Get Out! Mercy Kill Adorkable Laser-Guided Karma Victoria's Secret Compartment All There in the Manual Humiliation Conga Call-Back Comically Missing the Point Make It Look Like an Accident Only a Flesh Wound Eldritch Abomination Canon Foreigner Toplessness from the Back Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Maybe Ever After Earn Your Happy Ending Action Prologue Double-Meaning Title Unusual Euphemism Manic Pixie Dream Girl Left the Background Music On Demoted to Extra Disney Death Adaptation Distillation No-Sell Greater-Scope Villain Cluster F-Bomb Missing Mom Extremely Short Timespan Not So Stoic Catch-Phrase Punny Name Whole Plot Reference The Smurfette Principle Genre Throwback As Long as It Sounds Foreign Groin Attack Broken Pedestal Dirty Coward Amoral Attorney The Faceless Cool Shades Asshole Victim Artistic License – Gun Safety Alpha Bitch Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Film Series Action Genre "Awesome McCool" Name Oh, Crap! Real Life Writes the Plot Breaking the Fourth Wall Fantasy Films Gory Discretion Shot Closed Circle Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Reality Has No Subtitles Plot Hole Rousing Speech Insistent Terminology Happily Married Hollywood Law The Bully Dumb Blonde Enemy Mine Humans Are Bastards Too Dumb to Live Properly Paranoid It's All About Me Dwindling Party Translation Convention Disappeared Dad The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Arranged Marriage Pay Evil unto Evil Cold-Blooded Torture In the Back Early-Bird Cameo Neck Snap For the Evulz Retcon Dramatic Irony The Dog Bites Back Male Frontal Nudity The End... Or Is It? Vomit Indiscretion Shot Flashback Depraved Bisexual Adults Are Useless Hero of Another Story Tap on the Head Leitmotif Death Seeker Red Oni, Blue Oni Disproportionate Retribution Russian Films Market-Based Title Arch-Enemy Anti-Villain Meaningful Name Stepford Smiler All for Nothing You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Beauty Is Never Tarnished Accidental Murder Token Minority Very Loosely Based on a True Story Retired Badass Crapsack World Leave the Camera Running folderlabel Mad Scientist Broken Aesop Artistic License – History What Happened to the Mouse? Only in It for the Money Good Is Not Nice Animal Title Index Darker and Edgier Chase Scene War Is Hell Nice Guy Genre Shift Scary Black Man Room Full of Crazy Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Retirony Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Video Credits Mexican Standoff Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Aside Glance Light Is Not Good The Hero Dies Black and Gray Morality Determinator Mundane Made Awesome Biopic The '60s Be Careful What You Wish For Affectionate Parody Serious Business Femme Fatale Destination Defenestration Scenery Gorn Fantastic Racism Take That! Ambiguously Gay Works Set in World War II Cat Scare The Ditz Composite Character Bound and Gagged Animated Credits Opening Genre Savvy Big Damn Heroes Training Montage What You Are in the Dark Break the Cutie Re-Cut Animal Motifs Sacrificial Lion One-Man Army Heel–Face Turn Taking the Bullet Funny Background Event Television Movie Index World of Ham Say My Name Our Zombies Are Different The Big Guy Funny Foreigner Fanservice Extra Those Two Guys Fish out of Water Bilingual Bonus Never My Fault Badass Longcoat Not What It Looks Like Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Cool Car Evil-Detecting Dog Names to Run Away from Really Fast Malevolent Masked Men Framing Device Men Are the Expendable Gender Psychological Thriller Extreme Doormat Evil Sounds Deep Bunny-Ears Lawyer Loophole Abuse Camp Gay Fatal Family Photo Playing Gertrude Military and Warfare Films Frame-Up Red Eyes, Take Warning Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Pyrrhic Victory Rated M for Manly Paper-Thin Disguise Blood from the Mouth No Antagonist Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Five-Man Band Drives Like Crazy Conspicuous CG Evil Laugh Self-Deprecation Mugging the Monster Authority Equals Asskicking Slap-Slap-Kiss Bar Brawl All There in the Script Bottomless Magazines Mama Bear Big "NO!" Auto Erotica Drugs Are Bad Bullying a Dragon Artistic License – Physics Informed Ability Unusually Uninteresting Sight Take a Third Option The Cameo Based on a True Story Cowboy Cop Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Pet the Dog Hidden Depths The Dreaded Bowdlerise Fun with Acronyms Protagonist Title Black Dude Dies First Never Trust a Trailer Gone Horribly Right Book-Ends Babies Ever After Cain and Abel Race Against the Clock Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Guile Hero Mood Whiplash Boom, Headshot! Insult Backfire Improvised Weapon Slashed Throat Suspiciously Similar Substitute The Bad Guy Wins Historical In-Joke Body Horror Have a Gay Old Time Improbable Aiming Skills Wham Shot Adaptational Heroism Chekhov's Skill Large Ham Running Gag Irony You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Suddenly SHOUTING! Gilligan Cut I'm a Humanitarian Creepy Child NO INDOOR VOICE Almost Kiss Villain Opening Scene Driven to Suicide Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Exactly What It Says on the Tin More Dakka Nothing Is Scarier Up to Eleven French Films Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Bald of Evil Eagleland The Oner Becoming the Mask And the Adventure Continues Big Fancy House Establishing Character Moment Adapted Out The Dragon Bi the Way Peek-a-Boo Corpse Wretched Hive Dying Moment of Awesome Curb-Stomp Battle BFG The Mole Mistaken for Gay It's Personal Politically Incorrect Villain Sexy Discretion Shot Department of Redundancy Department Vacation Films Morality Pet Show Within a Show The Chick Berserk Button Defrosting Ice Queen Villain Protagonist Affably Evil Reckless Gun Usage Jitter Cam Darkest Hour Big Bad Duumvirate A Father to His Men Dressing as the Enemy Outrun the Fireball Hair-Trigger Temper Stealth Pun Love Triangle Famous Last Words Anachronic Order Tranquil Fury Spared by the Adaptation Evil Is Hammy Straight Gay Friend to All Children Green-Eyed Monster B-Movie Batman Gambit Immune to Bullets Motor Mouth Expository Hairstyle Change Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Deconstruction Monumental Damage Christmas Movies Index Vitriolic Best Buds Mystery and Detective Films Fan Disservice Reality Ensues Italian Films Those Two Bad Guys Everyone Has Standards 20 Minutes into the Future Did Not Get the Girl Ambiguous Disorder Creator Cameo Heroic BSoD Damsel in Distress Meaningful Background Event The Great Depression Didn't Think This Through An Axe to Grind Yandere Bad Boss Intergenerational Friendship Spanner in the Works Fat Bastard Offscreen Teleportation Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Jerk Jock Alliterative Name Naïve Newcomer Big Brother Instinct Race Lift Evil Counterpart Bring My Brown Pants Chuck Cunningham Syndrome The Cavalry Chekhov's Gunman Shown Their Work Red Herring Gorn The Ace Bloodier and Gorier Cool Old Lady Bond One-Liner Skewed Priorities Casting Gag Red Right Hand The Remake Taking You with Me Cool Guns Crucified Hero Shot Eureka Moment '80s Hair Facial Horror Double Entendre Woman Scorned The Reveal Eyepatch of Power Off-into-the-Distance Ending Fingore Obstructive Bureaucrat Neck Lift Unspoken Plan Guarantee Real Life German Films The Stoner Shut Up, Hannibal! Non-Indicative Name Artistic License – Geography Stealth Hi/Bye Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Manchild Cat Fight Knife Nut Car Fu Artistic License – Military Anti-Hero Gender Flip Anachronism Stew Setting Update Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Fate Worse than Death Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Costume Porn Curse Cut Short Made of Iron Award-Bait Song Sealed Evil in a Can Noodle Incident Celebrity Paradox Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Let's Get Dangerous! Call-Forward And Starring From Bad to Worse Four-Temperament Ensemble Kubrick Stare Silent Movie Our Vampires Are Different Rasputinian Death Spiritual Successor In Name Only Badass Grandpa Stuff Blowing Up Only Known by Their Nickname Suspiciously Specific Denial Ms. Fanservice Death Glare Never Found the Body Beta Couple Easily Forgiven Beware the Nice Ones My Greatest Failure Parental Abandonment Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Artistic License – Law Badass in a Nice Suit Antagonist Title Card-Carrying Villain timeperiod Deliberate Values Dissonance Made of Explodium Honor Before Reason As Himself Butt-Monkey Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Freudian Excuse Film Noir Index Hypocrite Line-of-Sight Name Psycho for Hire Expy Those Wacky Nazis Ambiguous Ending Mighty Whitey Woman in White Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Action Survivor Villainous Breakdown Science Fiction Films Credits Gag Dark Action Girl Would Hit a Girl Beard of Evil Revenge Amusing Injuries Index of Film Westerns Brainless Beauty Big Eater Badass Normal Brick Joke Bury Your Gays Dark Reprise Took a Level in Jerkass Police Brutality Idiot Ball Crazy-Prepared The '80s Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Demonic Possession Horror Films Even Evil Has Standards Hollywood Darkness Jerkass Canadian Movies Handicapped Badass Bloody Hilarious Black Best Friend The Ghost Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Despair Event Horizon Epic Movie Bolivian Army Ending Obfuscating Stupidity Wicked Cultured Blatant Lies Dropped a Bridge on Him Historical Hero Upgrade Unresolved Sexual Tension Serial Killer Rule of Three Random Events Plot The Stoic Dirty Cop Slasher Smile Soft Glass Scare Chord Adaptational Badass Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Abusive Parents Unreliable Narrator Meaningful Echo The Musical The Smart Guy Lampshade Hanging As the Good Book Says... Once More, with Clarity! Guns Akimbo Truth in Television Smoking Is Cool Artistic License – Biology Narrator Adaptation Dye-Job Death by Sex Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Brutal Honesty Hooker with a Heart of Gold Tempting Fate Fainting Offscreen Moment of Awesome A Minor Kidroduction Visual Pun Armor-Piercing Question Dual Wielding Hate Sink Author Avatar Downer Ending Dutch Angle The Film of the Book Blood Knight Pretty in Mink Took a Level in Badass Sequel Escalation Overprotective Dad Jerkass Has a Point Thriller Not Quite Dead Black Comedy Rape Eye Scream Vomit Discretion Shot Documentary Spiteful Spit Manipulative Bastard The Hero Mr. Exposition Captain Obvious Film Noir Older Than They Look Red Shirt The Atoner The Place Ax-Crazy No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Ascended Extra Knight Templar Public Domain Feature Films Bittersweet Ending Death of a Child Bond Villain Stupidity Combat Pragmatist Better to Die than Be Killed Badass Bookworm Wrong Genre Savvy Dissonant Serenity The Starscream No Celebrities Were Harmed Refuge in Audacity An Aesop There Is No Kill Like Overkill Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Mr. Fanservice Trailers Always Spoil Actually Pretty Funny Hong Kong Films Camera Abuse Evil Is Petty Grey and Gray Morality Logo Joke Action Girl Age Lift Eiffel Tower Effect Crazy Jealous Guy May–December Romance Early Installment Weirdness I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Moment Killer A God Am I The '90s The Load Domestic Abuse Kill 'em All Ghost Fiction Lock and Load Montage Dogged Nice Guy Pimped-Out Dress The '70s One Steve Limit Rich Bitch Ungrateful Bastard What the Hell, Hero? Gainax Ending Ironic Echo Adaptational Villainy Karmic Death Does Not Like Shoes Cassandra Truth Insane Troll Logic Sadistic Choice Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Fatal Flaw Adult Fear The Sociopath Author Appeal He Knows Too Much Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Major Injury Underreaction Creative Closing Credits Daddy's Girl MacGuffin Australian Movies Adaptation Expansion Getting Crap Past the Radar Kids Are Cruel Big Bad Star-Crossed Lovers Failed a Spot Check Sanity Slippage Laughing Mad Manly Tears Drill Sergeant Nasty Bare Your Midriff Plucky Comic Relief Epic Fail Redemption Equals Death Stylistic Suck Man on Fire Does This Remind You of Anything? Decoy Protagonist Improbable Weapon User Actor Allusion Fire-Forged Friends Loads and Loads of Characters Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Central Theme It Can Think Gold Digger Aluminum Christmas Trees Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Roaring Rampage of Revenge The Alleged Car Overly Long Gag Pragmatic Adaptation Scenery Porn Spell My Name with an "S" Off with His Head! Empathic Environment I Need a Freaking Drink Corpsing Defiant to the End "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Hypocritical Humor Determinator aka: The Determinator Riddle for the Ages Match Cut Dies Wide Open Captain Ersatz Evil Plan Bavarian Fire Drill I Did What I Had to Do Grievous Bottley Harm Parental Neglect "The Reason You Suck" Speech Attempted Rape Air-Vent Passageway Coming-of-Age Story Ripped from the Headlines The X of Y I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Obviously Evil Redshirt Army Zombie Stories Historical-Domain Character