Tropescilloscope: Manic Pixie Dream Girl

An upbeat young woman whose love gives the brooding male hero a new lease on life. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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