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