History Anvilicious / Film

* Most of the pre-1970s driver's education films were notorious for this. Keeping in mind this was an era long before HIPAA and privacy laws, many of these films used actual footage from real fatal accidents (many provided by state patrol agencies). An example is the 1959 film ''Film/SignalThirty'', which showed the bloody aftermath of several accidents; repeatedly, viewers were shown broken and mangled bodies, and at least twice the victims were charred so badly dental records were needed to identify the body. Throughout, the narrator related what caused each of these accidents -- speed, reckless driving, failure to obey stop signs, racing trains to the crossing, falling asleep behind the wheel and more -- and relating a very clear moral: Even one mistake behind the wheel, no matter how seemingly minor, could be your last ... and it surely could prove deadly for innocent people as well. The fact that many "ScareEmStraight" driver education films of the era came without disclaimers (and oftentimes, the teacher never warned his students) made these films even more anvilicious.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' is also a case of dropping the moral anvil. The basic message is that organic alternative fuels are good while oil companies are evil. Too bad that people hate this particular movie because of how violent it is and how [[TheScrappy Mater]] hogs up screen time.

** The character of Jailbreak has been criticised for existing solely to complain about “patriarchy” [[PanderingToTheBase in an attempt to represent and get praise from the feminist community]]. Ironically, her [[{{Jerkass}} unlikable personality]], the [[FridgeLogic nonsensicalness within the universe]] and heavy-handedness of her complaints, and the UnfortunateImplications on how her arc ends resulting in a BrokenAesop comes off as [[StrawFeminist unintentionally insulting]] to feminists.

* The 2012 film adaptation of Creator/DrSeuss' ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'' frequently takes the original book's anti-corporate, pro-environment message to an extreme, beat-the-viewer-around-the-head-with-it extent, especially in the numerous musical numbers. This is in stark contrast to the '70s short, which had an intentional StrawmanHasAPoint from the Once-ler, when he asked "What about all the people who work here? What would they do if I closed shop?" Even the titular Lorax can't provide a good answer.

* In ''Film/{{Volcano}}'', after volcanic ash covers Los Angeles, a child mentions how everyone looked the same now (cue shot of black guy next to white guy).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' makes the message that sometimes you must learn to take caution for yourself very evident. How so? By having [[ObviouslyEvil absurdly evil people]] [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers kidnap children with abandon]], [[ForcefulTransformation turn them into donkeys]], [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil sell them into slavery]], [[KarmaHoudini and get away with it]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' makes the message that sometimes you must learn to take caution for yourself very evident. How so? By having [[ObviouslyEvil absurdly evil people]] [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers kidnap children with abandon]], [[BalefulPolymorph turn them into donkeys]], [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil sell them into slavery]], [[KarmaHoudini and get away with it]].

* The [[ScareEmStraight "educational film"]] ''Film/ReeferMadness'': Notorious for the sheer ludicrousness of the anvils it drops against marijuana -- or as it spells it, "marihuana". Apparently, pot makes you a horrible driver, (the one thing that was admittedly true about the film), can drive you insane... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and lets you play the piano really fast]]. Even worse: the movie is just so ''[[CriticalResearchFailure wrong]]'' on every level that modern audiences consider it [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]] and [[TheStoner advocates of pot legalization]] use it to promote their cause. The film was later parodied with ''Film/ReeferMadnessTheMusical''. It sends up the original by [[RefugeInAudacity going even further]] (for example, claiming marijuana causes ''cannibalism'')... but then turns around and drops its ''own'' anvils against censorship with the last number. (Yes, ''real'' subtle with the book-burning cheerleaders...)

* While his movies haven't ever exactly been subtle, especially with the HumansAreTheRealMonsters message (literally every "zombie" movie Romero has made, including ''Film/TheCrazies1973'' as well as ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' and sequels has the main characters almost encounter still living people who are just as, if not more, dangerous as the monsters), Creator/GeorgeARomero cranked the anvils up to eleven in ''Film/DiaryOfTheDead'', where the main character flat out asks if humanity is worth saving at all over a clip of two guys using zombies for target practice. He could honestly be said to live on this trope.

** Hi-5's [[ItsAllAboutMe character flaws]] are [[UpToEleven deeply exaggerated]] just so that he can learn the value of friendship and humility. Even then, his CharacterDevelopment consists of him being an unlikable, attention-seeking {{Jerkass}} for the entire film until he just ''[[ShowDontTell says]]'' that he isn't one anymore.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'': Racism is bad. This gets taken UpToEleven when one of the villain's lines in song is: "They're not like you and me, which means they must be evil!"

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' makes the message that sometimes you must learn to take caution for yourself very evident. How so? By having [[ObviouslyEvil absurdly evil people]] [[AdultFear kidnap children with abandon]], [[BalefulPolymorph turn them into donkeys]], [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil sell them into slavery]], [[KarmaHoudini and get away with it]].

* Anyone who watched [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast]] obviously wasn't paying attention as the plot, CharacterDevelopment the characters undergo and the relationship between Belle and Beast are obviously supposed to send the message, "TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside" or "Don't judge a book by it's cover".

* In ''Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'', Nelson Mandela gives an especially anviliscious televised speech near the end of the film.

%%* Left alone, ''Film/{{Gattaca}}'' is already a borderline case of this, but some of the cut scenes on the DVD ''really'' drive the point home.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Frozen|2013}}'' gives two lessons and in turn deconstructs many of Creator/{{Disney}}'s earlier films. One: There is no such thing as LoveAtFirstSight. Only by getting to know and understand someone can you possibly fall in love with them. Two: An act of true love isn't about romance. It's about loving someone with all your heart, unconditionally.

[[folder: Film - Animated]]

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Pocahontas}}'': Racism is bad. This gets taken UpToEleven when one of the villain's lines in song is: "They're not like you and me, which means they must be evil!"

[[folder: Film - Live-Action]]

* ''Film/TheLastJedi'' -- the eighth installment of the ''Skywalker Saga'' -- is an anvilicious deconstruction of the franchise's formula, themes and a TakeThat to the [[AcceptableTargets purist/right-leaning section]] of the fanbase by condemning the hot shot-male protagonist archetype, [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity the black and white way of thinking of the protagonists]], the idea that you have to be part of a special family to be special yourself (an attack on the fans theories/demands that new protagonist Rey (an orphan with incredible powers) be related to established characters), the idea that holding onto the past is important to one-self (metaphorically, the Original Trilogy). The movie also has a WomenAreWiser subtext and a CapitalismIsBad sideplot. This is why it is considered the most controversial ''Franchise/StarWars'' film since ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.

* ''Film/CSATheConfederateStatesOfAmerica'' is largely hammering in about how bad slavery is and how backwards the way of thinking is. (And, if you think about it, the movie's message is completely unnecessary, since slavery has not existed in this country for well over a century. If they wanted to mount an abolitionist crusade, they were late to the party.)
** On the other hand, you can make the case that the message of this film is not so much slavery as racism. It’s still a pretty anvilicious message, but racism didn’t end in April 1865.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' delivers the message that sometimes you must learn to take caution for yourself very evident. How so? By having [[ObviouslyEvil absurdly evil people]] [[AdultFear kidnap children with abandon]], [[BalefulPolymorph turn them into donkeys]], [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil sell them into slavery]], [[KarmaHoudini and get away with it]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' delivers the message that sometimes you must learn to take caution for yourself very evident. How so? By having [[CompleteMonster absurdly evil people]] [[AdultFear kidnap children with abandon]], [[BalefulPolymorph turn them into donkeys]], [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil sell them into slavery]], [[KarmaHoudini and get away with it]].

* 'WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' delivers the message that sometimes you must learn to take caution for yourself very evident. How so? By having [[CompleteMonster absurdly evil people]] [[AdultFear kidnap children with abandon]], [[BalefulPolymorph turn them into donkeys]], [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil sell them into slavery]], [[KarmaHoudini and get away with it]].

* Most of the pre-1970s driver's education films were notorious for this. Keeping in mind this was an era long before HIPAA and privacy laws, many of these films used actual footage from real fatal accidents (many provided by state patrol agencies). An example is the 1959 film "Signal 30," which showed the bloody aftermath of several accidents; repeatedly, viewers were shown broken and mangled bodies, and at least twice the victims were charred so badly dental records were needed to identify the body. Throughout, the narrator related what caused each of these accidents -- speed, reckless driving, failure to obey stop signs, racing trains to the crossing, falling asleep behind the wheel and more -- and relating a very clear moral: Even one mistake behind the wheel, no matter how seemingly minor, could be your last ... and it surely could prove deadly for innocent people as well. The fact that many "ScareEmStraight" driver education films of the era came without disclaimers (and oftentimes, the teacher never warned his students) made these films even more anvilicious.

* InUniverse in ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}''. When asked by the admiral why he doesn't want to use nukes to kill the [=MUTO=]s, Serizawa hands him his father's watch, stopped at 8:15, referring to the UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki. In the original Godzilla film, the monster itself was an anvilicious allegory for the horrors of nuclear weapons.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' was 86 minutes of "don't judge a book by its cover" and "extremism is bad". Oddly, it went both ways - Kent Mansley shouldn't have assumed that the giant robot was a war machine that should be destroyed at any cost, and Hogarth shouldn't have assumed that the giant robot ''wasn't'' an alien superweapon. The film being set during The Cold War helps mitigate the anvil-ness somewhat.

* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' movie ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' is one big anvil (made of several slightly smaller anvils). Wishing you were more attractive is equivalent to wishing you were never born and taking gold that is lying about - with no obvious reason not to - will turn you into a dragon (or, alternatively, into a gold statue).

* The promotional material for ''Film/{{District 9}}'' isn't dropping anvils as much as it is rapid-firing them from a gravity gun. The plot involves refugee aliens being separated from humans in South Africa (apartheid!), humans demanding weapons from the aliens (Humans Are Greedy!), humans saying the aliens probably eat dogs (FantasticRacism, also apartheid), and taglines to report non-humans (apartheid again). The film itself is much less overbearing, though. WordOfGod from writer/director Neill Blomkamp says that he never intended to make an overtly anvilicious movie - [[WriteWhatYouKnow this was just the environment in which he grew up.]]
* ''The Doctor'' tries to show physicians should show humanity toward their patients - by making every single physician, including the protagonist, a complete and utter unfeeling JerkAss. Aside from the LittlestCancerPatient, there are almost no sympathetic characters.

* ''Film/LittleWomen2019'', an adaptation of an already Anvilicious novel, quotes a letter by Louisa May Alcott in case the thesis of the story wasn't clear:[[note]]The trailers are partly to blame; they cut out Jo's next line, which is "but I'm so lonely" - and it's clear in the scene that Jo's worried more about whether a desire for companionship is selling out her morals.[[/note]]

* The film ''Nappily Ever After'' is a two-hour anvil preaching about the Natural Hair Movement. While a subject that [[DontShootTheMessage could use more airtime]], the script has Violet blatantly announce her disdain for a little girl wearing her hair in an afro. Violet's obsession with straight hair is an obvious and un-subtle metaphor for her perfectionist nature - and she blatantly announces to the audience that the experience of [[ImportantHaircut shaving her head]] "forced me to give up all my vanity".

* The [[ScareEmStraight "educational film"]] ''Film/ReeferMadness'': Notorious for the sheer ludicrousness of the anvils it drops against marijuana - or as it spells it, "marihuana". Apparently, pot makes you a horrible driver, (the one thing that was admittedly true about the film), can drive you insane... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and lets you play the piano really fast]]. Even worse: the movie is just so ''[[CriticalResearchFailure wrong]]'' on every level that modern audiences consider it [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]] and [[TheStoner advocates of pot legalization]] use it to promote their cause. The film was later parodied with ''Film/ReeferMadnessTheMusical''. It sends up the original by [[RefugeInAudacity going even further]] (for example, claiming marijuana causes ''cannibalism'')... but then turns around and drops its ''own'' anvils against censorship with the last number. (Yes, ''real'' subtle with the book-burning cheerleaders...)

-->'''Gary Johnson''': "[[{{Eagleland}} We're]] dicks! We're [[DestructiveSaviour reckless]], [[ItsAllAboutMe arrogant]], [[UnwantedAssistance stupid]] dicks! And the [[FunWithAcronyms Film Actor's Guild]] are pussies! And [[UsefulNotes/NorthKorea Kim Jong Il]] is an [[{{Jerkass}} asshole]]! Pussies don't like dicks, because [[MightMakesRight pussies get fucked by dicks]], but ''[[BlackAndGreyMorality dicks also fuck assholes]]''. Assholes who just want to shit on everything. Pussies may think that [[PeaceConference they can deal with assholes their way]], but [[GoodIsImpotent the only thing that can fuck an asshole is a dick]]... [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption with some balls]]. The problem with dicks is that sometimes [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill they fuck too much]], or [[DisproportionateRetribution fuck when it isn't appropriate]] - and [[WhatTheHellHero it takes a pussy to show them that]]. But sometimes, [[StrawCharacter pussies get so full of shit that they become assholes themselves]]... [[{{Metaphorgotten}} because pussies are only a half-inch away from assholes]]. I don't know much about this crazy world, but I do know, that if you don't let us ''fuck'' this asshole, we're going to get our dicks ''and'' our pussies all covered in shit!"

* ''Film/BoogieNights'', is not, on the contrary a morality tale against pornography, but rather hubris and not keeping up with the times. First of all, the actors do cocaine because it's the Seventies, not necessarily because they're in the porn industry, which in turn fuels their downfall by making them overconfident, irrational and unable to perform. Secondly, Little Bill killed his wife not because she was a porn star (which in the film is not stated, to my recollection), but because she was cheating on him, and very publically. The other characters barely bat an eye at this, further emasculating him. Note that there are no cameras around the times he catches her. Oh and DrugsAreBad mmm'kay.

* ''Film/CharlieWilsonsWar'' featured [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped anvils of assorted necessity]], which is unsurprising since it dealt with the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. The worst offender is at the very end, when Charlie and his friends are celebrating the Russians being run out of Afghanistan thanks to the weapons they helped smuggle in. Charlie's CIA liaison pulls him aside and warns him that religious zealots are starting to show up, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything just as plane roars over Charlie's apartment which happens to face the Pentagon.]] The next scene shows him failing to raise a few million dollars (after he had increased the defense budget by literally 500%) because normalizing relations with Russia is more important than building up Afghanistan. The real Charlie Wilson resented the idea that they had basically armed the Taliban.

* Creator/FrankMiller, Irvin Kershner, Jose Padilha and especially Paul Verhoeven are not aiming for subtlety in ''Franchise/{{RoboCop}}'' (in fact, Verhoeven has never even heard of such a concept). The movies gleefully raise Anviliciousness to an art form, bombarding the viewer with DrugsAreBad, ThereAreNoGoodExecutives, and [[AIIsACrapshoot Drone Warfare Is A Crapshoot]]. Although, if one compares the state of Detroit between the first movie and the 21st century reboot it appears that SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped.