History Main / DramaticallyMissingThePoint

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', the Dragon Scroll is said to impart enormous power upon those who read it and is the ultimate reward for the one chosen to be the Dragon Warrior. However, [[spoiler:it would turn out that the power is all spiritual. The scroll itself is just a shiny surface acting as a mirror, showing the reflection of the one looking at it because all the power, skill, and value is within them, not the scroll]]. It's telling that Tai Lung and Shifu did not understand the meaning behind it and misunderstood what the Dragon Warrior was supposed to be all along. Tai Lung even says [[spoiler:when looking at his own reflection]] that it's nothing.

* In the novelization version of the ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' movie; after Madison Russell almost died to the {{Kaiju}} during the events of [[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 the preceding movie]], her formerly-distant father [[Characters/MonsterVerseMarkRussell Mark Russell]] thinks that he needs to hyper-focus on being there for her and giving her a normal, monster-free life without an illusion of safety [[BecauseISaidSo whether she wants it or not]], and he's in firm denial that Madison's heroism during the previous film might not have just been a stint that they can move on from and forget about; despite him arguing with Madison a lot about her life. Mark only realizes that he's been too controlling and unwilling to listen to his daughter once she's gone behind his back and put herself in giant monster-related danger ''again''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': [[BigBad Buddy Pine AKA Syndrome's]] Failure to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a superhero boils down to the fact that for all his talent as a GadgeteerGenius and fanaticism towards superheroes that could have led to him becoming a capable ScienceHero, he focused purely on the external aspect of superheroism that involved having extraordinary powers and abilities while never giving thought towards what motivated his ex-idols to use their powers for the greater good and help those who couldn't help themselves. As a child, Buddy believed Mr. Incredible's refusal to accept him as his sidekick was due to a lack of legitimate superpowers when Mr. Incredible actually rejected Buddy because he was an overly-impulsive youth who kept recklessly putting himself in harm's way in his efforts to prove he was worthy of being "[=IncrediBoy]". This mentality persisted all the way to adulthood, as shown when Mr. Incredible calls out Syndrome for murdering retired superheroes so he could pretend to be one. Syndrome merely rebuffs that his technology made him real enough to capture the entire Parr family and get as far as he did in the scheme, rather than acknowledge how he had become a mass-murdering lunatic for the sake of living out his self-centered fantasy. In other words, Syndrome was so fixated on the "super" aspect of being a superhero that he completely neglected the "hero" part of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/PussNBootsTheLastWish'': [[Characters/PussInBootsJackHorner Jack Horner]], combined with ComicallyMissingThePoint due to the BlackComedy nature of his character. Jack blames magical creatures for taking the public's attention away from his own shows in his childhood. Due to magical creatures [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight already being commonplace in this world]], and even having suffered FantasticRacism in some places such as Duloc, it's clear the real reason the public moved on from Jack was that his entertainment "routine" was [[TheBore just repeating his nursery rhyme and nothing else]]. It's shown that even his parents were starting to get tired of his shtick after a while. By contrast, while being a magical talking puppet definitely helped, Pinocchio's routine involved fancy dance moves, a light show, and confetti, and was therefore simply more entertaining to watch.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': [[BigBad Buddy Pine AKA Syndrome's]] failure to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a superhero boils down to the fact that for all his talent as a GadgeteerGenius and fanaticism towards superheroes that could have led to him becoming a capable ScienceHero, he focused purely on the external aspect of superheroism that involved having extraordinary powers and abilities while never giving thought towards what motivated his ex-idols to use their powers for the greater good and help those who couldn't help themselves. As a child, Buddy believed Mr. Incredible's refusal to accept him as his sidekick was due to a lack of legitimate superpowers, when Mr. Incredible actually rejected Buddy because he was being an overly-impulsive youth who kept recklessly putting himself in harm's way in his efforts to prove he was worthy of being "[=IncrediBoy=]". This mentality persisted all the way to adulthood, as shown when Mr. Incredible calls out Syndrome for murdering retired superheroes so he could pretend to be one, Syndrome merely rebuffs that his technology made him real enough to capture the entire Parr family and get as far as he did in scheme, rather than acknowledge how he had become a mass-murdering lunatic for the sake of living out his self-centered fantasy. In other words, Syndrome was so fixated on the "super" aspect of being a superhero that he completely neglected the "hero" part of it.
* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', the Dragon Scroll is said to impart enormous power upon those who read it and is the ultimate reward for the one chosen to be the Dragon Warrior. However, [[spoiler:it would turn out that the power is all spiritual. The scroll itself is just a shiny surface acting as a mirror, showing the reflection of the one looking at it because all the power, skill and value is within them, not the scroll]]. It's telling that Tai Lung and Shifu did not understand the meaning behind it and misunderstood what the Dragon Warrior was supposed to be all along. Tai Lung even says [[spoiler:when looking at his own reflection]] that it's nothing.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' builds its ending around this trope throughout most of the film. After having spent weeks not being played with by Bonnie, Woody fears he's lost his purpose, but still maintains loyalty to his owner in spite of the fact. His actions to prove his loyalty to her constantly end up causing him and his friends trouble, even if he never meant to. When he reencounters his old flame Bo Peep, she spends much of the time trying to convince him he needed to move on with his life, but he doesn't quite seem to get it, content with staying as Bonnie's toy. It takes a disastrous rescue mission and Bo walking out on him afterwards that Woody realizes that he's been largely unable to move on from being Andy's toy, and that Bonnie doesn't appreciate him the same way as Andy did. Thus, [[spoiler:he decides to stay with Bo and live life as a lost toy]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': [[BigBad Buddy Pine AKA Syndrome's]] failure to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a superhero boils down to the fact that he missed the point of why someone would be a superhero in the first place. For all his talent as a GadgeteerGenius and fanaticism towards superheroes that could have led to Buddy becoming a capable ScienceHero, he was focused purely on the external aspect of superheroics that involved having extraordinary powers and abilities. He never gave any thought towards the virtues that motivated supers to use their powers for the greater good and help those who couldn't help themselves. As a child, Buddy believed Mr. Incredible's refusal to accept Buddy as his sidekick was due to him lacking any legitimate superpowers, when Mr. Incredible actually rejected Buddy because he was being an overly-impulsive youth who kept recklessly putting himself in harm's way in his efforts to prove he was worthy of being "[=IncrediBoy=]". This mentality persisted all the way to adulthood, as shown when Mr. Incredible calls out Syndrome for murdering retired superheroes so he could pretend to be one. Syndrome rebuffs that his technology made him real enough to capture the entire Parr family and get as far as he did, rather than acknowledge how Syndrome was willing to become a mass-murdering lunatic for the sake of living out his self-centered fantasy. In other words, Syndrome was so fixated on the "super" aspect of being a superhero that he completely neglected the "hero" part of it.

* Peko Pekoyama in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' was raised to think of herself as a tool to the Kuzuryuu clan. So when clan scion Fuyuhiko insists that their relationship is null and void once they arrive at the "class trip," she assumes that he hates her as the clan's tool out of his desire to prove himself independent of the clan. In reality, he wants her as a person, rather than a tool. As a result of this mindset, [[spoiler:Peko kills Mahiru when a tense standoff between Mahiru and Fuyuhiko (who'd planned on killing Mahiru but was starting to get cold feet) breaks down, believing that because she acts on Fuyuhiko's behalf, if she's convicted of the murder, he'll be able to "graduate." In truth, Fuyuhiko didn't want her to do that, so Peko is found guilty and executed, with Fuyuhiko losing an eye in a failed attempt to save her and living with the guilt for the rest of the game.]] In Island Mode, however, Peko gets over this if you successfully reach her ending.

* ''WebVideo/KanePixelsTheBackrooms'': The ASYNC representative informing the research institute's employees of [[spoiler:Peter Tench's]] death describes him as a "brilliant man" who would have wanted his colleagues to continue giving their all to ASYNC's research... [[spoiler:Despite the fact that Tench's misadventures (being transported three months forward in time after being separated from his colleagues, then ending up back in the Backrooms [[AmbigiousSituation in mysterious circumstances]], going on to shoot another researcher with their own gun and die while attempting to escape the ASYNC facility) show, if nothing else, just how [[JustThinkOfThePotential dangerous and foolish]] ASYNC's work really is]].

** Redcloak and Oona are talking at one point and Oona makes a metaphor that basically boils down the following: Redcloak is both honestly trying to do his best for goblins ''and'' is obsessed with [[SunkCostFallacy proving he was right all along.]] She asks him which of these he would choose were he forced to do so and, naturally, he gets offended and refuses to admit that these are in any way distinct, thus answering the question by ''not'' answering the question. She's choosing to work with him in the hopes that she can minimize the chances of these goals coming into conflict because she knows ''exactly'' what he would choose in that situation. He then attempts to change the subject by finding fault in the wording of her metaphor rather than think about the point she's making.

* In [[spoiler: Canus]]'s Bad Ending in ''VisualNovel/CafeEnchante'', Kariya tells [[spoiler: Canus]] that once he is old enough, he will reopen the café and all the regulars can return. [[spoiler: Canus]] does not have the heart to tell Kariya that even if the café was reopened, none of the regulars, including [[spoiler: Canus]], would return since [[spoiler: Kotone herself has fallen into a coma and won't ever wake up.]]
* An especially tragic version of this happens with Peko Pekoyama in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''. Having been raised to think of herself as a tool to the Kuzuryuu clan, when the scion to the clan, Fuyuhiko, insists that their relationship until now is null and void once they arrive at the "class trip," she assumes that he, out of his desire to prove himself independent of the clan, hates her as the clan's tool, when in reality, he wants her as a person, rather than a tool. As a result of this mindset, [[spoiler:Peko kills Mahiru when a tense standoff between Mahiru and Fuyuhiko (who'd planned on killing Mahiru but was starting to get cold feet) breaks down, believing that because she acts on Fuyuhiko's behalf, if she's convicted of the murder, he'll be able to "graduate." In truth, Fuyuhiko didn't want her to do that, so Peko is found guilty and executed, with Fuyuhiko losing an eye in a failed attempt to save her and living with the guilt for the rest of the game.]] In Island Mode, however, Peko gets over this if you successfully reach her ending.