History Main / FailureMontage

* When the Admiral rearranges the fleets in ''Anime/KanColle'', the newly-formed Mobile Unit Five is a RagtagBunchOfMisfits that can't get along and can't decide on a flagship. The girls decide to take turns as flagship on training missions. Each time, an enormous explosion at sea - followed by the dejected girls recuperating in the [[HealingSpring Repair Spa]] - tells us all we need to know about their degree of success.
* In ''Anime/PlasticMemories'', Isla's attempts at retrieving Nina, a Giftia, or android, nearing the end of her service life. Chizu slams the door in each of her attempts for several days.
* In ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'', after a disastrous first battle against Gym Leader Bea, Ash submits his Riolu to fight foes with tentacles in order to better counter her Grapploct. Cue loss after loss that only drives Ash further into the CornerOfWoe (though he gets better by the end of the episode).
* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura''. Aratu trying to win the game of tag against Lum, notably his attempt to get past her flying ability. Each attempt results in him being carried off heavily bandaged on a stretcher.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', the creation of Water 7's sea train is depicted in a montage including shots of the multiple failed prototypes that preceded the final Puffing Tom. This demonstrates just how difficult perfecting even one requirement for the final sea train was, let alone all of them.

* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' had several failure montages for Mordecai and Rigby in different characters, some prominent examples being:
** Their training montage with the God of Basketball, so full of failures he declares them to be the worst Basketball players in history.
** Trying to clean up the park's abandoned ballroom, while ghosts undo everything they do.

** "The Show Stoppers" has a montage early on featuring the Cutie Mark Crusaders trying and failing at various tasks in attempts to get their Cutie Marks.
** "The Cutie Pox" has one where the CMC try to cheer up Apple Bloom after another failed cutie mark venture. Her response for each is "No, it ''won't!''".

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In [[BeachEpisode Episode 80]], a montage is shown of Stumpy losing at beach volleyball. The final scene in the montage makes it look like he's going to finally hit the ball, but he fails that too in an EpicFail.

A type of {{Montage}}, and the approximate inverse of a HardWorkMontage, which shows a character or series of characters trying and failing to achieve some specific task such as building something, finding a job, finding romance, or performing a skill. The intent is to show either that the characters are hopelessly inept or clumsy (in which case it will probably include moments of EpicFail or HowIsThatEvenPossible), or that the task is extremely difficult. If the attempters are protagonists, they'll usually succeed in the last shot; this may lead into a TrainingMontage, in which the attempter does gradually better each time, giving the whole scene a chiastic composition. Alternatively, the scene will cut out after the first success, the implication being that the character mastered the skill offscreen.

* ''WebAnimation/TheDementedCartoonMovie'' has the ten-part montage "[=DiScOverIng thE meAninG oF=] '''THE ZEEKY WORDS!'''", a mission to Mars that fails at a different stage each time.
* ''Advertising/DumbWaysToDie'' has a series of people failing to live.
* Many [[LetsPlay Lets Players]] playing particularly NintendoHard games will often have a montage of deaths as they try to get past particularly aggravating segments.

* The ''Recap/TheWonderfulWorldOfMickeyMouse'' episode "[[Recap/TheWonderfulWorldOfMickeyMouseS1E19OnceUponAnApple Once Upon An Apple]]" has the Evil Queen Grimhilde trying to eliminate Mickey Mouse for interfering with her plan to murder Snow White (as well as the Magic Mirror revealing that Mickey is the new fairest in the land), with every attempt backfiring on her.

* ''Film/AceVentura: Pet Detective'': While examining the Miami Dolphins mascot Snowflake's water tank, Ace discovers a piece of orange amber in it and he determines that it's from the 1984 AFC Championship rings given to the players and coaches from the 1984 Dolphins team, so he tracks down players and coaches from the 1984 team, including head coach Don Shula and quarterback Dan Marino, to see if one of them was missing that piece, and thus, was Snowflake's abductor. [[spoiler:The abductor is later discovered to be former Dolphins kicker Ray Finkle, who'd transitioned to Lois Einhorn, now the detective investigating the abduction for the Miami Police Department.]]

* The ''Recap/TheWonderfulWorldOfMickeyMouse'' episode [[Recap/TheWonderfulWorldOfMickeyMouseS1E19OnceUponAnApple Once Upon An Apple]] has a montage of the Evil Queen Grimhilde trying to eliminate Mickey Mouse for interfering with her plan to murder Snow White (as well as the Magic Mirror revealing that Mickey is the new fairest in the land), with every attempt backfiring on her.

[[folder:Films - Animated]]

[[folder:Films - Live Action]]

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': Po's many unsuccessful attempts to get into the audience that gathered to see the selection of the Dragon Warrior are compiled into a montage up until his fireworks idea.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': In order to prove himself skilled though to go on a quest with Princess Peach, Mario is made to complete an obstacle course (which Peach easily gets through in one try just to demonstrate). Cue Mario failing, [[AmusingInjuries rather painfully]], dozens of times attempting the obstacle course all the way from sunset until sunrise. He never gets it(even with a super mushroom), but his {{Determinator}} attitude impresses Peach enough to let him come along anyway.

** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' has the Avengers (except Natasha) try to lift Thor's hammer as a party game. Banner fakes HulkingOut, Rogers manages to budge it a little, and Stark... Stark tries it barehanded, with his gloves' retrorockets, and even has Rhodes join in.

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' ''Journeys'', after a disastrous first battle against Gym Leader Bea, Ash submits his Riolu to fight foes with tentacles in order to better counter her Grapploct. Cue loss after loss that only drives Ash further into the CornerOfWoe (though he gets better by the end of the episode).

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' where the title characters are attempting to build a rocket, we are treated to several failed attempts, involving an equation on a chalkboard, old test launch footage, and the resulting ash-covered boys going back and modifying their equations.

* Videogame/SuperMeatBoy has this as a feature. After you complete a level it gives you a simultaneous replay of every attempt.

* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolfDunkForFuture'': The training montage that precedes the big game starts out as one, with everything from Paddi ripping his pants to Sparky thinking it would be a good idea to play his UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch ''while exercising''. It gets better, and everyone is able to actually master the techniques.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': In order to prove himself skilled though to go on a quest with Princess Peach, Mario is made to complete an obstacle course (which Peach easily gets through in one try just to demonstrate). Cue Mario failing, [[AmusingInjuries rather painfully]], dozens of times attempting the obstacle course all the way from sunset until sunrise. He never gets it, but his {{Determinator}} attitude impresses Peach enough to let him come along anyway.