History Main / PetGetsTheKeys

* ''Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': While the ride is taking you through the attack on Port Royal, you can see and hear several prisoners trying to coax a mangy dog into bringing them the keys to their cell. The dog has the keys in its mouth, but doesn't seem certain about going to the cell door.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'': When Yondu and Rocket are locked in the ship's hold, they catch Baby Groot's attention and tell him to bring Yondu's prototype [[WeaponOfChoice head fin]] so they can break out. Unfortunately, Groot doesn't quite understand what they're talking about and brings back a series of increasingly hilarious objects -- including a pair of underwear, a severed toe, and a desk -- before a regretful mutineer helps him out.

* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'': Guybrush is arrested as soon as he puts feet on Phatt Island. The guard lgives the keys to his dog Walt, telling Guybrush that the former will "tear him to pieces" if Guybrush tries to escape. However, Guybrush easily convinces Walt to give him the keys by offering him a bone from a skeleton that is in the cell.

So, you're in {{Prison}}. Or, at least, a jail cell. Or [[{{Birdcaged}} an implausibly oversized birdcage]]. Your enemies have caught you and, having better things to do than murder you right away, have [[AntiInterferenceLockup thrown you behind bars for safe keeping]]. Or maybe your allies have handcuffed you to a radiator [[LockedUpAndLeftBehind to get you out of the way]]. But who's not locked up? That animal on the other side of the room . . . right next to the big ring of keys on the wall.

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* {{Subverted}} in ''ComicBook/RapunzelsRevenge''. When Jack and Rapunzel are locked up by TheSheriff, Jack tries to get his uncooperative goose Goldie to bring them the ring of keys on the wall . . . only to realize the cell was never locked in the first place.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''. Al is shackled in a dungeon for "kidnapping" Princess Jasmine. His monkey Abu comes to pick open the shackle locks, but that doesn't free him from the dungeon--a disguised Jafar does, as part of his plan to get the magic lamp.

* ''Film/Aladdin2019'': After Aladdin exposes [[EvilChancellor Jafar]] as a traitor, the latter is put in a dungeon. His parrot sidekick Iago frees him by bringing the key.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'': When Yondu and Rocket are locked in the ship's hold, they catch Baby Groot's attention and tell him to bring Yondu's prototype [[WeaponOfChoice head fin]] so they can break out. Unfortunately, Groot doesn't quite understand what they're talking about and brings back a series of increasingly hilarious objects--including a pair of underwear, a severed toe, and a desk--before a regretful mutineer helps him out.
* A variant in ''Film/HongKongGodfather'' - Wei, the protagonist is a KindheartedAnimalLover whose pets include two dogs, a large Doberman who's in a cage most of the time and a smaller pup. When Wei gets ambushed by a horde of thugs, he lets his smaller dog out of his mansion, where it instead releases the Doberman into helping Wei by mauling several mooks.

* In ''Film/TheMask'', Stanley's dog Milo's ability to fetch his master's keys [[ChekhovsSkill comes in handy]] when he has to climb the wall into jail and sneak the keys off the sleeping policeman to break Stanley out--though he at first misunderstands the command, going for the policeman's sandwich.

** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'': Another group of prisoners are whistling and hooting to call someone over...but in this case, they're cat-calling Elizabeth, sitting in the next cell after being wrongfully imprisoned. Later, when Governor Swann comes to get her out, he looks around and remarks "Now, where's that dog with the keys?" In a BrickJoke, we later see Pintel and Ragetti in a rowboat having escaped their cell, and then we see the dog (keys still in mouth) is in the boat with them.

* {{Defied}} by Fred Colon of the ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/{{Thud}}''. He is described as being a particularly good jailor for, among other reasons, keeping the keys to his cells "in a tin box in the bottom drawer of his desk, a long way out of reach of any stick, hand, dog, cunningly thrown belt or trained Klatchian monkey spider." A footnote mentions this makes him possibly unique in the annals of jail history.
* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', Taylor uses cockroaches to steal a cop's keys and get out of handcuffs.

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/GwenStefani's video, "The Sweet Escape," shows Gwen begging the tranquil lab holding the key to her LuxuryPrisonSuite to come closer. Her cellmates eventually manage to coax it over with a large gold bone.

* Before its destruction in a fire in 2018, ''Ride/EuropaPark'''s "Piraten in Batavia" had the same scene as the above, only it was in the [[EastIndies Dutch East Indies]] and the pet was a monkey.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Invoked at one point in ''Webcomic/LatchkeyKingdom''. With a twist — the dog with the keys is a sentient Hound fully capable of talking and object manipulation. Though, Hounds normally walk on fours and carry objects (like the key ring) in their mouths. For added irony, [[spoiler:[[http://latchkeykingdom.thecomicseries.com/comics/578 he's the marshal, the kingdom's one-dog police force]], whom the captured teens should've contacted from the start instead of breaking into the mad doctor's mansion.]]
[[/folder]]

So, you're in {{Prison}}. Or, at least, a jail cell. Or [[{{Birdcaged}} an implausibly oversized birdcage]]. Your enemies have caught you and, having better things to do than murder you right away, have thrown you behind bars for safe keeping. Or maybe your allies have handcuffed you to a radiator [[LockedUpAndLeftBehind to get you out of the way]]. But who's not locked up? That animal on the other side of the room . . . right next to the big ring of keys on the wall.

* An orangutan at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo found a piece of metal on the floor of his cage. He was so smart that he was able to bend the metal piece and use it to pick the lock of his cage. Zoo staff were wondering who was letting the orangutans out, and it took them awhile to discover that it was one of the animals themselves. The orangutan was so smart that evaded detection for some time by hiding the metal piece in his mouth along the gumline.

* A variant occurs in ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}''; after being locked in her room while her father goes out to hunt a bear that's actually his wife (long story), Merida sees her triplet brothers walk up to her door, now also transformed into bears. She simply tells them "Get the key." and they promptly go after the maid who has it.

* ''Film/OneHundredAndTwoDalmatians'' has Kevin getting busted out of a jail cell not by any of his three dogs (who are locked in with him), but his ''parrot''.

* In the second episode of ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'' the main cast is [[JailedOneAfterAnother entrapped in the same cell]] on Parrot Island. They escape when a feral pig Bailey befriended earlier gets them the keys, [[RuleOfFunny and was in the process of getting London a latte.]]

* A variant occurs in ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}; after being locked in her room while her father goes out to hunt a bear that's actually his wife (long story), Merida sees her triplet brothers walk up to her door, now also transformed into bears. She simply tells them "Get the key." and they promptly go after the maid who has it.

This often facilitates CardboardPrison. Sister-trope to ConvenientlyPlacedSharpThing and HookingTheKeys. Compare BringHelpBack for when there aren't any keys around. See also JailBake and PassiveRescue for other ways of getting keys to prisoners, though this is more likely to occur on the spur of the moment than to be a part of a GreatEscape. If the imprisoned character is a villain, this is a subtrope of BreakingOutTheBoss. May involve a CoolKey or a DangerousKeyFumble.

* {{Defied}} by Fred Colon of the Discworld book ''Discworld/{{Thud}}''. He is described as being a particularly good jailor for, among other reasons, keeping the keys to his cells "in a tin box in the bottom drawer of his desk, a long way out of reach of any stick, hand, dog, cunningly thrown belt or trained Klatchian monkey spider." A footnote mentions this makes him possibly unique in the annals of jail history.

* Played with in ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''. Al is shackled in a dungeon for "kidnapping" Princess Jasmine. His monkey Abu comes to pick open the shackle locks, but that doesn't free him from the dungeon--a disguised Jafar does, as part of his plan to get the magic lamp.
* ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'': After Lady Tremaine locks Cinderella in her room during the Duke's visit, the mice Jaq and Gus have to get the key from Tremaine's pocket and carry it up the stairs to free her.

* ''Disney/TheRescuersDownUnder'': Cody is trapped by [=McLeach=] with some of the animals he's poached. One of them, Frank the frilled lizard, manages to free himself and tries to get the keys to Cody. Unfortunately, [=McLeach's=] pet goanna Joanna arrives to stop him.

Now the task is to get the animal to bring the keys (or some other useful escape tool) over to you. If it's your NonHumanSidekick, this could be as simple as a meaningful wink or [[JustWhistle special signal]]. But if it's a critter you're not necessarily on the best of terms with or don't know--or, heavens forbid, one belonging to the enemies who was given the keys for safe-keeping--well, you could be screwed. A common variation is for the sidekick to have to steal then keys off TheJailer's person.

Now the task is to get the animal to bring the keys (or some other useful escape tool) over to you. If it's your NonHumanSidekick, this could be as simple as a meaningful wink or [[JustWhistle special signal]]. But if it's a critter you're not necessarily on the best of terms with or don't know--or, heavens forbid, one belonging to the enemies who was given the keys for safe-keeping--well, you could be screwed. A common variation is for the sidekick to have to [[HookingTheKeys steal the keys]] off TheJailer's person.

Now the task is to get the animal to bring the keys (or some other useful escape tool) over to you. If it's your NonHumanSidekick, this could be as simple as a meaningful wink or [[JustWhistle special signal]]. But if it's a critter you're not necessarily on the best of terms with or don't know--or, heavens forbid, one belonging to the enemies who was given the keys for safe-keeping--well, you could be screwed. A common variation is for the sidekick to have to steal the keys off TheJailer's person.