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16[[quoteright:250:[[WesternAnimation/SquiddlyDiddly https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/funny_octopus.png]]]]
17[[caption-width-right:250:[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Meet the marvelous many-armed musical multi-tasker.]]]]
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23Octopoids and other tentacled creatures are often depicted as funny and amusing creatures.
24
25Octopuses are soft and lack bones, which, along with their regenerative ability, makes them easy to be the victim of AmusingInjuries. Their HollywoodChameleon ability can also make them a comical MasterOfDisguise. Plus there's the inherent funny-ness in the squishy, tentacled body that is able to contour and squeeze through narrow places.
26
27Oh, and they have eight or ten arms ([[FourLeggedInsect except when they are drawn with fewer]]), perfect for MultiArmedMultitasking. Comedy gold.
28
29Heck, even "octopus" and "squid" themselves can be seen as {{Inherently Funny Word}}s.
30
31May overlap with StealthyCephalopod if an octopus' camouflage abilities are played for laughs. For another trope about a comical animal, see BearyFunny. Contrast TentacledTerror for cephalopods being depicted as scary and monstrous.
32
33----
34!!Examples:
35[[foldercontrol]]
36
37[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
38* The Magic World of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' has the pseudo-octopus called Cerberus [[ClothingDamage Cloth Eater, which only eats and dissolves your clothes]], but is still greatly feared by travelers since it licks them thoroughly then leaves them naked in the jungle. Poor [[PlayfulHacker Chisame]] encountered one.
39* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
40** The Kraken Surume starts off as the legendary ship-devouring monster one would expect, but upon taking a beatdown from the Straw Hats, [[DefeatMeansFriendship he ends up befriending them]] and turns out to be pretty amicable. And dorky.
41** Hacchan and his crush Octopako are cephalopod-fishmen and, after Hacchan stops being an enemy to the Straw Hats, the two of them live some rather mundane lives. For the both of them, their main gag is that they use far more of their many tentacle arms than necessary, such as Hacchan using all six of his arms in a thank-you gesture to someone helping him.
42* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'', James' Inkay gets in on the slapstick and mischief as much as any Team Rocket member.
43* ''Manga/SquidGirl''. The eponymous IneffectualSympatheticVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonist]] Squid Girl is a humanoid (whether she has a backbone is not mentioned). She has several squid traits, specifically Bioluminescence, CombatTentacles, the ability to spit (or WaterfallPuke) ink, and TentacleRope.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Asian Animation]]
47* ''Animation/Momo2022'': The main character and her father are peculiar wonderers of the aquarium they live in, sometimes veering out of their underwater exhibit. They can write words with their own ink. In addition, their being stranded at a closed gift shop led Momo to try consuming human food and soda and playfully throw stuffed animals at her father.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Comic Books]]
51* ''ComicBook/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'': Sam & Max get rescued from pirates in "Hit the Road" by "Ratso" and his "howling band of cephalopods." Sam comments on how their floppy heads look gross on land.
52* ''ComicBook/TheUmbrellaAcademy'':
53** The first issue opens with a man wrestling a giant space squid for no real reason.
54** The character Horror, who's actually pretty squidish himself, [[TentacleRope for obvious reasons]].
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Comic Strips]]
58* The pet squid in the comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Lio}}'' is a good example, inasmuch as he's supposed to be so cool primarily because he's a squid.
59* The giant squid in ''ComicStrip/ShermansLagoon'' is Sherman's SitcomArchNemesis.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
63* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animalympics}}'' has the [[BilingualBonus Calamari]] Brothers who compete at waterball, freestyle swimming (one of them) and bobsledding.
64* ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'': Hank, the octopus Dory meets at the Institute, is pulled into her wacky hi-jinks. He tends to be more of a StraightMan than funny on his own, though he does have his moments, such as disguising himself as a baby.
65* ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'': One of Nemo's classmates is a young, somewhat nervous octopus ([[BowelBreakingBricks "Aw, you made me ink!"]]).
66* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'', one performer in the BadGuyBar is an octopus clown, juggling three balls between his tentacles. He becomes the victim of ProducePelting from the patrons of the bar who are unsatisfied with his act.
67* Creator/{{Pixar}}'s feature ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' has an octopus-like sushi chef working in the restaurant named [[InJoke Harryhausen's]]. Like all the patrons, this octopus character is terrified of the human toddler Boo.
68* [[TomTheDarkLord Dave]] the octopus from ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar'' may be the BigBad, but he's quite FauxAffablyEvil at times, which, combined with his [[EvilIsHammy sheer ham]], makes him a very entertaining character. His octopus {{Mooks}} are even funnier, with their silly antics such as sleeping on the job or starting fights with each other, their "blub" language, and their tendency to fall victim to AmusingInjuries more than any other character in the movie.
69* [[TheDitz Luca]] the octopus from ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' provides necessary comic relief for the sharks. He is also CaptainObvious. He isn't that bright.
70* Theater manager Buster Moon from Creator/IlluminationEntertainment's ''WesternAnimation/{{Sing}}'' hires two hundred deep-sea squid to [[BioluminescenceIsCool add their bio-luminescence to his stage and backdrop to create a living light show]]. Buster soon learns why it's a bad idea to enclose several thousand gallons of water with [[TemptingFate ordinary window glass]].
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
74* ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'': Topo the drum playing octopus in a ComicallySerious fashion.
75** The sequel, ''Film/AquamanAndTheLostKingdom'', [[AscendedExtra expands his role]] and cranks up the funny with him. When Atlanna talks to Arthur/Aquaman about sending the octopus to help him free Orm (akin to [=R2-D2=] in ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]''), she lists everything the animal does, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking playing music comes last]]. He is indeed of great help to Arthur, but not without acting a bit goofy when Arthur and Orm have to escape by the sea ([[ScrewThisImOuttaHere rushing first to the sea without bothering about the two of them]] and hindering Arthur by climbing on him while he's running). He also makes bizarre gargling sounds.
76* Ed Wood's ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' makes use of a prop octopus that gets Bela Lugosi in its clutches (though Bela has to toss the tentacles over himself for the effect). Supposed to be "evil" but clearly in the "comical" category.
77* From Creator/StephenChow's 2016 comedy, ''Film/TheMermaid'', the merpeople community consists mostly of part-fish merfolk... and then there's Brother Octopus, the sole mer-octopus and resident ButtMonkey, who often got his tentacles stomped on or sliced off, suffering all kinds of AmusingInjuries throughout the film which is PlayedForLaughs.
78* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi's'' Admiral Ackbar is certainly a good guy, but not deliberately funny. Then MemeticMutation set in. All together now, "It's a trap!" Ackbar's notable for being one of the only squid creatures you'll ever see who's squid-like because of his ''face,'' not having multiple limbs. Jabba's guest Tessek (aka [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} Squidhead]]), on the other hand, is not a nice guy.
79* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' has an octopus working the wet bar of the Ink And Paint Club, where he mixes drinks, serves patrons, polishes glassware and examines notes for counterfeits all at once.
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Literature]]
83* The Curious Squid in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' has cephalopodian intelligence PlayedForLaughs; the squid are, as the name suggests, curious, about all kinds of things. What they aren't good at is making connections, which makes them very easy to catch.
84* The [[DarkIsNotEvil friendly]] monster Sketchy from ''Literature/WarrenTheThirteenth'' heavily resembles an octopus.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Music]]
88* Henry the Octopus, a supporting cast member of ''Music/TheWiggles''. Known for breakdancing with all his legs.
89* A nice one at any rate, in [[Music/TheBeatles Ringo]] [[Music/RingoStarr Starr]]'s "Octopus's Garden". He'd let us in, knows where we've been. On a vacation in Greece, Ringo was told of their penchant for collecting objects to put around their homes. TruthInTelevision: aquariums often report that if they do not ''give'' their octopus shiny things to play with, it will often escape and ''steal'' them.
90* Takoluka, a parody illustration of one of the newer Music/{{Vocaloid}}s, Megurine Luka, as a ''very'' cute octopus.
91* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lp5a-r3MJU Little Octopus Climbing Over Rock]]" by Music/ParryGripp is about a tiny, cute octopus crawling over a rock to get to the sea.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Teletext]]
95* Reg the Octopus from the BBC's ''Ceefax'' service, whose attempts at performing multiple tasks at once with his tentacles would invariably lead to [[HilarityEnsues hilarious disaster]].
96[[/folder]]
97
98[[folder:Toys]]
99* There are three different octopus Toys/BeanieBabies, each designed with RuleOfCute in mind.
100* Toys/{{Squishables}} has both an octopus plush as well as a squid one.
101[[/folder]]
102
103[[folder:Video Games]]
104* In ''VideoGame/{{Clayfighter}} 2: Judgment Clay'', there's Octohead and his EvilTwin (and less funny) Jack.
105* The [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain antagonistic but incompetent]] Ultros/[[InconsistentSpelling Orthros]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is a large purple octopus prone to {{Pun}}s and pathetically easy {{Boss Battle}}s.
106* ''Website/GaiaOnline'':
107** Aquarium Cuttlefish are as difficult to please as they are adorable. One of the items they can drop when they die suggests that they are {{Emo}}. In addition, the Squid set and The Experiment play tentacles [[BlackComedyRape for laughs]].
108** The Yemaya's Pearl item has a pose in which purple tentacles replace the wearer's legs. Yeah.
109* The ''VideoGame/{{Octodad}}'' games are about an amiable cephalopod and his clumsy attempts to pass himself off as a Standard50sFather.
110* Blooey the Blooper from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' is of the comical variety. Unlike Mario's partners, who followed Mario out of respect or another benevolent reason, Blooey, as well as the rest of Luigi's partners (excluding Hayzee), follows Luigi around out of a desire for revenge after Luigi accidentally threw him into lava.
111* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
112** Clobbopus from ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' is a Fighting-type octopus Pokémon with the intelligence and mentality of a three-year-old. It investigates things by punching at them with its tentacles.
113* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'':
114** The Inklings, cartoony squids that can change into humanoid kids with vaguely squiddish features. They talk in fish puns and are described as fun-loving hedonists.
115** Octolings, their octopi counterparts, are a bit of a subversion, with their race in general being far more diligent and hard-working than the Inklings, who are incredibly hedonistic. It doesn't stop them and the other half of the greater Octarian race (which consist of anthropomorphic tentacles), from acting goofy from time-to-time, with the leader of their military being a LargeHam.
116** The non-Octoling Octarians are shown as a more disturbing version; most of them are literally tentacles with a face and legs, and even the ones that are more than just a walking tentacle tend to be rather {{Gonk}}ish.
117* ''VideoGame/SquidInk'' features several cute and comical squids that the player strokes to get ink from. Several of them have quite hilarious flavor text for their abilities.
118* ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies'' gives us Deidre, the Rubbery Suffragette's talking pet octopus. She lives on the Suffragette's sunhat, perpetually drinks fine wine along with her owner, and offers some of the most hilarious dialogues in the game. In the end, she along with her owner are the most lighthearted people you'll meet in the otherwise dreary and foreboding Eleutheria.
119* Onionsan from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' is a GiantSquid-like creature who initially seems threatening... until he reveals his onion-shaped head and comical {{Animesque}} facial expressions.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder:Web Animation]]
123* In the "Medimoji" web animation series by [=ZDoggMD=], the pharmacist is an octopus named "Phil," with a [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents Southern accent]]. He has to use a tentacle as his assistant, because the pharmacy where he works is short-staffed. And he's pulled a LaxativePrank on a customer who was seeking opioids they didn't really need.
124* ''Deep Fried Live'' is a cooking web toon starring Tako the Octopus, who has to move everywhere in his bucket full of water. This doesn't stop him from being a decent chef and teaching recipes.
125* ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'' talent [[https://hololive.hololivepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/4003_Ninomae-Inanis.png Ninomae Ina'nis]], better known as Ina, is a {{Cthulhumanoid}}, but is more funny and wholesome than she is scary. An even straighter example comes in the "[[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1305491092918292485/q6p8QmUl_400x400.jpg takodachi]]" mascot that stands in for her [[AudienceSurrogate fandom]].
126[[/folder]]
127
128[[folder:Webcomics]]
129* Zelig, the vaguely cuddly coconut octopus on ''Webcomic/{{Academia}}'', who functions as a sort of TeamPet.
130* In ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics,'' T-Rex's unseen neighbors are cephalopods. He's scared of them, but we the readers are certainly amused by them.
131* One of the secondary characters in ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'' has a pet miniature tentacle monster, {{Genre Savv|y}}ily named Rape-kun. Despite the name, he is completely harmless, and oddly cute. It's mentioned that the owner doesn't have the password to unlock Rape-kun's "Adult Mode". Make of that what you will.
132* ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}''. Despite being a MobileSuitHuman most of the time, Sam is a LovableRogue who is said to be [[StarfishAliens not remotely humanoid]] in his true form. According to [[AllThereInTheManual the creator]], his species is inspired by the intelligence and dexterity that octopodes often show.
133* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
134** The Squiddles, adorable octopuses that star in a [[SugarBowl disgustingly cutesy cartoon.]] [[spoiler: They're actual humanity's subconscious representation of the [[EldritchAbomination Horrorterrors]], which take this trope and kick it all the way over to the "bizarrely and terrifyingly alien" side instead.]]
135** Also, Feferi's cuttlefish.
136--->You capture and cage CUTTLEFISH by the thousands for their own good, and also because they are funny and colorful and you love them. They often swim through the bars of their cages, but that is fine.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Western Animation]]
140* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' features the [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter absolutely adorable]] [[http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Purple_pentapus Purple Pentapus]] for one episode, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Five legged, purple cephalopods]] that cling to any surface steadfastly. Despite this, they're completely benign and can be dislodged by rubbing their heads a few times. The show's Asian influence may have inspired the creature's ridiculous cuteness.
141* One ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatOttoMessmer'' cartoon is "Neptune Nonsense," which features an octopus working as a traffic cop on the sea floor. This octopus tickles Felix for bumping into him.
142* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Zoidberg isn't a Cephalopod, he's an Arthropod. He does, however, have cephalopodian features, such as his facial tentacles and ink-producing abilities. And his younger stages include a cuttlefish-like form (as well as a bivalve, a hydra, a sponge, and every other kind of aquatic invertebrate).
143* The WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} short ''WesternAnimation/{{Aquamania}}'' has a long sequence of Goofy waterskiing with an octopus on his head. The octopus winds its tentacles around Goofy's head and takes over holding the towline to keep the two of them alive.
144* Creator/{{Gobelins}} produced the short cartoon ''WesternAnimation/{{Oktapodi}}'' in 2007, the story of a pair of octopi living contently in an aquarium, until one gets sold to a restaurant. It's up to the other octopus to effect a rescue. HilarityEnsues.
145* ''WesternAnimation/{{Oswald}}'': Preschool character Oswald the Octopus is an extremely cute and friendly octopus with a literal wiener dog for a pet, who wears a hot dog bun.
146* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocoyo}}'': Fred (Pulpo) is a friendly octopus that will make jokes along the main characters.
147* Ocho from ''WesternAnimation/SaltysLighthouse'' is an octopus who is friends with the titular young boy. Ocho likes to paint and often uses his tentacles to squirt paint onto his canvas. He also likes to pretend to be a pirate named Captain Calamari.
148* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Squidward Tentacles varies from OnlySaneMan to ComedicSociopath between the episodes, being TheComicallySerious foil to [=SpongeBob's=] wackiness and unstoppable cheer. Also, [[GiftedlyBad he's not quite as good at playing the clarinet as he thinks he is.]]
149* Creator/HannaBarbera's ''WesternAnimation/SquiddlyDiddly'' is an octopus (with six arms) who lives in the Bubbleland marine park. He wants to be a musician and his comic adventures occasionally involve him escaping from Bubbleland in an attempt to become a star.
150** Two other octopi from Hanna-Barbera: Ocho, the pet octopus from the 1973 ''Addams Family'' series; and Orful Octopus of the Really Rottens on ''WesternAnimation/LaffALympics''.
151* WesternAnimation/TheBeatles encounter a lovesick female octopus in "I Want to Hold Your Hand." They buy a male octopus from an oceanographer and toss it into the ocean to be with the female.
152[[/folder]]
153
154[[folder:Real Life]]
155* [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328480/Otto-the-octopus-wrecks-havoc.html Otto the octopus]], who is known for stunts like juggling hermit crabs, throwing rocks at the glass, or rearranging his tank's scenery. His best prank involved shorting out the lights of the aquarium by shooting water at them (they have since moved the lights so he cannot do that anymore).
156* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Octopus Paul the Octopus]], resident of a German aquarium who successfully predicted the results of Germany's matches, plus the final, in the 2010 [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup FIFA World Cup]] in South Africa.
157* [[https://youtu.be/1twqEn8iHsk Egbert the octopus]], who befriended a diver. The diver recounts one especially funny moment when she gave Egbert a dead fish to eat. Since he was holding the fish, Egbert couldn't fit into the shell he lives in. Other fish took the opportunity to try and steal Egbert's food, and Egbert responded by punching them with his tentacles.
158[[/folder]]
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