Get A Hold Of Yourself Man / Western Animation

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• Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake: Simon Petrikov spends several episodes wallowing in extreme self-pity. Eventually he, Fionna and Cake, become the target of the powerful entity, Scarab, causing Fionna to slap Simon, tell him to stop feeling sorry for himself, and flee with her from the grip of Scarab.
• In the episode "The Prank" from The Amazing World of Gumball, Darwin starts smacking Gumball in an attempt to get him to stop hyperventilating with panic. Gumball tells him that it isn't really helping, so Darwin switches to using a Cooldown Hug and comforting words instead.
  • Parodied in "The Game", where Darwin is hysterical over the family having started a game of Dodge of Dare and slaps Gumball to get him to stop under-reacting, after which they both start yelling every single word for the rest of the scene.
• Francine from American Dad! does this to Steve in the episode "For Whom The Sleigh Bell Tolls".
• Archer: While giving birth, Lana starts freaking out that there may be complications like her baby having too many hands or feet. Pam, who's assisting with the delivery, drafts Malory Archer into slapping some sense into Lana.
  Pam: Hey! I got the correct number of hands but they're currently kinda full, and you need a slappin' so (nods to Malory)
• Done deliberately over the top, word for word, in Avatar: The Last Airbender, episode "The Drill". The added irony is that the man freaking out is the general in charge of defending the city's outer wall, and it is Sokka who slaps him...a teenager who is usually the comic relief character.
• In one episode of Back at the Barnyard, Otis has a breakdown after a flying accident which he claims nearly killed all of his friends. When trying to snap him out of it, Freddie grabs Peck and smacks him a few times. Peck suggests he should have done the same to Otis, to which Freddie replies "He's much too big."
• A running gag in The Backyardigans is that whenever Pablo has a panic attack, one of the other kids has to shout his name three times to get him to calm down:
  Tyrone/Uniqua/Tasha/Austin: Pablo? ...Pablo... PABLO!
  Pablo: Yeah?
• In Batman: The Animated Series, "The Demon's Quest (part 2)", Ra's al-Ghul has gone insane and tries to kill his beautiful daughter. After Batman rescues her once, she says she can handle it and just slaps her dad upside the head. It works.
• In the episode Spellbound of Batman Beyond, when Bruce sees Terry robbing Wayne Manor, while under the effects of a hallucination, he slaps Terry across the face to bring him back to his senses.
• Ben 10: Ultimate Alien: Gwen slaps Humungousaur out of a drug-fueled rampage. She canonically beat the substance right out of him. Not to mentioning that she seemed to make it hurt.
• Bob's Burgers: Louise is quite fond of delivering this to those around her who are having panic attacks/meltdowns. She has slapped Linda and Tina multiple times, and takes the opportunity to slap Mickey in "Dawn of the Peck". In "Boyz 4 Now", she even does this to herself in a round-about fashion: she is convinced that the only way to alleviate her newfound infatuation with a boy band singer is by slapping the crap out of him, and that's exactly what she does.
• In the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command episode "Star Smasher", the LGMs freak out when its revealed that one of them has been kidnapped. Buzz splashes one with cold water, which is felt through their Hive Mind, calming all of them down.
• On Camp Lazlo, Hypercompetent Sidekick Slinkman frequently has to do this to his brainless boss Lumpus — and Lumpus is perfectly aware of this. They even have a frying pan reserved specifically for Slinkman to beat him with.
• In one episode of The Cleveland Show. Cleveland winds up gambling away all of Roberta's college money at a casino and goes to tell Donna. Donna ends up in a loop of surprised statements till Kendra slaps her to snap her out of it. Of course since Donna is a Sassy Black Woman...
  Donna (After being slapped): Thanks Kendra, but do that again and I'll smack the taste out your mouth!
  Kendra: Not the taste!
• Codename: Kids Next Door: When Chad (Numbuh 274) sends the Moon Base hurtling toward the sun, Numbuh 86 starts to panic. "What are we gonna do?!" To snap her out of her hysteria, Numbuh 1 slaps her.
• In Cow and Chicken, Cow at one point slaps a panicking Chicken across the face with her udder and tells him to snap out of it.
• In "Dan Vs. Summer Camp", when a young Chris tries to eat poison ivy due to hunger, Dan grabs him by the collar and shouts:
  Dan: (while slapping Chris) Get a hold of youself!
• In the Daria episode "Just Add Water," Mr. O'Neill does it to Mr. DeMartino.
  Mr. DeMartino: (suddenly calm) Thank you, Timothy. I needed that.
  Mr. O'Neill: Oh, well—
  Mr. DeMartino: DON'T DO IT AGAIN!
• DC Super Hero Girls 2019: Whenever Wonder Woman is around Steve Trevor, she turns into a giggling mess. After a few minutes of this, Supergirl finally reaches breaking point and slaps her several times. It does nothing.
• This ends up being employed twice by Gosalyn in DuckTales (2017) for the episode "Let's Get Dangerous!" When Taurus Bulba uses the RAM Rod to summon Darkwing's rogues gallery from the old tv show (Megavolt, Quackerjack, Bushroot, and Liquidator), Darkwing panics in fear of having to fight actual supervillains, with actual superpowers. Gosayln has to say this first to get him to calm down, then to both him and Launchpad when the latter panics as well.
• In one episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy, Edd is busy labeling his things, when he suddenly finds his magnifying glass is missing. He's so disgusted by the thought of someone else stealing it, that he goes right into a panic attack. Eddy's solution? Slamming his own bed right on top of him.
  Edd: I feel sick! I feel nauseous! I CAN'T BREATHE!
  * Eddy casually slams Edd's bed down on top of the hyperventilating Edd, spearing him right through the mattress*
  Edd: *in subdued annoyance* Thank you. I needed that.
  Eddy: Anytime, pal.
• On The Fairly OddParents!, when Timmy's old Crimson Chin action figure is mortally wounded, he says ("You're... you're... you're... *SLAP* You're my best pal!")
  • In another episode, when Timmy spazzes out a la Denzel Crocker the first time, he orders Cosmo and Wanda to slap him if he does it again (Cosmo poofs up an oar, but Timmy refuses that). When he does it again, both fairies slap him a couple times to help him out (leaving out the oar, which Timmy is appreciative).
  • Kinda. It's common to smack an electronic device to get it to operate properly.
• Family Guy:
  • Parodied in the action-packed fake Previously on… of "Brian Does Hollywood": one of the scenes is of Peter in a coma, and as Meg tells Lois that he's never coming out of it, the latter slaps her.
  • Done in the episode "He's Too Sexy for His Fat": Brian begins freaking out when he's covered in fleas, and Peter, quoting the trope name, immediately slaps...Lois. She's (understandably) less than pleased.
  • Parodied in the episode "Breaking Out Is Hard to Do": The family are on the lam after helping Lois escape from prison. After Meg (calmly) wonders out loud where they're going, Peter slaps her and barks at her to calm down.
  • And done to Stewie in the episode "Prick Up Your Ears". The scene being a parody of Airplane! (complete with word-for-word dialogue from that film), Stewie won't calm down and a line of people with increasingly extreme methods is waiting for their turn.
• In one episode of The Flintstones, after Fred under-performs in a practice bowling match, he starts bawling uncontrollably that he's lost his bowling form, requiring Barney to do this.
  Barney: Uh, excuse me, pal, BUT THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD! (Slaps Fred in the face)
  Fred: (Calmed down) Thanks, Barney.
  Barney: Anytime, Fred.
• Done to Bender by Fry in Futurama.
  Bender: I don't know, Fry. For the first time in my life I feel like I've stolen enough.
  Fry: (slaps him) Bender, snap out of it!
  Bender: Sorry, I don't know what came over me. Let's go! (singing) I love stealing, I love taking things!
  • After Fry realizes that he is his own grandfather, he freaks out into hysterical sobs to the point where Leela slaps him repeatedly until he stops.
• Hey Arnold!: Phoebe does this to Helga in the episode "Ms. Perfect" when Helga has a My God, What Have I Done? moment over pulling a cruel prank on the new girl Lila.
• Parodied in The Looney Tunes Show: Bugs sees Daffy standing still in shock because his newspaper was gone. So he slaps him to wake him up...but Daffy being Daffy, he slaps back until it becomes a slap fight. After they stop, Daffy freezes, and Bugs slaps him again. But this time, he hardly reacts to it.
  • Another spoof via Daffy in Looney Tunes Cartoons:
    Daffy: (screaming and crying) What are we going to do?! We'll die in this jungle! (slapping Porky repeatedly) GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! YOU'RE HYSTERICAL!!!
• The Loud House: In the episode "Lock 'N' Loud", Lola does this to Lori when she panics. Lori thanks Lola for doing so, then immediately threatens to get back at her for it.
• When Marcus does this during the Mike Tyson Mysteries episode "A Mine Is a Terrible Thing to Waste", Mike thanks him. And quickly relays that it's a piss poor idea to slap Mike Tyson.
  Mike: Thank you, Marcus. But don't you ever fucking slap me again, or I'll knock you back to wherever the fuck you came from. Fucking rat.
• In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, episode "Lesson Zero", Spike yells at the stressing Twilight Sparkle to "snap out of it" while physically popping her thought bubble.
• Subverted in the Pasila episode "Salaviina", when Kyösti Pöysti is getting hysterical over the lack of alcoholic drinks in the entire Finland and the knowledge he won't be able to get drunk that Friday.
  Pöysti: When will it be possible again? When? Tell me! When will it be possible again!
  Repomies: Let go of me!
  Pöysti: Tell me!
  Repomies: I don't know! Now get a hold of yourself, Pöysti! (slap)
  Pöysti: Ow! You hit me. Why?
  Repomies: Because I can't drink either! God damn it! (breaks down and sprawls crying on the floor)
• Skipper from The Penguins of Madagascar does this to his men about every other episode.
• In the Phineas and Ferb episode "Phineas and Ferb Interrupted", Phineas and Ferb are made dullards by a stray shot from Dr. Doofenshmirtz's Dull-and-Boring-inator. When Buford starts to succumb to their literally mind-numbing prattle about meteorology, Isabella slaps him out of it.
• In The Powerpuff Girls episode "Little Miss Interprets," Bubbles is hysterically crying, trying to explain what she believes is the Professor's plan to replace the girls with new girls. Buttercup slaps her to quiet her down.
• In the Camping Episode of The Proud Family, Felix does this to Oscar when Oscar starts seeing Felix as a hamburger.
• In The Oblongs, Pickles takes advantage when her old high school friend Pristine panics and continues slapping her even after Pristine thanks her for calming her down and assures her she's alright now.
  Pickles: I'll tell you when you're alright! (slap)
  • Pickles slaps her again about a minute later.
• In The Ren & Stimpy Show episode "My Shiny Friend", Stimpy's obsessive teleholic nature becomes too much for Ren, so the chihuahua smashes the T.V. causing Stimpy to freak out and break down in tears as the cat tries to put the T.V. back together. Ren then slaps Stimpy across the cheek and yells "Snap out of it!"
  • Also, Ren uses exactly the trope's wording for this in "Rubber Nipple Salesmen", when Stimpy begs to talk at the next door they visit.
    • In "Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" one of the duo's yaks is driven to a psychotic breakdown by Stimpy singing the Kilted Yaksmen anthem once too many. Ren is forced to slap the yak and yell "Come to your SENSES, man! This is no time for hysterics!"
• From the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode "A Tiki Scare Is No Fair":
  Shaggy: (in panic) G-g-ghost drums...witch doctors...
  Daphne: What?!
  Fred: Shaggy, get a hold of yourself!
  Shaggy: (wraps his arms around himself) Okay...but it doesn't help.
• The Simpsons:
  • In "Bart the General", Bart ends up hitting a fellow soldier (It Makes Sense in Context) to get him to focus on the task at hand. Grampa later tells Bart off for it.
  • In "Boy Scouts 'n' Da Hood", when Ned Flanders panics about being lost at sea, Homer slaps him, calming him down... then keeps slapping him.
    Bart: Dad! I think he gets the point!
    Homer: (slap) Better (slap) to be (slap) safe (slap) than (slap) sorry (slap)... sorry.
    Ned: Diddly... (slap)
  • In "Bart the Murderer" Groundskeeper Willie gives one to Mrs. Krabappel when she starts crying after Principal Skinner is presumed dead.
• In the South Park episode "Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub", Butters goes into hysterics over being shot at by the ATF. Stan slaps him and even says the accompanying phrase, causing Butters to ask, "How come you slapped my face, Stan, huh? Why on earth would you do that, anyways?"
  • Also exploited by Cartman, in "Jared Has Aides", after Butters points out Cartman's weight, he smacks him one, before quickly quoting the trope name.
• Spongebob Squarepants:
  • In "SP-129", Squidward has just traveled through time and met Spongetron/Future SpongeBob and his hundreds of clones. Trying to process what has just happened, Squidward begins doing sit-ups and intones "Future! Future!" over and over again until Future SpongeBob drops a brick on his head.
  • In "Something Smells, SpongeBob begins "spiraling" after coming to the realization that he apparently is ugly, causing Patrick to slap him across the face. SpongeBob immediately calms down. Being The Ditz, Patrick raises his hand to give him another.
  SpongeBob: Th-Th-That's okay, Patrick! Spiraling over.
• Stroker and Hoop:
  Hoop: You can't slap a woman! (slaps Stroker)
  Stroker: It was a regain-your-composure slap. They do it in movies all the time. (slaps Hoop) Hilarity Ensues.
• In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), when Michelangelo is freaking out about having supposedly seen alien robots with brains in their chests, Leonardo slaps him.
  Michelangelo: Did you just slap me?
  Leonardo: I was calming you down.
  Michelangelo: WHY WOULD THAT CALM ME DOWN?!
  • This is a Running Gag in the Show Within a Show Space Heroes, the captain did it in every episode.
• Total Drama:
  • Upon being terrorized by Chef the serial killer in "Hook, Line and Screamer", DJ runs all the way to the victim tent. He stops running upon arrival, but not screaming until Izzy slaps him back to the present.
  • After fainting from fright, DJ hallucinates that his mother is with him in "The Sand Witch Project". She tells him she's disappointed in him because he has lied and cheated. She slaps him for it, but in the real world the slap comes from Heather who is trying to get DJ to snap out of his daze and stop mumbling. She slaps him again when he tells her he needs to speak to Chef, because she isn't aware of DJ's alliance with him and thinks he's still not fully conscious.
  • In "Ocean's Eight -- or Nine", a starved Owen responds dangerously to any hint or mention of food and Beth takes it upon herself to slap him back to reality. She first does it when the teams meet at the bank and a second time when Owen goes into a trance upon hearing the word "toast".
  • Geoff witnesses Bridgette being terrified of another bear encounter just before she gets covered by layers of snow in "Aftermath III: Aftermath Aftermayhem". As the camera goes static, all he can do is helplessly repeat her name. Blaineley wants to get on with the show, so she slaps him out of it. All it does is add pure hatred for her to his worry for Bridgette.
  • Heather runs for her life from a lion after discovering that Alejandro stole her tranquilizer balls in "African Lying Safari". She bumps into Sierra and rambles out her troubles, unaware the lion's no longer on her tail. Sierra has her own problem of needing to get Cody safely down from a tree, so she slaps Heather before the ramble takes up too much time and insists that Cody is their primary concern.
  • Brick, who is afraid of the dark, falls into an empty grave at the pet cemetery in the middle of the night in "Finders Creepers". Jo helps him out of the grave and when Brick still displays signs of a panic attack, she slaps him repeatedly until he returns to normal.
  • Sam spies on the Mutant Maggots and discovers the next clue that way in "Finders Creepers". He makes animal noises to covertly signal his findings to Scott, who has no clue what Sam is doing. He walks up to him and when Sam shows no signs of stopping with the animal noises, Scott slaps him into stopping.
• Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race: When Laurie breaks down in "Brazillian Pain Forest" over having eaten sheep meat, especially to win a challenge for what turned out to be a non-elimination round, Miles slaps her and tells her to calm down and forget what happened.
• Wishfart: Puffin gives this to Dez in one episode when his jealousy of somebody's height starts to get in the way of preventing The End of the World as We Know It.
  Puffin: Dez. Dez. Look at me, bro. I want you to look at me. (slaps him several times) WE'RE SAVING THE WORLD HERE! KEEP IT TOGETHER, MAN!

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