Sometimes, it's not enough to show your distaste for something with just a look or a comment. Sometimes you've got to put your foot into it.
This trope is when someone, as a way to be disrespectful to someone or something else, will (usually lightly) kick or prod something with their foot.
Unlike normal kicks, its purpose is not to injure, but to show disgust, contempt, or simply brush a source of scorn aside for more important matters.
Can double as a Kick the Dog moment. For example, a Jerkass or outright villainous character kicks aside the treasured belonging of a sympathetic character. It can also be Played for Laughs by having the kicker either hurt their foot or the rather light kick creating Disaster Dominoes that backfire on them. Supertrope to Kick Them While They Are Down. May take the form of a Literal Ass-Kicking.
Compare Percussive Therapy, which is also kicking (or hitting) a disliked object, but that's more to make yourself feel better than to express contempt.
Compare Little Girls Kick Shins and Captive Push.
Examples
- Dragon Ball Z: Vegeta uses such a kick to get Goku out of the direct line of fire as the latter is suffering from a heart attack that would be fatal if not for Future Trunks delivering the cure from his Bad Future.
- Photon: The Idiot Adventures: The villain Papacharino acts as a Bad Boss to his corps of dwarfish servants called Pochis. Whether delivering good news, bad news or even a status update, the Pochis get kicked around like footballs by Papacharino. It's a wonder the Pochis remain so fervently loyal. Even a concubine he'd been seducing gets booted off the bed so Papacharino can take a phone call. He's that much a Jerkass.
- Pokémon: The Original Series: There are two episodes where James does this to a Pokémon, and both times the Pokémon evolves right after he kicks it. The first time is in "Pokémon Shipwreck", where he kicks his Magikarp off the raft because it not only can't swim well, but it can't even be eaten. It then evolves into Gyarados, leading to both Ash's group and Team Rocket getting caught in a tornado created by Gyarados's Dragon Rage attack. The second time is in "Primeape Goes Bananas", when he kicks away a wild Mankey that interrupted him and Jessie when they were about to battle Ash. The Mankey then evolves into Primeape and goes on a rampage, eventually being caught by Ash by the end of the episode.
- Naruto: During the battle between Kisame and Killer B, the latter is downed and Kisame tries to deal the killing blow with his sword Samehada. Unfortunately for him, the sword - which is alive, sentient and feeds on chakra - has eaten so much of Killer Bee's chakra that it refuses to hit him. Irritated, Kisame kicks the sword away, then attempts to kill Killer Bee with the latter's blade instead. (Luckily, Bee's brother comes in time to save him.)
- One Piece: The first scene of Boa Hancock involves her kicking a kitten out of her way. Later, after she's shown to be a sympathetic character, there's another scene where she kicks a puppy and a baby seal out of the way, and this time it's Played for Laughs.
- The Ultimates: Bruce Banner, who was cured from being the Hulk, willingly turned himself into it to cope with his self-esteem problems, even knowing that Hulk loose in the city would lead to a 9/11 level of disaster in deaths and property damage. The Ultimates finally take him down after a big and destructive fight, and he turns back into Banner. Captain America gave him a well deserved kick in the face before taking him in.
- The Sword in the Stone: While getting water from a well, Merlin gets his foot tangled in a chain, then kicks it. "You fiendish chain, you!"
- The Godfather: One of Sonny's assassins finishes the deed by kicking him in the head. After they riddled him with bullets.
- The infamous, memetic breakup kick scene in The Golden Demon in which, to show disgust for Miya's unfaithfulness and betrayal, Kan'ichi kicks her so hard she can't stand up.
- The Big Bang Theory: In "The Geology Elevation", Sheldon is jealous of Burt getting a MacArthur grant and tried to throw a rock to vent his anger. It fell on his foot, so in frustration he kicked it... thus hurting his other foot.
- Ren & Stimpy: Son of Stimpy: After an attempt to prove Stiny is real by trying to recreate him results in Stimpy's butt cheeks swelling up and deflating like a pair of balloons, Ren rubs salt in Stimpy's wound by lightly kicking at the butt's deflated remains with an irritated look and telling Stimpy "You have an overactive imagination."
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: In "One Bad Apple", Babs Seed tries to impress Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon by giving a kick to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' parade float, which causes the entire thing to collapse. She didn't mean it, but this act wins their approval, so she proudly claims that was the plan.
