If someone is crushed by a large safe, you only need to open the safe, and they will be inside.
In most cases the open safe reveals a torn and bent "floor" — indicating that the person punched their way into it as though it had been made of paper. Other times both the safe and the new occupant will be completely undamaged, with absolutely no explanation, in-universe or otherwise, as to how they got in there.
Mostly used in comedy or old cartoons, although Super Heroes with invulnerability powers may use it straight.
Compare with By Wall That Is Holey, Impact Silhouette, Piano Drop, and Anvil on Head. Sometimes, this trope may also result in Squashed Flat, Accordion Man, or Forcibly Formed Physique (usually with the character inside becoming a cube).
Has nothing to do with keeping The McCoy out of harm's way.
Examples
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Asian Animation
- In the Simple Samosa episode "Comic Book", Dhokla adds on to a story Jalebi was writing about Samosa, and starts to mess around with Samosa in the story after he has just become a superhero. Among the things Dhokla does is to drop a safe on him, which opens a second later, revealing Samosa inside.
Comic Strips
- Garfield does this to Odie in one Sunday strip, as pictured above.
Fan Works
- The Sheriff Callie's Wild West fanfiction "Crackin' that Safe Crime
" features a villain called Wily Woodrow, whose crimes involve dropping safes on the heads of unsuspecting people. At one point in the story, after unsuccessfully attempting to take out Priscilla and Uncle Bun with safes, he even attempts to murder Sheriff Callie by dropping a safe from the roof of the jailhouse. Seeing this, Peck manages to save Callie by pushing her out of the way and is crushed by the safe instead, and when Callie and Toby initially believe Peck has died and even mourn him, they hear him moaning inside the safe and realize he's still alive. Callie then unlocks the safe, revealing Peck dizzily sitting inside, and Toby helps him out of the safe.
- Illogica Safe from Zany to the Max. She's an illogical safe herself!
Film
- Done when Roger gets a refrigerator dropped on his head in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, complete with torn-up floor. When it happens to a humannote , however, the result is much more logical.
- At the end of The Jungle Book 2 Shere Khan is trapped inside a stone tiger head after falling into a volcano.
Video Games
- Crash Tag Team Racing: Happens to Crash Bandicoot during one of the Die-O-Ramas.
Webcomics
- 8-Bit Theater played with this, using an armoire instead of a safe falling on Fighter. Fighter emerges from it and Red Mage launches a convoluted explanation that states that Fighter survived because his knowledge of cartoon physics warped reality itself. Then Fighter reveals that, despite the rest of the thing being indestructible because it's the Armoire of Invincibility, the bottom just was cheap particle board.
Western Animation
- Done numerous times in Looney Tunes, especially by Bugs Bunny to the hapless maroon of the episode, particularly the likes of Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd. Also happened a good deal to Sylvester.
- Wendell T. Wolf is crushed by a safe during the Expository Theme Tune of Taz-Mania, though it does not open to reveal him inside of it.
- Also popular in Tom and Jerry shorts, including "Designs on Jerry" which features a classic variation, where Tom comes out of the safe now smushed into a perfect cube.
- On Garfield and Friends, when a safe (27-ton, in compliance with a promise not to drop a 16-ton safe on him) is dropped on Roy for squeezing toothpaste from the top of the tube. Not only was he inside, but he was able to open the safe door from there. (The previous two lessons, incidentally, were punctuated by a falling upright piano and a 1988 convertible. Like the safe, he popped through the bottom of both.)
- When Roy buys a robot that's supposed to make it rain on command, it ends up making anything they say fall from the sky onto Roy, except actual rain. One thing it does this with? A safe. (When Roy used the word for its other definition.) Not only is he inside, but he's able to manipulate the combination lock. (Later, a house falls on him. He's pretty much dead center, yet Orson knows to open the mailbox out front. Indeed, he's inside.)
- When Garfield hears that it's Monday, his mind plays different scenarios as a horror movie trailer. In one scenario, he's smashed, bashed, and yes, even splutted; the bashing is done with an Illogical Safe.
- In Darkwing Duck, Darkwing's breakfast Death Course causes his fridge to launch into the air and land on top of him if he forgets the milk. He ends up inside the fridge; amusingly injured, dazed, and holding a jug of milk.
- A Timon & Pumbaa In the "Stand By Me" shot this happens to Pumbaa — and then, as soon as he's out of the safe, it happens again with a space capsule.
- In Toy Story 3, just before they end up inside the dump, Buzz Lightyear winds up inside a television set after it falls on him. Fortunately the screen was already cracked, and the impact switched him from Spanish back to his normal self.
- One episode of Danger Mouse did this with The Statue of Liberty.
- Averted, since, in DM's own words 'The Statue of Liberty is hollow And I stood precisely where the hole in the middle is.'
- The opening titles to Victor & Hugo end with a safe (which they previously tried to blow open) falling on them, then the door falling down to reveal the brothers inside.
- This happens to Popeye in "What, No Spinach?" He is unharmed, of course - Wimpy instigated cafe owner Bluto to use the safe as a weapon specifically so it would get opened and he could get to the stash of food inside.
- Happens on some Classic Disney Shorts and House of Mouse shorts.
- A variation happens in Battletoads, when Rash throws a convenience store freezer towards the Dark Queen and it lands on Princess Angelica; the princess just pops open the lid and comes out safely while enjoying a fudge pop.
