STOP! You must not hop on Pop!
A person's abdomen is usually somewhat soft and flexible. For some characters, it is completely springy and elastic. This may be because they are big and fat, super-elastic, or overstuffed. Another character is able to jump or bounce on them, using their belly like a trampoline. Maybe this is for a practical reason, like launching up to a high place they couldn't reach by themselves, or to cushion a fall. Or maybe it's just for fun.
It makes sense if the one being jumped on is not pleased. But it is also oddly possible they don't mind at all. Maybe they are Big Fun and enjoy being bouncy. Maybe it only tickles. Many of these characters also have Kevlard in order to protect their internal organs from damage as a Required Secondary Power. Compare Human Jungle Gym, a character who doesn't mind others jumping or playing on their body.
Compare Living Crashpad, Tummy Cushion. When a pregnant woman is Feeling the Baby Kick, it may feel like it's bouncing against the insides of her tummy. Contrast Belly Flop Crushing. See also Bouncy Bubbles, Wacky Waterbed, or Gelatinous Trampoline if filled with only air, liquid, or gelatin, respectively, instead of internal organs.
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
- In My Neighbor Totoro, Mei bounces on the furry tummy of a sleeping Totoro; later, her sister Satsuki falls from the top of Totoro's tree and lands with a bounce on his stomach.
- Pokémon
- In Pikachu's Vacation, Charizard blows Pikachu and Raichu away and the two end up bouncing on Snorlax's belly.
- In Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys, Ash jumps off a Snorlax's large belly to reach the control robot.
Asian Animation
- Simple Samosa: In "Sumo Momo", Vada uses Dhokla's tummy as a trampoline when he talks to Samosa from out his bedroom window.
Comic Books
- In Cigars of the Pharaoh, Tintin jumps on a fat man's belly from a tree to get over a wall
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Film — Animated
- In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, King Julien and Maurice bounce on some hippos' stomachs when they arrive at Africa.
Literature
- Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. The book features two anthropomorphic bear cubs jumping on their father's belly, only for him to tell them "STOP You must not hop on Pop."
- The title and the cover illustration of Hop on Pop has led to a complaint towards the Toronto Public Library by a Moral Guardian who thought that the book "encourages children to use violence against their fathers." The head librarian dismissed this complaint as frivolous given that the book actually condemns such an act.
- Happens to "Colonel" Straka in Bohumil Nohejl's children novel Discovery of the Planet Michovice, courtesy of the younger of Straka's grandsons jumping on his granddad's belly while the former is taking a nap in the garden.
Live Action TV
- One Monty Python's Flying Circus animation has two men bouncing on a fat woman's belly.
Video Games
- Asterix: Happens to the exposed belly of an intoxicated legionary when Asterix looks for the Gifts of the Gods. He was lucky enough to be asleep, and thus not participate in any of the one-sided skirmishes with the Gauls, but unlucky enough to have enough of a protruding belly to make for an excellent jumping point.
- In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, you can do this with the eponymous enemies in the level "Double Header".
- Kirby: Triple Deluxe has this as a literal background gag. When getting launched back into the foreground by the first form of the final boss, Kirby uses an unconscious King Dedede's gut to break his fall.
- Zorro, the 8-bit classic from 1985, involved getting a bottle of wine to intoxicate a drunkard, to trampoline to the top of the screen.
- Papo & Yo: A key part of the gameplay is bouncing off Monster's big belly to reach greater heights.
- Psychonauts: Used in the Meat Circus level with a circus fat lady who otherwise just stares off into space.
- Darun Mister from Street Fighter EX uses this trope as an attack. He has a super called the Super Indra Bash where he curls up backwards and leaps, utilizing his stomach as a springboard to launch his opponents into the air, setting them up for a combo (including a second and third Super Indra Bash if he has enough meter)note . He also has a normal Indra Bash that's a command throw, and it involves him grabbing his opponent by the arms, falling backwards to pull them on top of him and then bouncing them high into the air with his belly. There's also his Meteor Tag Combo with Pullum Purna (as seen here), where both Pullum and your opponent bounce off of Darun's midsection until Pullum kicks them down to the ground, where they're caught by Darun in a backbreaker. In case you’re wondering, this is all based on the back bridge used by pro wrestlers to stretch and strengthen their neck and hips.
- Aladdin (Virgin Games) shows Abu bouncing on a guard's belly in early levels. In an inversion, Al can bounce off the humps of camels.
- Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos: Snowy Cabins has polar bears whose only real purpose is to lie on the snow and provide Speedy with their bellies to bounce on.
- Buddy And Me: The player character occasionally uses Buddy's stomach as a spring board in order to keep from falling in the game's many bottomless pits.
- In a game based off Ice Age: The Meltdown, you do this with the bottom of the abdomen of a Giant Spider, after you defeat it, to reach a high ledge.
- Pokémon, several of the Pokedex entries for Snorlax say that small children often climb on its belly to play while it's asleep.
- The SNES game based on Rocko's Modern Life had Rocko able to jump on Heffer to trampoline up to higher ledges.
- Blubba Bear in the Game Boy Advance version of Sabre Wulf is used to reach higher platforms or items by jumping on his belly.
Web Animation
- The Strong Bad Email "no loafing" ends with leaving a note about having an "appointment" to get to. Clicking that word yields him hopping from foot to foot his rotund brother Strong Sad, looking off and declaring, "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."
Western Animation
- On Animaniacs, the Warners interrupt the Yalta summit to bounce on Sir Winston Churchill's belly. Then Josef Stalin joins in.
- Timmy Turner did it in an early episode of The Fairly OddParents.
- One episode of The Flintstones had Fred doing this with Pebbles.
- Family Guy's Stewie uses Chris' stomach as a pole-vaulting landing pad.
- Cerbee used Beezy like this on Jimmy Two-Shoes.
- In one episode of Goof Troop, Pete had this done to him by his daughter Pistol, much to his discomfort. The clip is also in the intro.
- In The Powerpuff Girls (1998) episode "Buttercrush", Ace and Buttercup have fun this way on Big Billy's stomach.
- In The Proud Family episode "Love Thy Neighbor", babies BeBe and CeCe amuse themselves by bouncing on Felix's belly.
- 101 Dalmatians: The Series: In "Close But No Cigar", Cadpig used Rolly's belly as a trampoline at the end of the episode.
- Wander over Yonder: In "The Gift", a gift (which Wander was in it) bounces on Sylvia's stomach.
- Kaeloo: Mr. Cat is not actually fat, but that didn't prevent Bad Kaeloo from doing this to him anyway.
- Total Drama: Owen is capable of weaponizing his belly, demonstrated in World Tour's colosseum challenge where he sends Cody flying by thrusting out his stomach.
- Zig-zag: in The Hair Bear Bunch finale "King Klong vs. the Masked Marvel," Botch is filling in for wrestler the Masked Marvel. One of his opponents is appropriately named Blubberman, whose immense girth Botch bounces off of twice after being catapulted to the ring ropes. He knocks Blubberman out by spinning into him like a bowling ball.
