Think this is bad? It gets worse as the short continues on.
The Little Pest is a American short cartoon by Columbia Cartoons. Created by Dick Huemer in 1931, it focuses on the character, Scrappy (not to be confused with the trope) going on a fishing trip with his dog. The boy's baby brother, Oopy notices Scrappy preparing for the trip and asks to come along but the boy refuses and shoves him away.
Over the course of the animated short, Oopy persistently tags along with Scrappy, much to his aggravation as he repeatedly pushes him away and tries to lose him, his methods getting more abusive as the cartoon progresses.
This cartoon provides examples of:
- Big Brother Bully: Scrappy is this to Oopy throughout the whole short, the treatment he gives to the latter gets more and more extreme as the cartoon goes on.
- Cain and Abel: Played to a huge extreme in the short. Scrappy repeatedly yells at Oopy, slaps him, shoves him and even nearly lets him drown. All because the latter wanted to go fishing with them.
- Disproportionate Retribution: When Scrappy fishes out Oopy instead of a fish due to the lines getting tangled, he snaps and throws Oopy in the lake. ...And then after rescuing him, Scrappy throws Oopy back into the lake when the latter asks for a drink of water.
- Downer Ending: After rescuing Oopy and managing to revive him, Scrappy smiles in relief as we are led to believe everything will be fine. Cue Oopy crying out "I want a drink of water!"... and Scrappy immediately tosses him back in the lake, the cartoon abruptly ending just as Oopy splashes in, leaving his fate unknown.
- Everyone Has Standards: Scrappy's dog is the only one to actually watch in concern as Oopy starts to drown in the lake.
- Kids Are Cruel: Played with. While Scrappy very frequently mistreats Oopy even at the start, all Oopy does is innocently tag along.
- Skewed Priorities: Scrappy starts walking away after throwing Oopy in the lake, intent on leaving him to die. He then has an Imagine Spot of an electric chair, his possible punishment for letting Oopy drown. It's the only thing that drives him to go back and save Oopy.
- Would Hurt a Child: Throughout the short, Scrappy uses mostly physical methods of trying to get away from Oopy such as shoving him away, slapping him hard enough to send him flying and even nearly punches him in one scene.
