- Anvilicious: DRUGS ARE BAD!!!!
- Awesome Music: Besides guess who, mention must be made of Bruce Broughton's fine scoring for the "Speed Demon" and "Smooth Criminal" segments (Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops recorded a suite from Broughton's score for the latter).
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Granted, the film is trippy enough to qualify for this trope as a whole, but the music video segment of the "Smooth Criminal" chapter stands out. After nearly being gunned down by Mr. Big's goons and going through an extensive chase sequence, Michael then goes into a club to throw an elaborate dance routine with the regulars. It interrupts the narrative and has nothing to do with the plot whatsoever. Considering it's better than everything around it and features some of the best dance choreography ever in a Pop music video/film to an awesome Funk song, do you care, though?
- Harsher in Hindsight: The Drugs Are Bad message of "Smooth Criminal" hits different after Michael died from a drug overdose.
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- A Joe Pesci character who Would Hurt a Child? Why does that sound familiar...
- When Jackson's entourage gets trampled by a crowd of fans in the "Speed Demon" segment they turn into flattened cut-outs that look uncannily like South Park characters, despite the film predating the show by just under a decade.
- One of the poses that the crowd strikes near the end of the "Smooth Criminal" musical number looks eerily similar to the dab, a dance move that would gain an ironic popularity in the latter half of The New '10s.
- Clancy Brown appears in this, when later, a character he plays in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water moonwalks at one point.
- Moral Event Horizon: Mr. Big's attempt to inject Katie with the drug.
- No Problem with Licensed Games: Sega made three games based on Moonwalker (one for the arcade, one for the Sega Genesisnote and one for the Sega Master System) which actually aren't that bad. Unfortunately, the Genesis version is rather easy, so it won't take you very long to beat it. You probably will stop before you get enough, but until then it's a real thriller.
- Nightmare Fuel: "Look, grammy, it's...MICHAEL JACKSON! *cue Nightmare Face*
- Padding: The lengthy foot chase through the city in "Smooth Criminal".
- Signature Scene: The whole "Smooth Criminal" dance sequence with Michael's iconic moves (including the gravity-defying lean that was allowed with shoes that were specifically patterned by Michael), which is a homage to The Band Wagon.
- Special Effect Failure: The compositing of the Claymation in the "Speed Demon" segment leaves a lot to be desired in several spots. Likewise in many shots, the clay characters become people in suits, and the switch is pretty obvious.
- This Is Your Premise on Drugs: Michael Jackson defeats a drug dealer's giant laser with his scream-beam. While he's a spaceship. It Makes Just As Much Sense In Context.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/Moonwalker
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