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Breaking the Fourth Wall/Animated films

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List of animated films that feature fourth wall breaking.

Animated features[]

1930s[]

  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Evil Queen (having assumed the form of the Witch) informs the audience about the rules of the Poisoned Apple and that "there may be an antidote." Also, when she finds out about "love's first kiss", she laughs it off, pointing out that, "The dwarfs will think she's dead; she'll be buried alive!"

1940s[]

1950s[]

  • Alice in Wonderland
    • During the story of The Walrus and the Carpenter, when the Carpenter suggests they should do some work, the Walrus remarks, "The time has come…" then turns toward the screen and winks at the audience before finishing his remark.
    • When the March Hare explains to Alice what an "Unbirthday" is and fails after a couple of attempts, he stares at the camera and exclaims, "She doesn't know what an Unbirthday is!" while pointing to Alice; when addressing the Mad Hatter, the March Hare appears as if he is talking directly to the audience.
  • Peter Pan

1960s[]

  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians: At the start of the movie, Pongo narrates the story, while also taking part in the film's plot.
  • The Sword in the Stone: At the end of the film, when Merlin explains to Arthur that he has taken his first step in cementing his legend as King Arthur that will live on for generations to come, he muses that they'll even make a movie about him, before trying to explain to Wart that a movie is "something like television."
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Tigger Movie, and Winnie the Pooh
    • The characters often speak to the narrator and use the book as part of the scenery (such as when Tigger used the book to get out of the tree).
    • During the song "Heffalumps and Woozles" in Pooh's nightmare, a few of the Heffalumps and Woozles look at the audience.
      • After the fat Heffalump turns into a Woozle, he waggles his eyebrows at the audience before turning into a Hunny Pot.
      • A female Heffalump and a male Woozle show off their powers to the audience: they briefly turn into a circle and square, the two then glare closely at the screen, and finally the Heffalump shows stripes while the Woozle shows polka dots.
      • A female Heffalump, while playing the harp strings made of honey, sits back up and looks at the audience.
    • At the end of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the Pooh doll winks at the audience.

1970s[]

  • The Aristocats
    • In the opening sequence, Toulouse notices the title says: "The Aristocrats" and removes the "r" to fix the title. Whether or not this is a reference to the infamous Aristocrats joke is unknown.
    • At the very end of the film, when Lafayette tells Napoleon that it sounds like the end, the latter points out that he's the leader and will say when it's the end. Then the words: "THE END" hit Napoleon's head, and he states, "It's the end."
  • Robin Hood
    • In the film's opening, Alan-A-Dale introduces himself to the audience. Throughout the rest of the movie, he functions as the film's narrator, while also taking part in the story's plot.
    • When Prince John sucks his thumb and then says, "I've got a dirty thumb," he stares at the camera in sadness as the scene fades to black.
    • While Robin Hood is talking to the Sheriff in his "blind old beggar" disguise, the Sheriff smiles at the camera.

1980s[]

  • The Great Mouse Detective
    • While Basil expresses his acknowledgement of Dr. Dawson, he whispers something to Olivia, who then looks at the audience in either confusion or shock.
    • In a rainstorm, when Basil, gripping on a tail of Ratigan's now-demolished blimp which is hanging on a cracked hole of Big Ben's clock, yells "On the contrary!" to Ratigan, himself, Basil's archenemy, standing on the tallest clock hand, looks at the audience in serious shock just before Basil, himself, yells to him that the game isn't over yet, then rings Felicia's hand bell to him.
  • The Little Mermaid
    • During the "Part of Your World" song, Ariel turns to the audience when she sings "sure" and again with "bright young women".
    • When the Seahorse Herald informs Sebastian that King Triton wants to talk about Ariel, Sebastian looks at the audience and fearfully says, "He knows!"
    • During the "Poor Unfortunate Souls" musical number, when Ursula sings "And do I help them? Yes, indeed" then "And I help them...yes, I do!", she looks directly at the audience.

1990s[]

  • The Rescuers Down Under
    • As McLeach is about to leave Cody in the cage at the basement, he looks at the audience and nastily says, "No more Mr. Nice Guy!"
    • After McLeach lies about Marahute being shot by the hunter and tells Cody to leave the Abandoned Opal Mine, he stares directly at the camera and cackles, "Bingo!" then hops back into his truck with Joanna.
    • When Bernard leaves to rescue Cody, Bianca, Jake, and Marahute from McLeach, Wilbur reluctantly sits on the golden eagle's eggs. He then stares at the camera and complains: "Aw, nuts! Gotta learn to be more assertive. 'No' is 'no' is 'NO'!" before finally turning his attention away from the camera to the eggs, saying to them, "Hey, quit movin' in there!"
  • Beauty and the Beast: During the song "Gaston", the Bimbettes smile towards the audience after Gaston drops them. Gaston then winks at the camera and shows his chest hair to the viewers.
  • Aladdin
    • The Peddler greets the audience and tells them to come closer, resulting in the camera hitting him in the face. He then tries to show the viewers some of his fine merchandise, but they are uninterested until he unveils the Genie's lamp. He then begins to tell the story of how the magic lamp "changed the course of a young man's life."
    • When Genie plays chess with the Magic Carpet, he looks at the audience and says, "I can't believe it, I'm losing to a rug!"
    • Genie brings out a script for Aladdin and whispers, "Your line is: 'I'm going to free the Genie.'" He then brings out the script again when he calls Jafar "a tall, dark, sinister, ugly man."
    • At the end of the film, Genie lifts up the screen and says, "Made ya look!"
    • At the end of the post-credits, Genie tells the viewers that they were a good audience and then says good night to everyone.
  • The Lion King
    • At one part of the song "Be Prepared", when Scar sings, "Be prepared for sensational news," he looks directly at the viewers.
    • At one part of the song "Hakuna Matata", Pumbaa almost said, "Every time that I farted," but Timon cuts him off and warns, "Hey, Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!", referencing the audience and Simba.
    • At one part of the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", after Simba finally pins Nala who happily accepts her defeat by giving him a lick on the cheek, he makes a confused look at the camera.
    • In a Blu-ray bonus feature called "Bloopers & Outtakes", characters in the movie break the fourth wall during said bloopers/outtakes.
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
    • In the beginning of the story, Clopin tells the story about what happened from twenty years ago.
    • At one point in the film, Phoebus mentions the background music during the fight with Esmeralda.
    • At the very end of the post-credits, Hugo says, directly to the audience, "Good night, everybody! Whoo-hoo-hoo!"
  • Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
    • When Tigger inquires, "What's Donkey Boy saying?", Eeyore replies, "I said 'Ouch!'" He then stares at the audience in horror, realizing that he accidentally let go of the branch that he and the others were clinging to, causing them all to fall into the muddy river below, but they survive unharmed.
    • When Pooh falls onto an icy channel while screaming, Tigger hears him and says to the viewers in horror that Pooh was killed and eaten by the Skullasaurus.
    • When Christopher Robin told Piglet that the roars was just Pooh's stomach, both Eeyore, Rabbit and Tigger both looked at the viewers in surprise indicating that it was Pooh's tummy rumbling.
  • Hercules
    • At the start of the movie and during certain segments, the Muses narrate the story in song.
    • When arriving in Thebes, a man driving a chariot nearly hits Hercules and Phil. In the German version, Phil calls the driver "Schumi", which is a reference to the German race driver Michael Schumacher, who was active between 1991 and 2006, and later between 2010 and 2012.
    • Hades has lots of moments when looking to the audience. For example, after Panic lands on Pain's butt, Hades looks at the viewers in an unamused way. Also, after Meg states that Hercules will hit every curve he throws at "Wonderboy", Hades then gets an idea and looks toward the audience.
    • At the end of the post-credits, Hades says, directly to the viewers, "Whaddaya say, it's happy ending time," and complains that he has nothing, and then talks to nobody because the audience left.
  • Mulan: When looking for Mulan during the avalanche sequence of the Tong Shao Pass, Mushu sees some hair in the snow and, thinking it's Mulan, pulls out what is really a Hun, then quickly puts him back under the snow and sheepishly exclaims, "Nope!" to the audience.
  • Tarzan: At the very end of the song "Son of Man", Tarzan, after landing on a tree, stares courageously at the audience.

2000s[]

  • Dinosaur: At the start and end of the movie, Plio narrates the story, while also taking part in the film's plot.
  • Fantasia 2000
    • The Firebird: When the Spring Sprite's face peers from her hair with insects and flora on it, she smiles briefly at the audience before shaking her head, sending the insects away.
    • At the end of the post-credits, although everyone has left, Steve Martin (in a distorted voice) asks the viewers if somebody can give him a ride.
  • The Emperor's New Groove
    • Kuzco freezes the movie after Pacha's appearance to remind the audience that the movie is about Kuzco, not Pacha.
    • Right after Pacha abandons Kuzco at the diner and finds out the truth about Yzma and Kronk, the narrator Kuzco comes in at the scene where the movie began, and the llama Kuzco tells him that the audience knows the whole thing.
    • After realizing that Pacha is at the diner, Kronk devises a plan to find Kuzco. He then looks at the audience and says, "Oh, yeah. It's all coming together."
    • During the chase scene, Yzma and Kronk notice the contour lines on the map that follow Kuzco and Pacha, and later notice their lines are following them. While slightly confused, the two shrug it off and return to the chase.
      • Later, after Yzma reveals that she has beaten Pacha and Kuzco to the Secret Lab, the two question how she did, which even she doesn't understand. After asking Kronk how they beat them, he explains that it seems impossible pulling down the map from the previous scene as reference.
  • Lilo & Stitch
    • The advertising campaign for Lilo & Stitch in several teaser trailers (called "Inter-Stitch-als") feature Stitch invading other Disney films, much to the other characters' chagrin.
    • When Stitch was getting adopted at the animal shelter, the adoption paper noticeably shows information regarding the development of Lilo & Stitch.
    • During their dance at Mrs. Hasagawa's fruit stand, Lilo and Stitch look directly at the audience for a couple of brief moments while showing off; first as they start to get into their dance, then again when they lean back and drop their shoulders. In addition, a spotlight seems to shine from out of nowhere above the duo during the second moment.
  • Brother Bear
    • In a special teaser trailer for Brother Bear (shown before Finding Nemo during its initial theatrical release), the moose brothers, Rutt and Tuke, suggest that, "If you see only one movie this year, see this one." Rutt then reminds Tuke that, "For those who see only one movie this year, it's a little late now." Both moose then encourage everyone who are "only going to see one movie this year" to leave the theater. As the scene fades to black, Tuke says, "I see some of them leaving." Rutt then replies that maybe they're going to "go find that Nemo guy." In the regular trailer, Rutt only replies that they're just going to the bathroom.
    • Right after the post-credits, Koda directly tells the viewers that "no fish were harmed during the making of this film." However, an adult bear is then seen chasing one of the salmon in an attempt to eat it. As the fish screams for help, Koda tells the cameraman, "Cut!", but the camera keeps rolling, so Koda covers the camera with his paws so the audience couldn't see the bear eat the salmon, but the fish can still be heard getting eaten.
    • In a bonus feature called "Koda's Outtakes" (DVD and Blu-ray only), characters in the movie break the fourth wall during said outtakes, including one instance where Denahi tries to flip the log bridge over, causing Kenai and Koda to struggle, and when Kenai throws Koda, the latter gets smacked onto the screen, which then breaks.
      • There is also an optional bonus feature (DVD and Blu-ray only) in which Rutt and Tuke provide the audio commentary for the movie itself.
  • Home on the Range
    • At the start of the movie, Maggie narrates the story, while also taking part in the film's plot.
    • Doesn’t Wesley in home on the range also break the fourth wall with his clown college line??
    • Upon hearing a noise similar to gunfire, Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, and Grace look at the camera before exploding in fright.
  • Chicken Little
    • At the end of the song "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", Chicken Little waves at the audience during the end credits.
    • In the mid-credit scene in 3D version, Chicken Little and Buck waves at the audience and spotted popcorn when they leave.
  • The Wild
    • At the end of the film, the goofy wildebeest that sings the "Really Nice Day" song pops his head through the iris-out, which chokes him. Nigel then shoves him away and apologizes to the audience, telling them to carry on.
    • During the credits, characters in the movie break the fourth wall by interacting with the credits.
  • Bolt
    • A meta-example would entail the entire story of Bolt realizing he is just a character in a TV show, with Mittens also informing him about this numerous times.
    • Near the end of the credits, Rhino is seen running on a hamster wheel that has been causing the credits to roll all this time. He soon passes out, so another hamster tags him in and takes his place on the wheel; the credits then finish rolling and disappear from the screen, along with the hamster wheel.

2010s[]

  • Tangled
    • At the start and end of the movie, Eugene narrates the story, while also taking part in the film's plot.
      • At the beginning, he says, "This is the story of how I died," ready to tell the viewers what they are about to see.
      • Also near the start, Eugene tells the audience, "I'll give you a hint. That's Rapunzel."
      • He also tells the viewers about Mother Gothel's backstory.
    • During the song "I've Got a Dream", Eugene claims that he does not sing when it is his turn to do a solo until the Pub Thugs threaten him with their swords.
    • At the very end of the film, both Eugene and Rapunzel narrate and mention how he asked her to marry him.
  • Wreck-It Ralph
    • In the climax when King Candy reveals himself as Turbo, if one watches the movie in slow motion you can see Turbo makes a sinister grin, and gives the camera a thumbs up.
  • Zootopia
    • At one point in the film, Chief Bogo remarks that life isn't a cartoon musical.
    • During the film's climax, Duke Weaselton is seen selling pirated movies that are actually parodies of Disney movies, and he even mentions that he sells films "that have not yet been released."
  • Moana
    • Realizing that he is neither on Motunui nor on land, Heihei turns toward the camera before it goes out of view and lets out a strong scream.
    • After Maui locks Moana in a cave on the deserted island where he lives and prepares to leave, he takes Heihei and says, "Boat snack!" to the audience.
    • When Moana objects to being called a princess, Maui points out, "If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, then you're a princess," referencing other Disney Princesses who are trademarked with wearing dresses and having animal sidekicks.
    • Tamatoa breaks the fourth wall three times: first, when he says that he can't hide due to his shininess during the song "Shiny"; second, when he tells the viewers to look up what a "decapod" is; and finally during the post-credits scene, where he asks the audience for help.
  • Ralph Breaks the Internet
    • In a mid-credits scene, the toddler version of Moana appears as a modern-day girl named Mo coming home after seeing the very movie. Mo then tells her mother that she was unhappy over a scene that was in the trailer, which was not in the film itself.
    • During the post-credits scene, when Ralph, Felix, and several other characters perform Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up" (in a parody of the popular Rickrolling meme), at the end, Ralph tells the audience: "You guys still stickin' around? Alright. Well, you're welcome to stay. Not really anymore surprises, you know. But, good luck getting that song out of your head. It's a real earwig."
  • Frozen II
    • In one scene, Olaf, in order to explain who his friends are and why they're in the Enchanted Forest, recreates (in a comical and over-the-top style) several moments from the first film, including the death of Anna and Elsa's parents, as well as Anna almost freezing to death.
      • During the post-credits, Olaf does similar recreations for the events of this movie, revealed to be an audience of Marshmallow and the Snowgies.

2020s[]

Disneytoon Studios/Direct-to-video films[]

1990s[]

  • The Return of Jafar: The Genie says, directly to the audience, "He's big, he's blue, he's back!" As he says this, his face is smushed against the screen.
  • Aladdin and the King of Thieves
    • The film starts with Genie summoning the logo and (in his morph of Tinker Bell) says that the film is "in color."
    • After Genie morphs into Pumbaa to say, "Hakuna Matata," he suddenly admits he was having an "out-of-movie experience."
    • During the song "Are You In or Out?", seven of the Forty Thieves explain to the audience about their past.
    • During the post-credits scene, Genie looks right at the audience and tells them: "Wait a minute, we're not getting outta here, man! We're not getting outta here! Don't ya understand it, man? This is it, game's over, man!" Genie's last sentence indicates the film to be the last of the Aladdin trilogy.
  • The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue: At the start of the song "Remember That Day", Alberto changes the scene by pulling down the screen like a window shade.

2000s[]

  • An Extremely Goofy Movie
    • In the coffee shop, Bobby Zimuruski asks observantly, "Do you ever wonder why we're always, like, wearin' gloves?", to which someone else responds with, "Yeah, man!"
    • Near the end of the film, when Pete was left confused after unintentionally giving Goofy advice, he looks toward the camera and says, "Did I miss something?"
  • The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: At the beginning of the deleted song "Gonna Get My Wish", Morgana says, "I shall grant her wish and she'll grant me mine."
    • During the song, Undertow states, "I hope it's temporarily," to the audience.
  • Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure: When Buster yells at his junkyard dog members to help him open a locked gate that he was unable to unlock himself, Scratchy gives the audience a sullen look before Mooch volunteers.
  • Return to Never Land: After establishing shots of the clouds, Peter Pan waves his cap to the audience.
  • 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure
    • After Lil' Lightning informs Thunderbolt that he will be taking the German Shepherd's place on the show, he turns to the viewers and says, "...my show."
    • Right before the credits roll, the fate of each character, both villain and hero, is posted in the papers, which is also directed towards the audience.
    • In a bonus feature called "Thunderbolt's Bloopers" (DVD and Blu-ray only), Thunderbolt breaks the fourth wall by screwing up some of his speaking lines.
  • Stitch! The Movie: When Dr. Hämsterviel is about to harass a captive Lilo and Stitch, the background music cuts out and Hämsterviel demands Gantu to get him some phone books to elevate him higher. When Gantu returns with a stack of phone books and Hämsterviel props himself up, the background music resumes as he begins ranting.
  • Teacher's Pet: The Movie
    • Several times in the movie, Spot Helperman sings to the audience.
    • At the end of the film, Spot tells everyone in the theater to sing along with the song.
    • In the final scene of the movie, Spot is seen animating himself while saying, "A film needs an end."
  • The Lion King 1½
    • In a dark theater, Timon and Pumbaa are shown in silhouette commenting on the movie being shown before them, in a style similar to that of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
      • While Timon and Pumbaa are watching the opening act of the original movie, Timon suddenly uses a remote control to fast-forward to where they appear in the film. Pumbaa argues that the film shouldn't go out of order and attempts to rewind the film back to the beginning. Timon and Pumbaa start fighting over control of the film until they agree that the film should tell their side of the story. Throughout the rest of the film, it is occasionally interrupted to have Timon and Pumbaa comment on whatever is happening.
    • As Timon scurries, sniffs, and flinches, he looks directly at the audience and says, "I like the sound of that."
    • When the other meerkats glare accusingly at Timon for not looking out for hyenas, he reluctantly admits that he broke into song. Usually, characters in musicals do not seem to notice this and just go with singing.
    • When Timon tries to look "beyond what I see," he states that it's hard to think with the music playing.
    • As Timon deftly acts out on what Rafiki would say to him about finding "Hakuna Matata", Rafiki looks directly at the audience. Then, after Timon runs off to catch up with his friends, Rafiki says to the viewers, "My work here is done."
    • When the film ends, in the dark theater, Pumbaa insists on watching it again. Timon protests until all of their friends from the movie come to watch it as well, soon joined by numerous other Disney cartoon characters.
  • Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
    • The Troubadour is mostly seen either narrating the movie or singing songs.
    • At the end of the song "Petey's King of France", the music abruptly ends while Pete is holding the final note. After a few seconds, he notices, looks at the viewers, and asks, "Why'd the music stop?"
    • The second time Pete mentions the opera and hears music in the background, he turns toward the audience in surprise. Later, the third time he mentions the opera and hears music once again, he looks at the viewers and comments, "That little ditty's starting to grow on me".
    • When Princess Minnie proceeds to kiss Mickey in the mouth, she uses his hat to shroud them so the viewers can't see it completely.
  • Kronk's New Groove
    • Kuzco pauses the movie to talk to the audience three times.
      • The first time was to introduce himself and let the audience know that this movie was about Kronk.
      • The second time was to let the audience know that Yzma is producing fake youth potions, and when he sees that they've already noticed, he calls them "smarty" and says, "Bet you haven't seen this!", to which the scene zooms in to show Yzma's armpit hairs. The scene then zooms out, and Kuzco, after being freaked out, tells them to continue the movie.
      • The third time was when Kuzco becomes emotional over the love between Kronk and Birdwell.
    • While panicking on what to do, Kronk looks directly at the audience, explains his plan, and says, "That'll work."
    • After talking to his shoulder angel and devil, Kronk asks, "Now where was I?" Then, while remembering, he looks at the audience and says, "Doomed!"
    • As Kronk begins his story of how he fell in love with Birdwell, he pulls out a slideshow screen. Then, when he sees that the screen is displaying a stag reel logo, he steps in front of it in embarrassment, looks at the audience, and says, "Wrong show!"
    • While Kronk's friends try to pass themselves off as his wives and kids to his father, Kuzco shows up dressed as a woman and says to the audience, "Like how I weaseled my way into this movie? Nice!" Then, when Kuzco asks Kronk, "How ya doing, hot stuff?", Kronk pulls out an "Uh-oh!" sign à la Wile E. Coyote while looking nervously at the audience.
  • Mulan II: When Mulan has an argument with Shang due to Mushu's intervening, Yao asks her what Shang's problem was, only for Mulan to growl and walk away in frustration. After that, Yao looks at the camera and inquires, "What's her problem?" and then adds, "Who am I talkin' to?"
  • Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch: In the opening, during Stitch's nightmare of him becoming evil again, he destroys the title caption with the Red One's plasma weapon.
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