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'Comic relief' is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.

Contents

Definition

Well-received and poorly-received comic relief

Change in character status

Further examples

Examples in film and television

Examples in books and comic books

Examples in theatre

Examples in video games

References

Definition

Comic relief often takes the form of a bumbling, wisecracking sidekick. A sidekick used for comic relief will usually comment on the absurdity of the hero's situation and make comments that would be inappropriate for a character who is to be taken seriously.
Sometimes comic relief characters will appear in fiction that is comedic. This generally occurs when the work enters a dramatic moment, but the character continues to be comical regardless.

Well-received and poorly-received comic relief

The appropriateness of comic relief in some works is debatable, as some find it an annoying or unwelcome addition. A notable example is Jar Jar Binks featured in ''. From the time of his inception, the character was widely rejected and often ridiculed by sections of the Star Wars series' fanbase.
A more well-received example is seen in the science fiction movie ''Forbidden Planet''. In this film an amusing diversion is provided by the enlisted cook, his quest for contraband whisky, and his encounters with Robbie the Robot.

Change in character status

Sometimes over the course of a series, a character's status regarding comic relief changes. For example, in ''Star Wars: Episode I'', Jar-Jar Binks plays a major role as a comic-relief character, but in Episodes and his role diminishes. Conversely, in ''The Fox and the Hound'', the hunter Amos Slade is a mostly serious character, but in the ''The Fox and the Hound 2'' he is turned into comic relief.

Further examples

Examples in film and television

★ One example that is easily understood comes from the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy (Episodes , and ) where Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford) provides humorous scenes in the serious plot. He and Chewbacca continuously add wit and humorous banter to their scenes, releasing some of the tension from the serious plot.

★ The droids R2-D2 and C-3PO also serve as comic relief in ''Star Wars''.

★ In the first two James Bond films starring Roger Moore, an American sheriff named J.W. Pepper serves as comic relief.

★ Tucker from the Nickelodeon series Danny Phantom

★ Hannibal King portrayed by Ryan Reynolds, in Blade Trinity

★ Al Giordino in the movie ''Sahara''

★ Scooby-doo and Shaggy Rogers of ''Scooby-Doo'' and Alexander Cabot III in ''Josie and the Pussycats''

★ Merry, Pippin, Gimli and Gollum/Sméagol in the ''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy

★ Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter book and film series

★ Horace and Jasper in ''101 Dalmatians''

★ Michelangelo, Raphael (only in the 1987 series), Bebop and Rocksteady in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise

★ Seth Cohen in ''The OC''

★ Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, along with Timon and Pumbaa in ''The Lion King''

★ Peyton in Chaotic

★ Genie and Iago in Aladdin.

★ Chazz Princeton in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX During the first season and some of the second Chazz is a main character but slowly over time he played more of a comic relief role as did Alexis Rhodes. Ironically the 2 received many duels through the first 2 seasons but between the 2 they only receive 1 in the third.

★ Erik and Flinch in Di-Gata Defenders

★ Dory in Finding Nemo

★ Kam, Philly Phil, Eddie, and Madison in Class of 3000

★ Antoine in ''Sonic the Hedgehog

★ Riley Poole in National Treasure''

★ Chloe O'Brian in ''24''

★ Greg Medavoy in ''NYPD Blue''

★ Reno and Rude in ''

★ Mater in ''Cars''

★ The Amigos (Happy Feet) in Happy Feet

★ Orko in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

★ Oon in Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

★ Cousin Dinky in The Littles

★ Hugo Reyes in Lost

★ Donkey in Shrek

★ Carl in Van Helsing

Examples in books and comic books

★ The Human Torch in Fantastic 4

★ Captain Haddock in Tintin

★ Obelix in Asterix

★ Ron Weasley in Harry Potter

Examples in theatre

★ William Shakespeare often included comic elements in his tragedies; the recurring character Falstaff and the door-keeper in ''Macbeth'' are examples. Sometimes his inclusion of puns or jokes in otherwise serious scenes can seem inappropriate to a modern audience.

★ Comic relief characters are not that common in opera but the sacristan in ''Tosca'' or Papageno in ''The Magic Flute'' would be two examples.

Examples in video games

★ HK-47 in .

★ Daxter from the Jak and Daxter series.

★ Quina Quen from Final Fantasy IX

★ Zell Dincht from Final Fantasy VIII

★ Reno from Final Fantasy VII (Japanese version)

★ Johnny Sasaki from Metal Gear Solid

★ Crispy from Area 51

★ Hunter the Cheetah from Spyro

★ Sparx from Spyro

★ Big Smoke from

★ The Prinnies from the Nippon Icchi Games, such as Disgaea

References