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Information About

Comic Relief




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


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 ''. 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 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



Examples in books and comic books




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 Pun s 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



REFERENCES