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Key Confusion

136 statements
25 feature instances
14 referencing feature instances

Key Confusion	type	FeatureClass
Key Confusion	label	Key Confusion
Key Confusion	page	KeyConfusion
Key Confusion	comment	A character has a large keychain with many, sometimes dozens, of different keys. As a result, they have quite some trouble finding the right one when they need it. When Played for Laughs, the character will proceed to go through the keys one by one, naming the function of each, until they get the right one. Bonus points if, while doing this, they discover at least one key among them with a...rather embarrassing function. Can also be Played for Drama to create tension in the same manner as Dangerous Key Fumble. And of course, a character can intentionaly invoke this trope to stall time. A type of Needle in a Stack of Needles. Related to Rummage Fail.
Key Confusion	fetched	2024-04-15T21:15:43Z
Key Confusion	parsed	2024-04-15T21:15:43Z
Key Confusion	processingComment	Dropped link to DangerousKeyFumble: Not an Item - FEATURE
Key Confusion	processingComment	Dropped link to InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Not an Item - FEATURE
Key Confusion	processingComment	Dropped link to KeyUnderTheDoormat: Not an Item - FEATURE
Key Confusion	processingComment	Dropped link to ShowWithinAShow: Not an Item - FEATURE
Key Confusion	isPartOf	DBTropes
Key Confusion / int_1b4bc120	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_1b4bc120	comment	Poltergeist: Near the end of the movie, the Freelings are attempting to escape their haunted house using their car. The father has to fumble around with his key ring and try several different keys before he finds the car key and can drive away.
Key Confusion / int_1b4bc120	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_1b4bc120	featureConfidence	1.0
Poltergeist (1982)	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_1b4bc120
Key Confusion / int_1df66d81	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_1df66d81	comment	The Prince and the Pauper: This happens to Goofy when he is about to free the Prince and Donald from prison. Trouble is, the key was already in the lock, and once Goofy removes it, he has to find it again. When the guards start closing in, Donald grabs the keyring and puts the right key in the lock.
Key Confusion / int_1df66d81	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_1df66d81	featureConfidence	1.0
The Prince and the Pauper	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_1df66d81
Key Confusion / int_2bbcacd9	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_2bbcacd9	comment	Looney Tunes: in Fresh Hare, Elmer Fudd, as a Mountie, gets handcuffed to a bomb, while Bugs has his keys. When Elmer begs to be released, Bugs starts going through the keys, naming their purpose. By the time he finds the one for the cuffs, it's too late, the bomb explodes. And yes, there is an embarrassing key.
Key Confusion / int_2bbcacd9	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_2bbcacd9	featureConfidence	1.0
Looney Tunes	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_2bbcacd9
Key Confusion / int_3adfb1ba	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_3adfb1ba	comment	House of Mouse: In the short "Locksmiths", Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are locked in their office and try to find their door key. Goofy takes out his keychain, which becomes an excuse for a series of "key" puns. Eventually, Goofy takes out the spare key hidden on the roof of his mouth.
Key Confusion / int_3adfb1ba	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_3adfb1ba	featureConfidence	1.0
House of Mouse	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_3adfb1ba
Key Confusion / int_404622d6	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_404622d6	comment	Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: In the B-plot for "Bloooo", Frankie tries to get into the house to evade an apparently dangerous character. She drops her key at the front door and discovers it landed in a pile of dozens of keys (that Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco threw out the window in the A-plot), leaving her to frantically find the right key before she's spotted by her stalker. In "Fools and Regulations", Mac and the imaginary friends sneak back into the house to play Terrence's video games after Frankie locked them out so they wouldn't disturb the benefit party she is throwing to raise money for Foster's. When Frankie and Mr. Herriman go outside to check on them, Bloo locks them out so they won't be able to punish them. Mr. Herriman has a key ring on hand, but has a very hard time figuring out which key is the one that unlocks the house. When he eventually finds it, Eduardo takes the key ring from him to ensure he can't unlock the door anymore. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Mr. Herriman keeps a spare key under the house's doormat.
Key Confusion / int_404622d6	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_404622d6	featureConfidence	1.0
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_404622d6
Key Confusion / int_439e0f17	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_439e0f17	comment	Would I Lie to You?: Once, during "Quick Fire Lies", Lee Mack had a 'Possession' that turned out to be a huge bunch of keys. He claimed he knew what all of these keys were for, except one. Cue David Mitchell asking what all of the other keys opened. Lee started a long story involving a series of increasingly unlikely things he had in his house that needed unlocking. It was a lie.
Key Confusion / int_439e0f17	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_439e0f17	featureConfidence	1.0
Would I Lie to You?	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_439e0f17
Key Confusion / int_4ef4a5be	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_4ef4a5be	comment	Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird: Near the end of the film, the Sesame Street gang finds Big Bird being held prisoner in a cage at the Sleaze Brothers' Funfair. Maria manages to snatch the Sleaze Brothers' key ring from a sleeping Sam and goes through every key on it, trying to find one that will fit the lock on Big Bird's cage without waking up Sam and Sid. Because Big Bird can't keep quiet about what key she should use and the Count counts each key that Maria uses, they result in the Sleaze Brothers waking up and starting up their truck just as Maria finds the right key and unlocks the cage.
Key Confusion / int_4ef4a5be	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_4ef4a5be	featureConfidence	1.0
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_4ef4a5be
Key Confusion / int_588a4c4a	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_588a4c4a	comment	A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017): In "The Hostile Hospital, Part 1", Esme runs into this problem when she wants to capture the Baudelaires in the library, but can't find the right key among the dozens of keys on the keychain. She gets quite frustrated, even attempting to force a wrong key into the lock. By the time she gets in, the Baudelaires have found the film they were looking for and already partly watched it.
Key Confusion / int_588a4c4a	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_588a4c4a	featureConfidence	1.0
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017)	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_588a4c4a
Key Confusion / int_65790110	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_65790110	comment	Pajama Sam in No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside: when Sam reaches Darkness' bedroom, he comes to the conclusion that Darkness is hiding in his closet, which is locked. Sam opens a cabinet near it, and a pile of keys falls out. None of the keys in the pile unlock the lock to Darkness' closet, as the one that does is revealed to be hanging on a hook in the cabinet.
Key Confusion / int_65790110	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_65790110	featureConfidence	1.0
Pajama Sam (Video Game)	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_65790110
Key Confusion / int_7884ec15	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_7884ec15	comment	Seinfeld: One episode, this happens to Elaine with her keyring, causing Jerry to ask if she's working as a medieval jailer.
Key Confusion / int_7884ec15	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_7884ec15	featureConfidence	1.0
Seinfeld	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_7884ec15
Key Confusion / int_7c4f1adb	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_7c4f1adb	comment	Our Miss Brooks: The trope appears in "Key to the School".
Key Confusion / int_7c4f1adb	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_7c4f1adb	featureConfidence	1.0
Our Miss Brooks (Radio)	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_7c4f1adb
Key Confusion / int_86c3beca	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_86c3beca	comment	Girl Genius: Theo handcuffs Sleipnir to a pillar away from the unstable ceiling while working in a lab beneath the Castle, then something very big and loud starts running down the stairway she's by towards her and he panics trying (and failing) to find the right key to unlock her on a large ring of them before whatever it is arrives.
Key Confusion / int_86c3beca	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_86c3beca	featureConfidence	1.0
Girl Genius (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_86c3beca
Key Confusion / int_8d814070	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_8d814070	comment	MASH: When Radar needs to get into the gun locker, he goes through at least five keys, including one for his bike padlock back in Iowa.*
Key Confusion / int_8d814070	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_8d814070	featureConfidence	1.0
MAS*H	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_8d814070
Key Confusion / int_a0262740	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_a0262740	comment	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: When Veruca climbs through the gate to the room with the squirrels, and is attacked by them, Willy Wonka casually takes out his huge keyring and starts to search for the key that opens the gate so he and Mr. Salt can rescue Veruca (see page image). He fails to find the right one before Veruca is thrown into the garbage chute, but considering how he was taking his time going through the keys and what kind of man Wonka is, that was most likely his intention.
Key Confusion / int_a0262740	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_a0262740	featureConfidence	1.0
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_a0262740
Key Confusion / int_a63b23da	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_a63b23da	comment	Bruce Almighty: after angering a gang harassing a homeless man, Bruce runs to his car but ends up slowly trying to find the correct key which gives time for his enemies to catch up and tackle him to the ground.
Key Confusion / int_a63b23da	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_a63b23da	featureConfidence	1.0
Bruce Almighty	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_a63b23da
Key Confusion / int_abfcff6a	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_abfcff6a	comment	Rocky and Bullwinkle: In the second episode of the "Jet Fuel Formula" arc, Natasha tries to off Bullwinkle by giving him a Time Bomb wrapped in a package. However, the door out of the room is locked, and Natasha panics while Bullwinlkle tries to find the right key. With seconds until the explosion, Natasha takes the package and throws it out the window (and down onto an unsuspecting Boris).
Key Confusion / int_abfcff6a	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_abfcff6a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rocky and Bullwinkle	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_abfcff6a
Key Confusion / int_b08f67f7	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_b08f67f7	comment	The Twelve Tasks of Asterix: The Roman soldier who has to let the Gauls into the Colosseum for their final task runs into this problem. One of the keys he goes through is heart-shaped and he wonders, visibly embarrassed, how that one got in with the rest. Eventually, Obelix gets tired of waiting and breaks the door open.
Key Confusion / int_b08f67f7	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_b08f67f7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_b08f67f7
Key Confusion / int_b2edd00b	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_b2edd00b	comment	Zombieland opens with Columbus demonstrating several of the tips he had been relaying while trying to unlock a car, such as the importance of cardio that allows him to do a loop after the initial fumble to evade the pursuing zombies so he can come back and try again instead of dying at the door.
Key Confusion / int_b2edd00b	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_b2edd00b	featureConfidence	1.0
Zombieland	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_b2edd00b
Key Confusion / int_bdf28900	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_bdf28900	comment	The Great Wall: when the Tao Tei attack for the first time, William and Tovar are to be locked up, but the soldier responsible can't find the right key on his keyring. They are thus taken up the wall instead.
Key Confusion / int_bdf28900	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_bdf28900	featureConfidence	1.0
The Great Wall	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_bdf28900
Key Confusion / int_c9cd78c2	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_c9cd78c2	comment	Dramatic example in Die Hard with a Vengeance; while evacuating a school due to a bomb*that turns out to be fake, the police notice a classroom with kids still inside and rush in with the janitor's keys. Ultimately subverted as after the first key doesn't work, Lambert opts to kick the door open.
Key Confusion / int_c9cd78c2	featureApplicability	-0.3
Key Confusion / int_c9cd78c2	featureConfidence	1.0
Die Hard with a Vengeance	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_c9cd78c2
Key Confusion / int_cc1865ec	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_cc1865ec	comment	Tom and Jerry: The Movie: The two villains have trapped The Woobie in a mountain chalet, and locked its only exit. However, a toppled kerosene lamp starts a fire in the wooden structure, and the villains need to flee. They fight for control of the key ring, breaking it. The two must then scrabble on the floor to find the right key among twenty or so keys.
Key Confusion / int_cc1865ec	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_cc1865ec	featureConfidence	1.0
Tom and Jerry: The Movie	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_cc1865ec
Key Confusion / int_cef1c785	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_cef1c785	comment	Cutthroat Kitchen: One episode, a chef was given the sabotage of having to unlock a cage containing their serving dishes. Alton gave the chef a giant ring of keys and left the hapless chef to figure out which one unlocked the cage.
Key Confusion / int_cef1c785	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_cef1c785	featureConfidence	1.0
Cutthroat Kitchen	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_cef1c785
Key Confusion / int_d1dd2388	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_d1dd2388	comment	Le SamouraÃ¯. The Villain Protagonist is a Professional Killer who carries a huge ring of keys that enables him to steal any CitroÃ«n DS. Tension is created in one scene as he tests one key after another in an ignition as two patrolling police officers walk down the sidewalk towards him; the car starts before they get close enough to realise he's stealing it.
Key Confusion / int_d1dd2388	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_d1dd2388	featureConfidence	1.0
Le Samouraï	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_d1dd2388
Key Confusion / int_dd518415	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_dd518415	comment	Thief: The Dark Project: this can become a recurring problem since Garret does not automatically select the correct key to each door (if he has it on him, that is), so you have to manually try out each key on the lock in question if you don't exactly know which one fits it. Since this trial-and-error takes place in real time, it can build quite a bit of tension, when you are desperately seeking for the right key while the guards are closing in on your position.
Key Confusion / int_dd518415	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_dd518415	featureConfidence	1.0
Thief: The Dark Project (Video Game)	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_dd518415
Key Confusion / int_f6c05e8e	type	Key Confusion
Key Confusion / int_f6c05e8e	comment	Friends: In the first Thanksgiving episode the gang accidentally lock themselves out of Monica's apartment while their dinner is still in the oven. Joey and Chandler have a spare key, but it's in a drawer filled with unlabelled keys, forcing them to try every single one. By the time they finally get back inside, their dinner is ruined. Joey and Phoebe have informed Mr. Treeger of a gas leak in Monica's apartment so they can get in. When firemen break down the door, Joey asks why he didn't just unlock the door. Treeger shows his keyring and explains "By the time I found it on this thing, the whole building could've exploded. And when that happens a second time, people start to ask questions."
Key Confusion / int_f6c05e8e	featureApplicability	1.0
Key Confusion / int_f6c05e8e	featureConfidence	1.0
Friends	hasFeature	Key Confusion / int_f6c05e8e

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Key Confusion	processingCategory2	Comedy Tropes
Key Confusion	processingCategory2	Door Tropes
Key Confusion	processingCategory2	Index Failure
Bruce Almighty / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
The Great Wall / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
The Wolfman (2010) / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
Zombieland / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
Fort Boyard / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
Would I Lie to You? / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
Thief: The Dark Project (Video Game) / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion
Tom and Jerry: The Movie / int_282a22cc	type	Key Confusion

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