Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You!
A character is presumed dead and the entire cast is crying over them. Next thing you know, the character is alive, wondering why everybody else is crying over them. The character tries to get the crying cast's attention, but they exclaims something along the lines of: "Not now X, we're too busy crying over X!" Then, the cast realizes that the character somehow survived, or never really died after all.
If the "dead man" is particularly absent-minded, he might even join in on the mourning, with or without being aware about who's being mourned.
An extension of Not Now, Kiddo. Often overlaps with Delayed Reaction. Sometimes the result of Faking the Dead, especially if the ones in mourning were unaware that the person being mourned over was faking.
Anime and Manga
- Something similar happens in the end of Xenosaga anime: Everyone (particularly Shion) is very busy crying for KOS-MOS, who has seemingly pulled off a Heroic Sacrifice, when a communications officer spots her walking calmly on the ship's hull. He tries telling the others but The Captain orders him to shut up and not ruin the moment at first.
- Parodied in Haruhi-chan: Kyon and Haruhi are having a blowpipe brawl, and end up hitting Mikuru. Then they're mourning her while learning the lesson about violence that she taught them with her death, just before Mikuru mentions that she's still there.
- The end of the "Fateful Night in Togenkyo" story in Inuyasha ends with Kagome, Miroku, and Shippo standing at the edge of a cliff and mourning for Inuyasha, who apparently fell to his death. When Inuyasha, coming up behind them, takes exception to Kagome calling him an idiot for dying, it takes the rest of the cast an extra line or two of dialogue before they catch on.
- This happens a few times in the show. The first time is when Shippo first appears. Inuyasha is crying over Kagome who thanks to the foxfire protecting her, looks like a dead spirit (and Myoga the flea is so certain of this that he manages to convince Inuyasha)
- Fushigi Yuugi has an unusual variant in that the person in question Nuriko is dead and the characters are praying for his soul, not realizing that his ghost has joined them.
Film
- At the end of Pinocchio, Geppetto is crying over the dead Pinocchio when the Blue Fairy brings him back to life and makes him a real boy:
 |
Pinocchio: Father, whatcha crying for? |
 |
- Cars: Lightning McQueen has finished the road and there is no sign of him, the others assuming that he just left without saying goodbye. Red the Fire Truck starts crying, at which point McQueen appears and asks what's the matter with Red. Mater then explains to McQueen about McQueen leaving, and stands staring at him a long while before realizing whom he was addressing.
- The Lion King 1½: It looks like Timon has sacrificed himself, and his mom is in hysterics. Then he climbs out of the pit he made and says "Mom, it's OK." She grabs him and shakes him and says a few things about it not being OK before she realizes that it's Timon.
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has Indy apparently falling of a cliff with a tank, the group with him leans over to see the tank hit the ground and not notice him crawling up a set of vines a few feet down. Indy notices the group mourning him and leans over himself to see what they're looking at only for the group to notice him soon after.
- Happens in the Maverick movie after Brett is thought to have fallen to his death over a cliff.
- Jack is hit by a rocket in The Nightmare Before Christmas. Oogie Boogie is, therefore, understandably shocked when he appears in the nick of time to rescue Sally and Santa Claus moments after they hear the news.
- Occurs in the Jackie Gleason film Gigot. The title character is a Cute Mute who enjoyed going to funerals, so when he is presumed dead, the townsfolk throw a lavish funeral procession for him although no body was found. Naturally, he is eventually discovered mourning at his own funeral.
Literature
- Depending on the director, A Midsummer Night's Dream has this when Bottom returns to the Mechanicals after his adventure with the fairies.
- In Myth Adventures, Aahz once got "We're Too Busy Planning Vengeance For Your Death" moment.
Live-Action TV
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season Three. "Dopplegangland". Angel (in full mourning face) runs in and tells Buffy that Willow is dead only to be distracting by her (very much alive) presence in the room. "Oh, hi Willow." Beat.
- The Doctor Who story "The Pandorica Opens" makes an Overly Long Gag out of the Doctor completely failing to make the connection that the person he's talking to is Rory, a companion he had mourned the loss of in a previous episode. It ends up being just a simulacrum of Rory, but one that seems to have Rory's soul.
|
The Doctor: Ohh, missing something obvious, Rory, something big, something right smack in front of me, I can see it... |
|
- Used a few times in El Chavo del Ocho, one episode has Chavo faking having being run over by a truck so people would give him food while he was sick, after Kiko helps set him up and tell everyone he was hurt, Chavo leaves for a while and everyone thinks that he was taken to the Red Cross. Later while they are mourning him, Don Ramon asks for some money for the funeral the people present, while Chavo appears crying at the emotional moment and offering 20 cents for his own funeral. Everyone thinks Don Ramon did it all for the money and they chase him out.
- Subverted in Stargate SG-1 when O'Neill refuses to have a funeral for "someone who isn't dead" after Daniel's second death and ascension. Apparently O'Neill wanted to avoid an instance of this trope (and, given Daniel's repeated cases of Death Is Cheap, he was right.)
Newspaper Comics
- In a Li'l Abner story, this was inverted. Li'l Abner has escaped what seemed like certain death, and goes to Dogpatch to find some of its citizens singing a funeral hymn for their poor deceased Li'l Abner. When he sees this and learns that they're mourning him, he starts singing along in a very sad tone of voice, because who wouldn't feel sad at his own funeral?
Western Animation
- In Tuff Puppy, after Keswick "sacrifices" himself to save everybody, Dudley, Kitty and the Chief are all crying in a huddle. Keswick appeared why they were still crying. Kitty then exclaims, "Not now Keswick, we're too busy crying over Keswick!"
- In A Merry Mirthworm Christmas, Burt, the new worm in town, feels rejected and leaves for another place. Crystal and the other worms find his note, and go off to find him. Unfortunately, a blizzard kicks up, and they have to turn back without finding him. At the community center, the others comment on how hard Crystal is taking this, and Burt, who had turned back when the blizzard got started and took shelter in the community center, asks what's wrong. One of the worms starts to explain before realizing whom she's addressing.
- In the SpongeBob SquarePants special "Where's Gary?", Gary returns after SpongeBob has had a breakdown over him, in time to find him crying.
|
SpongeBob: If only I could hear you meow one last time. |
|
- In the Scooby Doo, Where Are You! episode "Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too", Shaggy did this over a stone statue of Scooby: "He was like a brother to me! (the real Scooby approaches him) Look, Scoob, you've been turned to stone!"
- The Spinoff Babies Jungle Cubs has a surprisingly long sequence of this when Baloo and Kaa were presumed dead.
|
Louie: I keep thinking they'll turn up around the next bend. I tell you, animal, it's nuts. (blasely says hi to Baloo) Everywhere I look, I see their faces. |
|