TV Tropes:InnocentPanties

A peculiar sister trope of the Panty Shot where the image is employed for neither comedy nor titillation. Extremely common in old school Western animation and pre-seventies anime, Innocent Panties were used to emphasize childlike youth and innocence. The trope appeared less frequently in live action TV and cinema, associated with child actors like Shirley Temple, Sybil Jason◊ and Jane Withers. Gradually falling out of fashion throughout the 1970s, remnants of the trope survived into the late eighties, although by that time, genuine instances were comparatively rare in both Western and Japanese media. The convention still turns up occasionally in present day children's cartoons, where it often unleashes a tidal wave of moral panic, (despite the clearly non-sexual nature of the imagery). Particularly infantile characters might actually be revealed to be wearing diapers, though their lack of toilet-training may strain credibility if older child actors are cast to play them. Not to be confused with Panty Shot (for the reasons given above). Also contrast Innocent Fanservice Girl, where the character is innocent but the creator sure as hell isn't. Examples Hanamaru Kindergarten has all of the kindergarten girls showing puffy white panties whenever they're in a skirt or dress. Wakame from Machiko Hasegawa's Sazae-san, probably the Ur Example according to Japanese sources. Subverted into Panty Shot in How to Read Manga, where Wakame-chan has grown up but is still wearing the same relative length of skirt. Uran◊ in Tezuka's Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy). Definitely the Trope Maker in both Japanese comics and animation. Mahou Tsukai Sally (Toei Doga, 1966), although somewhat less frequently◊ than Uran. Diana Worthy◊ in Prince Planet, although considerably less frequently than Sally. Akane-chan◊ (Toei, 1968), generally as a result of her tomboyish activities. Exemplified in Miyazaki's Panda Go Panda, where Mimiko's panties◊ are visible in practically every scene. Doraemon Shizuka◊ in the very early anime, although the trope became increasing less innocent as fanservice crept into the strip throughout the late-seventies. The 1980s cartoon series contained a considerable amount of ecchi humor, as panchira became standard practice in both manga and anime. Shizuka panty-shots were also very common in the manga◊, particularly after the Great Panchira Explosion of the mid 70s. While earlier examples were mainly "accidental" in nature◊, later stories played upon the boys' growing curiosity◊, with Nobita using Doraemon's gadgets to peek under Shizuka's skirt◊. The opening credits to Kiteretsu Daihyakka, by the creator of Doraemon, places Miyoko's panties◊ on center stage at 0.32. Chinpui, yet another Fujio production, features these◊ throughout the series' three-year run. One of the show's running gags involves Eri trying to jump a hedge and landing flat on her face (with the inevitable results◊). The eponymous alien pet provides Eri with numerous cool gadgets apparently designed to raise her hemline◊. Various storylines involve an invisible skirt-flipper◊ bent on embarrassing Eri in public. Eri's panties are usually visible during extended flight scenes◊ (much like Shizuka in Doraemon). The girls at Eri's school often spend their free time "hanging out◊" on the jungle gym. Housekeeping scenes always include a shot of Eri polishing the floor with her white cotton panties◊ on display. The show's numerous alien pests always seem fascinated by Eri's underpants◊ for some inexplicable reason. Really, the Fujiko Fujio duo loved this trope. It'll probably be shorter to include a list of their works that DOESN'T contain a panty shot. In ROD The TV, the anime stayed away from pantyshots and fanservice for the most part, however a few times Anita King would be fighting someone while wearing something other than pants, resulting in many open shots of her underwear. In Michiko To Hatchin, Hatchin's panties appear a few times, the first when her foster brother lifts her skirt and the others when her tattoo is visible. Of course, whenever Michiko's panties are visible, it's clear Panty Shot territory. In Sonic X, there are seven panty shots at least — one in each season — Many of them Cream — and three of them are pantyless upskirts. one with panties◊ and one without panties◊. There is also a very close call to an Amy Rose upskirt in one episode, in which she, Cream and Cosmo are caught in a trap. In Dennou Coil this happens a lot to Yasuko's younger sister Kyoko. In Dragon Ball, very early in the manga, Goku looks under Bulma's skirt and is curious about her underwear. It's played off as curiosity more than anything else (at this point, anyway), and highlights just how alien Goku is... both literally and figuratively Briefly in the OP for Futakoi, when showing younger versions of the Ichijou twins sledding. Tokyo Mew Mew: The girls as their "Petite Mew Mew"◊ counterparts flash their panties a lot. In Tweeny Witches, Eva's white bloomers appear very frequently. Arts The My Little Kitchen Fairies sometimes have their lacy◊ panties displayed. They're usually the same color as their dresses and skirts. Comic Books Magical Mary-Jane◊ in the early 40s (Dell, Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies Comics). While MJ wasn't as prolific a panty-flasher as her predecessors, she was still prone to the occasional wardrobe malfunction. By the late 40s, Lulu's◊ success opened the floodgates on a torrent of high-spirited youngsters. Better-known exponents of the trope included: Li'l Jinx◊ (Archie Comics, 1947). LittleAudrey◊ (St. John's version, 1948; Harvey Comics version, 1952 - 1976). Little Dot◊ (Harvey Comics, 1949). Marvel Comics leapt on the bandwagon in the late 40s with four short-lived Lulu-clones; Little Lana◊, Little Lizzie◊, Little Aspirin and Little Zelda. All debuted in 1949, probably in reaction to the growing number of "little girl" comics being published by the competition. Alice: New Adventures in Wonderland◊ (Ziff-Davis 1951); one example is the comic "The Lost Rag Doll"◊. Little Lotta◊ (Harvey Comics, 1953). Little Eva◊ (St John's Publishing). Little Iodine◊ (Jimmy Halto 1930's), almost always when she was spanked◊. After the Comics Code drove crime and horror titles off the newsstands, child-friendly features became increasingly popular during the mid-50s. Oddly enough, while sexual references were expressly forbidden by the CCA, little girl panties were considered acceptable because they were... well, innocent. It's also worth noting that comic book spanking scenes almost always involved a Panty Shot if the character was a little girl. This seemed to be standard operating procedure across the entire industry, regardless of the genre◊. A "throwback" comic of a mischievous little girl named Glory Bee has her constantly doing something that prompts her being turned over someone's knee◊, her skirt lifted◊ and spanked. Other "instances" have her and her friends◊ in awkward positions that make their skirts flip over◊ and they seem to be oblivious to the exposure of their panties. In the Little Archie series, Betty, Veronica and even Sabrina ("that cute li'l witch") had numerous panty shots. Comic Strips Ur Examples may be traced back to the late 19th Century, with Richard F. Outcault's Hogan's Alley gag strip (New York World, 1895). By the time American newspapers began running comic strips, the Innocent Bloomers trope was already well-established within the popular culture. Outcault followed up a few years later with Buster Brown, in which various female characters (occasionally) revealed a glimpse of their panties beneath their petticoats. Little Lulu, Little Iodine and Nancy all share Trope Maker status for this category. Lulu is probably the best-known◊ of the triumvirate, due to various animated adaptations of the character (see below). In the early days of the Peanuts comic strip, Lucy, Violet and Patty were known to have shown their panties. Margaret in Dennis the Menace used to have the lace (and occasionally the seat) of her panties show until in later years her skirt was lengthened. For Better Or For Worse A Sunday strip shows toddler April innocently lifting up the front of her skirt and showing her white panties to people. In the last panel her father tells her mother maybe they should have waited a while longer to put their daughter in her first dress. In the background she's happily flashing the family dog, who has a puzzled expression. A later installment has April at a department store with her mom and squawking for privacy as she tries on some clothes in a changing room. She runs into a friend in the changing area and both are outside the rooms chatting away — in their underwear. Dolly Keane in The Family Circus was prone to showing her panties sometimes. Most notably in a 70's installment that has Billy getting bent out of shape because Dolly is lifting her dress and showing her new white panties to her parents' house guests. Films — Animation Kiki's Delivery Service (StudioGhibli, 1989) was arguably one of the final bastions of Innocent Panties◊, despite the large number of panty shots featured in the flying sequences◊. My Neighbor Totoro. As a general rule, Miyazaki's female characters wore 50's style◊ full briefs◊, as opposed to the skin-tight lingerie favored by other other animators of the time. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Ponyo shows off her diaper-looking underwear quite often (even as a fish, somehow). Alice from Alice in Wonderland shows◊ off◊ her◊ white◊ thigh◊ length◊ bloomers◊ throughout◊ the◊ whole◊ film◊. There's even a part where she's shrunken in the flower garden and a flower proceeds to pull her skirt up to see her "stems"◊. Darla Dimple in Cats Don't Dance has this in a couple outfits, though the character is far from innocent. Anne-Marie from All Dogs Go to Heaven. She's seen without her tights and her white undies are on display◊ while sitting in an upright, fetal position, during the scene in which she, Charlie and Itchy are in a car and Charlie is reading them a story. They're seen again under a different outfit from the back, as she pulls up that skirt from the sides and twirls around, while trying on new clothes during the shopping montage. Olivia Flaversham from The Great Mouse Detective gets a few◊ innocent◊ panties◊ shots◊ through the movie. This happens quite often to Penny in Disney's The Rescuers. Medusa's alligator Brutus uses its teeth to hold◊ little◊ Penny◊ upside◊ down◊ by◊ her◊ panties◊ twice◊. Later as she gets ready for bed◊, Penny is seen in her panties pulling her nightgown over her head. She later lifts her nightgown◊ to show Bernard and Bianca the toothholes in her panties. Penny has some◊ in the cave too. When she turns to call to Medusa, the back of her dress raises slightly◊. She also picks up the diamond from the water and her dress slides up to her waist◊. In The BFG, Sophie gets a short new dress from the giant after a bath, and goes on to tumble or crouch in this, repeatedly flashing her panties, including when she goes flying with the BFG, waking up on the Queen's windowledge and while hiding from an angry giant towards the end of the film. The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Melody wears a white tank top and pantaloons◊ for a majority of the movie. The Chipmunk Adventure: The Chipettes, mostly Jeanette and Eleanor◊, have a few panty shots. They have them in the animated series◊ too. Cinderella movies: Child Anastasia's frilly bloomers◊ are seen peeking out of her dress in the first movie. In the third movie, Anastasia's◊ light◊ pink◊ bloomers◊ are shown a lot. Michelle from Once Upon a Forest shows some when Abigail finds her unconscious. They're the same pink color as her dress. Robin Hood: Sis, Skippy's older sister, has pink bloomers◊ peeking out of her dress. Maid Marion's bloomers are shown sometimes when she's falling◊ or running◊. Films — Live-Action This was used a lot in Shirley Temple's works. Nine year-old Sybil Jason has her silky white panties◊ displayed during an extremely public (and possibly quite painful) spanking scene in "The Captain's Kid (1936)". The Our Gang shorts subjects "Time Out For Lessons" and "Melodies Old And New" featured numerous panty shots such as this one.◊ Hammer Productions' "These are the Damned" features a squad of soldiers carrying a group of radiactive school kids (!) back to their underground prison; one of the girls has her skirt scrunched high up over her waist◊ for around eight seconds. Pia Zadora has one in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians when she is told to get on her sleep platform. Veruca Salt during her song in the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Hollywood Canteen had Joan Mc Cracken performing a "Ballet in Jive" with childlike cuteness and exuberance and ruffled bloomers showing underneath her short skirt. As remarked on in the film, she had recently been in the original cast of Oklahoma!, in which she made an Ensemble Darkhorse out of the part of "The Girl Who Falls Down". In Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., Susan, who was played by Roberta Tovey and portrayed much younger than her TV counterpart on the Doctor Who episodes the films were adapted from, wore a very short dress◊. In Dr. Who and the Daleks, after being scared by a Thal she gets caught by Ian, thinking it's something else, she struggles, allowing her dress to ride up, revealing her white underpants (at around 11:15). Her panties are seen in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. after escaping the Dalek saucer with Wyler. She's shielded by Wyler as their van explodes, but as they get up, we get another peek under her skirt (around 00:10). There were many more minor panty-shots from our young Susan in both movies due to the shortness of her dresses, but all are very hard to spot unless you're really looking. In My Girl, Vada (Anna Chlumsky) is sitting on her bed having her hair brushed by her stepmother (Jamie Lee Curtis). As she gets up onto her knees to crawl to the head of the bed, her T-shirt top has ridden up to reveal a pantied behind, a view she develops as she turns to sit and tuck herself in. In The Poker House, Cammie (Chloe Moretz) is filmed from above lying on her side asleep wearing vest and panties. Another girl wakes her up and she turns onto her back and stretches. The 1982 Annie movie has the title child with several innocent panties shots, notably in the finale where she dances with Daddy Warbucks. Literature Eloise in the Eloise books has had◊ many◊ of these. Triplets Flicka, Ricka and Dicka in their books had some from time to time, notably in the book "Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the New Dotted Dresses"◊ Live-Action TV In the debut episode of 1969's My World and Welcome to It (based on the works of James Thurber), Lisa Gerritsen's character Lydia Monroe is being readied for bed by her mother and is seen in her panties for roughly half a minute. Rare modern example: although LazyTown character Stephanie's underpants are revealed◊ almost constantly in the early episodes, it doesn't appear to be fanservice, just the result of an active little girl wearing a skirt that is short enough to dance in. Cindy Brady's panties are exposed at least twice in first season episodes of The Brady Bunch. A small triangle of Jan Brady's panties can be seen for a few frames in the episode "Her Sister's Shadow" (she's wearing a very short dress and sitting with her hands in her lap; she brings her hands up gesturing◊ as she kvetches to her mother about Marcia). In the PBS series Kidsongs, one of the girls in a song sequence twirls her sun dress up quickly. Michelle Tanner in the Full House episode "Silence Is Not Golden". As she scoots off her bed and leaves the room to brush her teeth before bed, she spreads her legs widely and her pink panties are shown under her dark purple/light purple plaid dress. If we're going to count boys, characters in Malcolm in the Middle regularly appear in brief-style underpants, especially in the early series. In the pilot, Malcolm's opening monologue is delivered straight to camera, while behind him, his brother Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) is sprawled on the bed, in briefs, his rear pointed straight towards the camera. Later, Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) watches TV and wrestles with his brother wearing only a t-shirt and tighty-whities, which are flashed several times. This may have been to emphasize his youth in contrast with his older brother Reese (Justin Berfield) in boxers, since Muniz was actually older than Berfield. Web Comics Sandra and Woo gives us this comic. Pretty much every girl character in Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi has flashed◊ their◊ white◊ underwear because of their short dresses. In this case the "innocent" on the part of the artist is questionable, though he maintains it's because of "realistic skirt physics." Averted in an installment in which Dexter uses his Robo-Dexter to hold Buttercup upside down by one foot and her skirt doesn't flip over. Web Original The main character of Erika's New Perfume lives a life between preadolescence and infancy and needs diapers. When Erika was first diapered, she later discovered that the much thicker undergarments peeked out of her skirt. She later got longer skirts to alleviate this problem, but they still get exposed from time to time. Also, Erika does not mind going skirt-less with her diaper in full view when she is at home with no one but her family. After all, someone has to change her. Western Animation Over in the West there's Minnie Mouse, whose tiny skirt barely concealed her dainty bloomers◊. Sometimes she was dangled from something by her underwear◊ or the villian would pull her skirt◊ over her head◊ and carry her off. Her dresses have become more modest over time, although it still appears◊ in merchandising based on the classic 1930s design. Although Minnie was probably the Ur Example for this category, Little Lulu was undoubtedly the Trope Maker, starring in 26 theatrical shorts between 1943 and 1948. All subsequent animated adaptions (1963, 1976 and 1995) have also employed Innocent Panties◊ as a defining element of Lulu's character design. Little Audrey replaced Lulu in the late 40s, using the same trope◊ and has showed her◊ panties◊ a lot◊ in her theatrical cartoons in the 40s and 50s (1947-1958), subsequently influencing the house style for both Famous Studios and Harveytoons. As noted elsewhere, the comics were panty city◊ compared to the cartoons.* Several of Famous Studios' female characters closely mimicked the "Audrey" design, right down to the micro-mini skirt and the white cotton underwear. Examples include Billie from The Enchanted Square (1947) and Isabel from Land of the Lost Jewels (1950). Even Soviet animation showed this, as seen in 1948's Magic Flower. Batman villain Baby Doll provides a twisted example — her frilly panties are very visible◊ and she's clearly meant to have this kind of aesthetic (she played the main character in a saccharine 50's-style sitcom), but she's an adult with a child's body, and not really innocent at all. Little Ogee on Magilla Gorilla, in every episode she appears. The Amazing Chan And The Chan Clan In the episode "The White Elephant" (Hanna-Barbera, 1972), Suzie Chan's skirt billows up as she, Tom, Alan and Anne fall feet first through a trap door.◊ Her panties — same color as her dress except for some lace trim and floral pattern — can be seen for a couple of frames. Anne gets a variant in the comic adaptation of episode 3, when her T-shirt flies up to reveal her black bikini bottoms. Similarly, Nancy, Mimi and Suzie wear single-piece suits with attached skirts that fly up now and then. An episode of the 1972 cartoon The Roman Holidays has Precocia Holiday in her panties for a scant couple of seconds as her mother puts a formal toga on her. Similar to the newspaper comics, Margaret Wade in Dennis the Menace regularly showed her white lace panties under her too-short black skirt. The animated Punky Brewster series: In the episode "Any Wish Way You Can", we see Margaux Kramer's panties◊ after she slips on a throw rug. In "Louvre Affair", Margaux jumps out of a plane's cockpit; her skirt billows up as she descends, just barely showing anything. Rainbow Brite had a panty shot in "The Mighty Monstromurk Menace Part 2" when she nearly fell off a rainbow while escaping from the evil Pits. The Simpsons The animators gave one to Lisa in the episode "Girls Just Wanna Have Sums" where she dresses like a guy to get into the better classes. It may have just been that they inadvertently forgot to color it in, but you can see a flash of white under Lisa's skirt as she's climbing over the dividing wall between the "Boy" and "Girl" halves of the school. There's a few others too, including one in the Human Resources Treehouse of Horror story and one in the episode "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" where Lisa puts on some shoes which dance for her when someone claps. There's also "Lisa the Beauty Queen," where Lisa hangs upside down, fully exposing◊ her underwear◊ for a second or so. Another one occurs during a Treehouse of Horror skit about Principal Skinner killing and eating the students. It happens due to a "camera angle"◊ just as she and Bart fall into a giant blender. A girl bullying Lisa on the playground gets one of these shots in episode "Home Sweet Home-Diddily-Dum-Doodily". Lisa had yet another one in "Tennis The Menace", viewed under her green tennis outfit from the back when Homer rubs her hair. Every female character wearing a skirt in Fanboy and Chum Chum has had at least one innocent Panty Shot. This being an All CGI Cartoon in some instances the animators just can't avoid this◊ - however, it's never made the focus of the camera, so it doesn't create a lot of moral panic. Elmyra from Tiny Toon Adventures. Also Rhoda Queen in "Can't Buy Me Love". Spongebob Squarepants Whenever Sandy is in her treedome outfit, her panties are visible all the time◊. In the episode "Someone's in the Kitchen With Sandy," Plankton steals Sandy's pelt and Sandy is in her underwear the whole episode. Nazz from Ed, Edd n' Eddy has been seen during night-time episodes to wear only panties and a sleeveless shirt at night. Rugrats Angelica has shown her panties from time to time◊. Lil's and Kimi's diapers can be seen consistently. Tommy also wears nothing but his diaper and a shirt about 90% of the time. Eliza has had a few on The Wild Thornberrys, especially when she's wearing her yellow dress and swinging on a vine◊. In the 101 Dalmations: The Series episode "Poison Ivy", the episode's eponymous character's pink panties can be seen from the front briefly as she skips along while pushing her dolly's buggy. In the Classic Disney Short Mickey's Polo Team, Shirley Temple's white, lacy panties are in view due to her being in a crouching position and her back's to the viewers as she, Piper Pig and Fiddler Pig take cover in the bleachers. The Powerpuff Girls actually does this twice: One with Bubbles◊ in the episode "Mommy Fearest" and another with Buttercup in The Movie. Which means that Blossom is the only Powerpuff Girl not to have her underwear exposed. Dorothy Ann on The Magic School Bus, in the episodes "Goes To Seed" (the kids leaping into a hole) and "Cracks A Yolk" (everyone swept up in a cyclonic wind). Piggy and Skeeter (whenever the latter wore skirts or dresses in most cases) on Muppet Babies. In A Family Circus Christmas, Dolly showed her panties a couple of times. In the episode of Tom And Jerry, The Zoot Cat, Toots, the female cat Tom tries to woo, has a few panty shots. Karen, the little girl in Rankin-Bass' Frosty the Snowman animated special, has a brief panty shot (colored the same as her coat). It's where she and Frosty lean in to peek inside the window of the plant nursery. Gretel in the Looney Tunes cartoon Bewitched Bunny has her frilly bloomers◊ displayed, especially when she jumps up and down and her dress flies up. In Codename Kids Next Door, considering the art style, the few panty shots from Nigel's girlfriend Lizzie falls into this. A lot of old Walt Disney shorts had some innocent panties or innocent bloomers, usually to represent a character's youth or naivety. A few examples include Tillie Tiger from Elmer Elephant, various dolls from The Night Before Christmas, and some of the little girls from The Pied Piper.