Top 25 Break the 4th Wall Moments

One of the things I love seeing when I watch a film and TV show, play a video game or read a comic book, is seeing characters or objects knowing about being in the thing they are in and wanting you to know that. This is an example of breaking the 4th wall which is an imaginary wall that sits between you and the comic book you're reading, the video game you're playing and/or the film or TV show you're watching. So because I enjoy these so much, I decided to do a top 25 list of the best of these moments. The list will only contain films, TV shows, video games and comic books that I have seen, played and read and the 4th wall breaks has to be good and in a way, creative. So before Deadpool destroys this post with his 4th wall shenanigans, let's begin this list and there may be spoilers ahead:

25 - Edward Norton and Brad Pitt tell you not to mess with Fight Club

Throughout the course of Fight Club, both Edward Norton and Brad Pitt direct themselves to you the viewer and tell you that this film is not to be messed with. In a way, they are saying that this film shouldn't be mocked. They even at one point point out what those little dots you see in some films are. I guess this is how the film got itself a cult following, but I could be wrong. Either way, its a good badass moment that tells you that they want you to like this film and they want you to not mock it and that is one way where characters in a film know that you are watching them,

24 - The Inner Thoughts of Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

We all know that Christian Bale is an actor who takes acting seriously and he is known to be quite big with people mocking his talent. People imitating his Batman voice, people making a meme out of his outrage in the filming of Terminator: Salvation. But in light of that, he too has broken the 4th wall. In many films, we often see the main protagonist or in some cases antagonist share their inner thoughts to the viewer and that's basically what we get here. We see just how bonkers and psychotic Bale's character can be and in a way, it can be quite scary, but that's what makes his character great. Just knowing what he is thinking just makes it more creepy and scary.

23 - You didn't save!!! (Animal Crossing series)

So when it comes to video games, the 4th wall breaking can be more creative as many video games require interaction from the player. In the case of Animal Crossing, if you forget to save your game before you quit, the next time you play, you'll get greeted by a mole called Mr Resetti who tells you how bad it is that you did that. Its funny, but it also teaches gamers that you have to save. Now in most games these days, you can auto-save which means that the game will save your progress for you. But keep in mind that there are some games out there which still require you to save manually and if you don't, you're screwed.

22 - A message to the player (Tearaway)

The entirety of Tearaway is all about getting the main character to you the player as the character has a message. Pretty much everything you do in the game, is a break in the 4th wall which is why many people call it the best or among the best of the games that the PlayStation Vita has had in its lifespan. It may not be something that Sony want to focus their efforts on at this time, but given that this was made by the same people who made LittleBigPlanet, it feels like this game takes the whole 4th wall joke seriously as every single thing you do, breaks the wall in a big way and that's what makes a game like this great.

21 - Malcolm's feelings (Malcolm in the Middle)

Throughout the course of the show, Malcolm would often share with us his thoughts on all the situations that he encounters in life and each and every one is creative and different to the extent that he knows we are watching him. Its been a while since I watched the show last, so I do apologise if some of that information is wrong. But anyway, he would always talk to us and would be the only one in the show that is aware of us watching him and his life unfold and its creative to a certain extent so its fine.

20 - Bart finds the game's manual (The Simpsons Game)

Its very obvious to say that when a game based on a hit TV sitcom that for the most part makes fun of pop culture, the video game itself would mock other video games and with that, we have 4th wall breaks in there too. It begins with Bart finding the manual for the game and then goes from there. From exploring the world of cheat codes, too going into unmade Simpsons games which they themselves are spoofs of other games. But to be honest, there isn't really anything more to expect here. Its what you see is what you get. The game itself may not be a great game, but its got its charm so its decent.

19 - Haven't you seen enough? (Tomb Raider 2)

As someone who finds Lara Croft very attractive (well in her more recent form anyway), I will say I was among the many people who wanted to see her naked because some of us gamers are dirty like that. The ending of Tomb Raider 2 has Lara Croft prepare herself for a shower, but before she goes in, she spots the player and says the above. This is in reference to the fact that the first game had some form of code which many wanted to find and activate, and what it would've done is let us play as a naked Lara Croft. But that can easily be done these days thanks to modding, but at the time, this just proved that Lara Croft can look after herself no matter what.

18 - Kuzco directs and narrates the film (The Emperor's New Groove)

So some Disney films would often break the 4th wall either intentionally or unintentionally. But it was intentional in The Emperor's New Groove where our main protagonist Kuzco spends most of it (at least up to the raining scene at the beginning) narrating the film and stopping the film at points to make it clear to the viewers that this story is about him and no one else. It was quite tough between him and Genie from Aladdin as they both have done some 4th wall breaks, but in the end, Kuzco did a lot more of it than the Genie so it was a no brainier. But you know its characters like these that can even make the film makers uncomfortable when making films, which is what makes this great.

17 - The Joker's Bombs in Vegas (Justice League: Wild Cards)

So when Justice League was entering its third season under the name Justice League Unlimited, one of the things that the animators and story tellers had to do was to cut down the Batman villains because DC's next project after that would then be The Batman and this was done to avoid confusion with both shows, but still allowing Batman to play a huge part in the show. So the team decided that for the last 2 part episode before the Christmas special and the series 2 finale, The Joker and Harley Quinn would be the main villains and rather than be in Gotham, they end up in Las Vegas and set up some bombs which Batman and team have to disarm. The thing that makes this a break in the 4th wall is that Joker addresses you as his audience and makes it sound like a game show with the timer on the screen having the time of what looked like the episode's run time (kind of like 24 in a way). The Joker is no stranger to breaking the 4th wall as he has done it many times before, but this one just felt like the best one and its just a great way to say goodbye to the clown prince of crime in the DC animated universe.

16 - One + One = Ed (Ed, Edd 'N' Eddy)

Just like the Joker, the Eds are also no strangers to breaking the 4th wall as they pretty much do it all the time. However, its not until this very episode in which they not only break it, but they shatter it and even question their existence. It has long been theorised that the characters of Ed, Edd 'N' Eddy live in a purgatory where all the characters come from a different point in time as does the technology that they use. Things like the outline of characters, eating the sun and even doing the famous Portal thing makes this episode the most bizarre but also very creative of 4th wall breaking. Now there are two episodes that do this a lot and this was one of them. I chose this one because its the one I remember the most and that I haven't seen the more recent one, but hey, can you blame me? Didn't have digital at the time so yeah.

15 - David Tennant warns the viewer not to blink (Doctor Who, Blink)

Another person who is known to break the 4th wall on some occasions. Throughout the long history of the show and the franchise as a whole, there have been times where The Doctor and friends would break the 4th wall. But if I had to choose which one of these to go with, I chose this one. Why? Because unlike the Children in Need Doctor Who bits where you immediately know from the get go that it will break the 4th wall, this one does it out of the blue. In the final part of the episode Blink, the warning that the Doctor gives to the heroes in this episode, is then said again as we see a montage of statues. This is a time where he would address the viewer and it would make us feel uncomfortable especially in front of statues and that is one of the many reasons why the Weeping Angels (who made their debut in this very episode) are so great and heavily regarded as the best creation that Steven Moffat has made in his tenure doing Doctor Who.

14 - A close up you jerk!!! (Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck)

This is hilarious. In the entire cartoon here, Daffy Duck has a go at the artist who seems to be quite lazy at his or her job here and doesn't really do much in the way of setting up the background of the cartoon. This in turn, makes Daffy Duck really annoyed so he does whatever he can to get the attention of the artist and do his job right. Daffy breaks the 4th wall big time here and its just a funny and very creative cartoon all around. The Looney Tunes do occasionally break the 4th wall, but this is just the icing on the cake. It is just funny as hell.

13 - The Gremlins cause mayhem in the projector room (Gremlins 2: The New Batch)

There are a lot of 4th wall breaks in Gremlins 2, but the one I like the most, is this very one. Where the Gremlins stop the film and cause havoc in the projector room. This then causes a mother and child to leave and even the projectionist (because at the time of this film, such a job role existed unlike now) threatens to quite if something isn't done. So what happens next? Well we then get WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan in a cameo which just shows everyone why you don't mess with those at WWE. Because despite their kindness and hearts of gold, they are still as tough as they are in WWE. After that the film resumes. Now in a deleted scene, this bit of the film was extended with us seeing Gremlins enter other films. The film may not be as good as the first, but it does have its charm and is very funny with plenty of 4th wall breaks like this.

12 - Murfy finds the game's manual (Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc)

So Ubisoft very rarely do 4th wall jokes in their games, so this really wasn't too hard for me to pick one. The best one for me, can be found at the beginning of Rayman 3 where as an attempt to give fan service, Murfy appears and guides Rayman to where he needs to go, using the manual of the game to help and tells people about the cinematics, his audition for Spider-Man 2, how the main villain isn't sticking to the script and to top it all off, telling everyone that he will see you all in Rayman 4 which ended up being Rayman: Raving Rabbids and he wasn't seen at all in that. We would then see him again, years later in Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends. He isn't in it for very long so it kind of makes this sound like what Dante did to long time fans of Devil May Cry in the most recent game. But anyway, its a great 4th wall break and one that is very good and quite creative too.

11 - Mario is Confused (Super Paper Mario)

The best thing about the Paper Mario games is not only how different they are to other Mario games, but the 4th wall breaks they do and Super Paper Mario is packed full of them. Dating simulators, Pokemon/Earthbound like battles and we even find out where all the game over characters go to. But the one that I like, is when a character tells you of the controls and Mario is confused. That is what 4th wall breaking should be like. Having a character telling you the controls with the character you're playing as all confused. That is genius right there.

10 - VHS Technology (Spaceballs)

So kids, before we had DVDs, Blu-Rays and digital media, we had VHS or videos if you prefer. These were really large tapes that can be played on a VHS/Video player and they were the only thing that we had to watch things (though we did have TV, but yeah). But VHS/video is by today's standard, obsolete. Spaceballs is one of the best spoof films I have seen and unlike spoof films we get today, its very clever in its jokes. Most spoof films are known to break the 4th wall a lot, but this one is simply the best one for me. In an attempt to find the location of the heroes, the villains get their hands on a copy of the film we are watching to find them. They fast forward, rewind and even check to see if we the viewers got all that. Its a great 4th wall break and one that most people will remember the best from this great spoof film.

9 - A Big Glitch (Conker's Bad Fur Day)

The British game developer called Rare (known for Banjo-Kazooie as well as a few James Bond and Donkey Kong games) are known to have in their games, many 4th wall breaks which is no exception for the cult classic Conker's Bad Fur Day. The game itself is filled with pop culture references to films that were around at the time, but the ending is where the 4th wall break is. So you're battling an Alien and just as it reaches its climax, the game locks up, thus forcing Conker to get the developers to do his bidding which leads to the scene that was played out at the beginning of the game. I'd say this whole game would look better on the Xbox remake, but its still a great 4th wall joke and you can get to see this for yourself in Rare Replay.

8 - Where are you going?! (The Stanley Parable)

Just to say that the game having you press a button that only says 8, is not the reason why this 4th wall break is at number 8. Anyway, so in the game, you have this narrator who guides the character Stanley to where you need to go, but disobeying him will have the narrator annoyed and he would take his anger out on the 4th wall, leading to unfinished parts and the game loading up Minecraft and Portal. That is some serious 4th wall breaking right there if I do say so myself.

7 - Psycho Mantis reads your game files (Metal Gear Solid)

The game series Metal Gear Solid has a knack for breaking the 4th wall and the one thing most people remember of this sort of thing, is in the very first game where we come across Psycho Mantis. Another boss fight it may be, but when you meet him, he will begin to look at your memory card and will start reading it, going through every game you have and judge your saving habits. He will then tell you to put the controller down, and the only way to beat him, is to switch the controller port from 1 to 2. Now if there isn't any boss fight more creative than that, I don't know. Its very creative and just makes you realise that some games may be more dangerous than you may think.

6 - The Saints and the simulation (Saints Row IV)

Can it be cheating if I put a whole game on this list? Well anyway, in Saints Row IV, you have this simulation which the saints can enter at any point. At points in the simulation, you can come across ways to make it glitch and unlike most games where its unintentional, this is intentional and it is required in order to bring down the simulation and the wrath of the Zin empire. There are even points where the game will even load up the original Saints Row and that is just crazy. If you thought the Matrix was over the top, this tops it big time.

5 - Friendly Advice (Ferris Bueler's Day Off)

So now we're back to those characters who share their thoughts with the viewer and I'd say the one that tops it all, is Ferris Bueler. I mean the amount of times he talks to us the viewer, its pretty insane, but also great. Its like he knows we're watching his day unfold and what shenanigans he gets up to during the day. Most of the stuff he says to us, feels like friendly advice and while I may or may not take his advice on board, it is one of the more interesting, but clever 4th wall breaks out there.

4 - A Gamer's Worst Nightmare (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Because Rocksteady had the hard task of making a superhero game that is at the quality of triple A titles, a lot of things had to be done. And the things that every gamer hates and is also afraid of, is the game crashing, rebooting itself from the start and missing a quick time event. However in the case of Arkham Asylum, this was planned to happen. What happens is the game crashes and the intro cinematic starts playing, only this time there are a few noticeable changes such as Batman and Joker switching places. So yeah its like Scarecrow really knows how to mess with gamer's heads and I think if anything, it is one of the best 4th wall breaks in any video game I have played to date. But just where is this middle stick, no one really knows.

3 - The Fight Goes Too Far (Blazing Saddles)

I don't know if the full scene is available online, but anyway. So at some point in the film, the fight gets a bit out of hand and enters into a set that's next door and things just get really more bizarre from there. It is a very funny film from the great Mel Brooks and this is just a great example of 4th wall breaking. It is just fantastic and makes it one of the best moments of 4th wall breaking. But to be fair, this can happen to a lot of films during filming at any point, but its still funny regardless.

2 - Deadpool and his game

I think Marvel have made a character who's one goal is to literally shatter the 4th wall so having him high on this list was a no brainier. His entire video game is 4th wall breaking which is fine when it starts, but over time, does start to get really tiresome. He is a great character generally and there is a huge fanbase for him and since the game came out, we're now getting a film. It won't be long till he breaks the wall and enters our world for real so look out. Now you may be wondering why he isn't number 1. Well I think you'll find that there is a group of characters who do it better in my opinion. Not dissing you Deadpool, you're great and all, but I think there is some guys who do it better.

Honourable mentions go to Sunset Overdrive, the Banjo Kazooie games, the remainder of the Paper Mario games, some episodes of South Park, The Simpsons and Family Guy and the guys at Channel Awesome from when they began to now.

1 - The Muppets shatter the wall

Deadpool, you're great at what you do, but I'm afraid the Muppets do it a whole lot better. In all the Muppet films I've seen, pretty much all the Muppets know that they are in a film and would often make that remark as the film progresses. Whereas on the TV shows they do inside jokes which are different, but can be considered a break in the 4th wall. But anyway, the Muppets may not break the wall as much as Deadpool does, but when they do, its always in a big way and its often very creative too. I was bought up with the Muppets and know them for their variety of 4th wall jokes and that's why they are the top of the list. Can't say any more than that.

So that's my list and I'm sure you guys have a lot more moments like these to share so leave them in the comments below, before Deadpool gets there first.