Guide to Comic Relief - 9 Examples of Comic Relief Characters

Have you ever been in the middle of a terrible situation when someone cracks a joke that completely defuses the situation? Storytellers have used comic elements in their stories for generations, from Macbeth to Shrek, to lighten the mood and delight audiences.

What Is Comic Relief, and Why Is It Important?

In film and television, comic relief is a story device in which a light-hearted remark or action interrupts a dramatic scene to lighten the mood. The goal of comic relief is to provide the viewer with a break from the intensity of the drama by lightening the mood with humorous aspects.

Even the funniest films contain meaningful moments that benefit from humorous relief.

What Does a Comic Relief Character Look Like?

While comic relief can take numerous forms—from a single line of dialogue to an entire scene—usual it's for films to feature a comic relief character that can continuously provide tension relief through amusing dialogue, reactions, or backstory. Such as the roles of Pippin from The Lord of the Rings (2001), Darcy from Marvel's Thor (2011), and Dina from Girls Trip (2017).

The comic relief character is either a bumbling idiot or a wisecracking friend who follows either the hero or the villain around to distract the audience from the film's serious overall plot.

Comic Relief Characters: 7 Illustrations

Since Shakespeare's day, the employment of comic relief has been commonplace. Here are a few instances of scenes or characters that provide comic relief:

1. Hamlet's moment with the gravedigger Hamlet, a drama by William Shakespeare is not a comedy. After Hamlet's romantic interest, Ophelia is discovered dead in Act V, it appears that the hero has little hope of regaining his composure and achieving his objectives. During this sorrowful moment, Shakespeare uses a long scene with two gravediggers who laugh and fight verbally while digging Ophelia's grave. There's a lot of great humour in the sequence. The gravediggers, who are described in the stage notes as clowns or jesters, provide temporary humorous respite (however gloomy) near the close of a story that has so many tragic components. In fact, they've been played by some notably funny actors like Stanley Holloway and John Lupinski.

2. In Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm plays Ian Malcolm. Jeff Goldblum's character Ian Malcolm, who appeared in Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), is an excellent example of a comic relief character in a serious picture. Ian is constantly there to throw humorous one-liners and quips and make fun of the film's premise, even in the midst of dramatic events such as terrifying dinosaurs and character deaths.

3. Emperor's New Groove's Kronk. Kronk (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is a humorous relief character in Emperor's New Groove (2000) who provides a respite from the intensity of the villain, Yzma. Kronk is there to lighten the mood and poke fun at Yzma's seriousness whenever she threatens the main characters or reveals a new nefarious plot.

4. Aladdin's Iago Disney movies are known for introducing comic relief characters in their plots to keep young audiences entertained or unfazed by the villain. Iago's is a wisecracking sidekick parrot who sits on the shoulders of Jafar, the villain, and cracks a joke about Jafar and the protagonists of the film to lighten up the serious sequences.

5. Frozen's Olaf Olaf, a snowman in Frozen (2013), is well-known for his ability to bring laughter to even the most severe situations. Olaf portrays a stupid character who is oblivious to the gravity of the situation and is prone to fumbling remarks and slapstick comedy.

6. The Lion King's Timon and Pumba Despite being an animated film for children, The Lion King (1994) tackles serious real-life issues such as death and political turmoil. The creators used the characters Timon and Pumba to lighten the mood in response to the severe subject matter.

7. Dory from Finding Nemo is a character who appears in the film Finding Nemo. Marlin, the clownfish from Pixar's Finding Nemo (2003), is terrified of losing his son. Dory, a kind and charming figure, was cast as his sidekick to alleviate the stress.

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