8 More Moments That Literally Stopped Movies
Margot Robbie explaining the plot should be in EVERY confusing movie, right?
When we think of great movies, we often think about how they tell engaging stories with minimal fuss, bouncing from point A to point B to point C in a relatively pacy manner, without ever slowing things down unnecessarily.
Just think about how propulsive The Dark Knight's plot is, or how something shocking happens in Se7en basically every other scene - these movies get the maximum bang-per-buck by being lean and laser-focused, like a train barrelling towards its final destination without stopping at any stations along the way.
But as the saying goes, rules are made to be broken, and some films scream "to hell with convention!" and inject literal pauses into their narratives, moments where the movie grinds to a halt (often by breaking the fourth wall) to either make a joke, explain the plot, or even warn viewers about upcoming events.
Stoppages like this are utilised by filmmakers surprisingly often - in fact, this is our second list on this subject - and whether it's a family animation or an Oscar-winning drama, movies of all shapes and sizes experiment with them in fascinating ways.
8. Kuzco Hijacks The Film Reel (The Emperor's New Groove)
The Emperor's New Groove isn't exactly remembered as an all-time Disney classic, but considering that the early 2000s was a pretty mediocre period for the animation giant (Home On The Range, Brother Bear, Treasure Planet - need we say more?), it was definitely one of the studio's better efforts around this time.
It's actually pretty miraculous that the movie turned out as well as it did, after enduring an extremely troubled production that saw it go from a dramatic musical, to a full-on comedy. And by full-on, we really do mean full-on, as there are several hilarious moments where characters will completely obliterate the fourth wall.
Chief among these is a scene that occurs around the 20-minute mark, where protagonist Kuzco - who's a bit miffed that the story is focusing too much on Pacha, a side character - stops the film reel and literally draws on the screen with a red marker pen, reminding audiences that this movie is about him.
It's not as clever as some of the other examples on this list, but it does further reinforce the selfish nature of Kuzco's character in a rather fun way.