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in: Indexitis, Vacation Tropes

Motion Sickness

Revision as of 17:05, 10 August 2020 by CykesWoods (Message Wall | contribs) (→‎Literature)
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Sometimes being on the road, air, or sea can make a person a little queasy. Some people might have a bout in certain circumstances (eating too much, a hangover, trying to read while the vehicle is moving, someone's a really bad pilot or driver). Other people, however, are more prone to it on a regular basis. Their stomachs are more delicate, or they can't handle bumpy roads or choppy seas.

Note that motion sickness doesn't always have to involve a stomach ache or vomiting, however. This is the most common symptom, but a bad headache or dizziness can also qualify.

This trope is usually played for comedy, at the expense of the poor soul doing all the vomiting. Sometimes it can be done for drama, if the sickness turns out to be especially serious, or for a fluffy hurt/comfort scenario. Expect countless mention of barf bags and anti-seasickness medications, or remedies such as looking ahead at the horizon or the sick character putting their head between their knees.

Examples of this trope:


Fan Works

  • One of SailorWednesdayMercury's Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan fics had Anne get carsick at the very idea of Stanley cooking dinner. It turned out she was actually getting sick, though, and had the chicken pox.

Film

  • The boys in The Sandlot all end up throwing up on a tilt-a-whirl, but a big part of it was due to them chewing tobacco beforehand.

Literature

  • Margo Pike from The Baby Sitters Club is famous for this trope. Her stomach starts acting up if she even thinks about taking a trip, and once she even vomits during a ride on a carousel bench.
    • Natalie Springer gets bus sick in at least one of the Little Sister spinoff books. Karen also vomits on the bus during her first ride and gets mocked by the older kids for it for most of the book.
  • Kirsten Larson's mother in the American Girl series gets sick during the family's voyage from Sweden to America, and the rough waves and storms they encounter don't help matters. She gets better, though.
    • Kirsten's friend Marta also ends up getting sick to her stomach later in the first book. She doesn't get better.

Live-Action TV

  • On an episode of Diff'rent Strokes, the Drummond family save for Arnold gets airsick due to a bumpy flight.
  • During the Full House two-parter where the family goes to Disney World, Michelle says she has to get the window seat on the plane or she'll gag.
    • Danny wears an anti-seasickness tag behind his ear for a romantic date in a final-season Valentine's Day episode.
    • Another episode has Kimmy bring up the time she got sick on a hot air balloon ride after eating too much roast pig at a luau.
  • Greg Warner on Yes, Dear tries to prove he's a fun dad by taking his son Sammy on a fast amusement park ride. He ends up vomiting and having to stay indoors, where he still manages to show Sammy and other kids a fun time by helping them build a big Lego statue.
  • Alice on The Brady Bunch does not do well on the water. According to her, even when she takes a bath she has to keep from moving around too much, and in a later episode she gets seasick when the family takes a trip on Mike's boss's boat.
    • Carol gets seasick in an episode where she takes the boys fishing in place of Mike, who was called away to work on a project.

Video Games

  • Guy from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade groans about feeling sick during the intro of the pirate ship chapter in Eliwood's route. It doesn't affect his battle performance in-game, though.
  • The captain of the S.S. Anne in the Kanto Pokemon games gets seasick. The player gives him a back rub, and in return he gives them the Cut HM. (Or the Secret Technique equivalent in the Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee remakes.)

Western Animation

  • Poor Hunk on Voltron: Legendary Defender is extremely prone to airsickness and vomits several times because of it. Thankfully, he seems to get over it after enough time getting used to flying the Yellow Lion.
  • Chuckie on Rugrats has such a delicate stomach he gets seasick when the babies pretend to be pirates on the sea, saying many times he thinks he's going to be sick. (Though oddly enough, he doesn't seem to have a problem when he goes out to sea with Tommy, Angelica, and their family in season 4.)
    • Subverted with Didi in the season 5 episode "Family Trees." She and Stu go on a romantic cruise, but she spends the whole time throwing up. It turns out she's not seasick, but pregnant with her second child Dil.
  • Mort Goldman from Family Guy during "Road to Germany" while he, Brian, and Stewie are on a war plane.
  • Wendell, one of Bart's classmates on The Simpsons is infamous for this in the early seasons.
  • Toph in Avatar: The Last Airbender hates flying, but actually gets sick and vomits while the gang is in a submarine underwater. The Duke gives her his helmet to puke into.
  • Hampton on Tiny Toon Adventures gets carsick if he reads in the car. Plucky found this out the hard way during the "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" movie.
  • Lila on Hey Arnold is prone to throwing up if she goes on fast rides. Helga once uses this to try to ruin her date with Arnold.
    • Eugene also gets seasick when Arnold takes him on a ferry ride in an early episode.
  • Rocko from Rocko's Modern Life once throws up after going on a too-fast carousel at a carnival and getting a whiff of Heffer's chili dog once he gets off.
    • Filbert is also extremely prone to motion sickness, chanting "I'm nauseous" at the drop of a hat if he so much as goes on a swing.
  • Daria actually gets bus sick during a field trip to the mall in an early episode. She also feels nauseous during a road trip in Mystik Spiral's van, though this time she doesn't throw up. The problem doesn't seem to last, though, as she's seen riding a ferris wheel with Jane and Stacy the next season with no problems. (Aside from wanting to murder Stacy for whining about her boy problems the whole time.)
  • Henry Chan ends up getting a bit carsick in an episode of The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan, when their transforming van turns into a car that does all manner of crazy tricks.
  • Doug gets seasick during an episode of the Disney series. The older kids he's riding the boat with think it's funny when he vomits.
  • Arthur and Buster ride a roller coaster in one episode and happily show off their full barf bags.

Real Life

  • Robert Reed infamously declined to do a roller coaster scene with his TV family on an episode of The Brady Bunch due to this trope. According to Barry Williams's book Growing Up Brady, his decision saved eight lives due to a near-fatal malfunction with the ride during the shoot.
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