Best "lose the grip" tickling scenes and armpit tickle scenarios

The “lose the grip” or “make them fall” scenario is a recognizable mainstream tickling trope in which one or more people tickle another person, usually but not exclusively under the arms, in order to make them release their hold on an object or surface. The intended result may be to make the person drop something, fall from a position in which they are holding on, move away from a particular location, or simply become physically unable to maintain the resistance they were offering.

Maintaining a grip is not simply a matter of possessing enough strength. It also requires the coordinated activation of the muscles of the hands, forearms, arms, shoulders, and torso. Sudden changes in posture, involuntary movements, laughter, altered breathing, or an attempt to withdraw the arms can interfere with that coordination.

The trope is especially common in cartoons, animated films, comedy and other forms of exaggerated physical comedy. Its underlying idea is simple: a person is maintaining a position through concentration and muscular effort, while tickling introduces a stimulus that is difficult to ignore and that produces involuntary movements. The resulting contrast between the character’s determination to hold on and their inability to remain still is what makes the situation visually and comedically effective.

One of the most familiar versions involves a character clinging to a ledge, rope, branch, ladder, railing, or another handhold while another character reaches the person’s exposed underarms and begins tickling them. The character initially attempts to maintain the grip, but starts laughing, twisting, kicking, and pulling their arms away from the stimulus. Eventually, in the exaggerated logic of the scene, the character’s hands open and the person falls.

A similar mechanism can be used without an actual fall. A character may be blocking a doorway or passage by holding onto a fixed surface or by bracing their body against an obstacle. Another character then tickles them until they twist, recoil, shift their weight, or release their position, allowing the other people to pass. In another variation, someone is holding onto a surface because another person is trying to pull or drag them away. Tickling is then used as a means of disrupting their resistance until they let go.

The trope works because tickling can produce a combination of reactions that interfere with deliberate motor control. Human tickling is not simply a sensation of touch. Depending on the type and intensity of stimulation, it can provoke involuntary or semi-involuntary movements, laughter, withdrawal responses, changes in breathing, muscle contractions, and a strong urge to escape or interrupt the stimulation.

Comics

In Excalibur, Nightcrawler manages to incapacitate Meggan by repeatedly tickling her, causing her to lose the concentration necessary to fly.

In New Mutants, Magik manages to tickle Black Knight under the arms, causing him to lose control of his vehicle.

Magik - New Mutants Annual #3 — New Mutants Annual #3

Cartoons and anime

In Alvin and the Chipmunks, Alvin tickles Brittany under the arm to allow him to get past her.

In Little Pollon, some evil giants who are hanging from the sky are tickled by Eros and Pollon on the soles of their feet and under their arms, causing them to lose their grip and fall.

In Lupin the 3rd, Inspector Zenigata is tickled under the arms several times to force him to let go and fall, interrupting his pursuit of Lupin.

In the seam way, Fujiko is tickled under her armpits to make her lose the grip.

In Lilo & Stitch, Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel is tickled under the arms by a girl to make him let go.

In Hinalogic, Episode 6, a girl is particularly sensitive to tickling under her arms, which forces her to release her grip.

In Sidekick, a girl uses her toes to tickle her teammates under the arms, causing them to fall into a pit. At first, they try to resist, but they eventually start laughing and lose their grip.

In Dragon Ball, Goku repeatedly resorts to the “Chico Torture” to force his opponents to lose their grip. In particular, he tickles Karin to make him drop the Sacred Water container, and tickles Husky to make her drop the Dragon Balls she is holding in her arms.

In Dragon Ball GT, Goku is tickled by an opponent in an attempt to make him fall from the edge of the ring.

In Fairy Tail, Season 2, Episode 36, Virgo tickles Lucy Heartfilia’s navel, ears, and underarms, forcing her to lower her arms and causing her to be crushed between the walls. As she continues laughing, Lucy is unable to maintain her grip.

In Detective Holmes, Lestrade is tickled under the arms while clinging to a submarine underwater. The vehicle’s mechanical arms cause him to laugh, making him lose his breath and forcing him to resurface.

Garfield is ticklish.

In Ed, Edd n Eddy ed is tickled under his armpits to force him to fall.

In “My Little Pony” season 1 episode 12, an animated plant tickles a woman under the armpits to make her lose her grip.

In “Miraculous Ladybug”, Marinette is a ticklish superhero.

From “Fahrat” season 1 episode 17. Fahrat is tickled by his shadow under his armpits to make him fall.

Movies

In Eyecatch Junction, a girl tickles her opponent’s sides during a martial arts match to force her to let g.

In The Jungle Movie, Baloo tickles King Louie under the arms in an attempt to make him drop his palace. King Louie laughs vigorously, but the tickling is interrupted when the ruler’s minions push Baloo away.

In Sirens, Estella (Tara Fitzgerald) is tied up by her “friends” so that she can be subjected to the attentions of the seductive gardener. As she struggles, one of the women tickles her stomach, asking whether she is ticklish, causing her to squirm and stop trying to free herself.

In Girls on Movie, a girl tickles her friend while she is doing push-ups, causing her to lose her grip.

In “Drunken Master”, tickling can really distract a martial artist.

TV Series

In Floris, a woman is forced to hold a cable in her mouth to prevent a valuable object from being destroyed. Her captors sadistically begin tickling her under the arms and along her sides, causing her to laugh and lose her grip. While being tickled, one of her accomplices eventually suggests that she open her mouth and let go.

In Mr. Winner, a man and a woman compete in an arm-wrestling match while another man and woman tickle them under the arms.

In Hope & Faith, Hope tickles Faith under the arms while Faith is clinging to a door, allowing her ex-husband to carry her away.

In Wings, a woman is tickled under the arms to make her stop clinging to a door.

In House of Payne, tickling the sides allows the passage to be cleared.

In Hannah Montana, tickling is used to make someone open their mouth.

TV show

In UK Gladiators, some female contestants in the Hang Tough competition resort to tickling their opponents under the arms to force them to release their grip.

In Below Deck Mediterranean, Malia White is tickled under the arms by a colleague while performing a handstand, causing her to fall to the ground.

In Il Gioco dell’Oca, the contestant (Alessia Marcuzzi) has to cross a runway by pulling herself along with her hands, while a series of people positioned underneath touch her body, tickling her. Marcuzzi states that she is ticklish, and struggles throughout the challenge as the hands continue to interfere with her progress.