Gross Close-Up

An example of the gross close-up from the show that started it all, Ren and Stimpy.

The first gross close-up in media.

A Gross Close-Up is a trope pioneered by John K. in the 1990s for his animated series, Ren and Stimpy. Gross Close-Ups are when the animators take some time to zoom in on something disgusting and add more detail than what is used for the rest of the animation.

The Art of the Gross Close-Up

These close-ups consist of but are not limited to, an injured body part, grotesque faces, food, rotten food, and garbage.

Media That Uses/Used Gross Close-Ups

• The Ren & Stimpy Show (The show that started it all)
• Cricket on the Hearth (The true first gross close-up to appear in media, however, John K. popularized it in the 1990s)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (This is one of the most famous examples, it was amped up during seasons 5-9a, The worst example is from "Wormy", which featured an ACTUAL horsefly, which is scary for younger viewers and "WhoBob WhatPants", which shows a scary SpongeBob face)
  • The Patrick Star Show (a few episodes have these)
• The Fairly OddParents (A few episodes have these, especially in season 10)
• Drawn Together
• Cow and Chicken
• Courage the Cowardly Dog
• The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
• Dexter's Laboratory (A couple of episodes had these such as "Babysitter Blues" and "Sore Eyes")
• Family Guy (The newer seasons had these, an infamous example was the episode, "Girl, Internetted" where there is a close-up of Meg Griffn's gangrenous feet)
• Craig of the Creek (A couple of episodes had these)
• The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Some episodes contain close-ups of the diseased feet of various characters)
• Sidekick (A couple of episodes had these)
• Clarence (Used in the episode, Straight Illin’)
• American Dad! (Used in a couple of episodes, the most prominent example is the ending of Flirting with Disaster when the viewers are treated to a close-up of Francine’s burned face, this caused a few viewers to turn off the episode before the end upon reruns)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (A rare live-action instance of this trope, the film contains a close-up shot of the Grinch’s termite-infested teeth during the song sequence, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”)
• Frankenweenie (at some point, a close-up of a heavily used litterbox is shown)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Corpse Bride (There’s a closeup shot of one of the characters in the film, who has bugs living in his eye socket)
• The Cuphead Show (one episode contains a close-up shot of an overflowing garbage bin)

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