- Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Parodied on one of the Show Within a Show programs that Meatwad watches. A puppet sings and flail about, occasionally directly addressing the in-universe audience in a demonic tone. None of the characters seem to notice this at all.
This is your left, and that's your left!
This is your left, that's your left!
This is your right, and that's your right!
This is your right-You're gonna die! - The Archie Show: Midway through each episode, Archie presents to the viewers "a groovy new dance to watch and learn", usually demonstrated by Jughead. Afterward:
Archie: We've learned a brand new dance. Now let's dance it to a brand new song!
- Blaze and the Monster Machines has Blaze and AJ asking the audience to do various things, such as placing objects and finding which choice will work.
- Blue's Clues used this technique so heavily as to call attention to itself. Usually, pre-recorded children's voices would answer the question. Host Steve, Joe or Josh (Kevin in the U.K.) would keep up a running dialogue with the viewer, who was supposed to help figure out the clues to the game of Blue's Clues. A typical line of dialogue...
Steve: This sounds like it'll be tough, so I'm really going to need your help today. Will you help? ... You will? Great!
- In fact, in the Blue's Clues universe, the viewer themselves are actually characters like all the others as their world doesn't have a fourth wall.
- Happens on Bo on the Go!, a Canadian CGI series that could best be described as Dora with the Serial Numbers Filed Off.
- Animated TV series Boo! also plays this trope straight, requiring the viewer to point out where Boo's hiding. As the show's Title Theme Tune explains "Can you find Boo? It's all you have to do!"
- Can You Teach My Alligator Manners? has Mikey ask the viewers to choose which thing Al should do in a scenario given.
- The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!: Fish does this in short segments called "Fish Facts." Played for Laughs, as the answer is always demonstrated in the background by the actual animal while Fish is asking the question. By the third season, however, the animals appear in bubbles surrounding the Cat to try to make things a bit more challenging.
Fish: You're right! Next time, I'll stump you for sure.
- Creative Galaxy, being by many of the creators of Blue's Clues, naturally uses this with show star Arty sometimes asking the viewers for help and regularly speaking with them.
- Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood has the titular character occasionally talk to the viewers and ask them to do certain tasks (like imagining with him).
- French animated TV series Didou (known as Louie in the UK and Australia) plays this trope straight.
- Doc McStuffins: In the first season, this happens during the next episode/end credit segments. It was then dropped like a hot potato afterwards. The show's creator actually created the show with a purposeful intention of not doing this in the first place.
- Dora the Explorer is without question the Trope Codifier for preschool edutainment, with the viewer answering questions, giving suggestions, shouting "Swiper, No Swiping!", and telling Dora their favourite part of that day's adventure (she also liked that part, by the way). The show actually does have an in-universe justification for this, with the idea that the characters actually exist within a children's computer game (hence the computer arrow). Later seasons even change some visual elements to give the impression that the viewer is now "playing" on a tablet rather than a desktop. Other than that, Dora shares similarities with Mr. Rogers.
- It does this in the PS2 games based on the franchise too, despite now being actual interactive media.
- It also happens in Dora and Friends: Into the City!, but less frequently. The most egregious example would be at the beginning of each episode, in which Dora and one of her friends encourage the viewer to clap their hands... for no reason whatsoever.
- Averted with the "Dora Appisodes" app, which actually uses the microphone and touchscreen to answer Dora's questions.
- Engie Benjy added this in beginning series 3, complete with kids' voices answering the characters.
- Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: In the episode "One False Movie", Eduardo watches a Dora parody called "Lauren is Explorin'" (named for series co-creator Lauren Faust; the director is even a caricature/voiced by her husband Craig McCracken).
- Garfield and Friends: Parodied in "The Multiple Choice Cartoon". Garfield gets the viewers to decide where the episode takes place, who's in it, and what the plot is. As a Running Gag, the choice the audience votes for is always "C".
Garfield: You want me to throw the stick so you can fetch it?
Odie: [enthusiastic barking]
Garfield: Okay, folks, time for you to vote again. Should I...
"A", throw the stick so he can fetch it.
"B", interrupt my nap to frolic with the pooch here.
Or "C," slingshot the mutt into the next area code? - Handy Manny: Ever since the start of season 3. They couldn't re-do the classic animation with the tools dancing on a stage. Instead, they had a mash-up of different scenes from episodes with Kelly asking trivia questions to the viewers.
- Jake And The Neverland Pirates is pretty much Dora with pirates and better animation. Features Peter Pan in the pilot and Captain Hook as a running villain.
- JoJo's Circus had the main character and her "pet lion" Goliath, mainly to encourage exercise by asking the viewers to get up and exercise or dance with them.
- Parodied on Kaeloo: Episode 69 parodies Dora the Explorer. Kaeloo says random sentences in different languages and tells the audience to repeat, and she pauses and stares at the audience. Stumpy walks in front of her and waves his hand in her face, trying to see why she's frozen.
- Laff-A-Lympics: An episode featured an applause meter device for home audiences to gauge which team they wanted to win a specific event via their applause. Mildew Wolf (one of the show's commentators) held his mic up to the camera for the presumed home viewer applause.
- The Lingo Show: Not only does it have prerecorded children's voices answering the questions the insect characters ask, but the characters also encourage viewers to "wave their hands above their heads like antennae".
- Little Einsteins stars four child prodigies who, by the age of six (with the exception of Annie, who was 3 in the pilot movie and the first episode before turning 4 in the next episode), have mastered various musical instruments and forms of interpretive dance, but are still worse at problem-solving than your four-year-old is, and constantly needs their help.
- stars Darby and her pet dog Buster who encourage the viewers to help them solve mysteries with Pooh and his friends.
- Lou and Lou: Safety Patrol: Whenever there's a safety violation, one of the twins gives their magnifying glass to the viewer and asks them for their help to look for it.
- Maryoku Yummy: The Wishing Ways segments ask the viewers for help.
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse features the cast asking the audience for help.
- A mainstay of the modern Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior programs and Special Agent Oso.
- This actually originated, at least for Pooh, from the live-action series Welcome to Pooh Corner, where the characters ask a question, then it shows clips of real children answering. For instance, in the trope-naming Very Special Episode "Too Smart for Strangers", the characters ask what to do near a stranger. Bear in the Big Blue House and The Doodlebops are among the other live-action kids shows to utilize this method as well.
- A mainstay of Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, especially when the episode gets to the point of resolving the Character Development issue of the day.
- The Patrick Star Show: Parodied in "The Star Games". The Star family, minus Patrick, want you to yell at your screen to tell them who should be the host of the Game Shows for the rest of the episode. Text flashes on the screen telling you to keep screaming and be louder.
- Phineas and Ferb parodied this with "Ducky Momo", a Show Within a Show which is a strange hybrid of Hello Kitty and Dora the Explorer. Here's a sample of what an episode entailed:
Narrator: Ducky Momo needs to get to the other side of the Bumbleberry river. Can you help him find the bridge?
Kid 1: It's right there! Behind you!
Kid 2: To your left! Your other left.
Kid 3: No! No, not that way.... that's a candy wrapper.
Kid 1: Now where is he going?
Kid 3: How has he survived this long? - Pinky Dinky Doo has a segment of this nature at the end of each story, which takes the form of a quiz section.
- An early example appears in one of the old "Popeye" shorts. Popeye asks the audience for some spinach when he's in a struggle, and soon afterwards a can of spinach flies to him as if thrown from beyond the screen.
- The Simpsons: Played with very briefly in the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?":
Dr. Hibbert: Well, I couldn't possibly solve this mystery... can YOU? (points at the screen)
(beat)
(POV changes, revealing Hibbert is pointing at Chief Wiggum)
Wiggum: Yeah, I'll give it a shot... I mean it's my job, right?- This was connected to a contest the show was running in which viewers could figure out the assailant to win a prize.
- Used in Stanley, mainly by the goldfish Dennis to quiz the viewers.
- Super Why! has this, calling the viewer "Super You". With the Power to Help!
- Played straight in Team Umizoomi. The team addresses the viewer as their "UmiFriend".
- Teen Titans Go!:
- This trope was spoofed in "Toddler Titans...Yay!", where the Titans get put into a show that spoofs shows with this feature (mainly Dora the Explorer), and disembodied kids' voices.
- In "The Viewers Decide", the main Titans compete against Titans East over which team gets to keep Bumblebee, who is more interested in going solo. At various points, the main Titans ask the viewers to call (with a 555 number, of course) and vote which team Bumblebee belongs in. Of course, the main Titans rig the vote against Titans East in the end, but Bumblebee leaves regardless.
- While the VeggieTales series averts this, the trope is played straight with the rare video VeggieTown: Greetings from Bob and Larry
, which has the characters ask questions to the viewers. Justified, as it was meant to be used as part of a Vacation Bible School cirriculum.- Parodied in "God Wants Me To Forgive Them" when Larry asks the audience if they're interested in hearing about their adventures while stranded on an island, followed by the obligatory Beat. When Bob asks Larry about what we said, Larry admits he doesn't know and just assumes we said yes.
- On Wallykazam!, Wally will quiz viewers on things such as what word starts with a particular sound. Overall this is done far smoother and less often than in Dora, making it more enjoyable to watch.
- Welcome to Tonka Town: In “Race Day In Tonka Town”, Chuck The Dump Truck asks the audience to “rev their engines” with him, which will somehow allow him to gain enough speed to Ramp Jump out of a pit he’d gotten stuck in. Oddly, this was the only instance of Fake Interactivity in the entire show.
- The Where's Wally/Waldo TV series does this somewhat during breaks, showing a static picture and encouraging the viewer to locate Wally/Waldo before time runs out.
- The Ur-Example, Winky Dink marketed a plastic overlay and crayons, which were to be used to draw props on-screen (for instance, a ladder to help the title character out of a pit.) A number of children simply drew on the screen.
- The animated series Wonkidoos uses this. Similar to Blue's Clues, children's voices are used to answer the question. Unlike most of these examples, they don't even give you time to answer the question yourself!
- A one-off example in Wonder Pets!. In "Save the What?", The Wonder Pets needed the viewer's help to figure out who the animal in trouble is, It turns out the animal in trouble is a baby hummingbird who's beak is stuck in an apple.
- Zig-zagging on Word Party: Watching the show on supported devices will actually see an icon pop up at set intervals, which when tapped will suspend the show and launch a flash-card like minigame. In other parts of the show, and/or if you watch the show from a device which does not support the interactive segments, the trope is played straight (the babies and narrator addresses you as the big kid).
