G-Rated Mental Illness

Similiar to G-Rated Sex and G-Rated Drug, this is when a type of insanity is represented in a child-friendly manner, such as depicting the character simply in a straitjacket or wearing a hat with a big red N on it whilst rolling his eyes in strange directions.

May or may not be accompanied by whacking oneself/others over the head with a large mallet, giving gratuitous kisses, laughing uncontrollably while jumping around like a superball, and an inability to keep one's tongue in one's mouth at any given time.

Needless to say, this doesn't help people's real-life perceptions of mental illness, and it's difficult to imagine races or the mentally handicapped being ridiculed like this.

The Eccentric Townsfolk usually have at least one such G-rated madman (or more!) among the residents. See also The Mad Hatter and Ambiguous Disorder.

Examples of G-Rated Mental Illness include:

Comic Books

• Starman and Creeper of DC Comics. The Joker too, sometimes.
• A blow to the head with a menhir has this effect on Getafix in Asterix and the Big Fight.

Film

• Batty from Fern Gully.
• Ed from The Lion King his eyes often point in different directions, his tongue is almost always hanging out, and his most of his dialogue consists of laughter.
• Psycho the weasel from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. His eye balls spin around constantly, he's wrapped in a straight jacket, his tongue hangs out, and most of his dialogue consists of either laughter or "kill the rabbit!".

Live Action TV

• Monty Python's Flying Circus often portrayed "loonies" as being whacked-out and acting in a completely random and bizarre manner. From YouTube:
  • The Rev. Arthur Belling, vicar of St Loony Up The Cream Bun and Jam in the "Silly Disturbances" sketch .
  • He appears again (played by another Python) in the "Appeal for Sanity" sketch.
  • The Silly Party candidates in this sketch.
  • The Ideal Loon exhibition.
• In the finale of Blackadder Goes Forth, Blackadder decides that he can do a convincing impression of insanity by putting underpants on his head, sticking pencils up his nose and saying "wibble." However, Melchett stated he shot an entire platoon attempting the same stunt.
• After being bitten by a particularly dangerous insect, Kelly Bundy graduates from her normal blonde ditziness to full-blown loon. She's still generally perky and happy, just completely removed from reality.

Video Games

• All inhabitants of the Shivering Isles in The Elder Scrolls IV.
• Some of the characters in Psychonauts, at least on the surface, are like this. Fred Bonaparte, a stereotypical Napoleon wannabe, remains like this through most of the game. Gloria van Gouton starts out like this, but as you see more of her mind, it gets darker, while Edgar Teglee starts out tragic and becomes more silly and pathetic.
  • Half the cast either plays this straight or subverts it, really...
  • In Edgar's defense, the whole girl trouble business did cause a complete turnaround from being the Big Man on Campus on top of the obvious childish emotional trauma. Those kinds of issues are Serious Business at the time, though Raz helps him to realize he has to let things go.
• Ripper Roo from Crash Bandicoot, complete with straight jacket, while he did go to therapy, and became more sane, he returns to his straightjacket self when he gets in an explosion.
• Little Big Planet 2: During his meanie infection, Dr. Higginbotham had the habit of eating socks and trying to lick his eye balls.

Western Animation

• Muzzle in Road Rovers.
• The image in Western cartoons of people sitting in a rocking chair wearing a Napoleon hat, and often playing with their lips.
  • Especially the original Screwy Squirrel. Yes, that one.
• Happens to Alvin in Alvin and The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein when Dr. Frankenstein makes him drink a potion and he starts acting like a typical insane cartoon character laughing manically, his tongue hanging out, spinning eyes, and pulling pranks.
• Ren from The Ren and Stimpy Show is an aversion. Despite the cartoon being aimed at kids, his manic moments weren't always Played for Laughs and often stepped into family unfriendly territory. For starters, the episode "Stimpy's Fan Club" contains a very long and elaborate scene of Ren rambling psychotically and considering killing Stimpy. His Freak-Out in "Sven Hoek" after Sven and Stimpy wreck the house is quickly replaced with his Tranquil Fury accompanied by a To the Pain monologue.
• The original portrayl of Daffy Duck in his late 1930's-40's appearances he'd laugh constantly, his eyes would point in different directions, his tongue would sometimes hang out, and he'd click his heels together and do flips around the pond shouting "woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo!"
• Pinkie Pie dances between this trope and Nightmare Fuel in some episodes of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic.