A fish-out-of-water is a character placed far out of their element to watch them adapt. Most often crafted for comedic effect, a character's upbringing and understanding of the world are very different from what they experience in their journey. At first glance, the character sticks out like a sore thumb, but as their arc develops, their personality and differences rub off on the world they visit.

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Many scenarios come from time travel or extended hibernation that finds a character in an altered world. Some show a character traveling from a different world entirely, or they come from a different cultural background. For a fish-out-of-water movie to stand out, the differences are more exaggerated than a typical character setup, but in the end, there is usually a common ground where all the characters find cohesion.

10 Buddy — 'Elf' (2003)

Will Ferrell as Buddy Hobbs in NYC in Elf

Elf stars Will Farrell as Buddy the Elf, who travels to New York City to find his birth father. After the infant Buddy sneaks into Santa's sack and off to the North Pole, Buddy is adopted by the elves and grows up thinking he too is an elf. In a hilarious montage, Buddy sprouts into the over-six-foot-tall human adult living among the smaller elves, soon to depart for his upcoming journey to NYC.

Bringing his gleaming smile and exuberant persona to the tough streets of New York, Buddy sticks out like a sore thumb. Buddy's fish-out-of-water experience is driven by his innocent outlook of the human world, his misconception that used gum is free candy and being gullible about a "world's best coffee" sign. Buddy's bright-eyed innocence brings a ton of charm to this fan-favorite holiday tale as he imbues some much-needed Christmas spirit to the people he meets along the way.

9 Axel Foley — 'Beverly Hills Cop' (1984)

eddie-murphy-judge-reinhold-john-ashton-axel-foley-billy-rosewood-sgt-taggert-beverly-hills-cop-1984
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, Judge Reinhold as Det. Billy Rosewood and John Ashton as Sgt. Taggert in a scene from Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a Detroit detective who travels to Beverly Hills, California to investigate his friend's murder. From the gritty streets of Detroit to the posh avenues of Beverly Hills, Axel gets a few laughs out of highbrow art pieces and fashion while also challenging the stereotypes of race and class. Built for laughs but still equipped with sincerity, Axel's street smarts and youthful attitude stir up the local precinct before they eventually band together to solve the case.

Beverly Hills Cop remains a fish-out-of-water staple to this day, but it wouldn't be the last to use this archetype. Not four years later, Murphy starred in the similarly popular Coming to America, where Murphy stars as the uber-rich Prince Akeem, who travels to New York City from his African country of Zamunda to find true love while hiding his wealth. Both films stick Murphy in fish-out-of-water scenarios that see his trademark humor shine.

8 Thor Odinson — 'Thor' (2011)

Thor from the movie Thor (2011) sitting in a diner.
Image via Walt Disney Company

In the world of superhero movies, the fish-out-of-water story is a familiar one. Alien superheroes like Drax and Mantis take metaphors literally, Captain Marvel is a kid with a superpowered adult's body, Captain America and Black Adam awake in the modern era, but the clearest example of a fish-out-of-water tale comes from the movie Thor.

In the God of Thunder's MCU origin story, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is an arrogant warrior with a reckless reputation. To teach him a lesson, Odin (Anthony Hopkins) exiles Thor to Earth where he must muster his true potential without his god-like powers or his loyal hammer. After meeting Earth scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), hilarity ensues as Thor's rambunctious nature finds him smashing mugs to call for more drinks, storming into a pet store in search of a horse, and many misunderstandings of human customs and manners.

7 Marty McFly — 'Back to the Future' (1985)

Michael J Fox reading a newspaper in Back to the Future
Image via Universal Pictures

Time travel! One of the simplest and most effective ways to pull the protagonist out of their natural environment and into unfamiliar territory. Back to the Future stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a teenage boy with a troubled family. His siblings are low-brow, his mom has nothing but regrets about her life, and his father is constantly bullied at work. Marty has big dreams, but he's sent on a wild adventure through time after helping the eccentric Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd).

Strapped in the time-traveling DeLorean, Marty is sent back thirty years to 1955, where he encounters a dated version of his hometown, classic cars and vintage tunes, along with his parents, who are not yet together. While looking incredibly out of place and having his young, yet-to-be mother show a cringeworthy affection towards him, Marty must find a way to rekindle his parents' love to preserve his existence and return to the future.

6 Elle Woods — 'Legally Blonde' (2001)

Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde
Image via MGM

Don't judge a book by its cover! Legally Blonde stars Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, who seems like a stereotypical sorority girl and shopping enthusiast. Elle is dumped by her fiancé in hopes of finding a girl that will better boost his image as an aspirating senator. Elle then decides to follow her ex to Harvard Law School and win him back, but in doing so, she finds her own path to become a lawyer and overcome the stereotype of the "dumb blonde."

Marching up the grand steps, head to toe in all pink, Elle is a pop of color in a sea of black suits. Her bubbly personality is a far cry from her peers, even being shunned and labeled as an empty-minded Barbie doll. Elle's arc is refreshing, starting off as just being driven by a selfish boy, to then finding her own worth, never diminishing her identity along her path to becoming a successful lawyer.

5 Detective Kimble — 'Kindergarten Cop' (1990)

Kindergarten Cop stars action legend Arnold Schwarzenegger, tossing him into the chaotic whirlwind that is a kindergarten classroom. The hilarity comes from the notion that a towering behemoth of a man, Detective John Kimble, could seemingly snap a bad guy in two, but is bested by a class of wildly energetic 5-year-olds. Hunting down known criminal Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), who is traveling to find his ex-wife and son, Kimble poses undercover as Crisp's son's substitute teacher.

Arriving at the school, Kimble gets a lot of skeptical glances. Of course, his true purpose is to solve the investigation, but a huge speed bump is the classroom full of children he cannot tame. In a hilarious few scenes, Kimble is driven mad by the young terrors. However, he is eventually able to connect with the class. Kindergarten Cop also established a trend of bulky action stars acting opposite children, with the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, and John Cena starring in films with a similar "tough guy bested by children" premise.

4 Dewey Finn — 'School of Rock' (2003)

Jack Black as Dewey Finn playing the guitar in 'School Of Rock'
Image via Paramount Pictures

In another fish-out-of-water school setting, School of Rock stars Jack Black as a failing rock star who was recently kicked out of his band. Desperate to pay the rent, Dewey lies his way into impersonating his roommate and taking a gig as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. Hungover and completely disinterested in actually teaching anything, Dewey is a far cry from your average teacher.

It's not until Dewey learns of the class's musical chops does he get the bright idea to form a new band out of the students. In a sea of uptight school uniforms and strict rules, Dewey's carefree, rock-n-roll attitude, shakes up the classroom and the school. As the class secretly practices their music the reveal of Dewey's true identity and the unapproved curriculum angers the principal and parents alike, but the passion of music brings the students out of their shell, and Dewey finally finds his true calling.

3 Joe Bauers — 'Idiocracy' (2006)

Dx Shepard, Luke Wilson, and Maya Rudolph in Idiocracy
Image via 20th Century Fox

Idiocracy comes from comedy pioneer Mike Judge, the satirical and immature mind that brought fans Beavis and Butthead. It tells the story of a dim protagonist who awakens in the future to find out he's easily the smartest person on the planet. Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) agrees to take part in a hibernation experiment in 2005, but the experiment goes haywire, and Joe wakes up 500 years in the future to an intellectually diminished society.

Over the centuries, the world became overrun by an ever-declining intelligence as rampant commercialism and low culture saw lazy, simple-minded people thrive. Joe realizes he's the smartest person on the planet, despite his lower-than-average IQ of his time. Joe is dumbstruck as he climbs the ladder of society, wading through a sea of incompetent, gullible, and easily tricked humans as he searches for a way to time-travel home.

2 Austin Powers — 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery' (1997)

Austin Powers

Mike Myers stars as the promiscuous spy in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Opening in the swingin' '60s, Austin Powers is frozen in cryostasis to be awakened once his arch nemesis, Dr. Evil, also performed by Myers, returns to take over the world. Awakening in the '90s, Austin finds a world very different from his own, a world where his flamboyant antics and lavish wardrobe aren't so well received.

Tasked with assimilating Austin to the '90s is the daughter of Austin's old flame, Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), who starts off quite irritated at Austin's sexual appetite and ignorance of how the world has evolved. However, in a goofy and satirical nature, Austin can channel his vivacious persona to grow as a partner and stop the villainous Dr. Evil.

1 Josh Baskin — 'Big' (1988)

Big

Big follows 12-year-old Josh Baskin, who is sick and tired of being treated like a kid. He's getting turned down by girls and isn't tall enough for the cool amusement park rides, so he makes a wish on a magical Zoltar machine. The next morning Josh awakens to find himself all grown up and looking like Tom Hanks, the now seasoned actor who was merely 32 at the time. Confused and frightened, Josh must run away into the adult world.

Josh travels to New York City to buy time and search for a way to reverse his wish. Alone in a big city with the mind of a 12-year-old boy is more than out of Josh's element, but fortunately, he is able to find a job at a toy company. Josh's innocent and youthful mind rubs off on others as he encounters grumpy adults who have forgotten the simple things in life, bringing a bit of perspective to those who needed it most.

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