History Franchise / Lassie

* InNameOnly: Of the sequel films created in the wake of ''Film/LassieComeHome'''s success, only ''Son of Lassie'' is a proper sequel to the original film, featuring older versions of the Carraclough family as well as other characters featured in the original novel. The other films centered around a dog often (but not always) named Lassie, surrounded by different characters. This made some sense, considering that Lassie was probably a common dog name in and around the Scottish Highlands. But by the time of ''The Sun Comes Up'', the fifth entry in the series, the action had shifted from the UK to the southern US (and was based on a short story by the author of ''Literature/TheYearling''). ''Film/ThePaintedHills'' finds Lassie out in California. However, Lassie still always received top billing in the credits, despite the real-life dog's name actually being Pal.

The original screen "Lassie" was a collie owned and trained by professional trainer Rudd Weatherwax, whose off-screen name was Pal. Pal starred in the 1943 film and six sequels; when the film series ended, Weatherwax acquired the Lassie trademark (in lieu of unpaid wages, according to one account), and the television series resulted. Pal retired partway through the two-decade run of the series, and was succeeded by a string of his descendants. (Yes, ''his''. All the dogs who played Lassie were actually male; male collies were thought to be more visually impressive, and less subject to seasonal shedding issues.)

** ''Famous Dog Lassie'' (1996). Was that year's entry into the Japanese ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater'' series and and a 26 episode long adaption of the original novel.

* AmplifiedAnimalAptitude

* CrosscastRole
* HeroicDog[=/=]HeroicPetStory: One of best known examples.

* ABoyAndHisX: Boy and his dog. Different boy in each version, but always apparently the same dog.

* AmplifiedAnimalAptitude
* ABoyAndHisX: Boy and his dog. Different boy in each version, but always apparently the same dog.

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!!References in other works:
* According to the director's commentary, ''WesternAnimation/WhereTheDeadGoToDie'' was originally conceptualised as a Lassie parody, and the first segment still, is, while the others have other stories. Suffice to say, this is a ''very'' dark BlackComedy example, since the Lassie analogue, the [[DarkIsEvil black]], [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyed]] labrador named [[PunnyName Labby]], is a horrific {{Hellhound}} that convinces the child protagonists to murder his parents, rips his unborn sibling out of the mother's womb, and [[DepravedBisexual has sex with him and the mother's corpse]].
* Parodied with Laddie the Wonder Dog in the Discworld novel ''Discworld/MovingPictures''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' has Billy addicted to a heroic Labrador also named Laddie; Billy often wonders aloud, "How many times can that kid fall down that well?" PS, he keeps watching the same video over and over.
* On ''The Jimmy Dean Show'' in the 1960s, Dean's co-star [[Franchise/TheMuppets Rowlf the Dog]] several times mentioned how much he admired Lassie, and Lassie made two guest appearances on the show. In the episode with Lassie's second guest appearance, Rowlf did a skit in which he acted out a Lassie-like scenario narrated by Dean, heroically fighting through hostile terrain, swimming across a raging river, and racing up the other bank to stop the criminals about to dynamite the bridge! ...at which point, Rowlf stopped the skit and complained that it would have been nice if somebody had mentioned the bridge ''before'' he swam across the raging river.
** Rowlf's admiration for the famous collie resurfaced in the soundtrack of ''[[Film/TheMuppetMovie The Muppet Movie]]'' when he and Kermit sang the duet "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along." Rowlf sings, "Or a collie that's classy ... a lad needs a Lassie ..." [[note]]This verse was edited out of the actual movie, though it still exists on soundtrack recordings.[[/note]]
* Spoofed in the "Mindy and Buttons" segments of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. Its TitleSequence was a direct parody of the ''Series/{{Lassie}}'' opening.
* ''Series/ItsGarryShandlingsShow'' did a parody, involving a dog named [[LawyerFriendlyCameo Laffie]].
* ''Series/InLivingColor'' did a parody, involving a pit bull.
* ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'' features the in-show TV program "Courageous Collie Carlos", of whom Martha is a major fan.
* Two in ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'': one suggestion for the everpopular ''Scenes From A Hat'' game was 'what Lassie is really trying to say', and later on an actual Lassie became the only animal guest on the show.
* "Sassy the Wonder Dog" is a series of radio ads from The Shelter Pet Project, where Timmy and Sassy often pause from helping one of Timmy's luckless friends out of the well in order to tell the listeners about adopting a dog from local animal shelters.

* ''Film/LassieComeHome'' (1943 film)

** "[[http://www.lassieweb.org/lasshome.htm Lassie Come Home]" (1938), original short story by Eric Knight

** ''Lassie Come-Home'' (1940) by Eric Knight. That is the book the original films were adapting.

** ''Lassie Come Home'' (1943)

* TheOtherDarrin: The various Lassies.

* According to the director's commentary, ''Film/WhereTheDeadGoToDie'' was originally conceptualised as a Lassie parody, and the first segment still, is, while the others have other stories. Suffice to say, this is a ''very'' dark BlackComedy example, since the Lassie analogue, the [[DarkIsEvil black]], [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyed]] labrador named [[PunnyName Labby]], is a horrific {{Hellhound}} that convinces the child protagonists to murder his parents, rips his unborn sibling out of the mother's womb, and [[DepravedBisexual has sex with him and the mother's corpse]].

* ''InLivingColor'' did a parody, involving a pit bull.

* BeamMeUpScotty: There is not a single episode in which [[TimmyInAWell Timmy falls down a well]]. He fell down just about everything else, yes, but Lassie had never had to get help for Timmy falling down a well.