History Main / ArcadianInterlude

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': The Moonshadow Land.
* Franchise/FinalFantasy:
** The summoner worlds in IV and VI
** Shumi Village in [=FFVIII=]
** Mognet and the Chocobo Haven in [=FFIX=]
** Eruyt Village in [=FFXII=]

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* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', the main characters visit the farm where [[FarmBoy Garion]] was raised after retrieving the Orb of Aldur. It serves both to unwind from the harrowing journey and to help Garion realize that [[StrangerInAFamiliarLand he's outgrown the place]].

* [[TearJerker Heartbreakingly]] done near the end of ''Anime/PomPoko'', where the tanuki [[spoiler: -- having failed to protect their forest home from land developers -- combine their transformative powers to temporarily turn the hills into the lush, arcadian landscape they remember it as.]]

* ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'': The time spent with Tom Bombadil. Creator/JRRTolkien [[WordOfGod himself]] stated that he considered the Tom Bombadil sequence one of the most important sequences in the entire story. From a story perspective, he represents the mystery that remains even after a reader thinks he knows all there is to know about Middle Earth and represents what could be lost. From a writing perspective, he gives Tolkien a chance to present backstory exposition in a way that interests the reader. For the characters, the time spent with Tom is a time that they can relax and not worry about the journey, unlike the time spent in Rivendell, where the question of what to do with the Ring is still the focus of attention.

* Franchise/FinalFantasy: The summoner worlds in IV and VI;, Shumi Village in [=FFVIII=]; Mognet and the Chocobo Haven in [=FFIX=]; Eruyt Village in [=FFXII=].
* The [[TownWithADarkSecret Kingdom of Zeal]] in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'': The rest of the planet is in the throes of the perpetual winter caused by [[BigBad Lavos]]' arrival, but the FloatingContinent is just hunky dory.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' has two, though one ends up being quite horrific and the other is (intentionally) uncharacteristically gorgeous.
** Can someone who's played this game please elaborate on this? What two moments?
** I believe they're referring to Vault 112, a Lotus Eater Machine kind of situation, and The Grove where Harold resides.

* ''VideoGame/{{Mother3}}'' has a short chapter dedicated to Lucas walking through an undisturbed field of sunflowers. Sunflowers in the game are heavily associated with memories of his mother, Hinawa, and the level ends with Lucas getting a glimpse of her.

* In the Dreamworks ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'' film, there is a scene where the main characters time-travel to [[TheRenaissance Renaissance-era]] Florence, Italy. There they meet Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, and overall their visit there was much more peaceful and relaxing than other time periods like UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution or UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar.

* In the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfPrydain,'' any visit to Medwyn, the friend of all animals.

* Eden in the remake of ''VideoGame/{{La-Mulana}}''. [[spoiler:It doesn't last long once you get the fruit.]]

* Frivoli in ''TwiceUponATime''. Even though some of the main characters are from that pink wonderland of good dreams, and the movie begins there, the bulk of the movie is set in the much bleaker lands of Din and Murk. That being said, the movie implies that even Frivoli [[CrapsaccharineWorld might not be as idyllic as we first see it]]: [[spoiler:The tendency of the authorities to blame others for their own incompetence is why these Frivolians wind up in Din and Murk.]]

* TheWindInTheWillows: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - basically Arcadia taken UpToEleven, considering the rest of the book is pretty much set in Arcadia to start with.
* The visit to El Dorado in Voltaire's ''{{Candide}}.''
* In the ''ChroniclesOfPrydain,'' any visit to Medwyn, the friend of all animals.
* ''BridgeToTerabithia'' is basically about finding and maintaining an Arcadia in the modern world.

* [[TearJerker Heartbreakingly]] done near the end of PomPoko, where the tanuki [[spoiler: -- having failed to protect their forest home from land developers -- combine their transformative powers to temporarily turn the hills into the lush, arcadian landscape they remember it as.]]

* In the Dreamworks ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'' film, there is a scene where the main characters time-travel to [[TheRenaissance Renaissance-era]] Florence, Italy. There they meet Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, and overall their visit there was much more peaceful and relaxing than other time periods like UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution or TheTrojanWar.

* In the Dreamworks ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'' film, there is a scene where the main characters time-travel to [[TheRenaissance Renaissance-era]] Florence, Italy. There they meet Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, and overall their visit there was much more peaceful and relaxing than other time periods like TheFrenchRevolution or TheTrojanWar.

Not related to [[DorkAge that one time]] three guys from DuranDuran recorded as a (not really) different band entirely.

[[folder: Theater]]
* All of ''AsYouLikeIt'' is an Arcadian Interlude.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/BigFish'' has the town of Spectre, where everything is peaceful and perfect, and no one even needs to wear shoes because the ground is all soft grass. The hero enjoys his time there, but decides that he still needs to go out into the world before settling down. It's implied that people there don't really have any meaningful experiences. An author living there has been unable to write anything since arriving.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the Dreamworks ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'' film, there is a scene where the main characters time-travel to [[TheRenaissance Renaissance-era]] Florence, Italy. There they meet Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, and overall their visit there was much more peaceful and relaxing than other time periods like TheFrenchRevolution or TheTrojanWar.

* Pretty much all of ''AsYouLikeIt'' is an Arcadian Interlude.

* LordOfTheRings: The time spent with Tom Bombadil. Creator/JRRTolkien [[WordOfGod himself]] stated that he considered the Tom Bombadil sequence one of the most important sequences in the entire story. From a story perspective, he represents the mystery that remains even after a reader thinks he knows all there is to know about Middle Earth and represents what could be lost. From a writing perspective, he gives Tolkien a chance to present backstory exposition in a way that interests the reader. For the characters, the time spent with Tom is a time that they can relax and not worry about the journey, unlike the time spent in Rivendell, where the question of what to do with the Ring is still the focus of attention.

This place is also often set off from the rest of the narrative structurally, as a separate chapter or episode. In film, it may be shot in a slightly different visual style, in Literature it may be written with a more relaxed or lyrical tone. The Arcadian Interlude may be a key thematic and/or emotional moment for the work, even if it is never addressed again. In terms of narrative, the time away from the main setting can function as a sort of BreatherEpisode for the characters, a respite from the strife and conflict of the plot.

* Eden in the remake of ''VideoGame/{{La-Mulana}}''. It doesn't last long once you get the fruit.

* ''BigFish'' has the town of Spectre, where everything is peaceful and perfect, and no one even needs to wear shoes because the ground is all soft grass. The hero enjoys his time there, but decides that he still needs to go out into the world before settling down. It's implied that people there don't really have any meaningful experiences. An author living there has been unable to write anything since arriving.

* Frivoli in ''TwiceUponATime''. Even though some of the main characters are from that pink wonderland of good dreams, and the movie begins there, the bulk of the movie is set in the much bleaker lands of Din and Murk. That being said, the movie implies that even Frivoli might not be as idyllic as we first see it: [[spoiler:The tendency of the authorities to blame others for their own incompetence is why these Frivolians wind up in Din and Murk.]]