History Main / BigDamnMovie

* The ''HeyArnold'' movie, which was the original trope namer (WhyIsArnoldSavingSomething). The show itself never features any of the characters saving anything other than their treehouse and usually deals with problems faced by individual characters. And yet when the movie rolls around, suddenly everything needs to be "bigger" [[hottip:* :though try telling that to most of the side characters, who are mostly DemotedToExtra s]].

* The ''{[Golgo 13}}'' manga had Duke Togo traveling the world and working for and against the world's superpower nations while [[HistoricalInJoke changing the course of history]]. Still, the original movie (''The Professional'') had the father of one of his targets angry and powerful enough to send the combined forces of {{Eagleland}} - the FBI, the CIA, the U.S. Military, and a CarnivalOfKillers - against the lone wolf AntiHero.

-->--'''[[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Chester A. Bum]]''' in [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6106002/1/Bum_Reviews_The_Spongebob_Sqaurepants_Movie a fanfic where he reviews]] ''The SpongebobSquarepants Movie''

* Standard episode of ''Firefly'': They get a job, something goes wrong. The movie? They uncover a giant plot that includes an entire planet of corpses.
** Although, technically, what goes down in ''Serenity'' are the events of Season 2 condensed into a 2-hour movie. Alas, that season [[TooGoodToLast never]] [[ExecutiveMeddling came]] [[ScrewedByTheNetwork about]]...

* ''TheBrothersGarcia'' had a TV Movie involving [[GenreShift Ancient Incan magic]].....

** Not really. There's the thing in the introductory segment where Crow tries to dig a tunnel to Earth, but after that's resolved Mike says, "I told you Crow, no more escape attempts!"
*** Mike tries later to escape using Tom's Interociter. HilarityEnsues.

** This actually happens in the series pretty frequently these days, though admittedly in the movie they take on a more direct role than usual and most of the secondary characters get involved.

** Are you referring to the first LiveActionAdaptation, or the animated feature ''The Man Called Flintstone''? 'Cause that also qualifies for this trope.
** [[MathematiciansAnswer Yes]]
** Hooo, boy, ''A Man Called Flintstone...'' The animated movie had Fred turn out to be the exact look-alike of a secret agent who was hung up in the hospital and thus couldn't go back to work. Fred is immediately made into a secret agent himself, and must stop the BigBad, [[spoiler:And two [[TheMole Moles]]]] from blowing up an entire city--oh, ''and'' fix his relationship with Wilma. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And it was a musical, too.]]

* Not quite sure if this qualifies, but there's an odd example in the ''KimPossible'' TV Movie ''SoTheDrama''. Yes, Kim Possible saves the world in just about every episode, but frankly on the show it never really seemed like the world was in very much danger, as most of the villains were [[HarmlessVillain incompetent]] [[TooDumbToLive beyond]] [[WhatAnIdiot belief]]. Then ''SoTheDrama'' came out, and all of a sudden [[CharacterDerailment Drakken has a plan that Kim actually can't figure out]], and actually seems like it could work. Also, Drakken [[spoiler:takes over Bueno Nacho. Needless to say, this [[BerserkButton upsets someone]]]].

* Not sure if this entirely counts either, but ThePowerpuffGirls [[TheMovie Movie]] is arguably this. An average episode has the girls save their town, usually in a fight that takes about ten minutes. In the movie, they still have to save the town, but everyone thinks they had a hand in it, the girls are hated by pretty much everyone ''but'' their father, there is a lot more property damage and overall violence than the actual show...And it's also one of the only times that a villain came ''close'' to achieving their goals. Needless to say, if it's not this trope, it's still ''clearly'' DarkerAndEdgier.
** Well it IS a {{prequel}}.

* Not quite sure if this qualifies, but there's an odd example in the ''KimPossible'' TV Movie ''SoTheDrama''. Yes, Kim Possible saves the world in just about every episode, but frankly on the show it never really seemed like the world was in very much danger, as most of the villains were [[HarmlessVillain incompetent]] [[TooDumbTooLive beyond]] [[WhatAnIdiot belief]]. Then ''SoTheDrama'' came out, and all of a sudden [[CharacterDerailment Drakken has a plan that Kim actually can't figure out]], and actually seems like it could work. Also, Drakken [[spoiler:takes over Bueno Nacho. Needless to say, this [[BerserkButton upsets someone]]]].

* ''TransformersTheMovie'' took a show where the villains would mostly steal energy sources in order to take over the world into a galaxy-spanning epic involving [[AnyoneCanDie the deaths of virtually the entire main cast of the previous series]] and the protagonists facing a God-like entity intent on wiping them out entirely. This has since rolled back into the franchise, and now "save the universe and everything in it" is a rather common ''Transformers'' series plot.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* The ''SesameStreet'' movie ''Follow That Bird'' involves the other characters tracking down and rescuing Big Bird from some seedy amusement park operators. Note that this is a film for a PBS educational TV series aimed at toddlers.
[[/folder]]

* {{Animaniacs}} had ''Wacko's Wish''. The movie itself isn't as "epic" as most BigDamnMovie s, but it ''definitely'' qualifies for this trope by the standards of [[RuleOfFunny Animaniacs]].

* {{Animaniacs}} had ''Wacko's Wish''. The movie itself isn't as "epic" as most [[Big Damn Movie s, but it ''definitely'' qualifies for this trope by the standards of [[RuleOfFunny Animaniacs]].

* {{Animaniacs}} had ''Wacko's Wish''. The movie itself isn't as "epic" as most [[Big Damn Movie]]s, but it ''definitely'' qualifies for this trope by the standards of [[RuleOfFunny Animaniacs]].

* Not quite sure if this qualifies, but there's an odd example in the ''KimPossible'' TV Movie ''SoTheDrama''. Yes, Kim Possible saves the world in just about every episode, but frankly on the show it never really seemed like the world was in very much danger, as most of the villains were [[TooDumbToLive incompetent beyond belief]]. Then ''SoTheDrama'' came out, and all of a sudden [[CharacterDerailment Drakken has a plan that Kim actually can't figure out]], and actually seems like it could work. Also, Drakken [[spoiler:takes over Bueno Nacho. Needless to say, this [[BerserkButton upsets someone]]]].

** Although, technically, what goes down in ''Serenity'' are the events of Season 2 condensed into a 2-hour movie. Alas, that [[TooGoodToLast never]] [[ExecutiveMeddling came]] [[ScrewedByTheNetwork about]]...

** Although, technically, what goes down in ''Serenity'' are the events of Season 2 and 3 condensed into a 2-hour movie. Alas, those [[TooGoodToLast never]] [[ExecutiveMeddling came]] [[ScrewedByTheNetwork about]]...

** Although, technically, what goes down in ''Serenity'' are the events of Season 2 and 3 condensed into a 2-hour movie. Alas, those [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TooGoodToLast never]] [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExecutiveMeddling came]] [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScrewedByTheNetwork about]]...

* Yet another problem with the ''{{Tom and Jerry}}'' Movie sees the title characters saving a young, bland heroine from her wicked aunt.
** Let's count the changes in dynamic: 1) They talk, 2) They work together basically the whole time, 3) this is depressing, I can't go on.
** Fear not, friend, for TheNostalgiaCritic gives the movie [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/1499-tom-and-jerry-the-movie quite a beating]].

* ''{{Rugrats}}'' is about a bunch of babies and everyday life through their perspective. The ''Rugrats'' movie is about the same babies being stranded in the forest with a robot dinosaur car and their ringleader's new baby brother. Then they did it again with ''Rugrats in Paris'', which involves the babies hijacking a HumongousMecha to stop one kid's dad from marrying a manipulative BitchInSheepsClothing, and ''again'' with ''Rugrats Go Wild'', a CrossOver with ''TheWildThornberrys'' that sees the kids and their families stranded on an island.

* ''DrakeAndJosh Go Hollywood'' . [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly what you might expect happens.]] While in Hollywood Drake and Josh get mixed up with a counterfeiter. [[SoYeah Also, Josh wears an earring.]]

** Fear not, friend, for the [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Nostalgia Critic]] gives the movie [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/1499-tom-and-jerry-the-movie quite a beating]].

* If ''{{Doug}}'' didn't JumpTheShark when Disney took over, it most certainly did when they made ''[[TheMovie Doug's First Movie]]'' in which [[spoiler:Bill Bluff is [[CharacterDerailment rewritten]] from a tycoon and caring father to a BigBad of proportions somewhere between ''ErinBrockovich'' and ''JamesBond'']].

Can sometimes overlap with SummerBlockbuster, but is generally distinct from a {{BFM}}, where it's inherently epic to begin with.

Can sometimes overlap with SummerBlockbuster, but is generally distinct from a {{BFM}} where the material is inherently epic to begin with.

Can sometimes overlap with SummerBlockbuster, but is generally distinct from a {{BFM}}.

Can sometimes overlap with, but is distinct from, {{BFM}}.

** The new live action ''YogiBear'' adaptation also falls into this, as Yogi and Boo Boo will have to team up with Ranger Smith to prevent Jellystone Park from being closed for good.