History Main / BootstrappedTheme

* Echoing Disney and "When You Wish Upon a Star", "Fairytale" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has been serving as the unofficial theme for Creator/DreamWorksAnimation since 2001. It has been used in fourteen [=DreamWorks=] films, only four of which are associated with ''Shrek''.[[note]]Strangely, though, ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' doesn't use the theme in its opening logo, despite being a ''Shrek'' spin-off.[[/note]]
* Aside from "Fairytale", ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has "All Star" by Music/SmashMouth, which was only played in the opening credits but fans nowadays feel like it's actually the theme song from the film. Making this even more interesting is that it almost didn't make it into the movie at all--it was originally written for [[Film/MysteryMen a completely different movie]]'s soundtrack, and was used as a placeholder with the expectation that an original song would be commissioned to take its place, but it worked so well with test audiences that they [[ThrowItIn left it in]].

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' has [[https://youtu.be/Ko4VW6ucq_8 Chariot's theme]], a grandiose theme that is played during Shiny Chariot's performance and whenever Akko uses the Shiny Rod. While the original short films and the TV series all had their own individual theme songs, Chariot's theme would become synonymous with the franchise as a whole and become its de-facto theme.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', Creator/SachaBaronCohen's improvising the words for a cover of "I Like to Move It" changed the song from a one-off joke for his character to the de facto theme song of the film series.

** "Dual of the Fates", which underscores the climactic showdown between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', became the unofficial theme of the film itself, showing up in commercials as well as video games that didn't even include that scene (such as ''Episode I: Racer'').

** The Gusty Garden Galaxy theme has become more or less the main theme for the ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' series. Portions of it appear in several areas of the first game (Purple Coin levels, the end credits); and in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', it was used in the trailer-specific composition, and makes a few more appearances in the game itself. After that, the theme has reappeared several times, either in its entirety or as a snippet in another theme, and it's even used in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' as the theme of [[BreakoutCharacter Rosalina]] in her debut trailer, as well as the "UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}" sound effect in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker2''. All this is in spite of the ''Galaxy'' games actually having a distinct theme completely separate from Gusty Garden. This theme is incorporated into the title screen and credits of both games, as well as the level start and star collecting jingles, and is prominently featured in the music for Melty Monster Galaxy in ''Galaxy 2''.

* Blue Swede's cover of "Hooked on a Feeling" went from being a background theme in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' to the series' theme song; it's even played in the teaser for [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 the sequel]].

*** The Wily Stage 1 theme from ''Mega Man 2'' is also quite iconic, and has accompained the Blue Bomber a few times. To hammer the above point as well, his debut trailer ''Videogame/SuperSmashBros Wii U/3DS'', they use both the ''Mega Man 2'' title and Wily Stage 1 themes.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVlE8u6Hhp8 well-known theme song]], but the encounter/recruitment theme known as "Together, We Ride" is equally associated with the franchise in West, due to it being labeled as the "Fire Emblem Theme" in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' and that game being [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros the debut for the series outside Japan]]. Oddly enough, [[https://youtu.be/75VzljdUE-s the rendition used]] in the game does contain portions of the actual theme song in its latter half.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' developed this prompting accusations of Ezio Auditore being a SpotlightStealingSquad. The main theme of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSVHx23ByhM "Ezio's Family"]], has come to represent the main theme of the entire franchise (although not until after the "Ezio Trilogy" ended, it's heard in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' in the closing credits only and nowhere to be heard in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'' as far as that trilogy is concerned. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1mO4v7Fu7Y Unity]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmlCudR3JPk Rogue]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9GYrRaRhIM Syndicate]]'' would incorporate the theme into their main themes, while ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kM1Y5VLEd8 Origins]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpuJNHJpAw Odyssey]]'', and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t97btsQ8FNc Valhalla]]'' would create their own renditions of the theme. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9geXVAOFDg "Rooftops of Venice"]] is also a song associated with Ezio, with his theme in ''Videogame/{{Soul|Series}}calibur V'' being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmsIVpXcu5k a remix]] of the song.

* "Theme of Adol" from the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series, although there is at least one game in which it doesn't appear (''Videogame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim''). Also, "Feena" from ''[[VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen I]] and [[VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter II]]''. %%and the RecurringRiff that appears several times in both ''IV'' and ''VI''.

* While ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has many praise-worthy tracks and songs, thanks in part to one particularly memorable Opening from ''WebAnimation/FantasyKaleidoscope'' the Song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbjbNGgL8p8 "The Gensokyo The Gods Loved"]], which is used as the Stage theme for Mountain Of Faith's "Stage 3", has regardless been widely recognized by fans as the "unofficial-official" theme song for the entirety of Touhou.

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* "Red Right Hand" has made an appearance in every Film/Scream film except the fourth. The lyrics that refer to a ghost and overwhelming paranoia, only make it more perfect for the series.

* While the theme wasn't new (it was part of the identity of 20th Century Pictures before the buyout from Fox), the flourish in Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox's famous fanfare was originally part of the special intros to their [=CinemaScope=] films. While the format eventually went out of style, Creator/GeorgeLucas's insistence on using the [=CinemaScope=] theme for ''Film/ANewHope'' and its subsequent composition by John Williams cemented it as ''the'' theme song of Fox.

** The theme of Daenerys Targaryen from ''Game of Thrones'' has been heard again in some scenes featuring Targaryen ancestors in ''House of the Dragon'', so it can be safely assumed it now serves as a {{Leitmotif}} for the Targaryen family in general.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. [[Music/SusumuHirasawa "HAIIIIIII YAI FOOOOOOR-CES!!!]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n55QVlBoDxI HAIIIIIII YAI FOOOOOOR-CES!!!"]] This particular chorus from the song "Forces" was just an image song used in some battle sequences and in the previews for the next episode, but it's the most iconic song in ''Berserk'' and when you hear that chorus, you seriously just want to [[FollowTheBouncingBall sing along.]] It was also the theme to the trailer, so it's quite likely the first exposure many people would have had to the series.

* Echoing Disney and "When You Wish Upon a Star", "Fairytale" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has been serving as the unofficial theme for Creator/DreamWorksAnimation since 2001. It has been used in fourteen [=DreamWorks=] films since then, only four of which are associated with ''Shrek''.[[note]]Strangely, though, ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' doesn't use the theme in its opening logo, despite being a ''Shrek'' spin-off.[[/note]]

* Echoing Disney and "When You Wish Upon a Star", "Fairytale" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has been serving as the unofficial theme for Creator/DreamWorksAnimation since 2001. Either the original or variations of it are used in the opening logos for all [=DreamWorks=] films since then, even those that have nothing to do with ''Shrek''.

* To a similar extent as Disney, "Fiona's Theme" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' is this for Creator/DreamWorksAnimation, becoming the default song that plays with the logo before its films.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has "All Star" by Music/SmashMouth, which was only played in the opening credits but fans nowadays feel like it's actually the theme song from the film. Making this even more interesting is that it almost didn't make it into the movie at all--it was originally written for [[Film/MysteryMen a completely different movie]]'s soundtrack, and was used as a placeholder with the expectation that an original song would be commissioned to take its place, but it worked so well with test audiences that they [[ThrowItIn left it in]].

** The theme of Daenerys Targaryen from ''Game of Thrones'' has been heard again in some scenes featuring her Targaryen Tancestors in ''House of the Dragon'', so it can be safely assumed it now serves as a {{Leitmotif}} for the Targaryen family in general.

** Episode 2 of the premiere season of ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' revealed that the theme of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has been reused for its opening, meaning the ''[=GoT=]'' theme is now franchise-wide for the {{live action adaptation}}s of ''Franchise/ASongOfIceAndFire''.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5iUt1EtUqs Hazardous Materials]] from the ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' soundtrack is used in the logo for Creator/ValveSoftware. [[https://youtu.be/n3_c9djkr08 Military Precision]], on the other hand, has become the theme song of Gordon Freeman himself, largely thanks to ''Machinima/FreemansMind''.

* The theme of Daenerys Targaryen from ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has been heard again in some scenes featuring her ancestors in ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'', so it can be safely assumed it now serves as a {{Leitmotif}} for the Targaryen family in general.

If you're wondering about the name, "bootstrapping" refers to an old [[TheMunchausen Baron Munchausen]] story in which the titular character pulls himself and his horse out of a swamp by literally [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum pulling himself up by his own bootstraps]] (or his own hair, it depends on the version). You can read more about it at Wiki/TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping here]]. Thus, these are songs that have taken center stage through their own merits, not because any creator really wanted it to be thus.

This term is also used in fields such as statistics (as a sampling method, more at Wiki/TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping_%28statistics%29 here]]) and computer processing (where it's usually abbreviated to "booting up" or the like).

** Frank West did have a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rqtyqMEQi0 theme]] in the original ''VideoGame/DeadRising'', but the theme he uses in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utt5XIHwbqA [=MvC3=]]] is not his own, but the boss music for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sDAhVDzNlM Adam the Clown]].

* "Immigrant Song" in ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' has become Thor's theme song, due to playing in two scenes and in the teaser for the movie.

* The main theme from ''Franchise/StarWars'' was actually Luke's theme. John Williams originally wanted to write a new main theme for the prequel trilogy, but Luke's theme was so well-associated with the franchise that they kept it during the opening crawl (and maybe once or twice in the underscore of ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''). That said, Luke ''does'' get his own theme in the course of the narrative itself: that "longing" tune that is heard as he watches Tatooine's twin suns set outside his farmhouse, which [[DarkReprise later becomes tragic as he finds his aunt's and uncle's burned skeletons outside that same farmhouse]]. However, even ''that'' theme is recycled at the end of the movie as celebratory fanfare for the Rebel Alliance.

** "Dual of the Fates", which underscores the climactic showdown between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul in ''The Phantom Menace'', became the unofficial theme of the film itself, showing up in commercials as well as video games that didn't even include that scene (such as ''Episode I: Racer'').

* From ''[[Film/TwentyEightDaysLater 28 Days Later]]'', "In the House, In a Heartbeat," which is used once in the climax of the movie, is frequently treated as the movie's theme. ''Film/TwentyEightWeeksLater'' carries on with this and runs the song into the ground.

* The theme of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' is arguably one of the best-known Western themes, and is the subject of a great many [[ShoutOut shout-outs]] in other media. However, it is frequently used to parody, or evoke, the tension of [[TheClimax the climactic final shootout scene,]] which has its own theme, which doesn't use the [[RecurringRiff "wah wah wah"]] riff.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aidem5-kheE Techno Syndrome]]" by The Immortals was composed for the [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie 1995 film adaptation]], but quickly became associated with the entire franchise as a whole.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' has NoThemeTune, surprisingly for a musical series. However, the song "Don't Stop Believin'" by Music/{{Journey}}, which the original six New Directions members sang at the end of the pilot, has gone on to be ''the'' theme song for the show and its characters; its status as this trope was cemented in season 5, where virtually every member of the New Directions sang it (since the glee club was going to be disbanded).