History Main / ChangelingFantasy

* The main xcharachter of ''Mio, My Mio'' by AstridLindgren is this. His actual father is a king in a magical land.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The African dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa tracked down his long-lost illegitimate daughter, who was living in poverty, and brought her back to live with him. Which makes the "evil real family" [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] an example of TruthInTelevision.
* Opal Whiteley, or Princess Francoise Marie de Bourbon-Orleans (both names are engraved upon her tombstone), was a TeenGenius naturalist living in Oregon who kept a diary (now a respected classic) from the age of five or six. Stories about her life vary depending on who is telling them, but she seems to have believed almost from the beginning that she was adopted and was really the daughter of Prince [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri,_Prince_of_Orl%C3%A9ans Henri d'Orleans]] of France (himself a naturalist who wrote several books on geography). She later became a CloudCuckoolander and ended her days in a hospital for the insane.
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[[folder:Film]]
* ''PansLabyrinth''. Although Ofelia rather loves her human mother, and seems to have loved her long-dead father, it's presented as an unambiguously better thing to live in the underworld full of magic. Mostly because dad is dead, mom is very weak-willed, and new stepdad is a zealous fascist. Unlike most examples, Guillermo del Toro actually takes into account [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the implications of such a statement]].
* In ''{{Wanted}}'', the main character is bored and dissatisfied with his mundane life until he finds out that his father was a bad-ass super assassin and he's inherited his powers.
* ''Who's Your Daddy?'', about a boy who inherits his father's (played by Wayne Newton) porn empire.
* The premise of ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries''. Subverted at first because Mia resists the idea of going from socially awkward, pathless San Francisco high schooler to ruler of a foreign country for most of the movie.

* Don Princesse's {{Anastasia}} is a long-lost, [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] Russian princess. (With an interesting twist: prior to her discovery of her true heritage, she plans to ''pretend'' she's the princess and takes appropriate lessons in history and protocol. Then she's in for a surprise when the BigBad, who swore to destroy the entire royal family, comes after her...)
* In ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', instead of being a Zeus bastard like in the original myth, the title protagonist turn out to be his legitimate son, found later by his farmers foster parents.
* ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessCharmSchool'': Blair Willows [[DoorstopBaby was adopted by her poor foster mother]], became a waitress, then enter the titular school as a Lady Royal. [[spoiler: The ending reveal Blair was Sophia, the lost princess and heir to the throne, all along.]]
* ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'': The woman whom Rapunzel calls "Mother," who raised her—and who keeps her cooped up in a tower, makes demands of her, and insults her—isn't her real mother. Her real parents are a kindly king and queen who love her unconditionally and still celebrate her birthday every year as they wait for her to find them again.
* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'': Kristoff is a changeling, having been raised by the trolls since he was a small boy.

[[folder:Film]]
* ''StarWars'':
** Luke Skywalker is the son of a Jedi, rather than the navigator on a spice freighter that his uncle always told him he was. However, his father has [[FaceHeelTurn gone evil]] and become Darth Vader, TheDragon to the [[BigBad Emperor]]. Thankfully, Luke is able to redeem him, and turn him back to the Light.
** His twin sister Leia Organa as well, though she had a hard time accepting her biological father and always regarded herself as her adopted father's daughter.
* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the Belgian film ''Toto Le Héros'', where this is a children's fantasies returning again to him on his senile dementia against his rich neighbor.

* In DavidLynch's ''Film/TheElephantMan'', the title character occasionally expresses a wish to find his real mother, on the hope that she could "love me as I am." What makes this so tragic is the subtle implication (which is historically true, by the way) that she clearly abandoned him for being ... [[TheGrotesque well, you know]].
* There's a scene in ''Film/{{Twins}}'' where Vincent mocks the idea of his origins.

* Don Bluth's {{Anastasia}} is a long-lost, [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] Russian princess. (With an interesting twist: prior to her discovery of her true heritage, she plans to ''pretend'' she's the princess and takes appropriate lessons in history and protocol. Then she's in for a surprise when the BigBad, who swore to destroy the entire royal family, comes after her...)

* In LMMontgomery's ''TheBlueCastle'', inverted in universe -- Valancy's relatives explicitly talk about whether she is a changeling because of her sudden peculiar behavoir, and it gets shot down because of her age.

* Alois Trancy from the second season of ''Manga/BlackButler'' claims this is what happened to him, since he went missing as an infant (which caused his mother [[DrivenToSuicide kill herself from despair]]) and reappeared years later after living with a foster family in an ordinary village and was taken back in by his father, the late Earl Trancy. In the first episode it's mentioned that he claims fairies abducted him, which is uncle is incredibly suspicious about and intends to prove he's a fraud. [[spoiler:The uncle's right, Alois is actually Jim Macken, an ordinary boy who was only posing as the Earl's son... and was actually his SexSlave until he snapped and killed the Earl by making a contract with a demon.]]

* Don Princesse's {{Anastasia}} is a long-lost, [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] Russian princess. (With an interesting twist: prior to her discovery of her true heritage, she plans to ''pretend'' she's the princess and takes appropriate lessons in history and protocol. Then she's in for a surprise when the BigBad, who swore to destroy the entire royal family, comes after her...)

* Played oddly in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII''. The protagonist's foster mother actuall ''did'' give birth to the him; he was conceieved hundreds of years ago and gestated for seven months, at which point his real mother turned into a mermaid (thus lacking a womb) and the Spirit of Water teleported him into a random woman's womb at a random point in the future.

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in Sharon Creech's ''The Wanderer'': Sophie constantly thinks of her adopted family as her bioloical one, util she is finally forced to admit that she is adopted and that the sea (which she likes) killed her biological parents.

->''"I hate my parents. They're so mean and they never understand me. I'll bet they're not my real parents... one day my real parents will come save me. They might be royalty, or magical."''
-->-- '''Countless small children'''

* In ''SpyBoy'', Alex wishes at the beginning for one to escape his crappy school life until he realize how brutal the espionage world really is.
* ''{{Superman}}'' values both his Kryptonian heritage and his foster parents. However, this perception varies from medium to medium or even from [[DependingOnTheWriter writer to writer]]. His origin doesn't fit this trope very well either way; in the SilverAge, he always knew he was Kryptonian due to super memory of his early years on Krypton. In the PostCrisis take, Superman didn't know he was Kryptonian until adulthood but it was evident long before then that he wasn't human (or at least, a normal human). In the latter version, he tends to cling to his human values and upbringing (especially in the Smallville series).

* ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'':The woman whom Rapunzel calls "Mother," who raised her—and who keeps her cooped up in a tower, makes demands of her, and insults her—isn't her real mother. Her real parents are a kindly king and queen who love her unconditionally and still celebrate her birthday every year as they wait for her to find them again.

** In Volume 4 they have Sylar's Changeling Fantasy actually turn out to be ''true'', in that he really was adopted, and his biological father turns out to have been a powerful supervillain...but it's subverted as Sylar finds him a "big disappointment" due to all the VillainDecay his dad had undergone, courtesy of cancer, apparent poverty, and sheer boredom with life. Its implied as well that he never really did much with his abilities anyway other than kill people for their power [[spoiler: and Sylars mom]], and was just a self-centered JerkAss who doesn't give a crap about his son and never did. [[spoiler: When he finds out Sylar has a HealingFactor and is effectively immortal, he tries to kill him for it and get a new lease on life. Except Sylar overpowers him without much effort.]]

* Don Bluth's {{Anastasia}} is a long-lost, [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] Russian princess. (With an interesting twist: prior to her discovery of her true heritage, she plans to ''pretend'' she's the princess and takes appropriate lessons in history and protocol. Then she's in for a surprise when the BigBad, who swore to destroy the entire royal family, comes after her...)

* Subverted in ''{{Bone}}'' by [[BadAssGrandpa Badass Grandma]] Rose Ben being a member of the young [[TheMessiah Thorn's]] real family as well. Thorn wasn't so much adopted as she was stolen away by her grandmother for her safety, who's just as much a hidden royal as Thorn is. As Thorn goes through the story and returns to her rightful position, Grandma Ben is right alongside her (for the [[IJustWantToBeNormal most part]]), returning to her royal position also.

* Emma's story in ''OnceUponATime''- she's found on the side of the road as a baby and grows up believing her parents abandoned her. In reality they're Snow White and Prince Charming who sacrificed themselves to send her to the real world and free her from the curse which is keeping them trapped in Storybrooke.

-->-- '''Countless teenagers'''

* ''{{Superman}}'' values both his Kryptonian heritage and his foster-parents. However, this perception varies from medium to medium or even from [[DependingOnTheWriter writer to writer]]. His origin doesn't fit this trope very well either way; in the SilverAge, he always knew he was Kryptonian due to super memory of his early years on Krypton. In the PostCrisis take, Superman didn't know he was Kryptonian until adulthood but it was evident long before then that he wasn't human (or at least, a normal human). In the latter version, he tends to cling to his human values and upbringing (especially in the Smallville series).

* This is the entire point of the new book series ''The39Clues'' in which two children find themselves to be heirs to the most powerful family on earth.

* ''StarWars'':
** Luke Skywalker is the son of a Jedi, rather than the navigator on a spice freighter that his uncle always told him he was. However, this is subverted in that his father has [[FaceHeelTurn gone evil]] and become Darth Vader, TheDragon to the [[BigBad Emperor]]. Thankfully, Luke is able to redeem him, and turn him back to the Light.
** His twin sister Leia Organa as well, though she had a hard time accepting her biological father and always regarded herself as her adopted father's daughter.

** ''Tales of Innsmouth'' is a collection of stories by various authors, one of which raises the point that said fish-people will be Very Vengeful about their city being torpedoed thanks to his running to the authorities- the protagonist finds the perfectly preserved flayed skin of the original character. He is still alive as a skinless fish-man though.

** It's implied that Quasi was traded for [[spoiler: Esmeralda when she was just a baby and he was about 4]] and was then taken by the church. His parents were such nice people, don't you think?

* The story of the ''Ugly Duckling''.

** Luke Skywalker is the son of a Jedi, rather than the navigator on a spice freighter that his uncle always told him he was. However, this is subverted in that his father has [[FaceHeelTurn gone evil]] and become Darth Vader, the {{Dragon}} to the [[BigBad Emperor]]. Thankfully, Luke is able to redeem him, and turn him back to the Light.

** Luke Skywalker is the son of a Jedi, rather than the navigator on a spice freighter that his uncle always told him he was. However, this is subverted in that his father has [[FaceHeelTurn gone evil]] and has become Darth Vader, the {{Dragon}} to the [[BigBad Emperor]]. Thankfully, Luke is able to redeem him, and turn him back to the Light.

** Luke Skywalker is the son of a Jedi, rather than the navigator on a spice freighter that his uncle always told him he was. However, his father has [[FaceHeelTurn gone evil]] and has become the {{Dragon}} to the [[BigBad Emperor]]. Thankfully, Luke is able to redeem him, and turn him back to the Light.

** Luke Skywalker.

If the two families are not the same, the [[MuggleFosterParents foster family]] is usually a [[AbusiveParents cartoonishly abusive]] and [[EvilStepmother unloving bunch]]. They tell the hero that they'll never amount to anything, and they had better not think about [[RoyalBlood royalty]] or [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial magic]]. Most shows won't even bother revisiting the foster family after the first episode, except (maybe) to have them show up as minor dupes of the BigBad later. The plot has obvious appeal for any teen who has ever felt unloved. (Piling on the {{Glurge}} is optional.)

* [[StarWars Luke Skywalker]].

* In ''[[{{Narnia}} The Horse And His Boy]]'', Shasta turns out, in the end, to be a prince. An unusual example in that TheReveal comes after the climax; he goes through the entire book believing himself to be a commoner. He does overhear at the beginning, though, that the man he thought was his father really found and adopted him, and he briefly fantasizes that he might be anyone, even royalty. Then he has to run away and seems to forget all about it.

Perhaps this is due to the greater acceptance of adoption today. It used to be extremely taboo and "shameful" to discover that one was adopted. Nowadays the ChangelingFantasy is evolving into dualism; with the main character having one foot in both worlds. Yes, they have a fantastic lineage; [[HappilyAdopted but it's their down-to-earth family that ultimately shaped their values]].

** In Volume 4 they have Sylar's ChangelingFantasy actually turn out to be ''true'', in that he really was adopted, and his biological father turns out to have been a powerful supervillain...but it's subverted as Sylar finds him a "big disappointment" due to all the VillainDecay his dad had undergone, courtesy of cancer, apparent poverty, and sheer boredom with life. Its implied as well that he never really did much with his abilities anyway other than kill people for their power [[spoiler: and Sylars mom]], and was just a self-centered JerkAss who doesn't give a crap about his son and never did. [[spoiler: When he finds out Sylar has a HealingFactor and is effectively immortal, he tries to kill him for it and get a new lease on life. Except Sylar overpowers him without much effort.]]

** [[spoiler: In the end Rosline finds no Elves and falls in despair only made worse by being found by her abusive father who then starts beating the crap out of her at that moment her [[DespairEventHorizon deepest despair]] activates a [[ArtifactOfDoom certain little egg]]. The summoned Godhand grants her wish to become an elf by transforming her into a fairy-like Apostle in exchange for both of her parents' lives.]] She has since taken to creating a "fairyland" where the children that she kidnaps are turned into her creepy little pseudo-elves in a very twisted version of the ChangelingFantasy, one that eventually comes crashing down when Guts comes calling.

* The premise of ThePrincessDiaries. Subverted at first because Mia resists the idea of going from socially awkward, pathless San Francisco high schooler to ruler of a foreign country for most of the movie.

* Deconstructed in ''ThePrincessDiaries'' novels. A princess's duties and responsibilities are tough, and poor Mia didn't even want them in the first place.

* Happens to Bloom, the protagonist of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub:'' First she learns [[ChangelingTale that she's a fairy]], and then is revealed that her parents aren't her real parents, and that she's a princess of another world. It's partially averted, since Mike and Vanessa (Bloom's foster parents) are very loving, caring and supportive.

* BarbiePrincessCharmSchool: Blair Willows [[DoorstopBaby was adopted by her poor foster mother]], became a waitress, then enter the titular school as a Lady Royal. [[spoiler: The ending reveal Blair was Sophia, the lost princess and heir to the throne, all along.]]