History Main / ThemeTuneCameo

[[redirect:DiegeticSoundtrackUsage

[[redirect:DiegeticSoundtrackUsage]]

->''"Bart, stop whistling that annoying tune."''
-->-- '''Marge Simpson''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "Bart Gets Famous", after hearing Bart whistle ''The Simpsons'' theme song while coming into the kitchen.

The usage of a show's theme music within an episode. Generally only used if the theme is itself a freestanding song rather than a TitleThemeTune.

The musical version of an OpeningShoutOut. Flirts with LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn. See also {{Leitmotif}}.

''Not the same thing'' as TitleThemeDrop, which is when the show's title theme is reused in some way by other parts of the soundtrack, such as a remix of the title theme playing when fighting the final boss of a video game. A Theme Tune Cameo is when the use of the song is diegetic: that is, someone or something within the work is doing the reference, such as a character humming the theme tune, or band playing the song, etc. There may be some overlap at times, if both are used within the same work. If the ''lyrics'' of the theme tune (or any other song) are used in dialogue, it's WaxingLyrical. See also ThemeMusicPowerUp. A common variation of LeaningOnTheFourthWall.

----
!!Example Subpages:
[[index]]
* ThemeTuneCameo/AnimeAndManga
* [[ThemeTuneCameo/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
* ThemeTuneCameo/LiveActionTV
* ThemeTuneCameo/VideoGames
* ThemeTuneCameo/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]

!!Other Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Many products back in the day had songs about their products, such as the songs for [=KitKat=], Almond Joy/Mounds. Nowadays, since singing a song about your product seems old-fashioned, some of these products that had songs will now just play a short instrumental version of these old songs somewhere in the commercial. One problem: if you're not old enough to remember these songs when they had words, you'll have no idea that these songs are meaningful as a ThemeTuneCameo and aren't just random songs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'':
** In Season 2 episode 44, Big M. presses a button on his voice toner which causes it to play the show's theme song.
** In episode 8 of ''Happy Heroes and the Magical Lab'', Doctor H.'s car radio plays the original theme song, "Happily Flying Forward" (which had been [[ReplacedTheThemeTune replaced]] with a few other songs starting from Season 9).
** In episode 15 of ''Happy Heroes and the Magical Lab'', a singer holds a concert where she sings the theme song ("Happily Flying Forward" again).
* ''Animation/{{Lamput}}'': In "Origins", after Mr. Moustache gets the docs into his car to be arrested, Lamput walks away and whistles what little the show has of a theme song as if nothing happened.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Audio Plays]]
* Creator/TheFiresignTheatre skit "AudioPlay/TheFurtherAdventuresOfNickDanger", from the album ''How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All'', has the title character whistling his theme tune as he walks the streets by night.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In a comic featuring ComicBook/{{Venom}} as the main character, he's seen swinging building to building singing a song, with lyrics featuring himself, obviously meant to line up with the classic Spider-Man theme song.
* In one of the ''ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse'' comics following the ''ComicBook/MarvelVersusDC'', Spider-Boy also sings his own version of the song about how {{Toyetic}} he is.
-->"Spider-Boy! Spider-Boy! Has the very best action toys! Top-ten show, game and vid! Gotta love the Arach-Kid!"
* One of the first times ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} breaks the FourthWall is when on his way to fight [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]] he starts singing the theme song from ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977''.
* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'':
** In at least one issue, Sonic sings the themesong for the ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM''. He does the actual lyrics but hums over the part where his own name would be mentioned. "Catchy tune," he notes, "wonder where I've heard it before."
** Eggman sings his {{leitmotif}} from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' in a later issue.
** In one of the ''Knuckles the Echidna'' comics, Knuckles has Vector crank his headphones up to MakeMeWannaShout levels to blow out a wildfire. Vector does so with the comment "Here comes that ''Top Ten'' fav - '''''Sonic Boom!'''''", with a note from the editor confirming that the music is indeed the song with that name from ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]''.
* An issue of the licensed ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'' comic from Creator/{{Dark Horse|Comics}} had Mackie singing "Kon'ya wa Hurricane," the first OVA's theme song.
* In an early installment of the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'' comic strip, "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo" (the character's theme song from the cartoons) is shown playing on a phonograph.
* In ''Marvel Double Shot'' #2, [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]] is shown singing the theme song from the 60's ''[[WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperheroes Iron Man]]'' cartoon while in the shower.
* An issue of ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' has a child singing the theme song to ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''.
** A later issue of ''Avengers Assemble'' reveals that ComicBook/SpiderWoman has it as her ringtone. In the final issue, Captain America has it downloaded to Anya/Spider-Girl's phone. The last panel is of her dancing to it.
* In ''Deadpool'' #8, the merc sings Spider-Man's theme song with his own lyrics:
--> "Deadpool-Man! Deadpool-Man! Does whatever Deadpool can! Makes a plan, any size, catches thieves and makes them die. Look out! There goes the Deadpool-Man!"
* An issue of the 2019 volume of ''Comicbook/IronMan'' features a LotusEaterMachine sequence that has the lyrics of the 60s ''[[WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes Iron Man]]'' cartoon theme shown on-panel.
* The final issue of Creator/SaladinAhmed's ''Comicbook/{{Exiles|2018}}'' run has a scene where Wolvie is briefly trapped in a timeline based on the 90s ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' cartoon, complete with the theme song:
-->'''Wolvie:''' Ahhh! Everyone's so loud and so mean! I ''do'' [[MediumAwareness like whatever that song is, though]].
* In ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' comic book story "Bathing Smurfs", Handy is heard singing ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' theme tune as he returns to the village from his hiking trip, with the words superimposed on a music scale. Some Papercutz English translations of their stories such as "The Clockwork Smurf" and "The Finance Smurf" also have this as the substitute for whatever songs the Smurfs originally sang in their original French versions.
* ''ComicBook/DCComicsBombshells'' #19 has a variation:
-->'''Harper Row''': "[[Series/Batman1966 Na na na na na na na na Batgirls!]]"
* In the first issue of ''ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl'', the Spider-Man theme tradition [[http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/2015/01/09/SG1.jpg is]] [[https://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/assets_c/2015/01/SG2-thumb-600x910-133877.jpg continued]]:
-->"Squirrel Girl, Squirrel Girl! She's a human and also a squirrel! Can she climb up a tree? Yes she can, easily. That's whyyyy Her name is Squirrel Girl!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eastern Animation]]
* In ''Animation/BalalaTheFairies'', the theme song is their transformation music. Even the toys made for the show play it.
* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': In Season 2 episode 44, Big M. presses a button on his voice toner which causes it to play the show's theme song.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'': [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Pinkie]], in one of her [[BreakingTheFourthWall 4th wall breaking antics]], starts humming the iconic ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RiBCgFwxXI Pursuit ~ Cornered]]'' theme from ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' in the middle of the investigation.
-->'''Phoenix:''' ''([[LeaningOnTheFourthWall That song she's humming sounds really, really familiar...]])''
* ''FanFic/AGrowingAffection'': GO!!! (a.k.a. Fighting Dreamers) is used as Hinata's ring tone.
* In ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'', the Smurfs theme song from [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs the cartoon show]] is consistently referred to as "the Smurf song", even by its characters. In "The Grouchiest Friendship", Empath learns the lyrics of the song during his first visit to the Smurf Village. In "Smurphony Of The Night", Empath uses the tune to disrupt the effect of the MindControlMusic that Lord Vladimir Smurfula uses on Smurfette.
** In "For The Smurf Of Money" (an adaptation of "The Finance Smurf"), the Smurfs near the end of the story sing an altered version of the Smurf song when they decide to ultimately reject the money system.
-->"La, la, la la la la, sing the smurfy song.
-->La, la, la la la la, smurf it all day long.
-->La, la, la la la la, a life with no money.
-->La, la, la la la la, smurfy as can be.
-->Caring for every Smurf is smurf more than all the gold.
-->Everyone is smurfier to smurf the ways of old.
-->La, la, la la la la, now you know the tune,
-->La, la, la la la la, you'll be smurfing soon."
* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Ash has the English Dub theme songs in his [=iTunes=] Library that the Pokédex can play. Several of the sidestories also feature a few of these:
** In the Erika Interlude, Erika's Gloom hums "What Kind of Pokémon Are You?"
** In "[[BirthdayEpisode Happy Birthday, Ash!]]", Delia sings "You & Me & Pokémon" during Ash's 15th birthday party.
** In the Frax & Velvet Interlude, Jasmine Lono has "Under the Alolan Sun" set as her ringtone.
** Lorelei has "Pokémon Dance Mix" as her ringtone in the Pokémon G-Men Interlude.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fan comic ''Webcomic/TwilightsFirstDay'', the opening notes of the show's theme tune is used, [[GeniusBonus in musical notation]], as the school bell at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.
* In one online {{MSTing}}, the protagonist of the story being [=MSTed=] is revealed to have been knocked out and marooned in a space capsule. Tom and Crow promptly start singing "So they conked him on the noggin and they shot him into space"; Mike doesn't find this quite as funny.
* In the ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' ParodyFic "Farce Contact", the [[SpaceMarine MACHOS]] shout "Let's rock!" as per ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. [[spoiler:At the end of the story, the Future Guy uses a parody of the theme to get ''Enterprise'' cancelled.]]
-->'Faith of the Heart' blared from the comm system.\\
"That's not rock, that's some 70's pop tune by Diane Warren!"\\
"But it's working, sir. The Suliban are [[TakeThat fleeing in terror]]."
* ''Fanfic/LincolnsMemories'': Played with. In "A Rockin' Good Time", [[WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse Lincoln and Luna]] write the ''EndingTheme''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* In the movie ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: Advent Children,'' Loz's cell phone ring tone is the victory music from the game. Amusingly, he gets a phone call right after Tifa is done beating him up.
* While ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' doesn't have a proper theme song, the most-repeated motif from the score is called "Mr. Incredible's Theme". Bob Parr can be heard humming this melody when he returns home after a night of clandestine superheroing. In addition, one of the DVD {{Easter Egg}}s shows Mr. Incredible dancing to a swing version of the theme.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' the melody of "The Bells of Notre-Dame" is played many times throughout the sound track, including in other songs.
* Near the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'', Flint hums his own theme music; the exact same music that was the BGM of the previous scene.
* In the 2012 movie adaption of ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'', you can hear "Thneedville", the opening song, to the film play during the seed chase scene.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', Music/GreenDay make a cameo playing the Simpsons theme.
* Three instances in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'':
** When the camera reveals the island which marks Bikini Bottom, we hear the last eight notes of the theme.
** The seagulls begin singing the song, but Burger-Beard stops them.
** The full audio from [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants the TV version]] of the theme is heard at the end.
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too]]'', Rabbit is humming "Winnie the Pooh" while harvesting his garden.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' features the theme from the 1967 ''[[WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967 Spider-Man]]'' cartoon quite a few times. It first pops up during Peter's opening narration, where he boasts about having an excellent theme song. ComicBook/TheKingpin later ominously hums the song to himself when he finds Spider-Man trying to shut down his Super-Collider. The song appears one last time to close out TheStinger where [[spoiler: Spider-Man 2099 meets his 60's counterpart]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* The Foo Fighters have done this ''[[strike: twice]]'' ''three times'', amazingly enough, with cameos of prior hits in their music videos:
** The video for "Monkey Wrench" starts off with a scene of Dave Grohl standing in an elevator, in which a Muzak version of "Big Me" is playing. Naturally, Grohl starts bobbing his head to the tune.
** The video for "Learn to Fly" shows the airplane that provides the video's setting being cleaned up, to a Muzak version of "Everlong".
** The song that's playing on the car radio in the beginning of the video for "Breakout" is "Generator", from the same album.
* The party-crashing bikers from Music/QuietRiot's "Party All Night" video are first seen hanging around outside a pizza place, with "Bang Your Head (Mental Health)" playing on a boombox.
* The video to [[Music/FiftyCent 50 Cent's]] "I'll Still Kill" has an earlier single, "I Get Money" playing on a TV in the intro.
* In their Rube-Goldberg-esque music video for "This Too Shall Pass", OK Go includes a shot of a television showing part of the music video for "Here It Goes Again", another of their songs.
* Molly Hatchet's "Stone In Your Heart" video begins with the band driving down the road and picking up a hitchhiker while "Flirtin' With Disaster" (their first and biggest hit) plays on the radio.
* At the beginning of *Music/{{NSYNC}}'s "It's Gonna Be Me" video-- which is partially set in a toy store-- [[SignatureSong "Bye Bye Bye"]] can be heard on the speakers.
* The Music/BackstreetBoys' video for "Larger Than Life" features an audio medley of the group's earlier singles, presented to sound like someone flipping through several radio stations.
* At the beginning of George Michael's "Faith" video, "I Want Your Sex" is playing on a jukebox (the very first image of the video). Interestingly enough, upon release "Sex" was used less to advertise the "Faith" album (released in October, as opposed to this song's June) than the recently new film ''Film/BeverlyHillsCopII''.
* Music/LimpBizkit's "Rollin'" video began with Ben Stiller and Stephen Dorff pulling up to Fred Durst-- while their car's radio plays "My Generation" (the band's previous single, not the Who song).
* [[Music/JasonDerulo "Whatcha Say"]] can be heard at the start of the "In My Head" video, either coming from a car radio or the speakers of the convenience store whose parking lot is the video's location.
* The opening shot of Alicia Keys' video for "Fallin'" is her bedside radio playing "Girlfriend", another of her songs.
* The opening to the "Voices" video by Music/{{Disturbed}} features a man listening to music on his Walkman; the music being "Stupify", an earlier single from the same album.
* "Bad Reputation" by Music/JoanJett and the Blackhearts can be heard playing on a jukebox in the music video for their later song "I Love Rock'n'roll."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}''
** In ''[[TheMovie Thunderbirds Are Go]]'', Alan is heard humming the theme as he travels on the couch-elevator.
** Although it's not quite the same principle (being more a case of RecycledSoundtrack), in one episode the tune "March of the Oysters" from ''Series/{{Stingray 1964}}'' can be heard emanating from a man's house.
** Virgil plays a version of the theme tune on the piano in some episodes.
** And in the [[Film/{{Thunderbirds}} live-action movie]] Jeff Tracy and Lady Penelope have the theme as ringtones.
* In a ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'' episode, the tune "Dangerous Game" from ''Thunderbirds'' is on the radio. Not all the radio music was recycled, though.
* In one episode of ''Fireball [=XL5=]'', Steve Zodiac and company perform the show's end title song at a concert.
* In ''Series/{{Stingray 1964}}'''s "Raptures Of The Deep," Troy Tempest sings the show's end credits song to Marina. [[spoiler: Unlike the example above, however, it's a hallucination he's having.]]
* ''Series/SesameStreet''
** During one episode, when discussing the weather, Elmo sings a few bars of the opening theme "Sunny days sweeping the clouds away"
** In a News Flash sketch, Don Music is shown in the process of writing the ''Sesame Street'' theme, but he can't come up with a line to rhyme with "where the air is sweet". With Kermit the Frog's help, he ends up changing the lyrics to depict a stormy night, with the last line asking "Can you tell me how to get to Yellowstone Park?". Then, after the rewritten song is performed, Kermit asks Don how to get to Sesame Street.
** The CrossOver with ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'' begins with an instrumental of the theme song to that show, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", playing as Big Bird hums along to it.
* ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse'': Around the beginning of "A Beary Bear Christmas", Bear sings a line from the theme song in order to get the kids to notice him when they're arguing over how to help out to get ready for the holidays.
* In one episode of ''Series/FraggleRock'', Mokey goes back in time to write the show's theme song, which encourages the ancient Fraggles to laugh.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* In the first episode of the early-1980s Public Radio serialization of ''Franchise/StarWars'', the famous Main Title fades down and is filtered to become -- the background music of a commercial for the Imperial Merchant Marine Corps to which Luke is listening.
* In Creator/StanFreberg's ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' spoof "Little Blue Riding Hood," Granny's doorbell plays the ''Dragnet'' theme. (For this and its A-side "St. George And The Dragonet," the orchestra used was the actual ''Dragnet'' orchestra, as Jack Webb loved the idea!)
** In ''every Dragnet'' spoof that Freberg made, virtually anything that can make music plays the ''Dragnet'' theme -- and nothing else.
* One episode of ''Radio/TheNavyLark'' has Sub-Lieutenant Phillips whistling the show's theme music as a "Ditty" he'd picked up somewhere. He's promptly told to stop it by the rest of the cast as it [[BitingTheHandHumor sounds silly and annoying]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* In the ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' stage musicals, better known as the ''Theatre/SeraMyu'', the characters sometimes perform stageshows within the musical itself. One musical has the Senshi, in civilian form, preform ''La Soldier'' as part of Rehersal, considered the ''Sera Myu'''s theme by the fans (it appears in nearly every musical either as part of it or an encore number), only to have a character complain they'll be recognized by the baddies for singing it. Moments later the baddies show up in {{Paper Thin Disguise}}s and preform their version of La Soldier (sung by the children in the group). Said scene can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4dw3avLc_A here]].
* Two examples in the Bernstein/Sondheim musical ''West Side Story.'' When Anita arrives at Doc's store, met by the confrontational Jets, one of them turns on the jukebox, which plays a simple reprise of the "Mambo" from the dance at the gym. Then, when Doc goes downstairs to meet Tony, the boy is whistling [[DefectingForLove "Maria"]] to himself.
* In ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'', the characters of Senex and Hysterium sing or hum the songs "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" and "I'm Calm" at a various points. The first one's a plot point, as Senex mistakes Philia for a new maid (read: concubine), prompting the song. He sings it later while taking a bath, unintentionally leading Erronius to [[IncrediblyLamePun erroneously]] believe that his house is haunted.
* In ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}'', John Wilkes Booth is heard humming a bit of "The Ballad of Booth" before starting his conversation to try and convince Lee Harvey Oswald to shoot JFK.
* In ''Theatre/PokemonLive'', the show opens with the Johto Pokemon theme before being interrupted by Giovanni's commercial, and Ash listens to the original Pokemon theme on the radio.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* In Act II of ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', the Doctor's cellphone ringtone is the first two bars of the Bad Horse theme.
* Mr. Deity's cellphone plays the ''WebVideo/MrDeity'' theme song.
* Used as a MythologyGag in episode eight of the ''WebVideo/TheJokerBlogs'': Joker hums his theme tune from the animated series while [[spoiler:escaping from Arkham Asylum]].
[[/folder]]
----

* ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse'':
** Each episode has an instrumental snippet of the theme play over the title card.
** Around the beginning of "A Beary Bear Christmas", Bear sings a line from the theme song in order to get the kids to notice him when they're arguing over how to help out to get ready for the holidays.

* ''Series/TheNoddyShop'': Each episode begins with an instrumental version of the theme playing over the shot of the store with the episode's title over it.

* ''Series/TheNoddyShop'':
** Each episode begins with an instrumental version of the theme playing over the shot of the store with the episode's title over it.
** In the song "A What If World", one of the lines Island Princess sings is "When you make believe it all comes true", which is a shout out to her verse in the theme song, "A place where make believe comes true".

* One of the first times ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} breaks the FourthWall is when on his way to fight [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]] he starts singing the theme song from ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk''.

* ThemeTuneCameo/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]

!!Examples

* [[ThemeTuneCameo.AnimeAndManga Anime and Manga]]
* [[ThemeTuneCameo.LiveActionFilm Film (Live-Action)]]
* [[ThemeTuneCameo.LiveActionTV Live-Action TV]]
* [[ThemeTuneCameo.VideoGames Video Games]]
* [[ThemeTuneCameo.WesternAnimation Western Animation]]

----

[[folder:Advertisement]]

[[folder:Audio Play]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In Act II of ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', the Doctor's cellphone ringtone is the first two bars of the Bad Horse theme.

[[/folder]]

* Used as a MythologyGag in episode eight of the ''WebVideo/TheJokerBlogs'': Joker hums his theme tune from the animated series while [[spoiler: escaping from Arkham Asylum.]

''Not the same thing'' as TitleThemeDrop, which is when the show's title theme is reused in some way by other parts of the soundtrack, such as a remix of the title theme playing when fighting the final boss of a video game. A Theme Tune Cameo is when the use of the song is diegetic: that is, someone or something within the work is doing the reference, such as a character humming the theme tune, or band playing the song, etc. There may be some overlap at times, if both are used within the same work. If the ''lyrics'' of the theme tune (or any other song) are used in dialogue, it's WaxingLyrical. See also ThemeMusicPowerUp. A common subtrope of LeaningOnTheFourthWall.

''Not the same thing'' as TitleThemeDrop, which is when the show's title theme is reused in some way by other parts of the soundtrack, such as a remix of the title theme playing when fighting the final boss of a video game. A Theme Tune Cameo is when the use of the song is diegetic: that is, someone or something within the work is doing the reference, such as a character humming the theme tune, or band playing the song, etc. There may be some overlap at times, if both are used within the same work. If the ''lyrics'' of the theme tune (or any other song) are used in dialogue, it's WaxingLyrical. See also ThemeMusicPowerUp. Subtrope of LeaningOnTheFourthWall.

''Not the same thing'' as TitleThemeDrop, which is when the show's title theme is reused in some way by other parts of the soundtrack, such as a remix of the title theme playing when fighting the final boss of a video game. A Theme Tune Cameo is when the use of the song is diegetic: that is, someone or something within the work is doing the reference, such as a character humming the theme tune, or band playing the song, etc. There may be some overlap at times, if both are used within the same work. If the ''lyrics'' of the theme tune (or any other song) are used in dialogue, it's WaxingLyrical. See also ThemeMusicPowerUp.

* Used as a MythologyGag in episode eight of the ''WebVideo/TheJokerBlogs'': Joker hums his theme tune from the animated series while [[spoiler: escaping from Arkham Asylum.]]
* The ending credits music of ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'' can be heard over the stoner's radio in the first scene.
* In the first episode of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', Ruby is listening to the show's theme song through headphones in one scene.
* In ''X-Men: Phoenix Season'' the mansion's doorbell is the tune of the ''WesternAnimation/PrydeOfTheXMen'' pilot.
* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': In "Dante vs. Bayonetta", Dante briefly hums "Fly Me to the Moon", which is Bayonetta's theme song.
* ''Website/HectorsWorld'': The theme plays if you scroll past the Music Club.
[[/folder]]


----

** In at least one issue, Sonic sings the themesong for the ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM''. He does the actual lyrics but hums over the part where his own name would be mentioned. "Catchy tune," he notes, "wonder where I've heard it before."

* In episode of ''Series/FraggleRock'', Mokey goes back in time to write the show's theme song, which encourages the ancient Fraggles to laugh.

* In ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' the melody of "The Bells of Notre-Dame" is played many times throughout the sound track, including in other songs.

* In ''[[Disney/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too]]'', Rabbit is humming "Winnie the Pooh" while harvesting his garden.

* In at least one issue of ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog, he sings the themesong for the WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM cartoon that gave birth to the comic. He does the actual lyrics but hums over the part where his own name would be mentioned. "Catchy tune," he notes, "wonder where I've heard it before."

* The final issue of Creator/SaladinAhmed's ''Comicbook/{{Exiles}}'' run has a scene where Wolvie is briefly trapped in a timeline based on the 90s ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' cartoon, complete with the theme song:

* An issue of the licensed ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'' comic from Creator/{{Dark Horse|Comics}} has Mackie singing "Kon'ya wa Hurricane," the first OVA's theme song.

* An issue of the licensed ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'' comic from {{Creator/{{Dark Horse|Comics}} has Mackie singing "Kon'ya wa Hurricane," the first OVA's theme song.

* [[ThemeTuneCameo.LiveActionFilm Film (Live Action)]]
* [[ThemeTuneCameo.LiveActionTV Live Action TV]]

* Each episode of ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' begins with an instrumental version of the theme playing over the shot of the store with the episode's title over it.

* Around the beginning of "A Beary Bear Christmas" in ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse'', Bear sings a line from the theme song in order to get the kids to notice him when they're arguing over how to help out to get ready for the holidays.