Line #19 Main/BandToon


1	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheBeatles1965 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/92962-the-beatles-1-the-bea_41.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:I wanna hold your hand! But they won't draw me doing it.]]
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4	When a music act (band or solo) gets big enough, sooner or later, someone will probably attempt to make a TV show featuring said musician(s). This show is often animated, and the band members may be NotQuiteStarring.
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6	The standard format for such shows usually goes like this: the band is [[WalkingTheEarth Touring the World]], often riding in a CoolCar or tour bus (or even better, a Cool Tour Bus!). [[AdventureTowns They have an adventure in every city]]. They solve the issue in time to sing a song at the end of the show.
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8	Alternately, it may be a flashback series, showing the band in their hometown as upcoming performers looking to make their big break. And getting in and out of adventures and singing a song at the end. Other series may go even further, casting the band as {{Superhero}}es, secret agents, or the like who just happen to be able to sing or play really well: a very literal FiveManBand. If the group also recently had a [[TheMovie movie]] released, the cartoon may be a continuation of that, usually (when necessary) changing the names of the movie's characters back to the performers' real or stage names. Expect a GratuitousAnimalSidekick to be added to the crew. Often, they fight against evil using ThePowerOfRock.
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10	Note that shows using this format need not be based on an existing real-life band. Shows such as ''WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats,'' ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}},'' or ''WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}'' all fall into this category. Also note that occasionally a song from such a "fictional" band will be a break out hit, such as "Sugar Sugar" by [[WesternAnimation/TheArchieShow the Archies.]] And that's all without mentioning live-action series like ''Series/TheMonkees.''
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12	Part of the appeal of this format for animation studios is that the inevitable music sequence(s) always rely on StockFootage, which saves on animation costs. Studios would sometimes even retrace the instrument-playing animation from a previous series, using the new characters.
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14	Inevitably, fame being what it is nowadays, most groups end up declining in popularity shortly after the airing of these shows. This might be because getting one's own cartoon usually ''happens'' at the height of one's popularity, and one can only go down from there. It could also be claimed, however, that getting your own cartoon is a sign of [[ItsPopularNowItSucks "selling out."]] (Though one could argue that many of the examples listed never bought in.) Whether this is true or not, you gotta admit: If someone offered the opportunity for ''you'' to have your own cartoon, wouldn't you take it?
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16	A form of AnimatedAdaptation. See also CelebrityToons. Not to be confused with ''[[WesternAnimation/CensoredEleven banned]]'' toons, which are a different matter entirely. [[IdolGenre Idol anime]] are a comparable, mainly Japanese concept.
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18	----
19	!!Examples:
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21	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBeatles1965'' - TropeMaker.
22	** And later, ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'' (on which many of the same crew members worked), which almost didn't get made because [[Music/TheBeatles the real Beatles]] hated the stinging criticism of their BBC special ''Film/MagicalMysteryTour''. They also wanted to get rid of their film contract with Creator/UnitedArtists. The company told them ''Yellow Submarine'' didn't fulfill the conditions, so they made ''Film/LetItBe'' instead.
23	* Music/{{ABC\|Band}} in the video for "How to be a Millionaire".
24	* ''Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' is an edge case - this "band" [[VirtualCelebrity exists only on records and in animation]], but [[Music/AlvinAndTheChipmunks the records]] came first.
25	* ''WesternAnimation/TheJackson5ive'', a Creator/RankinBass-produced series about Music/TheJacksonFive.
26	* In TheNewTens, Japan had a trend of creating fictional bands - both IdolSinger style, and rock band style, as well as various other types - played by popular voice actors. They would release singles accompanied by drama [=CDs=], and often also have a rhythm game. If they're popular, they'll even get an anime. Examples include ''Franchise/{{Tsukipro}}'''s 10+ units, ''Music/MarginalNumber4'', and others.
27	* ''The [[Series/DonnyAndMarie Osmonds]]'' - The show (also produced by Rankin/Bass) featured only the brothers; Marie had not yet made into the music scene when the Osmonds cartoon was made (1972--she would record her first song, "Paper Roses," in 1973).
28	* ''[[Series/ThePartridgeFamily Partridge Family]] 2200 A.D.'': A Creator/HannaBarbera series placing the titular band in a ''[[WesternAnimation/TheJetsons Jetsons]]''-esque [[{{Zeerust}} space-age future]] (as a replacement for a cancelled revival of the aforementioned show).
29	* ''WesternAnimation/KiddVideo'' - One example of a band being made specifically for the purpose of the series. Other examples include WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats, [[WesternAnimation/TheArchieShow The Archies]], Fire Bomber (of ''Anime/Macross7'' fame) and Series/TheMonkees.
30	* Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock has ''WesternAnimation/NewKidsOnTheBlock''
31	* ''WesternAnimation/KidNPlay''
32	* [=MC=] Hammer has ''WesternAnimation/{{Hammerman}}''
33	* ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi''. Unusually, the show wasn't made in response to the band's popularity, but as an attempt to establish them as popstars in the United States. The group and the show were only moderately successful. In Japan, where Puffy [=AmiYumi=] are popstars, the show is a more conventional example of this trope.
34	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBradyKids''
35	* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with the Music/{{Gorillaz}}; the animated characters ''are'' the band.
36	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodied this in "[[Recap/SouthParkS3E10KornsGroovyPirateGhostMystery Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery]]". Music/{{Korn}} drive around in a van solving mysteries.
37	* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' parodied the trope with Limozeen: "[[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE but they're in space!]]", a cartoon featuring the fictional band Limozeen which was cancelled ''during'' its pilot episode.
38	** "I'm afraid I have some bad news, boys... our pilot episode has been cancelled."
39	* ''Series/TVFunhouse'' parodied the trope with a cartoon based on Music/BlackSabbath. (This was years before ''Series/TheOsbournes''.) Robert Smigel also did a ''TV Funhouse'' segment on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' about a fictional Creator/KidsWB cartoon called ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladysmith_Black_Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo]] in Outer Space''.
40	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' also parodied this, with the show-within-a-show "KISS Saves Santa."
41	** Animated versions of KISS (voiced by the real band members) have also appeared in a [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4717798/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_5 direct to DVD]] ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' movie and on [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1607449/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_81 an episode]] of ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddParents''
42	* ''{{WesternAnimation/Metalocalypse}}'', of course, is a parody of this trope [[BlackComedy painted pitch black]] with the brutal nature of its stars' extramusical activity, a nature reflected in the music itself ([[LyricalDissonance though not necessarily in the lyrics]]).
43	* ''WesternAnimation/SonsOfButcher'', although the band and cartoon came out at roughly the same time.
44	* ''Pink Lady''. Yep, their career was turned into an anime show. Though it lasted longer than the American variety show (see below), it's about as obscure today.
45	* Not a "toon" per se, but ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnzOZUTAsgg Blood Red Dragon]]'' is a comic starring [[Music/YoshikiHayashi Yoshiki]] created by Stan Lee and Todd [=McFarlane=].
46	* This one for Music/OneDirection was fan-made, but [[JustForFun/MadeOfWin epically done]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o3fcUH-yPQ Here]] it is, folks. You'll love it.
47	* ''WesternAnimation/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKids''.
48	* Filmation once made a series based on Literature/TheHardyBoys, which portrays them as a band.
49	* ''Anime/AKB0048'', based on the real life-theater performance group Music/AKB48.
50	* ''Anime/SpellboundMagicalPrincessLilPri'', sort of. While the three girls become a singing group, it's more of a MagicalGirl series than a BandToon.
51	* Franchise/{{Barbie}} and her friends become one in a two-part TV special, which has two different titles for each part. Part 1 is called ''WesternAnimation/{{Barbie And The Rockers Out Of This World}}'', while part 2 is called ''Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth''.[[note]]However, they are technically still "Barbie and the Rockers" even in part 2. "Barbie and the Sensations", was merely a line of dolls that was also being made at the time.[[/note]] In any event, it may have been done as a response to:
52	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' was this and also had an in-universe example in the "Starbright" trilogy. The Holograms were commissioned to star in a movie, but rival band the Misfits took over production and made it all about themselves, while the Holograms went independent. The Holograms' movie was a criticla success, while the Misfits' was a bomb.
53	* ''WesternAnimation/GenerationO''
54	* Each episode of ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'' has at least one song where they are seen as a junkyard band, but the show is more about their real-life experiences in general.
55	* In 1998, Disney had plans to do with an animated Creator/OneSaturdayMorning series of the Music/SpiceGirls, however it failed to materialize due to Geri Halliwell's departure.
56	* Parodied in ''Film/TheCountryBears'', where in one scene the Bears watch a rerun of a badly-animated old cartoon about themselves while staying in a hotel.
57	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}'' is this trope [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace UNDERWATER... IN THE FUTURE!]]
58	* ''WesternAnimation/HappyMonsterBand''.
59	* ''WesternAnimation/FreshBeatBandOfSpies''.
60	* Folk rock trio The Roches made a guest appearance on the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "New Character Day". that followed this trope: The segment focused on a girl band, who were played by the Roche sisters themselves, drawn to look like their real-life counterparts and given the same names, and were at one point depicted performing their song "We"... The twist was they were depicted as [[VisualPun cockroaches]] trying to put on a show in Hampton's kitchen. The group had a cult fandom and had been performing for 20 years at that point, but the cartoon was largely ParentalBonus, as the young audience probably wouldn't have heard of them.
61	* ''Anime/MiniMoniTheMovieOkashiNaDaiboken'' is a live-action/animation hybrid movie starring the then-popular Morning Musume subgroup Mini Moni. While it has an original story, the movie was made as a way to explain Mari Yaguchi leaving the group and Ai Takahashi joining as her replacement.
62	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Freefonix}}'' features a trio (two males and a female member) of the same name and, in a way, they may also be considered a {{supergroup}}.
63	* And there's always [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Spongebob and the Hi-Seas]].
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65	!!Non-Animated Examples
66	* Music/FlightOfTheConchords
67	* Series/TheMonkees. A lot of people are under the impression that they did an animated show as well, but they never did. With reruns of their series airing on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1974, coupled with Micky Dolenz voicing the drummer (who [[InkSuitActor looked quite a bit like him]]) on the contemporaneous ''WesternAnimation/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKids'' series and Davy Jones doing a guest shot for ''WesternAnimation/TheNewScoobyDooMovies'', it's easy to see where the confusion comes from. There was an attempt to do an actual Monkees BandToon around 1997, but it ended up in DevelopmentHell.
68	* Starland Vocal Band, whose show was so bad, that their announcer stated that he was glad that nobody would be watching the show. It was cancelled shortly after it began. Their announcer did slightly better. His name is Creator/DavidLetterman.
69	* Similarly, Tony Orlando and Dawn had their own show around the same time as Starland Vocal Band, which was more of the same, and it's now most notable for being one of [[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff Edie McClurg]]'s earliest roles.
70	* "Music/{{KISS}} Saves Santa" may have been inspired by ''Film/KISSMeetsThePhantomOfThePark'', released at the band's height of popularity. In it, the band battles a CircusOfFear with? [[ThePowerOfRock Guess]]. They were also rock-based superheroes in two short-lived comic books, with the one based on ''Music/PsychoCircus'' in turn spawning a video game.
71	* Another feature-length example: ''Film/SpiceWorld''.
72	* Music/SClub7 had ''Miami 7'', ''LA 7'', "Hollywood 7", "Viva S Club" and TheMovie "Seeing Double", about a British pop group trying to make it big in America (as well as the unrelated "S Club Go Wild", a safari show). It's debatable whether the band was made for this purpose or not.
73	* ''[[LuckyCharmsTitle allStars]]'' were probably made for their TV Show, ''[=STARStreet=]'', but again, it's debatable.
74	* ''Series/PinkLadyAndJeff'', [[http://agonybooth.com/episod8x which tried to make a J-pop girl duo into stars in America]]. It failed, and was canceled after only a couple weeks on the air.
75	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzLoTGQ5C_s Avenged Sevenfold: The Cartoon]]. Need I say more?
76	* Who could forget ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour''? OK, maybe a lot of people would ''want'' to forget that one.
77	* ''Series/TheFreshBeatBand''.
78	* ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'', a live-action/animated QuirkyWork featuring aforementioned superhero rock band Music/TheAquabats, from the fine people that brought you ''Series/YoGabbaGabba''. Subversion in that The Aquabats have been trying to get the show off the ground [[DevelopmentHell since 1997]] (and it serves as the closest brush with fame they've had since that year as well).
79	* Inverted with [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap Spinal Tap]]-- a fictional band, but because of the parody/mockumentary, they released a soundtrack album. Later they released a studio album of new material and a compilation album primarily made of new versions of songs from the movie and other sources.
80	* Subverted and averted with ''Film/AlmostFamous''. A very fictionalized movie account of the protagonist's start, using several real examples from real musicians/bands, such as the quote about being a golden god, and the use of the name Stillwater, which was a real band, for the titular band. Songs were written for the film, and are not similar in style to the actual band Stillwater, but became well-known. So for the ACTUAL band, it was averted, and subverted in other facets.
81	* ''Series/TheWeirdAlShow''
82	* ''TheChrisIsaakShow'', where he plays himself in a sitcom originally on Showtime.
83	* ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'' spawned several {{Licensed Game}}s from Creator/TitusSoftware that loosely fall into this category. There was also an AnimatedAdaptation produced but never released.
84	* ''Series/TheDoodlebops'' is an inversion. The eponymous band was originally only made for the show, but got popular enough to warrant a few concert performances in real life. Funnily enough, it did get an animated adaptation, ''Rockin' Road Show''.
85	* ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' and ''Film/{{Help}}'' in which Music/TheBeatles play themselves, or at least the public perception of them.
86	* The Music/FooFighters have ''Film/Studio666'', a ComedyHorror where the band tries recording in a haunted house.
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88	!!Other
89	* Music/{{Journey\|Band}} once had their own arcade video game in which the band must collect their instruments (and Steve Perry's microphone) in order to put on a concert for the player.[[note]]This was actually a bonus round in which the player tries to stop the fans from getting to the stage.[[/note]]

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