History Main / IntrepidFictioneer

Compare and contrast TrappedInTVLand. See also ReadingIsCoolAesop and PortalBook. Not to be confused with FromBeyondTheFourthWall, when the fourth wall is the one between us and them.

[[caption-width-right:350:Intrepid Fictioneers, beware meddling, or could end up trapped in ''[[Literature/MobyDick Moby Duck]]'', ''[[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Frankenstein's Monster Truck]]'', ''[[Literature/TarzanOfTheApes Tarzan of the Drapes]]'', ''[[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers The Three Mousketeers]]'', or ''[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Jason and the Pussycats]]''.]]

* Dr. Senbei from ''Manga/DoctorSlump'' invents a machine that allows someone to be transported into any book, also anything scribbled onto a book will manifest inside it's world. In one episode robot girl Arale transports herself into the legend of Momotaro and destroys the story completely, much to Momotaro's chagrin.

* Dr. Senbei from Manga/DoctorSlump invents a machine that allows someone to be transported into any book, also anything scribbled onto a book will manifest inside it's world. In one episode robot girl Arale transports herself into the legend of Momotaro and destroys the story completely, much to Momotaro's chagrin.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'', the main character, Steve, would "scadoo" into books to find clues. The story itself seems to take place inside a book.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''

* Dr. Senbei from Manga/DoctorSlump invents a machine that allows someone to be transported into a book. Mischevious robot girl Arale transports herself into the legend of Momotaro and destroys the story completely, much to Momotaro's chagrin.

** The episode "[[Recap/TheFairlyOddParentsS4E3ShelfLife Shelf Life]]" has Timmy chasing [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] through different books after he stole Cosmo's wand. In the process, both of them end up changing the names of the stories they're in, resulting in ''drastically'' different elements for each story they altered. Timmy ends up exploiting this to his advantage after he manages to recapture Tom Sawyer, by keeping the altered stories to keep the [[ItMakesSenseInContext frowning duel between Tom and the Rat in Spats as a legitimate story for his book report]], thus earning him an A. Though it also results in every other kid in his class failing due to their reports being based on the actual stories ''before'' the alterations.

** The episode "Shelf Life" has Timmy chasing [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] through different books after he stole Cosmo's wand. In the process, both of them end up changing the names of the stories they're in, resulting in ''drastically'' different elements for each story they altered. Timmy ends up exploiting this to his advantage after he manages to recapture Tom Sawyer, by keeping the altered stories to keep the [[ItMakesSenseInContext frowning duel between Tom and the Rat in Spats as a legitimate story for his book report]], thus earning him an A. Though it also results in every other kid in his class failing due to their reports being based on the actual stories ''before'' the alterations.

When characters breach internal fourth walls to go on adventures in books, films and so on. Generally they travel into one or more books or films to become part of the plot, or, at least, to observe the plot first hand. This often forms part of an allegory or metaphor for escapism, the idea that the imagination allows a reader to 'enter' a work and subconsciously cast themselves as an observer or a main character. This is one reason why the lead characters of books are often [[AudienceSurrogate very vaguely or loosely described]], allowing the reader to assume the hero's identity as a form of role-play.

* In ''Anime/MonsterRancher'', Genki travels to the monster world through being sucked into his [=PlayStation=]. He spends several months inside, but finds only an hour or so passed in his world upon returning at the end of season 2. [[spoiler:In Season 3, he travels back again via a new game in the series]].

* This how ''ComicBook/MysteryScienceTheater3000TheComic'' is executed, mixing the show's [[Main/MSTing trademark riffing]] with character interactions and gratuitous ProductPlacement from Totino's Pizza Rolls!

* ''Film/LastActionHero'', starring Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger. A young boy gets sucked into the latest installment of a fictional action movie franchise using a magic ticket and try to stop the villain of the movie from using the ticket to wreak havoc in the real world.

* For the most part, ''Film/StayTuned'' is TrappedInTVLand. However, as the plot progress, both Roy and Helen start to both use [[GenreSavvy the internal logic]] of the stories they are stuck in and Roy eventually starts channel-hopping to escape from, gear-up and find a favorable spot for a showdown with the BigBad.

* ''Cassandra's Affect'' has a main character, Cassandra Matthews, who is not only aware she's a character in a book, but also travels through several books during her adventures.

* The general plot of ''VideoGame/WarioMasterOfDisguise'' has Wario enter a TV program about a [[PhantomThief master thief]] out of both jealousy and wanting the money in the series locations for himself. [[spoiler:He sadly realizes at the end that the Telmet (device used to warp into the TV) cannot transfer the money out as well as him]].

* The SonicStorybookSeries features Sonic the Hedgehog going into various in-universe literature books that he reads at home. He enters the world of the novel he is reading to fight alternate variants of his friends and other mythologies.

** The episode "Shelf Life" has Timmy chasing [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] through different books after he stole Cosmo's wand. In the process, both of them end up changing the names of the stories they're in, resulting in ''drastically'' different elements for each story they altered. Timmy ends up exploiting this to his advantage after he manages to recapture Tom Sawyer, by keeping the altered stories to keep the [[ItMakesSenseInContext frowning duel between Tom and the Rat in Spats as a legitimate story for his book report]], thus earning him an A (which also results in every other kid in his class failing due to their reports being based on the actual stories ''before'' the alterations.)

** The episode "Shelf Life" has Timmy chasing [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] through different books after he stole Cosmo's wand. In the process, both of them end up changing the names of the stories they're in, resulting in ''drastically'' different elements for each story they altered. Timmy ends up exploiting this to his advantage after he manages to recapture Tom Sawyer, by keeping the altered stories to keep the [[ItMakesSenseInContext frowning duel between Tom and the Rat in Spats as a legitimate story for his book report]], thus earning him an A (which also results in every other kid in his class failing due to their reports being based on the stories ''before'' the changes.)

** The episode "Shelf Life" has Timmy chasing [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] through different books after he stole Cosmo's wand. In the process, both of them end up changing the names of the stories they're in, resulting in ''drastically'' different elements for each story they altered. Timmy ends up exploiting this to his advantage after he manages to recapture Tom Sawyer, by keeping the altered stories to keep the [[ItMakesSenseInContext frowning duel between Tom and the Rat in Spats as a legitimate story for his book report]], thus earning him an A (while also failing just about every other kid in his class due to their reports being based on the stories ''before'' the changes.)

** The episode "Shelf Life" has Timmy chasing [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] through different books after he stole Cosmo's wand. In the process, both of them end up changing the names of the stories they're in, resulting in ''drastically'' different elements for each story they altered. Timmy ends up exploiting this to his advantage after he manages to recapture Tom Sawyer, by keeping the altered stories to keep the [[ItMakesSenseInContext frowning duel between Tom and the Rat in Spats as a legitimate story for his book report, thus earning him an A (while also failing just about every other kid in his class due to their reports being based on the stories ''before'' the changes.)

** The episode "Shelf Life" has Timmy chasing [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] through different books after he stole Cosmo's wand.

* ''Series/HeroesReborn2015'': Miko can use [[spoiler: Hiro's sword]] to jump into the game ''Evernow'', where her father is somehow trapped.

* ''Series/LostInAusten'' - Amanda, a woman from modern London, goes through a portal and enters the plot of Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice.''

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid", Fry travels into books and assumes the roles of various characters.

* ''Series/HeroesReborn2015'': Miko can use [[spoiler: Hiro's sword]] to jump into the game ''Evernow'', where her father is somehow trapped.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/FairlyOddParents https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shelf_life.png]]]]

* ''Series/TheTenthKingdom'' subverts this in that it is revealed that most fairy tales were written by people who wandered into an actual fairy world.