Opening Narration / Western Animation

• In the second season of Gargoyles (though not in the first or third seasons), Goliath recalls how he and the rest of his clan of gargoyles were trapped in the forms of stone statues 1000 years ago, until they were freed in the modern day to continue fighting evil. It famously ends with:
  ...We are the defenders of the night! WE ARE GARGOYLES!
• Sky Commanders is another series that didn't add an opening narration until its later episodes.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender features a brief description of the world, bending, the Avatar, and the War with the Fire Nation by Katara, with a longer version in the first episode.
  Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
  • Katara's son Tenzin is the narrator for the opening credits for the sequel series The Legend of Korra. His narration is basically a more generalized version of Katara's, using the same description of bending and the Avatar but omitting any mention of specific story details; this is presumably because the show doesn't have a central, overarching conflict like its predecessor.
• The talkie season of Æon Flux ran the opening titles under a dialogue between the two lead characters.
  Trevor: The dream to awaken our world.
  Æon: You're out of control.
  Trevor: I take control... whose side are you on?
  Æon: I take no side.
  Trevor: You're skating the edge.
  Æon: I am the edge.
  Trevor: What you truly want, only I can give.
  Æon: You can't give it, can't even buy it, and you just don't get it.
• Raf from Angel's Friends, explaining a topic either the angels and devils or the humans will go through in the episode. Once an Episode.
• Reboot: "I come from the Net - through systems, peoples, and cities - to this place, Mainframe..."
  • This one changed several times according to various plot developments, although kept the same basic scheme.
• Samurai Jack has two different opening narrations:
  • In the first four seasons of the show, Aku does a recap of the events of the first episode; recalling how he went on a rampage through ancient Japan, and fought with Samurai Jack before banishing him to the future (in which he now rules the world).
    Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil!...
  • In the fifth and final season, Jack himself explains that five decades have passed since the original series; but yet he is still trapped in Aku's Crapsack World, and is still nowhere closer to achieving his goal of returning to and fixing the past.
    Fifty years have passed; but, I do not age...
• The Powerpuff Girls: "Sugar, spice, and everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girls..."
  • Separate episodes also often start with a monologue from the Narrator, always starting with "The city of Townsville..."
• "He has become the ultimate supercop—RoboCop!" From the 1988 Robo Cop The Animated Series.
• "...And so, the battle continues in a new place and time with Dino-Riders!"
• "We used to be four ordinary teenagers—until one day, we met some new friends from out of town. They were called —Dinosaucers!"
• "...The honor-bound protector of the innocent! Rambo -- the Force of Freedom!" From the 1986 Animated Adaptation.
• "I am Adam, Prince of Eternia..." from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983). The revival series subverted this by having Adam begin this narration only to be interrupted by an enemy attack and the theme song.
  • "I am Adora, He-Man's twin sister" from She-Ra: Princess of Power, a Distaff Counterpart Spin-Off.
• "The alien world of Mer is being devoured by dark water! Only Ren, a young prince, can stop it, by finding the Lost Thirteen Treasures of Rule! At his side is an unlikely but loyal crew of misfits; at his back, the evil pirate lord Bloth, who will stop at nothing to get the treasures for himself. It's high adventure with... The Pirates of Dark Water!"
• The first episode of The Transformers opens with a narration to introduce us to the eponymous machines.
• Three Delivery has one, narrated by the Titular Trio, Tobey, Sue, and Sid: "Years ago, our Nana was trained in the ways of magic..."
• "...Whatever the challenge, they are ready — the Centurions!"
• Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers combines Opening Narration with an Expository Theme Tune.
  • The Sunbow G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series as well — "its purpose: to defend human freedom against COBRA, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world!"
  • And the Conan the Adventurer animated series.
  • Before either of the above shows, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids did the same thing:
    "This is Bill Cosby coming at you with music and fun, and if you're not careful, you'll learn something before it's done. (So let's get ready, okay?) Hey, hey, hey!^note The part in parentheses was left out during the show's "The Adventures of..." incarnation.
• Count Duckula had one of these and an Expository Theme Tune, oddly enough.
• El Tigre: "Miracle City! A spicy cesspool of crime and villainy..."
• The Wild Thornberrys: "This is me, Eliza Thornberry, part of your average family. I've got a dad, a mom, and a sister. There is Donny; we found him, and Darwin? He found us..."
• Beast Machines: "This is Optimus Primal, and he has returned to Cybertron. With no memory of how he got back, and none of his friends the Maximals to be seen, he is attacked by a new enemy - the strange Vehicons. Whilst on the run he manages to find his fellow Maximals. Deep in the heart of Cybertron they find the Oracle computer, which transforms them into a new kind of Transformer. But they still have a lot to learn about their new bodies... and who is out to get them?"
• The Trap Door: "Somewhere in the dark and nasty regions where nobody goes stands an ancient castle..."
• "In the great hall of the Justice League, there are assembled 4 of the world's greatest heroes, created from the cosmic legends of the universe: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, and...those three junior Super Friends, Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog! Their mission: to fight injustice, to right that which is wrong, and to serve all mankind!"
  • Subsequent seasons later had different ones.
• Laff-A-Lympics:
  Snagglepuss: "Heavens to hilarity, this is it, sports fans! Participants, even!..."
• Captain Planet and the Planeteers: "Our world is in peril! Gaia, the spirit of the earth, can no longer stand the terrible destruction plaguing our planet..."
• The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3: "It is a legend no one will forget! Everyone thought King Koopa had left the Mushroom Kingdom..."
• "Somewhere out in space live The Herculoids..."
• TUGS explained to us that "The tugboat, for its size, is the most powerful craft afloat. And the Star Tugs are the power behind the docks and waterways that make up the Bigg City Port. This... is Tugs."
• "Ever since the late Stone Age, there have been unique individuals who solve problems. This is the story of three such heroes: Alfe, Roba, Horace, The Problem Solverz!"
• "And now, here they are...the most daredevil group of daffy drivers to ever whirl their wheels in the Wacky Races, competing for the title of the World's Wackiest Racer."
• "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, starring those seven rollicking rescuers, the Anthill Mob, their courageous car, Chuggaboom, and that villain of villains, the Hooded Claw..."
• The first season episodes of Exo Squad started with JT Marsh's narration that summed up the backstory of the show and about a half of said season (golden age of mankind, creation of Neosapiens, their rebellion, fall of the Homeworlds) and ended with a Title Drop.
• The Raccoons: "This is the Evergreen Forest. Quiet, peaceful, serene... that is, until Bert Raccoon wakes up! Luckily, he's got some friends to help him along. Life would be simple in the forest, except for... Cyril Sneer! And his life would be simple except for... The Raccoons!"
• The first season episodes of The Snorks has a random man narrating about a mythical legend about mysterious underwater sea creatures rescuing Spanish Navy Captain Ortega who's log is housed in a library at a Caribbean Monastery.
• "But one man bursts his bonds to fight for justice! With his companions Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel, he pits his strength, his courage, and his fabulous Sunsword against the forces of evil! He is Thundarr the Barbarian!"
• The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, they became The Avengers!" (used only in season 2).
• Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! has Chiro retelling the story of himself coming across the Super Robot and becoming leader of the Monkey Team. It eventually leads to a Title Drop of the series' Wham Episode.
  Chiro: ...the Robot Monkeys were awakened, and I, Chiro, made their leader. On a quest to save Shuggazoom City from the evils of the Skeleton King.
• "From now on, like your parents were, you are the secret force of Pole Position!" Subverted in that it was spoken by Uncle Zachary to Dan and Tess themselves.
• "I have a very special secret. I'm the only one who knows about tiny people living in our walls called The Littles." This was replaced in seasons two and three by an Expository Theme Tune, which differed between the two seasons.
• "A thunder of jets in an open sky, a streak of gray and a cheerful 'Hi'! A loop, a whirl and a vertical climb and once again you know it's time for Rocky And His Friends!" (Changed to "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends" for the DVD releases)
• Fantastic Four cartoons from both 1967 and 1978 begin with a narrator listing off the names and powers of each member.
• "Clutch Cargo and his pals Spinner and Paddlefoot, in another exciting adventure: (insert title of episode here)" ^note "You remember last time...(insert recap here)"
• In the early 1980s, there was a short animation that aired on Spanish language television in both Spain and Latin American countries featuring (and actually called) "Casimiro", a friendly monster who reminded viewers that it was time to go to bed. Unlike most other "bedtime PSAs" however, this one has an opening narration:
  "Y ahora, presentamos un mensaje de nuestra estrella nocturna^note "And now, we present a message from our nighttime star:: ¡Casimiro!"
• "...To restore her royal name, the princess and her friends must find the crystal of... Gawayn"
• "...and it was on that day I made The Snowman."
• Noggin the Nog begins with this trope, to great effect. "In the lands of the north, where the black rocks stand guard against the cold sea, in the dark night that is very long..."
• The short lived Project G.e.e.K.e.R. cartoon had this. "That's me, Geeker" "And that's me!"
• "But his best friend was a bear called Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh for short."
• "Colonel William Guile, one of the greatest martial artists in the world, travels the global tournament circuit, using it to conceal his mission as leader of an elite group of international crime fighters, known only by their code name: Street Fighter! The heroic man-beast, Blanka. Hard-kicking fighting machine, Chun-Li! And, a team of the most amazing warriors ever seen joins forces with Guile to combat the criminal empire of Shadaloo, and its superhuman leader, Bison. They have their own code of honor: Discipline, justice, commitment! And together, they will triumph against the forces of evil! Strrrrrreet Fighter!"
• "The Cat in the Hat ^note Cat: "That's me." presents Dr. Seuss on the Loose: A three decker consisting of 1. The Sneetches, 2. The Zax, 3. Green Eggs and Ham."
• The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo:.
  Vincent Van Ghoul: This is a warning to all living mortals, that whosoever opens this Chest of Demons will unleash thirteen of the most terrifying ghosts upon the face of the earth! (later, to our heroes) Only you can return the demons to the Chest!
  Shaggy, Scooby: Why us?
  Van Ghoul: Because YOU let them out!
• "We interrupt this program to bring you... the Courage the Cowardly Dog show, starring Courage, the Cowardly Dog!"
• "C.O.P.S. (Animated Series) - Central Organization of Police Specialists: fighting crime in a future time. Protecting Empire City from Big Boss and his gang of crooks."
  • "The Case of... [subject of episode]: C.O.P.S. file^note "C.O.P.S. case file" in some episodes [file number is given, followed by expository information on what will happen in the episode]. Here's how the caper came down."
    • Each episode (with two exceptions) also has a closing narration which ends with Bulletproof repeating the episode name and file number followed by "Case closed".
• "Set free by the Teen Angels from his prehistoric block of glacier ice comes the world's first superhero, Captain Caveman!..."
• The Legend of Zelda (1989):
  Zelda: This is the Triforce of Wisdom, Link. The evil wizard Ganon has the Triforce of Power...
• "John Blackstar, astronaut — is swept through a black hole — into an ancient alien universe..."
• "This is Sealab 2020".
• "Ladies and Gentlemen, Garfield and Friends."
• "From out of the pages of DC Comics comes the world's newest and greatest superhero, Plastic Man!..."
• "Goldie Gold, the world's richest girl...and Action Jack, daredevil reporter for Goldie's newspaper, the Gold Street Journal..."
• "Who's the sassiest, brassiest, classiest cat? (Heathcliff!!^note This opening narration was only used in the first season of Ruby-Spears' Heathcliff series, which also features Dingbat and the Creeps (an original Ruby-Spears creation). The second season of this show (which features Marmaduke), and the later 1984 series by Dic Entertainment use title theme tunes instead.)..."
• The opening of the Hanna-Barbera version of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures:
  Rufus: I had been selected for a most important journey. I was to help fulfill the destinies of the two Great Ones—Bill and Ted.
  Bill, Ted: Wyld Stallyns rule!
• KaBlam!:

"Action League! Now!.."

"What you are about see is top secret. It is a video tape recorded 900,000 years ago by an alien using a remote-controlled camera. It shows his attempts to educate a caveman. They have been code-named The Prometheus and Bob Tapes."

• "That's me, Fred the House Cat. When my family leaves for the day, I don't just sit inside watching the world go by. I become... Nature Cat, backyard explorer extraordinaire!" (cue Expository Theme Tune)
• "...My name is Home-Base, I'm the house they live in. And this is The X's."
• The opening of Hero: 108 starts with a short narration by Lin-Chung where he describes the way humans and animals used to co-exist peacefully until High Roller turned the animals against humans. He then introduces the main heroes (himself included) who joined their forces together in order to stop the war between humans and animals.
• What If…? (2021) gives us Uatu the Watcher who explains that one choice can lead to completely different alternate worlds of endless possibilities in his narration.

"I am the Watcher. I am your guide through these vast new realities. Follow me and ponder the question... What If...?"

• Delta State has one narrated by the protagonists' mentor Professor Brodie, who explains the premise of the series.
  "Four young amnesiacs hold the fate of humankind in their hands. Their mission is to protect you from the 'Rifters' who want to control the human mind. They may appear to be harmless and self-absorbed but they have astonishing, paranormal powers and an invincible motivation: To retrieve the secrets to their past lives, hidden deep in the parallel dimension of the Delta State."
• Dragon Booster has Word Paynn monologue about the relationship between humans and dragons, hint at his own ambitions of taking over the world, and introduce the one person who can stop him.
  "The dragon… is power. Once they were our equals. Today, humans control the dragon, to race, compete, and fight, at nearly 200 miles per hour. Now, dragons are once again ready to be released. And the powerful dragon of legend would choose a young hero to save the planet: a Dragon Booster."

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