History Main / BandToon

* Music/{{ABC}} in the video for "How to be a Millionaire".

** And later, ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'', 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.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJackson5ive'' about Music/TheJacksonFive.

* ''The [[Series/DonnyAndMarie Osmonds]]'' - The show 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).
* ''[[Series/ThePartridgeFamily Partridge Family]] 2200 A.D.''

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.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheBeatles https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/92962-the-beatles-1-the-bea_41.jpg]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBeatles'' - TropeMaker.

* ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'', a live-action/animated WidgetSeries 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).

** "[[{{catchphrase}} I'm afraid I have some bad news, boys]]...our pilot episode has been cancelled."

* The Music/FooFighters have ''Studio 666'', a ComedyHorror where the band tries recording in a haunted house.

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, TheyFightCrime using ThePowerOfRock.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodied this in "[[Recap/SouthParkS3E10KornsGroovyPirateGhostMystery Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery]]". Music/{{Korn}} drive around in a van. [[TheyFightCrime Solving mysteries.]]

A form of AnimatedAdaptation. See also CelebrityToons. Not to be confused with ''[[WesternAnimation/CensoredEleven banned]]'' toons, which are a different matter entirely.

* Inverted with [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap Spinal Tap]]-- a fictional band, but because of the parody/mockumentary, they actually do have a few albums out, and a hit called "Big Bottoms".

* Music/{{Journey}} 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]]

* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' parodied the trope with Limozeen: "[[RecycledINSPACE but they're in space!]]", a cartoon featuring the fictional band Limozeen which was cancelled ''during'' its pilot episode.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}'' is this trope [[RecycledInSpace UNDERWATER... IN THE FUTURE!]]

* "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 their short-lived comic book.
** Which in turn spawned a video game.

* ''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.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jackson 5ive}}'' about Music/TheJacksonFive.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/KidNPlay Kid 'n Play]]''

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodied this in "Music/{{Korn}}'s Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery". Korn drive around in a van. [[TheyFightCrime Solving mysteries.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKids''

* ''WesternAnimation/HappyMonsterBand''
* ''WesternAnimation/FreshBeatBandOfSpies''

* "Music/{{KISS}} Saves Santa" may have been inspired by an actual Creator/HannaBarbera telefilm, ''KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park'', 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 their short-lived comic book.

* ''S Club 7'' 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.

* ''Series/TheFreshBeatBand''

* Series/TheMonkees. A lot of people are under the impression that they did an animated show as well, but they never did. Reruns of their series aired on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1974, which might've led to the confusion, perhaps coupled with Micky Dolenz voicing the drummer (who [[InkSuitActor looked quite a bit like him]]) on the contemporaneous ''WesternAnimation/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKids'' series. There was an attempt to do an actual Monkees BandToon around 1997, but it ended up in DevelopmentHell.

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 ''Music/TheMonkees.''

* ''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 Music/TheMonkees.

* Music/TheMonkees. A lot of people are under the impression that they did an animated show as well, but they never did. Reruns of their series aired on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1974, which might've led to the confusion, perhaps coupled with Micky Dolenz voicing the drummer (who [[InkSuitActor looked quite a bit like him]]) on the contemporaneous ''WesternAnimation/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKids'' series. There was an attempt to do an actual Monkees BandToon around 1997, but it ended up in DevelopmentHell.

* Music/TheMonkees. A lot of people are under the impression that they did an animated show as well, but they never did. Reruns of their series aired on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1974, which might've led to the confusion. There was an attempt to do an actual Monkees BandToon around 1997, but it ended up in DevelopmentHell.

* ''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.

* In 1998, Disney had plans to do with an animated Creator/OneSaturdayMorning series of the Music/SpiceGirls, however it failed to materialise due to Geri Halliwell's departure.
* Parodied in ''Film/TheCountryBears'', where in one scene the Bears watch a rerun of a beating, badly-animated cartoon about them.

* ''Anime/HimeChenOtogiChikkuIdolLilpri'', sort of. While the three girls become a singing group, it's more of a MagicalGirl series than a BandToon.

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 Music/TheArchies. And that's all without mentioning live-action series like ''Music/TheMonkees.''

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. Since [[Creator/{{Filmation}} Filmation]] did a lot of these, they would sometimes even retrace the instrument-playing animation from a previous series, using the new characters.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}''[[note]]Which has been erroneously called "Jem and the Holograms" after the name of the band. On the other hand, the latter name is now Hasbro's official name for the franchise.[[/note]]

* ''Series/TVFunhouse'' parodied the trope with a cartoon based on Music/BlackSabbath. (This was years before ''Series/TheOsbournes''.)

* A lot of people are under the impression that Series/TheMonkees had an animated show, but they never did. Reruns of their series aired on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1974, which might have led to the confusion. There was an attempt to do an actual Monkees BandToon around 1997, but it ended up in DevelopmentHell.

* Music/TheMonkees

* ''The Osmonds'' - The show 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).

* ''Kid 'n Play''

* 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 plot 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 children's audience probably wouldn't have heard of them.