History Main / SeparateSceneStorytelling

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': "Excaliferb" is an {{Homage}} to ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' and a spoof of the KingArthur Excalibur story. Carl tries to SelfInsert but Major Monogram calls him out for it and won't let him continue unless he reads it properly.

* In Rick Sigglekow's two children's series, ''Series/ShiningTimeStation'' and ''Series/TheNoddyShop'', the stories certain characters told would be represented by different British animated series.

* This occurred in the ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' episode ''Badtime Story'' with several characters reading a parody of ''Disney/ChickenLittle''.

Sometimes used in documentary-style narrations to avoid TalkingHeads.

* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'': When the grandfather starts reading to the child, the action changes to the story.

* ''Series/HappyDays'': Several examples, including one where Richie's great-uncle tells him about his cousin, who was a crusading DA trying to shut down speakeasies in 1920s [[TheWindyCity Chicago]]. Richie plays the DA, Mr. C plays the speakeasy owner, Mrs. C plays a Carrie Nation type, Al is the DumbMuscle for the local gangster (Fonzie), etc.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' was about Daria trying to write a story for class, and her attempts were shown this way, ranging from a ShoutOut to ''TheGraduate'', to a Creator/JaneAusten spoof, to a future Daria hoped would happen.

This is because while it's often okay to just see someone telling these, or point the camera at a page (and thus this does not run into ShowDontTell), doing it for too long would just grind the action to a halt (or even be longer than the work trying to tell the story). Thus seeing the story being acted out keeps the story entertaining within the work.

This can overlap with: FantasySequence (if we're shown it as they're imagining it; it can be hard to tell whether this is the case or not), DreamSequence (if someone falls asleep when a story is told), {{Flashback}} (when the story being shown is something that happened in the past), FramingDevice (if the story being shown is the main point of the work).

A SuperTrope to RashomonStyle.

!!Examples Not Covered In the {{Sub Trope}}s

* A ''{{Moonlighting}}'' episode did this as a framing device to make an AffectionateParody of ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew''. A kid wanted to watch the show, but he had to read the play for homework instead, and imagined it with the Moonlighting actors playing the roles.
* ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'': has the cast doing a wackified retelling of RobinHood -- one part story, one part dream that TheDitz is having from having dozed off in class.

* ''HappyDays'': Several examples, including one where Richie's great-uncle tells him about his cousin, who was a crusading DA trying to shut down speakeasies in 1920s [[TheWindyCity Chicago]]. Richie plays the DA, Mr. C plays the speakeasy owner, Mrs. C plays a Carrie Nation type, Al is the DumbMuscle for the local gangster (Fonzie), etc.
* ANTFarm: Chyna and Angus do this in Body of [=EvidANTs=] while retelling what happened to Olive's toy

* Used on ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' when the [[AnIcePerson Ice King]] reads [[spoiler:his fanfiction]] to [[TheHero Finn]] and [[CanineCompanion Jake]].

* Technically the whole of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' is this trope, but there are also numerous internal examples, some where the whole episode is a story someone's telling.

* A later season ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' episode did this with ''TreasureIsland'' (although it was very loose with the plot). There was a blackout, and Dave read them the book while the power was out. The scenes were the chipmunks playing three of the characters, but with the rest of the roles being original people.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{X-Men}}'' series episode "Jubilee's Fairy Tale Theater" was about Jubilee telling kids a story while they waited to get rescued from a cave-in. It cut to the X-Men in roles in a fantasy adventure.

* This occurred in the ''GarfieldAndFriends'' episode ''Badtime Story'' with several characters reading a parody of ''Disney/ChickenLittle''.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', in the Victini and Zekrom/Reshiram movies: The story of the two princes and the dragons is told in-universe with an elaborate pop-up book, but is mostly shown to the viewer as separate scenes.

* ''ManOfLaMancha'' does this for most of the film, with the characters acting out the tale of Don Quixote in jail and that cutting to seeing them all in the desert/inn/house they were pretending to have.

* Some of the earlier DisneyAnimatedCanon films began with a StorybookOpening.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': "Excaliferb" is an {{Homage}} to ThePrincessBride and a spoof of the King Arthur Excalibur story. Carl tries to SelfInsert but Major Monogram calls him out for it and won't let him continue unless he reads it properly.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' was about Daria trying to write a story for class, and her attempts were shown this way, ranging from a ShoutOut to ''TheGraduate'', to a JaneAusten spoof, to a future Daria hoped would happen.

A SuperTrope to RashomonStyle. Compare DeepImmersionGaming, ImagineSpot, CutawayGag.

A SuperTrope to RashomonStyle.

Compare DeepImmersionGaming, ImagineSpot, CutawayGag.