Line #6 WebVideo/Fanscription


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2116fc93_e2e6_4317_8c8c_242bbd74e655.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"This…is [=FanScription=]."]]
3	''[[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0AQIMR-tpolSV_hNOJ_V2GJhq3heZpfv Fanscription]]'' is a WebSite/ChannelAwesome show, created by Walter Banasiak and Rob Walker of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic fame. It's essentially a FixFic show, taking movies that they care about but feel have problems, and making them better. Then they have a post-episode sit and talk, discussing behind the scenes. It's a monthly show, and they alternate the episodes.
4	----
5	!!Tropes Include:
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7	* AdaptationalBadass: Downplayed in "What if Finn Was The Main Character In The Star Wars Sequels?". As an ex-Stormtrooper who can hold his own in a fight in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies, Finn gains an extra level in this video by being both a Stormtrooper ''and'' a Jedi.
8	* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Combined with CanonCharacterAllAlong, [[spoiler:Chip Schreck in "What If Tim Burton Directed ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''" is revealed to actually be that universe's incarnation of [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond Blight]], who has otherwise only made appearances thus far in media where Terry [=McGinnis=] took on the Batman mantle.]]
9	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: One change made in "What If Harvey Dent Was In ''Film/BatmanReturns''?" is making the Penguin more sympathetic. This is done by changing his implied serial child killings during his time as a circus freak to him robbing rich peoples' homes. He only resorts to child murder after a severe mental break caused by the rejection of wealthy donors to his political campaign, which he views as a betrayal -- and even then, he only targets ''those'' peoples' children, rather than indiscriminately lashing out at every family in Gotham.
10	* AdaptationalVillainy:
11	** "What If Anna Was The Villain in ''Frozen''?" imagines a version of ''Frozen'' where Anna, a hero in the original movie, becomes the villain.
12	** In "What if [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog Tiana]] Wasn't Turned Into a Frog?" Charlotte's father, Big Daddy [=LeBeouf=], is depicted as a greedy UpperClassTwit who screwed over [[BigBad The Shadow Man]] on a deal. His trying to pressure his daughter into a loveless marriage, coupled with trying to sabotage Tiana's business, makes him part of a BigBadEnsemble. [[spoiler:He gets DraggedOffToHell alongside The Shadow Man in the climax]].
13	* AdaptationalOriginConnection: In ''Spider-Man 4'' [[spoiler:Felicia Hardy's father was Adrian Toomes' partner, and the former's murder at the latter's hands is what drove her to becoming Black Cat]].
14	* AdaptationPersonalityChange: In "What if Lola was Funny in ''Film/SpaceJam''?", Doug changes Lola's personality so she's more similar (but not identical) to the version of her from ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow''.
15	* AntiVillain: Several of the re-interpretations of the Live-Action Batman villains come across as this, such as the Penguin ''trying'' to fit into normal society but getting rejected by his donors and betrayed by his brother, Two-Face having an actual character arc in their version of ''Returns'' and ''Forever'', or the Riddler trying to find romance only to find that his lover is also his partner's ex-wife ''and'' figuring out the riddle of who Batman is at the worst possible moment.
16	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: Luke Skywalker ends up becoming one of the Mortis Gods of the Force after the final battle in the World Between Worlds in ''What If Finn Was The Main Character of the Star Wars Sequels''.]]
17	* BackForTheDead: ''What if Christian Bale was in ''Batman v Superman'''' shows Alfred and John Blake dying in Superman's fight with Zod in ''Man of Steel''. This is what prompts Batman's turn to viciousness in the film proper and also turns him into something of a DeathSeeker.
18	* TheBadGuyWins:
19	** The entire premise of "What If Jafar Had Won?". Jafar finds the Genie's lamp first and uses it to become the Sultan of Agrabah.
20	** [[spoiler:"What If Ariel Was A Siren?"]] has the BigBad getting everything they wanted and ''more'' by [[spoiler:''amplifying'' Ariel's voice and making her a siren rather than taking it, resulting in her being able to manipulate Triton into attacking the human kingdom, destroying it and conquering Alantica in the process]].
21	* BigNo: [[spoiler:Anakin and Ahsoka as a missile strike on Padme's ship is ordered by Palpatine in "What If Ahsoka Was In Revenge of the Sith".]]
22	** [[spoiler:Bron also says one as he's frozen solid by Elsa in the climax of "What If Anna Was the Villain of Frozen II".]]
23	* BittersweetEnding: ''Spider-Man 5'' ends with Peter defeating The Lizard and the Spider-Clone, and starting a relationship with Gwen. Unfortuantely Miles Warren [[KarmaHoudini gets away scott free (with even Peter completely unaware of his involvement)]], Curt's mind has fully succumbed to the Lizard persona, leaving him to take the fall for Warren's misdeeds, and Spider-Man is still wanted by the police for his clone's crimes, and then on top of that, [[spoiler:he finds a clone of MJ at his doorstep]].
24	** "What If Ahsoka Was In Revenge of the Sith" ends with Anakin brought back to the light, but he ends up [[spoiler:tortured and killed by Palpatine, right after being forced to witness Padme's cruiser get shot down by Clone Troopers, also meaning Luke and Leia may never get a chance to personally know their father]]. Luke, Leia and Obi-Wan survive, but [[spoiler:Obi-Wan is left emotionally broken by the circumstances, leaving for parts unknown as he feels he failed Qui-Gon, Padme and Anakin, '''and''' the Republic (requesting for Ahsoka not to search for him); and Leia is poised to be raised as a servant of the Galactic Empire, to Palpatine's satisfaction.]]
25	* BreatherEpisode: The Snyder Infinity War was far jokier than other episodes, and Rob admitted concern even though he thought it was really funny.
26	* BreakingTheFourthWall: When mentioning the iconic "Let It Go" from ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'', Heather begins to break out into song...
27	-->'''Walter''': Heather...HEATHER! They know the song.\
28	'''Heather''': ''(sharply) Fine!''
29	* CallBack: During the ''Film/BatmanForever'' rewrite, Edward explains that the overall message of the KnightsAndKnaves riddle is that in order to find the truth, you need a liar present. When he finds Grace and realizes she lied about her name, he also finds Bruce Wayne and begins connecting the dots and as such, calls back to what he said.
30	* CloseToHome: Part of the reason why Rob loves ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' so much is that a grandparent he was close to died recently, so that’s why the movie got to him.
31	* CollateralAngst: Walter changes ''Rocky IV'' because he feels Apollo’s death served no greater narrative purpose than giving Rocky motivation.
32	* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Often applied when bringing new characters into live-action movies. It occasionally happens with animated movies as well, such as in the video about the hypothetical sequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', which fancasts [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 Aunt Cass]] as the adult Boo and [[WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons Franny Robinson]] as the antagonistic digital Influencer character.
33	* CompositeCharacter: In "What If Harley Quinn Was In [[Film/Batman1989 Batman 89]]?", Rob combines Harley with Alicia. Her Harleen Quinzel identity being a corrupt psychiatrist who works with organized crime is also reminiscent of Post-Crisis Hugo Strange.
34	* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: In ''What If A Live Action Film/SuperMarioBros1993 2 Happened?'' King Wart differs noticeably from the previous film's King Koopa. Koopa was more of an [[LargeHam expressive]] and [[LaughablyEvil comedic]] villain while Wart is depicted as [[KnightOfCerebus much more frightening]] and [[ColdHam soft-spoken]] villain. Koopa ruled over a grungy CyberPunk setting whereas King Wart's domain is more of a general fantasy setting. Lastly, Koopa was [[Creator/DennisHopper a white man]] in a black suit while King Wart is a [[Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan black man]] in a white suit.
35	* CrossoverRelatives: The entire premise of "What If Tarzan was Elsa and Anna's Brother?" revolves around this, taking the joke/fan-favorite theory of Tarzan's parents being Agnarr and Iduna and developing it into a third installment to the previous two ''Frozen'' episodes.
36	* DarkFic: A lot of the retellings can be a lot darker than the originals, like Rob has Luke die in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Walter has Scar raising Simba in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', Doug’s version of ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'' has far more grief details or even Rob's version of ''Frozen'' in which Anna becomes the villain.
37	** "What If Ariel was a Siren?" takes the cake as the darkest one yet. Between [[spoiler:[[TheBadGuyWins Ursula actually winning]] and several onscreen deaths in both land and sea (including a graphic depiction of Eric's father being Eaten alive by the giant Ursula)]], it makes the original Hans Christian Andersen story look like ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' in comparison.
38	* DeathByAdaptation:
39	** The title for "What if Luke Skywalker died in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''" ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin obviously]]), but the Fanscription also has it so that Mon Mothma would take Luke's place if no one liked the idea of Luke dying.
40	** [[spoiler:In their take of ''Film/BatmanForever'', the Riddler blows himself up to try and take Batman and Robin down with him]].
41	** [[spoiler:The ''Film/SpiderMan3'' episode sees Mary Jane suffer from this in the climax, borrowing heavily from Gwen Stacy's own death in the comics as Peter tries, and ultimately fails, to save her after she's dropped from a bridge by Harry.]]
42	** [[spoiler:Kristoff doesn't survive the events of "What If Anna was the Villain in Frozen 2?"]]
43	** "What If Rufio Didn't Die in Hook?" answers the eponymous question by having Hook stab Peter instead.
44	* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: In-universe. On the Infinity War Fanscription podcast, Walter said he stopped doing the Snyder character for a while because personal tragedy in the director’s life, and only came back after the “Batman should kill people” rant.
45	* DownerBeginning: The opening to [[{{Film/Hook}} "What If Rufio Didn't Die In Hook?"]] starts with Peter Pan dying in Rufio's place, Jack stuck behind in Neverland under the tutelage of Smee while Maggie returns to Earth, and [[BolivianArmyEnding Hook laughing triumphantly as he goads Rufio to fight him]]. Though it's technically a Downer ''Ending'' given how it's the end to the first of two movies in this hypothetical story.
46	* DownerEnding:
47	** [[spoiler:"What if Venom Wasn't in ''Spider-Man 3''" ends with Mary Jane, Harry, and an untold number of New Yorkers dead, with a grief and guilt-stricken Peter being left to pick up the pieces.]]
48	** [[spoiler:"What If Ariel Was A Siren?" ends with Ursula taking over Alantica (and setting her sights on other kingdoms), the human kingdom being destroyed with its king devoured and its prince left for dead in Ursula's lair, and ending with Ariel, still cursed to remain a siren, going to Arendelle where she begins enthralling more people]].
49	* {{Elseworld}}: The Disney rewrites are explicitly called Disney Elseworlds, as their aim isn't to fix the stories but rather present a different telling of the story.
50	* {{Fanboy}}: The subjects of the episodes tend to be franchises both Rob and Walter grew up with and adore, which makes sense as it’s a FixFic show and you want to fix stuff you care about.
51	* FanDisservice: In a discussed example, Rob and Walter [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG2noQi4kcY talk]] about Slave Leia, and even though they and Jim are "guy's guys", thought it was more weird and gross than fetish fuel.
52	* FirstWorldProblems: Knowing full well how… passionate Star Wars fans can be, Walter and Rob point out on the “What If Luke Died In Return Of The Jedi” podcast that it's just fun media and don't yell at each other about it.
53	* FixFic: The premise of ''Fanscription'' involves fixing up films that had problems in them, especially restructuring ''Ghostbusters 2'' and ''The Haunted Mansion'' so as to be more palatable.
54	* ForWantOfANail: Several of these stories hinge off of a single aspect either being present or ''not'' being present. Case in point, "What If Ariel Was A Siren?"'s major point boils down to the nail being Ursula choosing to instead amplify Ariel's voice to be that of a siren's rather than take it outright, resulting in [[spoiler:her capturing Eric, using the blood of both him and Ariel to create an army of mermen to destroy the Kingdom, and take over Alantica in the process]].
55	* FranchiseOriginalSin: In-universe. A bit with his own bias because he’s firmly believing the 2016 reboot is just SoOkayItsAverage, but Rob tries to point out with GB 2 that the guys who think it’s “SJW worst thing ever trash” are missing the point, and it’s just a symptom of Hollywood trying too hard to make everything post first movie accessible to kids.
56	* GiveGeeksAChance: In ''Ghostbusters 2'', Rob’s annoyed that they changed Janine’s character to super dorky to match her with Lewis.
57	* GoodCounterpart: L.A.M.E (League of Angsty Magnificent Epicness) are this to Syndrome and Screenslaver. The heroes of L.A.M.E are genuine good {{Badass Normal}}s who took heroism when they actually believed the Supers have gone rogue. By the end of the film, they formed a camaraderie with their super-powered rivals, especially [[spoiler:Jack Jack]].
58	* GoodIsBadAndBadIsGood: Used in a very specific way in ''Super Mario Bros 2.'' Wart's minions treat good, wholesome food as poison, and rotting garbage as good, wholesome food, as evidenced by Wario and Waluigi chowing down on rotten Super Mushrooms to become their giant versions. Mario and Peach combine Peach's vegetable garden (a takeoff of [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 the game's]] use of turnips as EdibleAmmunition) and Bowser's de-evolution guns into a potent chemical weapon.
59	* HeelFaceTurn: Walter Peck in the ''Ghostbusters 2'' episode, after a phone call from his mother. He explains that 1. [[WhatTheHellHero She felt he was being petty to the heroes]], 2. [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas He trusts his mother with his life]], and 3. [[BreadEggsMilkSquick His mother has been dead for 14 years]].
60	* HopeSpringsEternal: As much as Doug and Rob have nostalgia for the 80s, he talks in the ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'' fanscription that the 80s liked to crush hope, and he prefers media that takes you to dark places, but brings you back up again.
61	* IChooseToStay:
62	** Matthew in the hypothetical sequel to ''{{Film/Hook}}'', realizing he's a better fit for the Lost Boys ''and'' that his parents aren't coming back.
63	** Luigi in ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' stays in the Mushroom Kingdom with Daisy.
64	* IronicEcho: In ''What if The Joker was in The Dark Knight Rises Part 2,'' Bruce encounters a fear gas hallucination of Rachel Dawes claiming he killed her. Bruce insists he didn't kill her, but "Rachel" rebuts [[Film/BatmanBegins "You just didn't have to save me, did you?"]]
65	* ItsBeenDone: They’re adamant about not doing the Star Wars prequels, as they wouldn’t know where to start for one, and for another you can find plenty of videos on fixing them. They eventually ''do'' the prequels, but its more in the context of WhatIf Qui-Gon Jin survived, but Obi-Wan did not.
66	* JumpScare: The reveal of Ariel's siren form in "What If Ariel was a Siren?" is depicted like this.
67	* KarmicDeath: Smee meets his end this way as he pleaded to Jack to spare him. As soon as he asks for some time to explain, he hears the familiar ticking of Tick Tock and as he falls into the ocean, he is devoured.
68	* KillTheParentRaiseTheChild: This is the premise of the episode "What if [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar Raised Simba]]?", which has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Scar raising Simba to mold in his image after killing Mufasa]].
69	* KnightsAndKnaves: {{Discussed}} in their take on ''Film/BatmanForever'', in which Edward talks with Grace about how he got that riddle when he was a kid. He even explains the answer and how the beauty of the riddle is that in order to find the truth, you need a liar present. However, Edward also explains how this also became his StartOfDarkness:
70	-->'''Edward:''' That wasn't the problem. Problem was it got me thinking. Everyone in this maze was lost but me. They were all flying around me like a bat out of hell. But I didn't care about leaving, because if out there with my father was supposed to be Heaven... then maybe I'd prefer it in Hell.
71	-->'''Grace:''' That's a dark thought.
72	-->'''Edward:''' Or maybe it's a dark world... But it taught me something: Always have the answer. So come Heaven or Hell, at least it's your choice.
73	* LighterAndSofter: The Pixar Elseworlds, in contrast to the Disney Elseworlds, are often just [[OriginalFlavor movies told in the same style as the movie they're based off]].
74	** The rewrite to ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' instead focuses on slightly older versions of the Parr kids going through life in comedic manners (such as Violet trying to break up with her boyfriend and failing hilariously or Jack-Jack joining a team of costumed vigilantes that have no super powers), a Screenslaver [[spoiler:whose secret identity is not a twist]], and overall a tone that would mirror the original Incredibles. The only ''dark'' thing about it is [[spoiler:Screenslaver's ultimate plan and how he dies]], but compared to what the original had, more or less the same in tone.
75	** The hypothetical sequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' is more about what becomes of Boo when she grows up and drifts apart from Sully. A lot of light hearted humor with the overall villain plot being more similar to the original film than darker. It becomes even more of a point when the host for the Fanscription says that he wanted the film to have the feeling of Creator/PeteDocter's [[{{WesternAnimation/Soul}} later]] [[WesternAnimation/InsideOut works]] for the sequel. Much like the Incredibles 2 Fanscription, the only ''dark'' thing is the villain's endgame plan.
76	* NoAntagonist: Doug takes the evil bank subplot out of his version of ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'', as the original film didn’t have straight bad guys, just people who thought they were doing good, and that was important to him.
77	* RayOfHopeEnding: Several of the Fanscriptions end on this despite taking rather dark turns. Huge examples being ''Mary Poppins Returns'' ending with Michael and Annabelle getting into show business after they lost the house, Peter Parker meeting with Gwen Stacy in the Raimi version of the ''Spider-Man'' films after the death of Mary Jane, and a literal example of Elsa's warm smile bringing about a ray of sunshine after she was forced to defeat her sister.
78	* RelatedInTheAdaptation:
79	** In their retelling of ''The Dark Knight Rises'', Bane is the son of Ra's al Ghul and Talia's brother.
80	** In their version of ''Batman Returns'', the Penguin is revealed to be Max Shreck's long-lost brother.
81	** In their retelling of ''The Dark Knight'', [[spoiler:Harley Quinn was revealed to be Harvey Dent's fiance]].
82	* RelatedDifferentlyInTheAdaptation: In "What If Hades Raised Hercules?", Persephone is the daughter of both Demeter and Hades, who are apparently divorced and share custody of her.
83	** In "What If Finn Was the Main Character in the Star Wars Sequels?", [[spoiler: Rey is Ben Solo's sister and thus the daughter of Han and Leia.]]
84	* SequelHook:
85	** The ending of their version of ''Batman Forever'' has [[spoiler:Catwoman take the fall for the Ice Princess's murder while making it clear she only did it to make things interesting for both her and Bruce]]. AndTheAdventureContinues with one of the hosts bringing up that their version of Batman & Robin is in the cards.
86	** ''Spider-Man 4'' ends with [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead Miles Warren]] moving into Peter's old apartment]].
87	** Option II in ''Super Mario Bros 2'' is to have Daniella and King Toadstool come out of a Warp Pipe.
88	** "What If Ariel was a Siren?" ends with [[spoiler:Ariel arriving in Arendelle and enchanting the local ice harvesters with her siren song]].
89	** ''Spider-Man 5'' ends with Peter answering his door to find [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead MJ]]]].
90	* SparedByTheAdaptation:
91	** As mentioned by their respective titles, [[{{Franchise/Rocky}} Apollo Creed]] and [[{{Film/Hook}} Rufio]] survive their fates in their respective Fanscriptions.
92	** [[spoiler:By contrast to the Riddler, Two-Face is saved by a combined effort of Batman, Robin, and Grace in their version of ''Batman Forever'']].
93	** General Hux survives to the end of "What If Finn Was the Main Character in the Star Wars Sequels?", in contrast to getting shot in the back in Film/StarWarsTheRiseofSkywalker, instead [[spoiler:being taken into custody by the Resistance following the final battle]] In addition, [[spoiler:General Leia Organa also survives to the end of the same episode]].
94	* SpecialGuest: Dante Basco reprising the role of Rufio in "What If Rufio Didn't Die in Hook?".
95	* TakeThat: In the Rocky 5 Fanscription podcast, Rob joins the people who dislike ''WebVideo/CinemaSins'', using them as shorthand for needless nitpicking.
96	* TitleDrop: How their version of ''Batman Forever'' is named: [[spoiler:it's on the newspaper that Bruce reads detailing how Batman is exonerated of his accused killing of the Ice Princess thanks to Catwoman taking the fall for him]].
97	* ValuesDissonance: In-universe. While they’re both frustrated with how little Creator/ErnieHudson is used in the ''Ghostbusters'' movies, Rob who grew up with the first one gives it a pass but younger Walter isn’t so sure.
98	* VillainTeamUp: In a hypothetical sequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', [[spoiler:[[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity Johnny Worthington]] teams up with Randall as part of a plan to have monsters go back to the good ol' days of scaring humans]].
99	* VocalMinority: Rob and Walter joke in-universe that Rob does the franchises where fandoms rip into each other (Star Wars, Ghostbusters etc) and Walter’s fandoms are much more chill.

Context WebVideo / Fanscription