"To recap: Saturdays at noon in the early 90s, Argentinian television aired a wrestling show based on toys based on a cartoon based on a movie based on a book."
This is where a work is adapted, then the adaptation is adapted, and so forth. The adaptations pile on a ridiculous number of times, usually resulting in the actual source material appearing completely unrelated.
This is often done to capitalize on a popular franchise, especially when an expired copyright is involved...
It's important to note that this is not necessarily a bad thing, as the adapted works sometimes end up being genuinely good, or at least lucrative.
This trope often results in (and is not to be confused with) Recursive Adaptation, Adaptation Displacement, Lost in Imitation, and Adaptation Overdosed.
Examples
- 101 Dalmatians: Children's novel —> Animated film —> Second children's novel —> Live-action film —> Television series —> Second live-action movie —> Non-canon video game —> Direct to Video sequel of animated movie —> Prequel film
- The Addams Family: Newspaper Comic —> TV show —> Cartoon —> Video Game —> Movie —> TV show loosely based on movie —> Video Game —> Sequel to movie —> Broadway Musical
- The Marx Brothers' Animal Crackers: play —> what the Marxes did to the play —> movie —> play based on the movie
- The life of Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, and the woman pulled out of a river in Germany who claimed to be her: Historical events —> stage play —> Ballet —> live-action film —> animated film —> Broadway musical
- Beauty and the Beast: Fairy tale —> Rewritten fairy tale —> Film —> Animated film —> Live-action film
- BIONICLE: Toys —> Comics —> Web games —> Novels —> Non-canon video game —> Direct to Video movies —> Novels based on those movies —> Another non-canon video game —> Novels —> Another DTV movie —> Web serials —> Web novel.
- Conan the Barbarian: Novels —> Rewritten novels —> Comic books —> Movie —> Remake movie.
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Manga Pilot (Kagarigari) —> Manga Serialization —> Anime —> Anime Movie (Canonical) —> Stage Play —> Video Games
- Dracula and Frankenstein, as well as their characters.
- Fifty Shades of Grey is an interesting case, being an Ascended Fanfic rather than an official adaptation. It all started with a dream Stephenie Meyer had, which inspired The Twilight Saga, which was adapted into a film series. That inspired an erotic fan fiction by E. L. James, which became a novel series, which got adapted into its own film series. Then that inspired a romantic comedy with its own sequel in the works. Fifty Shades of Grey also heavily influenced 365 Days, a trilogy of erotic romance novels published by Polish author Blanka Lipińska which contains the same themes and concepts, in addition to being adapted to the big screen.
- The Fly has two different continuities:
- Short story —> 1958 movie —> Sequel to movie —> Second sequel
- Short story —> 1986 movie —> Sequel to movie —> Comic book continuation of sequel —> Opera adaptation of 1986 movie
- Freaky Friday: Children's novel —> Movie (1976) —> Movie (1995) —> Movie (2003).
- Also: Children's novel —> Sequel —> TV show
- Gods and Generals: Actual Events —> Book —> Movie —> Video Game
- The Hair Bear Bunch was an unlicensed Animated Adaptation of the sitcom Hogan's Heroes, which was an unlicensed adaptation of the film Stalag17, which was adapted from the Broadway play of the same name, which was based on real experiences in a prisoner-of-war camp in Austria. It was a steady slide from reality, to talking bears with funky hair.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Radio Serial —> Books —> TV Series —> Adventure Game —> Movie
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Novel —> Film —> Remake film —> Animated film —> Musical
- The King and I: Anna Leonowens's memoirs —> Anna and the King of Siam (novel) —> Broadway musical —> Live-action film —> Animated children's film
- The Legend of Zelda: Video games —> Cartoon —> Comic
- Little Shop of Horrors: Movie —> Stage musical —> Movie of musical —> (Extremely) short-lived Saturday morning cartoon show
- Metal Gear Solid: Game —> Comic Book adaptation —> Kinetic Novel adaptation of the Comic Book adaptation —> Movie adaptation of the Kinetic Novel adaptation of the Comic Book adaptation
- The same applies to its sequel, albeit it was never adapted into a Kinetic Novel.
- The Mighty Ducks : Movie -> Actual hockey team -> Cartoon
- Les Misérables: Novel —> Musical —> Film. This one is interesting, as multiple movies have been made of the book, but only in 2012 did they actually make a movie of the musical
- The entire The Mummy franchise: 1932 Movie —> 1940 semi-remake —> trilogy of sequels to the semi-remake —> comedic spoof —> 1959 Remake —> trilogy of sequels to the Remake —> 1999 Reboot —> Sequel —> Video Game —> Prequel Spin-Off —> Video Game —> Prequel to spin-off —> Sequel to Reboot sequel —> Sequel to original spin-off —> 2017 Reboot
- Negima! Magister Negi Magi: Manga —> alternative retelling OVA —> alternative retelling anime —> alternative retelling Manga (which outlasted the anime its based on).
- One Piece: Manga → Anime OVA → Anime TV series → Video games → Live-action TV series
- The Producers: Movie about a musical —> Musical —> Movie adaptation of the musical
- Rambo: Novel —> Film —> Sequels to the film —> Novelisations of the sequels, written by the author of the original novel
- RoboCop: 1987 film —> 1988 animated adaptation —> Two film sequels —> Comic sequels —> Futuristic comic crossover —> 1994 television series based off the first two films only —> 1998 animated series (with no ties to the first) —> 2000 miniseries based on the first film only —> Film reboot
- Sailor Moon: Manga —> Better known sequel —> Anime —> Musicals —> Non-canon video game —> Live-action television series —> Another anime —> Second Set of Musicals
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Novel —> Play —> Many films based on the play
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Comic —> Cartoon —> Comic based on cartoon —> Movie —> Band —> ...
- The Battle of Thermopylae: Actual events —> unreliable historical document by a man who was taking a break from writing about giant ants —> Movie —> Graphic Novel —> Movie —> Sequel to second Movie —> Graphic Novel originally meant to inspire the sequel but ended up borrowing from it
- Transformers: Toys —> Comic —> Cartoon —> Animated movie —> Sequel cartoons —> Reboot cartoons —> Lots lots more comics —> Live-action 2007 movie —> Another reboot cartoon —> Even more comics, and prose —> Second movie —> Video game —> More prose —> Slightly video game/movie-based reboot cartoon —> Third Movie —> Spin-off to the previous cartoon —> Fourth Movie —> Sequel to video game/movie-based reboot —> Fifth Movie. Whew.
- Uncle Tom's Cabin: Pre-Civil War book about the hardships and immorality of slavery —> Straight play adaptation —> Jim Crow era minstrel show about the perks of being subservient to white people —> Movie adaptation. Guess which one is best remembered.
In-Universe Examples
- Parodied by the Neopets item "LDPBSTSCC", which stands for Lost Desert Paint Brush Stamp T-Shirt Collectable Card. Indeed, it is a collectable card depicting someone wearing a shirt depicting a stamp depicting a Lost Desert Paint Brush.
