Same plot, different cartoon

[Brandon Pierce]

Can anyone think of any particular plot outlines to episodes of cartoons that were used on different shows?

I was thinking about the plot idea of a bully coming to settle with one of the show's protagonists, and the protagonist thinks he's gonna get beat up, but it turns out, the former bully just wants to apologize some how. It's been used in at least 3 different cartoon shows, and perhaps maybe more.

-In the Catillac Cats episode "High Goon", Riff Raff gets word that Cleo's ex-boyfriend is coming to town to meet Riff Raff, and Riff thinks he's gonna get his butt kicked, but it turns out the guy just wants to apologize.

-In one of the "U.S. Acres" episodes from Garfield & Friends, Orson re-encounters a former bully who gives him back all the money he took from him in school.

-An episode of "Rocko's Modern Life" did the same plot, but satirized it. Rocko's former bully became a peacenik, but still asked for Rocko to punch him in the nose. Rocko does so, reluctantly. Later The former bully gets attacked by Heffer and Filbert.

Can anyone think of other plots that have been used on different shows?

 

[Goldstar!]

Disney ripped itself off with 2 of it's Disney Afternoon shows: DuckTales and TaleSpin. In the DuckTales episode "Allowance day", Huey, Dewey and Louie trick Scrooge into thinking that it's Saturday, not Friday, so they can their allowances a day early, but their plan backfires when I dictator also believes that it's Saturday. Scrooge and the nephews, along with Launchpad McQuack, have to prove that it's indeed Friday in order to save themselves.

The same plot was used again on TaleSpin about a season or so later in an episode titled "The Time Bandit". Baloo tricks his boss Rebecca into thinking that it's Saturday, not Friday, so that he can get paid early, but again, his ruse goes too fat when the country of Thembria also believes that it's Friday. Baloo and Kit Coudkicker must unearth a passing comet to convince the dictator of Thembria that it is indeed Friday.

 

[DarthGonzo]

Disney ripped itself off with 2 of it's Disney Afternoon shows: DuckTales and TaleSpin. In the DuckTales episode "Allowance day", Huey, Dewey and Louie trick Scrooge into thinking that it's Saturday, not Friday, so they can their allowances a day early, but their plan backfires when I dictator also believes that it's Saturday. Scrooge and the nephews, along with Launchpad McQuack, have to prove that it's indeed Friday in order to save themselves.

Fenton was also featured in this episode as well. And just like the Talespin episode, the fate of the characters rests on revealing a comet, thereby proving it's really Friday.

Talespin and Ducktales also did episodes in which a character (Baloo and Scrooge) believe they're going to die after another character (Kit and the nephews) breaks something (a navigational compass and a grandfather clock) and a repairman's phone call is mistaken for a fatal doctor's diagnosis.

 

[Super_Staff]

There have been episodes of Hey Arnold, Arthur, and (I think) a few others where characters are striving to break a world record, going through a few like making the world's largest pizza. But in the end, they end up breaking the record for most attempts at breaking a world record. Yeah, lame.

 

[R-Taco]

There was a thread just like this one less than 2 months ago. I remember mentioning how Hey Arnold, Rocket Power, the Wild Thornberries and Rugrats were all pretty much the same show.

 

[The Weed Of Cri]

How many cartoons have done the "evil twin" thing?

Actually, I think it would be easier if we made a list of cartoons that haven't done the "evil twin" thing.

 

[Tobias]

Fenton was also featured in this episode as well. And just like the Talespin episode, the fate of the characters rests on revealing a comet, thereby proving it's really Friday.

Talespin and Ducktales also did episodes in which a character (Baloo and Scrooge) believe they're going to die after another character (Kit and the nephews) breaks something (a navigational compass and a grandfather clock) and a repairman's phone call is mistaken for a fatal doctor's diagnosis.

Both shows also did episodes where the main characters shrink themselves to ant size (In Ducktales, Scrooge messes with an alien shrink ray to increase his wealth and ends up shrinking himself, the nephews and Webby; In TaleSpin, a mad scientist accidentally shrinks Molly and Baloo and Kit have to shrink down inside the Sea Duck to rescue her.)

In another instance, both did episodes where it's lead characters got amnesia (Baloo from a plane accident, Scrooge when he tripped on the nephews newest skateboard)

Wow, Talespin and Ducktales had a LOT of duplicate plots...

 

[thenewme93]

There's an episode of Arthur where DW learns a new word that she shouldn't..its a curse word...a similar episode happened to Daffy Duck in Baby Loony Tunes..

 

[FlooterFlatter]

There have been episodes of Hey Arnold, Arthur, and (I think) a few others where characters are striving to break a world record, going through a few like making the world's largest pizza. But in the end, they end up breaking the record for most attempts at breaking a world record. Yeah, lame.

If I recall, I believe "Ned's Newt" did a similar plotline as well.

Will theatrical cartoons count? A plotline to the Daffy Duck cartoon "His Bitter Half," where Daffy marries a rich woman in order to get the money, only to realize that she's bossy, was remade TWICE. Once with Yosemite Sam in Daffy's role in "Honey's Money," and also in a DePatie-Freleng cartoon "Taste of Money" with Rattfink.

 

[Tobias]

There's an episode of Arthur where DW learns a new word that she shouldn't..its a curse word...a similar episode happened to Daffy Duck in Baby Loony Tunes..

There was also a similar episode of Spongebob Squarepants where Sponbebob & Patrick learned THIRTEEN words they shouldn't.

Squidward: Don't you mean 7?

Mr. Krabs: Not if you're a sailor.

 

[Lavenderpaw]

Body swaps.UGH!

Examples...

Jake and Haley from American Dragon.Switched accidently,learned a lesson.

Timmy and his fairys.Switched intentionally,learned a lesson.

And countless others.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

There's an episode of Arthur where DW learns a new word that she shouldn't..its a curse word...a similar episode happened to Daffy Duck in Baby Loony Tunes..

That also happened on Spongebob, Rugrats, and Powerpuff Girls

 

[The Huntsman]

I could list countless plots that have been used in multiple animated programs, but most of those plots exist in the realm of the cliché. I created a thread a while back where people pointed out cliché plots that have been used in animated programs, even though that wasn’t the original purpose of the thread, and a decent amount of cliché plots were mentioned. However, I think that threads like these are more interesting if we discuss repeated plots that aren’t actually used enough to become a true cliché.

I can only think of one example. If my memory hasn’t failed me, I recall an episode of “Rugrats” where the babies were watching a television program that ended prematurely. Since they couldn’t see the conclusion to their show, they began to imagine their own endings, and in the end, they liked their own endings more than the actual ending of the show. An episode of “101 Dalmatians: The Series” entitled “Four Stories Up” also used that plot.

I’m not sure if that plot has been used in any other animated programs, though I’m sure it probably has.

 

[Brandon Pierce]

The whole "amnesia" thing has been used in other cartoon shows. The Angry Beavers episode "Damnesia" centered around that. There was also a CatDog episode where Dog gets amnesia (repeatedly)

 

[Antiyonder]

In another instance, both did episodes where it's lead characters got amnesia (Baloo from a plane accident, Scrooge when he tripped on the nephews newest skateboard)

Wow, Talespin and Ducktales had a LOT of duplicate plots...

Though, to Tale Spin's credit, it took more than a jar on the head to restore Baloo's memory.

 

[stephane dumas]

Time travel is another exemple, and it can be used twice in the same cartoon series, an exemple is Totally Spies. The episode "Stuck in the middle ages" send the Spies to the Middles ages and have to restore the past to bring the present where it was. They did it again to restaure the past when the Spies travelled back to the 1970s (I forgot the episode title ).

Also, 2 plotlines episodes of Rocket Robin Hood "Dementia Five" and "From menace to menace" was recycled for 2 episode of the 1967-70 Spider-man "Revolt in the Fifth Dimension" and "Phantom from the Depth of Time". http://marvel.toonzone.net/spidey67/episode/phantomdepths/

And there the "clip show" aka "flashback episode" in which South Park did a cool parody of the clip show/flashback episode like the flashback scene from the episode where Kenny was killed by Death, when Kenny told the flashback, Kenny killed Death.

 

[Daxdiv]

If I recall, I believe "Ned's Newt" did a similar plotline as well.

Will theatrical cartoons count? A plotline to the Daffy Duck cartoon "His Bitter Half," where Daffy marries a rich woman in order to get the money, only to realize that she's bossy, was remade TWICE. Once with Yosemite Sam in Daffy's role in "Honey's Money," and also in a DePatie-Freleng cartoon "Taste of Money" with Rattfink.

In my "History of Animation Class" I remember that the prof. said the reason those cartoons can get away with that was, since everyone of these were attached to a film, and since many movie goers wouldn't spend money on a movie ticket to see a 7 minute cartoon, they could repeat plots. After most people say the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner do have the same gags repeated.

 

[DarthGonzo]

Though, to Tale Spin's credit, it took more than a jar on the head to restore Baloo's memory.

Oh definitely. Talespin had just a bit more substance to it than Ducktales did, and would often take a very different approach to the same subject matter. There was a certain maturity to Talespin that Ducktales lacked.

 

[Lonestarr]

Every so often, when the writers are stuck for ideas and the big bosses need a script within the next ten minutes (no two ways about it), they'll usually fashion a story around characters taking care of an inanimate object like it was a child.

Of all the shows this 'quote-unquote' plot was used on (including "Batman Beyond", "Danny Phantom", "Hey Arnold!" and "Kim Possible"), "Pepper Ann" produced the only half-way decent episode.

 

[Brandon Pierce]

It's been years since I've seen the Ducktales "amnesia" episode. Is that the one where Scrooge believes he's a homeless person? I used to find that episode odd, because as soon as Scrooge started believing he was a bum, his suit suddenly became ragged and torn for no reason whatsoever.

There was also an old comic book story where Scrooge gets amnesia by looking into a magic mirror, and believes he's a crook, and tries to steal Scrooges money (not knowing he is Scrooge himself). Donald Duck, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie try to get Scrooge to look into the mirror again to regain his memory.