List of multimedia franchises originating in films
Following is a list of multimedia franchises originating in films, whether animated or live-action.
In the following tables, the initial media through which the franchise characters or settings became known is shown in boldface. Only works of fiction are only considered part of the series; a book or a documentary film about the franchise is not itself an installment in the franchise.
Franchises originating in animated films[]
| Franchise (Creator) |
Literature | Comics | Animated films | Live action films | Animated TV series | Live action TV series | Video games | Other media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| An American Tail (Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Steven Spielberg) |
various | no | An American Tail (1986) An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island (1998) An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster (1999) |
no | Fievel's American Tails (1992) | no | various | An American Tail Theatre |
| Cars (John Lasseter and various) |
various | various | Cars (2006) Cars 2 (2011) Cars 3 (2017) Planes (2013) Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014) |
no | no | no | various | toy line Cars Land |
| Casper the Friendly Ghost (Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo) |
various | various | The Friendly Ghost (1945) numerous others |
Casper (1995) | Matty's Funday Funnies (1959–1961) The New Casper Cartoon Show (1963–1970) several others |
several made-for-TV movies | various | toys |
| Despicable Me (Sergio Pablos) |
children's novels | Minions comic albums |
|
no | Minions Holiday Special (2020) | no |
|
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem |
| Felix the Cat (Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer) |
Felix the Cat comic strip | various | Theatrical Shorts series (beginning in 1919 to 1930) sound and color revival shorts from Van Beuren Studios (1936) Felix the Cat: The Movie (1988) Felix the Cat Saves Christmas (2004) |
no | Felix the Cat (1958-1960) The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995-1997) Baby Felix (2000-2001) |
no | Felix the Cat (1992/1993) | various merchandise |
| Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton) |
yes | yes | Finding Nemo (2003) Finding Dory (2016) |
no | no | no | yes | Finding Nemo the Musical Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage |
| Frozen (Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee) |
numerous | Yes | Frozen (2013) Frozen II (2019) |
no | LEGO Frozen Northern (2016) | Once Upon a Time (season 4; 2014) | numerous | Disney On Ice Frozen, Frozen Ever After and more |
| Hotel Transylvania (Todd Durham) |
no | Hotel Transylvania (2012) Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) |
no | Hotel Transylvania: The Series | no | Hotel Transylvania Hotel Transylvania Dash Hotel Transylvania Social Game Hotel Transylvania BooClips Deluxe App |
||
| Ice Age (Michael J. Wilson) |
no | no | Ice Age (2002) The Meltdown (2006) Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) Continental Drift (2012) Collision Course (2016) The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (upcoming for 2022) |
no | no | no | various | Ice Age Live! A Mammoth Adventure (live arena ice show) |
| The Incredibles (Brad Bird) |
yes | yes | The Incredibles (2004) Incredibles 2 (2018) |
no | no | no | various | Incredicoaster |
| Kung Fu Panda (Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris) |
no | yes | Kung Fu Panda (2008) Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) |
no | Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011–2016) Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny (2018–) |
no | yes | numerous |
| The Land Before Time (Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Judy Freudburg & Tony Geiss) |
various | no | The Land Before Time (1988) sequels |
no | The Land Before Time (2007–08) | no | List of The Land Before Time video games | no |
| Lilo & Stitch (Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois) |
children's novels | Comic Zone: Lilo & Stitch (2002–c. 2005) Stitch! manga books Stitch & the Samurai (2020) |
Lilo & Stitch (2002) Stitch! The Movie (2003) Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) Leroy & Stitch (2006) |
Upcoming live-action remake | Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003–2006) Stitch! (2008–2015) Stitch & Ai (2017) |
no | Disney's Lilo & Stitch (GBA; 2002) Lilo & Stitch: Trouble in Paradise (2002) Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626 (2002) various others |
theme park attractions and additional merchandise |
| The Lion King (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff) |
adaption | various | The Lion King (1994) The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) The Lion King 1½ (2004) The Lion King (2019) |
no (though the 2019 remake was advertised as a live-action film) | The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1999) The Lion Guard (2015–2019) |
no | various | other media |
| Sing (Garth Jennings) |
no | no | Sing Sing 2 |
no | no | no | no | no |
| Looney Tunes (Rudolf Ising and Hugh Harman) |
no | various | Theatrical Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies short films (beginning in 1930 to 1969 with rival shorts released in the 1990s and 2010s) various feature films |
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1989)(cameo only) Space Jam (1996) Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) |
numerous | no | List of Looney Tunes video games | Music albums, theme park attractions |
| Madagascar (Tom McGrath, Eric Darnell) |
various | various | Madagascar (2005) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) Penguins of Madagascar (2014) |
no | various | no | various | musical, theme park attractions |
| Mickey Mouse and Friends (Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks) |
children's books | Mickey Mouse (comic book) various |
Theatrical short films (beginning in 1928) Fantasia (1940) Saludos Amigos (1942) The Three Caballeros (1944) Fantasia 2000 (1999) |
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1989)(cameo only) the films featured in Animaited films feature live-action scenes | numerous | Walt Disney anthology television series | various | numerous |
| Monsters, Inc. (Pete Docter and various) |
various | Monsters, Inc.: Laugh Factory | Monsters, Inc. (2001) Monsters University (2013) |
no | Monsters at Work (2021-) | no | various | numerous |
| The Secret Life of Pets (Cinco Paul Brian Lynch Ken Daurio) |
yes | yes | The Secret Life of Pets (2016) The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) |
no | no | no | The Secret Life of Pets: Unleashed | The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! |
| Tangled (Nathan Greno & Byron Howard) |
various | various | Tangled (2010) Tangled Ever After (2012) Tangled: Before Ever After (2017) |
no | Tangled: The Series / Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017–2020) | no | Tangled: The Video Game (2010) | |
| Tom and Jerry (William Hanna & Joseph Barbera) |
yes | various | Theatrical short films, (beginning in 1940 to 1967 and 2005) Tom and Jerry: The Movie various DTV animated films |
Tom and Jerry | numerous | no | List of Tom and Jerry video games | Musical adaption |
| Toy Story (John Lasseter, and various) |
yes | various | Toy Story (1995) Toy Story 2 (1999) Toy Story 3 (2010) Toy Story 4 (2019) Toy Story Toons (2011-2012) Lamp Life (2020) |
no | Toy Story Treats (1996) Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001) Forky Asks A Question (2019-) two TV shorts |
no | various | other media |
| Wallace and Gromit (Nick Park) |
yes | various | A Grand Day Out (1989) The Wrong Trousers (1993) A Close Shave (1995) Cracking Contraptions (2002) The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) A Matter of Loaf and Death(2008) Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) Farmageddon A Shaun the Sheep Movie (2019) two Shaun the Sheep specials |
no | Shaun the Sheep (2007-) Timmy Time (2009-2012) Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention (2010) |
no | various | Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic |
| Woody Woodpecker/Andy Panda (Walter Lantz) |
yes | yes | Theatrical Andy Panda short series (starting in 1939 to 1952, with the short Knock Knock debuting the character of Woody Woodpecker) Theatrical Woody Woodpecker shorts (starting in 1940 to 1971) |
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1989) (cameo only)Woody Woodpecker (2017) | The Woody Woodpecker Show (1957-1958) The New Woody Woodpecker Show (1999-2001) Woody Woodpecker (2018) |
live action segments in The Woody Woodpecker Show | various | theme park attractions The Woody Woodpecker Song |
Franchises originating in live-action films[]
| Franchise (Creator) |
Literature | Comics | Animated films | Live action films | Animated TV series | Live action TV series | Video games | Other media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alien[1] (Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett) |
Alien novel series | various | no | Alien (1979) Aliens (1986) Alien 3 (1992) Alien Resurrection (1997) |
no | no | various | - |
| Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale) |
novelizations of the films | several | no | Back to the Future (1985) Back to the Future Part II (1989) Back to the Future Part III (1990) |
Back to the Future (1991-92) | no | yes | Back to the Future the Musical |
| Bill & Ted (Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon) |
yes | Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book | no | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020) |
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990-1991) | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1992) | various | cereal musical |
| Buffyverse (Joss Whedon) |
List of Buffyverse novels | List of Buffyverse comics | no | Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) | Animated pilot | Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) Angel (1999–2004) |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer video games | - |
| The Chronicles of Riddick (David Twohy) |
yes | no | The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004) | Pitch Black (2000) The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) Riddick (2013) |
no | no | several | - |
| DC Extended Universe
(DC Films) |
various | various | no | Man of Steel (2013) several other films |
no | various | various | - |
| Evil Dead (Sam Raimi) |
no | Army of Darkness comic book various |
no |
|
no | Ash vs Evil Dead | several | Evil Dead: The Musical |
| Final Destination (Jeffrey Reddick) |
numerous novels | Final Destination: Sacrifice (2006) Final Destination: Spring Break (2006) |
no |
|
no | no | no | - |
| Ghostbusters (Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis) |
no | Ghostbusters (comics) | no | Ghostbusters (1984) Ghostbusters II (1989) Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) |
yes | no[2] | yes | - |
| Godzilla (Ishirō Honda) |
Novels by Marc Cerasini | Godzilla (comics) | Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters | Godzilla (1954) numerous others |
yes | yes | yes | - |
| Halloween (John Carpenter and Debra Hill) |
List of novels | List of comics | no | Halloween List of films |
no | no | Halloween | - |
| Herbie (Gordon Buford and Walt Disney Productions) |
Car, Boy, Girl (1961, unpublished) film novelizations |
three Gold Key Comics under the Walt Disney Showcase | no | The Love Bug (1968) Herbie Rides Again (1974) Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) |
no | Herbie, the Love Bug | Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) Herbie Rescue Rally (2007) |
- |
| Highlander (Gregory Widen) |
various | various | Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007) | Highlander (1986) Highlander II: The Quickening Highlander III: The Sorcerer Highlander: Endgame Highlander: The Source (2007) |
Highlander: The Animated Series | Highlander: The Series Highlander: The Raven |
Highlander (1986) Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods (1995) |
Highlander: The Card Game |
| Indiana Jones (George Lucas and Steven Spielberg) |
yes | Indiana Jones (comics) | no | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) |
no | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | various | The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game by TSR and The World of Indiana Jones by West End Games |
| The Karate Kid (Robert Mark Kamen) |
no | no | no | The Karate Kid (1984) The Karate Kid Part II (1986) The Karate Kid Part III (1989) The Next Karate Kid (1994) The Karate Kid (2010) |
The Karate Kid (1989) | Cobra Kai (2018–) | The Karate Kid Part II: The Computer Game (1986) The Karate Kid (1987) Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues |
|
| King Kong (Merian C. Cooper) |
no | various | no | King Kong (1933); numerous others | The King Kong Show (1966–1969) The Mighty Kong (1998) Kong: The Animated Series (2000) |
no | various | King Kong musical (2013); amusement park rides |
| Marvel Cinematic Universe (Marvel Studios) |
various | various | no | Iron Man (2008) several other films |
What If...? (2021) | various | various | various |
| The Matrix[3][4] (The Wachowskis) |
yes | The Matrix Comics | The Animatrix (2003) | The Matrix (1999) The Matrix Reloaded (2003) The Matrix Revolutions (2003) The Matrix Resurrections (2021) |
no | no | Enter the Matrix (2003) several others |
- |
| The Pink Panther (Blake Edwards and Maurice Richlin) |
yes | The Pink Panther and the Inspector | The Pink Phink (1964) various |
The Pink Panther (1963); sequels and reboots | various | no | various | - |
| Police Academy (Paul Maslansky) |
no | yes | no | Police Academy (1984) six sequels |
Police Academy (1988) | Police Academy: The Series (1997) | no | Police Academy Stunt Show (1991) |
| Predator[1] (Jim Thomas and John Thomas) |
Predator novel series | List of Predator comics | no | Predator (1987) Predator 2 (1990) Predators (2010) The Predator (2018) |
no | no | various | - |
| RoboCop (Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner) |
RoboCop 2: A Novel | RoboCop (comics) | no | RoboCop (1987) RoboCop 2 (1990) RoboCop 3 (1993) RoboCop (2014) |
RoboCop: The Animated Series (1988) RoboCop: Alpha Commando (1998−1999) |
RoboCop: The Series (1994) RoboCop: Prime Directives (2001) |
List of RoboCop video games | RoboCop the Ride |
| Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) |
yes | no | no | Rocky (1976) Numerous sequels and spin-offs |
no | no | Various | Rocky the Musical |
| Saw (James Wan & Leigh Whannell) |
no | yes | no | Saw (2004); numerous sequels | no | no | Saw (2009) Saw II: Flesh & Blood (2010) |
various theme parks, attractions and additional merchandise |
| Stargate (Roland Emmerich & Dean Devlin) |
yes | List of Stargate comics | no | Stargate (1994) | Stargate Infinity | Stargate SG-1 Stargate Atlantis Stargate Universe |
Stargate: Resistance | - |
| Star Wars[3] (George Lucas) |
List of Star Wars books | List of Star Wars comic books | Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) | Star Wars (1977) several other films |
numerous | Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) The Mandalorian (2020-) Various others |
List of Star Wars video games | numerous |
| Terminator (James Cameron) |
various | List of Terminator comics | no | The Terminator (1984) numerous sequels |
no | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009) | List of Terminator video games | park attraction |
| Tron (Steven Lisberger) |
yes | various | no | Tron (1982) Tron: Legacy (2010) |
Tron: Uprising | no | various |
See also[]
- List of fictional shared universes in film and television – many multimedia franchises are based in fictional universes
- List of public domain works with multimedia adaptations
- List of highest-grossing media franchises
- Media mix
References[]
- ^ a b Note: Alien vs. Predator is a crossover franchise established from the existing Alien and Predator franchises
- ^ Note: The Ghostbusters franchise beginning with the 1984 film is unrelated to the 1975 TV series, The Ghost Busters, and its spin-off, the 1986 Ghostbusters animated series.
- ^ a b Harry J. Brown, Videogames and Education (2008), p. 41, ISBN 0765629496:
In one of the most celebrated ventures in media convergence, Larry and Andy Wachowski, creators of The Matrix trilogy, produced the game Enter the Matrix (2003) simultaneously with the last two films of the trilogy, shooting scenes for the game on the movie's sets with the movie s actors, and releasing the game on the same day as The Matrix: Reloaded. Likewise, on September 21, 2004, Lucasfilm jointly released a new DVD box set of the original Star Wars trilogy with Star Wars: Battlefront, a combat game in which players can reenact battles from all six Star Wars films. In 2005, Peter Jackson likewise produced his blockbuster film King Kong (2005) in tandem with a successful King Kong game designed by Michael Ancel and published by Ubisoft. In the last several years, numerous licensed videogame adaptations of major summer and holiday blockbusters were released a few days before or a few days after their respective films, including: all three Star Wars films (1999–2005); all five Harry Potter films (2001–2008); all three Spider-Man films (2002–2007); Hulk (2002); The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003); The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005); Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007); and Transformers (2007). These multimedia franchises have made it more difficult to distinguish the production of films and videogames as separate enterprises.
- ^ Lincoln Geraghty, American Science Fiction Film and Television (2009), p. 94, ISBN 1845207963: Multiple readings of the film are plentiful and highlight the polysemic nature of the text and subsequent multimedia franchise".
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Categories:
- Mass media franchises
- Cultural lists