Hollywood today makes movies based on comics and cartoons, where it used to be the other way around. Many popular live-action films have led to cartoon spinoffs that are now more or less forgotten. Couldn't afford a sequel? No problem. Get to animating and cast cheaper actors. The stories could continue a lot longer and introduce a bunch more potentially profitable characters - a hypothetical Man of Steel cartoon, for instance, could have been far less clunky in introducing the other superheroes than Batman v. Superman was.
Animated shows based on blockbuster movies used to be a dime a dozen. This kind of thing used to happen a lot, but nobody has gotten too good at preserving the results (which, admittedly, are not always great). Still, no true franchise fan can complete their knowledge without seeking out these cel-bound spin-offs, and odds are you've forgotten at least a few of these existed. That's why this list is here. Journey now into the past,and find continuations of stories you never knew you needed...and maybe still don't.
The Most Unlikely Cartoons Based on Live-Action Movies,
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Part of the appeal of Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura in the live-action movies was his ability to achieve a cartoon-like physicality. That effect was lost in the translation to animation, but it also makes him a natural in the medium. The cartoons were also kid-friendlier than the movies - if you haven't seen them in a while, they appeal to younger audiences with the slapstick while having some wildly inappropriate sex jokes, one of which was considered transphobic even at the time.
In an animated Jim Carrey doubleheader, the Ace cartoon often ran back-to-back with a cartoon based on The Mask, and eventually both characters met each other in a two-part crossover. And while the darker comic book iteration of The Mask would probably shove a live animal up Ace's butt, he came away relatively unscathed this time. One of the writers on the show, a fellow by the name of Seth MacFarlane, would go on to make much grosser jokes in the years to come.
Back to the Future
Did you ever wonder what happened to Doc Brown and Clara after the events of the movie trilogy? The animated series exists to answer that question, in addition to showcasing the mischievous antics of their kids, Jules and Verne. Returning cast members from the films included Thomas F. Wilson as Biff, Mary Steenburgen as Clara, and James Tolkan as Principal Strickland. Curiously, Christopher Lloyd returned as Doc Brown for live-action segments, but was voiced in the cartoon itself by Dan Castellaneta, better known as the man behind Homer Simpson. Great Scott!
Even if you never knew this cartoon existed, you're probably familiar with its most famous spin-off. In the live-action segments, Doc Brown would give a science demonstration along with his assistant Bill Nye. The popularity of that part of the show eventually led to the Science Guy getting his own show, and the rest of the story is science fact.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
After their first jaunt through the circuits of time on the big screen in 1989, Bill S. Preston, esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan actually had two different TV shows. One was a short-lived live-action affair, but the other, an animated series, was actually pretty successful over two seasons. The series even expanded on the movie's mythology, introducing a new phone booth that allowed the Wyld Stallyns to venture into fictional landscapes and even shrink themselves down to microscopic size.
In its first season, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures found Alex WInter, Keanu Reeves, and George Carlin all returning to voice their characters. When the show jumped from CBS to Fox Kids for its second season, however, the roles were recast.
Clerks
Kevin Smith's thoroughly foul-mouthed black and white 1994 indie isn't an obvious launching pad for a prime time network cartoon, but this did, in fact, happen. Smith developed the show and brought along the whole principal cast, adding Alec Baldwin to the mix as the Mr. Burns-like villain Leonardo Leonardo.
The series was very different from the source material, dialing up the color, absurdism, and pop culture references for an almost Family Guy feel. Nonetheless, only six episodes were created and ABC only aired two (out of order, no less) before axing Clerks.
Godzilla
Director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin always intended to make sequels to their 1998 Godzilla remake. Despite its box office success, negative reactions to the film from licensees who lost money and from Toho itself effectively killed franchise plans. Instead, an animated series picked up where the movie left off, with Gojira's sole surviving hatchling growing to full-size and becoming more benevolent towards humanity.
While most of the key roles were recast, with Ian Ziering stepping in for Matthew Broderick, Michael Lerner returned as Mayor Ebert, the filmmakers' mockery of a certain film critic who had panned their previous work. And in a bizarre tribute to another cartoon then on the air, the series introduced a trio of villainous hunters named Bill, Dale, and Hank... after King of the Hill. Yep. Uh-huh. Dang ol' kaiju, man.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
"Up from the depths! Thirty stories high! Breathing fire... his head in the sky! Godzilla!"
So far so good. Then, "aaand God-zoooky!" Suddenly, the giant monster created as a parable for nuclear war had a bumbling mini-me,complete with sillycartoon sound effects. The cowardly cousin of the giant lizard was loosely based on the son of a studio executive, and became a plot necessity when standards and practices told Joseph Barbera that Godzilla couldn't. stomp on cars and buildings or even shoot fire at people. Amazingly, Toho were co-producers on the show, though Godzilla's signature roar was not licensed for it.
Spaceballs
If you were wondering when Mel Brooks would get around to making another Spaceballs to spoof the prequels, well, he already did. You might have missed it on G4, though. Along with telling the origin of Dark Helmet as a boy named Pannakin Crybaby, the series spoofed other properties like Grand Theft Auto and Spider-Man.
Sadly, just like George Lucas, Brooks felt the need to explain the Schwartz, which comes from Yogurt's gallbladder.
Street Fighter
While there have been well-received anime based on the Street Fighter games, this was not that. Rather, it was an attempt to continue the story of the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, and ultimately bring it closer to the game storyline. So Guile was still the hero, Blanka was his mutated best bud Charlie, and Dr. Dhalsim, last seen dying in a collapsing secret base, was now alive and honing his skills to become the yoga fire master familiar to gamers.
Although the movie has its fans today, it was not well-received at the time, and neither was this attempt to further the plot. Especially once fans became aware of the Japanese animated movie that was way better. You might even say it kicked this show's ass so hard, the next Street Fighter wanna-be ended up feeling it.
The Emperor's New Groove
Disney's comedy about a spoiled Incan emperor turned into a llama was a strange one to begin with, particularly since it began life as a much more serious, epic movie and was heavily rewritten to be more comedic. To make it into a TV series, things got even weirder, with emperor Kuzco having to complete his education at an anachronistic high school.
The show was actually better than you may remember. Eartha Kitt returned to play Yzma, and won a Daytime Emmy for it; and a young, then-unknown Chloe Moretz also got an early break as a guest voice.
The Mummy
Before the misguided Tomb of the Dragon Emperor took the Mummy movies in a new direction, this cartoon was already shifting the focus to young Alex O'Connell, who in this telling has a cursed manacle stuck on his wrist that Imhotep will stop at nothing to regain.
It might have been a whole lot scarier if the Mummy of the title hadn't been voiced by Jim Cummings, best known nowadays as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. He's a real hunny, not a bother.