View source for Spinoff Babies

{{trope}}
[[File:watchmenbabies.jpg|link=The Simpsons (animation)|frame|This is why [[Alan Moore]] [[Why Fandom Can't Have Nice Things|doesn't want us to have nice things.]]]]
{{quote|''"What are you trying to feed the child - sanitized pablum? Li'l Death? Li'l Morpheus? Revolting!"''|'''Cain''', ''[[The Sandman]]''}}

Cartoons have a tendency to get spun off into new shows with younger versions of the original characters. No one is quite sure why producers do this, aside from the opportunity to make a new franchise for a new demographic out of an older, successful property. Often the concept of the original show is dropped entirely and replaced, but sometimes it's adapted to an elementary- or middle-school setting. Frequently parodied, due to the absurdity of some of the examples.

Note that those are usually ''not'' [[prequel]]s, and not part of the original show's continuity. It's usual for people who supposedly met for the first time in the original show to meet in the "younger" show, or for characters with notably different ages in the original show to be babies/middle-schoolers at the same time. If you have descendants, then it's [[Spin Offspring]].

Related to [[Recycled in Space]] and [[High School AU]]

Contrast [[Time Skip]], which tends to make the characters older instead. Compare [[Young Future Famous People]], which does this with real people.

{{examples}}
== Straight ==
=== Anime and Manga ===
* The original ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' came off as this to some American viewers due to ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' being far, far more popular and having much more exposure; ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' was first aired in America in 1995, but it didn't do well and was largely forgotten until ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' caught on.
* ''[[SD Gundam Force]]'' is the closest you're going to get with to this trope with [[Humongous Mecha]].
* ''Panyo Panyo [[Di Gi Charat]]'' features an even younger Digiko and Puchiko having adventures on Planet Di Gi Charat. It's not immediately clear if it's actually a prequel, or an alternate continuity. As usual, if a prequel, it messes with the previously-established continuity a bit—they're still known as Digiko and Puchiko, even though these are supposedly just aliases they go by on Earth, and Piyoko appears, even though no-one seemed to have any idea who she was when she "later" appeared in one of the specials for the original series. Also, Dejiko is more optimistic and cheery instead of being a lazy [[Jerkass]], and Piyoko is pure evil instead of just wanting to kidnap Dejiko for ransom. Given how silly ''Di Gi Charat'' is, this isn't as big a deal as it could be, though.
* ''[[Kamen Rider]] SD'', a joke OVA that depicted horrifically adorable, super-deformed versions of the Kamen Riders (from [[Kamen Rider (TV series)|Rider 1]] to [[Kamen Rider Black RX|Black RX]]). In retrospect, it deliberately makes ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O|Den-O]]'' look like ''[[Kamen Rider Black|Black]]''.
* There's a [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/negiho_ito_bun/ spin off]<ref>[[Adaptation Overdosed|Go figure]]</ref> That [[Playing with a Trope|plays with this trope]] a bit by featuring <ref>[[Kid Hero|the normally 10 year old]]</ref> Teenage!Negi as 3-A's kindergarten teacher.
* '"[[Adventures of Mini-Goddess|Adventures of Mini Goddess]] is taken from the fact that the Goddesses in ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'' have the ability to divide into [[Fun Size]] multiples of themselves (great for catching wayward spirits).
* The ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'' manga contained [[Omake]] depicting all the characters in a fantasy kindergarden.

=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* Possibly the earliest comic book example is [[Superboy]], the young persona of [[Superman]], whose adventures were published as early as the 1940s. This was recently adapted into ''[[Smallville]]'', among other things.
* [[Archie Comics]] actually did this YEARS earlier than ''[[Muppet Babies]]'' (in the 1960s, to be exact) with "Little Archie", taking place in the gang's Elementary School years, but it didn't have many copycats. "The New Archies" (both a cartoon series and a comic, both short-lived) came in the 1980s, and was based around their pre-teen Middle School years. The former appears to actually be in continuity (told nowadays as flashbacks), but the latter, with several replacement characters (Eugene for Dilton, among others), is mostly forgotten.
** One final attempt (so far) of reviving "Little Archie" was ''New Little Archies'' in the early nineties, when the concept was redesigned.
** And when the Archie characters became superheroes in the [[So Bad It's Good|so-bad-it's-not-too-bad]] "Pureheart the Powerful" storylines, their younger selves became superheroes, too.
* ''[[Tiny Titans]]'' is an elementary school themed spin off of ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]''
** Pre-dating Tiny Titans is Teeny Titans, an in-universe parody from the early 1990s involving babified versions of Nightwing, Starfire, Panthra, Changling, and Baby Wildebeest (turned into a magic transforming doll) and their battles against evil Mr. (Slade "Deathstroke") Wilson. The fictional "Teeny Titans" came about when the New Titans were strapped for cash and basically decided to whore themselves out via merchandising deals and was largely played for shock value as far as the team being horrified at how their cartoon show was a slapstick kiddie show.
** And of course there's the recent [[Crossover]] title, ''Tiny Titans/Little Archie''
* ''[[wikipedia:Zbeng!|Zbeng!]]'', an Israeli comic about a group of teenagers (featured in a teen magazine), had a children spin off called "Zbengale" (which featured in a children's magazine).
* ''Le Petit Spirou'' is a spin-off of Franco-Belgian comic ''[[Spirou and Fantasio]]'', starring a younger, and markedly more impertinent and irreverent version of the main character. Some of the one page gags are [[Flash Back|flashbacks]] to the protagonist years as a toddler (rather than an elementary school kid). Their storyline centers mostly on the many hazards awaiting the dangly bits of a small child running half naked around the house.
* The French [[Comic Book]] ''[[Sillage]]'' (''Wake'') had a spin off series called ''Navis'', which was about the title character's childhood on a jungle planet and was written and drawn in a more humorous style than the parent series.
* Even older then the Archie example, Disney did a young Davy Crockett comic series in the 1950s called "[http://www.2719hyperion.com/2006/12/what-character-lil-davy.html Lil' Davy]" that even teamed him up with [[Pinocchio|Jiminy Crockett]].
* ''Disney Babies''.
* Brazil inverted this trope, by making Spinoff Teenagers of two series: local work ''[http://joanasalvador.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/turma_da_monica.jpg Turma da Mônica] ([http://www.ocaldeirao.com/arquivos/imagens/monica_jovem3.jpg Monica's Gang])'' and the internationally known ''[http://www.universohq.com/quadrinhos/2009/imagens/Luluzinha_Teen_e_Sua_Turma_No1_by_Lamzao.jpg Little Lulu]''.{{Dead link}}
* Gail Simone's run on the ''Gen13'' reboot had [[The Authority|the Authoriteens]]... who, it turned out, hailed from an ''entire universe'' of Spinoff Babies.
* After the X-men temporarily died, evil alien TV mogul, Mojo, filled their broadcast spot with the chibified X-babies, with much [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]] [[Invoked Trope|invocation]].
* Back in 2004 there was [https://web.archive.org/web/20100102182202/http://marvel.com/company/index.htm?sub=viewstory_current.php&id=1209 talk] of "[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D4d9PTkUZlM/S68QptYRI4I/AAAAAAAAEFc/0jXxn4NP4AA/s1600/31_18.jpg Marvel Babies]"; infant versions of Marvel characters such as [[Spider-Man]] and [[Captain America (comics)]]. The most baffling part of the whole thing (and there was plenty to choose from) was the decision to have Spidey villain the Rhino as [[The Big Guy|the Big Dumb Guy]]. Because there isn't a [[The Incredible Hulk|major Marvel hero the general public have actually heard of]] who could have fit that role. Thankfully, the concept seems to have died (although not before they [https://web.archive.org/web/20110913213902/http://www.ninthart.org/display.php?article=1030 sold the rights to "Marvel Babies" brand clothing]), and been replaced by ''[[The Superhero Squad Show]]''.
* In the late 1970s, [[DC Comics]] introduced the "Super Juniors," baby versions of the [[Justice League of America]]. While these characters only appeared in comics once (a digest-sized one-shot), they appeared on a considerable number of licensed products (toys, linens, nursery furnishings, etc.) in the early 1980s.
* ''[[Ultimate X-Men]]'' re-envisioned the team as teenagers, including members who were adults when they joined in the proper canon. The one exception is Wolverine, who, like his ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'' counterpart, is still 150 years old, which made his affair with 16-year-old Jean a tad bit creepy.
** It's worth remembering that the original [[X-Men]] ''were'' teenagers, so with the [[Ultimate Universe]] being a [[Continuity Reboot]], having the team start at that age while shuffling the original lineup makes sense.


=== [[Film]] ===
* ''[[Young Sherlock Holmes]]'' was a pastiche of ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'' supposedly telling the early life of Holmes and Watson when they first met as teens. And apparently before Holmes figured out how to solve crimes by logical deduction.
* The Danish (original) movie series ''[[Olsen-Banden]]'' (''Olsen gang'') and the Norwegian ''Olsenbanden'' and Swedish ''Jönssonligan'' (''The Jonsson gang'') remakes had spin-off movies with the titular gang as kids.
** Which was set in [[The Fifties]] even though the characters were middle aged during original films - which were released and took place in [[The Seventies]] and [[The Eighties]]. It might just work for Benny, who was quite younger than Egon and Kjeld (in the Danish version at least), but that just screws up the premise further.

=== [[Literature]] ===
* The original [[James Bond]] novels spun-off into the book series ''Young Bond'' by Charlie Higson.
* A recent variation is Disney's successful line of preteen-oriented novels about the adventures of the teenage [[Pirates of the Caribbean|Captain Jack Sparrow]].
* ''[[Sweet Valley High]]'' has spun-off two "kiddie" versions of the characters: Sweet Valley Twins (set when the characters were in middle school) and Sweet Valley Kids (when they were in elementary school). The former was well received and heavily promoted via a retcon character Amy, who was Elizabeth Wakefield's best friend in the "Twins" book but her mortal enemy in the main "Sweet Valley High" book and ultimate led to a villain-based spin-off series based off of the "Unicorn Club". The later was pretty much reviled by fans as being soulless tie-in. Reversed with ''Sweet Valley University'', which put the twins in college.
* The ''[[Star Trek]]'' Starfleet Academy novels focus on [[The Next Generation]] and [[Deep Space Nine]] cast members as Starfleet officers in training.
* The ''[[Hardy Boys]]'' have two, the discontinued Clues Brothers and the currently running Secret Files, which feature Frank and Joe at 9 and 8 years-old.
* [[Nancy Drew]] got in on it as well, with "The Nancy Drew Notebooks" and "Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew."

=== [[Live Action TV]] ===
* Example that never was: The CBBC wanted the current production team to make them a ''Young [[Doctor Who]]''. The idea horrified [[Russell T. Davies]], so he pitched ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' to them instead.
** [[Fan Web Comics]] example ''[http://tw-babiez.livejournal.com/ Torchwood Babiez]'' also starring Rose and The Tenth Doctor, putting a ''[[Peanuts]]'' and ''[[Rugrats]]'' spin on things. Though technically {{spoiler|they're clones}}.
** [[Meta Fic]] [[Fan Fiction]] example: ''[http://www.ttrarchive.com/lookwhostalking.html Look Who's Talking]'', the Doctor Who day care center outside continuity, with toddler versions of every Doctor Who character, from the [[This Time Round]] setting. Best known for the ''Story Time'' series, casting the ''adult'' Who characters in fairy tales for the kids...
* In possibly the most bizarre example, long-running British sitcom ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'' spawned a spin-off called ''First Of The Summer Wine'', featuring the main cast as teenagers in the 1930s. This included both (at the time) [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]s for the third man of the [[Comic Trio]], despite the fact that, in ''Last'', Compo barely remembered one of them was at the same school, and the other one was clearly established as a newcomer to the village.
** Of course, since this is a show about drunk and arguably senile elderly Brits, you could chalk it up to [[Unreliable Narrator]]
* ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' movies got the TV spin off ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]'', which showed Indy as a young lad working alongside his father.
* ''Sesame Beginnings'', a direct-to-DVD [[Edutainment Show]] for kids younger than the ''[[Sesame Street]]'' demographic (ie the under-2s), starring Baby Big Bird, Baby Cookie Monster, Baby Elmo and Baby Prairie Dawn.
* [[Ant and Dec]]'s Saturday Night Takeaway had a segment featuring "Little Ant And Dec". Thankfully not an [[Unusual Euphemism]], this featured a pair of kids who ''slightly'' resembled Big Ant And Dec interviewing somebody in a faintly rude fashion.
* The short-lived ''[[Young Hercules]]'', directed at teen and younger viewers, featured the semi-sterilized adventures of an adolescent[[Dawson Casting|ish]] [[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys|Hercules]] through ancient high school.
* ''[[Psych]]'' got two of these. There was a set of short cartoons between the shows where it showed Shawn and Gus as children. Then at the next season, Shawn and Gus appears in shorts clips as teenagers during the mid 90's during the commercials.
* Like many other tropes, this one was parodied on [[Muppets Tonight]], when a tape of [[Seinfeld]] and a tape of [[Muppet Babies]] (yes, in-universe) got tangled together, resulting in the sketch 'Seinfeld Babies'.

=== [[Toys]] ===

* 'Newborns' is a popular way for characters in a line of toys to get even smaller and cuter, e.g. [[Pound Puppies]] and Puppy In My Pocket.
* Teenie Beanies, which were available at McDonald's for several years, were basically this to [[Beanie Babies]]. Some Teenie Beanies were even given diminutive names of their larger counterparts; e.g., the Teenie version of Ants the Anteater was called "Antsy."
* ''[[My Little Pony]]'''s "So Soft" line, which oddly styles the baby ponies more after human infants instead of equine ones. This is even the case in the toys based on ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Friendship is Magic]]'', which explicitly shows ponies, babies or otherwise, to be quadrupedal and incapable of walking in a humanoid manner.

=== [[Video Games]] ===
* ''[[Yoshi's Island]]'' features the Yoshi tribe trying to keep baby versions of the regular [[Super Mario Bros.|Mario]] characters safe from Kamek and Baby Bowser. Its sequel has the current-day Bowser and Kamek traveling to the past in a search for a [[MacGuffin]] Baby, terrorizing the Yoshis and babies of that time period in the process. No, the plot doesn't make any sense.
** Incidentally, ''Yoshi's Story'' was all about Baby Yoshis saving the day for the grown-ups.
** ''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time]]'' stars the older Mario Bros. teaming up with their baby selves to save the past, present, and future from [[Alien Invaders]].
** And of course, spin off baby versions of Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach and Daisy have appeared in the [[Mario Kart]] series.
* In every new generation of ''[[Pokémon]]'', new species are introduced, including baby versions of previously established Pokémon. And if a Pokémon in the current generation is popular, expect it to get a pre-evolution the next generation.
** Averted in [[Pokémon Black and White|Generation V]], where the Pokémon are all new and there are no pre-evolutions.
* ''[[Virtua Fighter]] Kids'' is a combination of this and [[Super-Deformed]].
* ''[[Ecco the Dolphin|Ecco Jr.]]''

=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* [[The Book of Biff]] had an entire week of comics showing Biff as a kid as that week's theme. Unlike most examples of this trope, it was actually funny. [http://www.thebookofbiff.com/2009/04/06/735-onager/ See for yourself].
* [[Exterminatus Now]] had one strip of this, consisting of a baby Lothar Hex floating in a tank. It ends with "Well that was crap..."
* From ''[[Narbonic]]'' comes ''Li'l Mell''
** One ''Li'l Mell'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20140223060725/http://girlamatic.com/mell/2009/03/18/page-10-2/ story] appears to suggest her class [[Everyone Went to School Together|also contains]] [[Skin Horse|Li'l Julie Rome, Li'l Tip, Li'l Virginia Lee and Li'l Nick Zerhakker]] (not to mention [[Author Avatar|L'l Shaenon and Li'l Jeffrey Channing Wells]] in the back row). Probably not really, though, especially since [https://web.archive.org/web/20140223071128/http://girlamatic.com/mell/2009/05/06/page-15-2/ later strips in the same storyline] show Shaenon and Jeff as teachers.
* ''[[Webcomic/Little Saiyalings|Little Saiyalings]]'' ([http://saiyalings.comicgenesis.com/ here]), which is what you get when you put [[Dragon Ball]] together with a little bit of [[Peanuts]] and [[Calvin and Hobbes]].

=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* ''[[Muppet Babies]]'', the example that [[Trope Codifier|kicked off the trope]], features pre-K versions of the core cast of ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', though [[Affirmative Action Girl|to increase the ratio of female characters to male]], they gave Scooter a tomboyish fraternal twin sister named Skeeter.
** The whole series is actually based on a scene in ''The Muppets Take Manhattan'', where Piggy wonders what things would have been like if they knew each other as children.
** And ''Muppet Babies'' is surprisingly awesome (Its opening credits actually features [[Star Wars|Darth Vader's TIE Fighter]]; this is not a common feature for a kids TV show)
* ''[[The Flintstones]]'' became ''The Flintstone Kids''.
** Then there was the live-action movie prequel ''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas''.
** And then there's the largely forgotten [[Cave Kids]][http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294026/\], featuring a talking-yet-baby Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, with [[There Are No Adults|none of the adults in sight]] which premiered years after the [[Spin Offspring]]-licious ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm show''. Despite it's then ahead-of-it's-time [[Slice of Life]] style story, cast of well-known voice actors, well written script and catchy songs, it got [[Screwed by the Network]]. Only eight episodes were ever made and six of them released to VHS, all out of print.
* "Those meddling kids" from ''[[Scooby Doo]]'' went from their late teens to their pre-teens for ''[[A Pup Named Scooby-Doo]]''.
** The recent live-action made-for-TV movie ''Scooby Doo: The Mystery Begins'' had them in high school.
* The [[Totally Radical|painfully hip]] ''[[Yo Yogi!]]'' had pre-teen versions of [[Yogi Bear]] and a few other [[Hanna-Barbera]] characters, hanging out in Jellystone ''Mall'' and working as amateur detectives.
* Done fairly well to the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' with ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' (though the Tiny Toons were technically [[Expy|early-teen counterparts]] of the original Looney Tunes, with the originals teaching at their school and making cameos), and not so well with ''[[Baby Looney Tunes]]'' (which was actually just a ripoff of [[Muppet Babies]] but with ''less humor'' and more [[Anvilicious]] [[Aesop]]s).
** For the record, ''Baby Looney Tunes'' started off as a line of merchandise, further exemplifying the need to wring every dollar out.
*** There are at least two shorts where the Elmer/Bugs rivalry started as kids. One of them is part of a movie, where Bugs thinks they must have been the youngest... and then sees a baby Coyote in diapers chasing a Road Runner egg with legs.
*** Done in 1944 in Clampett's "The Old Gray Hare" and in 1980 in Jones' "Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Bunny". And arguably even earlier in 1943 in Clampett's "A Corny Concerto" - depends on whether the Ugly Duckling character is a representation of Daffy as a baby or not (and that's up to you).
*** Let's not forget about one other short that starred a baby Wile E. Coyote and baby Road Runner called "Little Go Beep", though unlike Baby Looney Tunes's show, it was more in the spirit of the actual cartoons from the Golden Age.
* The characters from the ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' cartoons and other characters created by the same company were put into [[Three Shorts]] format for ''[[Tom and Jerry Kids]]''.
* ''[[The Pink Panther|Pink Panther]] and Sons'' focused on that character's two offspring and their friends.
* Inverted in the ''[[Rugrats]]'' [[Time Skip]] spin-off ''[[All Grown Up!]]'', by having the main Rugrats characters age 10 years ''from'' being babies.
** Done straight when ''All Grown Up'' itself got spun-off as ''Angelica and Suzie's Pre-Skool Daze''
*** For those of you who missed it, the Rugrats was already about babies, it got a spin-off in the form of ''All Grown Up'' and then that got its OWN spin-off, completing the vicious cycle of over-milking a once good idea.
* And then there's the [[James Bond]] spin-off series: ''[[Animated Adaptation|James Bond Junior]]'', though in that case Bond, Jr. was the original Bond's nephew.
** [[Expository Theme Tune|He learned the game from his Uncle James...]]
* The weirdest example ever: there was an animated spin-off of this kind from '''''[[Yo Soy Betty, la Fea]]'''''. Where almost all the characters were elementary students, and had wacky adventures in [[Off-Model]] animation. If you don't believe me [http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/bettytoons.html see a sample and brace yourselves].
* The 2000s series of ''[[George of the Jungle]]'' changes George from a full-grown man to a teenager.
* When the producers of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' were told to do a "teenage Batman" show, at first they seriously thought about quitting but instead they came up with ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' (a sequel series featuring Bruce Wayne's successor).
* The ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode "Goo Goo Gas" provides a variation: Plankton invents a gaseous substance that turns anyone who comes in contact with it into a baby. Naturally, this results in Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, Squidward, and the rest reduced to adorable babies for most of the episode.
* The Disney ''[[Hercules (1997 film)||Hercules]]'' cartoon, who was technically that age during the movie, but not for most of it.
* ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'', in which most of the featured characters are re-imagined as [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World|teenagers attending]] [[High School AU|high school]].
** This wouldn't completely count considering that many of the characters in the show were teenagers when first introduced in the comics (especially the original five), and some of the older characters (Professor X, Wolverine, Storm, Magneto, etc.) retained their canon ages.
* ''[[Clifford the Big Red Dog]]'' had ''Clifford's Puppy Days''.
* ''Sabrina: The Animated Series'' featured the adventures of [[Sabrina the Teenage Witch]] at about age twelve, with Melissa Joan Hart's little sister as the title voice. Harvey was a skateboard nut (that could explain a few things, actually), and replaced the live action show's [[Alpha Bitch]] with a new alpha bitch named Jem Stone, who was pretty much the old antagonist, but twelve and vaguely gothy. The theme song is eager to point out that Sabrina's "the greatest" and has "super magic", but, since she's the protagonist of a show directed at preteens, she's predictably sort of a loser.
** As with many examples of this trope, the series also ignored the original canon. In the pilot special, Sabrina didn't even know she was a witch until she was sixteen.
** Well, the ''actual'' original canon, the ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Comic Book)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' comic book, shows that Sabrina had her powers and was a witch since at least grade school (per several "Little Archie" stories).
* Disney's Jungle Cubs which was a spin off of ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'' featuring the animal characters as preteens and Kaa and Shere Khan as their allies.
* ''Little Rosie,'' starring an animated [[Roseanne|Roseanne Barr]] and featuring, in one episode, an animated John Goodman. We will speak no more of this.
* They tried taking this tangent with [[Strawberry Shortcake]] a few times, most notably in with the 2003 series by way of the launch of the [[Strawberry Shortcake]] Baby line, featuring baby Strawberry Shortcake, kitten Custard, a younger puppy Pupcake and an unnamed teddy bear being prominently displayed on products meant for infants and toddlers. The show tried going down the path with just one episode {{spoiler|[[Hand Wave|hand waved]] to be Apple Dumplin's dream}}, but featured baby Ginger Snap, baby Orange Blossom and baby Angel Cake. The baby books added baby Blueberry Muffin. A baby Huckleberry Pie was designed, but very infrequently used.
* ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'' Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, and even the [[Big Bad]] the Mandarin are all re-imagined as teenagers in high schools.
* My First [[Disney Princess]], which essentially portrays the Princesses as toddlers.
* Not quite as young as the other examples on this page: ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'' had an animated spinoff ''[[Jeannie]]'', with the main characters being teenagers. It was made by [[Hanna-Barbera]] in 1973.

== Parodies ==

=== Anime and Manga ===
* In the [[Gag Dub]] of ''[[Sgt Frog]]'', at the end of episode 9 the narrator wonders if the [[Fountain of Youth|still-deaged]] Giroro heralds the beginning of a spinoff called "Sgt. Frog Babies."

=== Comic-Books ===
* The Mojo/Longshot arc of the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' comics, which featured the mad ruler of a world based around film and television creating the "X-Babies".
** The X-Babies were largely based on (and identically drawn as) a brief appearance of the ''actual'' X-Men reverted to childhood forms in the original introduction of Longshot to the team (Annual #10). [[Better Than It Sounds]], and they did a decent (though not perfect) job of keeping the relative ages of each member scaled to the others. Created two annuals later, the "official" X-Babies (who are clones, not altered originals) were cheekily introduced with a [[Covers Always Lie|"they're back"]] blurb on the cover.
** Eventually, X-Baby ''villains'' were created, and an X-Baby version of ''Apocalypse'' destroyed the Mojoverse.
* ''[[Elf Quest]]'' included some self-parody strips featuring the regular characters drawn in the style of ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]''.
* [[Gail Simone]]'s ''[[Gen 13]]'' introduces [[The Authority|The Authoriteens]]; Kid Apollo, Daybreaker, Nestling, the Contractor, the Intern and Jack Hatfield (the Spirit of Small Towns).

=== Live-Action TV ===
* A popular riff of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', in which the riff would be "Jim Henson's <blank> Babies". They have even quipped, "[[Solarbabies]] Babies!" and "Muppet Baby Babies!"
** Joel's invention exchange of "Jim Henson's Edgar Winter Babies" even stopped Dr. Forrester from [[Earthshattering Kaboom|blowing up the Earth]]!
* A ''[[Muppets Tonight]]'' sketch, where two tapes of old network shows got tangled together, resulting in the creation of "[[Seinfeld]] Babies".
* An episode of ''[[Wonder Showzen]]'' features a sketch titled "Wonder Showzen Premies" with the regular cast as babies in an obvious ''[[Muppet Babies]]'' spoof (Nanny even appears, shown from the socks up as a large pair of lips on legs—in keeping with the style of ''[[Wonder Showzen]]'', the premies actually have "two nannies"). At the end of the sketch, the children watch their own favorite show, "Wonder Showzen Embryos".
* A ''[[Saturday Night Live|TV Funhouse]]'' sketch, "Fetal Scooby-Doo", in which fake hauntings were exposed by a gang of prenatal detectives.
* ''[[Young Sheldon]]'' is a spin-off of ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' featuring...young Sheldon (age nine, but going to high school due to his intelligence).

=== Web Animation ===
* Parodied by the [[Web Animation|web cartoon]] ''[[Homestar Runner]]'', in the Strong Bad Email [http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail140.html high school], where Strong Bad claims he, Homestar, Strong Mad, and Marizpan were "a team of super sleuths" in high school, then goes on to claim "In middle school, we were a bunch of melon-headed babies with giant eyes and enormous imaginations! ... And going even unnecessarily further back, we were all a bunch of plucky parameciums! ... And then, of course, before that we were... Romans. In Roman times. And [[Don Knotts]] was always showing up."
** Similarly, episode 7 of ''Teen Girl Squad'' (supposedly Strong Bad's independently-published comic book) was "Teeny Tiny Girl Squad".
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOHJUrcVdJk The Adventures of Lil' Cthulhu] by Zachary Murray.

=== Web Comics ===
* Parodied in [http://exterminatusnow.comicgenesis.com/d/20061013.html this filler strip] from ''[[Exterminatus Now]]'', depicting a Spinoff Babies version of the webcomic starring Lothar. Of course, because Lothar was [[Artificial Human|artificially grown]], the result isn't very exciting.
* [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/gallery/sketch.php?date=20070624 This sketch] from the makers of ''[[Girl Genius]]''. "Little Klaus" is especially awesome.
** Ironically, September 2009 brings flashbacks featuring Little Gilgamesh and Little Tarvek.
* [[Dinosaur Comics|T-Rex and Utahraptor]] disagree on how good an idea [https://web.archive.org/web/20090503131603/http://qwantz.com/archive/001058.html "Dino babies"] is.
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20200123095857/http://www.tv.com/shows/dino-babies/ Don't look], [[Hilarious in Hindsight|they actually made one]], '''in the 90s'''. Although it got [[Screwed by the Network]] as well.
* Given a [[Darker and Edgier]] treatment in [https://web.archive.org/web/20130509195440/http://somethingpositive.net/sp08312003.shtml this] ''[[Something*Positive]]'' strip.
* Parodied in ''[[Insecticomics]]'', with ''[http://www.insecticons.com/insecticomics/v4/390.html Michael Baybies]'', featuring a combination of kids-friendly action and huge explosions in an obvious jab at [[Michael Bay]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209172055/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1974 Baby] [[Sinfest]]!
** And now it's time for [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209185803/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4172 Kid] [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209181849/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4198 Jesus!]
* ''[[Narbonic]]'' had a ''[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/narbonic_plus/series.php?view=archive&chapter=47077 Narbonic Babies]'' guest week, as well as ''Li'l Mell''.

=== Web Original ===
* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series]]'', Kaiba has a flashback to his and Mokuba's childhood in the orphanage. Upon the cut-away from the present, you see the title ''Jim Henson's Kaiba Babies'' and hear littlekuriboh singing the Muppet Babies theme song.
* [[The Guild]] posted a joke trailer for a spin off for "The Guild Babies". But because Bladezz is so much younger than the rest of the characters already, he is a fetus.
* There is a parody nostalgia website for the nonexistent show The Adventures of Li'L Bill & Hill And Friends. What makes it actually funny is the executives' claim that any resemblance to a Presidential administration is entirely coincidental, although we the fandom are too smart to fall for that!
* In [http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/5-reasons-classic-american-summer-doesnt-exist-anymore/ 5 Reasons the Classic American Summer Doesn't Exist Anymore], Mark Hill of ''[[Cracked.com]]'' compares mid-2010s teen unemployment to this phenomenon:
{{quote|The teen unemployment rate is 27.3 percent, an all-time high that's staggering compared to the national American rate of 6 percent. We are officially going through the ''Muppet Babies'' reboot of the Great Depression.}}

=== Western Animation ===
* Comedy Central's series ''Li'l Bush'' turns George W. Bush and other figures from American politics into grade-school kids, and in doing so it works according to exactly the same rules as other examples of Spinoff Babies.
* In the spirit of the above, but played straight in Europe with of all people, Pope John Paul II and Padre Pio, in ''[[Piucci And Lolek]]''. For no real reason they're still dressed the same but now in boyish form, offering spiritual help to troubled children.
* An episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', in which Milhouse asks [[Alan Moore]] to sign his copy of ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen Babies]] In: [[V for Vendetta|V For Vacation]]''. (pictured above)
{{quote|'''Milhouse:''' Mr. Moore, will you sign my DVD of ''Watchmen Babies''? Which of the babies is you favorite?
'''Alan Moore:''' You see what those bloody corporations do? They take your ideas and they suck them! Suck them like leeches until they've gotten every last drop of marrow from your bones! }}
** Variations are featured in [https://web.archive.org/web/20100420051548/http://gunshowcomic.com/d/20090309.html these] [https://web.archive.org/web/20100329201841/http://gunshowcomic.com/d/20090310.html five] [https://web.archive.org/web/20100329202229/http://gunshowcomic.com/d/20090311.html rather] [https://web.archive.org/web/20100420080404/http://gunshowcomic.com/d/20090312.html out-of-continuity] [https://web.archive.org/web/20100420033536/http://gunshowcomic.com/d/20090313.html comics]. There's also [https://web.archive.org/web/20130818010619/http://www.splitreason.com/product/758 this] [[Fun T-Shirt]].
* In ''[[Kids Next Door]]'' "Operation C.A.B.L.E.T.V.", the show lineup for a tv network is shown to be ''Rainbow Monkeys'' followed by ''Rainbow Monkey Babies'' followed by ''Rainbow Monkey Teens''.
* ''[[I Am Weasel]]'' had this as a part of an episode focusing on parodying outdated animation tropes, as the [[Animated Actor|animated actors]] heavily protested against using them in their show.
** As did ''[[Taz-Mania]]''.
* ''[[Drawn Together]]'' did a Spinoff Babies episode, complete with theme song. Since this is [[Crapsack World|Drawn Together]], it's actually one of the more horrific episodes.
* Parodied in ''[[Looney Tunes: Back in Action]]'' with ''[[Lethal Weapon]] Babies'', described by an executive as "A ''Lethal Weapon'' I can take my grandkids to."
* The ''[[Powerpuff Girls]]'' spoofed this in the "City of Clipsville" episode by depicting a flashback where Professor Utonium accidentally turns the girls into babies, then he does it on the rest of Townsville. There's another flashback later on that spoofs the [[Time Skip]] variant, by having the girls speed up time and give up fighting crime to become air-headed teens.
* Satirized in a ''[[South Park]]'' episode, a questionable incident that occurred in pre-school prompts the boys to flash back and look [http://z.about.com/d/animatedtv/1/0/g/I/sp810_Preschool_1.jpg adorable]{{Dead link}}.
* One ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' sketch parodied this with Terminator. "Come with me, the Terminator Baby, if you want to live!" At the end, Sarah Connor comments about how Skynet must be running out of ideas for terminators.
** [[Robot Chicken]] also did [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aytQJzdhILM Lil' Hitler] which was semi accurate,<ref>Germany occupied Czechoslovakia ''then'' Poland before war was declared by Britain and her allies</ref> well from the US perspective.
* Lampshaded in one episode of the ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'' animated series. Jon was looking into marketing Garfield for TV. Using [[Applied Phlebotinum]] and a [[Magical Computer]], the network executive Jon was talking to showed off various ideas of TV shows he has to Jon, among them a baby Garfield {{spoiler|complete with Lorenzo Music making cute cooing sounds}}. The executive also mentions that it was the latest craze.
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' did this in the "Li'l Griffins" short story in "Family Guy Viewer Mail 1" parodying [[The Little Rascals]].
** There was also the [[Stand by Me]] parody where the Spooner Street neighbors are childhood friends.
* In ''[[Sheep in The Big City]]'' they ran a fake commercial for ''Secret Military Organization Babies'' wherein General Specific, Private Public, and the Angry Scientist were babies.

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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:The Renaissance Age of Animation]]
[[Category:Babies Babies Everywhere]]
[[Category:Derivative Works]]