History Main / AspectRatioSwitch

* All four films in ''Animation/TheMindsEye'' series have a default aspect ratio of 4:3, as they were made to be viewed on [=TVs=] of the time. But some parts of the latter two {{Letterbox}} the video to widescreen.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': Mario and Luigi's plumbing advertisement switches out to 4:3 ratio just as it ends, so it can switch to the two of them watching it in-universe on a 4:3 TV.

* In is original 4:3 broadcast, the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Good Times With Weapons" switches to a letterboxed 2.39:1 ratio when the boys are engaged in their anime fantasy. When the episode was remastered for HDTV, the switch was eliminated.

* This is common in remasters and rereleases of older games that were originally designed for 4:3 displays. Oftentimes they will present gameplay in widescreen, but cutscenes in 4:3. This is because cutscenes, like movies, are built with a certain aspect ratio in mind, or are PreRenderedGraphics that can't be easily remade, making it infeasible to adjust the aspect ratio. Many modern games do the inverse if they are played on a non-16:9 display; gameplay is cropped accordingly, but cutscenes are {{letterbox}}ed.

* This is common in remasters and rereleases of older games that were originally designed for 4:3 displays. Oftentimes they will present gameplay in widescreen, but cutscenes in 4:3. This is because cutscenes, like movies, are built with a certain aspect ratio in mind, or are FullMotionVideo that can't be easily remade, making it infeasible to adjust the aspect ratio. Many modern games do this as well if they are played on a non 16:9 display.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': Mario and Luigi's plumbing advertisement switches out to 4:3 ratio just as it ends, so it can switch to the two of them watching it in-universe on a 4:3 TV.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': Mario and Luigi's plumbing advertisement switches out into a full ratio just as it ends.

* The IMAX version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'' switches from 2.39:1 to 1.90:1/1.43:1 for big sequences in the film. It's also the very first animated feature film to utilize virtual IMAX cameras in its progress. It's also available on Creator/DisneyPlus with the option of streaming with these scenes and the ratio switches intact.

* A couple scenes in ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' are in 4:3 instead of 1.85:1 in order to look like footage from a camcorder made in the TheNineties as it is meant to show what Mei and her friends recorded during their fundraising for 4*Town tickets.

* Music/{{Queen|Band}} Most of the music video for [[Music/TheWorks "Radio Ga Ga"]] is in 4:3, but the crowd scenes during the choruses are in Cinemascope, with the bars at the sides of the screen moving back into the frame at the end of them. The aspect ratio also warps around during the bomb strike at the end of the video.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrincredible_3.png]]]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': The superhero interviews in the beginning are in 4:3 to show that they're in the past. The rest of the film is in 2.35:1.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, beginning with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', use a letterboxed aspect ratio during cutscenes. In cutscenes that transition seamlessly to gameplay, the fake letterbox bars slide off the screen. The game also narrows the screen when L-Targeting is used, but this is closer to {{Eyedscreen}}. Averted by starting with the Wii version of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', where the games added support for widescreen displays and started showing cutscenes at native aspect ratio.

* Pretty much almost all of ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4s]]'' videos since 2018 have aspect ratio changes in them at some point. You see most of them in story arcs he has. 2018 was the most experimental year with aspect ratios, since they constantly changed over and over again. But after the Anime Arc, the aspect ratio will change, but not constantly in a video. It just goes to whatever aspect ratio is appropriate, and stays there with no other sudden changes.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* Whenever ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' switches to the story arc involving Roger's golden turd, black bars appear above and below the screen to give it a cinematic widescreen feel (this was before the show switched to HD).

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, beginning with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', use a letterboxed aspect ratio during cutscenes. In cutscenes that transition seamlessly to gameplay, the fake letterbox bars slide off the screen. The game also narrows the screen when L-Targeting is used, but this is closer to {{Eyedscreen}}. Averted by starting with the Wii version of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', where the games added support for widescreen displays and shows cutscenes at native aspect ratio.

* This is common in remasters and rereleases of older games that were originally designed for 4:3 displays. Oftentimes they will present gameplay in widescreen, but cutscenes in 4:3. This is because cutscenes, like movies, are built with a certain aspect ratio in mind, or are FullMotionVideo that can't be easily remade, making it infeasible to adjust the aspect ratio. Many modern games do this as well if they are played on an ultrawide display.

* The first 12 minutes of ''Film/ThisIsCinerama'' are in a 1.37 aspect ratio, as Lowell Thomas describes the history of motion pictures. When he pronounces "ladies and gentlemen, this is Cinerama!" it cuts to footage of a rollercoaster in Cinerama's 2.59 aspect ratio, and stays there for the rest of the film.
* The IMAX version of ''Film/Uncharted2022'' opens up to 1.90:1 during the cargo drop (including the cold-opening) and the airlifted Magellan ships sequence. The opening logos are also opened up as well, except for the ''Sony''/''Creator/ColumbiaPictures'' logo which uses the 1.85:1 variant of the logo instead.
* ''Film/TopGunMaverick'' opens up to 1.90:1 for the aerial sequences in the film's IMAX release.

* ''Film/ItComesAtNight'' has scenes in the real world take place in a 2.40:1 ratio, and every NightmareSequence is shown in the wider (and more claustrophobic) 2.75:1. The last 20 minutes of the film have a very slow, almost imperceptible shrinking of the 2.40:1 ratio to an hyper-wide 3:1 ratio, signifying how Travis' reality has become his nightmare.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' (pictured above): The superhero interviews in the beginning are in 4:3 to show that they're in the past. The rest of the film is in 2.35:1.

* The 2013 MickeyMouse short ''WesternAnimation/GetAHorse'' starts out on a small screen on black. When Mickey breaks through the screen, the rest of the wide area lights up to reveal the theater the cartoon is playing in. Afterwards, Mickey pulls back the curtains on the theater stage to reveal a wider animated screen underneath.

** The notorious [[PanAndScan 16:9 versions of pre-Season 20 episodes]] briefly switch to 4:3 whenever a TV monitor is shown.

* Done at the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheTripletsOfBelleville'', where the "Belleville Rendezvous" sequence is a 1930's TV broadcast.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' begins in 1.85:1. When the movie title appears, Professor Frink [[https://frinkiac.com/caption/Movie/146730 pushes the frame aside]], converting the rest of the movie to 2.39:1.

* The IMAX version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'' switches from 2.39:1 to 1.90:1/1.43:1 for big sequences in the film. It's also the very first animated feature film to utilize virtual IMAX cameras in its progress. It's also available on Creator/DisneyPlus with the option of streaming with these scenes and the ratio switches intact.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Joking Victim", the Big Donut InstructionalFilm VHS is in a 4:3 ratio.

* The IMAX version of ''WesternAnimation/Lightyear'' switches from 2.39:1 to 1.90:1/1.43:1 for big sequences in the film. It's also the very first animated feature film to have virtual IMAX cameras in its progress. It's also available on Creator/DisneyPlus with the option of streaming with these scenes and the ratio switches intact.

* In a similar fashion to ''Film/{{Censor}}'', described above, ''Film/ItComesAtNight'' has scenes in the real world take place in a 2.40:1 ratio, and every NightmareSequence is shown in the wider (and more claustrophobic) 2.75:1. The last 20 minutes of the film have a very slow, almost imperceptible shrinking of the 2.40:1 ratio to an hyper-wide 3:1 ratio, signifying how Travis' reality has become his nightmare.

* The IMAX version of ''Film/Uncharted2022'' opens up to 1.90:1 during thei cargo drop (including the cold-opening) and the airlifted Magellan ships sequence. The opening logos are also opened up as well, except for the ''Sony''/''Creator/ColumbiaPictures'' logo which uses the 1.85:1 variant of the logo instead.