History Main / DirectToVideo

* ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAPotty'' potty training video was based on [[Literature/OnceUponAPotty the book by the same name]]

* While ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' never aired on TV in Japan, it did however get 5 episodes [[note]] specifically the episodes "Knock, Knock", "Sea Fright", "Night Game", "Ghost Busted" and Don't Forget The Motor City" all from the show's first two seasons [[/note]] dubbed and released on VHS.

** In 1987, Random House also did ''Sesame Street Start-to-Read Video'', where Big Bird narrates various Sesame Street storybooks. [[TalkingToHimself He even imitates his friends]]!

* DC now has a whole series of direct-to-DVD animated films, from Warner Premiere. The fact that they are Direct To Video has absolutely no bearing on their quality. Some are made for adults like ''WesternAnimation/AllStarSuperman'' , ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheKillingJoke'' , and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox'' . Some are made for families like the ''WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'' movies, the Batman Unlimited movies, and any Lego projects.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' had a few, notably the hour-long special '' Vacation'' (later broadcast on TV), and the ''Tales From The Crib'' movies, made long after the series ended in a (failed) attempt to make it popular again.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' has a [[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoDirectToVideoFilmSeries long-running series]] of Direct-to-Video features. It's the longest running part of the franchise, as far as time goes. At least one film has been made every year since 1998, seeing many changes to the character designs, animation style, story tone, and voice actors. The series currently has 24 entries and counting. Some of which have surprising quality (''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'', ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooCampScare'', ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooLegendOfThePhantosaur''), others are just okay (''WesternAnimation/AlohaScoobyDoo'', ''WesternAnimation/ChillOutScoobyDoo''...). The very first entry, ''Zombie Island'' is considered a classic in its own right, and one of the most well-received entries in the entire ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' has a long-running series of Direct-to-Video features. It's the longest running part of the franchise, as far as time goes. At least one film has been made every year since 1998, seeing many changes to the character designs, animation style, story tone, and voice actors. The series currently has 24 entries and counting. Some of which have surprising quality (''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'', ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooCampScare'', ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooLegendOfThePhantosaur''), others are just okay (''WesternAnimation/AlohaScoobyDoo'', ''WesternAnimation/ChillOutScoobyDoo''...). The very first entry, ''Zombie Island'' is considered a classic in its own right, and one of the most well-received entries in the entire ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise.

** After season 3 wrapped up, the series proper went on hiatus for two years in order to produce the movie. This was also the same time the show started being released on home video. Nickelodeon bought time by reshuffling and spreading out the remaining episodes - some of which ended up first being released on DVD months before official airtime. Notable examples include "Graveyard Shift" and "Club [=SpongeBob=]" on ''Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies'', "I Had an Accident" and "Born Again Krabs" on ''Tales from the Deep'', and the final pre-movie episodes, "[=SpongeBob=] Meets the Strangler" and "Pranks a Lot", on ''The Seascape Capers''.

* The Australian releases of ''[[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney's Great Adventure]]'' and ''Film/TheAdventuresOfElmoInGrouchland'' were this due to an Australian law that bans children under the age of four from visiting the cinema. Despite this, ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'' averted this practice for unknown reasons.

** In the late-1980s there was ''A Muppet Babies Video Storybook'', with Kermit reading three existing ''Series/MuppetBabies'' storybooks (sometimes to Robin).

** After taking over from Random House, Sony Wonder commissioned more ''Sesame Street'' direct-to-video specials under the regular branding, like the aforementioned ''Elmo's Potty Time''.

* ''Series/TobyTerrierAndHisVideoPals'' was a 1990s direct-to-video series about Toby Terrier and his friends, a group of dogs who work in showbiz and run their own television station.

** Disney has released direct-to-video sequels to a significant portion of its animated canon, animated by the company's various television animation units. At first they were follow-ups to UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation titles, but they gradually shifted back to films from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Golden]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation Dark]] ages. There are also a few titles based on WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts characters and ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh''. Two movies (''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastBellesMagicalWorld'' and ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisMilosReturn'') were {{Compilation Movie}}s consisting of completed episodes of an aborted [=TV=] spinoff. John Lasseter's first order after taking over Disney was canning all the direct-to-video sequels, although he did allow a few already in production to become completed. In TheNewTens, Disney's only efforts in this vein were the ''[[Franchise/DisneyFairies Tinkerbell]]'' CGI films.

* The third and fourth ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' movies, which takes place between the first one and ''Fievel Goes West'' by putting Fievel back in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity.

* The third and fourth ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' movies, which screwed with the canon by putting Fievel back in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, making ''Fievel Goes West'' AllJustADream, and omitting characters from the first movie.

* Due to the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusPandemic shutting down theaters, ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'' went straight to video on demand, skipping theaters (bar a few drive-ins). ''WesternAnimation/{{SCOOB}}'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOnTheRun'' [[note]] which was released theatrically in Canada and South Korea[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'' followed suit.

* After the first two films in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' series had limited theatrical runs, future films were regulated to streaming services or television before going straight to video. The third film, ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames Friendship Games]]'' did receive a theatrical release in the United Kingdom, however.

* All of the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' films except for the [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie first]] and [[Film/TomAndJerry2021 fifteenth]] ones. [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryAndTheWizardOfOz One of them]] [[{{Crossover}} crosses over]] with ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.

* All of the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' films except for the [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie first]] and [[Film/TomAndJerry2021 fifteenth]] ones. One of them [[{{Crossover}} crosses over]] with ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.

* All of the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' films except for [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie the first]] and [[Film/TomAndJerry2021 fifteenth]] ones. One of them [[{{Crossover}} crosses over]] with ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.

* All of the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' films except for [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie the first one]]. One of them [[{{Crossover}} crosses over]] with ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.

* As British fans of ''Series/BreakingBad'', ''Series/{{Damages}}'' and other American TV series have discovered, it is possible for them to go direct to DVD in the UK once their broadcasters ([[Creator/ChannelFive FiveUSA]] for the former, [[Creator/TheBBC BBC1]] for the latter, and FX for both) have dropped them and if no other channel picks them up (although Netflix has since come to the rescue for both of these shows, among others (''Series/DropDeadDiva'', ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', ''Series/OnceUponATime'', ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' etc). A particularly annoying example was ''Series/OrphanBlack'', whose last two seasons went Straight to DVD in the UK despite having been made by BBC America.

* Both sequels to ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'' were released straight to video. ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToasterToTheRescue'' is the immediate follow-up, but America [[ShortRunInPeru had to wait until]] the ''second'' sequel, ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToasterGoesToMars'' was already released.

* Both sequels to ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'' were released straight to video. ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToasterToTheRescue'' is the immediate follow-up, but America had to wait until the ''second'' sequel, ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToasterGoesToMars'' was released.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' series, with [[{{Sequelitis}} 13 sequels]] that all went straight-to-video. (And a animated TV series.)

** Disney has released direct-to-video sequels to a significant portion of its animated canon, animated by the company's various television animation units. At first they were follow-ups to UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation titles, but they gradually shifted back to films from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Golden]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation Dark]] ages. There are also a few titles based on WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts characters and ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh''. Two movies (''BeautyAndTheBeastBellesMagicalWorld'' and ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisMilosReturn'') were {{Compilation Movie}}s consisting of completed episodes of an aborted [=TV=] spinoff. John Lasseter's first order after taking over Disney was canning all the direct-to-video sequels, although he did allow a few already in production to become completed. In TheNewTens, Disney's only efforts in this vein were the ''[[Franchise/DisneyFairies Tinkerbell]]'' CGI films.

* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner':

* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' parodies this and TheMockbuster in the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "unlicensed", where Strong Bad talks about movies with titles like ''The Secret Princess and Her Oppressive Authority Figure 4'' and ''Jungle Animals in Decidedly Non-Jungle Situations'' ("So straight-to-DVD it hurts") that are put in grocery store check-out lines to trick grandmothers into buying them.

** Disney has released direct-to-video sequels to a significant portion of its animated canon, animated by the company's various television animation units. At first they were follow-ups to UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation titles, but they gradually shifted back to films from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Golden]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation Dark]] ages. There are also a few titles based on WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts characters and ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'', while at least one film was a CompilationMovie consisting of the completed episodes of an aborted [=TV=] spinoff. In TheNewTens, Disney's only efforts in this vein were the ''[[Franchise/DisneyFairies Tinkerbell]]'' CGI films.

->''"[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime Land Before Time]] VI Released Straight To Landfill"''

In the United States, while there have been plenty of direct-to-video films and such since the advent of home video, they were usually things that were considered financially unsound to release in theaters, like instructional videos, specialized documentaries, foreign films, films with controversial or niche subject matter, Z-grade low budget horror films, cartoon compilations, concert films, longform music videos, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick and pornography]]. The practice of creating and releasing regular fiction specifically for video didn't really take off until 1994 with Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'' and Creator/{{Universal}}'s ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime II'', neither of which were intended to hit theaters at any point in their production.[[note]]The financial failure of ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' was what caused Disney to decide to do this with their sequels. ''The Land Before Time'' was the opposite; Universal, who lacked the animation industry clout Disney had at that point in time, took their most successful animated film and tried to make it a CashCowFranchise.[[/note]] Other studios started following suit, hardly limited to child-oriented animation. In particular, independent studios and filmmakers quickly picked up on this distribution model, due to its lower distribution costs and reduced censorship (video stores will often stock {{unrated|Edition}} films that theaters won't touch).