History Main / IWishItWereReal

* ''Film/{{Jumanji}}''
** Its SpiritualSuccessor ''Film/{{Zathura}}''.

* ''Anime/DigimonTamers'': In the ''Tamers'' universe, ''Digimon'' exists as a franchise that includes a collectible trading card game (much like in real life). The main protagonists are huge ''Digimon'' fans and thanks to their devotion they become actual Tamers to real Digimon.

* This is also where Greer Gilman's ''Literature/{{Moonwise}}'' takes off. Sylvie, who has spent her life creating elaborate fantasy worlds, meets Ariane at university and lets her in. They end up with nine planets and reams of heartfelt work dedicated to their legends. At Midwinter's Eve, Sylvie vanishes before Ariane's eyes, and it's up to Ariane to find her. The clew she unwinds draws her into the world they called Cloud, but again it's a real place, beautiful but complex and often painful. Gilman has written many other stories about Cloud.

* Played with slightly in ''Film/SpyKids'' ("I wish I could go away to your world, Floop. You'd be my friend."). Floop turns out to be the villain, [[spoiler: but as it happens, not the BigBad. In fact, he makes a HeelFaceTurn by the end of the movie.]]

* ''Series/{{Beetleborgs}}'' - the kids who free Flabber wish to become their favorite comic heroes, and he happily obliges. Unfortunately, this also brings the villains to life as a side-effect.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' 2002 - "Azoth The Avenger Is A Friend Of Mine". A little boy meets his favorite BarbarianHero.

* Played with in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance''. The main characters wish they could live in the worlds of video games they play. Then they actually manage to enter such a world. The plot of the game, however, is about trying to get ''out'' of that world, since in the end, one has to live in reality. Many fans, however, ended up Longing For Ivalice themselves, and [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation ended up despising the game's protagonist for trying to "destroy" it]].

* ''Anime/DigimonTamers''
* ''Anime/MonsterRancher''

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster''.

* ''Series/{{Beetleborgs}}'', the character who freed Flabber, wished that they would be the Beetleborgs in the comics. But when they wished to be heroes they also created villains.

* Deconstructed in ''[[Fanfic/MarieDSuesseAndTheMysteryNewPirateAge Marie D Suesse And The Mystery New Pirate Age!]]''. The main character does not have a happy home life and [[MakeAWish wishes she could go on adventures]] in the world of her favorite manga. Too bad for her, the world of OnePiece is actually a CrapSaccharineWorld, [[FromBadToWorse made worse]] by events in the fanfic, which makes her wish coming true [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor a very bad thing]].

** The funny thing is that, [[AllThereInTheManual according to at least some versions of the]] BackStory, their "real world" actually ''is'' the same Ivalice that the other ''FFT'', ''FFXII'' and ''VagrantStory'' take place in, only thousands of years in their future. It just looks like late 20th/early 21st century Earth because the [[TheMagicGoesAway magic crystals that used to power everything have all been used up]] so people have moved on to electricity and fossil fuels.

* Played with slightly in ''SpyKids'' ("I wish I could go away to your world, Floop. You'd be my friend."). Floop turns out to be the villain, [[spoiler: but as it happens, not the BigBad. In fact, he makes a HeelFaceTurn by the end of the movie.]]

* ''MegaManZX'' and ''MegaManStarForce'' are about kids who get the ability to transform into Mega Man.

* In one episode of ''{{Chaotic}}'' [[spoiler:creatures from Perim [[WelcomeToTheRealWorld invade Chaotic and Earth]]]], but it turns out to be AllJustADream.

* Played with in ''FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance''. The main characters wish they could live in the worlds of video games they play. Then they actually manage to enter such a world. The plot of the game, however, is about trying to get ''out'' of that world, since in the end, one has to live in reality. Many fans, however, ended up Longing For Ivalice themselves, and [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation ended up despising the game's protagonist for trying to "destroy" it]].

[[folder:Anime and {{Manga}}]]

* ''[[{{MAR}} Märchen Awakens Romance]]'' (an anime and manga series that is based on the idea of its hero, Ginta, entering a fantasy world and living out his dream of being a hero.)

* Any time a DCComics super hero visits Earth Prime, the AlternateUniverse where super heroes only exist in comic books.

** Of course, being that these are sequels to previous ''Megaman'' games, from their point of view their heroes are historical, rather than fictional. Think ''IkkiTousen''.

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' after watching a VHS tape of ''Anime/{{Voltron}},'' Molly is inspired to build a [[MechanicalMonster giant robot lion.]] Naturally, it [[HilarityEnsues runs amok and starts a panic.]] Later, she builds a steam-powered FrostyTheSnowman. He melts because, well, he's steam-powered.

* ''Series/DenjiSentaiMegaranger''
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' - "If Wishes were Horses".
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' - "Shore Leave"
* ''AceLightning.''

* The "story" of the ''SuperSmashBros.'' series: a kid playing with his toys, who happen to all be Nintendo characters.

* ''SpongebobSquarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom,'' does this when Spongebob and Patrick wish for "Real nice Robots to play with". Guess who the mooks of this game are!

* The ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest Simon's Quest]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors Wizards & Warriors]]'' books in the ''WorldsOfPower'' series begin this way.

* This is what Pamela Dean's ''TheSecretCountry'' books are all about. Five children have spent their lives playing a sustained imaginary game inside a detailed paracosm of their own making -- only to find out it's not of their own making. The reality is often very beautiful, but because it's a real place, it's filled with complications and tragedies they never dreamed of.
* This is also where Greer Gilman's ''{{Moonwise}}'' takes off. Sylvie, who has spent her life creating elaborate fantasy worlds, meets Ariane at university and lets her in. They end up with nine planets and reams of heartfelt work dedicated to their legends. At Midwinter's Eve, Sylvie vanishes before Ariane's eyes, and it's up to Ariane to find her. The clew she unwinds draws her into the world they called Cloud, but again it's a real place, beautiful but complex and often painful. Gilman has written many other stories about Cloud.

* A very common subgenre of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction involve [[FandomNickname bronies]] somehow winding up in Equestria.

* ''TheMelancholyOfHaruhiSuzumiya''

* ''TheFairlyOddparents'': At least one of Timmy Turner's wishes has been like this.

* In ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' after watching a VHS tape of ''{{Voltron}},'' Molly is inspired to build a [[MechanicalMonster giant robot lion.]] Naturally, it [[HilarityEnsues runs amok and starts a panic.]] Later, she builds a steam-powered FrostyTheSnowman. He melts because, well, he's steam-powered.
* ''PennyArcade'' [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2013/02/01 has proposed]] that this should be the plot of the ''WorldOfWarcraft'' movie.

* SpongebobSquarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, does this when Spongebob and Patrick wish for "Real nice Robots to play with". Guess who the mooks of this game are!

* A very common subgenre of WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic fanfiction involve [[FandomNickname bronies]] somehow winding up in Equestria.