History Main / VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory

* ''Webcomic/PusheenTheCat'' is a spin-off/reboot of the webcomic series ''Everyday Cute'', which is based on the authors' lives with their pets.

* ''Webcomic/GetSchooled'' is based on real events. In the special chapter at the end of Season 1, the writer encounters various materials such as news articles, columns written by experts, and documentaries, and he revealed that most of the events covered in Get Schooled are considerably more refined than they actually were. The following are real events that can be found in news articles.
** Soyeon High School - [[https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/03/251_246159.html Teacher Suicide Case of Sangseo Middle School Suspicion of Sexual Abuse]]
** CM High School - [[http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181113000734 Twin Sisters Exam Paper Leakage Case in Sookmyung Girls' High School]]
** Hyeonjin Middle School - [[https://www.segye.com/newsView/20210122513713 Accident Involving an Elderly Middle School Student in Uijeongbu city (Korean)]], [[https://newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20210210_0001336171&cID=10301&pID=10300 Sparring School Violence of Yeongjongdo island of Incheon Metropolitan City (Korean)]], [[http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20151016000975 Cat-mom Death of Yong-in City]], [[https://news.kmib.co.kr/article/view.asp?arcid=0014428822&code=61121211 Middle School Student Rental Car Theft (Korean)]]
** Seungyeon High School - [[https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/17/sport/south-korea-volleyball-twins-bullying-spt-intl/index.html Lee Jae-young and Da-young School Violence Controversy]]
** Shilla Byul Elementary School - [[https://www.newdaily.co.kr/site/data/html/2017/09/22/2017092200058.html Controversy Over Feminist Teachers at Wiryebyeol Elementary School in Seoul Metropolitan City (Korean)]], [[https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/24063737 Conspiracy Theory of Child Brainwashing and Abuse of Feminist Teachers Organization (Korean)]]
** Island Village Arc - [[https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2016/06/09/socialAffairs/3-suspects-charged-with-rape-in-Sinan-County/3019838.html Sexual Assault Cases]] of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinan_County,_South_Jeolla Sinan County, South Jeolla]]
** Hyeonjung Elementary School - [[http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181017000764 Online Community of Mothers Blamed for Day Care Teacher's Death in Gimpo City]]

* ''Film/SpaceJam'' is based on UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan's very much real TenMinuteRetirement from basketball. It can be safely assumed, however, that the real events did ''not'' involve him getting kidnapped by WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes to win their freedom from alien slavers.

* ''ComicBook/{{Championess}}'' is this out of necessity if nothing else, since there is little detailed historical information about Elizabeth Wilkinson, the protagonist, to go on. Elizabeth and her trainer James Stokes are likely [[RaceLift Race Lifted]], and Elizabeth's sister Tess has no basis in the hstorical record, to name two of the more obvious instances of the trope.
* Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/FromHell'' was based primarily on an earlier book entitled ''Jack The Ripper: The Final Solution'', which was later largely discredited. Moore, in the book's lengthy annotations, freely admits he doesn't believe a word of it, but was never one to let facts get in the way of a good story. Despite this, the actual history portrayed in the book was [[ShownTheirWork vigorously researched]], more so than some scholarly works on the Ripper. [[Film/FromHell The movie]], however, plays fast and loose with both the conspiracy theory and the real history... and [[InNameOnly the source material]] , but that's beside the point.\\
The book used, as part of its "evidence," the long-discredited ''Literature/TheProtocolsOfTheEldersOfZion'', though mercifully taking it as anti-Masonic (the "Zion" in their interpretation being allegorical rather than literal) instead of anti-Semitic. This would be a good trick, as the "Protocols" weren't written until a decade or two after the Ripper murders, in Russia, intended for the eyes of Czar Nicholas II only, and weren't heavily publicized worldwide until well after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. However, they were based (word-for-word in parts) on a French anti-Masonic tract. Hell, one of the cited sources is the ''Illuminatus! Trilogy''. It's pretty obvious Moore wasn't being entirely serious about accuracy.

* In one of the more ''VERY'' loosely based, Bryan Lee O'Malley has claimed that ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' actually ''is'' based on a true story. The "true story" in this case being that he is Canadian and he met his American girlfriend (now ex-wife) Hope Larson while she was living in Canada.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In-universe example in ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'': Peyo's creation of ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'' is this trope in action that came from a certain artifact that Empath and Handy have created in the past in "Days of Future Smurfed."
* On ''RWBY'' Subreddit, the ShipToShipCombat contests "Ship Survivor" and "Ship Wars" became the basis of ''Fanfic/TheGreatMetaFic'' and ''Fanfic/MetaFicAltRisingWar'', respectively. The first is a ''Series/GameOfThrones''-esque medieval thriller, the second is more like ''Franchise/StarWars''. Both use actual redditors as characters and the progression of the contest as inspiration for the plot.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's Literature/BlackWidowers story "Literature/{{Northwestward}}": InUniverse, Bruce Wayne claims [[{{ComicBook/Batman}} the comics]] and [[Series/Batman1966 the television series]] are exaggerated versions of real events and people he encountered.

* ''Literature/{{Aeneid}}'': An interesting example is this poem by Vergil. While based off of myth rather than history, Vergil's poem does not exactly follow the mythical story either, taking rather extreme liberties with the myth of Aeneas's journey from Troy to Italy.

* Fairy Tales: Many of these are derived from tales of the lives of saints, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Barbara St. Barbara]] (''Literature/{{Rapunzel}}'') or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Cortona St. Margaret of Cortona]] (''Literature/SnowWhite'').

* ''Heaven'', the first of Literature/TheCasteelSeries, was originally the autobiography of a woman who had been sold by her father. The book was rejected on the grounds that the quality wasn't suitable for publishing, but Andrews' editor (who confirmed all of this) had bought the story for Andrews to write. The original author, whose identity is still unknown, ended up contributing notes for the story. The sequels are entirely invented, however.

* Proving this to be OlderThanFeudalism, it's generally agreed that ''Literature/TheIliad'' seems to have been based on an actual conflict that took place between Mycenaean Greece and a city in Asia Minor. Said conflict happened about four hundred years prior, and that period also saw the collapse of the Mycenaean Greek civilization and a lengthy Dark Age, with any stories being carried on through oral tradition; consequently, most scholars agree that it's a miracle the poem bears ''any'' resemblance to real events. Even aside from the many supernatural happenings, there's a lot of outright errors in Homer's account in how Mycenaean society seems to have functioned.

* ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' features an InUniverse example, a biopic retelling of the events of [[Franchise/StarWars the movies]] that bears so little resemblance to reality it somehow [[CrossesTheLineTwice warps past being offensive into side-splitting hilarity]]. Amongst other things, [[DracoInLeatherPants Emperor Palpatine is a kind and noble leader]] manipulated by evil underlings, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader [[DecompositeCharacter are two different people]], Anakin dies trying to save Jedi Younglings (the same ones he himself killed in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''), and Luke is Palpatine's chosen heir who avenges his death after [[RonTheDeathEater the treacherous Vader betrays and murders Palpatine to claim the throne]]. Needless to say, the real Luke is deeply embarrassed when he learns about this movie. And his opinion only gets worse when it turns out [[spoiler:the movie is actually a PropagandaPiece covertly made by [[BigBad Cronal]] to get the public acclimated to the idea of Luke becoming the new Emperor... because Cronal is plotting to [[GrandTheftMe possess Luke's body and impersonate him]] to do exactly that.]]

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has the in-universe [[https://girlgenius.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_known_Heterodyne_stories Heterodyne Stories]] based on the Heterodyne Boys' real adventures, but highly fictionalized and dramatized.

** The play ''Two Shakespearean Actors'' centers around the events of the 1849 Astor Place Riots. While the historical event is real, the story is highly fictionalized.
*** Perhaps most notably, of the play's thirty-plus characters, less than a dozen are real people. Even among those who are, several are based on individuals about whom little is known, so while the names and some basic details are drawn from historical records, the specific characterizations are still largely the playwright's creation.
*** The play shows the dynamic between Forrest and Macready as a relatively friendly rivalry, with Forrest even helping to hide Macready from the rioters. In reality, though [[WeUsedToBeFriends they had once been friends]], their friendship had long since deteriorated and by the time of the riot, they were bitter enemies.
*** In a more justified case, the play depicts Forrest as engaged in an extramarital affair, much to the consternation of his scorned wife. The reality is less clear: in the course of their divorce, both Forrest and his wife were charged with infidelity. While the court ruled at the time that Forrest was the one having the affair (which is why this depiction is relatively justified), some historians believe that it was his wife, Catherine, who was actually unfaithful.

->''"The following is based on actual events. Only the names, locations, and events have been changed."''
-->-- ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy''

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'''s creator Creator/KentaroMiura [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2017-09-19/berserk-creator-reveals-he-based-band-of-the-hawk-on-high-school-friendship/.121503 admitted]] to basing the Band of the Hawk off his high school years. Obviously, it can be taken that the real life story ''didn't'' end with [[spoiler:the leader of the group selling out his friends to be killed and raped by demons in order to become a demon himself]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Championess}}'' is this out of necessity if nothing else, since there is little detailed historical information about Elizabeth Wilkinson, the protagonist, to go on. Elizabeth and her trainer James Stokes are likely [[RaceLift Race Lifted]], and Elizabeth's sister Tess has no basis in the hstorical record, to name two of the more obvious instances of the trope.

* OlderThanFeudalism: ''The Education of Cyrus'' by Creator/{{Xenophon}} only resembles the life of its supposed subject UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat in the BroadStrokes: He was the son and heir of the king of Anshan and a Mede princess; he had to fight a war against the Medes (led by his grandfather); he beat the Medes, then conquered the rest of the Middle East, and is generally considered to have ruled wisely and justly. The rest, however, is entirely made up; in particular, the constitution and educational system of Anshan that Xenophon describes more closely resembles that of Sparta than anything you'd find in Persia. Xenophon didn't really care, and neither did his readers, since it was obvious that Xenophon was writing a "mirror-of-princes" intended to instruct the education of wise rulers rather than a straight biography of the Persian king. (In particular, Xenophon seems to model his Cyrus on the [[Creator/{{Socrates}} Socratic]] ideal of a philosopher-king.)

* Creator/RosemaryWells's 1998 book "Yoko" was based on a [[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/09/07/our-lives/yoko-and-authors-other-furry-friends-help-kids-cope-with-childhood-challenges/#.VZsyRldA5zN real-life incident]] her older daughter saw of three Japanese girls getting made fun of for their "weird" lunch. The book is actually about a Japanese kitten who gets made fun of her lunch which is sushi. The only difference is that Yoko's teacher Mrs Jenkins holds a day where her class tries different foods from different countries brought by each student which never happened with the three students Well's daughters seen. They instead commiserated with each other and moved on.
* ''Literature/TheSecretAgent" is based on a real bombing of Greenwich Park in 1894 by anarchist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_Bourdin Martial Bourdin]], which Conrad considered a "blood-stained inanity of so fatuous a kind that it was impossible to fathom its origin by any reasonable or unreasonable process of thought." According to Conrad a friend later told him that the bomber was "half an idiot" and his sister committed suicide shortly after, forming the characters of Stevie and Winnie.
* [[UsefulNotes/HistoricalPeopleToKnowInMLB Ty Cobb]] is victim to both this and HistoricalVillainUpgrade. He had decided to write a memoir in his final years as he was battling cancer, but his publisher chose sportswriter Al Stump as his ghostwriter, a newspaperman of dubious credibility [[https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/who-was-ty-cobb-the-history-we-know-thats-wrong/ who had been banned from several publications for fabricating stories.]] Stump interviewed Cobb for only a few days before he ghostwrote Cobb's memoir (against Cobb's wishes after he read the first draft, [[DiedDuringProduction but Cobb died before he could sue the publisher]]) and later wrote a famous magazine article about Cobb's final months depicting him as a murderous criminal. In 1994 Stump wrote another, even less complimentary biography titled, ''Cobb: The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball'', which shortly before his death in 1995 [[MoneyDearBoy he admitted he did for money]]. Beginning in TheNewTens, [[http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back-65618032/ Stump's version of events has been debunked as fictionalized or heavily distorted]], and Al Stump has since been accused of widespread Ty Cobb memorabilia forgery, to the point that a member of the Society for American Baseball Research has asserted ''all'' of Stump's accounts of Cobb are highly suspect at best and ought to be dismissed out of hand as untrue at worst. Cobb was hardly a gentle soul by any means; he got in fights with hecklers, drank heavily, and pleaded guilty to assault charges on at least one occasion. However, much of Cobb's alleged violence and racism [[https://www.mlb.com/news/ty-cobb-history-built-on-inaccuracies-c178601094 was simply invented]], and he was well-liked and an advocate for baseball's integration during his lifetime.
* ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' was allegedly a fictionalized telling of true events, as claimed by Creator/VCAndrews in a pitch letter for the book to her agent. Years after her death, Jennifer, the owner of the fansite ''The Complete V.C. Andrews'', had come into contact with a relative of Andrews' who said that the story was inspired by a doctor of hers that she had a crush on (a possible inspiration of Chris) who was locked up in an attic for several years along with his siblings.
* Speaking of Creator/VCAndrews, ''Heaven'', the first of Literature/TheCasteelSeries, was originally the autobiography of a woman who had been sold by her father. The book was rejected on the grounds that the quality wasn't suitable for publishing, but Andrews' editor (who confirmed all of this) had bought the story for Andrews to write. The original author, whose identity is still unknown, ended up contributing notes for the story. The sequels are entirely invented, however.
* According to the disclaimer page in ''Literature/EdenGreen'', the story (about a rational young woman drawn into danger by her trouble-seeking best friend) is based loosely on a true story. The alien needle symbiote is presumably an embellishment.
* ''Literature/OutOfTheDust'': Billie Jo's [[ComicBookFantasyCasting design]] was loosely based on a girl named Lucille Burroughs, who is also the girl featured on the cover. The plot was based on a separate incident, mentioned in a 1934 local Oklahoma newspaper, where someone was burned by kerosene.
* ''Literature/BloodMeridian'' is ''quite'' loosely based on ''My Confession: the Recollections of a Rogue'', the memoirs of real life scalp hunter Samuel Chamberlain. It's worth noting that while many of the people in Chamberlain's account are real, and he hasn't necessarily been shown to ''error'' in the names he used for the gang's company, nobody has found any corroborating evidence that Judge Holden existed.
* Creator/JamesHerriot took this approach to the series of books that would be televised as ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall'', often to protect the privacy of those involved but sometimes [[ArtisticLicense just for storytelling purposes]].
* In ''Literature/ChanceAndChoicesAdventures'', most of the towns and landmarks are real. For example, there really is a Harmony, Arkansas. The people and events are completely made up, though.
** Also, the "cursed swamp" scene in the fifth book, ''Torn Hearts'', in which the heroes are protected from the swamp's BanditClan by phantom soldiers only their would-be attackers can see, is based on the sermon about missionaries in Africa, who were protected against tribal raiders in the same way.
* ''Literature/TheWolvesOfParis'' is inspired by the Beast of Gévaudan. The Beast of Gévaudan is the name associated with a man-eating animal who attacked southern France between 1764 and 1767. The animal, or animals, has never been identified but it's suspected to be a canine.
* ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' features an InUniverse example, a biopic retelling of the events of [[Franchise/StarWars the movies]] that bears so little resemblance to reality it somehow [[CrossesTheLineTwice warps past being offensive into side-splitting hilarity]]. Amongst other things, [[DracoInLeatherPants Emperor Palpatine is a kind and noble leader]] manipulated by evil underlings, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader [[DecompositeCharacter are two different people]], Anakin dies trying to save Jedi Younglings (the same ones he himself killed in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''), and Luke is Palpatine's chosen heir who avenges his death after [[RonTheDeathEater the treacherous Vader betrays and murders Palpatine to claim the throne]]. Needless to say, the real Luke is deeply embarrassed when he learns about this movie. And his opinion only gets worse when it turns out [[spoiler:the movie is actually a PropagandaPiece covertly made by [[BigBad Cronal]] to get the public acclimated to the idea of Luke becoming the new Emperor... because Cronal is plotting to [[GrandTheftMe possess Luke's body and impersonate him]] to do exactly that.]]
* The ''Literature/NikkiHeat'' novels are an InUniverse example. The books are {{defictionalization}}s of a ShowWithinAShow from the PoliceProcedural series ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'', "written" by the title character based on mashups of various murder cases he investigated with Detective Kate Beckett (i.e. the plots of various episodes of the TV series), complete with a CastOfExpies based on himself and the detectives.

* [[ChineseSeries Chinese dramas]], especially ones based on the lives of emperors or their concubines, are known for this. Justified, since the dramas are usually loose adaptations of novels that are also only loosely based on real events. Sometimes this is because of a scarcity of accurate information about the real people. Sometimes it's because a historically accurate story just wouldn't be interesting.
** Examples from series set during the Qin and Three Kingdoms era: ''Series/TheAdvisorsAlliance'' stays reasonably close to the historical Sima Yi's biography. ''Series/KingsWar'' invents some characters and events. ''Series/TheKingsWoman'' has a handful of {{Historical Domain Character}}s, but everything else is completely fictional.

* Similarly, ''[[VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinballThrillRide 3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrill Ride]]'' is based on the RealLife Hersheypark {{Theme Park|s}}.

* Lin-Manuel Miranda's ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' has a pile of convenient historical edits, which include but are not limited to [[Main/MassiveNumberedSiblings siblings]] being [[Main/AdaptedOut adapted out]], a change in the timing of a number of historical events, and also [[Main/ElephantInTheLivingRoom the fact they're a cast of multiracial rappers]].
** Though if you worry about historical accuracy because of [[Main/CommonKnowledge what people might think is true]], then the racial identities and vocal styles of the actors are not very important.

* OlderThanSteam: Creator/WilliamShakespeare took many liberties with some of his historical plays. Usually just because it'd make a better story, but he was prepared to go over the top to suck up to his royal patrons. One example for each monarch:
** Theatre/RichardIII was the last Plantagenet, who lost the Wars of the Roses to Elizabeth I's Tudors (which is why they are invariably the heroes to Plantagenet villains in the historical plays). What little paperwork remains from his reign suggests he was a reasonable, competent type with a reputation for bravery justified by his death in battle -- the last English monarch to do so, as it happens. This impression is at odds with that of the ruthless near-sociopath who murdered several of his 'allies', his wife, brother and two of his cousins and wished to marry a third to secure his succession. Also, Richard is typically portrayed as being old and severely deformed (Laurence Olivier, here's to lookin' at you) -- though he died at 32 with at most a minor deformity of one shoulder -- so minor that there is disagreement as to which shoulder it was. (And it could have been due to overtraining -- Richard's favorite weapon was the axe, which can't be as easily switched from one side to the other as a sword can.)
*** Although, now that they've found the body we know that he did in fact have worsening [[http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/spine.html scoliosis]], he didn't live nearly long enough to become a hunchback.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6JczvS1PL4 Discussed]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxTim7fJLis here]] by Literature/HorribleHistories.

* The play ''Two Shakespearean Actors'' centers around the events of the 1849 Astor Place Riots. While the historical event is real, the story is highly fictionalized
** Perhaps most notably, of the play's thirty-plus characters, less than a dozen are real people. Even among those who are, several are based on individuals about whom little is known, so while the names and some basic details are drawn from historical records, the specific characterizations are still largely the playwright's creation.
** The play shows the dynamic between Forrest and Macready as a relatively friendly rivalry, with Forrest even helping to hide Macready from the rioters. In reality, though [[WeUsedToBeFriends they had once been friends]], their friendship had long since deteriorated and by the time of the riot, they were bitter enemies.
** In a more justified case, the play depicts Forrest as engaged in an extramarital affair, much to the consternation of his scorned wife. The reality is less clear: in the course of their divorce, both Forrest and his wife were charged with infidelity. While the court ruled at the time that Forrest was the one having the affair (which is why this depiction is relatively justified), some historians believe that it was his wife, Catherine, who was actually unfaithful.

* In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' the player gets a chance to do this when writing the story of King Olaf for the Bard's College. The higher your speech-craft skill, the more fantastic you can make the story.

* ''VideoGame/ThisWarOfMine'' is one of the few instances where this trope isn't a bad thing. Aside from the gameplay and atmosphere being influenced by the Siege of Serajevo and the Bosnian War, the rest of the game is a a deliberately generic setting to avoid drowning out the WarIsHell theme it tries to convey.

* The concept for ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' is based on, as well as a heavy parody of, the heinously unfair and brutal legal system of Japan that was in use at the time of the series' creation. Not only is the way the trials work based on real life Japanese trials, but the brutal statistics (such as 99% guilty rate), harshness towards the defence, unfairly unbalanced advantage for the Prosecution and ridiculously chaotic claims are also all based on what was really happening in Japanese courts during the early 2000's, although of course, exaggerated.

* ''Webcomic/TheBongcheonDongGhost'' is "based on true personal accounts", but it's an urban legend in South Korea.
* ''Webcomic/Plus99ReinforcedWoodenStick'' is based on real game events. The following are actual events that can be found in news articles.
** Butt Man - [[http://www.4th.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1079782 Admin Abuse Controversy (Korean)]] of the VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline: Gungdaeng-i-man (궁댕이맨, Buttocks Man)
** The Starlight Flower - [[https://gae9.com/trend/1kCMWHwBmkVh#!hottest The Moonlight Flower (Korean)]] of the VideoGame/RagnarokOnline

* An InUniverse example occurs in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS4E13TheComic The Comic]]", where Sarah's comics are exaggerated versions of real things that happened to Gumball.

* The ''Literature/NikkiHeat'' novels are an InUniverse example. The books are {{defictionalization}}s of a ShowWithinAShow from the PoliceProcedural series ''Series/{{Castle}}'', "written" by the title character based on mashups of various murder cases he investigated with Detective Kate Beckett (i.e. the plots of various episodes of the TV series), complete with a CastOfExpies based on himself and the detectives.

** In the play, Thomas Putnam is a greedy and conniving man who uses the accusations to increase his own fortune, while his wife Ann is susceptible to the claims because she has [[OutlivingOnesOffspring lost all but one of her children]] and witchcraft gives her something to blame. In reality, while some historians believe that a feud between the Putnams and another family may have played a role in their daughter's accusations, there is no historical evidence to suggest a scheme of anywhere near the magnitude of what the play attributes to Thomas. As for Ann, her heartbreaking loss is at least severely exaggerated; of the Putnams' twelve children, ten outlived their parents. (This was at a time when child mortality rates were greater than 10%, so the two losses, while tragic, would be relatively in line with what was normal for the period, not something so exceptional as to suggest supernatural forces were at work.)

* ''WebOriginal/PusheenTheCat'' is a spin-off/reboot of the webcomic series ''Everyday Cute'', which is based on the authors' lives with their pets.

The truth is a funny thing. It's slippery, it's not always [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution self-evident]], it can seem [[RealityIsUnrealistic implausible]], it can even be inconvenient, and more often than not it's just plain boring. Very Loosely Based on a True Story occurs when a writer decides that reality just doesn't pack enough punch in some way, and decides to improve on the historical record. Arguably, this has actually ''saved'' some, er...true stories. For example, ''Film/ThePatriot2000'' would have been two and a half hours of a group of Minute Men hiding for hours in swamps sniping English troops and then running away had they kept it true to the historical events of the time. Doesn't exactly sound riveting, does it?

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'' is very loosely based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_serum_run_to_Nome the 1925 Great Race of Mercy]], in which sled dogs helped transport vital medicine to Nome, Alaska to save the town from a diptheria epidemic, with the title character ultimately getting them home. In real life, Balto only ran the last leg of the race (and it wasn't even particularly long compared to what some of the other teams had to endure). For that matter, the real Balto was a purebred Siberian Husky, whereas his animated counterpart is a Wolf-Dog.

* ''WesternAnimation/MaryAndMax'' claims to be based on a true story... of the director's decades-long penfriendship with the inspiration for Max, with Mary being entirely invented.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zarafa}}'' is based on the eponymous giraffe's journey to France. Starting with the Turks and Greeks being on opposite sides of the war in Egypt, it only gets worse from here, with buddhist cows and a HappyEnding that unfortunately didn't happen in real life.

* ''Series/ForLife'': Each episode ends with a disclaimer saying that the show was inspired by Issac Wright, Jr.'s life, but that the plot is fictional. Aaron Wallace is based on Isaac Wright, Jr., a man wrongly convicted of being a drug kingpin, became a lawyer while in prison, was exonerated and became a full-time defense attorney. Aside from that however, not only do the specific plots differ, but many details of his life too.

* ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' is somewhat infamous for this, to begin with the real life Ingalls family lived in Walnut Grove, Minnesota only for about three years, then moving to a farm in Western Minnesota, then to Burr Oak, Iowa, and eventually settling in [=DeSmet=], in what is now South Dakota. Mary Ingalls never married, and the character of Albert Ingalls never existed, being entirely made up for the show.

** While Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth was a real person, the Danforth character bears almost no resemblence to his real life counterpart. The real Danforth was extremely skeptical of the accusations and critical of the trials as a whole, and ultimately had a hand in the process being brought to a halt when it did. Many people believe that the fictional Danforth is actually based on a completely different historical figure, Magistrate William Stoughton.
** In the play, Thomas Putnam is a greedy and conniving man who uses the accusations to increase his own fortune, while his wife Ann is succeptible to the claims because she has [[OutlivingOnesOffspring lost all but one of her children]] and witchcraft gives her something to blame. In reality, while some historians believe that a feud between the Putnams and another family may have played a role in their daughter's accusations, there is no historical evidence to suggest a scheme of anywhere near the magnitude of what the play attributes to Thomas. As for Ann, her heartbreaking loss is at least severely exaggerated; of the Putnams' twelve children, ten outlived their parents. (This was at a time when child mortality rates were greater than 10%, so the two losses, while tragic, would be relatively in line with what was normal for the period, not something so exceptional as to suggest supernatural forces were at work.)

* ''VisualNovel/ChuSinGura46Plus1'' tells the stories of UsefulNotes/The47Ronin with surprisingly accurate depictions of the orignal epic, albeit with GenderFlipped ronin with fictionalized backstories for several of them and a bit of MetaFiction.

The truth is a funny thing. It's slippery, it's not always [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution self-evident]], it can seem [[RealityIsUnrealistic implausible]], it can even be inconvenient, and more often than not it's just plain boring. Very Loosely Based on a True Story occurs when a writer decides that reality just doesn't pack enough punch in some way, and decides to improve on the historical record. Arguably, this has actually ''saved'' some, er...true stories. For example, ''Film/ThePatriot'' would have been two and a half hours of a group of Minute Men hiding for hours in swamps sniping English troops and then running away had they kept it true to the historical events of the time. Doesn't exactly sound riveting, does it?

* ''The Curse of Steptoe'', a docudrama by Creator/TheBBC about the making of ''Series/SteptoeAndSon'' proved to be ''too'' loosely based on the true story. Following complaints from Creator/HarryHCorbett's family it was edited before being repeated, and preceded by a declaration "The following drama is inspired by the lives of real people. For the purpose of the narrative some events have been invented or conflated". Following ''further'' complaints it was edited ''again''. Following more complaints, the BBC Trust ruled that it just shouldn't be shown and the [=DVDs=] should be recalled. The sticking point was the implication that Corbett's relationship with his second wife preceded the breakup of his first marriage, although it was also pointed out that the basic idea behind the story -- that Corbett and Brambell hated each other and felt the show ruined their careers -- was not supported by anyone who knew them.

* ''VideoGame/JeanneDArc'' is based loosely on the events of the Hundred Years' War, with the ''dramatis personae'', many historical events (such as the siege of Orleans, the assault on Les Tourelles), and the circumstances of [[UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc Jeanne d'Arc's]] capture all corresponding with the true history. It also happens to add in a few...interesting details such as how the English army was lead by an EvilOverlord possessing Henry VI and his LegionsOfHell, the hidden war between the forces of humanity and the Netherworld, the fact that Jeanne d'Arc was a MagicalGirlWarrior [[spoiler:and ''wasn't'' the girl captured [[BurnTheWitch and burned at the stake]]. That was her childhood friend and BodyDouble Leanne]].

* ''The Curse of Steptoe'', a docudrama by Creator/TheBBC about the making of ''Series/SteptoeAndSon'' proved to be ''too'' loosely based on the true story. Following complaints from Harry H. Corbett's family it was edited before being repeated, and preceded by a declaration "The following drama is inspired by the lives of real people. For the purpose of the narrative some events have been invented or conflated". Following ''further'' complaints it was edited ''again''. Following more complaints, the BBC Trust ruled that it just shouldn't be shown and the [=DVDs=] should be recalled. The sticking point was the implication that Corbett's relationship with his second wife preceded the breakup of his first marriage, although it was also pointed out that the basic idea behind the story -- that Corbett and Brambell hated each other and felt the show ruined their careers -- was not supported by anyone who knew them.

* In one of the more ''VERY'' loosely based, Bryan Lee O'Malley has claimed that ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' actually ''is'' based on a true story. The "true story" in this case being that he is Canadian and he met his American girlfriend (now ex-wife) Hope Larson while she was living in Canada.
* ''ComicBook/{{Championess}}'' is this out of necessity if nothing else, since there is little detailed historical information about Elizabeth Wilkinson, the protagonist, to go on. Elizabeth and her trainer James Stokes are likely [[RaceLift Race Lifted]], and Elizabeth's sister Tess has no basis in the hstorical record, to name two of the more obvious instances of the trope.
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* ''Series/{{Whiplash}}'' was inspired by the life of Freeman Cobb, founder of the iconic Australian stagecoach line, Cobb and Co. However the characters and events in the series bore no resemblance to the real Freeman Cobb or his company. Freeman Cobb did not carry a pistol or [[WhipItGood use a stockwhip to settle disputes]].

* ''VideoGame/ThePaleBeyond'''s premise is very similar to the doomed [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin%27s_lost_expedition Franklin Expedition]], where two Royal Navy ships exploring the Arctic for the fabled Northwest Passage were trapped in ice for at least two years, with the crews of both ships eventually perishing after their supplies ran out. In addition, one of the most popular theorized causes of death of the crew was lead poisoning from poor quality food cans, similar to how the crew of the Temperance discover their food tins are tainted with lead.

* ''Theatre/{{1776}}'': plays very loose with history for drama. It gets the overall spirit of the independence debate right. However, it has important characters missing (like John Adams's cousin Sam), the vote for independence happened before the writing of the Declaration, the vote did not come down to a cowardly James Wilson, Mrs. Jefferson never visited Philadelphia, and everyone was not present to sign it on July 4th, among many other historical liberties.