History WesternAnimation / Pibby

* WhamShot: The short begins as a 100% genuine preschool cartoon straight out of Playhouse Disney or Nick Jr., with Pibby teaching her friends about spelling and hugging as a cheery theme song plays in the background. When the song hits the first reprise, it abruptly cuts as a quake knocks over the cast. The camera then shakily pans to the cause -- a massive, glitchy black void that's quickly consuming the world. Pibby and [=BunBun=] make an escape, and the short's tone veers into a {{Meta Fiction}}al horror.

* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Worlds resembling ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' and ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' briefly appear, but characters from them are not explicitly shown, likely to avoid getting into legal trouble with Creator/{{Viacom}}.

Soon, she finds herself traveling to other worlds – that is, other cartoons (both real and fictional) – and discovering that they are also under threat of being assimilated into this nightmarish abomination. While her newfound allies doubt that they'll be able to deal with such an apocalyptic problem, Pibby holds out hope that there's a way of beating back the darkness – but before then, she'll need to learn a lot more than she bargained for.

The trailer/short/pilot (titled "Come and Learn with Pibby!") can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btu0O47u3rY here]]. As part of an April Fools' Day 2022, Adult Swim had Pibby, [=BunBun=], and the glitch blob invade multiple shows, leading to speculation of a future for the series. The full "corrupted" broadcast can be seen [[https://youtu.be/YCKO1qgotHY here]], while highlights of Pibby and company can be seen [[https://youtu.be/ZEk5_TYDNYw here]].

* BangFlagGun: At one point, Melira fires a revolver at the void while escaping in the Mystery Machine, only for it to fire out a harmless little "Bang!" sign, to her confusion.
* BlankWhiteEyes: Anyone that the Darkness has corrupted tends to develop these with a few exceptions.

* EnergyWeapon: At one point, Pibby fires one towards somewhere.

* GenreRefugee: A protagonist from a preschool edutainment series, a dopey superhero sidekick, and a classic cartoon villainess are thrust into a multiverse-spanning CosmicHorrorStory against an EldritchAbomination. The 2022 April Fools special has Pibby and [=BunBun=] going through various Adult Swim programs and being both confused and horrified at shows such as ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' and ''Series/TheEricAndreShow''.

* HalloweenEpisode: During the credits of the WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty episode for AprilFoolsDay 2022, Pibby and [=BunBun=] incorrectly assume that the 'scary episode' preceeding it is just a simple Halloween special. A few moments later, the latter ends up getting corrupted by The Darkness.

** The crowd of characters involved in the MirroredConfrontationShot similarly includes many non-leading characters and/or secondary protagonists from their respective shows in lieu of their (already captured in most cases) protagonists, such as [[WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball Darwin]], [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Lady Rainicorn]], [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Lion]], [[WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog Muriel]], and [[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Jonny and Plank]].

* RogerRabbitEffect: As well as going through a number of animated series while fighting the Static, the main trio also stumble upon a live-action advertisement at one point, where a child appears to be shocked by their presence. The April Fools 2022 crossover features Pibby and [=BunBun=] backstage during ''Series/TheEricAndreShow'', and later shows Pibby wandering outside a church at the end of ''Series/JoePeraTalksWithYou''.

** The main trio briefly run through a commercial for "Grapes of Atwater" juice as they flee the Static. This may refer to Cody Goodfellow's horror story "Atwater", about an EldritchLocation that, not unlike the Static, subjects anyone who crosses it to extreme BodyHorror.

* RogerRabbitEffect: As well as going through a number of animated series while fighting the Static, the main trio also stumble upon a live-action advertisement at one point, where a child appears to be shocked by their presence.

* GenreRefugee: A protagonist from a preschool edutainment series, a dopey superhero sidekick, and a classic cartoon villainess are thrust into a multiverse-spanning CosmicHorrorStory against an EldritchAbomination.

* TheWorfEffect: The abomination proves how great a threat it is by taking over all sorts of heroes. Not even a ComicallyInvincibleHero like WesternAnimation/BugsBunny is safe, and even the more experienced and powerful heroes, such as [[Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls the Powerpuff Girls]] (minus Buttercup), [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Finn and Jake]], [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Amethyst]], and [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 Ben Tennyson]] have lost to this monster and were assimilated.

* ZombieApocalypse: Has most of the hallmarks of one: a spreading infection via foreign agent (in this case literally) that causes the transformation of anything it touches into hollow glitch-monsters that attack anything uninfected. Only thing missing is a PatientZero, assuming there is one.

The trailer/short/pilot (titled "Come and Learn with Pibby!") can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btu0O47u3rY here]]. As part of an April Fools' Day 2022, Adult Swim had Pibby, BunBun, and the glitch blob invade multiple shows, leading to speculation of a future for the series. The full "corrupted" broadcast can be seen [[https://youtu.be/YCKO1qgotHY here]], while highlights of Pibby and company can be seen [[https://youtu.be/ZEk5_TYDNYw here]].

The trailer/short/pilot (titled "Come and Learn with Pibby!") can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btu0O47u3rY here]]. As part of an April Fools' Day 2022, Adult Swim had Pibby, her friends, and the glitch blob invade multiple shows, leading to speculation of a future for the series. The full "corrupted" broadcast can be seen [[https://youtu.be/YCKO1qgotHY here]], while highlights of Pibby and company can be seen [[https://youtu.be/ZEk5_TYDNYw here]].

The trailer/short/pilot (titled "Come and Learn with Pibby!") can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btu0O47u3rY here]]. As part of an April Fools' Day 2022, Adult Swim had Pibby, her friends, and the glitch blob invade multiple shows, leading to speculation of a future for the series. The full “corrupted” broadcast can be seen [[https://youtu.be/YCKO1qgotHY here]], while highlights of Pibby and company can be seen [[https://youtu.be/ZEk5_TYDNYw here]].

* AnyoneCanDie: From the trailer, it looks like ''anyone'', no matter what franchise or show they're from, can and will get assimilated into the Darkness. Even if the character normally gets by due to ToonPhysics or any powers they have that can possibly stop it, they're still doomed.

The trailer/short/pilot (titled "Come and Learn with Pibby!") can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btu0O47u3rY here]]. As part of an April Fools' Day 2022, Adult Swim had Pibby, her friends, and the glitch blob [[https://youtu.be/ZEk5_TYDNYw invade multiple shows]], leading to speculation of a future for the series.

* AnyoneCanDie: From the trailer, it looks like ''anyone'', no matter what franchise or show they're from, can and will get assimilated into the Darkness. Even if the character normally gets by due to ToonPhysics or any powers they have that can possibly stop it, they're still doomed.

The trailer/short/pilot (titled "Come and Learn with Pibby!") can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btu0O47u3rY here]]. As part of an April Fools' Day 2022, Adult Swim had Pibby, her friends, and the glitch blob invade multiple shows, leading to speculation of a future for the series.

''Pibby'' (also known as ''Come and Learn with Pibby!'' or ''Learning with Pibby'') is an action-horror {{metafiction}}al pilot uploaded to Creator/AdultSwim's [=YouTube=] channel on October 30, 2021. Its creator, Dodge Greenley (known for his work on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} shows such as ''WesternAnimation/SanjayAndCraig'' and ''WesternAnimation/PinkyMalinky''), [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CVqb_n1PLoV has stated]] that he plans for it to become a full series, but that any further development hinges on viewers' reactions to the initial short, which doubles as both proof of concept and a trailer.

The trailer/short/pilot (titled "Come and Learn with Pibby!") can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btu0O47u3rY here]].

* AprilFoolsDay: In 2022, Pibby and [=BunBun=] (and the glitching) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBhmnuXn_pY became the stars of Adult Swim's annual joke]], making appearances throughout the night's other shows.

Pibby is a cute little girl who stars in her own educational cartoon for preschoolers (''Learning with Pibby''), learning about spelling and caring with all of her cuddly animal friends. This all comes to a screeching halt when a glitchy, eldritch blob suddenly invades her world, consuming and absorbing all of her friends. Just as she is about to be eaten herself, Pibby finds herself in the credits of her own show.

* TheCorruption: The trailer's main antagonist is a black, glitchy void that worms its way into various cartoons and infects the characters within, turning them into monsters.

* ScarsAreForever: In the trailer, Pippy is shown with a scar beneath her other eye.

* DarkReprise: The trailer opens with ''Learning with Pibby'''s theme song, a cheerful and innocent tune suitable for a cartoon for small children. Near the end, well after [[SubvertedKidsShow the true tone of the series becomes evident]], the background music changes to a version with slow, emotionless vocals and a progressively harsher mechanical beat. In particular, as Pibby witnesses the EldritchAbomination assume the form of [=BunBun=], the last line is layered to sound outright demonic.

* AnyoneCanDie: From the trailer, it looks like ''anyone'', no matter what franchise or show they're from, can and will get assimilated into the Darkness. Even if the character normally gets by due to ToonPhysics or any powers they have that can possibly stop the glitch, they're still doomed.

* ArtStyleClash: The crossover aspect is hammered home by the many disparate art styles used for each dimension in the trailer. Pibby has a brightly-colored and simple design (befitting the protagonist of a show for preschoolers), the superhero characters are all more detailed and live in a world with painted backgrounds, Melira and her universe have a more fluid {{Disneyesque}} style, and one scene depicts the main trio in a [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black-and-white setting]] with [[{{Retraux}} noticeable film grain]]. This also goes for all previously-existing characters, who are drawn and animated in the styles of their original shows - Fred Flintstone, for instance, looks exactly out of ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' proper, complete with a false shadow underneath him that mimicks old cel animation.

* DarkReprise: The trailer opens with ''Learning with Pibby'''s theme song, a cheerful and innocent tune suitable for a cartoon for small children. Near the end, well after [[SubvertedKidsShow the true tone of the series becomes evident]], the background music changes to a version with slow, emotionless vocals and a progressively harsher mechanical beat. In particular, as Pibby witnesses the EldritchAbomination assume the form of her deceased friend [=BunBun=], the last line is layered to sound outright demonic.
* DaylightHorror: The glitch attacks and absorbs cartoon characters during broad daylight. It even corrupts the cartoon Sun.

* HarmfulToMinors: Even disregarding [[EldritchAbomination The]] [[TheAssimilator Darkness]] not being picky with who or what it assimilates, Pibby also ends up [[EyeScream losing an eye]] in the trailer.

* LettingHerHairDown: In an inversion of the usual portrayal of this trope, Pibby spends most of the trailer with her hair in a pair of buns, and her letting her hair down is supposed to solidify her graduation from a preschool character who doesn’t even know what blood is to a BadassAdorable ActionGirl.

* LovecraftLite: While it's an interdimensional horror that can assimilate the likes of superheroes and protagonists normally protected by cartoon logic, the trailer indicates that it's possible to fight back against the Static. It is unknown if it's possible to permanently defeat it.
* LoveToHate: Interestingly, Melira is an InUniverse example. According to Greenley, she's meant to represent why people love bad guys.

* SavedByCanon: Since the final clip of the trailer shows what appears to be a FinalBattle, Buttercup, Darwin, Lady Rainicorn, Lion, Muriel, Samurai Jack, and Jonny and Plank are all confirmed to be survivors.

* WhamShot: The short begins as a 100% genuine preschool cartoon straight out of Playhouse Disney or Nick Jr., with Pibby teaching her friends about spelling and hugging as a cheery theme song plays in the background. When the song hits the first reprise, it abruptly cuts as a quake knocks over the cast. The camera then shakily pans to the cause - a massive, glitchy black void that's quickly consuming the world. Pibby and [=BunBun=] make an escape, and the short's tone veers into a {{Meta Fiction}}al horror.

* SavedByCanon: Since the final clip of the trailer shows what appears to be a FinalBattle, Buttercup, Darwin, Lady Rainicorn, Lion, Muriel and Jonny and Plank are all confirmed to be survivors.

* TheWorfEffect: The abomination proves how great a threat it is by taking over all sorts of heroes. Not even a ComicallyInvincibleHero like WesternAnimation/BugsBunny is safe, and even the more experienced and powerful heroes, such as [[Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls the Powerpuff Girls]], [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Finn and Jake]], [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Amethyst]], and [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 Ben Tennyson]] have lost to this monster and were assimilated.