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SCP Animated - Tales From The Foundation
is an animated web series on YouTube. Just as the title states, it presents animated adaptations of various stories from the SCP Foundation wiki.
The series started out as a very episodic anthology of unconnected tales, but gradually evolved into a more (relatively) serialized narrative focusing on a recurring cast of Foundation personnel investigating various SCPs; such as the surly scientist Dr. Buck and her more chipper colleague Dr. Collingwood, the exploits of Agent Lawrence and Agent Carson, along with several others.
Featured tropes:
- Adaptational Deviation: On the SCP wiki, SCP-387's reaction to Mega Bloks was to turn towards them and [EXPUNGED], implying that Mega Bloks are a Berserk Button which they ruthlessly attack, but the lego is still relatively harmless to humans. Here, SCP-387's reaction to Mega Bloks being put on them is much nastier, as it causes them to grow bigger, aggressive, and deadly to humans.
- Adapted Out:
- Able is absent in the Hunt For The Hard To Destroy Reptile. He is also left out of Bright's origin story.
- Similarly, Bright’s older brother, Mikell (an agent turned O5) and his younger sister, Claire (a member of the Serpent’s Hand) are also left out of his origin story. They aren’t even in the family photo seen at the end of the episode.
- Adaptational Wimp: SCP-966's anomalous properties allow for it to emit a radiation which permanently inhibits the ability of the affected creature to enter in any of the NREM and REM sleep stages. Here, it only temporarily inhibits a victims NREM and REM sleep whenever it is hunting for its prey which is easily curable by the Foundation.
- And I Must Scream: The victims of SCP-2774 are only able to move for 5 minutes a day. The rest of the time, they are under the control of the Slow-Burn Sloth.
- Anti-Hero: The SCP scientists and staff. Case in point, the overseers watching SCP-001 allow an intruder on their grounds to meet with the entity instead of executing him outright because they want to see the angel (presumably) kill something.
- Art Evolution:
- Very, very noticeable. The earliest shorts were basically sound over still pictures. The later shorts are a big step-up. Most of the time. "Monster Under The Bed" continues the evolution with Dr. Buck and Dr. Collingwood displayed in full color.
- Inverted in The ORIGIN of GOREFIELD, in which they've now taken to a simplistic animation style.
Word of God stated that they've changed animation styles because it allows them to do more hand drawn and motion in the videos with only a week to produce them. That said, it does come with the trade off of having more freedom to do exciting scenes and have the team's art align stylistically.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: Dropped almost verbatim during the episode on SCP-2571.Gustav: Are researchers allowed to conduct interviews if they themselves have been exposed to SCP-2571?Director Jones: Why are you asking? Have you been to Cragglewood Park?Gustav: Well, no. I just-Director Jones: Then that was a really stupid question, wasn't it? Thanks for wasting everyone's time.
- A Day In The Lime Light: Some of the lesser known SCPs like Joe Schmo and Bananazilla have videos made about them.
- Blessed with Suck: SCP-590 can heal anyone he touches, but absorbs the illness himself.
- Book Ends: "Why You NEVER Look at SCP-096" beings with Dr. Kowalski slowly making her way through 096's cell with her eyes closed, and ends with her doing the same in her gore splattered apartment.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Joe Schmo talks to the audience in his video.
- The Cameo:
- 682 cameos in 035's video.
- The thumbnail for the video on SCP-4335 shows the titular monster attacking Dream.
- Chekhov's Skill: Gustav’s theater major was really useful in helping him blend in at the Foundation.
- Continuity Snarl: The Young Girl's Pet implies that SCP-053 is canonically a Horseman of the Apocalypse in this universe, with SCP-682 as her steed, which would make the Competitive Eschatology canon here as well. However, this contradicts the fact that the "New Job" tale is also canon to this universe — "New Job" depicts SCP-231-7 giving birth to SCP-999 whereas the Competitive Eschatology depicts her giving birth to her own true form as Conquest of the Four Horsemen.
- Death of a Child: 3-D Specs opens with a mother finding her son dead after he was attacked by the invisible creatures.
- Driven to Suicide: Will's sister in "Mal0 ver1.0.0", after two weeks of being haunted by Mal0.
- Formula-Breaking Episode:
- The (Now taken down) episode that focused on Sirenhead.
- The Finale starts amid a containment breach involving SCP-2396 rather than another SCP entry. 2396 is contained, but things take a turn when the on-site nuke is activated, and it's revealed Gustav orchestrated the whole thing, revealing himself as the mole for the Chaos Insurgency. He kills Zolgamax, shoots Buck, and attempts to steal SCP-999 before Lawrence shoots him and sends them all to another dimension.
- Genre Shift:
- As a more concrete cast of SCP personnel is established, the episodes gradually shift from SCP entities as the focus, and use them more as facilitators for inter-office rivalries and dramas.
- It happens again later on, with the show becoming more focused on straightforward SCP exposition in the style of Dr Bob and SCP Explained. This was due to the small writing and animation team running into money issues, requiring a change in concept until it was resolved.
- Heroic Sacrifice: D-4444 sacrifices his life to distract the entities visible through SCP-178 from killing Agent Green.
- Hope Spot: Bill and Lawrence learn of the generator going back on, right before 106 attacks them.
- It's All My Fault: Jim Davis blames himself for Gorefield's existence, thinking if he never made Garfield, that monster wouldn't exist.
- Limited Animation: Many of the videos are just still frames with voiceovers or Talking Heads. Although there are bursts in quality. Usually reserved for when things go wrong.
- Mythology Gag: Dr. Buck references that SCP-811 once requested a pet turtle, which was denied.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: "The Hitchhiker" shows exactly why the "C" (Contain) part of the SCP Foundation is so important, as trying to destroy something one doesn't understand can have dangerous repercussions. As the late Dr. Langford discovered when he burned down the house SCP-1337 was attached to in a misguided attempt to "free" her, all he did was turn a docile and easy to deal with SCP into a pissed-off, murderous one.
- Origins Episode: 106, 999, 049 and Dr. Bright have one.
- Pet the Dog: Subverted. Dr. Buck seems to be acting nicer when interviewing a victim of SCP-2571, but that's only because all her dialogue is taken from a segment from the original website entry which featured a genuinely nicer scientist doing the talking.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Dr. Kowalski delivers one to O'Brien. Right before SCP-096 bursts into her apartment and kills him and his goons.
- Race Lift: The African-American D-Class whose disastrous test inspired the one shown in The Blue Key is replaced by a pair of caucasian, ginger twins.
- Remaster: A remastered version of the channel's 2nd episode, "Life in the Endless IKEA...", was posted in late March of 2021.
- Ship Tease: "Laugh Is Fun" hints that Dr. Collingwood and Agent Lawrence are a thing.
- Shout-Out: When Ramsie is telling Carson about SCP-953 eating people's livers, Carson asks if she drinks chianti with the liver.
- Skewed Priorities: Dr. Kowalski is less concerned about being held prisoner and interrogated inside her apartment than she is with how hard it will be to get the smell of O'Brien's cigarettes out of her furniture.
- Summon Bigger Fish: In "Why You NEVER Look at SCP-096", Dr. Kowalski tricks O'Brien into looking at a picture of 096. Causing it to show up and kill him and his cronies.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: After Gustav betrays the Foundation, his role is quickly filled in by a girl named Riley. Which Buck notes.
- Technology Marches On: An In-Universe example during the video on SCP-2030. Which due to being in written 2014, mentions DVD rental kiosks as a frequent spawning point for 2030. Dr. Collingwood quickly scoffs that no one uses those anymore.
- Throw It Into The Sun: "The Shy Guy In SPACE!?" has the Foundation decide it's time to just try chucking SCP-096 into the sun. He survives.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Will's sister downloads the Mal0 app thinking it's just a game and shares it with Will to try and cheer him up. Not only does this result in her being Driven to Suicide, but Will being traumatized by it for years afterwards and haunted by Mal0 for the rest of his life.
- Villain Protagonist: Joe Schmo is this for his video.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Agent Sophia in introduced in SCP-490's episode as a newbie agent who helps Agent Lawrence transport the Ice Cream Truck SCP to site 17. She ends up becoming the truck's next victim.
- Wham Episode:
- At the end of "Find Him...", Dr. Jones tells Dr. Buck that the facility could have a mole who has been sabatoging containment and releasing encrypted information, such as Location Inote Jones also says the mole is likely working for the Chaos Insurgency.
- "The Finale": The Chaos Insurgency mole turns out to be Gustav, who sets off the on-site nuclear bomb, kills Dr. Jones, shoots Dr. Buck, and threatens Dr. Collingwood to hand him SCP-999. Lawrence arrives and shoots Gustav before he could use the dimensional transporter to escape, but instead it sends him, Collingwood, Buck, Gustav, Carson, and SCP-999 to a rather cartoonish dimension.
- Wham Line: at the end of Polymorphic Humanoid, SCP-953 escapes Foundation capture thanks to a note.Foundation's on your tails - a friend.
- Wham Shot: The warning note sent to SCP-953 came with the logo of the Chaos Insurgency.
