Mystery Kids
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name(s): | Mystery Kids, Spook Crew |
| Abbreviation(s): | MK |
| Scope/Focus: | Coraline, Gravity Falls, ParaNorman, Psychonauts |
| Date(s): | Psychonauts released April 2005 Coraline released February 2009 Gravity Falls premiered June 2012 ParaNorman released August 2012 |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Mystery Kids (sometimes referred to as the "Spook Crew") is the name of a fan-created crossover between characters from supernatural and new weird media, primarily Western animated movies, cartoons, and video games that feature child protagonists.
What properties are included in this crossover varies from fan to fan. However, characters from four properties appear consistently:
- Dipper Pines and Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls
- Norman Babcock (and sometimes Neil) from ParaNorman
- Coraline (and sometimes Wybie) from the movie/book of the same name
- Razputin Aquato and Lili Zanotto from Psychonauts
Occasionally, other properties are included in Mystery Kids. Examples include:
Fandom
The Mystery Kids fandom originated and largely takes place on Tumblr. By the post dates on some blogs, the crossover appears to have begun in Autumn 2012. Mystery Kids was possibly inspired by the ship Dipper/Norman (Parapines) a crossover ship between Gravity Falls and ParaNorman respectively. These post dates originate to August 2012.[1]
When Mystery Kids gained popularity, the fandom spread to sites such as DeviantArt, Fanfiction.net, and Archive of Our Own. The fandom frequently used to have Tinychat parties and random fannish discussions, ranging from inspiring different creators with headcanons, to collaboratively creating a baby Cthulu monster named Steve.[2] Creators involved in Mystery Kids are primarily fanartists, though there are fanfiction writers and cosplayers as well. Since Parapines has become mainstream[3], mention of the Mystery Kids is usually not far behind.
In 2013, a group of writers, artists, animators, producers, voice actors, and others in the fandom created Mystery Kids Episode 1, a 45-minute fan animatic, complete with an intro and a Wikia (now defunct). In August 2017, a separate team began work on The Mystery Kids Return, a follow-up animatic. A teaser trailer was released in 2018 and the team is continuing to work as of October 2022.[4]
Example Fanworks
Ask Blogs
Fanfiction
- But I'm Your Dork by WritingNeverending
- Mystery Kids and the Case of the Whispering Rock by MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships
- Hot Chocolate by 2hoots
- Rational Minds by GuardianLioness
Fanart
- ensemble pic by nellietart
- ensemble pic by gabbiillustrates
- ensemble pic, Archived version by shootingstarsue
- mabel and coraline by aoicocare
- coraline and paranorman by nyoncat
- ensemble pic by thedoormann
Communities & Blogs
- Mystery Kids community on Fanfiction.net
- themysterykids on Tumblr
- itsthemysterykids on Tumblr
- mysterykidsofficial on Tumblr - blog dedicated to the fanmade animatic
- The Mystery Kids Return on Tumblr - blog dedicated to the followup
- Mystery Kids Club on Deviantart - DeviantArt group
Archives & Fannish Links
- mysterykids tag on DeviantArt
- mystery kids tag on Tumblr
- Mystery Kids article on TV Tropes
- Alternate Universe - Mystery Kids | Coraline & Gravity Falls & ParaNorman & Psychonauts Crossover works on AO3
References
- ^ "Hey all, don't forget" by paraperfect on Tumblr
- ^ booboo cthulu tag - themysterykids Tumblr
- ^ Ship name in Google creates nearly 300,000 results as of September 2017
- ^ Are you guys still looking for digital artists?