Dance Party Ending

"We saved the world. I say we party."
—Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Prophecy Girl"

It seems, particularly when everyone lives Happily Ever After, the typical response is to get everyone who was ever involved in Hero's Journey, even if they only passed them on the street, together for a big celebration where everyone dances their heart out. Bonus points if the hero's former enemies attend the party. Mega points if it's in slow motion. So when you've defeated the Big Bad, rescued the Damsel in Distress, and freed the kingdom from The Empire. What is there left to do?

Why, dance of course.

The Hero, or a member of his True Companions, may sing the song we're all rocking out to. The writers might also decide to use this opportunity to Clean Up Romantic Loose Ends, or throw in some last-minute Heel Face Turns.

If it starts before the plot is resolved, it's a Concert Climax. See also Sudden Musical Ending.

As an Ending Trope, Spoilers ahead may be unmarked. Beware.

Examples of Dance Party Ending include:

Anime and Manga

  • The special DVD-only episode of .hack//SIGN, .hack//UNISON, which effectively concluded the original Morganna saga, consisted primarily of various characters from the series and the games gathering for a grand party, which culminates in an all-out dance.
  • The ends of later arcs in One Piece tend to have these. They ARE pirates, after all.
  • The credits of Pretty Cure All Stars DX 2 had one to a medley of all the Precure openings and the main theme at the end.
  • The Tokimeki Tonight anime ended this way.
  • Half-Lampshaded in the ending to the Axis Powers Hetalia movie. One of the lines in the song was "Let's Dance!"

Comic Books

  • Every Asterix comic. Although in this case it's more a dinner party ending.
  • Carl Barks's In Old California...Sort of, in a rather bittersweet manner. Donald Duck and his nephews might have gone back in time to Spanish-ruled California and befriended a charming little family. Once they return to the present, they go where the family hacienda was...to find nothing but ruins, since the family, if it really existed, is of course long gone. So they erupt in dance and singing, as a way to honor the family they learned so much from...Just in time for someone to pass by and mumble about these "crazy tourists!"

Film - Animated

  • Toy Story 2, with Wheezy singing "You Got A Friend In Me"
    • Toy Story 3 has two separate dance parties in the credits:
      • One is of the Sunnyside daycare toys dancing; it is implied that once they got rid of Lotso, they could all enjoy the place without fear of reprisal from him. In turn, several of the toys, including former minions of Lotso, were having a big dance party, with "We Belong Together" playing. A happy ending indeed.
      • The other is Buzz and Jessie dancing to a Spanish version of "You Got A Friend In Me."
  • Despicable Me, with the girls' just-for-Groo ballet recital turning into a disco party. Vector dances along on the moon.
  • Leading to the credits of An Extremely Goofy Movie.
  • The Fantastic Mr. Fox
  • Almost the whole point of Happy Feet.
  • In series example: it happens in the end of The Legend of the Titanic before the narrator finishes with the story to his grandchildren.
  • Megamind ends with absolutely everyone in the city even Titan in jail dancing to Michael Jackson's "Bad". Complete with Minion making the Humongous Mecha dance.
  • A number of films in the Disney Animated Canon follow this formula.
  • Rio ends with the birds dancing (in the air!) and singing just like at the start of the movie, overlapping with Book Ends .
    • Then again, with the love of dance and samba the birds of Rio have, you can't say you were not expecting this.
  • Robots.
  • Many of the Shrek films used this.
    • The first film had the wedding reception held at the end. Everyone danced to the Smash Mouth cover of "I'm a Believer", sung by Donkey. The home video and DVD releases added a Karaoke Dance Party sequence on top of this.
    • The ending of Shrek 2: dancing to "Livin' La Vida Loca".
    • The credits of Puss in Boots with Lady Gaga's Americano.
  • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, where this is actually how they defeat the villain.
  • Recess: School's Out has one that's somewhat subverted. Right after the movie ends, the main six perform "Green Tamborine" in a Disney Acid Sequence, but it's during the credits.
  • Chicken Little's end credits have the characters singing and dancing to "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (yes, the same song Ella Enchanted used).
  • Horton Hears a Who! (the CGI version) ended on the cast singing and dancing to "Can't Fight This Feeling".

Film - Live-Action

  • The ending of...well, a lot of musicals. Grease, Hairspray, etc...
  • A lot of Filipino movies had this, especially in the 80's.
  • The 40-Year-Old Virgin ended with everyone dancing to "The Age of Aquarius" after said virgin lost said virginity.
  • Balls of Fury's cast singing/dancing-to "Pour Some Sugar on Me".
  • Beetlejuice ends with "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)", complete with a levitating Winona Ryder.
  • The Best Man ends with the whole cast at a wedding doing the electric slide to the song, "Candy".
  • Bridesmaids
  • Caddyshack, including Rodney Dangerfield's line "Hey everybody, we're all gonna get laid!"
  • Dirty Dancing, and they all had the time of their lives.
  • The ending of Disaster Movie.
  • Ella Enchanted, to "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
  • The Fiendish Plot Of Dr Fu Manchu ended with a rejuvenated Manchu rocking out with his band.
    • And the revelation that his next great threat against Western Civilization would be... rock and roll.
  • Footloose - "Everybody cut, everybody cut! EVERYBODY CUT FOOTLOOSE!"
  • One of the film adaptations of GeGeGe no Kitaro ends with a yōkai dance party.
  • Get Over It features a dance party led by supporting character Sisqo. He partners with Vitamin C to do a cover of "September." The rest of the cast, including future big stars Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis, and, yes, Carmen Electra get together for a five-minute boogie over the closing credits.
  • Girl Walks Into A Bar ends with three of the main leads dancing in a bar.
  • Harriet the Spy finished with the characters dancing to James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing".
  • Hitch ends with the cast dancing to an upbeat song at a wedding.
  • The Holiday ends with the two couples and their kids dancing around a Christmas tree.
  • In and Out has one crossing with Video Credits as every actor is listed as its character appears dancing.
  • Inland Empire... Sort of.
  • Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back had the eponymous duo singing with Morris Day and The Time at the end of said flick at the after-party for the in-movie movie Bluntman and Chronic.
  • Labyrinth

The Nostalgia Chick: "Bowie's not invited!"

  • Model Behavior
  • The ending to the 1993 film of Much Ado About Nothing involves the entire cast, including the extras, getting down outside a villa in Italy. It's HUGE.
  • Night at the Museum
  • Rat Race ended with all the characters dancing (and then stage-diving) at a Smash Mouth concert as the band played "All Star."
  • Revenge Of The Cheerleaders
  • Rushmore
  • Sacrifice has the ending credits include a dancing troll.
  • The credits to Sister Act 2 has the characters dancing and singing to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
  • The ending of Slumdog Millionaire. Even the kid versions of the leads join in.
  • Star Wars: Return of the Jedi famously had one where the heroes party with their new Ewok friends.
    • The Special Edition coupled this with a lot of other parties from various planets that have suffered under the Empire.
  • There's Something About Mary features the cast singing and dancing to "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations.
  • Not quite at the end, but the climax of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze had our boys in green fighting the Foot Clan in a dance club, then getting up on stage to sing and dance with Vanilla Ice.
  • Tropic Thunder features this ending, though only the Corrupt Corporate Executive is dancing.
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. After the will is revealed and Toon Town is saved, the assembled toons dance while singing "Smile, Darn Ya Smile".
  • Yellow Submarine, "It's All Too Much." (Yes, there's an epilogue after that, but that's the last animated section.)
  • Oddly, Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman has this ending. Including characters who were killed during the film.
    • Most likely an excuse to show off the contemporary percussion group's skills one last time (all's fair, they're awesome).
  • At the end of The Ringer, a stage performance of Romeo and Juliet morphs into one of these.

Literature

Live-Action TV

  • Every episode of Strangers with Candy
  • Appears in the Scrubs episodes "My Bright Idea", where Carla becomes pregnant, and "My Cold Shower", after Keith proposes to Elliot, as everyone dances at the local bar. Subverted when, after what is otherwise a happy occasion, we see JD taking a cold shower thinking "It should have been me."
  • The Prisoner: In a defining moment for British television, and one the most notorious pre-Gainax Gainax Ending sequences, the entire second half of the final episode is a Dance Party Ending. Really. Then, credits.
    • Be fair, they did pause the dance party for a gun battle and missile launch.
  • Saturday Night Live was known for this trope, especially during the late '80s; when the writers couldn't think of a way to end a sketch, they'd have the characters shout, "Let's Lambada!" Frequently happened on Wayne's World and Sprockets.

Dieter: Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance!

Music

  • This trope isn't limited to visual media. Sometimes albums end with songs about dancing!
  • "Dance, Dance, Dance" finished I'm With You by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, putting a cheery ending to an otherwise dark latter half of the album.
  • "Stay Young Go Dancing" by Death Cab for Cutie finishes Codes and Keys. This is likely intentional—Ben Gibbard had wanted to write happier music at the time, and even if it doesn't apply to the rest of the album, it certainly applies to this song.

Music Videos

  • The ending to Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" video. Complete with bonfire.
  • Hank Williams Jr.'s "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight." Not only did it end with a party (with all of Bocephus' rowdy friends), the party went on (by some accounts) for at least three days after shooting for the video ended.

Theatre

  • Many Renaissance Festivals conclude a day at the faire with a Pub Sing or a similar musical finale in which the various musical acts and members of the Village Ensemble lead everyone in song and dance. The festival's monarch (King Henry VIII or Queen Elizabeth I at most Ren faires) usually attends. There's much singing and dancing, and the audience is invited to sing and dance along. Of course, towards the end of the Pub Sing/finale, there's often a soft, sentimental song such as "Wild Mountain Thyme" to let the audience know the merriment for today is nearly over.
  • Many operas with happy endings have the ensemble do a short dance, especially the 18th-century ones labeled "tragedia con lieto fine" (Mozart's Idomeneo being a good example).
    • Gilbert and Sullivan, oh yes they do! With laughing song and merry dance!
  • There is some evidence to suggest that in Shakespeare's day, many plays (including tragedies) ended with all the players getting up and doing a rollicking jig for the audience. The evidence for this includes:
    • The play within a play (which is a tragedy) in A Midsummer Night's Dream. And after it, in place of the epilogue, Theseus asks them for their Bergomask, which is a rustic country dance.
      • For bonus points, after they've gone to bed, the fairies show up and have a dance party of their own.
    • The last lines of Much Ado About Nothing:

Think not on him till to-morrow:
I'll devise thee brave punishments for him.
Strike up, pipers.
Dance

Proceed, proceed: we will begin these rites,
As we do trust they'll end, in true delights.
A dance

    • The end of Twelfth Night, with the song "When but I was and a little tiny boy." Some productions make the song a dark epilogue instead.
  • As mentioned in Film, a lot of musicals end this way.
      • After curtain call, most productions of Hair (theatre) end with audience members joining the cast on stage to sing and dance to "Let The Sunshine In," making it a pretty inclusive Dance Party Ending.
  • "Letting Go" from the 2008 and 2011 runs of Vanities: A New Musical. Ironically, it takes place right after Mary's mother's funeral.

Video Games

  • Space Channel 5 is a series that is all about dancing. The entirety of both games, start to finish, has the characters (all background characters included) dancing along with the music, since it's a rhythm game. The second game ends with, after just defeating a bad guy whose entire M.O. was getting the entire galaxy to dance, the entire galaxy breaking out into dance in order to lead into the credits. Every character from the game is seen dancing in parade format down a rainbow summoned, presumably, from the power of dance, right through space.
  • Fahrenheit (2005 video game) (or Fahrenheit (2005 video game)) has some of the characters dancing during the credits. (Not Mooks)
  • The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time featured all the NPCs dancing around a bonfire after the defeat of Ganon.
  • God Hand has this, involving all the characters dancing the game's Bragging Theme Tune.
  • Parodied in Banjo Tooie, when all your allies get together and and have a dance party...before you fight the final boss. They won't let you join until you've finished saving the world. Then once you go back after defeating Gruntilda, the party's already over and they've eaten all the food. So they celebrate instead by playing hackey-sack with Gruntilda's skull.
    • The original game did this too, after you rescue Tooty... who then berates you after the credits to get off your lazy ass and go finish off Gruntilda.
  • Super Mario RPG ends with the Mushroom Kingdom throwing a parade while the credits roll.
  • Given the game's concept, Dance Dance Revolution has done this in its credit rolls a few times. The earliest one was just a black screen with the chosen character dancing, but later versions have featured dance-themed endings; including SuperNOVA 2 (which mainly had some space related imagery interspersed with some shots of the characters), the Hottest Party series (which has usually involved silhouettes of a dancer), X (which had live action scenes of people playing the game itself), and X2.
    • However, at the same time they've managed to subvert this too; the Japanese console version of Extreme started with an acoustic version of "Graduation" accompanied by the title screens of all the major arcade versions, but then switched to gameplay footage from past versions (which did have characters, a feature dropped from arcade versions on DDRMAX, but backported into the home versions)
  • Deus Ex has an Easter Egg "ending" where this happens.
  • Time Splitters: Future Perfect has Cortez dancing in a disco after defeating the monsters.
  • The flamboyant Zhang He in Dynasty Warriors leads his army in a dance in his ending for the 5th game.
  • A bonus vid from Syphon Filter 2 Congratulations Party Time
  • True Crime: Streets of L.A. also has an Easter Egg ending in which Nick Kang and FBI Agent Masterson have a dance-off. Kang wins.
  • Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude ends this way.
  • Kirby has a variation of this. Kirby dances at the end of each stage. Often he splits into three so he can have a dance party by himself.
  • This is pretty much the only redeeming factor of Limbo of the Lost, along with the So Bad It's Good song that accompanies it. Just see for yourself.
  • The Typing Of The Dead has a bunch of zombies in glass tubes at the end—but if you type out the names in the credits, they bust out and do their best Thriller impression.
  • Splosion Man has this as its finale - by 'Splosion Man cosplayers, no less.
  • The Wheel of Time computer game had this after the end credits. Watching a Myrddraal dance is pretty disturbing, actually.
  • Bayonetta has a very long dance sequence at the end involving Bayonetta dancing with just about every character in the game.
  • Jet Force Gemini subverts, parodies, or does something to this trope, seeing as it first ends with a standard award ceremony celebration with fireworks and trumpets and the usual sort... and after a fadeout and a record scratch, Juno is hilariously badly getting down with his bad self in a nightclub the team visited earlier as the credits roll. His teammates, Vela and Lupus, are too embarrassed of him to join.
  • The Neverhood ends with Hoborg, king of the Neverhood, first making some more people—since he and Klaymen don't really make for a "party" by themselves. Then the party itself happens. "And now it is time... to GOOF OFF!"
  • Sam and Max Freelance Police Second Season includes this in the closing credits, at Sybil and Abe's wedding.
  • The standard ending in Chrono Trigger is a dance party/parade.
  • Every "year" in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ends with the characters in the player's home village dancing around a bonfire.
  • Plants vs. Zombies. The zombies are dancing, too.
  • Outcast (1999). Complete enough of the game and it's side quests and you get a secret dance credits for the cast. Once the game ends, it shows the percentage you've achieved. Something above 90% is required.
  • Syphon Filter 2 has a bonus clip that features all the game's main characters, friend and foe alike, dancing at a disco club. Appropriately enough, the clip is titled, "Congratulations! Party Time!"
  • Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's Revenge ends with Pumpkinhead dancing around after you give him the item meant to "quell his soul". Notably, the actor in the suit had to remove the feet in order to do so. It counts since he's the last surviving character. It's also enough to drive you to madness.

Web Original

Western Animation

  • The Futurama episodes "Mars University", "Fry and the Slurm Factory" and "Crimes of the Hot".
  • An episode of Clerks the Animated Series ended like this...almost. Then the courthouse burned down and everyone escaped to find a sweatshop studio staffed by Korean animators being beaten by an evil overseer rat.
    • AND BEAR WAS DRIVING! WHY WAS BEAR DRIVING! HOW CAN THAT BE!
  • An episode of The Simpsons featuring the late-great Rodney Dangerfield lampshades this, as Journey's "Any Way You Want It" plays them out to the credits. The sudden abundance of music and drinks from nowhere is lampshaded.
    • In "Tales from the Public Domain", after finishing the Hamlet portion of the story, Homer claims that it was made into the film "Ghostbusters". Cue the family dancing to the Ghostbuster theme.
  • Using the idea of Your Universe or Mine?, there's one at the end of the second Fairly Oddparents/Jimmy Neutron crossover entitled the "Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 2: When Nerds Collide".
  • The Grand Finale for Kim Possible followed this trope to a T. They even threw in a beach party!
    • The previous finale, So The Drama and the episode "Queen Bebe" do it too. Both parties are previously established - the first is Kim's junior prom, and resolved the romantic loose end of Kim and Ron hooking up.
  • That Bugs Bunny short where he almost ends up getting shot by a firing squad by Elmer Fudd the Canadian Mountie. A sequence which is usually cut these days on account of it's a Minstrel Show.
  • Galaxy Rangers episode "Marshmallow Trees." Yay, the mutated bugs transformed into high-grade compost, and the problem with the eponymous trees has been solved. Let's break out the fiddles and banjos, folks. (OK, we're dealing with a Space Western...)
  • Garfield Gets Real used this rather suddenly in the end, with everyone dancing as soon as Garfield and Odie get home.
  • Phineas and Ferb have one at the end of their hour long episode, Summer Belongs To You. It also features the first full-length (i.e. 3+ minute) song to play on the show (when most are about 1–2 minutes). Along with this, it further cements Candace and Jeremy as the Official Couple.
  • In a slight variation, the season 3 finale of ReBoot ended with the cast attending a Broadway style musical recapping the events of that season sung to the tune of the Major-General Song.
  • Happens at the end of Tokyo Mater where everyone in Tokyo, Japan actually celebrate Mater's victory over Kabuto by having a dance party in the streets of Japan, with Kabuto being stripped naked as a result of him losing to Mater in a race.
  • Inverted in a sense on Jimmy Two-Shoes where the season 2 intro has a Dance Party Ending.
  • In Dora the Explorer each episodes ends this way.

Real Life

  • At the end of World War II there was apparently, actual dancing (as well as kissing random women apparently) in the streets. At least in the allied countries.
    • Same with World War I. Even the Germans were happy the war was done. The dance party was short-lived for them though.
  • Seems to happen frequently in Middle Eastern countries as well.
  • School proms, of course. Or really, any end-of-the-year dance.
  • New Year's Eve.

Whew! We finally finished the entire page... Let's dance!

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