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The Opening Sequence is traditionally played at the start of every episode of Total Drama. Chris usually recaps the previous episode first, and then the theme song begins. The song title is I Wanna Be Famous, and is performed by Graeme Cornies and Dawna Toews. In Total Drama All-Stars and Total Drama: Pahkitew Island the theme song is shortened and most of the lyrics are cut off under the broadcaster's orders, in order to make the episodes longer. For Total Drama Island (2023) and Total Drama Island (2024), the shortened intro remains, but an updated version of the theme song is displayed.
In Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race, the opening theme starts after Don's recap of the previous episode, similar to Total Drama. The intro, however, is different, being an instrumental instead.
In Total DramaRama, there are no recaps, and the show begins with its intro straight away, consisting of a soft instrumental with some children babbling some words along its rhythm, similar to the classic series.
Lyrics[]
Full version (seasons 1-4)[]
Dear Mom and Dad I'm doing fine,
You guys are on my mind.
You asked me what I wanted to be
and now I think the answer is plain to see,
I wanna be famous.
I wanna live close to the sun,
Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won,
Everything to prove, nothing in my way
I'll get there one day.
Cause, I wanna be famous!
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na! (as can be heard in the background)
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
(Whistling in tune)
Shortened version (season 5)[]
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na! (as heard in the background)
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
(Whistling in tune)
Second shortened version (season 6)[]
Hey what's up I'm here to slay,
Don't know why the rest even bother to stay.
I know the game and I've brought the skill
crushing players' dreams, yeah you know the drill,
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
(Whistling in tune)
Total Drama Island (2007)[]
In the Total Drama Island theme song, the song begins with a total of four spotlights and cameras coming out of random places, such as out of the grass or from a tree, the last two knocking down a beaver and a squirrel. Then a clapperboard clamps down, and the camera starts moving through Camp Wawanakwa and past the host of the show, Chris, who is drinking coffee, and commanding the camera crew from a folding chair. It then goes to the top of the cliff and then down it, where Owen is seen in the water, farting and knocking out a fish with the smell. The scene pans over to Bridgette and Geoff, in the lake on Bridgette's surfboard, flirting. However, the smell reaches them, and they look disgusted. As the unconscious fish reach the surface, an eagle flies by and picks it up, dropping it somewhere in the forest, where DJ is seen sitting in the forest with two birds, a chipmunk, a skunk, a frog, two squirrels, a tortoise and a bunny. DJ seems to get along well with them until the dead fish drops right in front of him, startling the animals and causing them to attack him, so DJ screams and runs away. Duncan is seen laughing at DJ's misfortune, until he notices Courtney glaring at him disapprovingly. The camera then goes through the forest to where Heather and Leshawna are seen slap-fighting in a rubber raft that falls off a waterfall, since they were not paying attention. Once they fall by, Harold is seen practicing martial arts moves on a log stretched across a gorge behind the waterfall, up until Izzy, who is swinging on a vine, crashes into him, sending them both flying back into camp, where they crash into the confessional and knock a half-dressed Lindsay out of it, revealing her pink panties.
Chef Hatchet is then seen in the kitchen, stirring a pot of food with his bare hands. He then looks at Noah and Ezekiel, who are tied up together at the counter. They briefly glance at each other nervously, before the camera pans over to Tyler and Eva, who are arm-wrestling at a nearby table. Tyler is struggling to win, until Eva defeats him and grins evilly. The camera moves out the window and pans over to Katie and Sadie, who are sitting near the beach on some stairs, fawning over Justin, who is looking at himself in two different mirrors. A seagull, with a fragment of net wrapped around its neck, is seen sitting on the water as a shark jumps over it and eats a trout in mid-air. The seagull appears to be safe until a mysterious tentacle grabs it and pulls it under the water. Beth is then seen when the camera moves over to the Dock of Shame, where she is twirling fire batons in her hand. Beth then tosses the fire baton in the air and it switches to night. Gwen and Trent are now seen, sharing a romantic moment at the campfire pit, sitting next to each other and leaning in closely while smiling, until Cody appears between them, and puts his arms over their shoulders. The camera then zooms out, with Gwen and Trent looking awkwardly at an oblivious and smiling Cody while the rest of the campers are seen gathered in a circle around the fire while whistling the tune of "I Wanna Be Famous!" A wooden sign with "Total Drama Island" painted onto it is then seen, and the words flash briefly before the screen fades out.
Total Drama Action[]
In the Total Drama Action theme song, the song once again begins with spotlights and cameras appearing out of various places, bringing up a rat from the sewers and knocking a raccoon out of a tree, before a clapperboard clamps down in front of it. The camera then makes its way through the abandoned film lot, where Chris is seen driving a golf cart. The camera goes through some fake prop sets, and then a rack of clothing. It then goes up the replica of the 1,000-foot cliff, and then down into a small pool. Owen is seen swimming in it, with a shark approaching him from behind. However, Owen farts into the shark's mouth, propelling himself away and disgusting the shark, making it cough. The camera then goes up to the beach movie set, where Harold is evading the seagulls that Duncan is shooting at him while he stands on the surfboard. However, one hits him in the face, and he falls off into the pool. Duncan is then seen laughing at Harold's misfortune, with Courtney glaring at him from behind. Duncan then turns around and Courtney and Duncan share a kiss, then grin evilly at each other. The camera passes through them, and by a Sasquatchanakwa wearing a bra and a pink wig to a large metal door opening, revealing a big flash of light. Beth and two more sharks are now seen relaxing on beach chairs on the beach set, wearing sunglasses. The camera zooms in on Beth, who smiles and shows that she is no longer wearing braces.
Justin is then seen in the confessional, getting his make-up done. He turns around, only to get sprayed in the eyes by some kind of spray. Heather and Leshawna are then seen on top of two platforms, fighting each other with giant Q-tips. Heather and Leshawna fight back and forth, until Leshawna knocks Heather's wig off her head. The wig falls into Chef's pot of soup in his kitchen. Chef notices it, but simply shrugs and hands it to DJ. DJ then puts some Momma's Spice into the stew, tastes it, and smiles in delight. The camera pans over to Lindsay, who is in the control tent. Lindsay presses a button, which makes a building visible on the screen explode. A bear is seen standing where the building was moments earlier, its fur charred. Izzy then runs right up in front of it and waves at the camera while smiling wildly. The angry bear roars at Izzy. However, Izzy roars back at the bear, making it run away. Izzy chases the bear throughout the film lot, and past the Lame-o-sine. The rear window of the Lame-o-sine rolls down, revealing Gwen inside, where she smiles at the camera. Trent then opens the door for her while she smiles at him. He gestures with his arm at the red carpet behind him, and the camera follows. Multiple pairs of arms are seen leaning in front of the camera with cameras of their own, wildly taking pictures and with camera flashes everywhere, and the camera eventually comes to the stage, where Chris is standing at the podium with a blue tuxedo. Chris opens an envelope, and Chef, in a pink transparent dress, hands him a tray of Gilded Chris Awards. Chef frowns angrily while Chris simply rolls his eyes and looks back at the camera. The image of Chris and Chef then becomes slightly more static-like, and the camera pulls back to reveal that this is on a giant screen. Below the screen, Bridgette and Geoff are sitting on a couch in the middle of the stage in the aftermath studio, about to kiss. But they realize that everyone is looking at them and stop, looking at the camera with shocked expressions. The camera pulls out to reveal all of the twenty-two contestants from the first season, sitting in the bleachers on either side of the Aftermath stage. The screen above them then changes from Chris and Chef to the logo for Total Drama Action.
Total Drama World Tour[]
Just like all the other theme songs, several spotlights and cameras appear out of strange places, then kicking a raccoon from the jet's engine, and then from a suitcase, finishing with a clapperboard clamping down, indicating the start of the episode. The camera then rushes through the Total Drama Jumbo Jet's first class section, through the cockpit, past Chef Hatchet, while Chris jumps out of the way. After flying out of the plane, passing a row of hangars alongside a runway as baggage tractors drive all around, and over the CN Tower, the camera leans down and drops from the sky, passing by a familiar island and landing in a familiar lake. Owen is seen underwater, smiling at a fish. The smile then turns into an embarrassed look as he realizes that he has lost his swimming trunks, therefore covering up his "kiwis". Above the water, Harold is practicing karate moves on top of a hut on a basket canoe, but gets knocked off by an oar thrown at him by Duncan, who is in the same canoe, alongside Courtney, who is also paddling along. Alligators are seen swimming around them, leaping into the air repeatedly as they paddle by. The canoe then paddles off-screen, and the screen briefly shakes, implying a crash.
The camera pans over and shows that the canoe had crashed into an orange inflatable raft, which Gwen is standing on. Duncan gives Gwen a flirty smile before her raft starts to sink. Duncan leans out to try to help her, until Courtney glares at him and he turns around and sheepishly grins at her. The camera then goes up to the sun, with a bright flash transitioning from this scene to the top of the Statue of Liberty, where Alejandro is helping Heather up onto a beam, smirking while doing so as Heather simply glares at him. Tyler then runs past with Cody in a baby carriage, until he trips on a crouching Ezekiel. This causes Cody's carriage to roll right over to the edge, where it crashes into a sign, sending Cody flying out of the carriage, off the statue, and into the Yukon, where he falls into Sierra's arms. Sierra seems pleased and hugs Cody tight, while Cody seems horrified. A couple of feet behind Cody and Sierra is Lindsay, holding a picture of Tyler, trying to remember who he is. However, she then notices a polar bear behind her, and drops the picture, running off in fear. The polar bear removes its mask to reveal Izzy, who laughs at her prank, before she is attacked by an angry baby seal, which bites her on the arm, causing her to run off in panic.
Elsewhere, in the ocean, DJ and Bridgette are surfing, with Bridgette doing so nonchalantly, and even waving at the camera with a smile, while DJ seems a bit nervous. They eventually collide and are knocked off their boards into the water. Leshawna and Noah are then shown crossing the famous Abbey Road crosswalk In England together, and then ducking to avoid getting hit by the Total Drama Jumbo Jet as it swoops in extremely low. The camera then cuts to the top of the plane, where all the contestants are arranged in a human pyramid. Then, the plane is shown flying through several locations, such as Paris, London, and Australia. The camera cuts back to the top of the plane, where contestants (still in a human pyramid) are singing the lyrics of the theme song and dancing, with the camera cutting to Owen at the top with Izzy on his shoulder, then Courtney and Heather glaring at each other, then DJ at the bottom right corner, who gets hit in the face by a seagull. Then, in the cockpit, an annoyed Chef Hatchet turns the plane sharply, causing all of the contestants to fall off. While most of them use parachutes (except Cody, who is being held by Sierra) and land safely, Tyler falls flat on the ground, while Courtney and DJ land on their rears, the latter looking scared and holding his head while Bridgette, Gwen, and Lindsay put their hands on his back in a comforting manner. The plane pulls up behind the group, with the season's logo on a piece of metal on the side. As it stops, the piece of metal shifts and slightly falls out of place. Ezekiel then falls flat on his face in front of the group, visibly shocking Noah, and then the theme song ends.
Total Drama: Revenge of the Island[]
Like the ones mentioned above, it first starts out with spotlights coming out of multiple places. The first light appears to be bent in many places, the second light has cobwebs around it, the third light pops out of a toxic waste bin, and the fourth light comes out of a hole in a tree with a tentacle around it. A clapperboard clamps down, and the camera goes out to Camp Wawanakwa where a creature is shown to the right side of the water. While it goes in the camp, four interns are shown carrying a tiki totem with a toxic logo on it, which appears to be too heavy for them. Chris is on top of it with a whip, whipping them to go faster. The camera then goes through the trees, up to the top of the cliff, and dives down into the lake. Cameron is underwater, apparently drowning while a school of piranhas gathers around him. He is lifted up by his underpants with a fishing rod. The camera goes to the surface of the water and shows that B was the one who pulled him up. He is shown fixing a fishing rod machine until its power flings Cameron up into the air, with his sneakers being left in the lake while his underpants fall onto B's face. The camera then pans over the forest where Jo is punching a punching bag until Cameron falls into her arms. She sees Brick run past, so she drops Cameron and races after him. Still in the forest, Dawn is meditating with many animals around her. Then a large, mutated gopher pops out of the ground and roars at her, causing Dawn and the animals to flee. The camera goes over to the waterfall where Zoey and Mike are in a raft; the former noticeably mad while the latter is acting like his alternate personality, Svetlana. Then their raft goes over the edge of the waterfall, and they fall out. Lightning is repeatedly lifting a massive log like a weight while he stands on a larger log that is spread out over a gorge. The raft falls past behind him while Zoey and Mike land on the log that he is lifting. The weight of all three of them causes the log underneath Lightning to break, and they all fall off-screen. Scott, leaning against the confessional, laughs at their misfortune until Fang comes out and scares him off.
The camera then moves over to Chef's kitchen where he pulls a pair of earmuffs out of a pot of soup, quickly putting them on before looking behind him with an annoyed expression. The camera pans over to Staci at the counter, babbling away until Chef shoves a spoon of food into her mouth to shut her up. Next to her, Anne Maria is seen with six used bottles of hairspray around her. She appears to be on her seventh, spraying it on her hair until she realizes that the camera's there, which she sprays angrily. The camera then goes over the beach where Jo wins the race against a noticeably exhausted Brick. The camera then pans over to show Sam playing his GameGuy on the Dock of Shame. Sasquatchanakwa taps his shoulder and makes him turn around, then takes the handheld system from his hands. Once Sam sees what happened to his game, he unsuccessfully tries to get it back, as Sasquatchanakwa starts playing his game. Dakota then grabs the camera and moves it over to her, where she kisses the lens, leaving a pink lipstick stain. An intern briefly appears to wipe it off. Dakota then starts texting on her cell phone until the paparazzi arrives and start taking pictures of her while she poses. Then a bucket of water is dumped on her from above, and when she looks up angrily, it is revealed to be Chris on a jet pack. The burst of fire from his jetpack transitions the scene from day to night, where Mike and Zoey are holding hands until Chef comes over in a HazMat suit, holding a pair of tongs that holds the Marshmallow of Toxic Loserdom. Mike and Zoey quickly retract from the dangerous marshmallow, and the camera zooms out to show the entire cast around the campfire. Everyone is whistling the theme while staring nervously at the marshmallow. The camera shows the season's title on a wooden sign, which flashes twice before the screen fades to black.
Total Drama All-Stars[]
This intro is noticeably shorter than previous seasons as it skips the first two verses, as it cuts straight to the chorus of "I wanna be famous". Like the past four sequences, it starts out with various equipment, from cameras to spotlights, appearing in different places. The first one appears with a price tag on it, while the second one has a sleek shine on it. The third one pops up, knocking out a toilet paper roll in the process. Next to the spotlight is a spray bottle. The fourth spotlight comes out of a tree, with a bar of soap and a brush popping out beforehand. It then shows a pair of hands closing a clapperboard and has the camera zooming in from right to left. The camera shows both the McLean Brand Spa along with the regular cabins, the communal bathroom, and a squirrel. The camera then goes to the cliff, showing Chris and Chef in a helicopter in the process; the former is shown holding a case with a scared look on his face. When the camera reaches the top off the cliff, it dives off into the lake. In the water, Sierra and Heather are shown fighting over a treasure chest until they both get shocked when the chest opens, revealing Cameron, a bunch of McLean-Brand Chris Heads, and Mr. Coconut inside. In the background, Scott is seen swimming away from Fang, with Sam hanging onto his tail. The camera then goes above the water, where both teams are shown battling each other with jousting sticks. Jo is shown fighting Lindsay and effortlessly taking her down, Lightning taking down Mike in the same gesture, Alejandro taking down Zoey, and then Duncan and Gwen both battling Courtney, who is armed with a burning jousting stick, and is glaring at the couple with a devious grin on her face.
The camera then zooms in closer to the top part of Courtney's jousting stick, which transitions into the Campfire Ceremony. In the ceremony, Mike and Zoey are about to kiss until Sierra sneaks up on them and takes a photo of them. Shocked by the flash of the camera, they turn around and cover their eyes after the picture is taken. While the picture gets taken, the camera zooms out showing the rest of the contestants and Chris, with all of them, minus Heather and Chris, either having an angry or confused face. Chris is shown smiling while Heather is shown smirking. The camera shows the season's title on a wooden sign, which flashes twice before the screen fades to black.
Total Drama: Pahkitew Island[]
Like the previous season, the intro for Total Drama: Pahkitew Island is shortened. It begins with equipment popping up from random places around the island. The first two are spotlights, the first one appearing near a waterfall and, the second one swinging out by a tree. The next two equipment pieces are cameras; one camera appears underneath a lily-pad that had a frog on it near Scuba Bear, while the other appears from the inside of a rock, knocking a seagull off of it. A clapperboard then clamps down and the camera starts moving through Pahkitew Island as it passes by Topher, who is being pushed aside by Chris. The camera then enters the woods, where Samey is plucking berries off a bush before Amy dumps a bucket that is full of them on her head. When Amy turns around, she sees Rodney, who is on his knees, presenting her with a bouquet of flowers. Annoyed, she knocks the flowers out of his hands. The scene shifts to Sky, Sugar, and several animals listening to Ella singing. An irritated Sugar pushes Ella off the cliff edge, causing all the animals to attack her, while Sky watches in horror. Down the cliff, Jasmine and Shawn are on top of a tree, watching Ella being saved by a flock of birds.
The camera then shifts to Dave covering his ears and being annoyed by Beardo making sound effects and Leonard "casting" a spell. Nearby, Scarlett watches as Max laughs evilly and activates a robot. The robot; however, malfunctions and begins to short circuit, causing Max to cower in fear while Scarlett smirks at the camera and opens up an umbrella to protect herself from the sparks. The robot explodes and as soon as the smoke dissipates, the scene shifts to Jasmine and Shawn sitting next to each other at the Campfire Ceremony. Chris pops up in between them wearing a zombie mask, which scares Shawn into running away. As Chris takes off the mask, the camera zooms out and reveals the other contestants whistling to the tune, while Jasmine has an awkward look on her face. The season's title is seen above them on a wooden sign that flashes briefly as the screen goes black.
Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race[]
Unlike the opening sequence of Total Drama, the opening sequence for The Ridonculous Race is instrumental. The intro begins with an overview of the Earth before a hand holding a Travel Tip appears. The camera zooms in, revealing all eighteen teams running in three rows, six teams in each row. The scene shifts to a map of the world, showing the visited countries being highlighted. The next scene then shows photos of some of those visited countries. A Travel Tip then cuts the scene into three sections, each showing a different mode of transportation that are used throughout the race; a train, a plane, and a bus. A taxi stops by and opens its door as the camera zooms in, showing pictures of all eighteen teams. In the end, the scene cuts to the main logo of the Ridonculous Race with a plane that flies across the screen, spinning the N.
Total DramaRama[]
In this second spin-off series, the opening sequence is once again a completely different song. It is accompanied by a soft child-like instrumental with some hooks that sound similar to the ones from the classic theme. It begins with a close-up of the daycare with several cars arriving, followed by a scene with Chef Hatchet holding a plate full of cupcakes trying to open the door, only to be put down by the twelve children that enter the daycare running. The scene moves to all of the kids playing around in the classroom; Noah holding a plane mock-up, Cody squirting a water gun and is shot by Bridgette with a water gun of her own. Leshawna shows up holding two water balloons and both her and Bridgette are shot by Duncan using a firehose. The water from the hose suddenly loses pressure and it turns out Owen is sitting on it while eating cupcakes. The resultant blockage causes a swell on the hose which Jude uses as a skateboard ramp. Chef comes in with a terrified look on his face, but it is too late as the hose bursts, flushing him and the kids out of the daycare.
At the top of the tree house, Harold is practicing martial art moves when Gwen suddenly pops up from the tree, dressed as a bat and frightening Harold, causing him to fall off the tree and landing on Courtney's detonator while she is explaining its usage to Beth. Not so far away from it, Izzy is riding on a cardboard plane with some firecrackers below her. Chef attempts to take the explosives away before they explode but it is too late. The scene cuts to a faraway view of the daycare with the logo being prominently above it, while a firework lands on the daycare, destroying the building.
- In Squirrels Squirrels Squirrels, the opening sequence was played at the end with the characters acting like squirrels.
Total Drama Island (2023)/Total Drama Island (2024)[]
Much like the intros of the two previous seasons, this intro is similarly shorter, but features an updated version of the theme song. Skipping the appearance of various equipment like cameras and spotlights or the pair of hands closing the clapperboard, the intro starts with the camera zooming in from right to left. Much like in Total Drama All-Stars, Chris and Chef are seen arriving in a helicopter but not before the camera passes by a gray squirrel. When the camera reaches the top off the cliff, it dives off into the lake. In the water, Axel and a a frightened Nichelle and Priya can be seen swimming away from a shark and Scary Girl. However, Caleb swims to their rescue and distracts the shark with his beauty, sending Scary Girl rolling away while the shark admires Caleb's handsomeness. The camera then pixels and shows MK trying to download a phone, but ducks and disappears from the screen when she sees the camera filming her, revealing her background. Behind her, Ripper is drinking a bucket full of food while Zee, Wayne and Raj cheer for him, but Ripper finishes with the meal and both burps and farts, to the point Zee is knocked away by his burping and Wayne and Raj are hit by his gas, much to their displeasure. The camera then moves to see Millie taking notes and Bowie filing his nails before Julia comes walking backwards while filming a video with her phone. Because of this, Julia doesn't see Millie, bumps into her and they both fall to the ground as Bowie keeps filing his nails while smiling at their accident. After this, the screen fades away and is replaced by the Campfire Ceremony, which also features Emma, Damien and Chase (whom are inexplicably absent during the rest of the intro). Rather than a pair of contestants, Chris and Chef look at each other before looking at the screen as the camera zooms away to show all of the contestants. As it does so, Scary Girl maniacally grins and the song finishes, concluding by all the contestants, save for Scary Girl, Nichelle, Chase and Axel, whistling as the wooden sign showing the season's title is shown.
Trivia[]
- The opening sequences usually foreshadow several important events to come in the series:
- Total Drama Island (2007): Owen is the first contestant seen which foreshadows him being a finalist, Bridgette and Geoff's attraction towards each another, DJ having unfortunate incidents involving animals, Courtney and Duncan's love/hate relationship, Heather and Leshawna's conflict, Lindsay's inability to use the outhouse confessional properly as well as experiencing an unexpected turn of events, Izzy popping up out of nowhere as well as Harold being a pain magnet, Katie and Sadie being attracted to Justin, Gwen and Trent's eventual relationship, with Cody butting in.
- Total Drama Action: Duncan and Harold's conflict, Courtney's eventual debut, Beth getting her braces removed, Justin being a pain magnet and damaging his looks, Heather losing her wig, DJ's secret alliance with Chef Hatchet, a "technical misfire" tied to Lindsay, and Geoff and Bridgette hosting the Total Drama Action Aftermath show after their elimination.
- Total Drama World Tour: The main love triangle, Alejandro and Heather's attraction to each other, Tyler frequently tripping or slipping, Ezekiel hiding from the contestants as a stowaway, Sierra's attraction to Cody, Lindsay trying to remember who Tyler is, Heather and Courtney's conflict, Heather having a gold tooth throughout the season, and DJ's terrible curse. Team Victory's placement at the very bottom of the human pyramid also foreshadows their poor performance and eventual elimination, Ezekiel being the last contestant to appear in the final group shot foreshadows him being the lowest-ranking contestant again.
- Total Drama: Revenge of the Island: Cameron replaces Owen in the lake (hinting at him being a finalist), B coming up with ingenious inventions, Jo's conflicts with Cameron and Brick, Mike having alternate personalities, Scott's conflicts with Lightning, Mike, Zoey, and Fang, Staci replaces Ezekiel and Noah (indicating her early elimination), Anne Maria's habit of spraying her hair, Sam's affiliation with his GameGuy and his mishap with Sasquatchanakwa, Chris disturbing Dakota while the paparazzi are taking pictures of her, Mike and Zoey's eventual relationship, and the symbol of elimination, the Marshmallow of Toxic Loserdom.
- Total Drama All-Stars: Mr. Coconut eventually making cameo appearances, Heather trying to look for the McLean-Brand Chris Head, Sierra having an obsession on Cameron, as well as him trying to hide from her, with Cameron having several McLean-Brand Chris Heads in the chest foreshadowing him being saved from elimination. Fang continuing to chase Scott, Sam's animal problems, the Heroic Hamsters being the "inferior" team of the season, Courtney's behavior which would eventually show that she is not fit to be a hero, and Sierra taking pictures of her fellow contestants at inappropriate moments.
- Total Drama: Pahkitew Island: Scuba Bear's eventual appearance, Chris being annoyed by Topher, Samey plucking berries for her team, Amy bullying Samey, Rodney's affection towards girls, Ella's singing and friendship with animals, Ella's one-sided conflict with Sugar, Dave's annoyance at his team (in particular Beardo and Leonard), Scarlett's villainous actions with Max, Jasmine, and Shawn's eventual relationship, and Shawn's fear of zombies.
- Total Drama Island (2023): Chef Hatchet's new attire and role as co-host, Axel's seriousness as a leader, Scary Girl's murderous madness, Priya appearing in the water in a similar vein to Owen and Cameron (hinting at her being a finalist/winner), Caleb's extreme handsomeness, MK downloading the confessionals with phones, Ripper's rude tendency to fart and annoy others, Millie writing negative notes about everyone else, Julia's self-absorption and Bowie's responsibility in the falls of both Julia and Millie.
- For all the theme songs in the main series, excluding Total Drama: Pahkitew Island, a contestant is shown swimming in the water at the beginning. In the first three openings it is Owen, for the next two it is Cameron, (with Sierra, Heather, Scott, and Sam also present in Total Drama All-Stars), and in the most recent one, it is multiple contestants.
- Coincidentally Owen, Cameron, and Priya are all the first finalists for their respective generations.
- This makes the opening sequence of Total Drama: Pahkitew Island the first time that the first contestant to appear is not underwater.
- In the opening sequence for Total Drama All-Stars, cleaning materials and bubbles are seen when the cameras pop out, a reference to the island being cleansed of toxic waste.
- The final five castmates in Total Drama Action are the first five to appear in the season's theme song. Likewise, the first five eliminated are the last five to appear in it (not counting the contestants that didn't compete in the season).
- In the first three theme songs, Harold is seen doing karate stances over water until he gets hit by something or someone.
- Two of the three times, it's Duncan who hits him with something.
- In the first three theme songs, Duncan is seen laughing at someone else's injury, which ends in Courtney glaring at him:
- In the Total Drama Island theme song, he laughs at DJ getting attacked by animals, before stopping when Courtney glares at him.
- In the Total Drama Action theme song, he shoots Harold with a seagull, making him fall into the water. Duncan laughs at Harold until Courtney stops him by glaring at him, before the two-start making out.
- In the Total Drama World Tour theme song, he hits Harold with a paddle, making him fall into water again. Duncan laughs at Harold next to Courtney until he crashes into Gwen's boat, where he looks down at her with a worried look on his face. He is about to help her up, but notices Courtney glaring at him from behind.
- His animation sequence in the third opening also matches his sequence in the first one, save for when he gets hit.
- Chris and Chef are the only characters to be seen in all six theme songs.
- However, if one counts Total DramaRama, then Chef is the only one to appear in all the theme songs.
- For every opening Heather appears in, she is shown with a contestant she has a conflict with.
- For every opening except Total Drama World Tour, she is in the middle of a physical dispute with said contestant.
- Courtney and Duncan are the only couple to appear together in every opening sequence to date. However, in Total Drama All-Stars, Courtney is in opposition to Duncan who is with Gwen.
- Gwen is shown with one of her love interests in every opening sequence she appears. For the first two seasons it is Trent, while in Total Drama World Tour and Total Drama All-Stars it is Duncan.
- In the Total Drama Island theme song, the neon Total Drama Island sign is seen at the end of the song near the campfire pit. In the actual competition, the sign remains by the campfire pit, and was shown to be an actual part of the camp, and not simply part of the theme song.
- Izzy is seen interacting directly or indirectly with Lindsay in the first three opening sequences:
- In Total Drama Island, Izzy swings on a vine, accidentally hitting Harold and knocking Lindsay out of the confessional stall.
- In Total Drama Action, Izzy runs up to the remains of a hangar that Lindsay blew up and waves at the camera.
- In Total Drama World Tour, Izzy scares Lindsay by dressing up as a polar bear.
- In the human pyramid in the Total Drama World Tour theme song, the contestants are initially lined up based on what teams they're on: Team Victory is on the bottom row. The middle row features all members of Team Amazon, except that Sierra is switched with Duncan (who, arguably, would've been on Team Amazon had he not quit), and all members of Team Chris Is Really Really Really Really Hot are on the top row, along with Sierra (who was originally on that team), with Owen and Izzy on the very top.
- Duncan and Gwen and Izzy and Owen are also the only couples together on the human pyramid.
- The Total Drama Action, Total Drama All-Stars and some in Total Drama Island 2023 opening sequences were the ones where the contestants never sing or whistle the theme song.
- In the opening of Total Drama Action and Total Drama World Tour, Owen, Harold, Duncan, and Courtney are the first four contestants to appear.
- The Total Drama World Tour theme song is the only one to not feature a couple in a romantic moment being interrupted in the last shot.
- In the Total Drama World Tour theme song, Tyler, Ezekiel, and Cody (all voiced by Peter Oldring) are all seen next to each other for the first time.
- In the final frame of the Total Drama Action opening sequence, Tyler is the only non-contestant sitting on the left side of the stage.
- In the Total Drama World Tour theme song, a bra that is identical Leshawna's bra that was seen in Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special makes an appearance after a camera appears out of a suitcase.
- In the Total Drama World Tour theme song, when Leshawna and Noah are crossing the street, they seem to be reenacting The Beatles' cover for "Abbey Road".
- This is the second time in the series that "Abbey Road" has been parodied. The first being by The Drama Brothers in Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special.
- In the Total Drama World Tour theme song, the mime seen in Paris is the same one seen in Phobia Factor and Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special.
- The Total Drama World Tour theme song is the only one to not feature all the contestants competing in the season, as Blaineley does not appear at all.
- In the Total Drama World Tour theme song, Alejandro and Heather appear together, making it the first time that the final two of a season appear together in a theme song.
- There are many noticeable similarities between the Total Drama Island opening and the Total Drama: Revenge of the Island opening:
- Both follow the same path throughout Camp Wawanakwa (over the dock, off the cliff, into the lake, through the woods, over the waterfall, through the main lodge, onto the beach, and ending at the bonfire pit with the cast whistling the theme song).
- The first contestant to appear in both openings is inside the lake (Owen and Cameron).
- Incidentally, the two of them (in their endings) are the winner of their respective seasons.
- Both feature a pair of contestants in a boat who are in a relationship, before being interrupted (Bridgette and Geoff; Mike and Zoey), though it occurs at different locations on the island.
- Both feature a contestant sitting on a tree stump surrounded by animals (DJ and Dawn).
- Both feature a contestant laughing at a misfortune before being interrupted (Duncan being interrupted by Courtney and Scott being interrupted by Fang), though it occurs at different locations on the island.
- Both feature a pair of contestants in a boat that goes over a waterfall (Heather and Leshawna, Mike and Zoey).
- Both feature a contestant standing on a log over a chasm behind the waterfall that the boat went over, before being knocked off the log by another contestant (Harold being knocked off by Izzy and Lightning being knocked off by Mike and Zoey).
- Both feature a contestant near the confessional stall (Lindsay and Scott).
- The camera then zooms into the main lodge where Chef and several of the contestants are shown.
- Incidentally, the first people seen in the lodge behind Chef in both openings are the first people eliminated from their teams in that season (Ezekiel & Noah, Staci & Anne Maria).
- Two contestants with an athletic personality (a male and a female) are then shown in an activity that the male loses (Tyler losing an arm-wrestling match to Eva and Brick losing a running race to Jo).
- A vain contestant is then seen on the dock posing (Justin and Dakota).
- At the very end, a couple is leaning in close to each other before someone interrupts them by showing up in between them (Gwen and Trent are interrupted by Cody in the original while Mike and Zoey are interrupted by Chef in the second one).
- Total Drama: Revenge of the Island is the only 13-episode season to feature a full-length opening sequence.
- The intern who wipes off Dakota's lipstick on the camera lens during the fourth opening has Duncan/Cody's Camp TV design.
- In the ending campfire scene for the Total Drama: Revenge of the Island intro, Dakota is the only contestant sitting on a barrel of toxic waste. This foreshadows her fate later in the season.
- The first four contestants to appear in the Total Drama: Pahkitew Island intro are coincidentally the first four members of Pimâpotew Kinosewak to be eliminated.
- The reason for the opening sequence to be shortened from one minute to twenty seconds for both Total Drama All-Stars and Total Drama: Pahkitew Island was that, according to Julie Giles, Cartoon Network felt that its audience wouldn't sit through such a long sequence and requested Fresh TV to reduce it, much to the crew's displeasure.
- This would be later carried on for Total Drama Island (2023) and Total Drama Island (2024) despite the season airing in both Cartoon Network and HBO Max, as Terry McGurrin confirmed ahead of the premiere that CN still dictated how long the sequence would be in spite of how much Fresh TV's employees love the longer opening.
- Before Cartoon Network advised them how long the intro would be for the show's return, McGurrin had previously hinted in early 2022 at the possibility that the opening sequence would have an updated version of the theme song.
- This would be later carried on for Total Drama Island (2023) and Total Drama Island (2024) despite the season airing in both Cartoon Network and HBO Max, as Terry McGurrin confirmed ahead of the premiere that CN still dictated how long the sequence would be in spite of how much Fresh TV's employees love the longer opening.
- Total Drama Island (2023)/Total Drama Island (2024) is the only opening sequence where not all of its contestants have an individual scene (not counting Total Drama World Tour as Blaineley joined the season later on due to a technicality), as Chase, Damien, and Emma are nowhere to be seen until the Campfire Ceremony.
- However, as shown on storyboard panels of the opening leaked alongside Scary Girl's facial expressions, Damien and Emma were originally going to have their own scene, appearing next to a bear.
- Total Drama Island (2024) is the only season to reuse an opening sequence from a previous season, reusing the same opening sequence as Total Drama Island (2023).
Goofs[]
- In the Total Drama World Tour opening, when the contestants appear in front of the plane, Noah's cargo bag is missing, even though his parachute is still visible behind him.
- Also, DJ doesn't have his cargo bag in the same scene.
- When Ezekiel is shown falling at the end of the third theme song, he is not wearing a parachute, but is seen with one after he lands.
- Also, Bridgette overlaps his left hand, even though he's seen falling in front of her.
- In the fourth season's opening, after Chef Hatchet pulls out noise cancelling headphones, puts them on his ears and starts glaring at Staci, he has a full set of teeth.
- In the Total Drama All-Stars opening, the left side of Gwen's hair appears cut off by Duncan's hunched shoulder.
- Also in the Total Drama All-Stars opening, Gwen is shown to have her own jousting stick, however when the scene goes to Duncan and Gwen fighting Courtney, Gwen's stick is gone, and she is using Duncan's stick instead.
- Also in the Total Drama All-Stars opening, when the villains and heroes are about to battle with jousting sticks, Zoey is shown standing in the same boat as Courtney, but afterwards Courtney is alone in her boat.
- In Total Drama: Pahkitew Island's opening, Amy's mole is under her left eye when she turns to Rodney.
- In Total Drama Island (2023)'s opening, during the campfire ceremony, Raj's eyes are looking in different directions.