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We’ve all got a favourite type of tv programme, film or song.

Maybe you’re a die-hard rom-com fan or perhaps classical music is your thing. You might be hooked on sci-fi or a big fan of musicals.

But what about those cross-overs that blend two different genres together? Or those trailblazing performances that break the mould and innovate on screens or stage?

����tv Bitesize takes a look at five genre-busting performances.

1 – WALL-E

An animated film about a cute robot who has to save mankind sounds like a sure-fire cinematic hit.

But making the first half of that film effectively a silent movie?

Disney and Pixar’s 2008 film went back to the origins of cinema by producing an opening 35 minutes that featured virtually no dialogue whatsoever.

On paper – particularly with the attention span of young children – this shouldn’t have worked, but audiences were treated to a charming, if unusual opening to the film.

The relationship between WALL-E and EVE (a robot sent to Earth in search of signs the planet could sustain life again), interspersed with clips of the 1969 musical comedy Hello Dolly (another atypical choice for a children’s film) delighted viewers and critics alike, with the film winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

2 – Hamilton

If you think of classic West End or Broadway musicals, epic songs in the Andrew Lloyd Webber style might come to mind.

But one of the biggest musical hits of all time takes its influences from hip hop.

Hamilton, which premiered in 2015, tells the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, through rap, hip hop and R&B songs. Written by Lin Manuel Miranda, the musical takes inspiration from artists such as Eminem, Beyonce and Alicia Keys, who were among those Miranda was listening to as he created the show's songs.

That influence is shown throughout the show. For example, the musical's opening number, 'Alexander Hamilton', sees Aaron Burr ask Hamilton "What's your name, man?" on multiple occasions, while 'My Shot' sees Hamilton spell his name out during a rap. Both are nods to techniques featured in rap and hip-hop classics.

It’s not the first time Miranda has used rap on Broadway – his musical In the Heights, which had its Broadway debut in 2008, also featured hip hop.

Hamilton also broke ground in the nature of its casting – with a number of BAME talent playing white characters. Miranda said the show was “about America then, by America now” and the diverse casting approach was replicated for the West End version, which opened in 2017.

3 – The Good Place

If you think of your favourite sitcoms, they’ve probably all got a simple backstory.

Friends is just a group of mates hanging out, The Office is a workplace drama and Modern Family is, as the title suggests, the hijinks of a 21st Century family unit.

But what about an existential comedy centered in ethics and philosophy?

That was the premise for the smash-hit US comedy The Good Place, which was first broadcast in 2016. But while other shows had ethical discussions, this programme actually featured the characters undergoing lessons in philosophy, with huge parts of the storylines dedicated to discussing genuine philosophical theories in depth.

Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative featured prominently in the first season – with the characters discussing Kant’s theory that we all must always follow an unwavering moral code, regardless of any other situational variables.

In the second season, the characters talk about Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of double effect (the principle that you can act in a way that has an immoral consequence, provided your original intentions were moral) while in the third season, John Locke’s theory of personal identity (that our identities are based upon our memories) provides the backdrop to an episode.

Despite some of the fairly complicated theories and texts used within the show, it proved to be a hugely popular comedy, winning a number of awards throughout its four season run.

4 – Mario 64

Not just genre-busting, this one is also genre-redefining.

In 2020, the pint-sized plumber Mario celebrated his 35th anniversary of running, jumping, shooting fireballs and occasionally flying on our screens.

The iconic Nintendo character’s life began in a series of battles with Donkey Kong before his first main console adventure, the 1985 release of Super Mario Bros for the NES.

The game, along with its subsequent NES sequels and the SNES debut, Super Mario World, had the basic functionality of a side-scrolling platformer – with the aim to get Mario, or Luigi, from one end of the level to the other, often within a time limit.

Then, in 1996, Nintendo changed Mario and gaming forever with the release of their new console, the Nintendo 64. The gaming machine was more powerful than its predecessor and its launch title, Mario 64, saw the plumber in 3D for the first time.

This revolutionised the traditional platform game – placing Mario in an open-world environment. Gamers had the power to move Mario in any direction they wanted, to follow a traditional storyline order of levels, or to take on the game in a non-linear fashion.

Although the game is almost 25 years old, its popularity still lives on today after a re-release in 2020 and a number of modern games – including the controversial Grand Theft Auto – were inspired by Mario’s first steps into 3D.

5 – Cameroon national football team

For more than a century, football kits had essentially stayed the same.

Jerseys have become much more lightweight and breathable (wool shirts are thankfully a thing of the past) and players take to the field in far fewer accessories than the sport's early days required - you're unlikely to see anyone wearing a belt and braces in the Premier League.

But throughout, the style has been pretty consistent - a short or long sleeved shirt, shorts, socks and boots.

And then, in the 21st Century, came the Indomitable Lions.

Cameroon have been one of the most trailblazing African footballing nations on the international stage - qualifying for the World Cup more than any other African nation – a record eight times – and also the first from the continent to reach the quarter-final stage, back in the 1990 tournament in Italy.

They’ve also been one of the few teams to have kits banned from the biggest sporting stage – not once, but twice.

In 2002, kit designers Puma busted the genre of football shirts by removing the sleeves – kitting the team out in basketball style jerseys. It proved to be a lucky omen for the nation, who won the African Cup of Nations in February, before Fifa banned the strip for the World Cup – forcing some hastily sewn sleeves to be added.

Two years later, Cameroon broke the mould again, appearing at the 2004 African Cup of Nations in football’s equivalent of a onesie – an all-in-one shirt and shorts combo that looked more like an Olympic cyclist’s kit than a footballer’s.

Fifa once again weren’t happy and threatened to ban the kit, but Cameroon defied them to wear it anyway, getting knocked out in the quarter-finals. They were later heavily fined and docked World Cup qualification points, with the points sanction later overturned.

In the years that have followed, Cameroon's kits have, sadly for keen followers of fashion, remained fairly traditional. Maybe we will see another cross-over sport kit at the next World Cup - cricket flannels or swimming trunks anyone?