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Closing credits

Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the background or a black screen. Credits may crawl either right-to-left (common in U.K. television programs) or bottom-to-top (common in films and U.S. television). The term credit roll comes from the early production days when the names were literally printed on a roll of paper and wound past the camera lens. Sometimes, post-credits scenes or bloopers are added to the end of films along with the closing credits.

History

The use of closing credits in film to list complete production crew and cast was not firmly established in American film until the 1970s. Before this decade, most movies were released with no closing credits at all. Films generally had opening credits only, which consisted of just major cast and crew. Two of the first major films to contain extensive closing credits were the blockbusters Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and West Side Story (1961).

As in motion pictures, most television programs until relatively recently did not list the entire cast and crew.

Humorous credits

Some closing credits include out-takes. Sometimes a parting scene is edited in after the credits conclude as a final joke. For example, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris appears and says "You're still here? ... Go home!" The Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker films have included fictional production members, credits unrelated to the movie ("Author of A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens"), cooking recipes and song lyrics in their closing credits, while Monty Python have included credits for ridiculous and non-existent production staff. On some occasions, the filmmakers will have a character come back and pop in during the credits to see the goings-on (a noted example is Finding Nemo, in which several characters interact with the credits like they are physical objects. Another noteworthy example is Daffy Duck appearing in the credits of Gremlins 2: The New Batch complaining about how long they run). On other occasions additional scenes to advance the storyline (as in Wild Things, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) or set up sequels (as in Transformers and Iron Man) may occur after the credits roll. The closing credits for the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King have sketches of the characters and the actors who portrayed them.

Sometimes the closing credits include bloopers. This was spoofed in the closing credits of A Bug's Life, with shots of the animated characters fumbling their lines or knocking over the scenery. This tradition has carried over to other Pixar films, including Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.

On Father's Day, Big Brother UK credits everyone using their father's name. For example, Steve Jones would be billed as "Adam Jones' son."