Here are 100 ideas for camp themes taken from movies, TV, games and books.
Based on Books
- Harry Potter
- Camp Half Blood (Percy Jackson)
- Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson)
- Magic Treehouse
- Hunger Games
- Ranger’s Apprentice
- The Brotherband Chronicles
- 39 Clues
- Middle Earth (Lord of the Rings)
- Young Knights of the Roundtable
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid
- Alice in Wonderland
- Pooh’s Corner
- Around the World in 80 Days
- Bridge to Terabithia
- Cinder
- A Christmas Carol
- Robinhood
- Treasure Island
- Narnia
- The Musketeers
- Artemis Fowl
- Young Bond
- Trapped in a Video Game
- Where the Wild Things Are
- The Elemental Origins
- The Boxcar Children
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- Mouse’s Secret Club
- RJ – Boy Detective
- Rebekah – Girl Detective
- Quest Chasers
- Allan Quartermain
- The Martian
Based on Comic Books and Graphic Novels
- Marvel Specific (superheroes)
- DC Specific (superheroes)
- Rapunzel’s Revenge
- I Am Albert Einstein
- Amelia Rules
Based on Feature Films
- Incredibles (Pixar)
- Star Wars
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- The Mummy
- Mission Impossible
- Minions (Despicable Me)
- Toy Story (Pixar)
- Cars (Pixar)
- Jumanji
- Moana
- Finding Nemo (Pixar)
- Brave (Pixar)
- Goonies
- Frozen
- National Treasure
- Sky High
- Aliens vs Cowboys
Based on TV Shows and Movies
- Smurfs
- Descendants
- Avatar (The Last Airbender and Korra)
- The Librarian
- The Last Airbender
- American Ninja Warrior
- Amazing Race
- The Crystal Maze
- Project Runway
- Cha$e
- Shark Tank
- America’s Got Talent
- Mythbusters
- Dr. Who
- Wild Kratts
- Planet Earth
- Backyard Science
- Out of the Wild
- The Colony
- Glee
- Scooby Doo Mysteries
- Adventure Time
Based on Video Games
- Super Mario Bros.
- The Oregon Trail
- Minecraft
- Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Based on Tabletop Games
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Settlers of Catan
- Pokemon
- Ticket to Ride
- Pandemic
- Clue
General
- Fairy Tales (general)
- Lego
- Disney Princesses
- Nickelodeon
- Olympics
- Game Show Mania
- YouTube Frenzy
- Anime Madness
- ComiCamp
- Zombie Survival
- Tabletop Games Come to Life
- Superheroes
Disclaimer
Obviously, these are properties of movie production companies, publishers, authors, gaming companies, etc. In a perfect world you should get permission before using them. How? Don’t ask me. I have tried and failed numerous times to get permission for themes I have used. It’s not that I am told “No”, it’s that I cannot seem to ever find the right person to ask. If I get a response at all (and I usually don’t) it’s to tell me that they (the person I originally contacted) don’t know who I should contact for permission. However, that never stopped me from going forward with one of these themes. That said, I was always ready to receive a cease and desist letter. Fortunately, I never got one in all the years I ran a theme camp like this, and I have used themes like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Marvel Superheroes, Disney, Fear Factor, Amazing Race, Alice in Wonderland and more. I fact, of all the camps that run theme weeks based on one of these themes, I have only heard of one program that has gotten a cease and desist letter. It was a martial arts studio that decided to call their camp “Jedi Camp”. They were simply instructed by LucasFilm not to use the word “Jedi”.
Through my research and talking with those in the know (camp professionals, lawyers and staff of a certain book publisher), I have learned that there are a few of things you should and shouldn’t do when using one of these themes (especially if it involves a movie production company)…
- DO NOT use a trademarked word , like “Jedi”. Then again, I know of three camps that currently advertise as “Harry Potter” camps, and they have yet to run into any issues in all the years they have been in business.
- This one is very important! DO NOT use ANY images from movies, TV shows, video games or books in your marketing materials (including your website). Unless you heavily change the look of the image, this is a big no-no. I never used any images that I did not create myself in my marketing materials.
- DO use a disclaimer in your marketing materials (including your website) that says something like “These are unofficial, children’s summer camp programs. They are in no way endorsed, sanctioned, or in any other way supported, directly or indirectly by any film production company, book publisher, author or their representatives. Rights to characters and their images on this site are neither claimed nor implied. The use of photographs and/or the likeness of any person contained herein does not imply endorsement of any kind. Any depictions were obtained through publicly available sources and therefore fall under fair use.” I’m not suggesting this is a license to use whatever trademarked or copyrighted material you want (it’s not), but it makes it clear that you are not endorsed by the company who holds those trademarks and copyrights, and that’s important to let the public know.
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