History BreakoutCharacter / WesternAnimation

* The Chipettes from ''Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks''. After their first appearance in the [[WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks '80s cartoon]], they have become so popular and get more and more screentime overtime in the series becoming regular characters, which helped them to become {{Canon Immigrant}}s. Now the Chipettes are integral part of the franchise and appear in all media.

* [[Characters/DCAUHarleyQuinn Harley Quinn]] of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. Joker's PerkyFemaleMinion who was [[MadLove madly in love with him]]. Despite her sidekick status, she became so popular that she was [[CanonImmigrant brought into the main comic continuity]], where her popularity continued to the point where she's now synonymous with the Joker. By her 20th anniversary, she's become one of the most popular characters in the DC roster, appearing in countless comics and other media as a main character, in everything from the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'', to ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'', to ''Series/BirdsOfPrey2002''. To say nothing of [[ComicBook/HarleyQuinn her own ongoing]] comic and [[WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019 animated series]].
%%* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'':
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample** There's ComicBook/{{AQUAMAN}}, which they even acknowledge in the [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall shattering]] GrandFinale.
%%Needs more context about how role growth.** "The Music Meister" was popular before the episode officially aired; he even has a [[TheMusicMeister trope]] [[TropeNamer named]] in his honour.

* Although in ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' Anne and Sprig are the show's main characters, [[Characters/AmphibiaMarcyWu Marcy Wu]] quickly became the most popular and beloved character despite debuting in the middle of Season 2. She's {{Adorkable}}, clumsy, and a nerdy NiceGirl, but is also a force to be reckon with in combat. One example of her popularity, compare the view counts between [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSjc4JVULo Sasha's Theme Song Takeover]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYPGZ6zSNdw Marcy's Theme Song Takeover]]. She also gets her own book, ''[[Literature/MarcysJournalAGuideToAmphibia Marcy's Journal]]'', which goes into further detail into her experience in Amphibia.

* Along with [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch Stitch]] (as mentioned on [[BreakoutCharacter/{{Film}} the Film page]]), the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise's [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries first animated series]] had its own breakout character: Stitch's DistaffCounterpart and LoveInterest Angel, which is impressive considering she was in only two episodes, with a cameo in a third episode and only a minor role in the franchise's [[WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch last film]]. Her breakout status was first established when a 2004 Creator/DisneyChannel poll on fans' favorite episodes and experiments of ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' showed that she was the most popular one. Since then, [[Anime/{{Stitch}} the anime]] that came afterwards [[AscendedExtra featured her much more often]] (to the point that she had the most appearances among experiments in that show apart from Stitch and Reuben), she was made into a costumed character for the Ride/DisneyThemeParks (and said costume was later given a redesign to be more inline with the Stitch costume design-wise),[[note]]the other experiments apart from her and Stitch to have been made into costumed characters--Felix, Sparky, Sample, Reuben, and 627--still use their original costume designs[[/note]] and she regular appears on lots of merchandise, even in America over seventeen years after the end of ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' and the peak of the franchise's success there. Disney even made a dedicated character page for her on the official Disney Store website for the U.S., [=shopDisney=], and she's even found in video games including ''VideoGame/DisneyTsumTsum'', ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'', ''VideoGame/DisneyHeroesBattleMode'', ''VideoGame/DisneyEmojiBlitz'', and ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm'' (which even brought back [[Creator/TaraStrong her original voice actor]] to [[RoleReprise reprise her role]]). All this have allowed the ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise to defy Disney's tradition of not acknowledging their SequelSeries to [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon their animated films]] years after they ended.

* [[TheLancer Numbuh 5]] from ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''. She was pretty much the TheQuietOne at the beginning of the series, rarely speaking outside of ADayInTheLimelight. However, from her few times actually speaking, revealing her to be the DeadpanSnarker OnlySaneWoman of the team, fans quickly fell in love with her and the crew picked up on this, giving her ''two'' subplots throughout the series (her history with fellow candy hunter Heinrich and her complicated relationship with her sister Cree) to the point where she was pretty much the second main character by the end of the series, with her often being used as the representative for the series in crossovers over her boss.

* Roger from ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' originally started out as an alien who lives with the Smith family as well as being forced to stay within the house and didn't have much major importance to the plot. Later in the series, he was more outgoing through the use of disguises and is one of the more prominent characters. Recently, he's the second most prominent character after Stan, and is now one of the most popular characters on the show.
* Although in ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' Anne and Sprig are the show's main characters, Marcy Wu quickly became the most popular and beloved character despite debuting in the middle of Season 2. She's {{Adorkable}}, clumsy, and a nerdy NiceGirl, but is also a force to be reckon with in combat. One example of her popularity, compare the view counts between [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSjc4JVULo Sasha's Theme Song Takeover]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYPGZ6zSNdw Marcy's Theme Song Takeover]]. She also gets her own book, ''[[Literature/MarcysJournalAGuideToAmphibia Marcy's Journal]]'', which goes into further detail into her experience in Amphibia.

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Tina, the awkward teenage girl who writes erotic fanfiction, likes horses and zombies. Her awkward adorableness as well as her self-confidence in being herself and relatable teenage issues made her become very popular and one of the most focused characters later in the show.

** Parodied in the episode "Bender Should Not Be Allowed On Television", where Bender, nonplussed [[DemotedToExtra with his role as a comatose robot]] on a ShowWithinTheShow [[BadBadActing due to a horrendous audition]], [[LargeHam suddenly busts out and begins chewing up the scenery]] [[AntiRoleModel and engaging in all manner of incorrigible behavior]]. In spite of [[ThrowItIn deviating from the script]] (not to mention that [[TheShowMustGoOn Calculon never does retakes]]), the show finds some of its highest ratings ever, and Bender becomes a sensation.

* Helga Pataki in ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' started out as a HarmlessVillain with a fixation on Arnold before breaking out at some point mid-series. This ultimately led to her character getting a lot more development than Arnold, who became more of a FlatCharacter. As a result, many may argue that by the end, she was the true protagonist. She even had her own spin-off in the works after the show's end, though it didn't pan out.

** Princess Luna, sans [[JekyllAndHyde her time as Nightmare Moon]], was only in the series premiere for only a mention in the opening narration, less than a minute of screentime, and two lines before being absent and unmentioned the rest of the season. She proved very popular with her [[ADayInTheLimelight focus episode]] "Luna Eclipsed" furthered while it and a two cameos in the season finale were her only appearances in Season 2. From Season 3 onwards she would get almost as much screentime and prominence as [[BigGood Princess Celestia]], getting PromotionToOpeningTitles in Season 4.
** Discord first appeared as the BigBad of the two-parter "Return of Harmony" as essentially a chimeric version of [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Q]], and was so awesome that many fans couldn't help but fall in love with him. Although TakenForGranite at the end of his debut, he was revived in Season 3 to be successfully redeemed ([[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor of sorts]]) by Fluttershy and was promoted to recurring character in Season 4. He's proven popular enough to receive a supporting role in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyPonyLife''.

** The main show was originally revolved around Bart, not Homer. Soon enough, Bart not only became one of the most popular characters on the show, but one of the most popular characters in television history. This led to the show's Golden Age and Bart's own golden age, Bartmania. This would lead the character to appear on many merchandise, including shirts, toys, and anything else you can think of. In fact, [[https://content.time.com/time/magazine/archive/covers/1990/1101901231_400.jpg Bart was named one of Time's most influential people of the 20th century.]] Homer would later be the show's main focus, and soon enough the BumblingDad would be very famous too. This [[LikeFatherLikeSon father and son duo]] are still part of one of television's funniest families.

** The main show was originally revolved around Bart, not Homer. Soon enough, Bart not only became one of the most popular characters on the show, but one of the most popular characters in television history. This led to the show's Golden Age and Bart's own golden age, Bartmania. This would lead the character to appear on many merchandise, including shirts, toys, and anything else you can think of. In fact, [[https://content.time.com/time/magazine/archive/covers/1990/1101901231_400.jpg Bart was named one of Time's most influential people of the 20th century.]] Homer would later be the show's main focus, and soon enough the Main/BumblingDad would be very famous too. This [[Main/LikeFatherLikeSon father and son duo]] are still part of one of television's funniest families.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' ruthlessly parodied this concept (along with cheap {{Catchphrase}}s) in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E12BartGetsFamous Bart Gets Famous]]", where Bart accidentally becomes a cast member and breakout star of the Krusty the Clown show. After serving as a last-minute replacement for Sideshow Mel (who gets sick because Bart gave him a sandwich with cheese; Mel is lactose-intolerant), he accidentally destroys the set and says "I didn't do it." That one line makes the entire crowd erupt with laughter, and he quickly gets more roles on the show and tons of merchandise.

*** WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale originally were antagonists for Pluto and later Donald, but soon got their own classic shorts. Kids of the 90's learned to love them from their own animated series, ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', which they are still wildly known for nowadays.

*** WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale originally were antagonists for Pluto and later Donald, but soon got their own classic shorts. Kids of the 90's learned to love them from their own animated series, ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDaleRescueRangers'', which they are still wildly known for nowadays.