History CassandraTruth / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In "[[Recap/AmphibiaS2E36TrueColors True Colors]]", Sasha Waybright discovers that [[spoiler:[[Characters/AmphibiaKingAndrias King Andrias]], far from TheGoodKing he presents himself as, [[EvilAllAlong is a vicious tyrant]] looking to use the Calamity Box to [[MultiversalConqueror invade other dimensions]], including Earth]], but due to her [[CryingWolf history of lies and manipulation]] and being complicit in an ongoing toad coup, alienating Anne and Marcy as a result, her attempts to reveal this fall on deaf ears until it's too late.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In "[[Recap/AmphibiaS2E36TrueColors True Colors]]", [[Characters/AmphibiaSashaWaybright Sasha Waybright]] discovers that [[spoiler:[[Characters/AmphibiaKingAndrias King Andrias]], far from TheGoodKing he presents himself as, [[EvilAllAlong is a vicious tyrant]] looking to use the Calamity Box to [[MultiversalConqueror invade other dimensions]], including Earth]], but due to her [[CryingWolf history of lies and manipulation]] and being complicit in an ongoing toad coup, alienating Anne and Marcy as a result, her attempts to reveal this fall on deaf ears until it's too late.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', [[Characters/GravityFallsDipperPines Dipper Pines]] (and to a lesser extent, [[Characters/GravityFallsMabelPines Mabel Pines]]) often try to inform their Grunkle Stan about the weird goings on in the town, but Stan always brushes the claims off as them being imaginative kids – even when he's literally confronted with a bottomless pit or pterodactyls.[[note]]In the latter case, his retort is that dinosaurs aren't supernatural, they're just big lizards.[[/note]] [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, as he's ''perfectly aware'' of the odd stuff, and his feigning ignorance was him hoping that they would get the hint and stop chasing the supernatural.]]

** [[Characters/PhineasAndFerbCandaceFlynn Candace Flynn]] suffers from a severe psychosis because she can't convince her mother that her little brothers make a habit of violating the laws of common sense, physics, or current technological progress. Every time she tries to expose them, some [[ContrivedCoincidence remarkably convenient plot device]] eliminates the evidence just as their mother arrives on the scene. Her mother has commented on this being a delusion, making it reasonably close to an accurate adaptation of the [[Creator/{{Homer}} original portrayal]].

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', cartoons featuring Chicken Boo revolve around this concept. Chicken Boo, a giant chicken wearing human clothes, shows up as a renowned expert in some field. [[OnlySaneMan Exactly one person]] immediately sees through the PaperThinDisguise and is exasperated that no one else will believe that "He's a chicken, I tell you, a giant chicken!" In one of the first Chicken Boo stories, "The Man with no Personality", it's possible that the townsfolk thought the Cassandra-Man of the story was accusing Boo of being a ''coward''.

'''Clark:''' ''[looks side to side, then beckons her closer]'' Well Lois, the truth is I'm actually [[ClarkKenting Superman in disguise]] and I only pretend to be a journalist to hear about disasters as they happen and then squeeze you out of the byline.\\
'''Lois:''' You're a sick man, Kent.\\
'''Clark:''' You asked.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In "[[Recap/AmphibiaS2E36TrueColors True Colors]]", [[Characters/AmphibiaSashaWaybright Sasha Waybright]] discovers that [[spoiler:King Andrias, far from TheGoodKing he presents himself as, [[EvilAllAlong is a vicious tyrant]] looking to use the Calamity Box to [[MultiversalConqueror invade other dimensions]], including Earth]], but due to her [[CryingWolf history of lies and manipulation]] and since she's complicit in an ongoing toad coup and has just alienated Anne and Marcy as a result, her attempts to reveal this fall on deaf ears until it's too late.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In "True Colors", Sasha discovers that [[spoiler:King Andrias, far from TheGoodKing he presents himself as, [[EvilAllAlong is a vicious tyrant]] looking to use the Calamity Box to [[MultiversalConqueror invade other dimensions]], including Earth]], but due to her [[CryingWolf history of lies and manipulation]] and since she's complicit in an ongoing toad coup and has just alienated Anne and Marcy as a result, her attempts to reveal this fall on deaf ears until it's too late.

** In Jet's first appearance, Sokka also went through this while trying to convince Aang and Katara that [[spoiler:Jet planned on [[WhatTheHellHero wiping out a village]] just to take out some Fire Nation soldiers stationed there.]] Jet's plan would have worked as even the towns people didn't believe him until the elderly man that Sokka saved earlier backed him up.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Korra tries to tell the Earth Kingdom military guys that are imprisoning her that Zaheer wants to kill the Queen, but they don't listen to her because she says (paraprashing), "a terrorist in the Spirit World told me".
** Also happens to Mako when investigating an explosion everyone attributes to the Northern Water Tribe but which he believes [[spoiler: Varrick]] is behind. Leads to him being thrown in prison due to a FrameUp.

* At the end of the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' "Riddled", after the Riddler has been taken into custody, he tells Chief Rojas that Detective Yin is working with Batman. Rojas calls him a lunatic and tells the other officers to get him out of his sight. (Rojas had a good reason not to believe him; he had not seen Batman at all during the whole crisis, and had no idea that the hero was involved, so by his reasoning, the idea that the criminal could know something like that was absurd.) Riddler had, of course, given a riddle. Rojas ordered Yin to solve it, prompting her to flat out state "Riddler says it's me," instead of trying to mislead him.

** In "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne", Hugo Strange discovered Batman's identity. When he tried to reveal it to the Joker, the Penguin, and Two-Face, all three thought the idea of Batman being Bruce Wayne was absurd. (The Joker's reply was, "And people say ''I'm'' crazy!") Two-Face said he didn't believe it because he knew Wayne and figured he would have known if Wayne were Batman. Indeed, as Harvey Dent he was a close friend of Bruce (and apparently took his SecretIdentity at face value).
** "The Man Who Killed Batman": [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Charmingly inept]] crook Sidney Debris becomes famous throughout the underworld for [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin killing Batman]] ([[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt not]]) -- but his fame attracts [[KlingonPromotion thugs who want to claim his title]] and a [[AntagonistInMourning murderously angry Joker]]. Unfortunately, when he goes to [[TheDon Rupert Thorne]] for help, his story only convinces the latter that he's [[ObfuscatingStupidity playing dumb]] to get him.

** In ''There's A Batman in My Basement,'' two kids save Batman from the Penguin. They take Batman to their basement to recuperate. When the kids are asked what they are doing, one of them matter of factly replies: "We just saved Batman's life Ms. Grant. Now we're hiding him from some bad criminals." Ms. Grant, thinking they're playing around, says "That's good. Just don't make a mess."

** "Sneak Peak" has a JerkAss reporter who can pass through walls managing to get video of Bruce Wayne working with his protege, Neo Gotham's new Batman, Terry [=McGinnis=]. When Terry sees their pixelated faces on the news and his family excitedly gathering around the TV to find out just ''who'' Batman is, he feels that it would be better if they hear it from him rather than some gossip news reporter who got lucky. They ''laugh in his face''.
** "The Winning Edge" had Terry investigating the use of [[FantasticDrug slappers]] by several athletes in his high school. He steals several slappers from the locker of an athlete named Mason, intending to have Bruce Wayne analyze them, only to have the slappers fall out of his backpack. Terry truthfully insists that he found them in someone else's locker, but between that being a farfetched excuse and Terry being tired and irritable lately (due to his work as Batman), his mother doesn't believe him and grounds him. [[ClearTheirName Thankfully, Bruce runs a blood test that clears him.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', Dipper (and to a lesser extent, Mabel) often try to inform their Grunkle Stan about the weird goings on in the town, but Stan always brushes the claims off as them being imaginative kids – even when he's literally confronted with a bottomless pit or pterodactyls.[[note]]In the latter case, his retort is that dinosaurs aren't supernatural, they're just big lizards.[[/note]] [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, as he's ''perfectly aware'' of the odd stuff, and his feigning ignorance was him hoping that they would get the hint and stop chasing the supernatural.]]

** Candace suffers from a severe psychosis because she can't convince her mother that her little brothers make a habit of violating the laws of common sense, physics, or current technological progress. Every time she tries to expose them, some [[ContrivedCoincidence remarkably convenient plot device]] eliminates the evidence just as their mother arrives on the scene. Her mother has commented on this being a delusion, making it reasonably close to an accurate adaptation of the [[Creator/{{Homer}} original portrayal]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': In the episode "Identity Crisis", Venom has revealed that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. The common reactions throughout the large cast of the show are laughter, disbelief, and momentary consideration ("it would explain a lot...").

** One noticeable example where just after Zim claimed himself to be a human at school, his giant alien boss comes through the ceiling and jetpacks with him away. Dib tries to finally get the students to open their eyes but all they noticed is the bird poop that just landed on Dib's head.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cathedral}}'': Master Guillaume warns Bishop Gervais that the stones from his family's quarry are of low quality and unsuitable for use in the construction of such a great cathedral as Notre Dame de Beaulieu. [[spoiler:These same stones kill him later on, just as he had warned.]]

-->'''Splinter*in-Shredder's body*:''' Wait! (the Turtles ready to fight) you must listen to me.\\

* The ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatJoeOriolo'' episode "Felix and Vavoom Go Fishing"(1960) is built around a combination of this and the Aesop Fable "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf".

** When [=SpongeBob=] pulled out the Golden Spatula in "Neptune's Spatula", Neptune laughs every time someone says he pulled it out because he wasn't the type of fry cook he imagined would be. When Patrick showed Neptune the picture he took of [=SpongeBob=] pulling out the spatula as proof, Neptune relents, but still refuses to let [=SpongeBob=] cook for him because he thinks he lacks any quality of a royal fry cook.
** In "I'm With Stupid", [=SpongeBob=] pretends to be stupid so Patrick can appear smart for his visiting parents; unfortunately, [[BelievingTheirOwnLies Patrick begins to believe [=SpongeBob=] really is stupid]], and when he tries to remind him it was their plan, Patrick just assumes [=SpongeBob=] was imagining. When [=SpongeBob=] goes to confess to his parents that he's not really stupid, they just take it as Patrick teaching him to cooperate and laugh, prompting [=SpongeBob=] to scream in frustration and run out.

** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E11 Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost]]", Squidward finally confesses to [=SpongeBob=] he was never a ghost and was just pretending to mess with him, only for [[IdiotHero [=SpongeBob=]]] to assume he is simply in denial about being a ghost and needs to be sent to the afterlife to rest.

* At the end of the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' "Riddled", after the Riddler has been taken into custody, he tells Chief Rojas that Detective Yin is working with Batman. Rojas calls him a lunatic and tells the other officers to get him out of his sight. (Rojas had a good reason not to believe him; he had not seen Batman at all during the whole crisis, and had no idea that the hero was involved, so by his reasoning, the idea that the criminal could know something like that was absurd.)
** Riddler had, of course, given a riddle. Rojas ordered Yin to solve it, prompting her to flat out state "Riddler says it's me," instead of trying to mislead him.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has a JerkAss reporter who can pass through walls managing to get video of Bruce Wayne working with his protege, Neo Gotham's new Batman, Terry [=McGinnis=]. When Terry sees their pixelated faces on the news and his family excitedly gathering around the TV to find out just ''who'' Batman is, he feels that it would be better if they hear it from him rather than some gossip news reporter who got lucky. They ''laugh in his face''.
** And an earlier episode had Terry investigating the use of [[FantasticDrug slappers]] by several athletes in his high school. He steals several slappers from the locker of an athlete named Mason, intending to have Bruce Wayne analyze them, only to have the slappers fall out of his backpack. Terry truthfully insists that he found them in someone else's locker, but between that being a farfetched excuse and Terry being tired and irritable lately (due to his work as Batman), she doesn't believe him and grounds him. [[ClearTheirName Thankfully, Bruce runs a blood test that clears him.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'': Huey frequently warns those around him when danger is afoot, but no one ever listens to him, though he is aware of this and has a folder made specially for the instances where they do decide to listen to him titled [[DeadpanSnarker "I told you so"]].
** Huey is very much a ConspiracyTheorist and is often inadvertently CryingWolf. You can't blame people most of the time.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.''
** Subverted when Princess Celestia responds to Twilight Sparkle's discovery that SealedEvilInACan Nightmare Moon is about to escape her confinement by telling her to get her head out of her books long enough to make some friends. Ultimately, though, the case proves to be that Celestia knew that Twilight was the one in the best position to defeat Nightmare Moon, and sent her to a place she would potentially make the friends she needed to fully use the Elements of Harmony.
** Later played straight in "Swarm of the Century". While everyone else is trying to drive the Parasprites out of town, Pinkie Pie is running around looking for instruments, without telling anypony why. At first she's just passed off as being [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} 'typical Pinkie Pie']], and eventually yelled at for getting in the way… until it turns out the only way to get rid of the Parasprites is [[Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin to lure them away with music]]. Of course, it didn't help that Pinkie never actually told anyone what she was doing...
** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] in the season 2 finale. Twilight feels that Princess Cadance isn't acting like the Cadance she's known since she was a filly. Her friends don't believe anything is wrong. After Twilight witnessing Cadance perform a spell on her brother, she is convinced that Cadence is evil. [[spoiler:Turns out the Princess Cadance that had been preparing for the wedding was the Changeling Queen in disguise.]]

** In "I'm With Stupid", [=SpongeBob=] pretends to be stupid so Patrick can appear smart for his visiting parents; unfortunately, [[BelievingTheirOwnLies Patrick begins to believe [=SpongeBob=] really is stupid]], and when he tries to remind them it was their plan, Patrick just assumes [=SpongeBob=] was imagining. When [=SpongeBob=] goes to confess to his parents that he's not really stupid, they just take it as Patrick teaching him to cooperate and laugh, prompting [=SpongeBob=] to scream in frustration and run out.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E11 Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost]]", Squidward finally confesses to [=SpongeBob=] he was never a ghost and was just pretending to mess with him, only for [[IdiotHero [=SpongeBob=]]] to assume he is simply in denial about being a ghost and needs to be sent to the afterlife to rest.

* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': In "The Floating Palace", when Sofia tells her family that her mermaid friend Oona was kidnapped by a sea monster (actually Cedric in disguise), they don't believe her and brush it off as the mermaid story she read in her book. She asks Clover and Farley for help instead, who readily believe her because Clover was there when Sofia first met Oona.

** Later played straight in "Swarm of the Century". While everyone else is trying to drive the Parasprites out of town, Pinkie Pie is running around looking for instruments. At first she's just passed off as being [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} 'typical Pinkie Pie']], and eventually yelled at for getting in the way… until it turns out the only way to get rid of the Parasprites is [[Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin to lure them away with music]]. Of course, it didn't help that Pinkie never actually told anyone what she was doing...

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''

** In "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne", Hugo Strange discovered Batman's identity. When he tried to reveal it to the Joker, the Penguin, and Two-Face, all three thought the idea of Batman being Bruce Wayne was absurd. (The Joker's reply was, "And people say ''I'm'' crazy!")
*** Two-Face said he didn't believe it because he ''knew'' Wayne and figured he would have known if Wayne were Batman. Indeed, as Harvey Dent he ''had'' been a close friend of Bruce (and apparently took his RichIdiotWithNoDayJob persona at face value).

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'' episode "[[Recap/TheProudFamilyS2E22ThelmaAndLuis Thelma and Luis]]", when Papi is sent to a nursing home called Happy Endings, he learns it's not a real nursing home after his family leaves, but a front for an illegal okra plantation where the residents are enslaved. The kids learn the truth the next day, but when they return with their parents to investigate, they don't believe them ([[PoliceAreUseless bonus points for Papi's daughter-in-law, Sunset, a police officer]]), because the staff had already hidden any and all evidence supporting their claims. [[spoiler:However, of the adults, only Suga Mama believes the kids; what tipped her off about Happy Endings being a scam was the Boulevardez family's trait of having abnormally big feet ([[ContinuityNod as noted in an earlier episode]], [[Recap/TheProudFamilyS1E14LoveThyNeighbor "Love Thy Neighbor"]]), and the feet of the Papi they saw being pampered, who was, in fact, a staff member disguised as him to cover up the operation, were way too small.]]

* ''CassandraTruth/SouthPark'':