History DarkAndTroubledPast / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/FreeWilly'': In the pilot episode, Marlene reveals to Jesse that the reason why she became a marine biologist is because she had a pet otter called Whiskers, which died due to being fatally intoxicated by an oil spill near the waters where it was swimming.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'': At first, Denzel Crocker had a life [[{{Foil}} similar to Timmy's]]: he had a neglectful mother who left him with an abusive babysitter. He also had fairy godparents [[spoiler:(Cosmo and Wanda, in fact)]], which he used to do good things for people. The end came when he lost his godparents: he forgot all his happy memories, the town shunned him because they forgot all the good things he did, he became obsessed with proving fairies exist thanks to a note he left himself, causing him to lose his sanity, he was laughed out of his college for promoting fairies, and he lost [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Waxelplax because of his obsession]]. Yeah, not very fun.

** [[AntiHero Zuko]]: [[AbusiveParents father]] always favoured Azula over [[TheUnFavorite him]], and then planned to murder him to get the throne. His loving {{m|issingMom}}other sacrificed her life/freedom to prevent this. He, one day, speaks out against a horrible plan, and his own father burns his face for insolence. He then gets banished and put on a SnipeHunt for the Avatar. Needless to say, he's the MrFanservice of the series.

** Katara and Sokka: mother killed in a Fire Nation raid when they were little, and their father and all the men of the tribe left three years prior to the show's start. This left Katara with abandonment issues, and Sokka feeling that he wasn't good enough as a warrior. They may not show the effects as much as Zuko does, but it catches up to them later on (Sokka risks his ass breaking into a Fire Nation prison, Katara has her dark night of the soul tracking down her mother's killer).

** The one who takes the cake when it comes to dark and troubled backstories, is however [[spoiler: ''Stan'']]! He [[spoiler:had a twin brother, Ford, who was his best friend, who left him to attain a prestigious university, and after Stan accidentically ruined his project, he was thrown out of his home ''at seventeen years old.'' He was told he wasn't welcome until he made a fortune,]] which explains his greediness.[[spoiler:And that's just one part of the story: It's revealed the Shack was once Ford's, but after he accidentically disappeared though a interdimensional portal, Stan tried for ''thirty years'' to get him back.]] That's a dark backstory and then some more.

* Used for comedic effect with Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. In just about any plan he concocts, there is some backstory he explains to Agent P -- most of his history is cringingly dark and troubled: His parents didn't even show up for his birth, he had to stand in for the broken garden gnome, got disowned by his parents, grew up with ocelots... In addition his brother, who is mayor of Danville right now, always was preferred by his mother -- to ridiculous extents.

** Sarah Lynn: She had a [[StageMom manipulative mother]] who tore down her dreams of going to college and [[ICouldaBeenAContender becoming an architect]] as early as age six. Mind you, this dream continued into her adult years. She received horrible and fairly frightening advice from [=BoJack=], her father on Horsin' Around and [[ParentalSubstitute father by proxy]] due to her unexplained DisappearedDad. Her bear stepfather was heavily implied to be [[PaedoHunt sexually abusive,]] some hints being her ability to distinguish the taste of bear fur, his homeschooling her and [[ThatSoundsFamiliar being a photographer]], straight-up being designed in a similar fashion to Terry Richardson, and her [[OedipusComplex Electra complex]] shades. She lived her teenage years in misery, giving all she could to others and not getting anything back, eventually including from [=BoJack=], the only genuine friend she figured she had left. She winds up a depressed, nihilistic, narcissistic, [[AddledAddict addict.]]

** [=BoJack=] Horseman: His parents were profoundly abusive, to the point of him expressing he was terrified of them in "Free Churro." He was pressured into being 'the best' by his mother, the idea of being 'the best' continuing to haunt him, even after his hit sitcom. In addition, she forced him to smoke an entire cigarette as a punishment for taking one puff after seeing his hero, Secretariat, take a drag on television when he was ~9yrs/o. His father tore down everything he worked hard one and had very backwards ideals. He tore down a treehouse [=BoJack=] built himself while he was at summer camp because he used "wimpy Jewish nails instead of hardy Christian screws" and was constantly having affairs. [=BoJack's=] not leaving Horsin' Around when Herb was fired continues to haunt him. He winds up a depressed, nihilistic, narcissistic, alcoholic.

** [[spoiler:Fiddleford "Old Man" McGucket]], especially when you take ''Literature/GravityFallsJournal3'' into account. First, he seems like a village idiot type, besides the fact that he’s trying to spend time with his estranged son. But after Season Two and the release of Journal 3, we learn: [[spoiler:he grew up in poverty in Tennessee before going to Backupsmore University and meeting Stanford Pines. Years later, Fiddleford reunites with Ford in Gravity Falls to work on the Portal, leaving a family behind in Palo Alto. But he also has an anxiety disorder, which worsens during his work with Ford and after attacks by the Greimoblin and the Shapeshifter. And when he gets concerned about the portal’s safety, Ford refuses to listen. Despite Ford’s attempts to help him, it gets worse after the portal test goes wrong, with Fiddleford getting sucked in. He starts wiping his memories with a memory erasing gun he invented and soon creates a cult that wipes people’s memories of the supernatural in the town. Unfortunately, he uses the gun too much and goes ''completely insane.'' Luckily, he gets better with the help of Dipper and Mabel, regains his sanity and reconciles with Ford and his son.]]

* Mr. Cat from ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' is heavily implied to have had one of these. Most of it is a NoodleIncident, but what the show has revealed is [[AlcoholicParent an alcoholic father]], [[BigBrotherBully two abusive older brothers]] who were so cruel he had to run away from home, and the death of one or more loved ones.
-->'''Mr. Cat''': As a kitten, I was tied up in a sack and thrown into a rushing river...

** Sarah Lynn: She had a [[StageMom manipulative mother]] who tore down her dreams of going to college and [[ICouldaBeenAContender becoming an architect]] as early as age six. Mind you, this dream continued into her adult years. She received horrible and fairly frightening advice from [=BoJack=], her father on Horsin' Around and [[ParentalSubstitute father by proxy]] due to her unexplained DisappearedDad. Her bear stepfather was heavily implied to be [[PaedoHunt sexually abusive,]] some hints being her ability to distinguish the taste of bear fur, his homeschooling her and [[ThatSoundsFamiliar being a photographer]], straight-up being designed in a similar fashion to Terry Richardson, and her ElectraComplex shades. She lived her teenage years in misery, giving all she could to others and not getting anything back, eventually including from [=BoJack=], the only genuine friend she figured she had left. She winds up a depressed, nihilistic, narcissistic, [[AddledAddict addict.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez has been through a lot in his life, to the point where he is numb to pretty much everything. It's also hinted that he had a troubled relationship with his parents who were unsupportive of him. He also had a marriage that failed, resulting in his disappearance. [[spoiler:The season five finale, "Rickmurai Jack", reveals that the part about his marriage was a lie -- Rick actually had a happy marriage until an AlternateUniverse version of himself killed his wife and daughter because our Rick was willing to give up science to focus on being a father. Rick spent ''years'' trying to find that one Rick to kill, only to end up fighting a literal army of his alternate selves until he completely burned out. He eventually set up the Citadel to get them to stock attacking him, and moved to a universe where the native Rick had abandoned his wife and daughter so he could try to have a family, but is so jaded from his past that he can't really be a good parent/grandparent]].

** It is revealed that [[spoiler: Beatrice threw a rock at a bluebird, and as retribution the bluebird cursed her and her entire family to also [[BalefulPolymorph be bluebirds]]. Beatrice feels so guilty about this that she volunteers to do the bidding of a witch in return for the witch turning her and her family human again. She also refuses to see her family again until she knows she can undo the curse]].

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez has been through a lot in his life, to the point where he is numb to pretty much everything. It's also hinted that he had a troubled relationship with his parents who were unsupportive of him. He also had a marriage that failed, resulting in his disappearance.

* Used for comedic effect with Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. In just about any plan he concocts, there is some backstory he explains to Agent P -- most of his history is cringingly dark and troubled: His parents didn't even show up for his birth, he had to stand in for the broken garden gnome, got disowned by his parents, grew up with ocelots... In addition his brother, who is mayor of Danville right now, always was preferred by his mother -- to [[UpToEleven ridiculous extents]].