History Main / AdaptationalDumbass

* Ben Riley aka [[Characters/MarvelComicsScarletSpider Scarlet Spider]] gets hit with in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' along AdaptationalWimp. In the comics he’s a GeniusBruiser being a clone of Peter and incredibly skilled fighter. Here [[BrainlessBeauty he’s got more muscles than brains]], ThinkingOutLoud to what he sees around him while talking like he’s in a Liefeld comic resulting in him effortlessly falling into Gwen’s trap and being defeated. This was certainly a TakeThat from the filmmakers at ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' as well as NinetiesAntiHero era in general (which are both considered AcceptableTargets) but suffice to say Ben’s fans weren’t amused with the portrayal.

* Carface in ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGotoHeaven2'' (and [[RecycledTheSeries its TV series]]) may as well be a completely different character compared to [[WesternAnimation/AllDogsGotoHeaven his original counterpart]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyAdventuresWithSuperman'' has a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] case in regards to Lois Lane. In most continuities, Lois is able to deduce that Clark Kent is Superman quite easily, though doesn't have the proof to confirm it. Versions of the character who don't figure this out quickly usually have the justification of thinking so little of Clark that she never bothers to notice him and realize the connection. In this show, meanwhile, Lois becomes friends with Clark very quickly after meeting him, yet is completely oblivious to him and Superman being the same person. [[spoiler:That said, she is able to figure it out by the end of episode 4, which is still rather quick]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow'': In the [[VideoGame/{{Cuphead}} game]] Cuphead could do some dumb things due to being impulsive and greedy, but otherwise seemed fairly average in intellgence, while in the show he's a borderline IdiotHero to the extent that [[TooDumbToLive it's a miracle he hadn't killed himself yet]].

* Carface in ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGotoHeaven2'' (and [[RecycledTheSeries its TV series]]) may as well be a completely different character compared to [[WesernAnimation/AllDogsGotoHeaven his original counterpart]].

* Carface in ''AllDogsgotoHeaven 2'' (and [[RecycledTheSeries its TV series]]) may as well be a completely different character compared to [[All Dogs Go to Heaven/his original counterpart]].

* Carface in [[WesternAnimation ''All Dogs go to Heaven 2'']] (and [[RecycledTheSeries its TV series]]) may as well be a completely different character compared to [[All Dogs Go to Heaven/his original counterpart]].

* Carface in ''All Dogs go to Heaven 2'' (and [[RecycledTheSeries its TV series]]) may as well be a completely different character compared to [[All Dogs Go to Heaven/his original counterpart]].

* Carface in ''All Dogs go to Heaven 2'' (and [[RecycledTheSeries/its TV series]]) may as well be a completely different character compared to [[All Dogs Go to Heaven/his original counterpart]].

* While far from perfect in [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} canon]], Ironwood in ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'' makes his canon counterpart look like Einstein. [[CreatorsPest It’s because that author dislikes Atlas]].

* The [[Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse DCEU]] version of Batman. In every other version, there's a reason he's the {{Trope Namer|s}} for the BatmanGambit; in this version he's very easily manipulated by Lex Luthor. Also, Batman's greatest weapon is usually being a master manipulator and being CrazyPrepared. A lot of fans would have trouble believing he would ever face Superman in battle without knowing everything about him, including his mother's name.
** Also from the DCEU is King Shark from ''Film/TheSuicideSquad''; while King Shark has never been a genius in any medium he's appeared in, this one is a childish meathead who only speaks in broken HulkSpeak and has to be herded around from place to place like a small child.

* It's probably safe to say that most of the ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' cast was hit by this in ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'', but none more so than Mario himself. Canon Mario is intelligent enough to qualify for a doctorate and can come up with a cunning plan when needed. The [=SMG4=] take on Mario can't even count and probably qualifies as having brain damage.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow'',In the game Cuphead could do some dumb things due to being impulsive and greedy, but otherwise seemed fairly average in intellgence, while in the show [[TooDumbToLive it's a miracle he hasn't killed himself yet.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDeputyDawgShow''. Rather than a clever trickster, he is made Deputy Dawg's bumbling sidekick.

** Fred in the original series was the smartest member of the gang right next to Velma, if somewhat [[TheGenericGuy generic]], but many adaptations, most notably ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'', ''WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'', turn him into a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. He also started out this way in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' (even taking his fondness for traps even further), but in that show's second season he TookALevelInBadass and got a lot more competent, while ''WesternAnimation/BeCoolScoobyDoo'' sticks closer to his initial portrayal, though he is [[AdaptationalJerkass far more harsher in that show]].

See also AdaptationPersonalityChange. Compare and contrast TookALevelInDumbass, where a character decreases in intellect inside the particular work, and AdaptationalIntelligence, this trope's polar opposite. AdaptationalNonsapience is the more extreme version.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow'',while Cuphead wasn't particularly smart in the game, he wasn't nearly as TooDumbTolive as he is here.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Curbside}}'', an unsuccessful pilot revolving around an AnimatedAnthology starring revamped versions of Creator/{{Terrytoons}} characters, gave this treatment to Muskie Muskrat from ''WesternAnimation/TheDeputyDawgShow''. Rather than a clever trickster, he is made Deputy Dawg's bumbling sidekick.

** Overlapping with {{Flanderization}} but Goku himself tends to get hit with this hard in both anime and manga adaptations of ''Super''. Most of his OlderAndWiser traits from the Buu Saga are chucked in the bin and he’s far, far more of a fight hungry dumbass who does everything from forget Rice Cooker for the Evil Containment for the fight against Zamasu to inciting a multiversal tournament that will result in trillions of lives getting erased from existence and put his own universe in jeopardy. Not to mention not even knowing a what a kiss is or why pregnancy is hard. Granted there is some RevisitingTheRoots at play, as Toriyama never intended Goku to be a mature protagonist but it is still disregarding the CharacterDevelopment he got throughout ''Z'' for the sake of humour.

[[caption-width-right:310:[-Knuckles the Echidna, [[VideoGame/SonicRiders 2008]]: Translator of ancient runes.[softreturn]Knuckles the Echidna, [[WesternAnimation/SonicBoom 2014]]: Illiterate.-]]]

* The [[Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse DCEU]] version of Batman. In every other version, there's a reason he's the TropeNamer for the BatmanGambit; in this version he's very easily manipulated by Lex Luthor. Also, Batman's greatest weapon is usually being a master manipulator and being CrazyPrepared. A lot of fans would have trouble believing he would ever face Superman in battle without knowing everything about him, including his mother's name.

* ''Film/Frankenstein1931'', the Monster is rather infamously hit with this. In the [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} original novel]], he was an fast-learning intellectual who's bilingual and cunning enough to frame someone for murder. In the film, he's a nearly mute brute with an intelligence equivalent to a small child and has trouble even walking right. [[AudienceColoringAdaptation The film's version is much more well-known in pop culture than the novel's]].

* ''Film/Frankenstein1931'', the Monster is rather infamously hit with this. In the [[Literature/{{Literature/Frankenstein}} original novel]], he was an fast-learning intellectual who's bilingual and cunning enough to frame someone for murder. In the film, he's a nearly mute brute with an intelligence equivalent to a small child and has trouble even walking right. [[AudienceColoringAdaptation The film's version is much more well-known in pop culture than the novel's]].

* ''Film/HarryPotter'': A common criticism about the movies is how many of Ron Weasley's scenes in the book changed to turn him into a full comic relief character, and many of his expository dialogues regarding the wizarding world is simply given to Hermione instead.

* Zazu in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994''' is often the butt of slapstick and/or rendered helpless due to his small size (something he's very unhappy about), but he's also quite competent, a trusted advisor to Mufasa, and much wiser than the naive, thrill-seeking Simba. ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019'' dumbs him down into a dopier and more scatterbrained character, to the point where he mistakes ''his own shadow'' for that of a predator's.

* ''Film/GodzillaVsKong -- The Official Movie Novelization'' has an exchange that wasn't present in the finished film: Mark Russell and Director Guillerman can't decide straight away whether they're rooting for Godzilla or Mechagodzilla. This would normally be quite reasonable, except that [[AdaptationalHeroism MonsterVerse Godzilla]] is normally exclusively heroic, whereas Mechagodzilla just ''annihilated'' several blocks of Hong Kong filled with people [[ForTheEvulz because he could]]. The book version also confirms that [[Characters/MonsterVerseFamilies Mark Russell]] hasn't been the best father since Madison started to live with him following her mother's death, whereas the movie only suggested this was the case.

* Ask anyone who only knows the anime adaptation of ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' and they'll probably tell you that [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr.]] is a [[ObliviousToLove romantically challenged]] idiot who's so confused between [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle having feelings for both Meimi and Saint Tail]] that he passes them off as having [[ComicallyMissingThePoint a coincidental resemblance]]. In the manga, this couldn't be further from the truth: a MidSeasonTwist had revealed that [[UnreliableNarrator much of what we'd been led to believe about him was inaccurate]], and the rest of the subplot upgraded him to the {{Deuteragonist}} position as he started catching onto Saint Tail's identity, realizing the true nature of the SecretIdentityIdentity problem, and saving Meimi from a mental health crisis [[DevotedToYou out of sheer devotion]]. Although all of these plot points are carried over to the anime, it also adds tons of episodic {{Filler}} that constantly [[NegativeContinuity ignores continuity]] and [[StatusQuoIsGod resets his characterization]] to the prideful, gung-ho WorthyOpponent stance he had at the beginning of the series ''without'' any of the HiddenDepths, leading many an anime viewer to never realize he was actually supposed to have a character arc.

* Ask anyone who only knows the anime adaptation of ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' and they'll probably tell you that [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr.]] is a [[ObliviousToLove romantically challenged]] idiot who's so confused between [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle having feelings for both Meimi and Saint Tail]] that he passes them off as having [[ComicallyMissingThePoint a coincidental resemblance]]. In the manga, this couldn't be further from the truth: not only had he fallen [[DevotedToYou singlemindedly]] in love with Meimi, he'd actually caught onto her identity early, and everything after the MidSeasonTwist had come from him trying to understand her and her feelings better, just in [[NoSocialSkills very unusual ways]]. On top of that, he'd even had his own subplot about reconsidering his stance on [[ToBeLawfulOrGood Saint Tail's morality]] and realizing that "Saint Tail" was no more than an [[SecretIdentityIdentity overly idealized persona]]. Although all of these plot points are carried over to the anime, it also adds tons of episodic {{Filler}} that constantly [[NegativeContinuity ignores continuity]] and [[StatusQuoIsGod resets his characterization]] to the prideful, gung-ho WorthyOpponent stance he had at the beginning of the series, leading many an anime viewer to dismiss any signs of HiddenDepths as insignificant and thus never realize he was actually supposed to have a character arc.

* Ask anyone who only knows the anime adaptation of ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' and they'll probably tell you that [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr.]] is a [[ObliviousToLove romantically challenged]] idiot who's so confused between [[LovesMyAlterEgo Meimi and Saint Tail]] that he passes them off as having [[ComicallyMissingThePoint a coincidental resemblance]]. In the manga, this couldn't be further from the truth: not only had he fallen [[DevotedToYou singlemindedly]] in love with Meimi, he'd actually caught onto her identity early, and everything after the MidSeasonTwist had come from him trying to understand her and her feelings better, just in [[NoSocialSkills very unusual ways]]. On top of that, he'd even had his own subplot about reconsidering his stance on [[ToBeLawfulOrGood Saint Tail's morality]] and realizing that "Saint Tail" was no more than an [[SecretIdentityIdentity overly idealized persona]]. Although all of these plot points are carried over to the anime, it also adds tons of episodic {{Filler}} that constantly [[NegativeContinuity ignores continuity]] and [[StatusQuoIsGod resets his characterization]] to the prideful, gung-ho WorthyOpponent stance he had at the beginning of the series, leading many an anime viewer to dismiss any signs of HiddenDepths as insignificant and thus never realize he was actually supposed to have a character arc.