History Main / MagnumOpusDissonance

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' frequently calls back to the half-pipe special stage from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' in an attempt to fuel some nostalgia for the longtime fans. Many fans, however, criticize them for their FakeDifficulty, touchy controls, [[ArtificialStupidity poor implementation of Tails]] and reliance on TrialAndErrorGameplay, generally preferring the blue spheres special stage from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3''. [[ScrappyMechanic Their implementation in]] ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' didn't help matters and players got sick of seeing them repeated over and over again in every game. They were at least more warmly received in ''VideoGame/SonicRush'' however due to the stylus control giving players the precision they needed to make the stages challenging but fair and fun. Sega has since gotten the memo, as they would stop using the half-pipe template after ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 Episode II''.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' frequently calls back to the half-pipe special stage from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' in an attempt to fuel some nostalgia for the longtime fans. Many fans, however, criticize them for their FakeDifficulty, touchy controls, [[ArtificialStupidity poor implementation of Tails]] and reliance on TrialAndErrorGameplay, generally preferring the blue spheres special stage from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3''. [[ScrappyMechanic Their implementation in]] ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' didn't help matters and players got sick of seeing them repeated over and over again in every game. They were at least more warmly received in ''VideoGame/SonicRush'' however due to the stylus control giving players the precision they needed to make the stages challenging but fair and fun.

* Though financially successful, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' is usually regarded as one of Pixar's lesser efforts, and seen by most as an unapologetically MerchandiseDriven property of the sort that would be created by a marketing team, with [[WesternAnimation/Cars2 its sequel]] being the first Pixar film to be considered outright bad. However, Creator/JohnLasseter claims to have seen the film as a major passion project, being the first film he directed after ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', and reflecting a lifelong love he held for cars.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' were both in production around the same time, but while the former was Disney's most expensive film at the time and marketed at the time as being their biggest and most revolutionary film since ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', the latter was treated as a much smaller affair and was relegated to the sidelines for most of its production. Despite this, ''The Black Cauldron'' would become infamous for nearly killing Disney's animation department due to its poor critical reception and disastrous box office performance, while ''The Great Mouse Detective'' would go on to become a modest commercial and critical success, saving Disney animation and paving the way for the Disney Renaissance a few years later.

* Creator/TexAvery, despite eventually becoming an animator, originally wanted to become a comic strip cartoonist. Most of his cartoons were made with the intention of eventually making that other career choice. Finally, he was [[CreatorBreakdown so burned out that he gave up the animation business]] all together and spent the final years of his life almost exclusively as an artist for TV commercials. Even when people lauded him with praise about the hilarious cartoons he always shied away. He never considered them to be that great and seldom gave interviews. He practically died in obscurity, despite his cartoons living on as examples of everything that defines Western animation: ([[WildTake wild takes]], [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall breaking jokes]], AmusingInjuries, visual and verbal gags that [[ParentalBonus aren't appropriate for younger viewers or prudes]], SelfDeprecating [[IncrediblyLamePun corny gags]], [[TalkingAnimal talking animals]], etc).

** Despite "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E12MargeVsTheMonorail Marge Vs the Monorail]]" often being considered one of the best episodes of the series, if not ''the'' best, Creator/YeardleySmith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode. In a 1995 interview, she heavily criticized it for not fitting in well with the show's then-usual style.

** Writer Ian Maxtone-Graham blames himself for the show's downfall, as he admitted in a 1998 interview that he had "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E1TheCityOfNewYorkVsHomerSimpson The City Of New York vs. Homer Simpson]]
, the last episode to score more than 90% on Website/IMDb. He also wrote four episodes that made IGN's list of the ten best episodes after season 13.

** Despite "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E12MargeVsTheMonorail Marge Vs the Monorail]]" often being considered one of, if not ''the'' best episode of the series, Creator/YeardleySmith has been vocal in her dislike of the episode. In a 1995 interview, she heavily criticized it for not fitting in well with the show's then-usual style.

* Aka Akasaka's debut manga ''ib: Instant Bullet'' was what he considered his life's work, as he had been writing the story since high school, but it was unceremoniously CutShort and he was fired from his publishing house before he could even reveal the meaning of the title, resulting in him [[TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised hastily wrapping it up with a wall of text]]. Searching desperately for work following that, he pitched a rom-com about "a couple of stupid children" to Shueisha because [[MoneyDearBoy he knew that was what the executives wanted to see]]. That hasty pitch ended up becoming ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', which has sold ''19 million copies'' and counting.

** Ken Keeler has said the highly-controversial episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E2ThePrincipalAndThePauper The Principal and the Pauper]]", which many fans consider ''the'' worst Simpsons episode ever, has been his best work for television, despite doing more-favorable received episodes on ''The Simpsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Then-showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein have defended the episode, as well.

** Writer Ian Maxtone-Graham blames himself for the show's downfall, as he admitted in a 1998 interview that he had barely seen the show when he was hired. This is actually more of a reason to love him than to hate him, as he wrote "Homer vs New York", the last episode to score more than 90% on Website/IMDb. He also wrote four episodes that made IGN's list of the ten best episodes after season 13.

* Creator/DreamWorksAnimation with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' to ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1''. The former was Katzenberg's baby, receiving all of the talent and money, while the latter was the discount animation project, with [[TroubledProduction production shut down several times]]. (In fact, the term "shreked" became a company term for someone who was sent to work on the film, [[ReassignedToAntarctica presumably as punishment]].) ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' had much critical and audience success that only got better over time and a fairly good box office return; it was [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the highest-grossing non-Disney 2D animated movie]] until ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' came out, so it can't be said to have been a failure. That said, ''Shrek'' became the start of the company's CashCowFranchise ''and'' won the first-ever Academy Award For Best Animated Feature! It also didn't help that ''Egypt'' was [[ExecutiveMeddling focus-grouped]] to death (naturally, given its potential controversy as a [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] adaptation), whereas ''Shrek'' got a lot of stuff past special interest groups and critics because ''no one'' cared.

* Creator/DreamWorksAnimation with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' to ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1''. The former was Katzenberg's baby, receiving all of the talent and money, while the latter was the discount animation project, with [[TroubledProduction production shut down several times]]. (In fact, the term "shreked" became a company term for someone who was sent to work on the film, [[ReassignedToAntarctica presumably as punishment]].) ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' had much critical and audience success that only got better over time and a fairly good box office return; it was [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the highest-grossing non-Disney 2D animated movie]] until ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' came out, so it can't be said to have been a failure. That said, ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' became the start of the company's CashCowFranchise ''and'' won the first-ever Academy Award For Best Animated Feature! It also didn't help that ''Egypt'' was [[ExecutiveMeddling focus-grouped]] to death (naturally, given its potential controversy as a [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] adaptation), whereas ''Shrek'' got a lot of stuff past special interest groups and critics because ''no one'' cared.

* Creator/DreamWorksAnimation with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' to ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''. The former was Katzenberg's baby, receiving all of the talent and money, while the latter was the discount animation project, with [[TroubledProduction production shut down several times]]. (In fact, the term "shreked" became a company term for someone who was sent to work on the film, [[ReassignedToAntarctica presumably as punishment]].) ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' had much critical and audience success that only got better over time and a fairly good box office return; it was [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the highest-grossing non-Disney 2D animated movie]] until ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' came out, so it can't be said to have been a failure. That said, ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' became the start of the company's CashCowFranchise ''and'' won the first-ever Academy Award For Best Animated Feature! It also didn't help that ''Egypt'' was [[ExecutiveMeddling focus-grouped]] to death (naturally, given its potential controversy as a [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] adaptation), whereas ''Shrek'' got a lot of stuff past special interest groups and critics because ''no one'' cared.

* Creator/{{Aristotle}} is mainly remembered today for his works in philosophy and politics. However, he considered them secondary to his real work - the books on zoology. No one reads these today due to ScienceMarchesOn—though actually his ''zoology'' was pretty good, and, contrary to what's often claimed, ''definitely'' involved actual observation (he knew how octopuses reproduce, for instance, something we wouldn't rediscover till the late 19th century). It was his ''physics'' that was bad because they were [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylozoism derived from his biology]]. His reputation as a biologist tends to get tainted by association, mostly because actually studying the history of science is more work than claiming to be smarter than dead people.

* Creator/DreamWorks with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' to ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''. The former was Katzenberg's baby, receiving all of the talent and money, while the latter was the discount animation project, with [[TroubledProduction production shut down several times]]. (In fact, the term "shreked" became a company term for someone who was sent to work on the film, [[ReassignedToAntarctica presumably as punishment]].) ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' had much critical and audience success that only got better over time and a fairly good box office return; it was [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the highest-grossing non-Disney 2D animated movie]] until ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' came out, so it can't be said to have been a failure. That said, ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' became the company's CashCowFranchise (until ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' took that crown) ''and'' won the first-ever Academy Award For Best Animated Feature! It also didn't help that ''Egypt'' was [[ExecutiveMeddling focus-grouped]] to death (naturally, given its potential controversy as a [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] adaptation), whereas ''Shrek'' got a lot of stuff past special interest groups and critics because ''no one'' cared.

* While ''WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown'' episodes tended to get more views then ''Webideo/{{Projector}}'' during the time period when both shows were being produced, creator Mathew Buck confirmed after his departure from Website/ChannelAwesome that this show was his true passion, and much more the kind of thing he had wanted to do all along.

* [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird]] don't really care for the bumbling henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady from the ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' cartoon that put their creation on the map, being as they were [[CanonForeigner new characters made for that adaptation]] purely to [[MerchandiseDriven sell toys]]. WordOfGod is that {{Expies}} Tokka and Rahzar from the [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze 2nd live-action film]] were created for it rather than having Bebop and Rocksteady being used as per Eastman & Laird's request (partially because of the legal clearances required to use them), and why they have been largely PutOnABus in newer works for years much to the disappointment of fans who grew attached to them.

** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E13SaddlesoreGalactica Saddlesore Galactica]]"[[note]]That really weird, really derivative episode from season 11 about the magic elves as horse jockeys[[/note]] has been cited by many fans as the point in which the show stopped being realistic and started [[FollowTheLeader slavishly imitating]] the more surrealist tone of shows like ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' and ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy',' and is often cited as one of its worst episodes. The DVD commentary, on the other hand, reveals the writers loved making the episode, noting that it was [[PoesLaw a deliberate, tongue-in-cheek mockery of such shows]], and a piss take against ''The Simpsons'' itself for recycling old stories and the fans who complain about them (hence the part where the Comic Book Guy points out that the Simpsons taking in a horse as a pet has been done before, with Homer telling him nobody cares what he thinks).

** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E13SaddlesoreGalactica Saddlesore Galactica]]"[[note]]That really weird, really derivative episode from season 11 about the magic elves as horse jockeys[[/note]] has been cited by many fans as the point in which the show stopped being realistic and started slavishly following in the footsteps of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' and ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and is often cited as one of the worst episodes ever. The DVD commentary, on the other hand, reveals the writers loved making the episode, noting that it was [[PoesLaw a deliberate, tongue-in-cheek mockery of such shows]], and a piss take against ''The Simpsons'' itself for recycling old stories and the fans who complain about them, hence the part where the Comic Book Guy points out that the Simpsons taking in a horse as a pet has been done before, with Homer asking if anyone cares what he thinks.

* [=SuperYoshi=] doesn't see the big deal behind "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suSSdHr8sog I'D SAY HE'S HOT ON OUR TAIL]]," [[TropeMaker outside of being the first]] WebAnimation/YouTubePoop [[TropeMaker ever made]]. He considers [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YoCD6JaprI this]] his poop masterpiece.

* Creator/{{Dreamworks}} with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' to ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''. The former was Katzenberg's baby, receiving all of the talent and money, while the latter was the discount animation project, with [[TroubledProduction production shut down several times]]. (In fact, the term "shreked" became a company term for someone who was sent to work on the film, [[ReassignedToAntarctica presumably as punishment]].) ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' had much critical success and a fairly good box office return; it was [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the highest-grossing non-Disney 2D animated movie]] until ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' came out, so it can't be said to have been a failure. That said, ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' became the company's CashCowFranchise (until ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' took that crown) ''and'' won the first-ever Academy Award For Best Animated Feature! It also didn't help that ''Egypt'' was [[ExecutiveMeddling focus-grouped]] to death (naturally, given its potential controversy as a [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] adaptation), whereas ''Shrek'' got a lot of stuff past special interest groups and critics because ''no one'' cared.

* Creator/NobuoUematsu, known for making a great many soundtracks to {{JRPG}}s, has stated that he believes his greatest work was the soundtrack to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. However, while the soundtrack fo IX ''is'' well-received by the fans, "[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII One-Winged Angel]]" and "[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Dancing Mad]]" are viewed as two of if not THE greatest Final Boss pieces ever composed in all of gaming, and many feel that ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is his best overall soundtrack, particularly given the miracles Uematsu was able to work in getting such complex and diverse music to sound as gorgeous as it does on the limited SNES hardware.

* Creator/{{Egoraptor}} claims that his best work is ''WebVideo/{{Sequelitis}}'', as compared to ''WebAnimation/GirlchanInParadise'' or the ''WebAnimation/AwesomeSeries'', due to both the time and effort he put into the episodes and the fact that he values an ability to make people think over an ability to make people laugh. Not that ''Sequelitis'' isn't appreciated, but it's overshadowed by the aforementioned works, the works that built up his fanbase for ''years'' before ''Sequelitis'' even existed. This was before Sequelitis began to become more controversial in recent years as well.