History MisaimedFandom / WesternAnimation

* Reportedly, Cartman of ''SouthPark'' was designed under the idea that you couldn't have an Archie Bunker character on TV now... unless he was a ludicrous little kid cartoon character. Naturally, there's dispute over why Cartman is one of the most popular kids. Just to make matters worse, Stan and Kyle, the characters based on series creators Parker and Stone and supposedly the only normal sensible people in all of South Park, are often perceived as "whiny little bitches" by a fanbase that prefers fat racist anti-Semetic misogynist Cartman.

** Plus, [[ViewersAreMorons look at this generation.]]

** Itchy and Scratchy are a parody of cartoon violence, yet there are many people who feel that the characters should be a real cartoon show. The show's creators once made a montage of several Itchy & Scratchy cartoons to respond to audiences' requests to make a full half-hour show with these characters. Invariably the audience's enthousiasm fades away after a few minutes of watching these violent scenes.

** Itchy and Scratchy are a parody of cartoon violence, yet there are many people who feel that the characters should be a real cartoon show. The show's creators once made a montage of several Itchy & Scratchy cartoons to respond to audiences' requests to make a full half-hour show with these characters. Invariably the audience's enthousiasm fades away after a few minutes of watching these violent scenes.

* [[DarkActionGirl Demona]] of ''{{Gargoyles}}'' gets this a lot. Being arguably the most popular character in the series, [[CuteMonsterGirl and a very attractive female]], a large and vocal number of her fans tend not only to [[DracoInLeatherPants absolve her of any responsibility for her mistakes]], but [[RonTheDeathEater to pin the blame on other characters]]. These fans completely miss the point, as series creator, Greg Weisman has said over and over again that [[ByronicHero Demona is her own worst enemy]], and that her entire life is a rationalization. Her most iconic quote, after witnessing the massacre of her clan was "what have I... what have THEY done to you?!" That's pretty much what the "Demona Revisionists" do. Like character like fandom.

** Granted, both the [[CrapsackWorld earth]] and its [[HumansAreBastards inhabitants]] in ''Zim'' are generally presented in a [[{{Understatement}} less-than idealistic]] fashion, and while Dib is a HeroAntagonist he can be kind of a jerk, whose motives aren't totally altruistic either; he just wants to dissect Zim.

* Terra on ''TeenTitans'' was meant to be a BrokenBird AntiVillain of the DarkMagicalGirl variety. However, many fans simply cannot seem to accept the gray-shaded nature of her character. She's treated as either a perfect saint who had no fault in the matter (which is untrue) or a totally evil bitch (which is also untrue, though it ironically fits the less complicated Terra from the original comic series.)

** I don't know...I mean, I agree that the moral of the film being the old standard "Be yourself" is pretty cut and dried, but saying that this makes its Goth/Emo devotees a Misaimed Fandom seems ever-so-slightly dismissive of two whole (though undeniably similar) subcultures. Heck, I'd even go so far as to say the full moral could be "Be yourself...even if that self is kinda spooky".

** Granted, both the [[CrapsackWorld earth]] and its [[HumansAreBastards inhabitants]] in ''Zim'' are generally presented in a [[{{Understatement}} less-than idealistic]] fashion, and while Dib is a HeroAntagonist he can be kind of a jerk, whose motives aren't totally altruistic either.

** Also [[TooDumbToLive GIR]]. There is quite the tendency to see GIR as cute, harmless, or even benign, when the point was to make him an idiotic hedonist. On the DVDCommentary, the cast and crew expressed their annoyance of people thinking GIR is cute, and the horrible attention he's gotten. On the episode "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff," where [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin he goes nuts and tries to destroy Zim]], JhonenVasquez remarks that he was hoping to make people "uncomfortable" with the robot. [[FacePalm It flew by many fans' heads.]]

** Also [[TooDumbToLive GIR]]. There is quite the tendency to see GIR as cute, harmless, or even benign, when the point was to make him an idiotic hedonist. On the DVDCommentary for the episode "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff," where [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin he goes nuts and tries to destroy Zim]], JhonenVasquez remarks that he was hoping to make people "uncomfortable" with the robot.

* This has happened to TheNightmareBeforeChristmas, with goth and emo crowds being drawn to it for its dark visuals, whilst in reality it is a film about overcoming identity crisis and learning to appreciate what you have.

** This was very clearly her intent, as she was coerced into the reading by her English teacher.

** In the same way that telling kids about condoms "inspires" them to want to have ''sex!!''

* Ned Flanders of ''{{The Simpsons}}'' has a large fanbase among conservative Christians, the very people he was meant to caricature. However, Flanders' religiosity has occasionally been shown sympathetically, especially in later episodes, and even Homer seems to have developed a degree of respect for his neighbor.

*** However, many people simply prefer Cartman because Cartman, being Cartman, cannot deliver an AuthorTract, while Stan and Kyle frequently become {{Mary Sue}}s tearing apart the eeeevil StrawMan of the week.

* Parodied on an episode of ''{{Daria}}'' where Daria appears at a coffee house's opening reading an obviously satirical short story about a spy on an anti-communist operation. The reading stirs up a riot of anti-communist frenzy and forces the closure of the cafe.

* Subverted in the case of Terra on ''TeenTitans''. Standards and Practices would not allow ANY of the stuff that Marv Wolfman wrote to make Terra a clearcut villainous and CompleteMonster (fucking Deathstroke, smoking, openly spewing hate speech about how she wants to kill and enslave anyone without powers). So the writers of the Teen Titans cartoon essentially were left with the option of having to make Terra be a BrokenBird version of the DarkMagicalGirl variety, driven to side with Deathstroke in hopes of mastering her powers and ultimately turning against him, willfully suffering a [[AndIMustScream final fate of being turned into a living statue]] in order to save the Titans and [[NoodleIncident being returned to normal and having no memory of her betraying the Titans]] happy ending.

**** It was at least ''slightly'' more justified in earlier seasons, where Cartman was more just an arrogant JerkAss than a scheming villain and Stan and Kyle were merely toned down bullies than actual [[StraightMan Straight Men]] (and in some cases just as provokative or bullying as Cartman, it's easy to mistake them as hypocritical douches with their treatment of [[ButtMonkey Kenny, Pip or Butters]] for example). However this faded for the most part in later seasons where the two are far more sympathetic and Cartman is very ObviouslyEvil (Kyle has occasional KnightTemplar treatment in his handling with Cartman, though one could argue whether it's justified or not for aforementioned reasons).

**** It was at least ''slightly'' more justified in earlier seasons, where Cartman was more just an arrogant JerkAss than a scheming villain and Stan and Kyle were merely toned down bullies than actual [[StraightMan Straight Men]] (and in some cases just as provokative or bullying as Cartman, it's easy to mistake them as hypocritical douches with their treatment of [[ButtMonkey Kenny, Pip or Butters]] for example). However this faded for the most part in later seasons where the two are far more sympathetic or at least handled in a more karmic fashion (Kyle has occasional KnightTemplar treatment in his handling with Cartman, though one could argue whether it's justified or not for aforementioned reasons).

** To say nothing of "Cartoon Wars"....
** While we're on the subject of south park, Towlie was created as a sort of TakeThat against the vocal minority of the fandom demanding more drug humor. They out and out say it in his first appearence:
->Stan: You're the worst character ever Towlie
->Towlie: I know.

But Towlie quickly became popular, and his "wanna get high?" catchphrase went memetic.

* Parodied on an episode of ''{{Daria}}'' where Daria appears at a coffee house's opening reading an obviously satirical short story about a spy on an anti-communist operation. The reading stirs up an a riot of anti-communist frenzy and forces the closure of the cafe.

** Also, the Goth Kids. They're meant to be a parody of teen and pre-teen {{Wangst}}ing, but instead get used by fangirls as outlets for their own misery. Also, the two older guys are apparently gay for each other, though the show gives no indication of that. Trey and Matt seem to be aware of this, so naturally they exploited it for merchandising. (Apparently, Hot Topic has a sense of humor about itself.

*** However, many people simply prefer Cartman because Cartman, being Cartman, cannot deliver an AuthorTract, while Stan and Kyle frequently become MarySues tearing apart the eeeevil StrawMan of the week.
** Also, the Goth Kids. They're meant to be a parody of teen and pre-teen {{Wangst}}ing, but instead get used by fangirls as outlets for their own misery. Also, the two older guys are apparently gay for each other, though the show gives no indication of that.
*** Trey and Matt seem to be aware of this, so naturally they [[http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/LicensedGear/EverythingElse/ComicsAnimeCartoons/South-Park-Vampires-Are-So-Lame-TShirt-270742.jsp exploited it for merchandising]] (link is dead, but it used to go to a Goth Kids t-shirt). (Also it looks like Hot Topic has a sense of humor about itself.)