History MisaimedFandom / WesternAnimation

** Ash was created as a TakeThat to [[BastardBoyfriend Bastard Boyfriends]]. Guess what? A lot of the lady fans love him.

** The finale reveals that Discord posed as Grogar and united the three villains to have them attack Equestria in order to boost Twilight's confidence by having her defeat them. This is portrayed as [[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided but well-intentioned]], with Discord's guilt and redemption arc meant to be sympathetic, while the villains' crimes in the finale are meant to show that they're beyond redemption at this point. However, this did not come across to many fans, who found the villains sympathetic in this situation due to Discord being the one who made them a threat in the first place, and having used threats and intimidation to make them go along with his plans. It doesn't help that prior episodes had given the villains PetTheDog moments and suggested they might be redeemable. By contrast, Discord was viewed less sympathetically by fans who felt his actions made him just as bad as the villains, and found his motive of boosting Twilight's confidence to be unconvincing. A common sentiment is that this would have worked better if Discord had been trying to reform the villains by teaching them friendship, the same way he was reformed.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': One particularly [[MemeticMutation memetic]] clip from the episode "The Best", as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpKWWpsVLtU here]], shows Gumball squaring off against the passive-aggressive Carmen by deliberately invoking PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad to attack her for everything she suggests (for example, when she remarks that white bread has empty calories that can lead to weight gain, Gumball claims she's being fatphobic by assuming that "big people can't be proud of who they are"). Some people unironically post the segment as a sign of how stupid and overly sensitive "social justice warriors" are...which completely ignores the ''actual point'' of the clip, wherein Carmen realizes what Gumball is doing and calls him out for using the struggles of other people to score points and win petty arguments. Furthermore, it's clear that Gumball is ''looking'' for a fight and trying to make Carmen feel bad. Regardless of the clear statement of difference between genuinely helping others through activism and simply being a reactionary {{Troll}}, though, ''actual'' {{Troll}}s use the segment to justify mocking more left-wing activists.

** WesternAnimation/TheItchyAndScratchyShow is 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 enthusiasm fades away after a few minutes of watching these violent scenes.

** As of the finale, the fandom has split in two: Some feel that [=BoJack's=] actions are completely irredeemable, that he is completely unsympathetic, and because of this, [[spoiler: he should have died]] in the series' penultimate episode. [=BoJack=] is ''unsympathetic'', not unrelatable, and certainly not irredeemable. The series finale even makes several points about how important it is to keep moving towards self-improvement even when you screw up, and that no matter how terrible life is, it's still worth living through it. The common belief that [=BoJack=], or any character, should have resolved their arc through suicide is completely antithetical to that message.

* Regarding ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', the fans latched onto the idea that [[spoiler: Pidge Gunderson/Katie Holt]] is a trans boy, even though the character explicitly self-identifies as female after the reveal, and WordOfGod confirms she is [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/06/23/how-netflix-brought-new-life-to-voltron-the-beloved-80s-cartoon/ meant to]] [[https://twitter.com/Voltron/status/756597252953673728 be seen]] as such, and that her male identity [[SweetPollyOliver was a temporary disguise to avoid getting caught by the authorities]] [[spoiler: so [[IWillFindYou she could search for her missing father and older brother]].]] Likewise, others interpreted the reveal scene as her literally coming out as transgender for the first time, even though flashbacks show she was fine presenting as female in public beforehand and would have continued to do so if she wasn't caught. All of these ideas ignore the ''extemely'' transphobic (at worst) and sexist/gender essencialist (at best) implications behind them: "if a woman isn't feminine enough then she must be a man", "{{tomboy}}s and [[GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak girly girls with tomboy sides]] aren't real women", etc.

** Reportedly, Cartman was designed under the idea that you couldn't have an [[Series/AllInTheFamily Archie Bunker]]-type character (read: someone who was openly racist, sexist, and overall politically incorrect) 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 racist anti-Semitic sexist Cartman. This must have more to do with Cartman being the one that is the "funny man" to Stan and Kyle's "straight men", and because he ends up in more outlandish scenarios, rather than because they actually like Cartman's racism, anti-Semitism, and sexism (OK, a handful of them do.)

*** In the case of Trixie, a lot of older viewers [[UnintentionallySympathetic saw her as innocent]] because while she was being a showoff, overselling your abilities is legitimately a part of being a stage entertainer, the show giving little indication that this was her off-stage persona as well at the time, that Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash ''started'' the conflict by heckling and booing her act, and that Trixie suffered all the consequences for an incident that was actually the fault of Snips and Snails. As a result, many of her fans see the Mane Six as in the wrong for disrupting her show and, as the Season 3 episode "Magic Duel" shows, ruining her performing career, making her go on to be one of the [[EnsembleDarkHorse most popular characters in the series]] rather than the one-note antagonist she was intended to be while Snips and Snails were, and still are by many, [[TheScrappy utterly despised]]. The later seasons had an in-universe example where Twilight Sparkle is called out by the Mane Six for giving [[EasilyForgiven Starlight Glimmer a pass]], while still holding on to a cruel dislike for Trixie, despite the former doing far worse things like [[spoiler:running a cult and nearly breaking reality]].

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

** The episode ''Medicinal Fried Chicken''. While it does make some points in favor of legalization of marijuana, it also satirizes people's obsession with the drug. Randy and the other dads literally give themselves testicular cancer so they can legally smoke marijuana. One point people often miss is that while everyone talks about how awesome getting high is, the viewer never gets any indication that it really is as great as it said to be, and KFC is shown to be more addictive and euphoric. It still didn’t stop some stoners from saying that they were happy that they got another drug episode.

-->'''Diane:''' I made him more vulnerable, and that made him more likable, which makes for a better TV show. But if ''Philbert'' is just a way to help dumb assholes rationalize their own awful behavior, well, I'm sorry, but we can't put this out there.

** Towlie was created as a two-part TakeThat against the VocalMinority of the fandom demanding more drug humor and at merchandise driven characters (which is literally Towlie's origin in-universe, he's a towel designed to extoll the virtues of towels in order to sell towels). They out and out say it in his first appearence:
--->'''Stan:''' You're the worst character ever, Towlie.
--->'''Towlie:''' I know.
::But then Towlie quickly became popular, and his "wanna get high?" catchphrase went memetic.

** There are people out there who ''actually agree'' with Cartman that gingers have no so souls. ''And act on it''. There are even schools out there who celebrate Kick-a-Ginger Day (obviously not officially, but still...).

** Cozy Glow is meant to be a deconstruction of DeliberatelyCuteChild, whose superficial cuteness contrasts with her evil nature. For many fans, this did not work and they instead found her genuinely cute even after her villainous reveal. It doesn't help that she gets many comedic moments throughout Season 9, nor does it help that she more or less guilty of the exact same things Starlight Glimmer did yet [[DoubleStandard got treated drastically differently]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' and ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' are animated satires of certain subcultures, one of which was prevalent in the 90s (dimwitted metalhead teenagers who commit dangerous pranks and riff on videos for HairMetal and pop music just because the artists exist) and one that is more prevalent to this day (suburban Texans), done by Creator/MikeJudge. As Creator/PatrickStewart once aptly put it: "Both the very smart and very stupid are fans of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'', for very different reasons." ''Website/TheOnion'' noted this in their ''Our Dumb Century'' book with the fake headline "New MTV Show About Idiots Who Watch MTV Big Hit Among Idiots Who Watch MTV". ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', however, is a more AffectionateParody; those paying attention might notice that smug jerks who look down their noses on FlyoverCountry suburbanites are the ones to get lampooned the most on that show.

* ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' and ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' are animated satires of certain subcultures (dimwitted metalhead teenagers and suburban Texans) done by Creator/MikeJudge. As Creator/PatrickStewart once aptly put it: "Both the very smart and very stupid are fans of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'', for very different reasons." Or as ''Website/TheOnion'' put it in their ''Our Dumb Century'' book: "New MTV Show About Idiots Who Watch MTV Big Hit Among Idiots Who Watch MTV". ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', however, is a more AffectionateParody; those paying attention might notice that smug jerks who look down their noses on FlyoverCountry suburbanites are the ones to get lampooned the most on that show.

** {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s (of various political alignments, religious faiths and marihuana usage) often see some episodes of ''The Simpsons'' as prophetic, and claim that they predicted various events, either a warning from or a part of a conspiracy that is accused of causing the event. This has started with the election of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump as president of the USA, that the Simpsons predicted years before in "Bart to the Future" (The {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s may have various stances on Trump himself, and it isn't his fault). Other examples include the 9/11 attacks (in "Homer vs the City of New York", the bus trip costs 9$11 and the World Trade Center is featured) or the 2019/20 SARS-Covid pandemic (various episodes about fictional diseases such as the Osaka Flu from east Asia, the cat flu that was caused by the media ({{Conspiracy Theorist}}s love that) and a Ship stuck at sea in fear of the Pandora Strain). Amusingly, many of the conspiracy theories blame the Freemasons (which they believe to be behind the Simpsons), who there parodied in ''Homer the Great''. Most of these "prophecies" can be explained by the large number of plots and episodes, which guarantees at least some of them are bound to resemble future events, and that history repeats itself and the Simpsons was actually making fun of older events ([[OlderThanTheyThink Trump wanted to become president in the 90s]]). If you search long enough on Youtube you will find the craziest conspiracy theories based on the Simpsons.

** {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s (of various political alignments, religious faiths and marihuana usage) often see some episodes of ''The Simpsons'' as prophetic, and claim that they predicted various events, either a warning from or a part of a conspiracy that is accused of causing the event. This has started with the election of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump as president of the USA, that the Simpsons predicted years before in "Bart to the Future" (The {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s may have various stances on Trump himself, and it isn't his fault). Other examples include the 9/11 attacks (in "Homer vs the City of New York", the bus trip costs 9$11 and the World Trade Center is featured) or the 2019/20 SARS-Covid pandemia (various episodes about fictional diseases such as the Osaka Flu from east Asia, the cat flu that was caused by the media ({{Conspiracy Theorist}}s love that) and a Ship stuck at sea in fear of the Pandora Strain). Amusingly, many of the conspiracy theories blame the Freemasons (which they believe to be behind the Simpsons), who there parodied in ''Homer the Great''. Most of these "prophecies" can be explained by the large number of plots and episodes, which guarantees at least some of them are bound to resemble future events, and that history repeats itself and the Simpsons was actually making fun of older events ([[OlderThanTheyThink Trump wanted to become president in the 90s]]). If you search long enough on Youtube you will find the craziest conspiracy theories based on the Simpsons.

** Daria herself is often seen as a role model snarky heroine, which ignores the fact that her cold behavior does have consequences. Peers and adults alike are often frustrated by her attitude. Her mother even points out that while she's good at making quips, she often doesn't know how to express what she really wants. There's even ''a whole episode'' ("Boxing Daria") dedicated to show Daria's issues with people and herself, but the fans keep holding her up as a perfect character. In fact, during the show’s run, it was not uncommon to hear some fans say “I’m just like Daria” or “I’d be friends Daria”. These people completely miss the point of the character. Daria has one friend BY CHOICE, and if you asked her to make the thing she hates most, she’d say one word: people.

* Chuck Jones created WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner as a parody of popular "chase cartoons" like ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', by picking two unlikely animals in a bizarre setting, making the Coyote his own worst enemy, and making the whole thing as over-the-top as possible. He was surprised when audiences took the first Road Runner short, ''WesternAnimation/FastAndFurryous'' at face value, rather than as a parody, and ''loved it.'' Even though it didn't work out as he'd intended, Jones was happy to have a hit and continued using the two characters for years. Ironically, Jones went to work on the ''Tom and Jerry'' series at MGM after WB folded their animation department, and admitted he didn't quite get the characters. Tom was played as a feline version of Wile E. Coyote, down to the thick eyebrows and quirky facial expressions. One short even ends with a slightly modified version of his famous catapult trap gag from "WesternAnimation/ToBeepOrNotToBeep" (1963).

* In ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'', the titular character is a self-loathing, self-destructive alcoholic who frequently mistreats his friends and screws up any opportunity that comes his way. And while he occasionally ends up being the VoiceOfReason in some of the show's more bizarre situations, he has an alarming number of fans who identify with him and use those instances as evidence that he's the OnlySaneMan.
** This mindset is deconstructed in Season 5, when [=BoJack=] stars in the cop drama ''Philbert.'' Diane starts writing on the show and uses her experience with [=BoJack=] to give the lead character - a sexist, edgy jerk of a detective - more depth. However, when [=BoJack=] publicly interprets ''Philbert'' as a show that says it's okay to be awful, Diane realizes how damaging an impact the show can have if more people interpret it that way.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': Despite Runaan being portrayed as outright villainous, many fans not only sympathize him, but portray him as outright heroic in fanon. This is despite the fact that he kills the father of two of the protagonists, tries to kill Callum despite knowing the latter is not a target nor means him any harm, and tries to carry out his assassination against Ezran despite knowing the dragon egg is alive. Runaan embodies the cycle of violence and prejudice that the main characters are trying to stop.

* Regarding ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', the fans latched onto the idea that [[spoiler: Pidge Gunderson/Katie Holt]] is a trans boy, even though the character explicitly self-identifies as female after the reveal, and WordOfGod confirms she is [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/06/23/how-netflix-brought-new-life-to-voltron-the-beloved-80s-cartoon/ meant to]] [[https://twitter.com/Voltron/status/756597252953673728 be seen]] [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped as such]], and that her male identity [[SweetPollyOliver was a temporary disguise to avoid getting caught by the authorities]] [[spoiler: so [[IWillFindYou she could search for her missing father and older brother]].]] Likewise, others interpreted the reveal scene as her literally coming out as transgender for the first time, even though flashbacks show she was fine presenting as female in public beforehand and would have continued to do so if she wasn't caught. All of these ideas ignore the ''extemely'' transphobic (at worst) and sexist/gender essencialist (at best) implications behind them: "if a woman isn't feminine enough then she must be a man", "{{tomboy}}s and [[GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak girly girls with tomboy sides]] aren't real women", etc.

*** In the case of Trixie, a lot of older viewers [[UnintentionallySympathetic saw her as innocent]] because while she was being a showoff, overselling your abilities is legitimately a part of being a stage entertainer, and the show gave little indication that this was her off-stage persona as well at the time. As a result, many of her fans see the Mane Six as in the wrong for disrupting her show and, as the Season 3 episode "Magic Duel" shows, ruining her performing career. The later seasons had an in-universe example where Twilight Sparkle is called out by the Mane Six for giving [[EasilyForgiven Starlight Glimmer a pass]], while still holding on to a cruel dislike for Trixie, despite the former doing far worse things like [[spoiler:running a cult and nearly breaking reality]].

** Cozy Glow is meant to be a deconstruction of DeliberatelyCuteChild, whose superficial cuteness contrasts with her evil nature. For many fans, this did not work and they instead found her genuinely cute even after her villainous reveal. It doesn't help that she gets many comedic moments throughout Season 9.

** Fans often compare [[StepfordSuburbia Starlight Glimmer's cultish town]] to social justice movements, noting the apparently irony of ''My Little Pony'' social media posts promoting "equality" (such as during LGBT Pride Month). The problem is, the episode wasn't against equality in the context of equal rights; it was against the suppression of unique talents in order to keep people indistinguishable. Starlight was explicitly ''against'' diversity in her town. Additionally, Starlight didn't even believe what she was saying about equality, since she [[spoiler:kept her own cutie mark in order to wield power over the town]].

** Daria herself is often seen as a role model snarky heroine, which ignores the fact that her cold behavior does have consequences. Peers and adults alike are often frustrated by her attitude. Her mother even points out that while she's good at making quips, she often doesn't know how to express what she really wants. There's even ''a whole episode'' ("Boxing Daria") dedicated to show Daria's issues with people and herself, but the fans keep holding her up as a perfect character.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Ash was created as a TakeThat to [[BastardBoyfriend Bastard Boyfriends]]. Guess what? A lot of the lady fans love him.

** An episode of Billy And Mandy guest starring Betty White, in one of Mandy's more sympathetic-leaning episodes, espouses the value of feminism, implying that some of Mandy's misthanropy comes from being underestimated constantly. Some feminists, and many anti-feminists, hated this implication, as Mandy is a would be dictator.

** Reportedly, Cartman was designed under the idea that you couldn't have an Archie Bunker-type character (read: someone who was openly racist, sexist, and overall politically incorrect) 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 racist anti-Semitic sexist Cartman. This must have more to do with Cartman being the one that is the "funny man" to Stan and Kyle's "straight men", and because he ends up in more outlandish scenarios, rather than because they actually like Cartman's racism, anti-Semitism, and sexism (OK, a handful of them do.)