History ParodyDisplacement / WesternAnimation

* While ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' is still a wildly recognizable pop culture phenomen, the same can't be said about ''Series/TheHoneymooners'', the sitcom the Flintstones is heavingly inspired by. Just go and ask anyone about Fred Flinstone and Ralph Kramden and see which of them they'll know.

* ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'' main villain Mojo Jojo has a very distinctive speech pattern where he [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment repeatedly explains the meanings of the words he's using]]: for instance, when he says he will conquer the world, he'll go on to say that he will take it over through military force. According to Creator/CraigMcCracken, this was based on Literature/TheSuperdictionary, which uses the ''exact same'' cadence as Mojo Jojo's dialogue, and is mostly only known to people through the "40 Cakes" meme.

** Cartoons like ''Mickey's Gala Premier,'' ''Mickey's Polo Team,'' and the WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon ''The Autograph Hound'' were full to the brim with famous celebrities of the time. Nowadays most people will probably only recognize a few of them.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' main villain Mojo Jojo has a very distinctive speech pattern where he [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment repeatedly explains the meanings of the words he's using]]: for instance, when he says he will conquer the world, he'll go on to say that he will take it over through military force. According to Creator/CraigMcCracken, this was based on Literature/TheSuperdictionary, which uses the ''exact same'' cadence as Mojo Jojo's dialogue, and is mostly only known to people through the "40 Cakes" meme.

** Lynde is a frequent victim of this trope, as his voice is imitated quite often in cartoons. The result is that some animation fans think of his voice as a stock cartoon voice used for AmbiguouslyGay or just plain CampGay male characters and aren't aware that all those voices stem from one man. He did some voice work himself, such as the Creator/HannaBarbera 'toons ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop'' and ''WesternAnimation/CharlottesWeb''. HB were so well known for using celebrity imitators in their cartoons, that even people who have heard of Mr. Lynde probably assumed it was an imitation. On the other hand, since Lynde ''was'' so commonly imitated, people will often assume that any cartoon from the 1970s or earlier that includes a Lynde-like voice has him doing that voice - but sometimes it isn't. (Alan Sues is frequently mistaken for Lynde, for example.)
** What they ''really'' aren't aware of is that Lynde admitted he borrowed his manner of speaking and mannerisms from Creator/AliceGhostley, a popular Broadway star of the '50s who later became a Hollywood character actress.
*** Interestingly, both Lynde and Ghostley each had a recurring role on the TV series ''Series/{{Bewitched}}''.

** The two episodes featuring Music/MichaelJackson—-"Meet the Jeffersons" and "Dead Celebrities"—-used three songs as the basis for his musical bits: "Heal the World" from ''Music/{{Dangerous}}'' and "Childhood" and "You Are Not Alone" from ''Music/HistoryPastPresentAndFutureBookI''. Seeing as all three were lesser known relative to his other hits, it can be easy to miss them.

** ''Family Guy'''s penchant for obscurity runs the gamut -- especially when it comes to parodies. For example, a number of people might recognize a song they play straight -- such as "Shipoopi" from ''Film/TheMusicMan'' -- but how many people actually know that "The FCC Song" from the episode "PTV" is sung to the tune of a song from an obscure Broadway musical called ''Take Me Along''?

** It is easy to miss that the [[RememberTheNewGuy "guest star"]] Ponce is based on a real historical figure, Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon. His full name is only used once, [[spoiler:on the end title card memorializing his death]], and given the intro's blatant emphasis [[spoiler:that he is the clone who will die tonight]], it is pretty easy to assume that they just made up the character to make it his RememberTheNewGuy status even funnier, as a normal person in a school of clones.

** ''Family Guy'''s penchant for obscurity runs the gamut -- especially when it comes to parodies. For example, a number of people might recognize a song they play straight -- such as "Shipoopi" from ''Film/TheMusicMan'' -- but how many people actually know that the "Fellas at the Freakin' FCC" song from the episode "PTV" is sung to the tune of a song from an obscure Broadway musical called ''Take Me Along''?

** Barnacle Boy is likely a lot more well-known at this point than [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Aqualad]], the character he is pretty clearly a parody of. Aqualad himself has been OutOfFocus for decades in comic continuity, largely due to the issues DC's long had with making Aquaman on his own work. He's gained some recognition in the years since the show's debut due to his appearances in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' and ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', but those incarnations of the character are so far removed from the classic version that Barnacle Boy is based off of that the connection is likely still lost among viewers.

* ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' [[TurnedUpToEleven exists almost entirely on this trope]]. Giant robot anime, movies, cartoons, tv shows, literature, pop culture, obscure throw-away characters from other series, actors, conspiracy theories, theoretical physics, urban legends, real life... Everything is a source for [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools what is likely the most awesome cartoon ever made]].

** The series's concept as a parody of the VerySpecialEpisode [[UpToEleven in every episode]] can be lost on viewers, as the overtness of such episodes has been downplayed in modern sitcoms (if it shows up at all - series typically avoid dropping such {{Anvilicious}} messages, and if they are going to include drug/alcohol use, death, or sex, they will do it from the start).

* Link's now-memetic "[[WellExcuseMePrincess Well, EX-CUUUUSE ME, princess!]]" from the old ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda'' animated series is fondly remembered by those who grew up with the show, and is usually understood on the Internet to exclusively be a reference to the cartoon. More than a few of these fans may not recognize that the recurring line is a direct ShoutOut to one of Creator/SteveMartin's famous bits from his stand-up comedy days. Same delivery and everything.

* Most ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' viewers don't seem to be aware that Roger's distinctive voice and mannerisms (done by Creator/SethMacFarlane) are intended to parody Creator/PaulLynde.

** Ask anyone about the song "Surfin' Bird" and they'll most likely attribute it to Family Guy instead of the Trashmen, whose version of the song was featured in the show.

** The shows version of {{Dracula}} is drawn to look like an older version of Film/{{Blacula}} (complete with early 70's sideburns and mustache) and acts like a dead-on impersonation of Fred Sanford from ''Series/SanfordAndSon'', complete with a penchant for calling people "dummy". Both were decades old when the show was produced, and not something young viewers were likely to recognize.

** Likewise, ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie'', well-remembered as the first talking WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse cartoon, is a loose parody of a contemporary Buster Keaton feature, ''Film/SteamboatBillJr''.

* This is simultaneously parodied and {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' when the Warners meet UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk. They toss him into a dentist's chair and announce that they need to give him some "Anastasia." A girl in a tiara and a poofy dress then hits Rasputin on the head with a hammer. Dot [[BreakingTheFourthWall turns to the camera]] and deadpans, "Obscure joke. Talk to your parents."[[note]]Ironically, Creator/DonBluth would [[WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}} bring the good duchess back into popular consciousness]] just a few years later[[/note]]

* Similarly, ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'' is ''Film/{{Shaft}}... [[RecycledInSpace In School!]] (with a heavy helping of 1970's cop movies and TV shows thrown in). Although the show was loved by many fans, supposedly part of the reason is was cancelled is that [[ExecutiveMeddling the suits]] felt the kiddie target demographic didn't get all the 1970's references (and believed that it mattered whether the kids got all the references or not).

* ''ParodyDisplacement/AmericanDad''

** It's just easier to say that ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' is another Parody Displacement machine a la ''Alice in Wonderland'', particularly when it comes to '80s cartoons and toys: