History YMMV / Dilbert

* OvershadowedByControversy: Scott Adams' support of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump and sympathies with men's rights activists, promotions of [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19]] hoax cures, and other dalliances with far-rightism, made the strip unpopular among those who don't share his views; while readers might normally be willing to overlook a cartoonist's personal politics, the fact that said politics resulted in some very public disputes and scandals made them difficult to ignore. This worsened when Adams' new app was accused of exploiting victims of a mass shooting in Gilroy, California, resulting in petitions for ''Dilbert'' to be removed from newspapers.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Scott Adams' support of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump and sympathies with men's rights activists made the strip unpopular among those who don't share his views; while readers might normally be willing to overlook a cartoonist's personal politics, the fact that said politics resulted in some very public disputes and scandals made them difficult to ignore. This worsened when Adams' new app was accused of exploiting victims of a mass shooting in Gilroy, California, resulting in petitions for ''Dilbert'' to be removed from newspapers.

* CriticalResearchFailure:
** In "[=Y2K=]", Dilbert's "perpetual calendar program" predicts that June 30, 2014 will be a Thursday. It was actually a Monday. Almost immediately after, Dilbert then asks Dogbert to guess what day of the week the first day of 2222 will be; Dogbert sarcastically guesses "Two-sday", and Dilbert tells him he's wrong. January 1, 2222 will indeed be a Tuesday. Dilbert ''really'' needs to invest in a new calendar program...
** There was a scene where the theory of evolution was seemingly mocked with rather weak arguments and such. [[PoesLaw Whether the joke was to point out how ridiculous trying to deny it is, or if it was a serious attempt to make fun of those who believe in evolution, is still a subject of debate]].
** In Episode 3, Dilbert's date, who is in fact a corporate spy, asks for a "triple Brandy Alexander with an Easter Island Sunset chaser", to keep Dilbert busy in the kitchen while she searches for his development notes. The "Easter Island Sunset" doesn't exist, which fits with the joke, but a Brandy Alexander is actually a very simple cocktail (equal parts cream, creme de cacao, and brandy). You probably wouldn't ''want'' to drink a triple of it, but it's not complicated to make.

** In "[=Y2K=]", Dilbert's "perpetual calendar program" predicts that June 30, 2014 will be a Thursday. It was actually a Monday.

** The strip itself has occasionally been subjected to this. Norman Solomon's book ''The Trouble With Dilbert'', released in 1997, framed the strip (generally viewed as a satire of corporate culture) as inadvertently ''defending'' big business by blaming the woes of laborers on lazy coworkers and incompetent middle managers rather than the corporations themselves. Other writers like Tom Vanderbilt have taken Adams to task for not suggesting alternatives to the system he portrays, such as unionization or employees otherwise cooperating against unfair management practices, while noting that many corporations eventually embraced ''Dilbert'' despite its supposed anti-corporate message. Adams occasionally pushes back against these criticisms: notably, he included several [[TakeThat Take Thats]] at Solomon in both the strip and his book ''The Joy of Work'', where Adams includes a fictional interview with Solomon mocking his arguments as inherently ridiculous.

** Catbert, notable for being the only character the ''fans'' named.

* FanNickname: The character had no name when he first appeared, but letters poured in asking for more Catbert. Scott Adams later said, "If hundreds of people spontaneously give a character the same name, it's a keeper."

** In episode 3, Dilbert's date, who is in fact a corporate spy, asks for a "triple Brandy Alexander with an Easter Island Sunset chaser", to keep Dilbert busy in the kitchen while she searches for his development notes. The "Easter Island Sunset" doesn't exist, which fits with the joke, but a Brandy Alexander is actually a very simple cocktail (equal parts cream, creme de cacao, and brandy). You probably wouldn't ''want'' to drink a triple of it, but it's not complicated to make.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' is a BlackComedy WorkCom about Dilbert, an engineer working for a soulless and bureaucratic corporation, underneath an incredibly thick-witted, PointyHairedBoss; kids probably wouldn't understand this anyways. Despite this, it aired on '''FOX Kids''' on Argentina.

** Loud Howard.

** It should be noted that after his first (and for the longest time, only) appearance in the strip Loud Howard was made a supporting character in the cartoon (shouting the obvious works a lot better as a gag in animation) in order to expand the cast. Had Adams not done this it is doubtful the masses would've demanded his return to the strip.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Scott Adams's support of Donald Trump and sympathies with [=MRAs=] made the strip unpopular among those who don't share his views; while readers might normally be willing to overlook a cartoonist's personal politics, the fact that said politics resulted in some very public disputes and scandals made them difficult to ignore. This worsened when Scott Adams's new app was accused of exploiting victims of a mass shooting in Gilroy, California, resulting in petitions for ''Dilbert'' to be removed from newspapers.

-->'''Lena''': 30 HOURS! 30 HOURS IMMERSED IN WATER!\\
'''Wally''': *cheerfully* I cant feel my legs!

* CantUnhearIt: Those who watched the ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon probably have trouble reading [[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} the actual comic]] without hearing Creator/DanielStern as Dilbert, Creator/ChrisElliott as Dogbert, Creator/LarryMiller as The Pointy-Haired Boss, Gordon Hunt as Wally, Creator/KathyGriffin as Alice, Creator/TomKenny as Asok and Ratbert, etc.

--> '''Lena''': 30 HOURS! 30 HOURS IMMERSED IN WATER!
--> '''Wally''': *cheerfully* I cant feel my legs!

--> '''Dupey''': You have raised me, and I am grateful. But I must be with other Dupeys. Goodbye... *flies away, leaving Dilbert sitting sadly alone in his bedroom*

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Is the Boss a complete moron? A competent bureaucrat with a sociopathic streak? An initially decent guy made callous by a career dealing with idiot bosses, asshole coworkers and cynical employees? A precautionary tale/example of ThePeterPrinciple?

* OvershadowedByControversy: Scott Adams's support of Donald Trump and sympathies with [=MRAs=] made the strip unpopular among those who don't share his views. This worsened when Scott Adams's new app was accused of exploiting victims of a mass shooting in Gilroy, California, resulting in petitions for ''Dilbert'' to be removed from newspapers.

** The scenario of a crochety old lady who only owns one share of a failing company rambling about irrelevant things at a stockholders' meeting may sound familiar to fans of a [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} certain other show]] that came much later. The fact that said old lady is voiced by the [[Creator/TressMacNeille same person]] certainly doesn't help.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' is a BlackComedy WorkCom that Dilbert, an engineer working for a soulless and bureaucratic corporation, underneath an incredibly thick-witted, PointyHairedBoss; kids probably wouldn't understand this anyways. Despite this, it aired on '''FOX Kids''' on Argentina.

* CantUnhearIt: Those who watched the ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon probably have trouble reading [[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} the actual comic]] without hearing Creator/DanielStern as Dilbert, Creator/ChrisEliot as Dogbert, Creator/LarryMiller as The Pointy-Haired Boss, Gordon Hunt as Wally, Creator/KathyGriffin as Alice, Creator/TomKenny as Asok and Ratbert, etc.

* CantUnhearIt: Those who watched the ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon probably have trouble reading [[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} the actual comic]] without hearing Creator/DanielStern as Dilbert, Creator/ChrisElliot as Dogbert, Creator/LarryMiller as The Pointy-Haired Boss, Gordon Hunt as Wally, Creator/KathyGriffin as Alice, Creator/TomKenny as Asok and Ratbert, etc.

* CantUnhearIt: Those who watched the ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon probably have trouble reading [[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} the actual comic]] without hearing Daniel Stern as Dilbert, Chris Elliot as Dogbert, Larry Miller as The Pointy-Haired Boss, Gordon Hunt as Wally, Creator/KathyGriffin as Alice, Creator/TomKenny as Asok and Ratbert, etc.

* HollywoodHomely: Alice; a lot of potshots have been taken at her looks.

** [[http://dilbert.com/strip/1989-06-14 This 1989 strip]] involves Dilbert and Dogbert getting into a [[HurricaneOfPuns "pun war"]] using [[EquineAndEquestrianTropes horse phrases]]. Twenty-one years later, [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic a certain animated show]] would premiere that featured [[UpToEleven more horse puns]] than this strip could dream of.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: These days someone walking into a government building strapped with dynamite (which they then prepare to ''light'') isn't so funny anymore.

** Then there was the time Scott Adams got transported to the strip itself, which lead to a parody of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.

* UglyCute: The Dupeys, even after they've grown up past their cute point
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Dilbert can sometimes come across less as the OnlySaneMan he's meant to be and more as a KnowNothingKnowItAll who reduces complex situations to [[StrawVulcan bizarrely oversimplified logical arguments.]] He also seems to think that ordinary human interaction is some sort of racket and that people are cruelly exploiting him by expecting him to do such burdensome things as ''[[HatesSmallTalk make conversation.]]''

** On the Internet, ''Dilbert'' has become more well-known for a trilogy of [[WidgetSeries incomprehensible]] animations made by one "Creator/CBoyardee" (who also made ''VideoGame/BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden'', and who eventually deleted all of his videos).

* HarsherInHindsight: Scott Adams once made a strip in which he listed Donald Trump as one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, only barely outclassed by Dilbert. In 2017, Trump became president, with Scott Adams's support. To Trump's supporters, this strip predicts what they see as unjustified backlash to Trump, while to his detractors, this strip predicts the worst president yet and shows Scott Adams's fall from grace.

** [[http://dilbert.com/strip/1992-02-24 A 1992 strip]] has Dogbert saying he'd rather run as a ''Communist'' than as a Democrat because he wants to have a chance. This being on the tail end of a generation in which Republican presidents held office for 20 out of 24 years, with those 4 outlier years mainly being due to the Watergate Scandal.[[note]]Richard Nixon: 1969-1974. Gerald Ford: 1974-1976. Jimmy Carter: 1977-1980. Ronald Reagan: 1981-1988. George H.W. Bush: 1989-1992.[[/note]] [[UsefulNotes/BillClinton The Democratic Presidential candidate]] won that year.

*** Fast forward to 2016, and we have [[UsefulNotes/BernieSanders a guy]] who was in the American equivalent of the Communist Party running as a Democrat, mainly so he could have a chance at election.

* NeverLiveItDown: Scott Adams will never be able to live down the fact that he created the Dilberito.

* Those who watched the ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon probably have trouble reading [[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} the actual comic]] without hearing Daniel Stern as Dilbert, Chris Elliot as Dogbert, Larry Miller as The Pointy-Haired Boss, Gordon Hunt as Wally, Creator/KathyGriffin as Alice, Creator/TomKenny as Asok and Ratbert, etc.