Line #49 Characters/AnimaniacsButtonsAndMindy


1	!![[center: [-''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Animaniacs}} Main Character Index]]'''\
2	[[Characters/AnimaniacsTheWarnerSiblings The Warner Siblings]] \| [[Characters/PinkyAndTheBrain Pinky and the Brain]] \| [[Characters/AnimaniacsSlappySquirrel Slappy Squirrel]] \| [[Characters/AnimaniacsGoodfeathers Goodfeathers]] \| [[Characters/AnimaniacsRitaAndRunt Rita and Runt]] \| '''Buttons and Mindy''' \| [[Characters/AnimaniacsOtherSupportingCharacters Other Supporting Characters]] -] ]]
3
4	[[foldercontrol]]
5
6	[[folder:Mindy]]
7	[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/download_mindy.jpg]]
8	->'''Voiced by''': Creator/NancyCartwright (English), Creator/SatomiKoorogi (Japanese), Elena Prieto (Latin American Spanish)
9	A send up of ''Series/{{Lassie}}''. Mindy Sadlier is a toddler who constantly wanders off into dangerous situations prompting her dog, Buttons, to keep her out of it at the expense of his safety.
10	----
11	!!Tropes that apply to Mindy:
12	* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: She's very easily distracted by the things she sees which is very much in line for a girl who's about three years old at the most.
13	* BornLucky: Besides having Buttons as a devoted protector, she always escapes harm in some contrived way even when Buttons can't get to her in time.
14	* CharacterCatchphrase: "Okay, I love you, bye-bye."
15	* ChasingAButterfly: She tends to follow any cute creature she spots.
16	* CheerfulChild: Since she's unaware of the dangers she keeps getting into, she's constantly cheery.
17	* ConstantlyCurious: Mindy constantly asks questions to people much to their annoyance. Her usual questions are "What's you doing?", followed by a series of "Why?", until the person questioned loses patience.
18	* CuteButCacophonic: Especially her yelling "Buttons! Oh, Buttons!" in the Mindy and Buttons intro.
19	* TheCutie: Cute and innocent like a toddler.
20	* DamselInDistress: She always gets herself into dangerous situations, while her dog Buttons tries to rescue her or keep her out of trouble.
21	* FearlessFool: She isn't afraid of anything, even going to chase a kitten into a dangerous construction site or jumping out of a plane, among other things. She would be dead, if it wasn't for Buttons.
22	* FearlessInfant: She would lead Buttons into multiple dangerous situations, blithe as you please.
23	* TheFool: Her blithe wanderings into dangerous situations can be explained simply by the fact that she's just a toddler and thus doesn't know better. That said, while Buttons' direct involvement is the most frequent effort keeping her safe, she sometimes just gets absurdly lucky, particularly when Buttons can't get to her in time.
24	* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: If this weren't a cartoon, Mindy's parents would lose custody on account of severe neglect.
25	* LadyLooksLikeADude: If it wasn't for her name, you could easily assume that she is a little boy, because of her hairstyle and outfit.
26	* NiceGirl: She's shown many times that she absolutely adores Buttons and doesn't have a single mean bone in her body, making it very easy to see why Buttons is so dedicated to making sure she's safe.
27	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler:Her brief appearance in the 2020 series, as she and the other ''Animaniacs'' characters seek revenge on Chicken Boo, is the first time we've ever seen her genuinely angry.]]
28	* PetTheDog: Or rather hug him. Mindy unknowingly gives Buttons a lot of grief, but when she's actually interacting with him, she shows him more love and admiration than [[UngratefulBastard her parents]] do.
29	* StrayingBaby: The whole point of her shorts is that she wanders off while Buttons tries to rescue her.
30	* SummonBiggerFish: She's the bigger fish the Warners sic on [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave Elmyra]], who follows Mindy right into danger while the Warners and [[ThrowTheDogABone Buttons]] sit back and watch.
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Buttons]]
34	[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/download_buttons.jpg]]
35	->'''Voiced by''': Creator/FrankWelker
36	Mindy's faithful dog. He is a lot like Lassie but gets in trouble instead of being the hero.
37	----
38	!!Tropes that apply to Buttons:
39	* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: This is the setup of his segments, where the writers appeared to take an almost sadistic glee in torturing the poor dog in his efforts to ensure that Mindy is safe and returned home.
40	* BigFriendlyDog: He's much bigger than his child owner Mindy and is very protective of her.
41	* ButtMonkey: The bad things he saves Mindy from usually end up happening to him.
42	* TheChewToy: He gets thoroughly abused trying to keep his charge from getting killed, and then gets yelled at by Mindy's mom for some minor infraction at the end.
43	* {{Determinator}}: Despite all the suffering, Buttons will never let Mindy be hurt.
44	* TheDogBitesBack: A half-literal-example at the end of "Astro Buttons"; after Mindy's Mom scolds Buttons for allowing Mindy to get into the duplicator and make clones of herself, Buttons hands her a sign that says "[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I QUIT!]]", leaving her to deal with the Mindy clones by herself.
45	* DogStereotype: His appearance is based on that of a German Shepherd and he tries at all costs to protect Mindy from whatever harm might befall her.
46	* HeroicDog: He's undeniably heroic, charging into danger time and time again to rescue his charge, Mindy, (and getting comically beat up in the process).
47	* NervousWreck: Although given what he goes through, its completely understandable.
48	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Buttons goes to enormous lengths, risking his own hide to keep Mindy from harm. Every episode ends with Buttons getting in trouble over some (generally minor) misbehavior he performed in the course of his duties. At least till the movie, where he finally got his due.
49	* PapaWolf: Towards Mindy, big time. Especially in TheMovie, when she and the rest of the characters are being rounded up by the BigBad's soldiers.
50	* ParentalSubstitute: He might as well be Mindy's parent considering how severely neglectful her parents are and she has much more respect for him than she does her parents who she seems to regard as complete strangers.
51	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: In the future episode, after Mindy's mother scolds him for Mindy inadvertently getting into the family's cloning machine, he packs up, holds out an "I QUIT!" sign and leaves.
52	* SuddenlySpeaking: The end of ''Wakko's Wish'' reveals that he actually ''can'' speak.
53	* ThrowTheDogABone:
54	** In the CrossOver episode where [[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures Elmyra]] bothers the Warners, they ultimately distract her by introducing Elmyra to Mindy. Mindy [[StrayingBaby wanders off as usual]], but when Buttons goes to chase her as usual, the Warners hold him back. Sure enough, Elmyra is chasing Mindy and receiving all the abuse that Buttons usually gets. Buttons effusively thanks the Warners in response.
55	** An often overlooked example is "Night of the Living Buttons", where Mindy's mother doesn't scold Buttons in the ending. She doesn't even warn Buttons about any kind of misbehavior he'll be punished for, instead remarking how strange it is to see fog over the nearby cemetery.
56	** Buttons nearly gets scolded for ruining Mindy's mother's flower bed in "Mindy in Wonderland", but she forgives Buttons after the dog hands her the rose in his mouth. Mindy even tells him she likes him much better than the rabbit she was chasing.
57	** At the end of ''Wakko's Wish'', he gets praise and several large steaks from Mindy's parents.
58	** In a smaller way, at the end of each short, he's generally annoyed with all the crap he's had to go through to protect Mindy only to get scolded by her mother for the minor thing. ''Any'' sign of annoyance is erased when Mindy comes over, hugs/pets him, and tells him she loves him.
59	* UndyingLoyalty: Despite all the suffering, he loves Mindy since she's the only family member who genuinely loves him in return.
60	* VertigoEffect: Occasionally done with Buttons the moment Mindy escapes.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Mindy's Parents]]
64	->'''Voiced by''': Creator/TressMacNeille (Mother), Creator/FrankWelker (Father)
65
66	Mindy's neglectful parents. always calls them "Lady" and "Mr. Man," except in ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'', in which she finally calls her mother "Mom".
67	----
68	* AbusiveParents: Both parents are severely neglectful and pretty much see Buttons as a free babysitter. They're also quick to scold Buttons for things that never are his fault, oblivious to the fact that he's been running ragged trying to keep Mindy safe.
69	* AccidentalMisnaming: Mindy always addresses her mom as "Lady" (and her father as "Mr. Man").
70	* TheFaceless: The mother's face isn't entirely seen in ''Wakko's Wish'', but she's a brunette.
71	* HypocriticalHumor: Mindy's mom leaves her alone for going to things like a better parenting conference, the Mother of the Year Grand Finals, or on [[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah]], because the topic is "Overprotective Mothers".
72	* ObliviouslyEvil: Evil may not be the right word but they seem to be woefully unaware that they're neglecting Mindy by leaving her alone in their garden and expect a dog to take care of her.
73	* ParentalNeglect: Which is probably why Mindy never calls them "mom" and "dad" like they want her to (except in ''Wakko's Wish'') and instead calls them "Lady" and "Mr. Man", something she might refer to a stranger as.
74	* ParentalObliviousness: Totally oblivious to the fact that their child is a walking (crawling?) danger magnet, and moreover, they're clueless to the fact that brave and selfless Buttons is pretty much the only thing standing between her and Child Protective Services.
75	* SocialServicesDoesNotExist: Pretty much the only reason they aren't in jail for gross neglect and child endangerment. It's especially bad in ''Cat On A Hot Steel Beam'', when you'd think that a large crowd seeing Mindy need to be retrieved from a construction site by emergency crews would be more than enough to have them locked up and permanently lose custody of Mindy.
76	* UnnamedParent: Their names are never revealed.
77	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / AnimaniacsButtonsAndMindy