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| 23 | [[folder:Cartoon Network]] |
| 24 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Past the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] {{backstory|Horror}} and [[DysfunctionJunction severe psychological issues]] of many of the cast, the show [[DoubleEntendre is full of sexual innuendo]], thinly veiled references to rape, murder, abuse, suicide, and genocide, and some viciously brutal violence. There are episodes with everything from dealing with a mentally ill loved one to abusive relationships, all wrapped up in the silly adventures of [[ABoyAndHisX a boy and his dog]], with innumerable serious, mature, or just horrifying themes slipped in without ''technically'' moving past what is appropriate for children. To a lesser extent, it also had stronger language than what's normal in kid's shows (words like "crotch", "fricking", "sexy" and "sucks" being common, especially in older episodes). |
| 25 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' has humour that's more accessible than some of the others on this page, but it still gets [[DemographicallyInappropriateHumour extremely dubious at times]], containing scenes laden with sexual implications and violence. Besides having satire that's wouldn't be out-of-place on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', there aren't many kids shows with a [[BlackComedy dead baby joke]] or [[DeathAsComedy characters constantly dying]] for a RunningGag. |
| 26 | * The original ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' series made heavy use of BizarreAlienBiology to create characters with [[NightmareFuel/Ben10 absolutely nightmarish designs]], the sequels involved themes such as [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi-esque]] [[FinalSolution attempts at genocide]], [[FantasticDrug powers with drug undertones]] and implied {{Serial Killer}}s, and all four entries have at least one, if not multiple, cases of VileVillainSaccharineShow. By the time of ''Ultimate Alien'', things had become so dark the writers decided to go LighterAndSofter in [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse the next iteration in the franchise]], as well as the reboot of the series in order to avoid making things too dark, but that didn't stop them from still having some dark moments, such as the destruction of the entire universe in Omniverse, the death of multiple Ben's also in Omniverse, and the evil Ben 10K's backstory in the reboot. |
| 27 | * ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' could get shockingly dark at times for a show with such a Narmish concept. There are episodes centered around drug abuse (one of which has a character who overdoses and dies on-screen), gang violence (no less than four episodes), civil war, nuclear war, and AIDS. The show also wasn't afraid of showing graphic images of death and destruction. |
| 28 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'' is perhaps one of the few children's cartoons that averts NeverSayDie [[PlayedForLaughs For Laughs]]. The show can also sometimes contain FamilyUnfriendlyViolence. |
| 29 | * ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is packed to the gills with scary scenes, like the screamer girl from "Courage in the Big Stinkin' City", and the blue...trumpet...fetus thing from "Perfect". Probably the most controversial episode was "The Mask", where the villain was clearly a pimp who cruelly beat his two charges (who were as obvious a lesbian couple [[HideYourLesbians as could be shown on American's children's TV at the time]]). Also Katz, the most recurring villain of the show, is a thinly-veiled SerialKiller. |
| 30 | * ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' has a similar premise (and some of the same crew members) as ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' and is almost as boundary-pushing as the aforementioned show, with stuff involving Chicken entering the girls bathroom and mistaking a tampon machine for a cigar dispenser, Cow stuffing toilet paper on her head to make her horns look bigger, and Cow receiving a note that says "I got crabs", complete with her pausing at the word crabs, and the infamous BannedEpisode where Cow befriends a group of mannish-looking bikers who are heavily implied to be lesbians. Not to mention that one of the main characters was the ''devil'', but they call him the "Red Guy" instead (though he was called "The Devil" on the pilot short "No Smoking"). He also has some risque names like "Officer Pantsoffski", "Ben Panced", "C.D. Heinie", "Lance Sackless", and the most suggestive, "Mrs. Beaver". The show also features some gender-bending between characters in addition to some FamilyUnfriendlyViolence and BlackComedy. And just like ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' (see below), this was one of Creator/SethMacFarlane's projects before ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. |
| 31 | * While every episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has some adult jokes and/or content, it is suitable for children. "[[Recap/DextersLaboratoryRudeRemoval Rude Removal]]", though, is not, given the fact that it has censored swearing throughout and a rather unfriendly title card to boot. |
| 32 | * ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' is a very good example of this. Despite the fact that every character on the show are children and/or preteens, it's still replete with enough adult humor to qualify for this, such as [[AllMenArePerverts the episode with Eddy's magazines]], and [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale the Kankers "making love" to the Eds]]. It is also worth noting that the show is also created by the guy who made ''WesternAnimation/TheBrothersGrunt'' and is more famous as an experimental animator of adult cartoons. [[note]](Antonnucci only did ''Ed, Edd, and Eddy'' as part of a bet and actually hates children and doing children's cartoons.)[[/note]] TheMovie also has quite a mature handling on DomesticAbuse with [[spoiler: Eddy being beaten by his older brother]] that is ''not'' played for laughs and explicitly points out it's why [[spoiler: Eddy]] behaves the way he does, which is surprising since this is a show that heavily features slapstick. |
| 33 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', unsurprisingly given its premise, lives off of BlackComedy, FamilyUnfriendlyViolence, more than a few instances of DemographicallyInappropriateHumour (such as [[EroticEating Irwin sucking a lemon to titillate Mandy]]), and disturbing imagery that makes ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' look childish and tame in comparison. It's all PlayedForLaughs, but it can sometimes get disturbing nonetheless. |
| 34 | * The setting of ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'' is essentially an otherworldly train that kidnaps anyone no matter their age and keeps them prisoner until they learn to improve as people, whether that takes weeks, months, or years. And don't expect to learn exactly ''how'' you're meant to improve, as you never learn why you were taken to begin with; you're expected to simply figure it out on your own. As for the plots themselves, they tackle everything from divorce and mourning the dead to identity and the worth of life, with the third season explicitly following the exploits of two cult leaders. Beyond the introspective themes the show is also [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence rather jarringly violent]]. One episode in the second season outright involves a character being run over by the titular train and losing the lower half of his body, after which he spends the next few minutes dripping gore everywhere (although [[AlienBlood it isn't red]]) while admitting he's not long for this world, [[spoiler:and is later killed outright by one of the protagonists]]. In the third season, which was moved to HBO Max perhaps for this reason, another unquestionably human character dies [[spoiler:screaming while having the very flesh age off his bones with no discretion shot in sight]]. When talking about the possibility of a fourth season, [[https://io9.gizmodo.com/infinity-trains-creator-says-the-shows-future-is-in-jeo-1844852183 the creator said]] it falling into this trope is one of the biggest issues execs have with the show. |
| 35 | * ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' is as goofy as most other Hanna-Barbara cartoons, but it's about an Music/ElvisPresley-sounding CasanovaWannabe trying to score with women. Creator/SethMacFarlane (the crown prince of {{black|Comedy}}, {{cringe comedy}}) used to work on this show as a writer, so this should surprise no one. |
| 36 | * There's an obscure series of shorts that aired on Cartoon Network called ''[[MeaningfulName Ovni]]'' about [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter an adorable alien]] who has adventures throughout various historical periods. Sounds innocent, right? Well, said alien typically [[TheyKilledKennyAgain dies multiple times]] in an episode complete with AlienBlood, and he doesn't die permanently because [[BizarreAlienBiology he instantly regenerates like a video game character]]. |
| 37 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'': The series is meant for a young audience, and at first glance it really doesn't look like it's not. After a few episodes though, the large quantities of SurrealHorror, graphic BodyHorror and dark humor were and still are more than a bit unnerving for its target demographic. |
| 38 | * ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'' is very dark for this network, with a villain that essentially embodies despair and possibly suicide, a shadowy being stalking two young children, hoping they'll give up so he can [[spoiler: turn them into Edelwood trees and harvest their souls]]. It's stock full of NightmareFuel creatures that make even most Cartoon Network shows look tame. |
| 39 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': WordOfGod says it originally ''wasn't'' intended for kids (after all, its working title was ''The Whoop-Ass Girls''), but the AnimationAgeGhetto struck and [[ExecutiveMeddling he was forced to change it]]. The show itself is [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence surprisingly violent]] [[ArtStyleDissonance given its artstyle]], even having blood in some of the earlier episodes. |
| 40 | * ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow''. More sex jokes, frequent lethal use of weapons, and mild profanities ("crap", "sucks", even "pissed" [[note]] the censors eventually caught onto "pissed", however, as it is dubbed over with "ticked" in reruns[[/note]]) then you can shake a yardstick at. It's based on two short films creator J.G. Quintel made in animation school called "WebAnimation/TwoInTheAMPM" and "The Naive Man from Lolliland", and while the latter is safe for family viewing (a single use of "hell" wouldn't faze most viewers), the former isn't -- at least, by Cartoon Network's already selective standards. Finally paid off as by the 42nd Annie Awards it was put in the "General Audience" category along with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and similar shows. |
| 41 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Robotomy}}'' has excessive violence, a lot of ComedicSociopathy, some sexual innuendo, some mild swearing (mostly words like "crap," "sucks" or "screwed"). One of the show creators worked on ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' and it has the look and feel of a ''Superjail'' spin-off or companion show. The show was in fact so crude and violent [[NoExportForYou no other station outside of the US wanted to air it]], resulting in its very swift cancellation. |
| 42 | * ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' was perhaps one of the darkest shows of its era in Cartoon Network, starting with the very fact that the villain is a malignant demon who turned the world into a [[CrapsackWorld bleak, dark, gloomy]] {{dystopia}} and commits genocide, carnage, presumed animal cruelty, torture (both physical and psychological) and slavery on a regular basis. And for a bonus, some episodes were entirely built around NightmareFuel; even the episodes not revolving around horror have scenes that are traumatic. Yup, it's frankly astounding it did not wind up in Creator/AdultSwim during its days. Ironically, [[SamuraiJack/TropesSeason5 the series' revival]] was aired on Creator/AdultSwim, and their UK channel is posting clips of both the revival and the original series. The revived series could likewise fall under WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids. |
| 43 | * Similar to ''Adventure Time'', ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' tackles many mature/darker themes once would not expect from a PG children's cartoon, like consent, toxic/unhealthy relationships, death, war, morality, guilt, self-hatred and self-esteem in general, and realistic mourning. |
| 44 | * ''WesternAnimation/SundayPants'' was a short-lived anthology series and one of the network's first TV-PG rated originals. The show also had characters drinking (in one episode of ''Weighty Decisions'', the angel claimed that the devil was drinking too much) and swearing (such as an episode where the angel says "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" and an instance in an ''IMP'' short where the titular imp says "dammit!" and "double dammit!"), which are most likely what [[ShortRunners led to its cancellation after a mere month on the air]]. No, this show did not air on Creator/AdultSwim, but ''regular'' Cartoon Network. |
| 45 | * ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'' gets away with a fair amount of violence and an amazing amount of blatant {{fanservice}}, most memorably in Episode 10 when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5ZJrPVEkkA Kimmy does the "booty quake" dance]] to seduce Newton into doing her geometry test, with plenty of ass-shaking and bouncing, her dress strap falling off, and briefly pole dancing on a lamp. |
| 46 | * ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'': On the outside, it was a funny, unassuming edutainment cartoon (that was more entertainment than education) about an orphaned history whiz taken in by a overly-macho time cop and his effeminate RobotBuddy to the future where, each episode, they go back in time to fix history. On the inside, it got away with adult jokes that were on par with ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', played up the HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood trope for laughs more than ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', and indulged in more homoerotic subtext than anything that Cartoon Network had aired at the time in the early 00's. All of this probably contributed to the [[ScrewedByTheNetwork 5am timeslot it got towards the tail end of its run]]. |
| 47 | * While ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' isn't as intense as ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' below, it still dips into this territory. For starters, Megatron is now [[AdaptationalBadass a much bigger threat]] in this continuity, and the first season establishes that not only is he a ManipulativeBastard toward Isaac Sumdac, but upon the restoration of his body, he delivers a powerful CurbStompBattle to the Autobots and kills Starscream for his betrayal. In addition, the show features limb removal, violence (both on- and offscreen), an implied successful political assassination, BodyHorror, torture, an AxCrazy prisoner who is after one of the main heroes, a deconstruction of [[BlackAndGrayMorality questionable choices made by the heroes during the war]], and HeroicSacrifice. The show also doesn't shy away from killing off characters; in fact, in the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:two of the main characters end up dead]], and WordOfGod is that had a fourth season been greenlit, Ultra Magnus would have died of the injuries that Shockwave inflicted on him late in the third season. |
| 48 | [[/folder]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder:Disney]] |
| 51 | * The Season One climax for ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatianStreet'', "The De Vil Wears Puppies", has Cruella return, seeking out her puppy fur coat again. It shows that Cruella is very abusive in her relationship to Hunter, in order to get him to do her bidding. What makes it especially dark is that she has a skinning machine which she intended to throw the puppies in, she uses Dawkins' doll to demonstrate to the puppies what it will do to them, and she tells Delilah & Doug that she is going to force them to watch her do this, before turning them into matching luggage. |
| 52 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': |
| 53 | ** The series tends to have plethora of darker scenes and themes that continue to grow as the series progresses. Season 1 is tame in comparison, with a few things such as cannibalistic frogs, near-death experiences the main cast gets into, and more seriously, [[spoiler: Sasha implying ''suicide'' when letting go of Anne's hand]]. |
| 54 | ** Seasons 2 and 3 is where things ''really'' get kicked up a notch. The blood and death imagery is more apparent, there's parental death and conflicts, themes of war, assassination attempts, and many more. What gets really worse is Andrias sending deadly weapons to Earth and the fact Anne, the Plantars and her family nearly ''die''. |
| 55 | ** Then there's the events of both "True Colors" and "Olivia & Yunan". The former features [[spoiler: Andrias attempting '''child murder''' by throwing Sprig out a window, trying to kill Polly for getting in the way, and the cherry on top: Stabbing Marcy]]. The latter is even worse somehow; [[spoiler: there's the nightmare projection the characters suffer through, and the '''literal entire ending''' to the episode]]. |
| 56 | * ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': The episode "Chipocalypse Now" has Chip Whistler and his Wholesome Squad coming this close to destroying the Greens' house and their legacy along with it, as well as a full-blown battleground. What really takes the cake of it is Chip going full-on psycho once he's banned from Big City, which almost culminated with him [[WouldHurtAChild nearly killing Cricket]] and his whole family, and by chance, ''everyone who stuck up for them.'' |
| 57 | * ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': |
| 58 | ** Obake's [[spoiler:[[DrivenToSuicide suicide]]]] is quite dark. Then you remember it's a '''''kid's show'''''. |
| 59 | ** The scene where [[spoiler:Karmi gets mutated into a monster]] seems straight out of a horror movie. |
| 60 | * ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' is ''significantly'' darker than the [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 original series]]. A few reasons why include the frequent use of black comedy, a frighteningly realistic depiction of emotionally abusive relationships with [[spoiler: Magica forcing Lena to do her bidding]], Donald and Scrooge being traumatized over [[spoiler: Della Duck's supposed death]] and being ''very'' antagonistic to each other, and the violence is much more realistic. |
| 61 | ** In Season 2, [[spoiler: Della Duck is revealed to have lost her leg when her spaceship crashed. Even worse, there's the implication that she had to ''cut off her own leg'', since it was crushed underneath her ship, though no pain or blood is shown and she happily shows off her self-made prosthetic. In addition, viewers watch her grapple with 10 years of isolation on the moon, sending messages home that [[DramaticIrony the audience knows her family never saw]]. Even after she gets home and happily reunites with her family, there are some subtle instances that her trauma from those events is still there]]. |
| 62 | ** In Season 3, "Fountain of the Foreverglades" featured the bad guy rapidly aging to death, a la ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', and the family growing more fearful and paranoid [[spoiler: after the reveal that F.O.W.L. was back and hiding in their midst]]. |
| 63 | * In a similar vein to ''The Lion Guard'' (below), we have fellow Disney Junior series ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor''. While it definitely has enough light-hearted moments and happy endings (or endings where the positive elements are given more emphasis) to have it fit on the channel, it has a realistic take on trauma, the fact that the main antagonist succeeds in ''murdering'' Elena's parents, and its much tighter focus on serialized storytelling (its parent series, ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'', has many of these elements, but they were more pronounced in later episodes and less in earlier ones). It's still definitely a children's series, but its subject matter is incredibly dark by the standards of a preschool series. |
| 64 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' was Disney's first truly dark animated series, with surprisingly mature themes such as gun violence. In the first episode, Goliath performs an on-screen BareHandedBladeBlock that leaves visible bleeding wounds on both palms. The episode primarily regarding Gun Violence hinged on explaining proper gun safety and pulled no punches as to what could happen even if a trained officer of the law was irresponsible with her service weapon (not storing it properly in this case). It likewise gave an excuse as to why the bad guys (and '''only''' them) have [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms laser weapons]], namely that they were stolen test weapons and were more military grade than police weapons grade and are more destructive and dangerous than service weapons (the series never once gave a police character a laser weapon as a service weapon). |
| 65 | * ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' really stretches its TV-Y7 rating. The show is positively rife with [[NightmareFuel/GravityFalls Nightmare Fuel]], bizarre imagery, and touches subject matter that is normally taboo in children's programming, whether it be for the sake of drama or for a joke. Adult jokes are prevalent and the show can get quite violent, compounded by the fact characters visibly shed blood in multiple episodes (though [[AlienBlood in the case of non-humans, it's not necessarily red]]). The show's characters are shown to be quite flawed for Disney protagonists as well; Stan [[spoiler:and his brother]] are far from ideal role models and even Dipper and Mabel have engaged in unsavory behavior (although they usually learn from it). The show's a lot more mature than one would expect from it, especially considering it aired on Disney. The creators have joked about traumatizing children on occasion. |
| 66 | ** The series suffers from SerialEscalation as well. It started off as a relatively innocent cartoon about twins exploring an apparently sleepy city while staying at the tourist trap of their mysterious Grunkle Stan. Cue [[DarkerAndEdgier Season 2]], which opened with the [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters]] being ''zombies'', and then continues to evolve [[spoiler: [[DemonicPossession possessed brothers]], [[{{Yandere}} a videogame girl wanting to keep Soos forever]], a missing family member who's been traveling 30 years through different dimensions, [[DarkAndTroubledPast dark]] [[CerebusRetcon pasts]], [[GenkiGirl Mabel]] [[HeroicBSOD losing hope]] and locking up in a LotusEaterMachine, and finally ''the end of the world'']]. |
| 67 | ** Some specific scenes fall into this trope so thoroughly that they've been removed from some re-airings: the scene in Northwest Mansion Mystery where the animal heads on the walls start bleeding from their eyes and mouths and chanting "ANCIENT SINS", for instance. |
| 68 | ** The second season takes more liberties than the first season. The comedy is blacker, the jokes are crueler and there is notably more violence. The symbolic villain shift from Li'l Gideon to Bill Cipher is prominent. |
| 69 | ** Notably in regards to NightmareFuel, as of [[spoiler:"Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future", the world has ended, an extra-dimensional demon-God has taken physical form, and the last thing we heard in the episode was the hysterical screams of the townsfolk as a dimensional rift to what is essentially Hell opened above them. In the next episode ("Weirdmageddon Part 1"), we find out that [[KidHero Dipper]] apparently went around during the apocalypse for three days without knowing if anyone he knew was still alive, a character gets [[FacialHorror the functions of all the orifices in his face rearranged]] (causing him to fall to the ground gurgling/screaming), and group of demons play a variation of Spin the Bottle called Spin the Person, where they spin a dead body and the spinner has to eat whomever it lands on]]. |
| 70 | * ''WesternAnimation/HandyManny'' is a preschool cartoon, but the episode "Felipe's New Job" had one of the main characters ''[[DrivenToSuicide try to commit suicide]]''. We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried. |
| 71 | -->'''Felipe''': Maybe Manny should just melt me down and use me for scrap metal. |
| 72 | * Fans of ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' have debated on why it is classified as a preschool aimed show and why it has a Y rating ever since its premiere. None of the fans deny that it's for kids, but the fact that it's aimed at preschool kids is stunning, given that the violence is sometimes a tad unfriendly to that target audience. There are some suggestive jokes, and we even see a dead body (which, although this happened in the movies it's based on as well, is still unusual), along with some of the [[AnAesop Aesops]] being quite mature for children of that age. Overall, it's often agreed that the show would be better off with a TV-Y7 rating. Season 2 has [[spoiler: Scar return from the dead, resulting in more blatant attempts to kill entire herds, multiple locations are turned to ash, and several major characters nearly wind up dead]]. Season 3 almost completely kicks the show out of typical preschool cartoon territory, as [[spoiler: the opener has Kion explicitly bleeding, Ono loses his eyesight, Ushari burns to death, and Kion gets infected with a venom that causes him to start wrestling quite clearly with his darker instincts, along with the fact that, given this is a midquel for ''Simba's Pride'' that they do not appear in, guarantees the Guard does not come back, albeit due to voluntarily disbanding]]. |
| 73 | * It's easy to forget, despite the horror-comedy (and sometimes outright horror) premise, themes, and audience generally skewing older, that ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' technically has a ''TV-Y7 rating''. Some of the subject matter and themes the show tackles includes the trauma and effects of parental abuse, allegories for chronic illness, and the consequences and damage of cults, among many others. A lot of characters are also shown to have DarkAndTroubledPast(s) and mental health issues, all of which are played straight if not outright PlayedForHorror, with [[spoiler:Hunter]] specifically having multiple severe and ''extremely'' realistic [[FreakOut panic attacks]] onscreen, and [[spoiler:Luz]] falling into a deep depression that's implied to border on suicidal and is treated just as seriously. |
| 74 | ** TheReveal in [[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E16HollowMind "Hollow Mind"]] that [[spoiler:Emperor Belos is a WitchHunter named Philip Wittebane, and that the Day of Unity he's planning is a whole witch '''genocide''', ''regardless of anyone's ages''. It's also revealed that Philip likely ''murdered'' his brother, Caleb, due to him having a relationship with a witch, and that Hunter is the latest in a long line of clones of Caleb that Belos made to serve as his Golden Guards, all of whom were murdered after they found out the truth for themselves. After learning this, Hunter brokenly asks Belos what he did to his family, prompting Belos to declare Hunter a lost cause and try to kill him as well]]. |
| 75 | ** [[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E21KingsTide "King's Tide"]] is downright horrifying, as it shows [[spoiler:everyone in the Boiling Isles suffering and slowly dying as the Draining Spell kills them, Amity having to abandon her father -not knowing if he will live-, King wandering through a cavern filled with the skeletons and masks of previous Golden Guards, Raine being forced to tear off Eda's arm, Belos mutating into a monster after Luz brands him, plus his eerily realistic attempt at manipulating Hunter and [[LudicrousGibs gruesome death at The Collector's hands]] followed by the kids forced to escape through the portal when King pulls a heroic sacrifice and arriving at Camila's injured and traumatized]]. |
| 76 | ** [[Recap/TheOwlHouseS3E1ThanksToThem "Thanks to Them"]] takes it even further. [[spoiler:As hinted at the end of the previous episode, Belos is revealed to be NotQuiteDead, with a piece of his remains having made it through to the Human Realm with the kids completely unaware, and possessing different animals [[PossessionBurnout until they are reduced to skeletons]]. Then he possesses Hunter through a tiny cut in his finger, complete with BodyHorror, as well as causing him to ''mortally wound'' Flapjack, Hunter's Palisman and first real friend. The damage to Hunter's body afterwards is so severe that he ''almost dies'', and only survives because Flapjack uses the last of his life to save him, and even then he is left with scars all over him. Keep in mind that he is still just a teenager]]. It also portrays Luz's depression over [[spoiler:almost causing everyone's deaths by unwittingly helping Belos' past self]] as disturbingly realistic, [[spoiler:with her at one point mentioning during a school class that if the hero makes so many mistakes then everyone would be better off without them, clearly projecting her own issues, which seems very similar to suicidal thoughts]]. |
| 77 | * ''WesternAnimation/PickleAndPeanut'', like ''Gravity Falls'', really stretches its TV-Y7 rating, with lots of [[DemographicallyInappropriateHumour moments]] that are right on par with Cartoon Network's ''Regular Show''. For instance, in the first episode, they get away with saying "skinny dipping". That alone makes you wonder how Disney could allow this show to air on their network. |
| 78 | * Many parents believe that ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks'' does not belong on Disney Junior due to the occasional acts of physical violence and the characters often calling their enemies' names (both of which are rarely seen in preschool cartoons), which they believe shouldn't be copied by the target audience. |
| 79 | * ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' eventually plays this straight in the series finale, "Forever Royal". The standout elements include [[spoiler: the revelation that Sofia's father died at sea, and King Roland's wish for a family caused Queen Lorelei to die since her body couldn't handle it, Vor possessing the more sympathetic villain Prisma to do her bidding and being the first antagonist to actively try to ''murder'' Sofia, a scene that (from the parents' perspective) looks like Sofia is trying to commit ''suicide'' even though she's just trying to escape the boat with Amber and Minimus, and to top it off, Vor's death that's not too dissimilar to the Earth Queen's death on ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'']]. This was still rated TV-Y by the way. |
| 80 | * Daron Nefcy's ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' takes a similar route as ''Gravity Falls'', starting out as a sugar-coated parody of the MagicalGirl genre. By the second season it's started to become far darker though, with similar points made by the former; discussing [[FantasticRacism Racism]], DemonicPossession and [[DealWithTheDevil deals with the devil]], toxic relationships (with a boy who's literally the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Prince of Hell]]), and a plethora of examples of VileVillainSaccharineShow. |
| 81 | ** Resident KnightOfCerebus Toffee takes the cake, being up there with cartoon villains such as The Lich, Him, Aku, and Bill Cipher in terms of how seriously he is portrayed. [[spoiler:Crimes include murdering Queen Moons mother in cold blood and during the signing of the Monster/Mewman treaty no less, threatened to crush Marco to death if Star didn't destroy her wand, possessed Ludo, turns Mewni into an even ''bigger'' crapsack world than it already was, and has a thing for dressing in the bones of what seem to be ''[[SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset dead Mewmans.]]'' His death is, while fitting, [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6S0E1YmjDw8/maxresdefault.jpg hardly anything better]].]] |
| 82 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' was initially criticized for being too kid-friendly. It ''more'' than made up for it from the end of the first season and beyond. Brutal depictions of WarIsHell, {{Family Unfriendly Death}}s, and [[BlackAndGrayMorality a good amount of morally questionable moves by the traditional heroes]] turned it into one of the most fearless family-friendly animated programs in recent memory. A few early episodes included mild profanity in their initial broadcasts, though this was caught and {{bowdlerise}}d for later airings. And once [[KnightOfCerebus Maul]] finally makes his return, all bets are off. |
| 83 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', in the same vein of ''Star Wars The Clone Wars''. Some fans thought, based upon the early trailers, the character shorts released on [=YouTube=] and partially just because the show was produced by Disney, that it was going for a LighterAndSofter direction to the point it might become DenserAndWackier. Instead, it got DarkerAndEdgier as the first season progressed and when Tarkin showed up it got ''really'' dark, to the point of the trope question being sometimes asked without irony and a few complaints that some of the content really ''does'' exceed the show's TV-Y7 rating. The second season kicked off with [[TheDreaded Darth Vader]] rolling into town and reminding everyone why he is the terrifying ultimate badass of the ''Star Wars'' Universe. Then it introduced two new Inquisitors, both of whom are real pieces of work. And guess what? This show does not shy away from tropes like TheBadGuyWins. Then there's the final episode of the second season, in which a much-loved supporting character [[spoiler:performs a HeroicSacrifice and ([[AmbiguousSituation possibly]]) dies]], not to mention the return of [[spoiler:'''[[KnightOfCerebus Darth]] [[AxCrazy Maul]]''' himself, who kills the female Inquisitor [[OffWithHisHead in a very violent way]] and [[EyeScream slices off Kanan's eyes]] with a lightsaber]]. |
| 84 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'', the Programs' unusual way of dying (shattering into little decaying cubes) allowed them to get away with stuff that would ''definitely'' exceed the Y-7 rating otherwise. At least OncePerEpisode, someone ends up being smashed into cubes in some horrible way (shot, impaled, one Program ''bisected at the waist'' and still trying to crawl before "bleeding out"). We see Tesler's troops commit mass murder in a ''hospital.'' There's also the Iso genocide, nasty brainwashing, [[BloodSport The Game Grid]], and plenty of ColdBloodedTorture (Dyson took a ''buzzsaw'' to Tron's face). Add a BigGood that is CoveredInScars, ''deeply'' messed up psychologically, and almost ''kills'' his apprentice for trying to talk him out of revenge. It's saying something when the animated series makes the discredited [[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh first-person shooter]] look downright fluffy by comparison. |
| 85 | * ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' just like ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' has lots of risque humor and some black comedy in it including Wander playing spin the bottle with Lord Hater, Captain Awesome saying he’s going to take Lord Hater down to “Awesome Town” and then pointing at his crotch, and Peepers slicing open and killing a plant monster using the point on top of his helmet. It can also get surprisingly dark in decidedly non-comedic ways at times. The main villain Lord Dominator tries to slice through Sylvia with a giant power drill and make Wander watch as she tries to murder his best friend. |
| 86 | [[/folder]] |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[folder:First-Run Syndication]] |
| 89 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' has genocide, on-screen death, a DatingCatwoman (or at least shagging her) situation in "Renegade Rangers", slavery, torture, ''massive'' aversions of NeverSayDie (with the on-screen body count to back it up)... even Robert Mandell admits the show's writing "flew over the heads of six year olds." |
| 90 | * Several episodes of ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'', including the ones about prison (which had swear words in the original version; the new version censors the swear words) and gang violence (which had a young boy get killed in the crossfire of a gang war), had material that many parents would probably not want their kids to watch, at least alone. There was even an episode about a teen mother, which didn't go into detail about how babies were made. Parents were likely supposed to talk with their kids about sex and avoiding teen parenthood. Another episode dealt with [=STDs=], and a doctor even mentioned a couple of the diseases by name. The same episode also had mentions of sexual intercourse, and Bill Cosby told the viewers that those words were something they should ask their parents about. Few kids' shows out there touch such heavy topics. In the ''Double Cross'' episode, George and his gang were clearly White Supremacists. Near the end of the episode, he launched into a blunt tirade explicitly condemning Latinos, Jews, Catholics, Italians, Asians, and Blacks. Fat Albert also visits Mudfoot and a Rabbi who tells him about the Nazis, Antisemitism, and the Holocaust. |
| 91 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Inhumanoids}}'', a MerchandiseDriven horror series about monsters from {{Hell}} -- we mean, "[[ExpositoryThemeTune the fiery depths of the earth where nightmares begin]]" -- attacking humanity. It was basically a LovecraftLite cartoon aimed, nominally, at kids, despite featuring dismemberments, people dying constantly, some turning into zombies and some gruesome imagery. The monsters, in particular, were very horrid, and one of the three main monsters called Tendril looked quite similar to [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]]. |
| 92 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' begins with the funeral of the main character's father and not too long later their foster home full of little girls gets bombed. Despite being aimed at little girls and [[MerchandiseDriven being made to advertise toys]], ''Jem'' featured many dark and mature themes. Infidelity, drug use, abusive parents, parental abandonment, suicide, depression... That's even ignoring the fact the characters are put in life-and-death situations essentially every episode. The creator wanted to push the envelope more, but the show was ScrewedByTheMerchandise and cancelled after three seasons. |
| 93 | [[/folder]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | [[folder:The Hub/Discovery Family]] |
| 96 | * ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' is a BlackComedy that would likely feel more at home on Adult Swim or Fox with the occasional themes of marital problems and murder (even rape) and a HeroicComedicSociopath as the protagonist. Yet swearing[[note]]Unless you count "crap" and "hellbent" as swears[[/note]] and blood[[note]]Except for in "Dan vs the Wolf-Man", a werewolf was visibly bleeding after getting shot[[/note]] are non-existent in the show. That being said, Dan Vs. originated as a live-action adult sitcom, and was actually pitched to Adult Swim at first. |
| 97 | * ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' was touted by a director as "an adult ''Transformers'' series [he] wanted to make". When you get down to it, it's a miracle they got by with the main combatants all being robots, as this series features a number of themes on WarIsHell and would be pretty graphic if done with people. Other events and themes include kidnapping via internet spying, the DeathOfAChild almost occurring, references to chemical warfare, named characters being dissected or beaten to death by a protagonist's bare hands, Starscream facing brutal beatdowns on the hands of Megatron, and other serious issues like drug abuse or suicide via HeroicSacrifice. |
| 98 | [[/folder]] |
| 99 | |
| 100 | [[folder:Netflix]] |
| 101 | * Following the premise of ''WesternAnimation/{{Centaurworld}}''[='=]s first season, many noted how there's several... questionable things that happen in the series such as how the Mysterious Woman killed a ladybug centaur to use its blood as paint, Glendale's kleptomaniac behavior and her history with the law, a Very Special Episode discussing suicide, the Nowhere King's appearance, Wammawink's softcore merman magazine collection, and many, many more. Against all odds, it scored only a TV-Y7 rating. |
| 102 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' takes place in a fantasy world where the characters have GreyAndGrayMorality, one of the leads is a {{Child Soldier|s}}, and at least a few instances where blood is shown onscreen, yet it still has a TV-Y7-FV rating. [[note]]Granted, at least two episodes of the series ([[Recap/TheDragonPrinceS2E7FireAndFury S2 E7]] and [[Recap/TheDragonPrinceS3E9TheFinalBattle S3 E9]], which have [[BloodierAndGorier a noted increase]] in the level of violence) are actually rated TV-PG, although Netflix doesn't show an individual episode's ratings until you play that episode.[[/note]] |
| 103 | * ''WesternAnimation/KulipariAnArmyOfFrogs'' is a Netflix exclusive title with a TV-Y7-FV rating, yet there are a lot of depictions of violence, war, and death as a lot of the recurring characters were killed in the first season, not to mention the lack of clothing that the male frogs had. |
| 104 | * One has to wonder if kids are even on the mind of the showrunners of ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' given how dark and mature the show can get. Things like child abuse, death, post-traumatic stress disorder, and war crimes are played completely straight and explored in great detail. The psychological horror of season 4 is very intense for a "kids" show. |
| 105 | * ''WesternAnimation/SuperGiantRobotBrothers'' somehow got away with DeathAsComedy courtesy of reporters, civilians and other extra characters and even mild swear words such as "crap" and "screwed" (such as an instance of Shiny nearly swearing in episode 3 [[LastSecondWordSwap until being cut off by his creator and saying that he was going to say "shiz" instead).]] |
| 106 | * ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'' ''definitely'' stretches its TV-Y7-FV rating, which isn't surprising considering the [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague creators']] [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender previous]] [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra works]]. It has scenes of torture (with one of the characters it happened to getting PTSD as a result), a surprising amount of violence that only passes because [[BloodlessCarnage there is no onscreen blood]], and quite a few side characters who die, some of those deaths being onscreen. |
| 107 | |
| 108 | [[/folder]] |
| 109 | |
| 110 | [[folder:Nickelodeon]] |
| 111 | * ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'', especially compared to other Klasky-Csupo works, this cartoon delves into considerably more mature and deep topics. It's aimed at the middle school audience. The show deals with preteen and teenage issues in a frank and understanding way. |
| 112 | * ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': |
| 113 | ** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is a show about a war that has lasted for a hundred years, tearing apart families and nations and was begun with the ''genocide'' of an entire people. The protagonist, the 12-year-old [[LastOfHisKind last survivor]] of said people, assembles a team of ChildSoldiers and trains to overthrow the EvilOverlord (who happens to be a shockingly {{abusive parent|s}}) that seeks to subjugate or kill anyone who isn't Fire Nation. The abuse of the 16-year old StarterVillain by his father, the aforementioned EvilOverlord, is depicted with very few punches pulled and ''always'' PlayedForDrama, with [[ScarsAreForever the physical mark of his abuse always visible]] and [[BreakTheCutie the psychological effects on him thoroughly explored]]. And the "Southern Raiders" episode in general, for its portrayal of war crimes, murder, revenge, and forgiveness, which doesn't go the way one might expect. |
| 114 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is a weird example because its content limitations are its biggest concession to its kid audience... and that's not saying much, [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence given how disturbing its violence can get]]. Its characters have, at various points, [[spoiler: committed MurderSuicide, had a spirit ripped out of their eyes and throat, been graphically suffocated on-screen, accidentally blown off their own head, suffered mercury poisoning, been electrocuted to death, and crushed by a mecha]], but that's not what makes it seem like the kid audience was an afterthought. Instead, the themes are what really makes it feel like adults and teenagers were the real target -- not only does it tackle such controversial topics as child abuse, social inequality, terrorism and the less-than-helpful totalitarian governmental responses it can spark, anarchy and the dangers of revolution, political assassination (including depicting a successful one) and depression, it also gives a ton of focus to the 50-year-olds in its cast and their mid-life family issues. There isn't even a real kid perspective, because Korra's much more of a young adult than a teenager. She starts the show at 17 and ends it at 21. The only child characters in the show are Tenzin's oldest three kids because in this GenerationalSaga, all of the characters from the original show's grandkids are in Korra's age range or older. [[note]] Toph's oldest two are older than Korra but Opal is the same age and the twins aren't much younger. Zuko's grandson is a few years older than her and his granddaughter is presumably roughly her age given that she was supposed to be Mako's love interest [[/note]] Even out of Tenzin's kids, Jinora (the oldest) is the only really prominent character out of the bunch. |
| 115 | * ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' looks pretty tame at first, as it didn't have quite as much {{demographically inappropriate humour}} as other Nicktoons of [[TheNineties its time]]. However, it was also [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence a pretty violent show]] with [[NightmareFuel/CatDog some]] ''[[NightmareFuel/CatDog very]]'' [[NightmareFuel/CatDog disturbing imagery]], on top of nearing ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' levels of SadistShow. |
| 116 | * ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' not only breaks the NeverSayDie rule, but many of the show's antagonists actively attempt to kill major characters, sometimes in the most disturbing ways possible, and in one episode ''it actually happens''. There are copious amounts of BodyHorror, and the motivation of the BigBad is based around an unhealthy, stalker-like obsession with a married woman. |
| 117 | * ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold''. The show features adult themes like an overkill (by Nickelodeon standards) of cursing and one of the darkest backstories of any main Nickelodeon character at the time (Helga, who is considered TheUnfavourite in her family in favor of her StepfordSmiler sister, has a [[AbusiveParents verbally abusive father]], and a mother who is clearly a [[TheAlcoholic depressed alcoholic]]). |
| 118 | * ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' was more grotesque than most of Nick's other works, featured things like children summoning demons and a disturbing amount of body horror (including one kid getting ''his eyes plucked out''), and was created by a man who wrote [[ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac a comic series about a homicidal maniac]]. It's kind of in between this and its [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids sister trope]], very clearly meant for a young teen audience, but for whatever reason Nick shoehorned it in a block that was otherwise targeted at a different demographic that the show was ''completely'' inappropriate for. That said, it's still questionable for even the ''intended'' demographic - while it's toned down from JCV's comics, it's basically a hair away from ''ComicBook/{{Squee}}'' in terms of content, which is very solidly meant for adults. |
| 119 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'': While not as dark as say ''Invader Zim'' or inappropriate as most 90s Nicktoons, the show frequently averts NeverSayDie, the main robot character frequently gets destroyed to the point of BodyHorror, and there is a lot of adult humor in the show, such as sex jokes and references to classic sci-fi and pop-culture none of its target audience would get. Plus, some of the villains range from a blatant communist (the episode he's from includes the hammer and sickle symbol in the title) to a gang of fishwomen that resemble dominatrices to a depressed group of dumped loners who has a member with a visible noose on his neck after an implied failed suicide attempt. |
| 120 | * ''WesternAnimation/PigGoatBananaCricket'': It's basically ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' for a new generation, containing varying levels of FamilyUnfriendlyViolence, BlackComedy, and censor-dodging. Though it's a fairly tame example of this compared to some of its fellow shows. |
| 121 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' was the TropeCodifier for GrossoutShow and was filled to the brim with horrifying {{Gross Up Close Up}}s, FamilyUnfriendlyViolence[[note]]including an episode that shows somebody skinning their elbow with a cheese grater and using ''lemon and salt'' on the wound, as well as an ogre's toenail being pried open with a crowbar and one of the corns on the giant's toe rupturing and oozing pus[[/note]], and [[DemographicallyInappropriateHumour sexual references]], yet was one Nickelodeon's flagship series. At one point, they even had a song about being hanged! |
| 122 | * ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', while tame compared to ''Ren & Stimpy'', still has its moments. Social satire runs rampant throughout the series, some of the adult humor is flat out extreme and ridiculous (going as far as showing Rocko working at a sex hotline), a few of its worst innuendos got banned from even the [=DVDs=], the episode "Leap Frogs" was banned for being too sexually sleazy, there were ''two'' episodes (one of which was also banned) that revolved around Heffer going to {{Hell}} (albeit referred to as "[[GoshDangItToHeck Heck]]"), a lot of crazy and disturbing stuff happens in general, there is often serious abuse going on between characters, and the theme song shows what a sick mockery Rocko's childhood was. Not to mention that it could get [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence pretty violent]] (such as a scene where a bull's arms fall off while lifting weights, with [[{{Squick}} blood and meat coming out of them]]). |
| 123 | * ''WesternAnimation/SanjayAndCraig '' takes full advantage of the GrossUpCloseUp whenever possible (though this was toned down in the second season). The show seems to love BlackComedy jokes as well, one of which implies that Craig, [[AnimalAnthropomorphismTropes an anthropomorphic snake]], ate a hamster's family. |
| 124 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': There's a huge amount of [[NauseaFuel disgusting]] [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence violence]] (most notably from episodes like "The Splinter" and the infamous toenail scene from "House Fancy") and NightmareFuel, especially in the seasons between the [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie first]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater second]] movies, as well as all kinds of dirty references ("Patrick, your genius is showing!" "Where?!"), [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs thinking they murdered the health inspector and trying to hide the body from police (ItMakesSenseInContext), and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick raising a child like a married couple in one episode]]. |
| 125 | ** Even among all this, three episodes in particular- "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS7E11OneCoarseMealGaryInLove One Coarse Meal]]", "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS8E21SquiditisDemolitionDoofus Demolition Doofus]]", and "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS11E16MyLegInkLemonade Ink Lemonade]]" - really stand out and seriously make you question how ''any'' of it was allowed on a show aimed at children. The actual plots of these episodes, respectively and [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer without exaggeration]], are "Mr. Krabs discovers that Plankton is [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes terrified of whales]] since he thinks [[SapientEatSapient they eat plankton]], so he dresses up like Pearl and psychologically torments Plankton to the point that he ''[[DrivenToSuicide attempts to get run over]]''", "[=SpongeBob=] injures Mrs. Puff so badly that she ends up with a ruptured inflation sac (i.e. is permanently disfigured) and, in a fit of insanity, tries to '''actively murder Spongebob'''," and "Patrick engages in increasingly disgusting and violent ways of tormenting Squidward so he can make lemonade with his bodily fluids[[note]]Specifically, his ink, which isn't as scary or gross as other bodily fluids, but still.[[/note]]." |
| 126 | [[/folder]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | [[folder:PBS Kids]] |
| 129 | * On ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts'', so far, we've heard talk of cannibalism, seen a Secretary bird kill a snake (complete with minor blood spillage), saw a coyote marking Martin-the-Tree as his territory (although we just saw the wet spot and not the genitals nor the stream), seen animals frozen alive with full consciousness still intact, saw T-Devils eating an ambiguous dead thing… are we sure this is on PBS? The brothers actually ended up naked in one scene, though their modesty was covered up by gigantic leaves. |
| 130 | * ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids'' covers topics such as war, and several characters are killed off, including one of the main character's cousins. It also has no qualms with covering slavery, with one of the main characters being a former slave. |
| 131 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Redwall}}'' is based off the books of the same name -- but shies away from virtually none of the FamilyUnfriendlyViolence that makes its source material so infamous (see its entry under WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids/{{Literature}} for more details on the books), instead simply hiding behind {{Gory Discretion Shot}}s and BloodlessCarnage to obscure characters being tortured, maimed, stabbed, and killed in a variety of [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath awful ways]] with the deaths of named characters ''in almost every episode''. Even then, the show didn't always employ its discretion shots; characters were shot dead with arrows and stabbed fully onscreen numerous times (the ''bloody'' aftermath of Cheesethief's death and Badrang being gutted with Martin's sword being just two instances of this) and even threw in a few moments of gratuitous cursing in the first season that wasn't even in the source material. |
| 132 | ** What makes this even more astonishing is the fact that ''Redwall'' aired on PBS at all. While it can be argued that shows like ''Wild Kratts'' and ''Liberty's Kids'' have to cover some disturbing topics as a result of their educational subject matter (i.e. the unsavory aspects of American history, the sometimes violent and scary parts of nature), ''Redwall'' doesn't. In fact, it's one of the few--if not the ''only''-- non-educational cartoons ever to air on PBS (though it is believed that it did have a slight aesop of ReadingIsCool, thus allowing it a free pass). Given PBS's normal aversion to violence in its cartoons, it's odd that this would be the exception. |
| 133 | * Some early episodes of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresFromTheBookOfVirtues'' contain mild violence and even murder. Yes, this is a PBS show. |
| 134 | * ''WesternAnimation/XavierRiddleAndTheSecretMuseum'' and its accompanying book series ''Ordinary People Change the World'' can slip into this territory at times due to covering topics not a lot of other preschool shows/books do such as racism[[note]]In "I Am Rosa Parks", "I Am Martin Luther King Jr", "I Am Jackie Robinson", and "I Am Harriet Tubman"[[/note]], slavery[[note]]"I Am Harriet Tubman" again[[/note]], sexism[[note]]"I Am Marie Curie", "I Am Susan B. Anthony" and "I Am Billie Jean King"[[/note]], war,[[note]]"I Am George Washington" (book only, not the episode)[[/note]] etc, to the point where MoralGuardians and {{Heteronormative Crusader}}s deemed the series inappropriate for kids. Also, in the ''I Am Madam President'' special, [[spoiler:Berby '''''dies''''' and drifts off into space. You read that right, a PBS Kids show killed off one of its main characters. She did come back though]]. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Teletoon]] |
| 138 | Canadian animation targeted toward kids falls into this category from time to time, due to ValuesDissonance between Canada and its southern neighbour. While the dissonance usually comes in the form of Canadian kids' cartoons being allowed to use very light curse words (like "crap" and "suck") and more crass material that would probably get an American cartoon pulled off the airwaves (including DemographicallyInappropriateHumour), these examples get much more intense than that. |
| 139 | ---- |
| 140 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'' has casual (if mild) swearing, frequently mentions sex, has a running gag in an episode where Jonesy made a clay bowl that resembles a breast (with characters mockingly calling it the "Boob Bowl"), an entire episode dedicated to the girls having their first periods (all PlayedForLaughs), an adult gay cowboy trying to date Jonesy, an entire episode where Nikki wears a tag that reads "ASS MAN" when being an assistant manager (they call her out on it ''constantly''), and a 45 minute long ZombieApocalypse episode that plays it completely straight (there's no blood and it's a comedy, but they're ''not'' shy about the death and horror aspect either). It got a G rating in Canada, while it was ''heavily'' mangled and censored by [=PopGirl=] in the UK and Cartoon Network in the US. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the creators of this series would go on to create ''Total Drama''. |
| 141 | * ''WesternAnimation/AngelaAnaconda'', despite airing on a kid's channel and having kids as the main characters, isn't kid-friendly considering that Angela's imagination spots are very sadistic and sociopathic even by kid's show standards and there was even an episode where Angela and her friends try to spy on their teacher when they find out that she and her husband were nudists. |
| 142 | * ''WesternAnimation/CarlSquared'': Although the show aired on a kid's channel it contains inappropriate and rather suggestive humor with one episode where Carl swears at his enemies in an intercom when he thinks that it's the last day on earth and another episode where Carl drinks a bottle of piss after mistaking it for a bottle of lemonade. |
| 143 | * ''WesternAnimation/FredsHead'' puts nearly all the others here to shame with things like swearing, handling of mature situations outright, and other non-kid friendly material. Unsurprisingly, the show wasn't renewed for a second season. |
| 144 | * ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' is a BlackComedy cartoon with the implication that its setting, Miseryville, is {{Hell}}, as seen through the demonic populace, the heat and lava everywhere, and the usage of misery as a euphemism for eternal damnation. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/JimmyTwoShoes The setting being Hell would have been outright stated, too]], [[ExecutiveMeddling had the creators had their way]], but you still have to wonder what sort of twisted mind would try to make a show about Hell for a kids channel. |
| 145 | * ''WesternAnimation/PigCity'' contains very questionable and rather suggestive humor and jokes with one episode involving the characters mistaking a piece of crap as a meteorite and another episode where they go inside a train and one of the pig's pants flies off and we see his buttcrack. A character in the first episode also calls someone a "retard". |
| 146 | * ''WesternAnimation/RescueHeroes'' was based off a preschool-aimed toyline by Creator/FisherPrice but deals with serious situations such as house fires, extreme weather conditions, and many, many other major emergencies that you couldn't possibly try to tell a preschooler about. |
| 147 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Silverwing}}'' was a kids' show, but was based off [[Literature/{{Silverwing}} a young adult novel]], and there's pretty heavy themes such as death and racial persecution, plus "guano" is used as a stand-in word for "shit" at least once. |
| 148 | * Creator/FreshTV's third series ''WesternAnimation/{{Stoked}}'' aired on a kid's channel (i.e. Teletoon) despite the fact that the show contains crude sexual references and nudity. And yet despite the inappropriate and rather suggestive content, the show was rated G in Canada. |
| 149 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Supernoobs}}'': At first glance, this show does look and seem innocent with its light tone and setting and has a U.S TV rating of TV-Y7-FV. However, the show features a lot of violent battles in almost every episode not to mention a lot of NightmareFuel. The starting premise even has a group of kids accidentally dragged into an intergalactic war and fight in it. In addition, there are references to war, murder, genocide, and bioterrorism laced all over the show (and the main alien characters are implied to be suffering from PTSD). |
| 150 | * It's almost unbelievable that ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' is from a children's channel, with all of its swearing (some bleeped, some not), sexual references and nudity (both male and female), and the fact that all the campers are underage and yet act and [[YoungerThanTheyLook sometimes even look just like adults]]. And even despite all of that, it got a G rating in Canada. |
| 151 | * ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaRama'', despite being a LighterAndSofter spin-off of ''Total Drama'', still contains dark and suggestive content like its parent series with one of the [[RunningGag running gags]] being [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Cody dying or getting injured in nearly every episode he appears in]] and another episode involving a creepy and pervy middle-aged fairy called the Fart Fairy who asks all of the kids if he can smell their farts. |
| 152 | * ''WesternAnimation/ToadPatrol''. Every year, toad children have to go through a rite of passage of sorts. They have to brave several dangers, including various predators, to reach a magical portal before the end of summer. If they don't? They turn into toadstools for (supposedly) all eternity! This was a show that was made for younger kids. |
| 153 | [[/folder]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | [[folder:Warner Bros.]] |
| 156 | * ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'', despite ostensibly being aimed at children, features a strip club ("Door Jam"), incestuous make outs (''Series/TheBradyBunch'' parody in "Family Values"), [[DontComeAKnockin teens "rocking" the backseats of their cars]] ("At the Drive-In"), and a depiction of the female reproductive system ("[[WesternAnimation/SecretSquirrel Scirocco Mole]]"). Even more surprising that it was created by Creator/HannaBarbera, whose name is synonymous with safe, kid-friendly cartoons. |
| 157 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' (and its brethren ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'', ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'', and even non–Warner-produced ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'') gets this a lot, with its near-ubiquitous use of {{demographically inappropriate| humour}} and social humor. It's a [[LateToThePunchline completely different show]] through an adult lens, as many current adults who first saw it as kids in the '90s can attest. The Minerva Mink shorts in particular fell squarely under this, with all the blatant {{Fanservice}} they got away with. Unsurprisingly, they only produced two shorts featuring her out of concerns that she would attract Rule34 (which she did anyway). |
| 158 | ** [[WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020 The 2020 reboot]] also fits here comfortably. Just like the old show, the show is full of hidden sexual humor and biting satire (perhaps even more so, since Creator/{{Hulu}} is more lax than Creator/FoxKids or Creator/KidsWB regarding content). Actual swearing isn't unheard of, either; "hell" has been used more than once. There's a reason why it's rated TV-PG this time around. Season 2 takes it even further; it includes [[spoiler:a passing mention of incest, has Pinky commit murder (albeit unintentionally), Julia's twisted mind in general, a character slowly dying on-screen, the Warners themselves dying at the end of three episodes, and no sugarcoating on slavery and genocide]]. |
| 159 | * The entire Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse. While technically meant for kids, the DCAU from the very beginning had been just as popular with teens and adults due to the good action, clever writing, interconnected story, partial comic book accuracy, multi-series continuity, surprisingly dark themes, great animation, excellent art style, and generally taking its audience seriously. Many Creator/CartoonNetwork DC shows have yet to live up to it (apart from maybe ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'') due to being much more kid-friendly. Fortunately, this was very likely why the WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies line was launched, which was made as the SpiritualSuccessor to the DCAU (especially the WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse), and caters specifically to that PeripheryDemographic, and their old demographic [[GrowingWithTheAudience as adults]], with a DarkerAndEdgier yet still well-done style to match. However, ''WebAnimation/LoboWebseries'' and ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'' avert it all for adults-only cartoons with strong profanity, sexual humor and graphic violence. |
| 160 | * ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and its successor ''Justice League Unlimited'' were the last shows to be created for the ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'', and its creators must have just thought "fuck it" and decided to try and get away with as much as humanly possible, especially when ''Unlimited'' was put on the Saturday night Creator/{{Toonami}} block, which at the time was still technically a children's programming block. There were vague allusions to people having sex, having sex behind some boxes, phone sex, human women having sex with gorilla men, skimpier costumes for the ladies and other people commenting on them, innuendos about impotence and HideYourLesbians, a villain eating oysters very suggestively, Characters/{{Green Arrow|OliverQueen}} and Characters/BlackCanary really getting into wrestling each other, an intentionally uncomfortable YouAreACreditToYourRace comment, and implied violence like [[Characters/DCAUSuperman Superman]] murdering [[Characters/DCAULexLuthor Lex Luthor]] with his EyeBeams. |
| 161 | * ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunesCartoons'' is considerably BloodierAndGorier than the originals, which were largely blood-free despite their heavy slapstick[[note]]except in "Taziator", where Taz has deep cut bloody scars on his cheek[[/note]]. Highlights include incredibly detailed organs being stuffed into a mummy's mouth (and said mummy throwing them back up), Bugs deflating into a horrific abomination, the ''incredibly'' detailed animation of Gossamer's foot, and numerous other scenes of FamilyUnfriendlyViolence. This does make sense, however. ''Looney Tunes'' was [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids never explicitly made as a children's series in the first place]] and was probably as comparatively violent as this one is to audiences in the 40's and 50's. |
| 162 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'': Unlike [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime its]] [[WesternAnimation/RegularShow contemporaries]], it doesn't have much salty language (aside from WesternAnimation/YosemiteSam saying "this blows" in the episode "Newspaper Thief"). But gun violence is often used (a B-plot in one episode is about Yosemite Sam being so reckless with guns that he made a petition to get them back), censor-dodging happens often, an entire episode is dedicated to WesternAnimation/BugsBunny suffering a drug addiction (albeit PlayedForLaughs), there can be a surprising amount of {{Fanservice}} (especially in "Casa de Calma"), and then we have a lot of [[{{Yandere}} Lola's]] [[StalkerWithACrush behavior]]. |
| 163 | * While somewhat cleaner than the [[Magazine/{{MAD}} magazine]], ''WesternAnimation/{{MAD}}'' is nonetheless filled to the brim with DemographicallyInappropriateHumour (with frequent sexual humor and actual swearing; the fourth episode actually had bleeped usage of "fuck" during the "Rejected ''Franchise/ToyStory'' Characters" skit), jokes involving popular characters being severely injured/killed, and the like. It's a wonder that Creator/CartoonNetwork aired the show uncensored, let alone for four seasons. |
| 164 | * ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' is pretty much ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' if it wasn't so campy and 1960s. Despite being rated TV-Y7-FV, the show includes moments of death, extreme violence, BlackComedy, and the season one BigBad being revealed to have [[spoiler:kidnapped Fred from his birth parents and threatening to harm him if they ever came back for him]]. To make things crazier, the GreaterScopeVillain is [[spoiler:an EldritchAbomination that the gang had to kill in order to save the universe]]. Not to mention an abnormally high amount of StuffBlowingUp very realistically, up to the point where near the end of the series, roughly half of Crystal Cove is gone. |
| 165 | * On the whole, ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' is pretty kid-friendly overall, but it does have moments of this at times with storylines involving [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the world]], blackmail when [[spoiler:Slade threatens to kill the Teen Titans unless Robin becomes his apprentice]], a few [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything instances of]] MindRape, and some [[NightmareFuel/TeenTitans2003 frightening imagery]]. |
| 166 | * ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' is often criticized for being ''too'' kiddie (though the bright colors and attractive artstyle makes this criticism not hard to come by). The show's TV-PG rating is there for a reason though, as this show is rife with BlackComedy and ComedicSociopathy, [[ParentalBonus parental bonuses]] are frequent (with some so old that they could've counted as these in the [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003 2003 series]]), NeverSayDie is rarely, if ever, played straight, and there are a bunch of risque jokes throughout the series. |
| 167 | * ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' has implications of {{Twincest}}, many references to and depictions of murder, and doesn't shy away from the severe mental strain that is put on ChildSoldiers. One of ''the protagonists''' favorite tactic is MindRape, and it is played out for maximum shock value. The subplot in "Beneath" heavily implies that the mother of one of [[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime Reyes']] friends is being physically abused by her boyfriend. The same episode also reveals that Queen Bee is essentially running a child-trafficking ring where innocent teenagers are kidnapped and sold to aliens who use them for experimentation. The show's subsequent revival on streaming services would more clearly push the show towards an older demographic as the darker themes continued to intensify and [[BloodierAndGorier include more visceral injuries]] on some characters. |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[folder:YTV]] |
| 171 | Just like with Teletoon, YTV's animation targeted toward kids tends to fall in this category from time to time, usually due to ValuesDissonance between Canada and its southern neighbour. See Teletoon's folder for more information on the whole thing. |
| 172 | ---- |
| 173 | * ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Despite the toyline and therefore the show being ostensibly aimed somewhere around the 8-12-year-old boys slot, the show features clever writing, complex characterizations, and surprisingly mature takes on themes such as warfare and revenge, with a healthy dose of KilledOffForReal to match. |
| 174 | * The ''WesternAnimation/CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs2017'' series has lots of darker episodes, a few edgy adult jokes, some teen situations, and massive child abuse from Mayor Shellbourne towards his son Gil even to the point where he puts him in dangerous situations and does not care if he's okay. |
| 175 | * While ''WesternAnimation/{{Mysticons}}'' is considered a kids show (at least by Canadian standards) it had a lot of dark elements along fairly mature messages and situations that might be difficult for some kids to understand. |
| 176 | * Mainframe's first show, ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'', starting from the second season and only gets worse from there[[note]]Due to the show moving from ''[[Creator/AmericanBroadcastingCompany ABC]]'', a national broadcast network with more restrictions to ''Creator/CartoonNetwork'', a cable network with more freedom over the former[[/note]] featured a forcible fusion scene with parallels to rape (BrotherSisterIncest rape, to boot), many, many [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath deaths]], two children being mistaken for dead and forced to wander the universe for years while time flowed differently for them, TheCorruption of surrounding systems, and finally the ''end of the world'', not to mention several very {{fanservice}}y designs. In ''Daemon Rising'', there is also a BrainwashedAndCrazy cult of Guardians that have been {{Mind Rape}}d into suicide bombers (a fact the show does not shy away from, even showing on-screen deaths). |
| 177 | * ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'' is a nihilistic CosmicHorrorStory aimed at kids. On top of that, worlds get destroyed regularly, NeverSayDie is downright averted, plenty of characters do die, the Beast Generals are horrifying villains (one of them even {{Mind Rape}}s Tekla with the image of her planet being destroyed), the heroes kill as many innocent people as the Beast Planet and are completely incapable of ever beating it, and the CGI falls into UnintentionalUncannyValley territory. |
| 178 | [[/folder]] |
| 179 | |
| 180 | [[folder:Other]] |
| 181 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'': The first-two seasons are infamous for having many graphic deaths and NightmareFuel inducing scenes. Even when Creator/TheBBC released the first season as an three-parter film on VHS, it was rated U despite keeping the many graphic deaths intact. This is probably the reason why the third season became LighterAndSofter due to the European censorship rules getting a lot stricter than what it used to be when the first-two seasons were in production before then. |
| 182 | ** This was probably also the reason why all three seasons were rated PG when they finally came to DVD in the United Kingdom in 2016. |
| 183 | * ''Literature/{{Babar}}'', an animated series based on a childrens' book series, has the FiveEpisodePilot: Babar's mother is shot by The Hunter, The Old King dies from eating a poisonous mushroom, and the Hunter is burnt alive by the fire he caused (all while shouting how he'll destroy all the animals), with Babar confirming that the Hunter died for real in a later episode. Beyond that, the later episodes tackle with subject matter such as Babar and his friends being picked on because they look different, two episodes where Cornelius and Pompadour believe an assassin is out to kill Babar, an elephant-hating general sending Celesteville and Rhinoland to war, and Flora nearly dying from being bitten by a poisonous snake. As the series was produced by Creator/{{Nelvana}}, the series largely aired on preschool networks, such as Creator/{{Qubo}} in the US and Creator/TreehouseTV in Canada. |
| 184 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': Tons of tentacle mind rape. One case of actual tentacle rape from vines. All of the times Aelita died, nearly died, attempted suicide, or had a clone die. All the cursing in ''Series/CodeLyokoEvolution''. All of the Fanservice. Aelita seeing her mother kidnapped and her father murdered, on screen. Aelita suffers from flashbacks and hallucinations. Then there was the time Jeremie started acting suicidal and reckless to further his work. X.A.N.A. made so many murder attempts onscreen that it can be turned into a drinking game. Franz Hopper went completely insane, as shown through a video diary. And a ton of other horrors. |
| 185 | * ''WesternAnimation/GrizzlyTalesForGruesomeKids'' can really get gruesome at times with the tone and subjects being pretty dark, despite the fact it is aimed for kids, complete with not shying away from showing blood and having character deaths. |
| 186 | ** Even the [[NoExportForYou Australian-exclusive]] DVD that contains all six seasons of the Creator/{{CITV}} era is rated PG due to this. |
| 187 | * ''WesternAnimation/JohnDillermand'' is a Danish kids' show... about a man with an [[SuperSexOrgans extendable]] [[GagPenis penis]]. Enough said really. Although it ''should'' be noted that Denmark is much more lax regarding sexual content than the Anglosphere is. |
| 188 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' was never aired in the USA, and for good reasons. The characters use extreme [[BloodlessCarnage violence]] (the characters own guns, bazookas and the like), and since DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist, they have also died {{Family Unfriendly Death}}s due to the violence. They abuse drugs (both [[GRatedDrug G-Rated Drugs]] and regular ones), alcohol, and tobacco. There are plenty of sex jokes and even a few moments where its two main characters, who are in love, try to sexually harass each other. There is also tons of BlackComedy, mentions of infidelity, implications of some characters being bisexual, and some religious references. |
| 189 | * ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' has a pretty fair amount of {{fanservice}} for a cartoon aimed at elementary schoolers. It could be due to ValuesDissonance, as it's a French-Japanese production. It could also be because it wasn't originally aimed at that young of an audience, but due to the AnimationAgeGhetto they lowered the demographic. Also, the main forces of antagonism are represented through what basically boils down to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy the possession of innocent bystanders by the]] BigBad, some of which actively try to kill other civilians (remember this show breaks the NeverSayDie rule), [[ParanoiaFuel and this can happen to anyone at any time when they feel unhappy]]. Not to mention how unsubtle the show is about the portrayal of unideal parent-child relationships, especially with the revelation that [[spoiler: Gabriel Agreste emotionally manipulated his own son]]. |
| 190 | * ''WesternAnimation/PawPatrol'' is a show aimed at preschoolers, and airs on Creator/NickJr. Despite the overall preschool-friendly tone, there have been countless times where the characters who need help could have died if the PAW Patrol hadn't saved them in time. The episode "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups vs. the Copycat" in particular features the threat of Adventure Bay, the show's main setting, being [[ColonyDrop crushed by a meteor]] if the PAW Patrol fails to stop the supervillain Copycat. Moments like these would be more appropriate for regular Nickelodeon (aka, big kids), rather than for preschoolers. It got to the point where ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrolTheMightyMovie'' was given a PG rating for mild action/peril, rather than a G rating like most movies based on preschool shows (including the [[WesternAnimation/PAWPatrolTheMovie first movie]]). |
| 191 | * ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'', despite being given a TV-Y7 rating in the United States, has been aired on ''Creator/{{Cartoonito}}'', a ''preschool-targeted'' channel, in some countries such as Germany, likely because of the [[ValuesDissonance countries' looser standards]] even though there are several preschool-unfriendly scenes. This show has its fair share of depictions of animal abuse in the scenes showing Ava trapped in the Pet Buster's abusive mill and other strays undergoing the same experience (heck, the Pet Buster even pulls out a ''whip'' when training them), Zull and Gort getting into pawfights, sometimes even with the Royal Guards and in one instance a very tiny but noticeable stream of blood appears, and ''attempted murder'' was committed by Eva by trying to pry a large tree branch on top of Ava to crush her. You could say that this is a case of "what do you mean, it's for ''little'' kids?" since it seems more appropriate for older kids than preschoolers, making it downplayed. |
| 192 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'': |
| 193 | ** There's probably a good reason why the show wasn't picked up across the Atlantic until Creator/{{Netflix}} picked it up. Ranging for all the ''really'' dark themes (like genocide, the loss of families, some of the more NightmareFuel-filled moments, accidental cannibalism), {{fanservice}} and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything innuendo]]; in fact, the show is used for the main image of the MatingDance trope. The English dub even makes liberal use of the word "Hell" rather than GoshDangItToHeck. Part of it can be attributed to ValuesDissonance, due to looser broadcast restrictions in France (Same goes for ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' above). |
| 194 | ** And then Season 3 came along, which is about the point where even the creators themselves admitted they were pushing the bounds of what they could get away with "for kids" even by France's looser standards. And by their own admittance, to go along with how much of the ''Wakfu'' fanbase have grown into teens and young adults since the original release, they want to take the show to even darker and more mature places with Season 4. |
| 195 | * ''WesternAnimation/WhatANightmareCharlieBrown'' was undoubtedly one of the darkest Franchise/{{Peanuts}} specials. Snoopy has an AcidRefluxNightmare about being a sled dog during the Yukon Gold Rush, where he's abused by his master and tormented by his fellow dogs. Snoopy eventually [[BreakTheCutie snaps]] and [[BewareTheSillyOnes fights his way to become the "alpha dog"]], only for his dream to end when the sled falls into a frozen lake and Snoopy is dragged screaming to certain doom. There's little in the way of laughs, aside from the scene at the beginning where Charlie Brown tries to make Snoopy pull a sled, and a scene where Snoopy visits a saloon in a Yukon boom town and goes through some humiliating slapstick scenes. |
| 196 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheCrumpets'', an obscure show from France, is surprisingly dark in several episodes despite its colorful aesthetics, adorable characters and (loosely) being based on picture books for young children. It got away with sex jokes, nudity, swearing, suicide attempts or threats, a brief mass shooting attempt where the kids appear to bloodily die in darkness but survive, rampant animal cruelty, a strongly implied tentacled monster on human rape, and the kids and their neighbor becoming addicted to a homemade [[{{Irony}} anti-addiction]] gas remedy, in addition to sensitive topics like homosexuality, infidelity and religion. It's safe to presume it took pages from ''{{WesternAnimation/Kaeloo}}'' (they share a network and few writers). Nonetheless, the third season toned down much of these elements before the next season raised some back. |
| 197 | * In ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', there are frequent racial undertones with the steamies vs. diesels rivalry, as well as allusions to engines being scrapped, complete with train "carcasses" in the background. At least in the classic seasons. By the time of Season 8, the show was softened to appeal to a preschool audience, shifting from the all-ages demographic that seasons 1-7 aimed for. Even after that, there were specials like ''WesternAnimation/SodorsLegendOfTheLostTreasure'' [[spoiler:with Sailor John being shown to be a homicidal maniac, a manipulator, and a frighteningly realistic abuser towards his boat Skiff]] and ''WesternAnimation/JourneyBeyondSodor'', [[spoiler:where Frankie gleefully exploits her workers, and Thomas nearly dies by falling into a cistern of molten slag]]. The ''Big World Big Adventures'' movie and seasons make the show even more childish, but they managed to get away with [[spoiler:Baz and Bernie '''''threatening to kill''''' Sonny in ''Marvelous Machinery'']]. |
| 198 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{TUGS}}'' is a sister show to ''Thomas & Friends''. It may be about cartoony-looking talking tugboats, but it is much DarkerAndEdgier than ''Thomas''. Special mention goes to the episode "Munitions", which features a horrific fire and explosion. It kills Big Mickey[[note]]In the VHS version. In the TV version, he survives[[/note]], causes a petrol barge to explode, almost kills Ten Cents, and a results in a naval tanker being horrifically torn apart. This was ultimately why it failed to find a market in North America; it was too violent for younger kids, but big kids wouldn't watch a show about talking boats. Thus, it had to be heavily toned down for ''WesternAnimation/SaltysLighthouse''. |
| 199 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfCalamityJane'' is a dark, gritty cartoon about Calamity Jane that is quite violent, sugarcoats its themes less than some ''live action'' cowboy films with overt mentions of racism, death, and even the Civil War, and not only uses actual guns but even has characters get realistically shot and worry about gangrene. The series also has some sexual allusions, such as Jane having avoided an AttemptedRape in the past and the heavy implications that she lives in a brothel. Heck, the series ''begins'' with Jane [[ShootTheRope narrowly]] saving a Native American man from being hanged. |
| 200 | * ''WesternAnimation/CartoonAllStarsToTheRescue'': Kids who grew up in the nineties will remember this ScareEmStraight [[DrugsAreBad anti-drug]] [[VerySpecialEpisode special]] as "the one that promised all your favourite cartoon characters in one place, then gave you BodyHorror [[NightmareFuel nightmares]]". |
| 201 | * ''Literature/{{Franklin}} and the Turtle Lake Treasure'' counts, given that Granny tells Franklin and Samantha how her home, parents, and items were burned to the ground when she was little, she herself falls terminally ill before her eightieth birthday (with Franklin even expressing his fear that she'd die), and Snail is treated as an eagle-hatchling snack (with implications that he would have been devoured if it weren't for Franklin and Samantha to save him). |
| 202 | * [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with ''WesternAnimation/BlinkyBill''. While it is for children and family-friendly enough, [[Creator/AustralianBroadcastingCorporation The ABC]] reran it on the network's preschool programming block [=ABC4Kids=] in the early 2010s, despite several scenes that aren't exactly preschooler-friendly, such as Marcia asking Blinky if she should bash Danny in "Blinky and the Red Car", Ma holding Danny and Shifty's heads underwater during "Blinky Bill's Fund Run", Daisy (a teenager) flirting with Blinky, Flap and Splodge (all of whom are children) in "Blinky and the Film Star", and Basil, the villain of Season 3 who had been chasing Blinky, Nutsy and Flap around the world through its entirety, getting carted off in a straitjacket for multiple crimes (including arson) in the season's finale. |
| 203 | * There were many ''WesternAnimation/{{Pingu}}'' scenes which felt questionable for a children's show (particularly in the older episodes), including one where Pingu was slapped by his mother, and another where blood dripped out from Pingu's beak from an injury. Not to mention a couple of episodes were banned from airing due to literally invoking NightmareFuel ("Pingu's Dream"). |
| 204 | * ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'': This adaptation was already a good deal [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]] than [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the 1987 show]] and [[TruerToTheText much closer to]] [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage the original Mirage comics]], but the series establishes how dark it is going to be by ending the first episode with the Shredder [[YouHaveFailedMe personally executing a punk for failing]] offscreen. Then the third episode establishes how Hun and The Shredder punish Baxter Stockman: by removing his body parts every time he failed, ultimately reducing him to [[BrainInAJar a brain, an eyeball and some neuron tissues in a big jar]]. The show just kept getting progressively darker with each season, ultimately resulting in more and more [[NightmareFuel/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 nightmarish images]], heavier psychological themes and BodyHorror elements, to the point that [[Recap/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003S4E19InsaneInTheMembrane one completed episode]] was banned, [[Recap/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003S5E6NightmaresRecycled one episode]] was axed before it could be completed and one entire season was temporarily banned with the intention to release it straight to DVD and the TV version airing a LighterAndSofter SoftReboot season instead. And the show was produced by Creator/FourKidsEntertainment, a company infamous for [[{{bowdlerise}} censoring dark anime]]. |
| 205 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantomcat}}'' is a little-known British cartoon made by Creator/CosgroveHall, better known for ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' and ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'', except ''Fantomcat'' was considerably DarkerAndEdgier, with mild swearing such as "damn" and "hell", some aversions to FamilyFriendlyFirearms, FamilyUnfriendlyViolence [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath and deaths]], religious themes and NightmareFuel. Yet it got rated U by the BBFC. |
| 206 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheThreeFriendsAndJerry'' is basically this Swedish-German-British cartoon about a 10-year-old named Jerry [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin and his three friends]]. Despite airing on kids' channels and blocks worldwide, the show has an abundance of kid-unfriendly content, such as sexual references, racial stereotypes, offensive language, incest, and morally questionable actions. Because Creator/HITEntertainment distributes the show worldwide and they had a stake in Creator/{{Sprout}}, this show was actually on Sprout's on-demand service in its early years. Sprout ''was a preschool network''. ''The Three Friends and Jerry'' is essentially Europe's version of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' (the show was actually pitched to Creator/ComedyCentral at one point, but rejected for being too similar to ''South Park''). |
| 207 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfDonkeyOllie'' is a Christian program meant for a young audience. Despite this, it does ''not'' shy away from depicting violence, gore and otherwise "mature" topics. One arc has a group of slavers kidnapping children to put them to work in the fields, whipping them if they underperform in the smallest way. The fourth episode has Ollie get ''mauled by jackals'' and his bloody wounds are put on full display for the audience. ''WebVideo/TheAnnotatedSeries'' frequently wondered if the show was even meant for its target audience. |
| 208 | * Around the 80s and 90s, there have been animated family friendly shows that are based on non kid friendly stuff which included ''Robocop'', ''Police Academy'', ''Toxic Avenger'' (referred to as ''Toxic Crusader''), ''The Mask'', ''Rambo'', just to name a few. |
| 209 | [[/folder]] |
| 210 | |
| 211 | [[folder:In-Universe]] |
| 212 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 213 | ** [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] with ''JustForFun/TheItchyAndScratchyShow''. Featuring the titular cat-and-mouse duo, ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' is an [[{{Gorn}} over-the-top violent]] animated segment played within ''The Krusty the Klown Show'', which is for children and is popular with that demographic. In ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'', Itchy the Mouse [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill gorily mutilates]] Scratchy the Cat [[TheyKilledKennyAgain to death in almost every episode]]. Bart and Lisa Simpson find it hilarious. This led their mother, Marge, to form [[{{MoralGuardians}} a concerned parent's group]] to ban the show. Though the show had been {{bowdleri|se}}zed in-universe a few times, [[StatusQuoIsGod the bowdlerization would later be lifted every time]]. Krusty lampshades this in "White Christmas Blues" when he has to block violent images due to modern sensitivity; at first, he's reluctant, but then he catches a glimpse of the show: |
| 214 | --->'''Krusty:''' (''horrified'') Oh my god! I've never watched one of these sober! I have to get this bloodbath off my kids' show! |
| 215 | ** In "Selma's Choice", Duff Gardens is a family-oriented amusement park that happens to be centered around a brand of beer. |
| 216 | ** Another in-universe example is in "Blame It On Lisa", when the Simpsons travel to Brazil, Bart finds himself enjoying the local children's educational program ''Teleboobies'' in which a shapely woman uses her chest complete with nipple tassels to teach the concepts of "clockwise" and "anti-clockwise". |
| 217 | --->'''Marge:''' [[Series/SesameStreet Bert and Ernie]] left it to the imagination... |
| 218 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': |
| 219 | ** Apparently children are a key demographic for the SoapWithinAShow, ''All My Circuits''. |
| 220 | ** In "Yo Leela Leela", there are two examples at the awards show: |
| 221 | *** A ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' parody called "Dora the Destroyer", which depicts Dora and Boots as soldiers carrying machine guns. |
| 222 | *** ''The Adventures of Pit Bull and Scaredy Squirrel'', which appears to be an ''Itchy & Scratchy''-esque chase cartoon, judging by the pool of blood visible on the title card. |
| 223 | ** "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" has three segments parodying {{Saturday Morning Cartoon}}s from MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation, which are shown in-universe to be aimed at children. It doesn't exactly stop them from having inappropriate content, especially the ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' parody (which Nixon's head has to cut off mid-broadcast and switch to a PSA because it eventually devolved into a complete bloodbath). |
| 224 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "Jake The Dad", Jake starts reading a BlackComedy picture book he loved as a child to his own kids and is shocked at how much darker it is than he remembers it (specifically, the book's plot revolves around [[EatsBabies foxes eating babies]]). |
| 225 | * ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': In "Dead at Eight", Mordecai and Rigby read Thomas (Death's baby son, [[OneSteveLimit not the intern]]) a children's picture book called "The Soul-Sucking Death Worm". |
| 226 | * ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': In the ''ComicStrip/USAcres'' segment, "Kiddie Korner", Aloysius demands that Orson and his friends perform family-friendly {{Nursery Rhyme}}s. Unfortunately, since the gang plays them straight, they inadvertently reveal all of the violence, starvation, and death that the rhymes contain, and Aloysius won't stop griping about it. |
| 227 | -->'''Roy:''' Boy, this is the most violent episode we've ever done! |
| 228 | [[/folder]] |
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