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* BrokenBase: When it came to the original Fred videos, people either loved them or hated them, with generally no in-between.
* CondemnedByHistory:
** Despite being the very first [=YouTuber=] to hit 1 million subscribers, many do not remember him fondly, in no small part due to the critical backlash of the Nickelodeon ''Fred'' TV movies. It doesn't help that series creator Lucas Cruikshank himself [[CreatorBacklash grew just as annoyed with the character as anyone else]]. He retired Fred in 2012 and tried to move past the character, but his post-''Fred'' projects flopped critically and commercially.
** Attempted to be avoided by WebVideo/QuintonReviews in his retrospective on the Fred character and franchise ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNvqjCtzfXw The Reign of Fred Figglehorn]]), where he finds the Fred phenomenon more fascinating and, while there ''are'' things that he found that aren't good at all, he had a good time overall revisiting Fred and re-evaluating him and the franchise as he did. Lucas even sent him a message after it came out praising the retrospective, saying he put a lot of work into it.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Fred's dad, played by Wrestling/JohnCena in the movie is considered by most to be the best part of the movie. Some consider him to be the only good part of the movie.
* FanPreferredCutContent: There were 4 endings the were written in the movie, one of which includes Fred and Bertha together. Many fans would wish they would become a couple in the final film.
* FanPreferredCouple: A lot of Fred fans were disappointed Fred ended up with Judy in the end and not Bertha. Incidentally there were four endings written for the movie, one of which being Fred and Bertha becoming a couple.
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: In hindsight, the ''Fred'' movies were the first hint that Creator/JohnCena is a really good comedic actor, a few years before ''Film/{{Trainwreck}}'' cemented it.
* HypeBacklash: Fred was one of the most-subscribed channels on Website/YouTube, but had lots of vocal critics. The first [[TheMovie movie]] also received a [[MedalOfDishonor 0%]] on Website/RottenTomatoes.
* MemeticMolester: Mr. Devlin. WebVideo/MikeJ's reaction to Devlin inviting Fred to his house ("Is Fred going to be ''molested''?) is very accurate, as that's eerily how the scene plays.
* MemeticMutation:
** Comparing the first ''Fred'' movie to ''Film/Joker2019'' briefly [[https://twitter.com/tyler_2k_/status/1285074174973599746 became]] [[https://twitter.com/postsynthpink/status/1293655007410229251 a]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/moviescirclejerk/comments/hgfcub/joker_r_rated_fred_the_movie/ fad]] in late 2020. The joke came from the movies' surprisingly similar story structures, as both movies feature an [[UnreliableNarrator unreliable]] and [[SociopathicHero mentally unbalanced main character]] with a [[ParentalNeglect neglectful mother]] and a DisappearedDad, all while having [[HopelessSuitor an imaginary relationship with a girl who barely knows them]]. Some even went as far as to claim that ''Film/Joker2019'' was actually a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Fred'', or even a DarkerAndEdgier StealthSequel that [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] the Fred persona.
** This eventually culminated on [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBc1tSW3UHmY2XweswaXIwA a fan project based on]] [[FanWorks/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory ERB]] making an official fight between [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4iT2wb6m_8 Fred and Fleck]].
** "OH MY GOD ITS [[{{Music/Weezer}} WEEZER!]] AAAAAA-"[[note]][[https://youtu.be/1ldTCLB8_BM?t=81 This crossover vid]] between Fred and Weezer is gaining traction in the meme community, thanks to how memetic Weezer has become in the 2020s combined with Fred's extreme excitement complete with a perfectly cut scream, it begins to garner attention.[[/note]]
* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Fred leading his camp to victory in the third movie. Particularly the 'Loser Song' moment at the end. And unlike several, this was ''not'' a DaydreamSurprise.
* NightmareFuel: In later episodes, Fred is harassed by an extremely creepy man named Claudio. In ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVaZHc4RLuY Fred Gets Kidnapped by Claudio]]'', he is introduced by randomly breaking into Fred's house, kidnapping him, and locking him in a pet carrier, and then when Fred's mother catches Claudio, she allows him to stay because he will pay her, despite the fact that he just kidnapped and caged her son. In the next episode, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMyQo-FgxVA Fred is Left Alone with Claudio]]'', Fred's mother ''leaves Fred alone with him'' and Claudio continues to do more creepy and outright messed-up things to harass Fred.
* OneSceneWonder: John Cena's appearance in the second film was pretty funny, and to many the only funny bit in the movie.
* SpecialEffectFailure: The attempts to pass a teenage actor off as a six year old kid are obvious.
* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: Though the first two Fred movies were pretty forgettable, the third is actually considered quite good by the fanbase. Helped that it got a few well known names attached to it.
* TheWoobie: When Fred's HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood veers into especially traumatic territory, some viewers can't help but feel sorry for him.