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Depending On The Writer / Western Animation

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Examples of characterization changing dramatically Depending on the Writer in Western Animation series.

Shows with their own pages:

  • Adventure Time: Lumpy Space Princess is a character used for humor, and different writers use her as such.
  • The Amazing World of Gumball
    • Gumball can be Too Dumb to Live, one of the smartest characters, or anywhere inbetween depending on the needs of the episode. It's also somewhat inconsistent whether he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold or a borderline Villain Protagonist.
    • Darwin can either be dumber (or at least more naive) than Gumball, or a voice of reason who's willing to call out Gumball when his jerkassery goes too far.
  • Animaniacs mostly does a good job of averting this, but still includes a few cases: for example, whether the Warners will drive people crazy just for fun or have a moral code against picking on anyone who doesn't provoke them, whether Hello Nurse is a Dumb Blonde or a smart woman whose looks distract everyone from her brain, whether Rita is tough yet sweet or a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and Skippy Squirrel's Ping Pong Naïveté (though since most of his more naive episodes are from earlier in the series, this could also be a case of Character Development).
  • This happens mostly in the later episodes of The Angry Beavers. Norbert is either portrayed as being a laid back older brother and the voice of reason or he is portrayed as being a smug Jerkass who enjoys manipulating Daggett. Daggett on the other hand, is either portrayed as being irrational and having a hot temper or he is portrayed as being Too Dumb to Live and is The Woobie.
  • In Arthur, how much of an Annoying Younger Sibling D.W. can be towards Arthur depends on the episode. She'll either be a typical annoying little sister who just wants Arthur's attention, or a Bratty Half-Pint who seemingly makes Arthur's life more difficult just for the fun of it.
  • Whether Miranda genuinely likes Courtney depends on the As Told by Ginger episode. Sometimes she's depicted as simply hanging around her in order to become popular however occasionally she shows signs of caring for Courtney. The former seems to be her default though and come high school Miranda has abandoned Courtney.
  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force:
    • Frylock is either protective of Meatwad from Shake's pranks; or not really much better than Shake by trying to coax Meatwad into risky investigations just to save himself.
    • Speaking of Meatwad, he can be Too Dumb to Live; actually pretty smart by seeing right through Shake's pranks or figuring stuff out that even Frylock had trouble with; or anywhere in between.
    • Carl will either hate the food items' guts and not want anything to do with them; or act as if he's great friends with them, sometimes even going along with their schemes (although sometimes, this one is him just using them for his own gain).
    • Shake's insides are either blood and guts; or just pistachio milkshake.
  • Batman: The Animated Series:
    • Batman himself can be anything from a gritty, gothic, never-smiling character to a Spider-Man-esque wise-cracker depending on the episode's writer.
    • Robin can either be the Deus ex Machina for Batman or the Designated Victim who does little else but get taken out of action by the villain in the first act. Batman is also more likely to be the never-smiling character described above when Robin's around to provide the sarcasm.
  • Beast Wars featured a lot of Characterization Marches On moments as the writers figured out what a given person's deal was, but Scorponok stands out for never really locking down personality traits besides "very loyal, can invent things." He can be an Evil Genius, a Genius Ditz, or just straight-up Dumb Muscle, he can be the group's second-in-command or a low man on the totem pole, his machines can be effective enough or malfunctioning garbage, he can be a battle-ready brute who's pretty terrifying in a fight or a total joke and a nervous wreck... hell, in a few early episodes, he has a Hulk Speak tenor. This seems to have been a reason he ended up getting killed off without much fanfare.
  • Throughout the many installments of the Ben 10 franchise, Ben Tennyson has been portrayed with vastly different levels of maturity depending on the episode. In particular, Ben's personality regresses back to that of his 10-year-old self during the third season of Ben 10: Alien Force, and he spends the entire rest of the show rotating between being an arrogant Jerkass and a responsible leader. His relationships also vary wildly for the same reason; sometimes he and his partners are True Companions who truly support each other, and others they're Vitriolic Best Buds who openly think little of him.
  • Beavis and Butt-Head:
    • In some episodes, Butt-Head is depicted as the dominant one in their friendship and often subjects Beavis to various forms of abuse, both verbal and physical. However, in other episodes, their relationship is more balanced, and Butt-Head does not mistreat Beavis as much.
    • The consequences Beavis and Butt-Head face for their misbehavior can vary greatly. In some episodes, they seem to get away with their antics without any repercussions, while in others, they experience severe consequences, such as getting arrested or expelled from school.
    • In certain episodes, Beavis transforms into his alter ego, "The Great Cornholio," when he consumes too much sugar or caffeine. The frequency and intensity of these transformations vary from one episode to another, with some episodes lacking Cornholio entirely.
    • In most episodes, Beavis is depicted as the submissive sidekick to Butt-Head, who bullies and belittles him regularly. However, in some episodes, Beavis will stand up to his friend, and they'll have a more equal or even competitive relationship.
    • Beavis is either as much of a Jerkass as Butt-Head, or noticeably nicer than him.
    • Mr. Van Driessen either sees the duo as genuine good boys deep down, or is aware that they are troublesome, but tries to reason with them nonetheless.
  • In Bob's Burgers Bob and Teddy's relationship varies pretty significantly. In some episodes Bob still barely tolerates Teddy while in others they're very close.
    • How obsessive Teddy is in regards to the Belchers depends on the episode/writer. In episodes such as "Just the Trip" and "Land of the Loft" Teddy's actions are outright creepy and stalkerish. In other episodes such as "UFO No You Didn't" and "Uncle Teddy" Teddy is harmless and sweet.
  • On The Boss Baby: Back in Business it's a rule that babies from Baby Corp don't reveal themselves to adults, because they wouldn't be able to handle it, and it would destroy their brains. However, this seems to be a Hand Wave to keep Tim's parents from learning about BB & Baby Corp, as it only seems to be the case when the plot requires it. For example, BB attempts to weaponize it against Happy Sedengry only for it to not work on him; note  however the following season, in "Chicago," it's played straight.
  • CatDog:
    • In some episodes, Cat and Dog are very close and consider each other their best friends. In others, they act like a Big Brother Bully and an Annoying Younger Sibling respectively and are constantly at each other's throats.
    • Winslow can either be friend to CatDog, giving them advice, or a sadist who takes pleasure in tormenting them, especially Cat.
    • Rancid Rabbit is either a Reasonable Authority Figure or a corrupt official.
  • In Code Lyoko, Sissi went from being an Alpha Bitch in the first season (albeit with a handful of Pet the Dog moments that got undone by the Reset Button) to being a sympathetic and nice character in Season 2, getting Character Development to the point where many speculated she'd become the sixth Lyoko warrior. Enter Season 3 and she's just as much of a bitch as she was in Season 1. In Season 4, she barely shows up and fluctuates between the Alpha Bitch and Jerk with a Heart of Gold whenever she does show up. She only becomes fully nice at the very end when the characters offer their hands in friendship (at which point she's a bitch to Nicolas and Hervé).
    • The Season 4 fluctuation is justified in that XANA has become such a big threat that the heroes' actions in fighting it have made them seem more suspicious than ever before to Sissi, and given the nature of her character, she can't just let that go even if she's striving to be a nicer person. No explanation for the Season 3 writing though, other than Seasonal Rot.
  • How much of an Jerkass Eustace from Courage the Cowardly Dog is very much depends on the episode. Sometimes he'll be a relatively harmless Grumpy Old Man or more rarely a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who genuinely cares about Muriel. Other times he'll be an outright villain exploiting or otherwise harming innocents for his own ends and who will happily leave Muriel and Courage to die to save his own skin.
  • The Crumpets:
    • Li'l One Crumpet hates his father, but he also either hates all of his siblings or hate few if not none.
    • Caprice Crumpet either supports her family (e.g. finding missing members) or rebels them.
    • The Crumpets' neighbor Ms. McBrisk usually denounces the family for being immoral or disruptive. At other times she is a good neighbor to them.
  • Dexter's Laboratory:
    • Sometimes Dee Dee is insufferable and causes nothing but deliberate pain for Dexter, while other times she's a sweet girl who cares for her younger brother, and either helps him out or is innocently unaware of the trouble she causes him. In the same vein, she can run the gamut from being an incredibly dimwitted individual unable to comprehend the most rudimentary things to being a highly savvy person who counters the titular character's high IQ by having far more common sense.
    • Mandark can either be a hammy and morally ambiguous rival to Dexter, or genuinely villainous.
    • Dexter can go from being a woobie to an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist, sometimes even within the same episode.
  • The Dreamstone:
  • Ed, Edd n Eddy:
    • How the various characters view the Ed's varies a lot between episodes.
      • In some episodes, Kevin acts as a sort of Hero Antagonist towards the Eds, and merely mistrusts/dislikes them by default and will only actually start beating them up when he discovers them doing some sort of scam. However, in other episodes, he acts as a smug Bully to the Eds (and sometimes other kids in the cul-de-sac) and tends to just enjoy causing despair for them, whether they deserve it or not. He sometimes seems to just really detest Eddy, at one point Double D has a cheerful and apparently-friendly conversation with him. In others however, he has the same dislike as all of them, with one episode hinting at Kevin gaining Knight Templar traits, becoming outright paranoid and deluded upon their disappearance.
      • The rest of the cul-de-sac's interactions with the Ed's varies similarly. Sometimes they only get upset with the Eds on provocation, but sometimes they default to being rude or abusive to them on sight.
    • The relationships between the cul-de-sac kids in general also varies pretty wildly.
      • Sometimes Johnny is shown to be almost as unpopular as the Eds to the other kids, while other episodes have him interacting with the others without any sort of problem. Also he generally is the kid who's most willing to be friends with the Eds, though a few episodes show him to be one of the most vocal or suspicious of their scams.
      • Sometimes Jimmy and Sarah are included with the rest of the kids without problems, sometimes they are singled out as the "little kids", with Jimmy in particular getting bullied.
      • One of the biggest instances of this is the Urban Rangers. Rolf, Johnny and Jimmy are always shown as a tight and cohesive unit who never seem to disagree about anything when acting as the Urban Rangers. However the rest of the time they don't seem to be close at all, generally just tolerating each other at best.
    • How strong certain characters like Ed, Rolf, and Sarah are tend to vary from episode to episode. Some episodes show them struggling to lift things that a normal person would logically have trouble with, while other episodes tend to give them Super-Strength for Rule of Funny, with one example being Ed lifting an entire house with ease.
    • Of the three Eds, it's Eddy who seems to vary the most depending on the episode, with some portraying him as something of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who is greedy and conniving but at the end of the day genuinely cares about his friends while others show him as a Jerk with the Heart of a Jerk who shows little to no concern for his friends' well-being, sometimes even messing with them just for the fun of it. The latter seemed to become his default as the series progressed, though the former still occasionally shows through, such as in the final episode, where he stands up for Edd against the Kanker Sisters.
    • Depending on the episode, the Kankers may be central to the story or simply make a brief, comedic appearance to cause chaos for the Eds.
  • The Fairly Oddparents:
    • The plot seems to dictate whether some characters will use their Flanderized personalities or their original personalities. Depending on the story, Crocker can be a competent fairy hunter (Formula for Disaster) or a delusional fool (Bad Heir Day), Tootie can be a sweet girl with a crush (Birthday Wish) or a Stalker with a Crush (Dread & Breakfast), Trixie Tang can be a pleasant and sweet girl (For Emergencies Only) or an arrogant Spoiled Brat (Movie Magic), Timmy's parents can simply be overworked (Momnipresent, Add-A-Dad) or the most neglectful parents in the world (Fly Boy, Birthday Bashed), Cosmo can either realize a wish might be potentially dangerous and attempt to talk Timmy out of it, or actively encourage absurd wishes and needlessly absurd ways to handle the fallout. Wanda can be either the Only Sane Man who puts out Timmy's and Cosmo's fires, or a doting godparent who doesn't think twice about the consequences.
    • Exactly how Da Rules works or what's really legit. There are those — usually, again — permanent rules (no interfering with true love, no revealing your fairies to anyone and the like) but others seem conveniently flexible. In one episode, a kid feared that Timmy would wish he was richer than him, when its sister episode established that poofing up money counts as counterfeiting. Of course there seem to be countless ways to work around the rules without directly breaking them, including an early episode implies that a rule can be ignored if you simply tear the page out.
  • Family Guy:
    • Peter's Jerkass nature and Meg's Butt-Monkey status vary from episode to episode. Sometimes she merely suffers due to other characters' inadvertent bumbling or carelessness. On others she is such a target for misfortune that even Straight Men like Lois and Brian feel the need to directly make her life hell.
    • Stewie also varies. In some, he seems effeminate but heterosexual, bisexual, or flat out gay (and occasionally a zoophile considering his obvious crush on Brian, though the status of any of the many people who've considered having sex with Brian is never really established.) Word of God has stated that Stewie's sexuality is entirely and utterly subject to Rule of Funny for any particular episode. Similarly, his tastes range from the childish to the sophisticated, and how capable a fighter he is varies from beating grown men to death to getting his ass kicked by a baby girl younger than him wielding a Barbie doll.
    • How well is Stewie understood by the characters? Word of God is that the characters understand him completely, but don't take him seriously. The writers, on the other hand, can't make up their minds. In the first Christmas Episode, Stewie gives a long speech during the play that Lois (who almost never takes him seriously) is deeply moved by, ending her Unstoppable Rage. To contrast, a much later episode revolves around Stewie saying his first word that can be clearly understood by other characters (which is a swear). Only Brian, Chris and secondary characters are consistently depicted as understanding him.
    • Brian and Lois can play genuine Straight Man roles and be much more compassionate and saner than Peter, or shallow, self serving jerkasses whose "nice guy" images are merely a facade for their own sociopathic tendencies. Granted this combined with the extreme randomness and Comedic Sociopathy of the show's humor makes the depictions less Depending on the Writer and more Depending on the Gag.
    • Quagmire can be either a sex-crazed pervert with a heart of gold, or a date rapist who inexplicably gets the ladies. Or even a bit of both.
    • Carter Pewterschmidt can be an out and out Card-Carrying Villain whose main reason for living is to inflict misery on Peter/and or the poor, a mere Obnoxious In-Laws or even a fairly benign old man who is simply woefully behind the times.
    • Chris is either a Kiddie Kid who is easily entertained or more along the lines of a normal (if scatterbrained) teenager. He can also vary between being a Nice Guy or a cynical Jerkass with Deadpan Snarker tendencies.
  • Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends:
    • How much of a Jerkass is Bloo? - is he a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk or is there a heart of gold in there somewhere? Likewise, how smart is he? Is he a cunning and relatively intelligent troublemaker who can come up with decent plans on the fly, or is he an absent-minded moron?
    • How mature is Mac - is he an always do-gooding Only Sane Man or is he a wise and sensible but still generally childlike and rambunctious kid with a wild side similar to Bloo (sometimes this will change mid episode, with Mac doing something childish and then turning sensible to stop it from going too far)?
    • How mature is Frankie - is she a laid-back Cool Big Sis who's always getting dumped on from Mr. Herriman or is she not only very responsible but the only sane adult in the house?
    • Who will hold the Jerkass Ball for the episode? Wilt, Madame Foster, the whole house?
  • Futurama:
    • Done quite irritatingly in the sixth season of Futurama, which has the nerve to go back and forth not just on personality traits, but from Fry and Leela being an established couple to Fry and Leela having no hint of being a couple at all (even though they had declared their love for each other at the end of the fourth Big Damn Movie). Possibly the most egregious example — in "The Late Phillip J. Fry", they're blatantly a couple, dating, in love, and committed to their relationship. In the very next episode, "That Darn Katz", Leela says perfectly seriously (with intentional pathetic-ness) "Well, I may not have a man, but at least Nibbler loves me."
    • Leela still can be portrayed as being either the opposing poles of the token boring, buttoned-down, extremely unimpulsive character or the single most reckless, hot-tempered, and impulsive character in the show. The swings favored the latter more and more as the show went on, but trying to label it positive Flanderization would be misleading.
      • Her singing voice also varies by episode.note  It ranges anywhere from pretty competent (such as “The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings”) to borderline tone-deaf (such as “Spanish Fry”).
    • While Fry is often accused of Flanderization as well, the truth is that his intelligence was always incredibly variable. In general, if he is the main character of an episode, and especially if it involves his backstory, he'll be fairly below-average in intelligence but still capable of moments of brilliance and wit. If he's not, he's more likely to be a complete moron, bordering on nonfunctional.
    • And rounding out the Power Trio, there's Bender, who can flip-flop between uncaring Jerk with a Heart of Jerk who's more than willing to go so far as to kill people in his way if it means getting what he wants to Jerk with a Heart of Gold who still shows some signs of guilt or remorse with occasional Pet the Dog moments. In general, the more central he is to an episode, and especially the more central him and Fry's relationship is, the more likely he is to be at least a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
    • Professor Hubert Farnsworth's morality can range from an utterly amoral figure who has absolutely no regard for human life to one of the most noble characters who tends to be first in line whenever there's trouble. In general, later appearances tend towards him being more heroic.
      • His intelligence can vary a lot too. He can be portrayed as a brilliant but eccentric man, a once-great scientist who has now gone senile, or a second-rate scientist who was never capable of inventing anything truly useful.
    • Dr. Zoidberg's medical competence also varies a lot from episode to episode. Sometimes he lacks even the most basic of knowledge about human biology, but other times he is capable of performing complex surgeries with a little bit of guidance.
    • The levels of acceptance with nudity in 31st century vary a lot. Some jokes suggest that future society has overcome its discomfort with bare bodies, and people are free to be naked with little interest generated. Other times, characters find nudity embarrassing or awkward much like someone in the present day would.
  • Garfield and Friends: Episodes of the show (particularly in the U.S. Acres segments) go back and forth over whether Garfield and the U.S. Acres characters exist in the same universe or are mutually exclusive from each other, with some episodes showing Garfield or other characters affiliated with his segments walking onto the farm and interacting with Orson and friends while others imply that Garfield is a fictional character seen by the U.S. Acres characters on an in-universe TV show.
  • While most episodes of the Hercules series have Hades hate his job and plot to depose Zeus and conquer Mount Olympus (understandable, since that was his plan in the movie and the series is a Midquel of sorts) some (such as "Hercules and the River Styx," "Hercules and the World's First Doctor" & "Hercules and the Big Lie.") have him taking pride in running the Underworld and trying to increase its' numbers, albeit often with underhanded tactics.
  • Jem is made of this:
    • The rules of hologram projection change between almost every episode. A common one is whether the holograms can be touched or not. On a Jem mailing list, head writer Christy Marx bemoans this. She finally became sick of it and became story editor in the third season to avoid inconsistencies.
    • How popular are The Misfits and The Holograms? Many episodes imply both are international sensations while others have them as only really popular in America.
    • The closeness of The Misfits sways with every episode. Jetta and Roxy always loathe each other but whether the others are honest friends or are only together because they're a band changes often.
    • Stormer is the Token Good Teammate of The Misfits and how bad she can be differs often.
    • Are Rio and Jerrica dating or not? In several episodes they seem to have been a couple for years however others have them in a pre-dating stage.
    • Eric's willingness to hurt or kill others. He has been fine with incidents that almost murder Holograms but in others he's against them.
  • Jimmy Two-Shoes' Rule of Funny-based storytelling lends to this.
    • The title character can either be a childlike Kindhearted Simpleton of good intentions, a quirky (if somewhat naive) Straight Man, or a hyperactive Cloud Cuckoolander and Idiot Hero.
    • Beezy ranges from being a mellow idiot who would rather enjoy himself than inherit Miseryville to a selfish Jerkass who only cares about his own pleasure.
    • Heloise is either a complete sadist who even Jimmy is openly scared of at times or a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, with said heart only being shown around Jimmy.
    • Lucius can be an utter Caligula who sees Jimmy's contagious cheer as a threat to his rule, a petty Jerkass who just finds Jimmy a pain in his side, or a strict Jerk with a Heart of Gold who just wants to run Miseryville without Jimmy's interference.
  • All the characters on Kaeloo:
  • Shego's capacity for evil in Kim Possible varies widely between episodes. She's chastised Dr. Drakken for wanting to steal Felix Renton's wheelchair in one episode, and was worried about the fish in a lake he wanted to drain in another. Her helping out in Graduation. On the other end of the spectrum, in that very same episode regarding Felix, she was more than happy to try and blow him to bits later on. We also have the episode Car Alarm, in which she and Motor Ed stole a rocket car. Ed wanted to simply cruise around with her, while Shego effectively wanted to destroy the planet with it. And while it had a Reset Button ending, A Sitch In Time shows us what she's really capable of.
  • In King of the Hill:
    • Hank Hill veers between the Only Sane Man standing up to obnoxious twig boys and bureaucrats, and a hopelessly outdated man completely adrift dealing with the modern world, almost between episodes. In fairness, the writers seem aware of this and often try to find a middle ground.
    • Depending on the episode, the trailer park is either Shady Pines or Shiny Pines.
    • The circumstances surrounding Bill's divorce seem to change details - this could be chalked up to Unreliable Narrator.
    • Boomhauer. Whenever Dale and Bill are doing something stupid, Boomhauer is either the Only Sane Man (When Hank isn't around), Locked Out of the Loop, or is going along with it. It's rather notable in a few episodes - one in which Dale and Bill get stuck in a hole for almost an entire day whereas Boomhauer is nowhere near, and another wherein Boomhauer is shown to be just as almost life-threateningly stupid as Dale and Bill. (Removing the propeller for no apparent reason)
    • Bobby's maturity level varies considerably in later seasons; in some episodes he behaves like a normal teen in his age group, and in others he acts like a young child around 7 years old.
    • Joseph’s popularity varies, sometimes he’s one of the most popular kids in school on account of his athleticism and in others he’s as unpopular as Bobby.
    • Bill's romantic relationships varies as well. In some episodes, he is portrayed as a hopeless romantic with no success in love. In others, he manages to attract and date women, such as in "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator," where he dates the former Texas Governor Ann Richards.
    • Hank's relationship with his son Bobby varies between episodes. In some instances, Hank is shown to be a strict, traditional father who has difficulties understanding or accepting Bobby's interests and hobbies. In other episodes, Hank is portrayed as a more supportive and understanding father who encourages Bobby's pursuits and tries to bond with him over shared interests.
  • From Lilo & Stitch: The Series:
    • Lilo's crush on Keoni seems to only come up when it's plot relevant. Take for example "Kixx", his first appearance, where her interaction with him sees her reacting with annoyance at best, compared to both "Melty" & "Hunkahunka" (and, to a lesser extent, "Nosy") where part of the plot involves her using the experiment of the week to get him to notice her.
    • How evil Gantu is. Most of the time, he's depicted as a Punch-Clock Villain and working for Hamsterviel only because it's the best job he can get and still has morals or good qualities. "Splodyhead" sees him as a Noble Demon Anti-Villain who views the experiments as evil and himself as heroic for hunting them down. Others, like "Amnesio" ("I didn't know what I was missing") or "Poxy" (where he captures Pleakley to get the titular experiment) have him almost bordering on Card-Carrying Villain.
  • Looney Tunes:
    • Looney Tunes characters were shared between various writers and directorsnote : Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck under Bob Clampett and Tex Avery were manic antagonists. As portrayed by Chuck Jones' writer Michael Maltese, they were almost platonic opposites, Bugs being the cool winner to Daffy's jealous loser. Warren Foster, writer for directors Robert McKimson and Friz Freleng, portrayed Bugs as a more proactive version of the Jones-Maltese model and Daffy as a toned down screwball. The Daffy Duck example caused some problems during the making of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Robert Zemeckis wanted to do the Bob Clampett version of Daffy, but he was working with Chuck Jones. Jones wanted to do his version of Daffy and had very personally disliked Clampett. Zemeckis had his way and this was one of the main factors in Jones' Creator Backlash against the film.
      • Robert McKimson was notable for being slower to adapt to Bugs and Daffy's newer personalities (by his own admission, he preferred their older prankster personas). This meant that Daffy had shades of his old screwball persona well into the late 50s.
    • Tweety Bird can either be a completely innocent bird just trying to protect himself and only hurting Sylvester by accident (as in the later Friz Freleng shorts), or he can be a sadist torturing Sylvester intentionally (as in the Bob Clampett and the eariler Freleng shorts).
    • In his early years, Porky Pig was extremely dependent of this, as he shifted back and forth between being a little kid who still goes to school and an adult with a job. This got downplayed after his Characterisation Click Moment, however.
    • While Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson usually depicted Sylvester as able to speak, he was mute in the handful of his shorts directed by Chuck Jones. In these shorts, he was also depicted as a heroic Properly Paranoid Lovable Coward who was paired with Porky.
      • While Sylvester's personality was the same between the Feeling and McKimson shorts, his role was different—Freleng had him as an antagonist more often than not while McKimson used him as an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist.
      • Bob Clampett used Sylvester in a total of one short (1946's Kitty Kornered); due to his very different personality (as a standard trickster), black nose, and yellow eyes, his voice is the only thing giving him away as Sylvester.
      • Art Davis also directed two Sylvester cartoons, each with a different take on the character. In Doggone Cats, he was a mute trickster who torments a bulldog. In Catch as Cats Can, Sylvester is mostly the same as he is in Freleng and McKimson’s shorts, but he is noticably dimmer and has a Simpleton Voice instead of a lisp.
      • In some of Sylvester's cartoons, there is another cat named Sam. While the two inevitably get into fights, they are either adversaries by default or friends who let an Apple of Discord get the better of them.
    • In most Pepé le Pew shorts, he is depicted as an Abhorrent Admirer that didn't understand the concept of "no means no"... But the one short directed by Art Davis instead depicts him as a standard screwball character who competes with a dog (the same one Sylvester was tormenting in Doggone Cats as mentioned above) for shelter on a frigid day. He also has only one line at the end, and he lacks his French accent.
    • Beaky Buzzard was depicted as truly stupid even by Looney Tunes villain standards by Bob Clampett and in his one Robert McKimson-directed cartoon. However, Friz Freleng's short The Lion's Busy depicted him as a clever trickster in the vein of Cecil Turtlenote , constantly turning the tables against an elderly Leo the Lion.
    • The Road Runner is either oblivious that Wile E. Coyote is even trying to catch him, and only hurts him by accident, or is fully aware and even fights back.
    • Under Friz Freleng's direction, Elmer Fudd was often depicted as more of a Jerkass (such as in Ant Pasted, This is a Life?, and Hare Brush). This was largely because Freleng didn't like how Elmer was so mild-mannered and harmless that he made Bugs look Unintentionally Unsympathetic.
    • Foghorn Leghorn can be simply a Motor Mouth, or so much of a motor mouth that he won't even let someone else talk without interrupting them. Unlike most other examples, this varied on the writer rather than the director, since he was exclusive to McKimson's unit.
  • The Looney Tunes Show:
  • The Loud House:
    • While her sportiness generally remains consistant between episodes, Lynn Loud Jr.'s personality tends to vary rather heavily, almost to the levels of Nelson Muntz. In some episodes, especially the earlier ones, she's a Big Sister Bully who will maliciously use force to get what she wants (to the point where some of her siblings are downright afraid of her), while in others she'll be very protective of her siblings and get along with them well. Sometimes she knows the pain she causes and has no issue with it, while in others she's sporty and playful without realizing she's getting too rough. She also shows wildly varying degrees of animalistic behavior as well. Often times, she simply exists to deliver a quick gross-out gag. She'll even show bouts of kindness or vulnerability at times, though this is largely dependant on the premise of an episode (she'll often show this in episodes focusing on her and her friend group, while the writers typically use her more negative depiction during family-focused episodes). She also varies between being cripplingly supersticious, the Only Sane Man, or anywhere inbetween (though she typically skews towards the former).
    • Lucy's ways of expressing joy and general enjoyment of certain activities varies between episodes. When the Loud kids are excited, she'll sometimes smile and jump up and down with the others, while in other instances she'll keep her deadpan expression and half-heartedly raise her fist up and down. In some episodes she'll have no issue smiling and expressing happiness, while in others she'll be constantly emotionless (to the point where her smiling at all was an extremely rare camera-worthy event according to her father). Sometimes, she'll have no issue with beach trips and other fun outdoor activities, while in others she'll drop everything to avoid them at all costs.
    • In the show's earlier seasons, how the house itself is depicted would vary from episode to episode. Sometimes, it is depicted as an absolute pig-stye (complete with tipped furniture, food and other junk splattered all over the walls, and near-constant noise), where a lack of property damage is considered a good day. While in other episodes, the house is depicted as a normal clean and orderly dwelling that happens to have 11 kids. The latter is almost always used nowadays, though they'll flash back to the former in occasional throwback episodes such as "The Boss Maybe".
    • Mr. Grouse, the Louds' cranky neighbor, has varying opinions of the family depending on the episode. In some, he's bothered by their antics but otherwise gets along with them, or is simply a crank who's indifferent to everything. Sometimes he's willing to bond with the Loud kids when their interests overlap (Lincoln in "11 Louds a Leapin'", Lynn in "Good Sports", Lola in "Diamonds are for Never"), and appriciates what the family has done for him. This is especially prevelant during his brief move away from Franklin Ave. However, in other episodes he actively despises his neighbors and has nothing good to say about them. He's shown to hate most of Lynn Sr.'s cooking and will generally hurl scathing insults at the whole family in these instances (whether they're justified or not). He's even shown gleefully celebrating the Louds' departure during the road trip arc, and at one point is even proud of getting the chance to wreck the Louds' garage. His love of Lynn Loud Sr.'s Lynnsagna, thankfully, remains consistant.
    • Flip's morals tend to vary, from being a malicious scammer to a genuine family friend, and anything in between.
  • The Magic School Bus: Depending on the plot, Liz can range from being an intelligent Silent Snarker as she puts up with the classmates' antics to a mischievous companion not above causing a little trouble for fun.
  • Metalocalypse:
    • The general stupidity of Dethklok can shoot up and down depending on the needs of the scene and the joke. Most of the time, they're in the typical Idiot Hero or Manchild range, but they regularly dip into the point where you wonder how they can chew their own food. Meanwhile, when one of them needs to act as a Straight Man, his intelligence will shoot up to borderline-average levels, and there are occasional times where they grab the Smart Ball and become downright intelligent or even genius (one episode has them demonstrate savant-like skills at contract negotiation). Additionally, some episodes play them as Brilliant, but Lazy due to the learned helplessness of their lifestyle, while others just treat them as naturally dumb.
    • Toki is the member who most often displays any kind of moral compass, but how seriously said moral compass should be taken can change quite a bit. Sometimes, he comes off as genuine (if only in a Dumb Is Good kind of way), but other times, he's just as bad as his bandmates. "Dethgov" splits the difference a bit by depicting a Toki who claims to be involved in Nathan's new government to help people, but the moment he gets into his office, he spends the whole day ordering around and verbally abusing his assistants and even gets a boner out of it—suggesting that while Toki may have a sense of right and wrong, he's no less self-centered and immature than his fellows when push comes to shove
  • In Miraculous Ladybug, whether or not Sabrina has a nasty streak of her own or simply goes along with Chloe's schemes because she's an Extreme Doormat.
  • My Life as a Teenage Robot: Tuck can be an brat who makes everything worse and takes advantage of his friends and brother, to being a nice kid who is quite crafty.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • The characters and their various interactions with other characters vary from writer to writer. Pinkie Pie can either be an insane stalker-like lunatic or a hidden genius, Fluttershy can ranged from being mildly socially awkward to a nervous wreck, and Spike's crush on Rarity can be almost complete devotion to her, simply non-existent or anything in between. Even Scootaloo's idolization of Rainbow Dash can range from Fangirl to not treating her any differently from other adults.
    • As another result of the show’s inconsistent writing, Pinkie’s friends alternate between enjoying her company and trying to get away from her, both ignoring her when she tries to talk to them but doing things with her such as pulling pranks or playing buckball. All in the same season by the same characters.
    • The depiction of the cast often depends on who is in the main limelight, and thus most likely to have An Aesop concerning their defining flaws. For Twilight Sparkle for example, her bookworm ethics are usually tamed to make her down to earth and come in handy acting as an Only Sane Man when someone else is acting up, when she is in the main role however, she will be much more neurotic and arrogant, refusing obsessively to accept anyone else's opinion over her scientific logic. She and almost every other pony can also range between perfectly humble to completely full of themselves depending on what the situation needs. And despite characterizations shifts between writers, they all seem to have a steady stream of consistent Character Development between them.
    • Princess Luna is easily the worst offender, she will go from Large Ham with No Indoor Voice to stern stoic to Shrinking Violet whatever the writers want, might be as a result as being the O.C. Stand-in for much of Season 1's fanworks. On the other hand, many fans embraced these discrepancies, considering Luna a princess of paradox, full of inner conflicts and dualities - sweet and friendly, but easy to anger, covering social awkwardness with brash behavior, seeking escape from dark thoughts in common joys and being painfully naive about many common matters while possessing ageless wisdom.
    • Spike and Twilight's relationship is confusing due to this trope. Are they like siblings, mother and son, mentor and student, or what? The most obvious example of this dissonance is how Season 8's "Father Knows Beast" implies that Twilight has a motherly bond with Spike, but the season 9 episode "Sparkle's Seven" shows that Spike was raised by Twilight's parents as her younger brother; notably, the explanation done in the ninth and final season was the direct result of Spike's voice actress asking that this situation finally be cleared up.
  • The Penguins of Madagascar
    • The titular penguins can either eat any type of food like popcorn and candy; or they can only eat fish.
    • Maurice's intelligence and loyalty can vary from episode to episode. Some episodes would portray him as a very intelligent animal that's equally as competent as the Penguins, while other episodes would have him being only slightly more sane that King Julien or Mort but still being a bit of a ditz and grabbing the Idiot Ball with the rest of the Lemurs. Likewise, he can go from having an Undying Loyalty to King Julien to simply being forced to be with him out of not having other choice and escaping from his life of servitude at the first chance he gets.
    • How does Skipper sees Private? In some episodes he's pretty much his Morality Pet that would cause Skipper go full Papa Wolf mode at the most minimal sign he's in danger, while in other episodes he doesn't even hide he sees him as the most expendable of his soldiers for lacking the abilities of Kowalski or Rico and puts him first on line against any potential mortal danger. Interestingly, the theatrical movie plays with both characterizations for drama.
    • The animals can either read on their own just fine or only Phil is capable of reading.
    • King Julien is almost always The Load but the morality behind it varies. In some episodes, he's a Heroic Wannabe that truly wants to help his friends but is too much of an idiot to be of any help for the penguins, in other episodes he's very aware he's ruining things for everyone else but doesn't care as long as he gets what he wants.
    • The Penguins's (and to a lesser degree, the rest of the animals minus the Lemurs) understanding of the human world can go from being as savy of their behavior as they are of the behavior from their fellow animals, to being Entertainingly Wrong most of the time and confusing relatively small or unimportant information, believing to be more important that it actually is.
    • The animals tend to interchange between using money among their fellow animals to just changing services for food, related to that, one later episode reveals that for wild animals (particulary squirels), nuts is their currency, while "The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel" involves the squirels having a treasure of gold.
    • Marlene has being established as going feral every time she goes outside of the zoo out of being born in captivity, except of course, in all the times that's not important to the plot of that particular episode, and she can go outside just fine. One of the final episodes reveals she no longer goes feral.
  • Phineas and Ferb:
    • Candace's obsession for busting the titular brothers varies wildly. She's either a strict disciplinarian who is capable of showing restraint, a Jerkass killjoy who is doing it out of spite, or because she has a psychological need to do so. Her relationship with them varies between loving them deep down to acting like she hates their guts.
    • Roger Doofenschmirtz's attitude toward his brother Heinz when he appears tends to vary from episode. In some episodes, Roger interacts congenially with Heinz whenever they're around each other and seldom seems to show any hard feelings toward Heinz despite the latter's frequent plots against him, sometimes even throwing Heinz a bone (such as when he recreated a painting of Heinz's that Roger accidentally ruined with spilled grape juice when they were children). Meanwhile, other episodes have Roger smugly putting down Heinz whenever one of Heinz's schemes backfires and Roger knows it and Roger seems embarrassed of the fact that they're related.
      • Whether he's as good of a person as the narrative makes him out to be varies as well, with some episodes suggesting he's as nice of a guy as the town of Danville believes he is (the aforementioned grape juice incident), while others having him as a bordering on a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing (a notable example is "The Beak", where he deliberately gives up his position as mayor to Heinz so Heinz will take all the blame for a sudden rampage of supervillains).
    • Some episodes can have Batman Can Breathe in Space be in effect while others do not (though it should be said that this usually depending on what sort of joke the episode wants to tell). In both "Rollercoaster" and "Rollercoaster: The Musical", the eponymous roller coaster is launched into space with no ill effect on its occupants, and "Unfair Science Fair Redux" shows Phineas, Ferb, and Candace safely running around on Mars without any kind of protection. Conversely, in "Out to Launch" a random astronaut and Dr. Doofenschmirtz comically inflate when they end up exposed to the vacuum of space, and in "Doof Side of the Moon" Phineas and Ferb's tower is so obscenely tall that it requires visitors to put on space suits after getting high enough to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
  • In the Fleischer Studios Popeye cartoons, Bluto's character can vary judging by who's the head animator. At times he can be mean and ruthless under Willard Bowsky ("Be Kind to Aminals" and "Dizzy Divers"), while he's more comical and bumbling under Seymour Kneitel ("The Hyp-Nut-Tist" and "For Better or Worser"). Dave Tendlar was usually somewhere in the middle.
    • Speaking of Fleischer Studios, if Myron Waldman is the head animator, expect it to be more cute and sentimental (like many of the later Betty Boop cartoons or the more subtle Color Classics).
    • There's also a lot of disagreement as to how strong Bluto is compared to Popeye. Sometimes, Popeye is no match for him without spinach, while other times, Popeye can put up a good fight against him even without it. Still other times, Bluto has a terrible glass jaw, and even Olive Oyl can knock him out.
  • The Powerpuff Girls:
    • Mojo Jojo can be an ingenious, manipulative criminal mastermind who can come within an inch of defeating the girls, a complete joke who's too stupid to see the gaping flaws in his plans, or anything in between.
    • Similarly, HIM ranges from somewhat-effective but still buffoonish Flaming Devil to full-on terrifying Eldritch Abomination, though, in his case, it also depends on whether he's the episode's main villain.
    • Leaning between this and Series Continuity Error, Bubbles is sometimes depicted as vegetarian despite very often eating meat without issue.
    • The Powerpuff Girls themselves can range in skill level from being developing rookies to being in par with the world's greatest superheroes. This often depends on how relevant their skill level is to the current scene, with the girls appearing more powerful when it's deliberately brought into the spotlight.
    • Some episodes imply the girls only have Super-Speed while flying while in others they can run at speeds comparable to their flight speed with no issues.
    • The Powerpuff Girls can also range in intelligence, from being more like normal five year olds and having limited common sense to being able to solve complex riddles in less than a minute.
    • How dumb or smart Bubbles is seems to depend on the writer. Some episodes she's a complete moron, some episodes she's of average intelligence, and some episodes have her a Genius Ditz with Obfuscating Stupidity.
    • How much people respect Buttercup. Certain episodes have her with much less respect than her sisters, while other episodes have her with just as much respect as them.
    • While the Townsville citzens are always idiots, it varies whether they're so incompetent you question how they even got by without the girls, merely below average intelligence, or a more normal level of intelligence and just complacent.
  • The Powerpuff Girls (2016):
  • In The Proud Family as well as its sequel series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, how much of a Jerkass the girls are to each other or in general vary per episode:
    • Lacienaga is either an Alpha Bitch who doesn't seem to have any reason to be with the girls at all... or a Lovable Alpha Bitch who does seem to care about the others.
    • Dijonay is either a backstabbing Beta Bitch to Lacienaga, or actually does act like a friend to the others.
    • Penny herself can either be a Butt-Monkey that ends up getting the short-end of the stick for no reason, or a short-tempered girl who thinks only about herself.
    • Zoey either is quick to abandon Penny as the other girls, the last one to leave Penny, or in a few bizarre episodes (Yes, even for this series), just as much of a Jerkass towards Penny as Dijonay and Lacienaga.
    • The Gross Sisters are either just a Gang of Bullies who ask for money, or genuinely nice girls. It's been said that they acted like better friends to Penny than Dijonay and Lacienaga.
    • How much Sticky likes Dijonay seems to vary - in some episodes she is an Abhorrent Admirer to him. In other episodes, he is either tolerant of her or even gets jealous when she's not going after him.
  • Ready Jet Go!:
    • In some episodes, Mitchell can be a quiet yet obedient spy and in other episodes, he can be cold and anti-social.
    • Jet is either a naive alien, or completely stupid.
  • Regular Show:
    • Rigby is sometimes written as more childish than usual for Rule of Funny. Examples include "Meat Your Maker" and "Wall Buddy".
    • Mordecai can range from being the Only Sane Man to being just as stupid and immature as Rigby.
      • The duo's competence and work ethic varies between episodes. In some they're generally competent but extremely lazy workers who can do their jobs just fine but either take unnecessary risks that ruin things, try and get out of doing work they're easily capable of doing, or simply do their work no problem. In others they're so childish and incompetent that they decide to paint a shed using their bodies and sandpaper the cart in an attempt to clean it. It can even vary on a spectrum between these two extremes, which can also depend on if Mordecai is the Only Sane Man or holding the Idiot Ball that episode.
    • Benson can be a Jerkass, a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, or a Jerkass Woobie. His relationship with Mordecai and Rigby can go anywhere from only yelling at them when they genuinely do something to deserve it (sometimes even sticking up for them) to being a malicious Bad Boss with a complete lack of trust or respect for them.
    • Depending on what the episode calls for, Muscle Man is either an obnoxious Fat Bastard who gleefully pranks everyone or a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. In early seasons, his relationship with Mordecai and Rigby can go anywhere from a mutual dislike ("My Mom", "Go Viral") to more along the lines of Vitriolic Best Buds ("Firework Run", "Fancy Restaurant"). Some episodes, such as "The Night Owl", have them go from one end of the spectrum to the other. Later episodes cemented them as Vitriolic Best Buds, however.
  • In Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood, the Sheriff will often switch between being the Corrupt Cop/Evil Debt Collector he is depicted as in most adaptations and being a Reasonable Authority Figure who is Just Following Orders.
  • Rocko's Modern Life:
    • Heffer and Filburt's relationship sometimes falls into this. Sometimes they get along relatively fine, other times they bicker Like an Old Married Couple. Occasionally, Filb hates Hef's guts while Heffer is Oblivious to Hatred.
    • Rocko's Multiple-Choice Past. The show's intro and "Wimp on the Barby" show that he immigrated to O-Town as an adult, while two other episodes have him living in America as a child/teen.
    • Depending on the episode, Filburt is either rail-thin or overweight underneath his shell.
  • Rugrats:
    • Chuckie can either be a voice of reason on Tommy's "adventures," or a Lovable Coward who seems to be scared of everything.
    • Angelica either doesn't mind the other Rugrats, and joins them on whatever their doing, or a bully who takes pleasure in insulting or picking on them.
    • Susie is either Angelica's best friend or her arch-rival, sometimes both.
    • The Rugrats' speech around the adults. While Angelica and Susie were always shown to speak around (and to) the adults, the others either don't speak around the adults, speak around the adults, but they don't hear them, or in rare instances, say something around the adults, but they mistake it for gibberish.
    • Stu and Drew either get along with each other fine, or have a fierce sibling rivalry.
  • Aku in Samurai Jack varies between being a Laughably Evil Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain and an irredeemable monster, depending on the tone the particular episode is going for.
  • Due to the multiple writers helming season 1 of Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), how the characters act can vary, sometimes wildly.
  • Many episodes of South Park have this.
    • Wendy can be the Only Sane Girl or a Clingy Jealous Girl of epic proportions based on the plot.
    • Likewise Cartman's level of evil can range from Jerk with a Heart of Gold to a plain Jerkass to an absolute sociopath. The heart of gold aspect usually only shows up in the earlier seasons.
    • Kyle can either be naively convinced of some good in him deep down, or outright overzealous that the world be rid of him.
    • Also, Craig can either be a callous Jerkass who bullies others and serve as an egotistical rival for the boys with his own gang ("South Park Is Gay"), an ordinary kid who hangs out with the boys along with the other kids and goes through crazy things with them ("Marjorine"), or a Deadpan Snarker who doesn't want to get involved in the ridiculous situations the boys go through ("Pandemic").
    • For more minor examples: recent episodes have the Mayor oscillating from Only Sane Woman to just as stupid as all the other adults. Priest Maxi, meanwhile, can be The Fundamentalist Straw Hypocrite ("Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?"), an extreme progressive fighting against Pedophile Priests ("Red Hot Catholic Love") or just a normal voice for religious opinion, sincere even if he's portrayed as misguided ("Cartman Sucks").
  • Star Wars:
    • In Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous was written as a mustache-twirling coward. However, when developing Star Wars: Clone Wars, the writers were only given Grievous' concept design and a basic outline of his character as the "machine general", and they ended up writing him as a terrifying Hero Killer and a legitimate threat. Needless to say, one version is more popular than the other; comparing the two is like comparing Snidely Whiplash and the Predator.
    • The 2008 series splits the difference, making Grievous a powerful enough warrior, but his skills as a general go no further than “crush opponents with overwhelming force" - who loses quickly to an adversary who fights smart.
    • Star Wars: The Clone Wars has some rather wild personality swings amongst the cast, often completely reversing opinions and personality between different episodes. In "Hostage Crisis" (written by Eoghan Mahony), Anakin makes a large speech about how Padme is the single most important thing in his life, whereas she seems preoccupied by the duties and responsibilities of her office and their obligations to the Republic. However, in "Senate Spy" (written by Melinda Hsu), their positions are diametrically reversed, and Padme becomes upset when Anakin lectures her on the nature of responsibility and the duties they have that supersede their personal desires. Neither seems to recall that they were ever on opposite sides of the debate.
  • Steven Universe: Lapis Lazuli suffers this trope quite nastily, with her infrequent appearances making it hard to tell if we're seeing multiple aspects of a well-rounded character or... well, this trope. Lapis can jump around from being horribly traumatized/depressed by her past and her actions, be completely indifferent to everything around her, or just be an awful bitch to everyone except Steven.
  • TaleSpin:
    • The characterizations are somewhat erratic, particularly the extent of Baloo and Rebecca's personalities and interactions. Baloo can switch anywhere between a slovenly but well intentioned Ace Pilot or a brainless egotist. Rebecca can be a plausible Straight Man with subtle Not So Above It All tendacies or even ditzier than Baloo, she can also switch anywhere between a Benevolent Boss and a Mean Boss.
    • Rebecca is usually a fairly no-nonsense businesswoman, while Baloo is willing to cut corners due to impatience or laziness. Sometimes though, to facilitate the plot Rebecca will suddenly latch onto some hair brained get rich quick scheme, with Baloo trying to talk her out of it the whole time.
    • Additionally, the two may be equal forces that refuse to back down to each other or there may be a visible dominant side (even this is inconsistant, as sometimes Rebecca may be recessive to Baloo impudence and exploitation, naively holding onto the belief he will eventually take to her routine, or she will take no nonsense from him whatsoever, with Baloo acting as something of a surrogate Henpecked Husband that caves in or outright cowers before her overbearing attitude).
    • Kit can range between something of an Only Sane Man and jarringly mature and perceptive for his age, or a naive Bratty Half-Pint (usually when neither Baloo or Rebecca are holding the Idiot Ball).
    • Shere Khan is mostly a Affably Evil Anti-Villain interested in gaining wealth and power, but is a Noble Demon who won't cross the line and is a Friendly Enemy to Baloo. In other episodes he's a Ambiguously Evil Anti-Hero who teams up with Baloo, but usually for his own gain. In one episode he's a Faux Affably Evil villain largely responsible for the troubles.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987):
    • Raphael is either a comic relief character, much like Michelangelo, or retains his Hair-Trigger Temper that many other his other incarnations have.
    • The Shredder is either a Harmless Villain, or a genuine threat.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012):
    • How skilled the Turtles themselves are varies between episodes. They've been shown to hold their own even against the Shredder, but on the other hand, they've also been shown to struggle against even just regular Foot Soldiers.
    • The Shredder either only cares about defeating Splinter and the Turtles, or cares about other things too (such as Karai and the Kuro Kabuto, his helmet).
    • Tiger Claw either works for the Shredder, but still holds a code of honor, or is almost as ruthless as he is. For instance, he's called the Shredder out on some of his actions, but on the other hand, he's pulled off some dishonorable deeds himself.
  • Some of the engines' personalities waver in Thomas & Friends, particularly due to alterations made from their counterparts in The Railway Series novels. James in particular, since his very first appearances, can range anywhere from being friendly and reliable if slightly boisterous and arrogant, to a narcissistic Jerkass who is rude to everyone and objects constantly to work of any kind.
  • Tom and Jerry:
    • The different ways in which these two were written is amazing. Most of the time, they're antagonistic towards each other, but sometimes they're best buddies, and sometimes, they enjoy their chase. Sometimes Tom is a sadistic jerk, sometimes he's painted as the villain for doing a cat's job, and sometimes he's a hapless victim. Sometimes Jerry is just fighting for his survival, sometimes he helps out others Tom is torturing, and sometimes he just torments Tom for fun.
    • Spike the Bulldog can range between being a vicious guard dog who never talks, to a bipedal dog with a Jimmy Durante sounding voice. Sometimes he attacks Tom simply for being a cat, other times he only goes after Tom when he annoys or bothers him. He also ranges from being friends with Jerry, not noticing him, or attacking him as viciously as he would Tom (though admittedly this only really happened once).
    • Butch and Tom are either the best of buddies or the worst of enemies.
    • The younger gray mouse that often accompanies Jerry is named either Tuffy or Nibbles, depending on the short.
  • In Totally Spies!, the intelligence, competence, and hormone levels of the three protagonists tends to vary:
    • Sometimes Alex is a pure Cloudcuckoolander, other times she's the Only Sane Woman between Clover and Sam. Sam can range from being the no-nonsense Only Sane Woman to being just as ditzy and boy-crazy as Clover.
    • How boy-crazy is Clover? It can vary from being fairly level-headed to having ADHD-levels of distractibility whenever there are multiple guys around.
    • How capable the girls are in a fight varies as well. Some episodes have them easily take on dozens of henchmen, while other times they can be easily overpowered by virtually anyone.
    • Jerry can range from being a true Benevolent Boss, to a goofy Ditzy Genius, to acting like an exasperated Grumpy Old Man.
  • Transformers has Starscream. Is he completely incompetent, a competent warrior and general who just happens to be trying to usurp Megatron but is doing it badly, the Only Sane Man when Megatron holds the Villain Ball and vice versa, or some combination of the three?
  • Xiaolin Showdown: The friendship between the four monks and their cohesion as a team varies throughout the show. The first season started off depicting them as contentious at best and poor teamwork but then gradually develop into friends. Come season two and three, the monks flip flop between close friends who got each other's backs and showcase brilliant teamwork to acting like jerks to each other, with teamwork so terrible that someone as feeble as Jack Spicer (particularly after his Villain Decay) can get the best of them.

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