Fandom Enraging Misconception / Western Animation

Franchises with their own pages:

• My Little Pony

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Individual examples:

In General

• A good way to piss off any fan of animation is to unironically say animation is just for children or to assume a work is intended for children just because it's animated. The 2022 Oscars is a major offender of this.
• Referring to animation as a "genre" instead of a "medium" is another good way to piss off animation fans and animators alike. A genre refers to a specific class of works that share specific tropes and storytelling conventions (sci-fi, fantasy, romance, horror, just to name a few), whereas a medium is the form used to make those works. Specific animated works may fall under the former category, but animation as a whole falls under the latter category.
• Saying that all cartoons from The New '10s have the same basic art-style (or, worse, refer to said allegedly similar art-style as the so-called "CalArts style"^*a buzzword phrase originally coined by John Kricfalusi back in the 1990s, based on the (incorrect) perception that all TV animators from the 2010s graduated from California art school CalArts and that the school forces students to learn the same exact Thin-Line Animation "bean-mouth" art-style, which is a Fandom-Enraging Misconception in of itself as the school actually encourages students to develop their own art style.) is a good way for people to stop taking you seriously and get a mob of fans of the many shows that came out that decade to come out of the woodwork to show you how distinct the shows actually are from each other and how a number of prominent TV animators never even went to CalArts in the first place.

Specific Cartoons

• Adventure Time:
  • Don't ever refer to Jake as Finn's pet. He's Finn's adoptive brother.
  • Regarding the Bubbline ^note Princess Bubblegum and Marceline pairing, do not dismiss it as simply a fan pairing, as not only is there evidence to suggest the two once dated as well as Word of God confirming that they were once a couple, but as of the Grand Finale, the two have shared a kiss and become a couple again, making it fully canon.
  • Don't say that Finn has bear ears and white fur on his face: it's just a hat, and he's taken it off in multiple episodes (he has blond hair).
  • Don't say that the show is just a lighthearted comedic spoof of fantasy stories: while it has plenty of humor, part of the show's appeal is that it regularly vacillates between comedy, drama, and horror, and it has surprisingly consistent continuity and worldbuilding, with a clear Myth Arc and many a Wham Episode. You'll probably get a pass if you're referring specifically to the first two seasons, though.
• American Dad!: Do not call it a ripoff of Family Guy, especially since the show has found its own footing and voice.
• Animaniacs:
  • The show mercilessly mocked this attitude In-Universe with an ad for the Please Please Please Get A Life Foundation. In fact, the Straw Fan at the beginning and end of the segment says things reminiscent of most of the examples on this page. And the writers have said that most of the comments in that clip were taken from actual fans.
  • Don't refer to the Warner siblings collectively as "the Animaniacs". They are the Warner siblings. Jeopardy! learned this lesson in one episode.
  • This fanart of the Warners is constantly mistaken for official art due to the Animaniacs Wiki using these images for a very long time and being the first thing that comes up when searched for the Warners on Google images. The images on the Wiki have since been changed to official art in 2020, but mistaking fanart for official art is a big no-no (this goes for any fandom, really, as Butch Hartman learned the hard way after he traced Attack on Titan fanart).
• Arthur:
  • Arthur's last name is Read and not "the Aardvark". None of the characters in the show, save for Mr. Ratburn, have a Species Surname. "Buster Bunny" is a completely different rabbit.
  • Do not spell Sue Ellen as "Suellen".
• Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • Don't call the show an anime. It's a common mistake, since the show is clearly anime-inspired, but some people will get very mad at you for it (not least of all because of its "Nicktoon" label).
  • Also, whatever you do, never confuse Avatar: The Last Airbender with James Cameron's film series Avatar. Best-case scenario, you will be soundly mocked for being such an unoriginal troll.
• BoJack Horseman: Referring to the location of the show from episode six onwards as "Hollywood" and not "Hollywoo," especially depicting the Hollywood sign with the "D" intact. Family Guy and The Simpsons both made that mistake when they referenced the show, and fans did not appreciate it.
• Blue's Clues: Blue is not a male puppy, and Magenta is not her sister, girlfriend, nor best male friend. The rumors are so persistent that they bug fans.
• Like with Blue's Clues before it, the titular character of Bluey is a female blue dog, and claims to the contrary annoy fans a lot.
• Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers:
  • Don't mix CDRR up with the classic Chip 'n Dale cartoons. They've got about as much in common with each other as The Jungle Book and TaleSpin.
  • There are five Rescue Rangers. Not four. Do not overlook Zipper. He's a full-fledged team member.
  • Amongst other things you don't know for certain are the exact chronological order of the episodes, the spelling of the name of Gadget's Doppelgänger in "Gadget Goes Hawaiian" or in which city the Rangers live in. So don't claim that you do.
  • Never, ever, ever confuse Chip and Dale with each other. They don't even remotely look the same.
  • Never safely assume that Chip and Gadget are the Official Couple and defend your assumption. You do not want to trigger the ensuing backlash. The same goes for any other possible pairing involving Gadget.
• Code Lyoko, please for the sake of the diety (or non-diety) you subscribe to, spell all the characters' names right and please keep the season arcs separate from each other. Season 4 does not have Aelita's connection to the supercomputer and William did not become evil in Season 2.
• Codename: Kids Next Door: All the KND agents are codenamed Numbuh (Something). Not "Number" or "Numbah". Unfortunately, Cartoon Network itself used the latter misspelling multiple times, even back when the show was airing. This is also the case on This Very Wiki.
  • In a smaller note, some official material such as Operation: V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E. and Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion refer to the five main operatives as "Sector 5" instead of "Sector V" (although in the former case, there were some versions where they WERE correctly named). Making this mistake is not wise either.
• Elena is Disney's first Latina princess. Saying otherwise will not end well.
• The Fairly OddParents!
  • The names of three of the characters are Vicky, Tootie, and Trixie, not Vicki, Tooty, and Trixy.
  • Regarding the Distant Finale ending to Channel Chasers, do not say that the mother of Timmy's children Tommy and Tammy is explicitly Tootie ^note This likely stems from the fact that Tammy was shown wearing glasses similar to Tootie's, making fans assume Tootie is the mother, despite her also having Trixie's hairstyle and Veronica's eyelashes. ^note Of course, there's nothing wrong with having Tootie as the mother in fan works. Who the mother is supposed to be (confirmed by Butch Hartman) is ambiguous. Also, do not use the live action movies (where Timmy ends up with Tootie) as evidence that confirms Tootie is the mother, as those entries completely ignore the ending to Channel Chasers as a whole and thus have no bearing on who the mother is. (Tootie and Timmy are an Official Couple as adults in A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!, but that movie is almost definitely not canon to the animated series and few fans want to treat it as such.) Similarly, do not say that Wishology confirms Trixie is the mother either, especially since everyone's memories were erased at the end of that adventure.
• Family Guy:
  • Fans hate it when people and the media call it The Family Guy. This debacle was referenced in "Boopa-Dee Bappa-Dee".
  • Do not call it a rip-off of The Simpsons, something that The Simpsons and South Park did without a hint of joking.
• The Fantastic Four (1978): Do not claim that the reason the Human Torch was absent from the series was because the creators feared kids would set themselves on fire trying to imitate him. The reason he was Exiled from Continuity was because Universal had the rights to him at the time, thus cutting him off from the rest of the team.
• Hardcore Hanna-Barbera fans will likely get annoyed if you confuse Snagglepuss with The Pink Panther, although it's admittedly an easy mistake to make, seeing as they both happen to be large pink cats. (The Pink Panther fans probably will as well.) Ironically Hanna Barbera DID do a Pink Panther series in 1984 called Pink Panther and Sons.
• Hazbin Hotel:
  • Do not assert that the entire show consists of vulgar sex jokes, that the show is racist or homophobic or that Helluva Boss renders the whole plot moot by showing that Heaven is just as undesirable of a place to live as Hell. You will be disproved in kind for each of these false assumptions.
  • No, the series did not "betray its own premise in the first episode". This one mainly comes from confusion about how canon the pilot is, where the Exterminations are to deal with an Overpopulation Crisis in Hell that the show changes to be Heaven carrying out due to a misguided belief that the Sinners need to be pacified. Any discrepancies between the pilot and the actual show can be explained with the official statement that the pilot is Broad Strokes canon.
  • Angel Dust and Valentino's relationship is NOT Romanticized Abuse merely because it is portrayed with a degree of realism unlike most other serious topics in the show. Watching even a few minutes of it playing out (especially in "Masquerade") will obviously demonstrate that Valentino (the abuser) is a heinously evil Hate Sink and Angel is his sympathetic victim.
• Hey Arnold!:
  • Hillwood is not in NYC. The town has elements of NYC, but it's in Washington State.
  • Arnold doesn't wear a skirt/kilt. This misconception is even joked about in the show itself. It's actually just a long, plaid shirt he wears underneath his sweater.
• Infinity Train: Assuming that Tulip is the main character can be this. A fair amount of people assume this due to the show's initial advertisement and how some services continue to list it, but it's only slightly correct. The show is an anthology that follows a different cast of characters in each story arc; Tulip's actions do cause much of the plot for Season 2 and Season 3 (Season 4 is in the past), but the story only focuses on her for Season 1. After that, she never appears again.
• Don't refer to Kidd Video as "Kid Video", or assume that the characters are kids just because of the title, otherwise, the fanbase will take you to the Flipside.
• The Legend of Korra:
  • Say that the eventual romance between Korra and Asami, now famous as one of the first explicit LGBT+ pairing in children's western animation, came out of nowhere at the end, and you'll get a thorough education in how the seeds for it were subtly planted throughout the last two seasons (and if you're really unlucky, accusations of being homophobic for not picking up on them).
  • On a similar note, Korra and Asami aren't lesbians, they're bisexual. Forgetting this puts you at risk of being accused of bi erasure.
• Littlest Pet Shop (2012): Do not call Zoe a dog version of Twilight Sparkle. Not only is she more like Rarity in terms of personality, but she also looks little like Twilight. Twilight's eyes are purple and Zoe's are blue, their hair is a different shade of purple, and Twilight has two skunk stripes in her hair while Zoe only has one. This person sums this misconception up perfectly.
• Looney Tunes:
  • Fans hate it when someone spells it "Looney TOONS". Unfortunately for them, the spelling has occasionally popped up in official Warner Bros. material.
  • You'll get a similar reaction from the fans by referring to Tweety Bird as a girl.
  • Insisting that the original theatrical shorts are for kids is definitely a way to get fans angry at you. While it saw success with kids when The Bugs Bunny Show released, and it was a part of many people's childhoods, the series was never really for kids in the first place, with humor that is either not appropriate for children or will fly over the heads of children and those who know nothing of the pop culture or history at the time. Not only that, there are scenes with either extreme violence or Values Dissonance that have been edited when aired on television. The likes of Hollywood Steps Out, Bacall to Arms, Wild Wife, and Norman Normal (1968) are definitive proof of this, as they all deal with more adult themes and subjects, the first of which features cameos by countless celebrities that most people born after The '50s wouldn't know.
  • Thinking that the entire series was done by a single person (most likely Chuck Jones due to him directing the most iconic short in the series), when in reality more than one person directed different shorts and created different characters. Hell, their very first character was created by two people.
• Lu & the Bally Bunch: Do NOT call the show a "rip-off" of The Buzz on Maggie unless you want to be sprayed with RAID.
• Mickey Mouse:
  • Despite their similar looks, Mickey and Minnie are not related to each other and are especially not twin siblings. The two are an Official Couple, with Walt himself saying they're married outside of the shorts. Making this mistake would not be a wise move.
  • Saying that Mickey has no personality or is nothing more than a bland corporate mascot will not make you many friends with the fandom, who will point to various works like his early shorts, the various Mickey Mouse comics, Runaway Brain, the Epic Mickey games, and the Paul Rudish shorts, amongst other works, as proof that Mickey does have a personality. In all fairness, this is largely thanks to Disney themselves, as they heavily limit what Mickey is allowed to do and not do.
• Miraculous Ladybug:
  • Calling the Chat Noir from the original trailer "Adrien". He was a completely different character, dubbed "Felix" by fans. His personality and interactions with Marinette would have been completely different from Adrien.
  • Do not spell Adrien as "Adrian".
• Never spell Leni and Luan as "Lenny" and "LuAnn" to a fan of The Loud House, unless you want to get some angry looks.
• When discussing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit around his fans, don't mistake him for Oswald the Octopus from Nick Jr. due to the name being more recently attributed to the latter. Also, don't mistake him for Mickey Mouse.
• The Owl House:
  • Referring to Raine as either male or female will earn you scorn from fans, who will be quick to tell you that Raine is non-binary. If you want to get technical, Raine is a transmasculine non-binary according to Avi Roque, the character's voice actor, which is hugely different from identifying as male.
  • Luz is bisexual, not a lesbian. Saying that she is a lesbian due to getting together with Amity in season 2 is a good way to be accused of bi-erasure by fans. This also goes for saying that Willow and Hunter are straight due to their Ship Tease, when they're pansexual and bisexual, respectively, according to Word of God.
  • Luz is pronounced "Looze" (as in, loose with a soft z), not "Lus" (as in, Gus with an L). Referring to her as the latter instead of the former is a good way to upset fans, especially since her name is pronounced as the former constantly.
• Pinky and the Brain: Do not say that Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain is canon, not just due to its reviled nature (even by the writers), but because Animaniacs (2020) completely ignores it by depicting Pinky and the Brain as always having been just the two of them, with no Elmyra in sight.
• The Powerpuff Girls:
  • Do not mispronounce or mispell the title as "The Powderpuff Girls" in front of any fan of the show. Not unless you want to get beat up as badly as the show's villains, or at least get yelled at.
  • If you are from Latin America, their name is "Las chicas superpoderosas", period. Calling them "Las chicas coquetas" (the first translation used, and quickly dropped by the network) will not end well.
  • For Brazilian Portuguese, Don't call them "As Meninas Superperigosas" (it's "As Meninas Superpoderosas).
  • Believing that everyone in the show looks just like the PPG themselves (or, more specifically, believing that drawing a character "in the PPG style" is just drawing any kind of character like the PPG themselves) will get you a lot of people pointing out the grand variety of character designs that exist in the show and that the only characters that share the girls’ designs are the Rowdyruff Boys (who are meant to be Spear Counterpart to them).
  • Do not spell Ms. Keane, The Gangreen Gang, and Princess Morbucks as "Ms. Keen", "Gangrene Gang", and "Princess Morebucks" respectively.
• The Ren & Stimpy Show: While fans will accept that the episode did not help his case, do not claim that "Man's Best Friend" was responsible for John Kricfalusi's firing, or worse, that he didn't deserve to be fired. Fans will point out that he already had a history of constantly missing deadlines and going over budget, with the last straw being when John K. told the already enraged Nickelodeon executives that episodes would take as long as they needed and cost however much they needed to.
• Never call Robotboy "Little Blue Boy".
• Rocky and Bullwinkle:
  • It's not unheard of for people unfamiliar with the show to instinctively assume upon looking at the titular characters that Rocky is the moose and Bullwinkle is the squirrel when it's actually the other-way-round. The reasons for this misconception most likely stem from a misappropriation of their names being indicative of both their appearances and personalities. ^{To Analyze:}Bullwinkle (or Bullwinkle J. Moose) is a large, strong, stereotypically dumb moose with the atypically large moose antlers to match his size over intelligence; of which one might address as having the smarts and girth of heavy rocks. He is also definitely not a bull cattle, even though male moose are called bulls. By contrast, Rocky (or Rocket J. "Rocky" Squirrel) is a small, smart, plucky and energetic flying squirrel; and thus it might sound more lenient if he were addressed by the action of scurrying normally associated with squirrels, albeit using a subtle term like 'winking' or 'winkle' as an applied portmanteau of scurrying and looking behind themselves while using their tails to 'wink' out of sight. The term 'Winkler' could also work as an alternative name for the species in general. In addition, having 'Bull' as the first of three syllables of a more sophisticated name would be indicative of being full of energy -alongside intelligence from just the name alone- that is normally associated with charging bulls, and thus could also be applied to an innate ability to fly at one's own will. Another possible theory is that people tend to see Bullwinkle as a visually and characteristically uncanny Expy of Walt Disney's Goofy.
  • In the Mr. Peabody and Sherman segments, like Adventure Time above, do not refer to Mr. Peabody as Sherman's pet. He is Sherman's adoptive father.
• Rugrats has a number of these concerning the spelling of certain characters' names: Susie is not "Susy", "Suzie" or "Suzy", Dil is not "Dill" or "Dyl", Stu is not "Stew", Chuckie is not "Chucky", his stepsister Kimi is not "Kimmi", "Kimmy", or "Kimmie", and his father is Chas not "Chaz" or "Chazz". Even the show's own title gets this: it's "Rugrats", not "RugRats", "Rug Rats", or "The Rugrats".
• Samurai Jack: Don't refer to the [adult swim] episodes as a reboot. It's a continuation, being the fifth and final season of the show.
• Scooby-Doo: Claiming that any incarnation of Velma from Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and onward is straight or gay. Especially after Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!, which explicitly shows her to be attracted to women, whereas her romantic relationship with Marcie Fleach was merely implied. Velma shows attraction to men before and after these works. The show Velma also explicitly depicts her as a bisexual, but that's in its own very different continuity.
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Since Word of God has confirmed Adora and Catra as lesbians, insisting that they could be bisexual and/or shipping them with men will irritate a good deal of the fanbase and possibly get you accused of lesbian erasure.^note Does not apply to the 1985 Filmation version.
• The Simpsons: Homer's father Abe is called Grampa Simpson, not Grandpa.
• SpongeBob SquarePants:
  • It's SpongeBob SquarePants, not "Sponge Bob Square Pants" or "Spongebob Squarepants".
  • Assuming the show is for preschoolers^note in reality, it's rated TV-Y7; TV-Y until June 2007 is a surefire way to get yourself chased by an angry mob of fans.
• Star Wars Rebels: Never refer to Hera Snydulla as "Green Ahsoka".
• Steven Universe:
  • Referring to Stevonnie or Smoky Quartz with gender-specific pronouns since both of them go by "they/them" pronouns.
  • Saying that Ruby and Sapphire are "Just Friends", "gal pals", "besties", "sisters", or anything else thereof. In a figurative sense, the original French version of "Stronger Than You" and a certain promo for the Peanuts Boomerang cartoon have learned this the hard way. It's even sillier to do that now that, as of "Reunited", the two are officially married. In the same vein, the fandom won't tolerate trying to deny that Pearl had been in love with Rose...which, to be fair, one would have to be really dense to do.
  • Fusion is a metaphor for relationships^note not just romantic relationships; for example, Smoky Quartz is a personification of Steven and Amethyst's sibling bond, not sex. Claiming that Fusion is sex outright and saying that Stevonnie, Smoky Quartz, or any other Steven Fusion are Squicky as a result will get an especially negative response.
  • Go right ahead and claim that the Great Diamond Authority are space Nazis or worse still, claim that Steven forgave them at the end of the series. Suffice to say, most fans of the show are really sick of this particular misconception.
• Steven Universe: Future: Claiming that the series finale is a poor representation of mental health because Steven transforms into a monster. Don't act surprised if fans claim that you don't understand how metaphors work or that you clearly don't understand how it feels to have mental health issues.
• In-universe example for Superman: The Animated Series: When Superman mispronounces the name of Mr. Mxyzptlk (Mix-Yes-Spit-Lick) as Mr. Miz-Ill-Plick, said Reality Warper promptly corrects him on it. This was done as a Take That! to how his name was mispronounced in the later Super Friends cartoons.
• Thomas & Friends:
  • The main character is "Thomas the Tank Engine". Referring to him as "Thomas the Train", "Thomas the Tank", or especially "Thomas the Choo Choo Train" will guarantee you a kick in the rear from the fanbase.
  • Mentioning the time Henry was bricked in a tunnel and claiming that he was never let out is a good way to find yourself be bricked up in a tunnel by fans, since he was released by the Fat Controller in the next episode.
• For fans of Ultimate Spider-Man (2012), trying to say that Peter is just Deadpool in a Spider suit due to the fourth wall breaking is a good way to get the fandom upset with you. For one, the comics' Deadpool (and later this show's very own Deadpool) treats the fourth wall completely differently. Both Deadpools go about simply shattering it, and treating the viewers as if they are just extra characters, being (for the most part) extremely Genre Savvy despite their respective insanity, while lampshading the bizarre-ness of their respective worlds. ("Unalive," anyone?) Spidey on the other hand does it in a way that's arguably closer to Zack Morris in Saved by the Bell (but less aware and without his "time-outs" being able to change the situations he's currently in), full-on narrating his adventures in a way that's clearly meant to help him calm down and show his thought process. Heck, the entire Ultimate Deadpool episode is meant to show how different the two are on more than one level despite the surface similarities. The episode also establishes that Peter, isn't even actually aware of the audience, that's just how his thought process works.

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