History Headscratchers / FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends

* In "Camp Keep a Good Mac Down", Mac sarcastically says he will go back in time to prevent Bloo from eating their food. [[SarcasmBlind Bloo]] then asks "You can do that!?", to which Mac replies "No!". But wait...what's to stop him from creating an imaginary TimeMachine friend? Or an imaginary friend with TimeTravel powers? Why has seemingly nobody done that before?

** Because she knows Bloo. When something goes sideways, at least 7-8/10 of the times it's Bloo's doing.

* Is there any sense of CloningBlues among imaginary friends who happen to be one of the many kinds conjured up from one concept, idea, or character? Bloo didn't seem to mind the fact that his appearance at Mac's school caused the students to create 100s of different versions of him, many of the same personality characteristics. Of course, this is Bloo we're talking about, him thinking too deeply about his existence would go completely against his character. But what of the other imaginary friends who did have existential feelings for themselves? There is also the issue of copyright infringement because Disney would have a field day suing the pants of anyone who makes unauthorized imaginary friends of their mascot.

* Since Frankie was in the kitchen almost all day with Madame Foster, how did she know about all of the destruction Bloo caused?

** She's a grown woman. They may live far away, and she may live with/near her grandmother because Madame Foster's is elderly and may need help.

!!Fictional Frens

** Because the animators would have to pay royalties to use the likenesses of celebrities and/or fictional characters that they do not own the rights to. They were able to use [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Mojo Jojo]] as a one-scene gag because Creator/CartoonNetwork owns the rights to the character and FHFIM is a Cartoon Network-produced show. If they wanted to use [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]] for example, they would have to pay George Lucas the rights to use the character's likeness. Sure, they could create an {{Expy}} for the characters, but, they'd have to make sure not to make them look ''too'' much like the original or else they'd be sued for infringement.
*** Not only are Foster's and PPG both owned by Cartoon Network, they were created by the same person, Craig [=McCracken=]. He obviously wouldn't sue himself, so there was no copyright risk.

** In ''Foster's Goes to Europe'' it is shown that the Imaginary Friends need passports and tickets to travel via airplane and are therefore not seen as pets. However, it is often mentioned that the Friends' kids are their "owners," which sound more like they were pets or even slaves (which is definitely not the case).

** Maybe an imaginary friend's imagination is actually that of their creator, so it prevents them from imagining things already imagined once the Friend is born, and co-imagines things with them post-birth. (IE. Bloo wouldn't have been able to imagine a blue blob friend because that's already been created in the form of himself, but if Mac wanted to imagine any new Friends, Bloo would practically be co-creating them since creators and Friends share imaginations.)

* Has any kid ever tried to "correct" an Imaginary Friend by imagining them different from before? What would happen if they did? Think about it. Mac could de-[[{{Jerkass}} jerkizise]] Bloo, Madame Foster could make Mr Herriman at least a little bit less stiff, Wilt could even regain his lost arm!

** Well given the likeliest reason Bloo is a jerk (kid blames his imaginary friend for problems he causes), that would be hard for Bloo, a major point of his existence.

* In "Foster's Go to Europe", when Madam Foster stole Mac's airplane tickets, why didn't Coco just pop out an egg with more tickets in them? She did it maybe three times before in the same episode!

* In the episode where Mr. Herriman tries to overcome his carrot addiction, Bloo uses a wrecking ball to destroy a good chunk of the house so he can refuse to eat dinner that night (the meal in question was simply called "it," and Bloo found it disgusting). However, he actually helped Herriman, who says to Bloo that he "is eternally in his debt" as a result. So why didn't Bloo just ask to be excused from dinner?

** In "Seeing Red", just moments before Terrence creates Red, he says that he's hungry and creates a slice of pizza (accidentally) who says that it would love him and stuff like that, just before he eats him.

* In one episode, Goo managed to imagine two imaginary friends who looked like Mac and Bloo, but could speak Japanese (and the fake Mac had a long tongue). Would those imaginary friends be able to have the memories of the originals?

** Maybe they've got a "Soylent Green is people" thing going on.

*** I imagine it's like children: not everyone has kids, or some may choose to adopt for personal or charitable reasons (why create a new being when there are many out their looking for a home?)
** If I remember right, some people don't have enough of a imagination to create a friend, so there's a reason why they get adopted.

*** I think the word y'all are looking for is "sapient", in which case, the scribbles definitely aren't that. They're definitely sentient as they can and do feel and perceive things (i.e only being able to do one thing at a time, lest they get upset). On the note, the imaginary fleas did get put in that closet, too, and they were sapient, so there y'all go. In terms of the extremosaurs, the ones we see are imagined to be more animalistic and so they act more akin to that.

* What was with Mac's reaction at the end of "The Bloo Superdude and the Great Creator Of Everything's Awesome Ceremony Of Fun"? Bloo was clearly extremely ill, had absolutely no idea what was going on, and was hallucinating pretty severely. It seems unfair of Mac to get so angry at somebody for wrecking a party when they're in that state and have no idea they've done any of it. Mac's supposed to be the nice one.

* Once a kid who dreams up an imaginary friend, it becomes real. But eventually, they outgrow them and the Friend lives at Foster's until someone adopts them. So, why would a kid ever need to adopt an existing imaginary friend when they could just imagine one that is more personally and specifically suited to their personality? Are some kids simply unable to imagine? Since the whole premise is parallel to human adoption, does that mean those kids who are unable to imagine their own friend are somehow deficient -- the equivalence of impotent/infertile in humans? Or do parents just encourage their kids to adopt an imaginary friend out of some sort of moral/ethical motivation?
*** Easy: Some kids just aren't creative. It's easier for them to adopt a friend than try to create one when they don't have strong enough imaginations to make an imaginary friend. Wilt even lampshades it in the first episode of the show when he's touring Mac and Bloo around the House, cue an "imaginary" version of [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Mojo Jojo]].

** To reiterate, some people, according to a few episodes, don't have enough of a imagination to create a friend.

* Do imaginary friends age, and can they die? Mr. Herrimann is portrayed as an elderly rabbit, but Madame Foster may well have imagined him as older to begin with. If they never age or die, essentially when a kid creates one, he/she is creating an immortal being, who will be forced to go through endless cycles of abandonment and adoption. And if they are immortal, the planet would quickly be overrun with billions of them, not just those few dozen we see at Foster's.

*** Mac may have imaged Bloo to be somewhat of a jerk because deep down, he, like many people, wishes he could act that way. Why do you think characters like Greg House from ''Series/{{House}}'', Sue Sylvester from ''Series/{{Glee}}'', and Bender from ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' are so popular? Because even nice people like Mac wish they could behave like the loveable jerks we see and love on TV.

*** The friend is likely whatever the kid needs it to be. Eduardo's creator was a little girl frightened of bullies, so she dreamed up a frightening creature tp protect her. Wilt's creator was a lonely boy with no one to teach him how to play basketball, which he desperately wanted to get good at, so he created Wilt, a kind, brotherly figure who loves basketball. Both these friends also possess character flaws: Eduardo is just as scared as his creator, and it ends up teaching her to be brave through defending him (notice that he's brave when his buddies are in danger); Wilt is insecure, hence running away after losing a big game and constantly apologizing. With this in mind, look at Mac's situation: absent father, overworked mother and a 13-year-o1d brother who has no one to teach him right from wrong. Now look at Bloo's character design and personality: he's shaped like a SecurityBlanket and behaves like a rambunctious, if selfish, child who thinks [[ItsAllAboutMe it's all about him]]. Mac essentially created a friend who forces him to take responsibility for his actions and be empathetic, to play with him when the house is empty and to vent his frustration at being ignored by his parents and left to the mercy of his brother. Also, note that in early episodes Mac did not stand up to Terrence's bullying unless Bloo said something first. Mac is such a sweet child that he's nervous to tell his brother to knock it off, so he created a friend to do it for him. Bloo's personality is specifically suited to being Mac's protector, playmate and de facto moral compass, which may be why he gets less sympathetic as the series goes on -- without bullies to defend Mac from, he's been removed from the environment he was designed for and thus behaves in unsympathetic ways.

** Well, Mac imagined Bloo when he was about three and, thus, grew up, growing "mature", so to speak, while Bloo never aged and so acts like a five-year old might.

** Often when parents are suddenly absent, the oldest sibling becomes a surrogate parent until the real parent returns/a new guardian is installed, but that would require the child seeing an example of good parenting. Since their father could have disappeared when Terrence was as young as five, and it's possible their mother has always been the breadwinner, he may not know how to be nurturing. It's also possible that their father went away recently, and Terrence could be having anger issues that he's taking out on his brother to avoid feeling powerless/is blaming Mac for some reason. This could also be why their mother is reluctant to punish him for his behavior -- she thinks it's a phase he needs to work through and is just too overworked to actually sit down and talk with Terrence. The boy is only 13 after all.

* Could people like George Lucas, J.K. Rowling, or Alan Moore accidentally create Imaginary Friends from their creations? They are very creative..
. Meaning, there might be a Darth Vader or Voldemort walking around killing people.

** They probably created them when they made stories or at least created "actor" who played such a character. So in this world, there are probably no guys in rubber suits and makeup or CGI characters.

!!Wrong type of compass
* In "Seize the Day," Mac makes a compass from a magnet and a needle to figure out which way was north. It was stated that is was around 5 or 6 in the afternoon, so why couldn't he have just checked where the sun was? If he's smart and resourceful enough to jury-rig a compass, he should know that the sun sets in the west.

** Plus Mac had just woken up from a ''very'' bad night thanks to Duchess's complaining keeping him awake. His rational thinking was probably dampened somewhat by sleep deprivation, otherwise he might have been quicker to question Terrence's words.

** Duchess probably just has proof she was created by a child from a well-to- do family, with a long heritage. If a friend is created by a Rockefeller for example, they'd probably brag about it.

!!Imagining Deities/Religous figures
* Why hasn't anyone tried to imagine God yet? What about Satan? Or Jesus? Or maybe even an Eldritch Abomination? One episode had it where there was more than one imaginary Santa Claus, so it would make sense there would also be a bunch of Jesuses around since Christmas is around the day of his birth. In addition, would these imaginary friends have what comes with the package (omniscience, omnipotence, world destroying powers, etc.)?

* Can only humans conjure up imaginary beings? What if there was a planet with sentient alien creatures who could also conjure up their own imaginary friends. What would theirs' look like?

* Are there any sense of CloningBlues among imaginary friends who happen to be one of the many kinds conjured up from one concept, idea, or character? Bloo didn't seem to mind the fact that his appearance at Mac's school caused the students to create 100s of different versions of him, many of the same personality characteristics. Of course, this is Blue were talking about, him thinking too deeply about his existence would go completely against his character. But what of the other imaginary friends who did have existential feelings for themselves? There is also the issue of copyright infringement because Disney would have a field day suing the pants of anyone who makes unauthorized imaginary friends of their mascot.

** Because the contents being 'random' is not always the case, necessarily - she is not always random. Remember the Pilot episode; she gave Bloo a picture of Mac - likely a conscious decision given the way she is looking at him when he looks up. It was also stated that she 'does not take requests' and that is pretty much the only limit on the contents of her eggs. She has been known to lay certain items on purpose other times as well. So they're not random, they're whatever she wants them to be.

** Plus, the episode where Duchess is given away to a family that cannot possibly accommodate her, she screamed and cried all day and night long, and it was so loud that the Foster Home could still hear it. Odds are, they only do it to shut Duchess up.

!!Hmm....
* Imaginary Friends are (almost always) sapient creatures with wants, needs, ideas and feelings. How is it acceptable for any person, regardless of their intentions, to sell off/give away sapient creatures to other people, especially without consent of the sapient creature? (Bloo, in the pilot, would have been given to a Rich Brat simply because she wanted him, regardless of his complaints or the complaints of others.) That's a form of slavery.

* Mac has gone on several multiple-day excursions with the friends like in "Good Wilt Hunting" and "Destination: Imagination". How does he keep his secret from his mom when he's been known to not be home for days on end?

** Maybe he told his mom he was staying at a friend from schools place for a sleepover?
*** Actually, he might not have keeping his visits with Bloo a secret, at least, not by a point. In one episode (I think it was Eurotrish one), he mentions speaking with his mother, so, odds are, she's prolly aware that he visits with Bloo. If she was unaware, she probably would have forbid it initially but, perhaps, softened up to the idea and let it slide.

* At the beginning of "Mac Daddy", Mac seems to be completely convinced that he created Cheese by accident. He acts like he did all the way up until the end of the episode. Then Louise appears at the end, reunites with Cheese, and Mac tells Bloo who Louise is and that Cheese sometimes gets out, acting like he's known both Louise and Cheese for a long time. What the hell? Was Mac pretending that he created Cheese to teach Bloo a lesson (that the latter instantly retracted)?

* Mac can't have sugar or else he turns into a complete maniac. So, why don't Madame Foster's cookies make go wild? They weren't stated to be sugar free, nor was he apprehensive of them at first.

!!Vollunteering at Foster's
* Why aren't there any sort of volunteer services or internships or even entry level caregiver jobs for Foster's Home? Madame Foster has an entire establishment available and is essentially speaking a retirement home/adoption center. With a few things set in place, Frankie could get help with taking care of the house, Mac could have an excuse to his mom to go and visit without trouble, and even better, visitors can have more time with friends they may want to adopt to see if they can get along and such.
** Because it would ruin the conflict of the show. The entire purpose is kids visiting their imaginary friends daily and hanging out with them after school or on weekends/vacations so as to prevent them from being adopted by other kids, who will eventually outgrow them once they complete puberty, thus re-entering them into the adoption home if they hadn't been sent there already.

** ''Affair Weather Friends'' prolly takes place before ''The Sweet Stench of Success'', canonically speaking.

** To reiterate, some people, according to a few episodes, don't have enough of a imagination to create a friend.

* How does Bloo know what a limo is in "The Sweet Stench of Success", but not "Affair Weather Friends"?

* In ''Bus The Two Of Us'', while we don't see the race and only get the results, how exactly did Bloo get himself and Mac lost? Purely assuming that the drag race was a straight line, what exactly prevented them from turning around the same way they came?

** Because it would ruin the conflict of the show. The entire purpose is kids visiting their imaginary friends daily and hanging out with them after school or on weekends/vacations so as to prevent them from being adopted by other kids, who will eventually outgrow them once they complete puberty, thus re-entering them into the adoption home if they hadn't been sent there already.

** Because the animators would have to pay royalties to use the likenesses of celebrities and/or fictional characters that they do not own the rights to. They were able to use [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Mojo Jojo]] as a one-scene gag because Creator/CartoonNetwork owns the rights to the character and FHFIM is a Cartoon Network-produced show. If they wanted to use [[Franchise/Stalwart Darth Vader]] for example, they would have to pay George Lucas the rights to use the character's likeness. Sure, they could create an {{Expy}} for the characters, but, they'd have to make sure not to make them look ''too'' much like the original or else they'd be sued for infringement.

** Maybe an imaginary friend's imagination is actually that of their creator, so it prevents them from imagining things already imagined once the Friend is born, and co-imagines things with them post-birth. (IE. Bloo wouldn't have been able to imagine a bloo blob friend because that's already been created in the form of himself, but if Mac wanted to imagine any new Friends, Bloo would practically be co-creating them since creators and Friends share imaginations.)

* Why do people accuse Bloo of being a sociopath? Sure he's insensitive but he's not that bad, if you ask me Berry is the sociopath, she tried to kill Mac at one point and is a complete stalker to Bloo.
** The same reason why a lot of people think [[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} Angelica Pickles]] is one. They're both {{Jerkass}}es, though Bloo has sold out Mac and the rest of his friends more so than Angelica did with Tommy and the babies.

* Where the hell are Frankie's parents? Is she an orphan?

* Why are there so few fictional friends? We see one, but very few works of fiction seem to produce friends. I could easily see a kid with a bullying problem create Darth Vader to get revenge or a Whedonite creating [[{{Series/Firefly}} River]].
** Because the animators would have to pay royalties to use the likenesses of celebrities and/or fictional characters that they do not own the rights to. They were able to use [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Mojo Jojo]] as a one-scene gag because Cartoon Network owns the rights to the character and FHFIM is a Cartoon Network produced show. If they wanted to use Darth Vader, they would have to pay George Lucas the rights to use the character's likeness. Sure, they could create an {{Expy}} for the characters, but, they'd have to make sure not to make them look ''too'' much like the original or else they'd be sued for infringement.

*** They might get fostered faster. Like if you had the option to adopt a blue blob guy or Mojo Jojo, who would you pick?

* Are Imaginary Friends seen as citizens under the law? Can they get paid jobs? Can they marry each other or even humans? Most of them to be on their own or living in a foster home, but can't they at least rent an apartment?
** Hmm... Complicated question. In ''Foster's Goes to Europe'' it is shown that the Imaginary Friends need passports and tickets to travel via airplane and are therefore not seen as pets. However, it is often mentioned that the Friends' kids are their "owners," which sound more like they were pets or even slaves (which is definitely not the case). It's pretty hard to tell... But, if WildMassGuessing is right, there's no need to explain this inconsistency anyway.

*** This troper always assumed the Fosters-verse was similar to {{Website/Neopets}}'.
*** I think this is more a matter of individual opinion. Each person has their own view. At first, a friend lives with the family of their creator, who is viewed more or less as a surrogate parent. Then when the child is deemed too old, the friend is expected to go out and make a living of their own. The fact that friends have little or no preparation for this doesn't usually cross people's minds. And Mac's teacher even casually tossed a couple of friends in a schoolroom closet, as though they were confiscated toys.

* If everyone with imagination can create an imaginary friend, what happens if an Imaginary Friend tries to create an Imaginary Friend? Bloo has been shown to be at least as creative as Mac. I mean, how he turned the story about "Mac, I broke your Nintendo DS" into this awesome HerCodenameWasMarySue FanFiction was just.... Awesome!
** I could accept something like "an imaginary friend's imagination is actually that of their creator"

* Has any kid ever tried to "correct" an Imaginary Friend by imagining them different from before? What would happen if they did? I mean, think about it. Mac could de-[[{{Jerkass}} jerkizise]] Bloo, Madam Foster could make Mr Herriman at least a little bit less stiff, heck, Wilt could even regain his lost arm!
** Think about this carefully, with an eye towards FridgeHorror. "Quit being such a dick, Bloo, or I'll ''make'' you be nice."
** Well given the most likely reason (IMO) Bloo is a jerk (Kid blames his imaginary friend for problems he causes) I would guess that would be hard for Bloo, a major point of his existence.

*** My guess is that an Imaginary Friend's creator can change it as long as it is "their" Imaginary Friend. It's similar to growing or evolving. The moment a child breaks the bond with the Imaginary Friend, they can't change it anymore.
** If a kid tried to that, they would just make an alternate version of the friend. Goo did that in her debut episode, creating a series of Bloo clones, each one a different person.

** WordOfGod is that she did, but was forced to get rid of it by her father who was disillusioned with imaginary friends thanks to Mr. Herriman.

* What happens to [[{{Rule 34}} sexual fantasies]]?
** Presumably by the time you get old enough to have them your mind can't focus enough to create a living being. At least it seems that imaginary friends are mostly made by children.
*** Teens can make imaginary friends. Teens can have sexual fantasies. Ergo, teens can make sexual imaginary friends.
*** They probably could, but their parents would kill them.
*** Conjecture to the point of [[{{WMG/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends}} Wild Mass Guessing]], but this troper has always wondered exactly how Fosters financially supports itself, being a huge establishment that provides room and board to hundreds of imaginary friends. Public donations are mentioned, but it is also possible that the home adopts the sexual fantasies so that they can earn money for the house, [[{{LampshadedDoubleEntendre}} if you know what I mean]].
** Lies, those horrible monsters in the house didn't come from nowhere. They came from Japan. Imaginary friends shouldn't need tentacles.
** There was a comic story where a boy was forced by his parents to give up his imaginary friend, a brainless double of Frankie. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what he was using her for.
** Care to provide a link to said story? Just curious.
** Actually, it was a comic. It appeared in one of the Cartoon Network comics. And judging by how the imaginary Frankie acted, I can assume the boy who made her was mainly someone to do his chores and play with him.
*** One, it's already been pointed out that it was from a comic. And two, both the boy's and his parents' reactions seem to suggest that he created Imaginary Frankie because he wanted a girlfriend. After all, his parents think he's "too young" for this particular Imaginary Friend, and they look as if they're disgusted by the whole situation.

*** One of these two is more likely; keep in mind Mac's mom is unaware of Foster's existence(or at least the fact that he goes there every day). If she went to bail him out and saw all the other imaginary friends, the jig would be up.

* In the episode where the cast is going to Europe and Madam Foster stole Mac's airplane tickets, why didn't Coco just pop out an egg with more tickets in them? She did it maybe three times before in the same episode!
** With the answer below me, it was probably just luck that she did it three times, considering plane tickets are worth a pretty penny. Most of the time, whatever Coco lays, it's usually trinkets that have little to no real value just like an egg capsule machine or an Easter egg, as the imaginary friend is designed to do.

*** She laid the contents of a dinner table, (canned)food and all, in the camping episode after Bloo ate everyone's food. Hard to believe that was random.

* In the episode where Mr Herriman tries to overcome his carrot addiction, Bloo uses a wrecking ball to destroy a good chunk of the house so he can refuse to eat dinner that night (the meal in question was simply called "it," and Bloo found it disgusting). However, he actually helped Herriman, who says to Bloo that he "is eternally in his debt" as a result. So why didn't Bloo just ask to be excused from dinner?

* Can it be possible to create an imaginary friend that's completely indestructible? What stops any enfant terrible from creating an atomic bomb imaginary friend, or a plague imaginary friend? What happens then?
** Let us not forget World, from Destination Imagination. Who, at least in his own toy-box world, essentially wielded god-like powers. The only way to stop him is to lock him in a box and never, EVER go in there.

** This would explain why some episodes show that the foster home has a room for baby imaginary friends. It seemed dubious that that many children would want an infant for their imaginary friend.

* In the show, people can create food imaginary friends. If this is true, then any starving person would instantly be able to feed themselves by imagining that they had food.
** Noted in "Dinner Is Swerved"; a Chicken Leg friend notes he was imagined by a kid at a diet camp.
** Well, if you're starving, then it'd be hard to focus enough to create food.
** Not to mention that imaginary friends (regardless of their forms) are living beings. Think about that. ''You're eating a living, breathing being!''
*** I always figured that an imaginary friend was sort of "part of" their creator, so to speak. So eating one would be more like the friend becoming one with their creator again, albeit in a messed up, almost cannibalistic way. And the way I just described it, it probably would do nothing to satisfy the stomach if it goes back to your mind.
** In the episode where Terrence creates Red, just moments before that event, he says that it's hungry and creates a slice of pizza (accidentally) who btw says that it would love him and stuff like that, just before he ate him
** you could always go the Coco route, make a friend that is capable of supplying limitless amounts of food.

** Well, only one of the puppies was demonstrated as being able to talk. The rest were just pets, although with extraordinary abilities. Seriously, who imagines a dog with laser vision?
** [[RuleofCool Are you kidding?!]]
*** Some kid with bullying problems and love for puppies and comics.
** There were the Scribbles, which were basically floating black line scribbles imagined by infants. Before Blue released them, the Scribbles were locked behind a door by Herriman because they were considered useless, annoying, and bothersome, something he would never do to any sentient imaginary friend.

* Was anybody else bugged by Mac's reaction at the end of "The Bloo Superdude and the Great Creator Of Everything's Awesome Ceremony Of Fun"? I mean Bloo was clearly extremely ill, had absolutely no idea what was going on, and was hallucinating pretty severely. It seems unfair of Mac to get so angry at somebody for wrecking a party when they're in that state and have no idea they've done any of it. I mean Mac's supposed to be the nice one.
** I like to think Mac was less angry about ruining the party and more angry about Bloo running around when he should have been resting, Besides, it's probably not the first time Bloo did something like that. Sick or no, a person's patience only goes so far.

* OK, I loved this show when it was on (anyone feel free to send me some [=DVDs=] for my birthday), but a couple of things about the premise have always bugged me...
** One...so, any kid who dreams up an imaginary friend, it becomes real. But eventually, they outgrow them and they live at Foster's until someone adopts them. So, why would a kid ever need to adopt an existing imaginary friend when they could just imagine one that is more personally and specifically suited to their personality? Are some kids simply unable to imagine? Since the whole premise is parallel to human adoption, does that mean those kids who are unable to imagine their own friend are somehow deficient -- the equivalence of impotent/infertile in humans? Or do parents just encourage their kids to adopt an imaginary friend out of some sort of moral/ethical motivation?
*** Easy: Some kids just aren't creative. Its easier for them to adopt a friend than try to create one when they don't have strong enough imaginations to make an imaginary friend.
** Two...do imaginary friends age, and can they die? My gut impression is "no" to both questions. Sure, Mr Herrimann is portrayed as an elderly rabbit, but Madame Foster may well have imagined him as older to begin with. If they never age or die, essentially when a kid creates one, he/she is creating an immortal being, who will be forced to go through endless cycles of abandonment and adoption. And if they are immortal, the planet would quickly be overrun with billions of them, not just those few dozen we see at Foster's.
*** I thought that if the creator of the imaginary friend dies, the friend dies with them. The imaginary friend is just another facet of their personality...I think....

*** The way I see it, Mac may have imaged Bloo to be somewhat of a jerk because deep down, he, like many people, wishes he could act that way. Why do you think characters like Greg House from ''Series/{{House}}'', Sue Sylvester from ''Series/{{Glee}}'', and Bender from ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' are so popular? Because even nice people like Mac wish they could behave however they want.
*** I've always thought that the friend was an opposing personality of the child. Look at Mac and Bloo's contrasting personalities, and Herriman and Madame Foster too. Or that kid whose imaginary kid kept destroying stuff and getting him in trouble, two opposing personalities.

*** If this is true, maybe some imaginary friends are created to get rid of parts of a kid's personality that they don't like. Mac could have created Bloo to become less of a jerk, Madame Foster could have created Mr Herriman to get rid of her own inability to enjoy life, Wilt could have been created by someone who wanted to be less of a doormat, Coco could have been created by a weird kid who wanted to fit in more, etc.
*** about this...if that's true, say an imaginary friend gets adopted by a compatible, loving kid. A couple of weeks later, his original creator dies in an auto wreck. So, the imaginary friend "dies" (ceases to exist), too. That would suck big-time for the kid who adopted him!
*** Well, in one episode, a new imaginary friend states that his creator went 'up there' and points up. Of course, he meant that he went to Canada, but Herriman naturally thought he meant he died. Since he offered condolences instead of wondering why he still exists, I say it is safe to assume they do NOT disappear when their creator dies.
*** I think the friend is whatever the kid needs it to be. Eduardo's creator was little girl frightened of bullies, so she dreamed up a frightening creature tp protect her. Wilt's creator was a lonely boy with no one to teach him how to play basketball, which he desperately wanted to get good at, so he creates Wilt, a kind, brotherly figure who loves basketball. Both these friends also possess character flaws: Eduardo is just as scared as his child, and it ends up teaching her to be brave through defending him (notice that he's brave when his buddies are in danger); Wilt is insecure, hence running away after losing a big game and constantly apologizing. With this in mind, look at Mac's situation: absent father, overworked mother and a 13-year-o1d brother who has no one to teach him right from wrong. Now look at Bloo's character design and personality: he's shaped like a security blanket and behaves like a rambunctious, if selfish, child who thinks it's all about him. Mac essentially created a friend who forces him to take responsibility for his actions and be empathetic, to play with him when the house is empty and to vent his frustration at being ignored by his parents and left to the mercy of his brother. Also, note that in early episodes Mac did not stand up to Terrence's bullying unless Bloo said something first. Mac is such a sweet child that he's nervous to tell his brother to knock it off, so he created a friend to do it for him. Bloo's personality is specifically suited to being Mac's protector, playmate and de facto moral compass, which may be why he gets less sympathetic as the series goes on -- without bullies to defend Mac from, he's been removed from the environment he was designed for and thus behaves in unsympathetic ways.
*** I would think that the friend only dies when they are forgotten about. By them being adopted and fostered, (or just being around other friends) They are remembered and are there for real at that point. When they are forgotten, they aren't real anymore, and return to being a figment of the imagination, and essentially die.

* So, anybody can create an imaginary friend. What happens if a kid gets really into H.P. Lovecraft and creates Cthulhu? Wouldn't that be bad?

*** Or else some kid who's really into WesternAnimation/SouthPark just creates Mint Berry Crunch. Problem solved.

** Bloo can be viewed as the opposite of Mac in many ways. Mac is (usually) a level-headed kind kid, while Bloo is more of a careless trickster most of the time. Just my thoughts.

*** maybe deep down mac wishes he could do whatever he wanted and bloo is a reflection of that, even nice people have nd thoughts sometimes.

* Speaking of jerk does anybody know how Mac's brother became such a jerk in the first place? I mean Mac is a nice, intelligent kid while Terrence is a rude, obnoxious, not-too-bright {{Jerkass}} despite the fact that they're brothers. Did something happen when Terrence was a child that caused him to turn into the jerkass he is on the show? And since we're discussing Terrence, where the hell is Mac and Terrence's father?
** Terrence's behavior could possibly involve younger sibling jealousy. His mother probably doted on him until Mac came along and started getting more of their mother's affection. As for the boys' father, since we never see or hear the boys talking about their father, a possible answer could be their parents are divorced, and their father could also potentially be the source of Terrence's rude behavior. Mac takes after their mother more.
** Often when parents are suddenly absent, the oldest sibling becomes a surrogate parent until the real parent returns/a new guardian is installed, but that would require the child seeing an example of good parenting. Since their father could have disappeared when Terrence was as young as five, and it's possible their mother has always been the breadwinner, he may not know how to be nurturing. It's also possible that their father went away recently, and Terrence could be having anger issues that he's taking out on his brother to avoid feeling powerless/is blaming Mac for some reason. This could also be why their mother is reluctant to punish him for his behavior -- she thinks it's a phase he needs to work through and is just too overworked to actually sit down and talk with Terrence. I mean, the boy is only 13.

** Possible a child has to imagine then will a creature to manifest, which would minimize the existence of scary monster. The Xtremosaurs are probably the creation of older siblings that wanted to scare their kids.

* Could people like George Lucas, J.K. Rowling, or Alan Moore accidentally create Imaginary Friends from their creations? I mean, they are very creative...ish. Meaning, there might be a Darth Vader or Voldemort walking around killing people.

*** God have mercy on our souls...

* In "Seize the Day," Mac makes a compass from a magnet and a needle to figure out which way was north. It was stated that is was around 5 or 6 in the afternoon, so why couldn't he have just checked where the sun was? If he's smart and resourceful enough to jury-rig a compass, I'd figure that he knows that the sun sets in the west.

* In the episode "Duchess of Wails", Duchess gets adopted, but the family happens to live next door to Mac. Mac's mother grows tired of Duchess's obnoxiousness and declares they'll move if it doesn't stop. Terrence lies to Mac and tells him his mother already decided they're moving to Singapore, Malaysia and Mac believes him. Mac knows Terrence is nothing but a bully, so why does he automatically believe him rather than go to his mother for confirmation?
** Have you ever had an older sibling? Even if you know they're the type to mess with you, you can still get scared by some of the things they say. Mac may be smart, but he's still a kid.

* So in the first episode, "House of Bloos", Duchess is showing her papers to a family looking to adopt, referring to herself as a "pedigree" imaginary friend. What exactly does that entail for the world of imaginary friends? Does it mean she was created by someone of high standing, like with a lot of money, power, or creativity? Or did she just make that up to look better?
** Duchess probably just has proof she was created by a child from a well to do family, with a long heritage. If a friend is created by a Rockefeller for example, they'd probably brag about it.

* Why hasn't anyone tried to imagine God yet? What about Satan? Or Jesus? Or maybe even a freaking Eldritch Abomination??? One episode had it where there was more than one imaginary Santa Claus, so it would make sense there would also be a bunch of Jesuses around since Christmas is around the day of his birth. In addition, would these imaginary friends have what comes with the package (omniscience, omnipotence, world destroying powers, etc)?
** Because a) the censors wouldn't have allowed a direct appearance of God or Jesus in a kid's show, and b), the kids who want there to be one probably believe they already exists.

** The show isn't very clear

** I think that would basically be the equivalent of making fanfics. Normally companies don't really care if you make fanfics about there work as long as you don't make money off them. I'm assuming the same goes with Imaginary Friends.

* FridgeHorror here but what sort of imaginary friends would a child psychopath/sociopath be able to conjure up?

** What if they imagine victims? Fridge horror indeed.

* How come Mac never decided to ''leave'' Bloo at one point. I mean he became a bigger jerk each season!
** Have you met Mac? He's, like, the nicest kid you could ever meet. He would never even think about leaving Bloo.

** He needs Bloo. That's why Bloo was created and why he comes to visit him. Maybe he will get fed up one day, but for now, Bloo is basically a security blanket. Besides, people care about and for unpleasant people regularly, and by creating Bloo, he made a bond with him, probably similar to a bond between parent and child.

* In the election episode, one reason Mac said Bloo couldn't run the house is because he ruined a date with Frankie. Wasn't that a good thing since her date was really a [[BitchInSheepsClothing jerk pretending to be nice]] who [[WouldHurtAChild is willing to hit a child]]

* If the contents of Coco's eggs are "as random as she is" (See the question about plane tickets above), then how did she consciously choose to create trading cards?

*** So when she refused to lay a can opener in the "Camp Keep a Good Mac Down", after having laid all the canned food and knowing everyone was hungry, she was just being a prick?

* In the episode ''Go Goo Go'', Frankie and Herriman jump to the conclusion that Goo is Mac's girlfriend because they saw her holding his hand. Mac is eight years old, and while Goo may be older, she's beneath teen age. How on Earth could they, especially Mr Herriman being as proper as he is, think an eight-year-old has a girlfriend?

*** It isn't at all uncommon for children to date in a playful or exploratory manner.

* Why does everyone, including Mr Herriman and Madame Foster, bend over backwards to accommodate Duchess? No one else in the house gets that kind of treatment, and if they tried to get it, Herriman would chew them out for it.

* How come the last Bloo clone Mac eliminates is even at the house? Wasn't the point of sending all the Bloo clones to the house because the kids who made them thought they weren't enough like the original? Sure he's nicer than the real Bloo but the kids who made up the clones didn't know about Bloo's nasty personality so I would think at least that particular Bloo clone would have been close enough to keep.

* Imaginary Friends are (almost always) sapient creatures with wants, needs, ideas and feelings. How is it acceptable for any person, regardless of their intentions, to sell off/give away sapient creatures to other people, especially without consent of the sapient creature? (Bloo, in the pilot, would have been given to a Rich Brat simply because she wanted him, regardless of his complaints or the complaints of others.) That's a form of slavery. And I don't care that "That's what they want to do and they (generally) like it that way" or "That's what they like", that's still Slavery.
** To be honest, the answer literally is "that's what they are made for". Imaginary friends exist as sort of best friends for kids who want one (probably due to loneliness or whatever). I do believe they've addressed ''WhatMeasureIsANonHuman'' a few times. But if you want something else, try ''MST3KMantra''.

* There's one scene in the trading card episode that really bugs me; specifically, the part where Bloo tries to trade a card of himself to Wilt. When Wilt tells him that a Bloo card isn't worth much, Bloo signs the card and offers it to him, only to be told that it's worth even less now. So Bloo...rips the card in half and offers one of the halves to Wilt, saying, in a hopeful tone of voice, "Now we trade?" Okay, I can understand where Bloo was coming from in thinking that signing the card would make it more valuable, but ripping the card in half? What exactly was he trying to do there?

* Going back up to the thing about Mac ending up in jail several times, Mac has gone on several multiple-day excursions with the friends like "Good Wilt Hunting" and "Destination: Imagination". How does he keep his secret when he's been known to not be home for days on end?
** I think it's implied that his mom knows he's going to Foster's. She just wanted Bloo outside of the apartment and just puts up with Mac visiting Bloo.

* If Terrance is ''still'' a jerk to Mac, even after leaving Bloo at Foster's, what was the point of Mac's mother making him get rid of Bloo at all (unless ''she'' was the one who was wrong)?
** This could've made a good finale movie: Mac's mother discovers that Mac still befriends Bloo at Foster's. She forbids Mac to go back there. But she learns that Terrance is a rotten s-o-d in general. After realizing and admitting that she was wrong (and being reacquainted with her own imaginary friend, she allows Mac and Bloo to remain friends.
*** Her reasoning wasn't just about Terrance, it was also that she thought Mac was too old for Bloo.

* I don't understand "Mac Daddy". So, at the beginning, Mac seems to be completely convinced that he created Cheese by accident. He acts like he did all the way up until the end of the episode. Then Louise appears at the end, reunites with Cheese, and Mac tells Bloo who Louise is and that Cheese sometimes gets out, acting like he's known both Louise and Cheese for a long time. What the hell? Was Mac pretending that he created Cheese to teach Bloo a lesson (that the latter instantly retracted)?

*** Maybe hers are sugar free. We don't know how she made or what she put in them.

* What are those ''[[BuffySpeak things]]'' sprouting from the sides of Wilt's face? It's been said in at least one episode that he doesn't have fur, so they're not furry tufts like I initially thought. Are they fleshy wattles? Bony projections? Feathers?
** I guess they're just appendages a part of his face, I mean, he does look like he might belong ''Series/SesameStreet''. Maybe [=FHIFIM=] has a parody of that show and Wilt's creator imagined him to look like that.

* Okay, most of us have grown up with the show and therefore, we most likely know more about services and such. So, with all the other thoughts [[FridgeHorror above aside]], why aren't there any sort of volunteer services or internships or even entry level caregiver jobs for Foster's Home? Madame Foster has an entire establishment available and is essentially speaking a retirement home/adoption center. With a few things set in place, Frankie could get help with taking care of the house, Mac could have an excuse to his mom to go and visit without trouble, and even better, visitors can have more time with friends they may want to adopt to see if they can get along and such.

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* Speaking of jerk - and I'm surprised no one ever though about asking this question - does anybody know how Mac's brother became such a jerk in the first place? I mean Mac is a nice, intelligent kid while Terrence is a rude, obnoxious, not-too-bright {{Jerkass}} despite the fact that they're brothers. Did something happen when Terrence was a child that caused him to turn into the jerkass he is on the show? And since we're discussing Terrence, where the hell is Mac and Terrence's father?

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* I remember reading on Wiki/TheOtherWiki about another season, or at least a movie. Was that just a rumor, since the series ended?
*** That was ''Destination: Imagination'', if I remember correctly, though, I'm not sure if it was meant to be the finale. It had the feeling of a "finale"
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* Was the finale advertised? I never saw an ad for it, and I watch Cartoon Network all the time. I saw an ad for the 'Imagination special, but that's it.
*** The finale was advertised as part of a last five episodes marathon of Foster's.
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* Are there any sense of {{Cloning Blues}} among imaginary friends who happen to be one of the many kinds conjured up from one concept, idea, or character? Bloo didn't seem to mind the fact that his appearance at Mac's school caused the students to create 100s of different versions of him, many of the same personality characteristics. Of course, this is Blue were talking about, him thinking too deeply about his existence would go completely against his character. But what of the other imaginary friends who did have existential feelings for themselves? There is also the issue of copyright infringement because Disney would have a field day suing the pants of anyone who makes unauthorized imaginary friends of their mascot.

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* {{Fridge Horror}} here but what sort of imaginary friends would a child psychopath/sociopath be able to conjure up?

** What if they imagine victims? {{Fridge horror}} indeed.
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* The whole zombie episode bothered me near the end. The prank they pulled on Bloo was fine, actually pretty funny, what bothered me was when they yelled at Bloo for feeding Mac sugar. The whole reason he did that was that he was genuinely certain that Mac was going to DIE otherwise since he was tied up and the house was filling up with flesh chewing zombies. It's worth noting too that we actually saw some positive aspects of Bloo here in regards to Mac, he could have tried to escape a few times but said flatly that he wasn't going to abandon his best friend. Frankie and the others condemning Bloo for giving Mac sugar was pretty stupid on their part since they had done a very good job of convincing him and apparently others in the house that there was a genuine zombie attack going on and that Mac was in mortal peril. If anything they were more to blame than Bloo was since they also knew Mac was there and either could have moved him or let him know what was going on or let him get involved in the fun.
** You're absolutely right, and there is literally no justifying the rest of the house's reaction to Bloo making Mac go sugar-crazy. They didn't even break character when Bloo had jumped out the window to steal candy and it was just Mac by himself. One can only hope that Bloo laid into them hard offscreen for pulling that kind of hypocritical BS.
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* Okay, most of us have grown up with the show and therefore, we most likely know more about services and such. So, with all the [[UnfortunateImplications other thoughts]] [[FridgeHorror above aside]], why aren't there any sort of volunteer services or internships or even entry level caregiver jobs for Foster's Home? Madame Foster has an entire establishment available and is essentially speaking a retirement home/adoption center. With a few things set in place, Frankie could get help with taking care of the house, Mac could have an excuse to his mom to go and visit without trouble, and even better, visitors can have more time with friends they may want to adopt to see if they can get along and such.

** To be honest, the answer literally is "that's what they are made for". Imaginary friends exist as sort of best friends for kids who want one (probably due to loneliness or whatever). I do believe they've addressed ''WhatMeasureIsANonHuman'' a few times. But if you want something else, try ''MST3KManta''.

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*** Maybe some of those children wanted a little sibling, so made an imaginary friend to fill in that role for them.

* why do people accuse Bloo of being a sociopath? Sure he's insensitive but he's not that bad, if you ask me Berry is the sociopath, she tried to kill Mac at one point and is a complete stalker to Bloo.

** The same reason why a lot of people think [[WesternAnimation/Rugrats Angelica Pickles]] is one. They're both {{Jerkass}}es, though Bloo has sold out Mac and the rest of his friends more so than Angelica did with Tommy and the babies.