Po has been through a lot over the past eight years.
A film is made to capture the attention of many; with a great balance of goofy, humorous moments, and darker, more serious moments. This will reel in a fanbase and introduce them to the world of the film. If it's well-received and popular, they move on to the sequel.
The sequel is much Darker and Edgier, with more emphasis on the backstories of each character/the main character, darker and/or more mature themes, and a much more menacing Knight of Cerebus than the film before it. This is because the audience now knows the characters and their flaws, which means they can delve deeper into the plot.
However, come the release of the third film, and you'll notice that there are not as many dark themes as the second movie; in fact, it even seems Lighter and Softer and Denser and Wackier than the first film, with more emphasis on the comedy and less on the seriousness of the story. However, it's not completely devoid of it, and it saves the darker stuff for the end. However, it still has bits and pieces of comedy in between serious moments. The third movie usually turns out So Okay, It's Average and the general consensus is mixed, but most people prefer the darker sequel.
This trope is made specifically for those franchises that have a movie that balances both moments well, a Darker and Edgier sequel that focuses more on the plot with a Knight of Cerebus, and a Lighter and Softer and/or Denser and Wackier threequel that puts more emphasis on comedy than seriousness; usually as a result of either Seasonal Rot or some complaints from external audiences who didn't like the dark themes.
While this trope is mainly for films, it can apply to other things as well. Can use Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome to really raise the stakes of the second film. Similar to P.O.V. Sequel, however they're still very different from each other.
See Seasonal Rot for more series-based examples and those that just slowly get worse over the years; regardless of being goofy or dark from the start, or in the later run. Also see Growing the Beard for when it actually gets better for each sequel rather than having a So Okay, It's Average movie or season later on.
Both sequels can generally lead to Sequelitis or Contested Sequel due to the larger tone shifts from the first film. See also Three-Act Structure which follows a similar formula.
May lead to They Changed It, Now It Sucks! if either tones turn out too different from the first film. Subtrope for Cerebus Rollercoaster.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Films — Animation
- Cars: First part is the least serious of parts and is focused on main hero stopping being jerkass. Second part from the other hand is Actionized Sequel with lot of cruel deaths. However, because of low critical reception Third part returns to plot focused on racing with Ascended Fangirl as Deuteragonist.
- DreamWorks Animation is well-known for doing this; their first films usually mix the themes and balance the plot out to be entertaining and intriguing. In their sequels, it's much darker and focuses on the main character's past and/or flaws; with a brand new Knight of Cerebus villain who turns the plot on its head, and a Denser and Wackier third movie that focuses more on the comedic aspects of their films. However, in a unique case that they get a fourth film (such as Shrek), they're quite similar to how their first films turned out.
- For Kung Fu Panda, the first film focuses on Po being the Dragon Warrior and him realizing it's a heavy burden on him, along with a balanced villain (Tai Lung) who is goofy and menacing. There's a lot of humor, but not enough to outweigh the more story-heavy moments. Kung Fu Panda 2 focuses more on how Po is adopted by Ping but abandoned by his mother. It's darker than the first film with Lord Shen being a Knight of Cerebus who wants to rule the world with an iron fist; even if it means killing, and he has very few funny moments. And Kung Fu Panda 3 focuses on Po finding his real dad, albeit it's set in a more goofy and fun-loving tone than the 2nd film. Kai is more similar to Tai Lung in how he's goofy with serious moments, and they save the darker stuff for the final act, with somewhat comedic moments in between.
- Shrek has the titular character falling in love with Fiona, but realizes he can't be with her because of his sad and lonely life of being an ogre. However, it has a lot of humor (a lot of which has reached Memetic Mutation). Shrek 2 has the more serious villains Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming, and raises the stakes when Shrek turns human and has to return to Far Far Away before Prince Charming steals Fiona from him, and Shrek the Third, while much more forgettable, plays scenes for laughs more often (like the King's death, for example). Shrek Forever After is a unique example of being similar to the first film in terms of balancing the tones together with Rumpelstiltskin being a comedic, yet menacing enough villain, and the plot being about bringing back Shrek's day where he was born before he disappears from existence after a day passes. The fourth film is still filled with a lot of comedy, such as Puss in Boots being a very fat cat and many of Rumpelstiltskin's lines and reactions.
- Madagascar: The first Madagascar film has a ton of humor but focuses on a dark plot of the four main animals being trapped on Madagascar. This also leads to a lot of Black Comedy and eventually brings Alex back to his primal instincts; whilst he tries to suppress it to not hurt his friends. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is focused more on Alex's childhood and how he was captured by poachers and then unintentionally thrown out into the sea in a box. When the characters get stuck in Africa, it slowly gets darker as each of the characters' flaws start to stick out more, leading to more drama within the group. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is much goofier than the first two films and focuses on the animals going on a circus train as an escape. Interestingly, despite having a Knight of Cerebus, the movie remains Denser and Wackier than the second and first films.
- Toy Story and Toy Story 2 both feature a mix of humor and dark themes, starting off generally lighthearted but delving into more serious territory once the main antagonists (Sid and Stinky Pete, respectively) come into play later on, with the main conflict usually revolving around the toys' efforts to get along and make it back to Andy. Toy Story 3, by contrast, raises the stakes and has a much more serious tone, with the toys ending up in a prison-like daycare run by Complete Monster Lotso, then winding up at the dump where they are nearly incinerated in the darkest moment of the franchise. Toy Story 4 returns to Lighter and Softer fare, but also becomes Denser and Wackier with many toys being hit by Flanderization or Demoted to Extra.
Films — Live-Action
- The Back to the Future series: The first film is a lighthearted sci-fi adventure comedy, with both laughs as Marty adjusts to the 1950s and tries to help his parents get together after accidentally interfering in their first meeting, and intense moments like George confronting Biff and Marty's final race to get back to 1985. Back to the Future Part II takes a turn into darker territory; Marty tries to enrich himself in the future but inadvertently turns Hill Valley into a brutal dystopia lorded over by Biff (now a Corrupt Corporate Executive). In this timeline, Biff has murdered George and forced Lorraine to marry him. The end involves a showdown where Young Biff tries to kill Marty, and Doc vanishes when the time machine is struck by lightning. Back to the Future Part III brings adventure back to the fore as Marty travels to the Old West to save Doc (who falls in love with a schoolteacher named Clara) from Biff's great-grandfather, the outlaw Buford Tannen, the two of them pull off a daring train hijacking to help the time machine get them back to 1985 once and for all, and Doc's adventures continue as he marries Clara and they fly off on a new time machine.
- In the DC Extended Universe, the three films of Zack Snyder about Superman, Man of Steel (a balanced First Contact story with the origins of Superman and his rise against dark remnants of his civilization), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (a darker story marked by much misunderstandings, tragedy and Superman's death) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (a more hopeful third chapter with the formation of the Super Team, including some humor and Superman's resurrection) fit that model quite well (although more installments were planned and never saw the light of day).
- The first three Indiana Jones films: The original Raiders of the Lost Ark is a straightforward action-adventure film with both gritty moments and light-hearted moments. Its sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, is a darker and grimmer film. Dealing with Indy and his friends ending up in the lair of an evil cult, Temple of Doom is almost more of a horror film than an action-adventure film like the other installments. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, however, goes in the opposite direction. It focuses on Indy's relationship with his father, which involves them engaging in a considerable amount of Casual Danger Dialogue with each other, making it the most light-hearted and humorous installment in the series.
- The Star Wars Original Trilogy follows this pattern in its films. The first film A New Hope is the balanced entry, being optimistic, adventurous, and yearning for the spiritual, but with a few grim touches like the fate of Luke's aunt and uncle or the high body count of the Rebels in the climactic battle. The Empire Strikes Back takes the story in a darker direction, with the villains overwhelming the heroes at every turn and leaving them no option but to run, the protagonist Luke struggling with the allure of the Dark Side, and the episode ending on a cliffhanger. The last entry Return of the Jedi takes the story back to a hopeful tone and is even more optimistic than the first film, with Luke successfully turning the villainous Darth Vader back to the path of Light, and the Empire's vast technological military being defeated by ragtag rebels and indigenous tribes united through The Power of Friendship.
- Star Trek also used this in a modified form for its three most iconic films, all of which formed a trilogy story arc. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan is pretty dark, as it features the return of Khan Noonien Singh from the original series, who is looking for a device that can cause planetary genocide. In the course of the movie, Spock dies. Outside of that, it is also a meditation on aging and past mistakes coming back to haunt. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock continued the dark tone of the trilogy, with its muted color scheme, and the death of David Marcus and the destruction of the USS Enterprise coming within a hair's breadth of finishing the job of destroying Kirk that Spock's death started. However, the film ends on a unambigously joyful note as the fal-tor-pan is successful and Spock is brought back to life. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, on the other hand, is the lighter final film in the trilogy, a much more light-hearted romp through 1980s San Francisco where nobody dies (onscreen or mentioned, at least), and while the stakes are high, they're largely in the background. The film ends on an absolutely triumphant note, as the criminal charges Kirk and co. racked up in the previous film are largely forgiven, and they are given a brand new Enterprise to continue boldly going.
Video Games
- Barry Steakfries series: The first entry, Age of Zombies, is about a Mad Scientist causing Zombie Apocalypse by sending zombies into different time periods, killing them causes blood and, in case of bosses, gore-induced dismemberment. This gets evened out by the protagonist being a parody of cheesy Action Heroes, comedic dialogue between levels and intentionally silly noises zombies make. The second title, Monster Dash, while bloodless, is a lot more apocalyptic in its atmosphere. Taking place before Age of Zombies, it focuses on Barry (who, while still comedic, is a bit more down-to-earth here) winding up in the worlds filled to brim with various monsters and trying to dash past them in order to reach Professor Brains. Finally, Jetpack Joyride is on the lighter side of things. Barry infiltrates the laboratory of Laughably Evil Harmless Mooks and causes chaos with many of their inventions.
- Seemingly played straight with the first three Disgaea games, but actually inverted - while all three games heavily parody RPG and anime tropes, the original had the most balance between comedic and serious moments. 2 seems at first like it will be darker than the original, with a human-raised protagonist whose world was conquered by an Overlord and converted into a Netherworld, his family being turned into demons in the process, and having to also contend with the previous game's considerably stronger heroes on his way to defeat said Overlord, but the seriousness quickly gets toned down by a large number of comic relief party members, more RPG Mechanics 'Verse humor than in the previous game, and a much more persistent Goldfish Poop Gang than in the previous game or any installment since. 3, on the other hand, seems as if it will be even goofier, taking place in a High School setting where Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad, the game mechanics play a pivotal role in the main story, and Mao's stated goal is... revenge on his dad for accidentally stepping on one of his game consoles. Things turn out much darker than they initially seem though, when Mao's true motivation turns out to be guilt over inadvertently getting his father killed by a Fallen Hero, and wanting to lay his father's lingering spirit to rest, and the bad ending involves Mao snapping and destroying literally all of existence, a far cry from Laharl disappearing in his bad ending, or Adell becoming possessed by Overlord Zenon in his.
- The Jak and Daxter trilogy can be seen as this. The first game is a child like game akin to Super Mario 64 with a very bright and colorful world with a huge focus on platforming and exploration. The second game world of Haven City is much more darker and less vibrant and colorful and features Jak himself going from a silent hero to a grizzled tortured hero and the game itself now features a focus on guns and shooting. Even the story telling of Jak II: Renegade is grittier with swearing, more suggestive jokes and has a dark tone. While the third game isn't as dark and gritty as the second and features more comedic elements again akin to the first game, the game still features dark turns.
- The Legend of Zelda:
- The three games of the New Aughts—The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword—fall into this pattern. At first, Wind Waker seems like the "kiddiest" of the bunch, especially given its Cel Shading art style, slapstick humor, and youthful-looking protagonists. Midway through the game, though, things become much more serious, and the plot takes a turn for the philosophical, with both Ganondorf and the King of Hyrule meditating on grief and their obsession with the past; the art style never stops being light and friendly, but it's balanced against the heavy subject matter. Twilight Princess takes the series firmly into Darker and Edgier territory—it's dimly colored, the Annoying Video Game Helper has a downright cruel streak until she pulls a Heel–Face Turn, and the plot kicks off with the abduction of a large group of children. Add in a series of truly terrifying bosses and a Bittersweet Ending and you have what's the darkest game in the series (at least until Breath of the Wild came along). Then Skyward Sword turns the mood up—literally, as the game takes place in the sky above the ancient land of Hyrule. The art style goes back to Cel Shading (albeit with the more realistic proportions of Twilight Princess), there's a much greater emphasis on humor and fun, and even The Dragon, though a Knight of Cerebus, is a Bishōnen Drama Queen and Fountain of Memes. There's even an element of Foregone Conclusion to the game—since it's the first one in the series' timeline, we know that the protagonists are going to live. The fanbase is still heavily divided as to which of these three is the best of the group.
- Played with via Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity, and Tears of the Kingdom. Breath of the Wild is a very somber game set After the End, and while it has its lighthearted moments, much of the story revolves around the tragedy that took place one hundred years before, with heavy themes of loss and isolation and a Bittersweet Ending. The next game released was Age of Calamity, which was overall much Lighter and Softer in tone and subject matter, featuring a greater focus on humor and positive themes of redemption and forgiveness. Though the story takes a more serious turn once Ganon emerges, it never gets as dark as its predecessor and the ending is unambiguously happy due to branching into an alternate timeline where the worst events of the Calamity were averted. Things then get serious again in Tears of the Kingdom, which features the darkest incarnation of Ganondorf to date and heavier subject matter such as betrayal, murder, deception, and self-sacrifice. However, it is overall a hopeful story with emphasis on empowering themes of teamwork and unity, as well as its share of humor and a well-earned happy ending. In short, the darkest game came first, followed by a Lighter and Softer sequel, then finally a more balanced game to round out the trilogy.
- Monkey Island: The first three games. Secret is a filled with goofy adventuring and puzzles but still has it's serious moments. The sequel, LeChuck's Revenge, is much darker in tone, making the main character of Guybrush much less heroic and making the villain, The undead pirate LeChuck far more intimidating. The game also has a lot of themes surrounding death and the reality of the game's world. The third game, Curse, made without the input of the series' original creators, shifts much closer to the first game in the series, putting in way more jokes, straight humor moments, and even retconning parts of the previous game's ending which weren't initially received well. There is still debate over which game is the best, though many would point to the second.
- Inverted by Watch_Dogs: Watch_Dogs is a dark story of a violent vigilante stalking the streets of Chicago, seeking revenge on the criminals who tried to kill him, getting his niece killed in the process, going deeper into the criminal underworld, including infiltrating a human trafficking ring. Watch_Dogs 2 takes things to the more bright and colourful streets of San Fransisco and depicts a group of eccentric hacktivists more focusing on Corrupt CEOs rather than organsied crime. Watch Dogs: Legion meanwhile, continues with some of the humour of Watch Dogs 2, but has the darkest setting of the franchise; London occupied by a corrupt PMC after a terrorist attack.
- Yo-kai Watch: The first game focuses more on stopping Yo-kai and doing mundane tasks such as buying a bike or giving your father his forgotten paperwork; with the plot coming in much later around the Massiface fight, which is about stopping Squiddilius McKracken from ruling over both the Yo-kai World and the Human World with his own white-colored Yo-kai. While he and his enforcer Dr. Maddiman are each a Knight of Cerebus on their own, he's still very goofy and is prone to making squid-related puns very often, at least in the English dub. The sequel: Fleshy Souls, Bony Spirits, and Psychic Specters focuses on a time travel plot to stop the Wicked tribe Yo-kai and the more menacing villains; Kin and Gin, and Dame Dedtime from brainwashing all Yo-kai and humans. This also has a much darker tone behind it compared to the first game, with very few jokey moments and it goes into the story rather quickly the moment Nate enters Harrisvile and meets Hovernyan. The third game has more mundane tasks than the first and second games, and focuses more on its adventurous side as Nate goes to BBQ and makes friends with Buck; with the B-Plot focusing on new characters; Hailey Anne and Usapyon building a rocket for Dr. Hughley to see, then later running a detective agency for Yo-kai. It only gains more of a story later after Nate and Hailey meet each other and find out about The Ghoulfather, whose goals, while destructive, are much less horrifying than his two predeccessors. Speaking of them, they've been forced to work in community service for their heinous crimes, seemingly retconning McKracken's apparent death in the first game*. The world in general is a lot more colourful too due to taking place in BBQ and New Yo-kai City. The fourth game, however, would, fittingly for the anime it's based on be much darker in tone than even the second.
Western Animation
- Ben 10: The original series is mixed with lighthearted, comedic moments, and darker, more serious moments such as the Knight of Cerebus villains; Vilgax and Zs'Skayr. Ben 10: Alien Force focuses on the more mature Ben, Gwen, and (now-reformed) Kevin as they stop the Highbreed from eliminating all aliens out of spite. Vilgax returns, with more powers and is more stronger than ever. Starting from season 3 of the series (and carrying onto Ben 10: Ultimate Alien); due to Executive Meddling, Ben was made a lot more immature than the first 2 seasons of Alien Force. Ultimate Alien also focuses more on the Forever Knights, and still has a much Darker and Edgier plotline than Alien Force, but has gotten more ridiculous filler in an attempt to balance it out. Ben 10: Omniverse is not only Denser and Wackier and Lighter and Softer than Ultimate Alien and Alien Force, but it's even slightly goofier than the original series. However, it does pick up a plot around seasons 3 and 4. The 2016 Continuity Reboot Ben 10 only furthers this with a more cartoony art and animation style, very punny writing, and a much more episodic plot than all 4 series that came before it. Later seasons have attempted to add more story to the series (and succeeded), but season 4 went back to being episodic like season 1 as a result of Executive Meddling.
- While the Kung Fu Panda film trilogy already runs on this, special mention should be given to the three animated spinoff shows in the franchise which are also subject to major tone shifts. Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, the first show, is firmly focused on kung fu and comedy, with Po going on day-to-day adventures as the Dragon Warrior fighting Laughably Evil villains. While there are a few darker stories here and there involving Fenghuang, Ke-Pa, or Pai Mei, Legends for the most part is focused on light hearted adventures. Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, the second show, is the Darker and Edgier show, with a heavier focus on serialized storytelling, Po graduating to the rank of Dragon Master, and the two main Arc Villain antagonists are monstrous, demonic threats with nothing comical to them. Meanwhile, the third animated show Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is the most balanced mix of comedy, story arcs, and more serious world-ending threats. Po gets to go on fresh globe-trotting adventures with his new friend Luthera and they gain colorful, kid-friendly allies like Akna to their party. At the same time, while the show is lighter than Paws Of Destiny, it also focuses on story arcs, with the Tianshang weapons taking center stage, and the ending gets darker with the heroes facing a world-wide cataclysm. And finally, the main Arc Villain antagonists are serious threats but they're not so dark as to be demonic forces of evil like Jindiao or Baigujing, considering all of them are empowered mortals who either have loved ones (Veruca and Sir Alfred), possess a few light-hearted and fun traits (Zuma), or can be talked out of causing a world-ending apocalypse by their loved ones in the final act (Sir Alfred).
