History WesternAnimation / TomTerrific

* ElephantsNeverForget: subverted in "Elephant Stew" as Tom and Manfred encounter a pachyderm on a rampage because he forgot something and elephants aren't supposed to forget.

* TimeStandsStill: "The Everlasting Birthday Party" has Crabby Appleton freeze time so his birthday can last forever.

* Literal-Minded: In "Sweet Tooth Sam", the eponymous bandit steals candy from children. Tom discovers a group of crying kids. He promises them in a heroic tone: "Don't worry, kids. The youth of America will be served justice". Only to be answered with the reply of "We want candy!".

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In "Sweet Tooth Sam", the eponymous bandit steals candy from children. Tom discovers a group of crying kids. He promises them in a heroic tone: "Don't worry, kids. The youth of America will be served justice". Only to be answered with a whining: "We want candy".

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTimeWithFinnAndJake'' could be seen as this.

Tom was constantly accompanied by his sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog. Manfred was a TalkingAnimal, but actually had no skills to speak of. He was a rather lazy dog with a big appetite. When not sleeping or eating, Manfred would only offer some random comments on the plot of the week, but Tom took them as genuine suggestions and came up with his own ideas, which he would attribute to Manfred. The other characters of the series were its villains,most notably Tom's ArchEnemy, Crabby Appleton, an adult man, "rotten to the core", whose motivation for causing trouble was really simple. "I'm fond of gloom, impending doom/I think good deeds are sappy!/I laugh with glee, it pleases me/when everyone's unhappy." Other foes included Isotope Feeney, Sweet Tooth Sam, Captain Kidney Bean, The Silly Sandman, etc.

A year later, serving at Terrytoons, Deitch decided to rework the "boy hero" concept into a new animated character. The result was Tom Terrific. There were a number of key differences between the two series. Gone was the time travel aspect, Tom would only have adventures set in the present (the exception being "Go West, Young Manfred"--Tom turned himself into a clock and with Manfred went backwards in time to the California gold rush). Also gone was the notion of parents. Tom actually lived in his treehouse and the only adults in his life were his opponents. More importantly, Tom had superpowers. He had a TransformationTrinket, a funnel-shaped hat, which allowed him to transform to any form. A power needed to solve problems and save the day. As his theme song went “If you see a plane on high/A diesel train go roaring by/A bumblebee, or a tree/It’s me!” The only limit to his power seemed to be the limit of his creativity.

Tom was constantly accompanied by his sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog. Manfred was a TalkingAnimal, but actually had no skills to speak of. He was a rather lazy dog with a big appetite. When not sleeping or eating, Manfred would only offer some random comments on the plot of the week. But Tom took them as genuine suggestions and came up with his own ideas. Which he would attribute to Manfred. The other characters of the series were its villains. Most notably Tom's ArchEnemy, Crabby Appleton. An adult man, "rotten to the core", whose motivation for causing trouble was really simple. "I'm fond of gloom, impending doom/I think good deeds are sappy!/I laugh with glee, it pleases me/when everyone's unhappy." Other foes included Isotope Feeney, Sweet Tooth Sam, Captain Kidney Bean, The Silly Sandman, etc.

* AccidentalHero: Manfred in "Sweet Tooth Sam". Tom Terrific manages to retrieve bags full of candy from Sam's hideout. Having Manfred transport them. What he doesn't know is that Sam had placed an explosive device within one of the bags. Sam is gleefully waiting for the sound of the explosion. The sound does come. But the audience soon finds out that neither hero was nearby. Tom praises Manfred for dropping the bags and saving his life. Paying no attention to Manfred pointing out why he had dropped the bags: simply because they were too heavy.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In "Sweet Tooth Sam", the eponymous bandit steals candy from children. Tom discovers a group of crying kids. He promises them in a heroic tone: "Don't worry kids. The youth of America will be served justice". Only to be answered with a whining: "We want candy".

A year later, serving at Terrytoons, Deitch decided to rework the "boy hero" concept into a new animated character. The result was Tom Terrific. There were a number of key differences between the two series. Gone was the time travel aspect, Tom would only have adventures set in the present. Also gone was the notion of parents. Tom actually lived in his treehouse and the only adults in his life were his opponents. More importantly, Tom had superpowers. He had a TransformationTrinket, a funnel-shaped hat, which allowed him to transform to any form. A power needed to solve problems and save the day. As his theme song went “If you see a plane on high/A diesel train go roaring by/A bumblebee, or a tree/It’s me!” The only limit to his power seemed to be the limit of his creativity.

A year later, serving at Terrytoons, Deitch decided to rework the "boy hero" concept into a new animated character. The result was Tom Terrific. There were a number of key differences between the two series. Gone was the time travel aspect, Tom would only have adventures set in the present. Also gone was the notion of parents. Tom actually lived in his treehouse and the only adults in his life were his opponents. More importantly, Tom had superpowers. He had a TransformationTrinket, a funnel-shaped hat, which allowed him to transform to any form. A power needed to solve problems and save the day. As his theme song went "“If you see a plane on high/A diesel train go roaring by/A bumblebee, or a tree/It’s me!” The only limit to his power seemed to be the limit of his creativity.