Animated Characters With Unused Potential

Here's sort of a sub topic to the "Good Idea, Poor Execution" thread, in that rather than an entire show, name a particular animation character you believe could have been brilliant with the right handling, but didn't quite make it in execution (they may not have ended up The Scrappy per se, but weren't used nearly to as well a level or image you had hoped from them).

May have shades of They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character here.

Princess Sally Acorn of Sonic Sat Am. I think she was a good character on paper, as in a complete opposite to the cocky and free willed Sonic in terms of tactics and ethics (tactical, neurotic and overcautious, and equally bull headed about it) and I think showing the two compromise their efforts would have shown for a realistic strategic direction in a war. However the concept was skewed by the Women Are Wiser dynamic and making Sally right over Sonic 90% of the time. The lesson for every time they butted heads was that Sonic needed to 'take it slow' so Sally was usually just a Straight Man that never got a lot of humanization concerning her flaws and ended up a bit grating due to demeaning the main character's defining aspects.

Maybe the reason I love Twilight Sparkle so much is because she is pretty much exactly how I wanted Sally to be.

Also Rufus in The Dreamstone. The pilot showed all the potential he had, he was a Cloud Cuckoo Lander, a Badass Normal and The Woobie, with a bit of Sad Clown in there as well. He had a very relatable personality, a guy whose head is always in the clouds and let's his real life fall apart. However, when later episodes went for a Villain Protagonist dynamic, Rufus was diluted completely, he lost most of his pathos and often was little more than a generic dopey kid (aside from a couple of brief Big Brother Instinct moments to Amberley very early on). A real shame since he had the potential for a truly warm and endearing protagonist if they had developed on him more.

Might also add Amberley to the mix, since I though they both had potential for an "easy going layabout vs stuck-up hard worker" dynamic I tend to be very fond of in a lot of animations.

edited 25th Oct '12 5:13:10 PM by Psi001

And in the comics, the writing of Sally Acorn only got worse as time went on, to the point where she is now probably the most divisive figure in the Archie fandom.

The comics version suffers worse since, while they put her on a pedestal over Sonic less often, they also took away a lot of her defining quirks and flaws to the point of blandness. Satam Sally rarely got her flaws called out, but she was at least still something of an endearingly neurotic brat that needed to chill out, so still kind of loveable.

This came into play with her spin off series, since, without her comical neuroses or pompousness, she made for a rather boring lead.

A key point in Sally's concept I thought was that she contrasted in Sonic both in flaws and strengths, Sonic was cocky, reckless and easy going, Sally was neurotic, anal retentive and cautious. Sonic by himself would likely have gotten killed in a day due to rushing in at once, while Sally by herself would likely have suffered a slow painful defeat due to shying from taking any risks. Of course this was all lost because Girls Need Role Models.

edited 25th Oct '12 5:28:41 PM by Psi001

Frankly, at this moment Sally is the least of the Sonic comic's problems, but that's another thread...

True, but as said, in both forms, Sally had the potential to be so much more vibrant and complex a character.

It didn't really help that, in both medias, the writers seemed to like a bit too much and gave her a ridiculous amount of spotlight and competence, very little of which actually made her any closer to this ideal dynamic.

edited 25th Oct '12 5:32:29 PM by Psi001

That would require a writer who doesn't take all his ideas for plot twists from a 1999 episode of Monday Nitro.

edited 25th Oct '12 5:33:18 PM by maxwellelvis

Maybe I should add to the list before this becomes another anti-Sally thread.

Jane from The Legends Of Treasure Island. Her inclusion into the story had potential, as did her backstory (kidnapped by Long John Silver for ransom but was apparently such a brat her parents let him keep her). This could have made for a brilliant Jerk Ass Woobie, however her actual history with Silver is barely brought up ever again, and she settles into the hero team ridiculously well for a former pirate, usually little more than a snarky team mate for Jim.

Though we do see her abrasive qualities perk up a little in the first season, she is little more than a generic Closer to Earth Action Girl in the second season (though even the process of her softening and becoming closer to Jim could have made for good development under the right writing). Similar to Sally, writers seem to also get a little over indulgent with her too, while she doesn't exactly tread on other characters' roles, she gets the most involvement after Jim himself and several A Day in the Limelight episodes. It was at least a little cheeky having her pretty much kill the Big Bad single handedly in the finale.

Kit Cloudkicker of Tale Spin actually has a very similar backstory as Jane, but like her, it isn't really referenced at all outside his first appearance and he spends most of his screentime as a slightly dull Only Sane Man to Baloo.

edited 25th Oct '12 6:00:38 PM by Psi001

• Abigail from Once Upon a Forest. I don't think the movie turned out as well as it could have as a whole, but Abigail started out as an interesting tomboy character, but at somepoint mid-way through the movie she starts to undergo Chickification, becoming passive and needing to be rescued by the other two male main characters. I still like her as a character though and the movie is among my guilty pleasures. I wonder how the book the movie was based on went, maybe she was given more justice as a character.

• Nellie Brie from An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster. She herself is a great character, witty and charismatic, a snarker as well. It's just that the rest of the movie was so mediocre.

Hayley of American Dad, for similar reasons as Sally. Her dynamic had potential, an over the top Liberal to contrast Stan and for the two to vent their Not So Different tendancies. The problem however was that since nearly every episode uses the 'Stan wrongs his family and has to learn a lesson' formula, she usually ends up either diluted into a Straight Man or background character, or becomes a smug Karma Houdini who gets to keep her pedestal since Stan is worse than her. Basically a light version of what many complain Brian is (and at least Brian contributes more slapstick wise). Considering she was the first character designed along with Stan, they seem to struggle to find a use for her, especially in later seasons.

The pattern coming from these seems to imply that, when you plan for a chemistry with two equally flawed opposites, don't make one of the them the lead that's always going to be "lose" the argument and be the one learning the Aesops.

edited 7th Jan '13 7:33:30 PM by Psi001

Speaking of American Dad, Klaus has plenty of untapped potential. I would love to learn more about his past as a human.

Even Roger is a little under similar circumstances. We've learnt so little of his alien background in favor of his costume acts and Seth's usual Comedic Sociopathy. I've heard the show was originally to have some continuing sub plot concerning this, with more of his kind appearing on Earth.

edited 8th Jan '13 6:49:57 PM by Psi001

Frozone from The Incredibles. Voiced by Samuel L Jackson, arguably the biggest celebrity name in the cast. Has powers that serve his role as The Lancer. Is a super cool black dude full of confidence. Prominently pushed to the front in promos and marketing.

...... doesn't appear in the middle of the movie and only comes back at the last 10 minutes.

edited 8th Jan '13 7:56:27 PM by Shota

times ∞

Jenny of MLAATR. She gives up trying to be considered normal when she realizes she's not happy that way; she just wants to be accepted as a teen girl without compromising the rest of her identity. That's a beautiful message for a female protagonist to express, but was only explored for an episode or two and almost the movie. The girl characters would have been great foils for this, how Brit and Tiff (omg their names are so embarrassing to type)are always paranoid about losing their status, and how Misty is confident to being an outsider (oh btw she was only in THREE EPISODES). The show in general focused too much on typical teen sitcom plots and gags without being subversive.

Mordecai from Regular Show is becoming way too much of a bland Straight Man/ semi Author Avatar. I think it would've been cool and funny if the writers focused more on him being a slacker version of the latter, instead of a diluted white gangsta straight man.

edited 10th Jan '13 9:24:11 AM by dwarfstar

About your MLAATR summary: I think you just pointed out why I look back at that show in such levels of annoyance at best and dissapointment/anger at worst! Thank you so much - you just pointed out what could've been a better show, had that shit happened.

Another Sonic Sat Am example, Bunnie Rabbot. She had a cool concept that played on the show's robotocization drama, had lots of potential as the team's powerhouse and from what little personality she shown came off as rather endearing. She barely appears however, is a background character in most episodes, gets Worfed or left unutilized by the team in most missions (in favor of Antoine of all people) and her role as a robotocized victim is barely looked at.

I know I might bring up bile again from the Friendship Is Magic thread, but I think Applejack counts to some extent. She was used well during early Season One, one of the more lucid characters and the nearest to a best friend for Twilight, but also somewhat the temperamental one of the team and, like the Sally and Hayley examples, an amusing Not So Different rival for Rainbow Dash. After that however her Straight Man traits seemed to take over her role and even when they try to put her in the spotlight again it seems a lot more forced and like they don't quite know what to do with her anymore. She's admitedly mostly only underwelming comparitively to the other five nicely developed ponies, but still it's a shame considering how she showed herself capable of being the most versatile and multi faceted for that brief period of time.

Come to think about it, Sandy Cheeks from Spongebob Squarepants as well, who now seems to exist only when a wacky invention is neccessary. What is it with writers and cowgirls?

edited 11th Jan '13 6:00:31 PM by Psi001

Yeah I had been thinking, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle fit the pattern of having a "practical leader" along with an "intellectual leader", the way the preceding My Little Pony series had with Pinkie Pie and Cheerilee. People praise Friendship Is Magic for the innovation of making the smart character the leader, but what seems to have happened is that the typical "practical" leader has gotten sorely de-emphasized, which may have been hastened by beginning the series from Twilight Sparkle's point of view. Or maybe it's like you said, the showrunners decided too late that they didn't want to listen to the exaggerated Texas accent so much anymore!

Definitely agree with the Mordecai example; at first, characters who get into trouble all the time like Rigby seem annoying, but they definitely seem to get more awesome moments. Mordercai's sort of this "not as bad, stupid, or crazy" as Rigby, but it ends up not making him stand out very much.

Usually I think of some old Silly Symphony characters for this question, like Max Hare or Toby Tortoise. Lots of times I feel they get reduced to mere cameos in order to show "look how many disney characters there are!" And Oswald the Lucky Rabbit; has he been used in much other than the Epic Mickey series?

That's why I tend not to like clear case 'Straight Man vs Wacky Guy' scenarios over more two sided Sanity Ball dynamics. The latter allows both characters to have flaws and strengths according to the scenario and foil each other equally in a depthful manner, compared to a Flanderized 'this character is always clever, dull and right, and this character is always stupid, annoying and wrong, and that's how it is no matter what.'

Most of my examples here are for characters that would have worked a lot better without that dynamic and to get both their positive and negative aspects developed in an equal manner (as well as allowed their foils' to come out the same in the process).

I think Sally would have worked a lot better if she got her shortcomings and insecurities properly developed rather than always being designated to a Straight Man role for example. It likely would have also meant Sonic would have been required to act up less often or even have gained more moments of clarity, so would have came off a lot less of an arrogant imbecile.

edited 11th Jan '13 7:20:40 PM by Psi001

Unfortunately, I don't think Sally would ever have made a bad call as long as What's-His-Name was writing for that show.

Let's not be too disrespectful. Ben Hurst did pass away a year ago.

I admit he clearly liked Sally a bit too much however, while at the same time not quite knowing how to develop her fully. She and the others seemed better balanced when he was only one of many contributors on the staff rather than the whole creative team.

edited 11th Jan '13 7:24:51 PM by Psi001

Yeah, it sucks he died, but that doesn't change the fact that it's his fault Sally was first considered a Mary Sue back in the early days.

Even when there were many writers I think she wasn't used fully. She had more Not So Above It All moments sure, but they still didn't really develop her own flaws and personality, and were usually just her and Sonic reversing roles, her becoming the opportunistic one and Sonic becoming overcautious one, which still gave the idea Sally's approach was always right, even if she wasn't 100% committed to it. Seeing her childish competitiveness with Sonic was funny though.

That's why I consider Twilight Sparkle a better handled version of her character, being very tactical and 'by the book' but to a fault. There's loads of moments her strategic manner comes useful, but she's also The Finicky One and over thinks everything. You get her way of doing things isn't always right. Her 'Sonic'-like foil is still usually portrayed as a reckless idiot, but there's still at least a couple odd times she's pointed out taking risks and thinking on your toes is important and came out on top (eg. Hurricane Fluttershy).

edited 11th Jan '13 8:53:39 PM by Psi001

Well, it was the first season, they were experimenting. They had to create these characters from scratch, because the plot of the games was tossed out the window. Overall, they were on pretty good footing with developing Sally and Sonic.

And then Ben Hurst happened.

Hurst did write Drood Henge however, which was about the one time Sonic taking risks despite Sally's warnings didn't go horribly wrong, and allowed a Crowning Moment Of Awesome for Tails. It didn't do much for Sally's character, but it at least shown either of them could have take or miss good opportunities working on their key approach.

Hurst did at least keep Sally's basic characteristics, such as her neurotic and haughty attitude, he just never made proper scenarios to develop on it. It was Archie that completely diluted her to her positive traits and made her into an overglorified piece of cardboard.

edited 11th Jan '13 7:54:58 PM by Psi001

Does anyone think Inspector Gadget may have had less repetition if they had let Gadget have some tint of competence? The "Penny solves the whole case while Gadget screws up" formula was funny, but it got old being the premise for nearly eighty or so episodes.

It didn't help that the rare occasions Gadget did actually get to do something were kinda Crazy Awesome and also usually made for some of the more divergent plots. A compromise of both Penny and Gadget-centric formulas may have worked rather well.

All those gizmos and it would have been nice to see him do something with them.

edited 24th Jan '13 7:25:22 AM by Psi001