History CreatorsPet / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark:'' Over the years, Randy has become more of a ManChild and a SpotligthStealingSquad; the fanbase was [[BaseBreakerCharacter split]] about this at first, but as time goes on his number of supporters dwindles. Season 23 was where it got particularly bad. By this point, he had moved the family out to a marijuana farm, and for the first half of the season, "Randy tries to sell weed" was an A- or B-plot in literally ever episode. The best that one can say is that he usually doesn't get CharacterShilling, as his family in particular openly hate him...but even then, episodes like "Christmas Snow" focus on how much people love his weed and demand more plotlines around it, to the frustrated screams of the viewers. Also, while early "Randy is a ManChild" plots showed that he cared about his family (often he got involved in the story because Stan was in trouble), at some point he [[ItsAllAboutMe stopped caring about anyone but himself]]. Unlike Cartman, who can be a clever VillainProtagonist and pays for his actions about half of the time, Randy usually succeeds [[KarmaHoudini with no consequences]] because other characters will just pick up the IdiotBall.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' gives us Flying Princess Pony Head. Many viewers accuse her of being this, since they think she is a [[SpoiledBrat spoiled]], [[ValleyGirl obnoxious]], [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]], [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]] and plain unpleasant person to be around who [[StaticCharacter never learns]] [[AesopAmnesia anything]], yet Star [[WithFriendsLikeThese treats her like a true friend]] and she's [[KarmaHoudini rarely called out whenever she actually does something wrong]]. To the show's credit, [[TakeThatScrappy she suffers in multiple instances in Season 3]] and one episode reveals that even her ''own family'' thinks of her as a BlackSheep.

* There were (and still are) so many restrictions imposed on Disney writers when dealing with WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse due to him being the studio icon that any other character in any given Mickey cartoon, as a side effect, got carte blanche to steal the spotlight. Hence how characters such as WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck came to grow in popularity. The strange irony is that this happened because ''Mickey was the Creator's Pet'' of Mr. Disney, not the other characters.=

* There were (and still are) so many restrictions imposed on Disney writers when dealing with WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse due to him being the studio icon that any other character in any given Mickey cartoon, as a side effect, got carte blanche to steal the spotlight. Hence how characters such as WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck came to grow in popularity. The strange irony is that this happened because ''Mickey was the Creator's Pet'' of Mr. Disney, not the other characters.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': In addition to blatantly admitting that he based her off of an imaginary child he had with a former girlfriend, Thomas Astruc shows such massive favoritism towards Marinette and her alter-ego Ladybug, that the only character that's MORE of a Creator's Pet is Adrien. With the painstaking effort put in to make him look sympathetic despite the unbelievably horrible things he's done, [[BigBad Hawkmoth]] may qualify. When he's not making Chat Noir or Marinette look bad, or emphasizing how utterly flawless and perfect Ladybug and Adrien are, he tends to be making one look worse for no other reason than to pressure viewers into sympathizing with the other, even when they are doing something incredibly creepy, or just flat-out unheroic.

* There were (and to a degree, still are) so many restrictions imposed on Disney writers when dealing with WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse, that any other character in any given Mickey cartoon got carte blanche to steal the spotlight. The strange irony is that this happened because ''Mickey was the Creator's Pet'' of Mr. Disney, not the other characters.

** Owen in the first two seasons. The writers and voice actors of the show often wrote glowingly of him (Christian Potenza is quoted as having a man-crush on him), yet he is considered a BaseBreakingCharacter due to his constant ToiletHumor, CharacterShilling (such as [[PerkyGoth Gwen]] calling him sane even when he does exceedingly odd or stupid things, and the rest of the cast talking about how awesome he was during his elimination in the 2nd season, despite the fact that he cost the team the challenge and spent the entire episode trying to eat two of his teammates), and CharacterFocus (such as extended dream sequences of him naked and frolicking on mountains made of cheese). His face was even used as the icon for the first season on at least Cartoon Network. However, this decreased as the series went on, the second season giving him a lesser role and the third season giving Owen ''much'' less praise from the other contestants, and he received some decent character development with his friendship with [[DeadpanSnarker Noah]] and his breakup with [[AxCrazy Izzy]]. The writers must have noticed the backlash, as Owen does not appear in seasons 4 and 5, save for minor cameoes.

* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': Somebody at Warner Bros. really liked the character Elmyra Duff (some say it was Creator/StevenSpielberg himself) since she [[SpotlightStealingSquad took up a lot of screentime]], to the point they tried to get a spinoff series off the ground with two pilot episodes about her and her family. That wasn't enough, though. She went on to make cameo appearances, as well as a guest-star appearance, in the show's successor series, ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}''. Even ''that'' wasn't enough. The spinoff series of ''Animaniacs'', ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', received a unneeded [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain revamp]] after its third season, where the duo have become Elmyra's pets. Retrospective reactions toward her were vocal enough that she is AdaptedOut of the ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' reboot, and she was given a TakeThat in ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'', the first episode of which [[CanonDiscontinuity retconned]] ''[[CanonDiscontinuity PE&tB]]'' [[CanonDiscontinuity out of existence]].

** The titular character was this for several seasons, until it stopped when Andrew Brenner took the helm of head writer. 90% of all stories focused on him and he had more screen time than the other engines. Although, this role was given back to him in [[WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriendsAllEnginesGo the reboot]], but it was taken UpToEleven to the point of [[SpotlightStealingSquad appearing and having a major role in every episode]]!

** The titular character was this for several seasons, until it stopped when Andrew Brenner took the helm of head writer. 90% of all stories focused on him and he had more screen time than the other engines.

* ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}''
** [[ThoseTwoGuys Blukic and Driba]] from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'': have been stated several times by the writers to be part of their favourite characters; they were given appearances in a large part of the episodes, played a role in ''two'' of the season finale, there has already been one episode focused on them which was stated to be the team's favorite (and another one similar has aired later), and lead designer Derrick Wyatt admitted he wouldn't mind them having their own spin-off show. To many fans, they are just another PluckyComicRelief duo in a show already full of them, with the additional bonuses of being [[TooDumbToLive dumb enough to constantly make idiotic decisions]], [[TheLoad putting everyone in danger in the process]], often ending up as a DiabolusExMachina, and showing signs of FantasticRacism against one of the other alien species on the Omnitrix.
** While [[LovableRogue Argit]] wasn't ''that'' hated in [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce his earlier episodes in the franchise]], ''Omniverse'' writers loved him and started using him more... while making his roguish actions go [[KickTheDog a bit]] [[MoralEventHorizon too far]] for some fans (most infamously when he [[spoiler:willingly betrayed LaResistance to [[AliensAreBastards the Incurseans]]]]), and yet making him [[KarmaHoudini constantly get away scott-free, if not with a better situation than before]] (in the future episode, it's revealed ''[[spoiler:he will get elected president of Earth]]''). Some fans started to find him less funny and more obnoxious as a result.

** The reboot version of Kevin Levin is a bit of a mixed bag amongst fans. He was initially liked for his new dynamic and powers with Ben and the gang, but then he tended to overstay his welcome thanks to his [[ExecutiveMeddling merchandise skyrocketing.]] Now, [[SpotlightStealingSquad he’s a pest who shows up constantly]], even with stories that would be no different with his absense. It seems that Kevin worked best in small doses. He also becomes the player two character in ''Ben 10: Power Trip'', a licensed open-world video game for the reboot.

* Cubert from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' turned into a parody. [[IntendedAudienceReaction He was actually created to be one of these]], apparently in direct reference to the former TropeNamer, and he was originally intended to be a sort of TheAce character, except he would still be hated and mistreated by the other characters. Only the last part became true. In his debut episode, the rest of the cast takes an instant dislike to him and manage to get in a few good insults. It helps that the writers were more in-tune than others in their profession. Originally Cubert was supposed to be the character who {{lampshade|Hanging}}d all the ludicrous aspects of the series, which he does in his debut episode. However, the writers realized how annoying this was and transformed him into a standard BrattyHalfPint TVGenius, only using him in a couple of episodes thereafter. He is also downgraded from a genius to an insufferable brat who thinks he's smarter than he is, while still acting like an actual twelve-year old.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Robotboy}}'': Gus is hated by many fans for his annoying, greedy {{Jerkass}} behaviour, ToiletHumor, and his tendency [[TheLoad to make things worse]]. yet [[SpotlightStealingSquad he gets the most focus of any character]] who isn’t named Robotboy or Tommy.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'':

* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': Somebody at Warner Bros. really liked the character Elmyra Duff (some say it was Creator/StevenSpielberg himself) since she [[SpotlightStealingSquad took up a lot of screentime]], to the point they tried to get a spinoff series off the ground with two pilot episodes about her and her family. That wasn't enough, though. She went on to make cameo appearances, as well as a guest-star appearance, in the show's successor series, ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}''. Even ''that'' wasn't enough. The spinoff series of ''Animaniacs'', ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', received a unneeded [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain revamp]] after its third season, where the duo have become Elmyra's pets. Retrospective reactions toward her were vocal enough that she is AdaptedOut of the ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' reboot, and she was given a TakeThat in ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020''.

** Philip became this towards the end of the Brenner era. He was involved in almost every story, and had his own episode ("Philip's Number") to himself.

* Catra from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is this to showrunner Noelle Stevenson, to the point that some fans of supporting characters accuse them of showing favoritism. Some fans of Entrapta, Hordak, and the Entrapdak ship (which were handled by other writers) accuse Noelle of misinterpreting their characterization through Catra-centric lenses in interviews and livestreams.

* Catra from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' are this to showrunner Noelle Stevenson, to the point that some fans of supporting characters accuse them of showing favoritism. Some fans of Entrapta, Hordak, and the Entrapdak ship (which were handled by other writers) accuse Noelle of misinterpreting their characterization through Catra-centric lenses in interviews and livestreams.

* Adora and Catra from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' are this to showrunner Noelle Stevenson, to the point that some fans of supporting characters accuse them of showing favoritism. Some fans of Entrapta, Hordak, and the Entrapdak ship (which were handled by other writers) accuse Noelle of misinterpreting their characterization through Catra-centric lenses in interviews and livestreams.

* Adora and Catra from ''WesternAnimation/{{She-Ra and the Princesses of Power}}'' are this to showrunner Noelle Stevenson, to the point that some fans of supporting characters accuse them of showing favoritism. Some fans of Entrapta, Hordak, and the Entrapdak ship (which were handled by other writers) accuse Noelle of misinterpreting their characterization through Catra-centric lenses in interviews and livestreams.

* Ador and Catra from ''WesternAnimation/She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' are this to showrunner Noelle Stevenson, to the point that some fans of supporting characters accuse them of showing favoritism. Some fans of Entrapta, Hordak, and the Entrapdak ship (which were handled by other writers) accuse Noelle of misinterpreting their characterization through Catra-centric lenses in interviews and livestreams.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Brian Griffin. During the shows run, Creator/SethMacFarlane has admitted that his intentions were for Brian to be the show's most popular character, while Meg would be the least popular, but to his complete surprise, Stewie became the show's breakout star, while Brian became the show's scrappy. The crew seems often desperate to make Brian more popular, at one point even killing him off then bringing him back just three episodes later, which fans would've been happy to hear, until they realized that these ''Family Guy'' episodes took six months to produce. They started to give Brian more noticeable flaws in the later seasons to prevent further backlash.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
** Denzel Crocker and Timmy's dad became this starting in Season 7. Creator/ButchHartman himself [[WordOfGod has admitted that]] [[CreatorsFavorite they're his favorite characters]] and he thinks they tend to be used as the main source of humor in the series. It came to a head in [[SeasonalRot Season 9]], where you'd be forgiven for thinking you were watching a SpinOff called "[[FanNickname The Mr. Crocker and Timmy's Dad Show]]".
** Mrs. Crocker, Denzel Crocker's mother, has become a minor one. Most fans see her as a plain, boring, and obnoxious old lady, with nothing interesting about her character other than being related to Denzel--yet starting with Season 7, the writers seemed to get it into their heads that, along with Denzel and Timmy's dad, she is one of the most entertaining and hilarious characters on the show and that viewers couldn't get enough of her.

* The Lemmings from ''WesternAnimation/NormOfTheNorth'' seem to have gained this status in the sequel, since there's a scene where Norm tells the Lemmings they can't come to New York this time, seemingly writing them out of the movie, only for them to force themselves on board anyway. They then proceed to do [[TheLoad what made them so]] [[ToiletHumor hated to begin with]].
* Donny from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016''. He is abhorred by the older ''Powerpuff Girls'' fanbase for [[TheScrappy more traditional reasons]], but mostly due to the misinterpretation that he was meant to be [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a metaphor for trans people]]. His debut episode is, however, one of the most infamous episodes in the reboot because, if interpreted as a transgender metaphor, its message is negative at best. Unfortunately, the creators didn't notice this backlash in time. They had expected him to be a hit amongst the fans, likely because [[AllGirlsLikePonies he's a unicorn]] (which didn't happen because the show was ScrewedByTheNetwork and not very popular amongst kids), and as a result he reappears in several episodes, including season 2 episodes (which were made right after season 1 and thus before the backlash). He's even [[WolverinePublicity featured on a DVD]] for the series named "The Last Donnycorn" (which is also the name of an episode).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': There are a strong gathering of fans who dislike Flip for being an obnoxious {{Jerkass}}. However, by Season 4, he went on to have more focus than any other background character on the show. It only [[UpToEleven grew in Season 5]] when he started to appear in every episode, making it seem more you're watching a spin-off called ''The Adventures Of Flip''!

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has practically become "The Randy Marsh Show" in recent seasons. Starting from Season 22 and onward, Randy and Tegridy Farms have become the main focus of South Park, essentially turning the four original main characters Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny into supporting characters and reducing their screen time. Creator/TreyParker and Creator/MattStone have stated that they don't feel as connected to the boys now that they're older. Fans are divided on the Tegridy Farms storyline. While some fans embrace Randy as the main lead and enjoy Tegridy Farms, others highly dislike it because they view it as lazy and repetitive writing due to them dragging out the story arc for so long, and claim that Randy is progressively derailing his character each proceeding episode.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': There are a strong gathering of fans who dislike Flip for being an obnoxious Main/{{Jerkass}}. However, by Season 4, he went on to have more focus than any other background character on the show. It only [[UpToEleven grew in Season 5]] when he started to appear in every episode, making it seem more you're watching a spin-off called ''The Adventures Of Flip''!

* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': Somebody at Warner Bros. really liked the character Elmyra Duff (some say it was Creator/StevenSpielberg himself) since she [[SpotlightStealingSquad took up a lot of screentime]], to the point they tried to get a spinoff series off the ground with two pilot episodes about her and her family. That wasn't enough, though. She went on to make cameo appearances, as well as a guest-star appearance, in the show's successor series, ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}''. Even ''that'' wasn't enough. The spinoff series of Animaniacs, ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', received a unneeded [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain revamp]] after its third season, where the duo have become Elmyra's pets. Retrospective reactions toward her were vocal enough that she is AdaptedOut of the ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' reboot, and she was given a TakeThat in ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': Somebody at Warner Bros. really liked the character Elmyra Duff since she [[SpotlightStealingSquad took up a lot of screentime]], to the point they tried to get a spinoff series off the ground with two pilot episodes about her and her family. That wasn't enough, though. She went on to make cameo appearances, as well as a guest-star appearance, in the show's successor series, ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}''. Even ''that'' wasn't enough. The spinoff series of Animaniacs, ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', received a unneeded [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain revamp]] after its third season, where the duo have become Elmyra's pets. Retrospective reactions toward her were vocal enough that she is AdaptedOut of the ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' reboot, and she is not seen in the 2020 reboot of Animaniacs.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': There are a strong gathering of fans who dislike Flip for being an obnoxious Main/Jerkass however by season 4 he went on to have more focus than any other background character on the show, it only [[UpToEleven grewed in Season 5]] when he started to appear in every episode. Making it seem more you're watching a Spin-Off called "The Adventures Of Flip!"

* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': Somebody at Warner Bros. really liked the character Elmyra Duff since she [[SpotlightStealingSquad took up a lot of screentime]], to the point they tried to get a spinoff series off the ground with two pilot episodes about her and her family. That wasn't enough, though. She went on to make cameo appearances, as well as a guest-star appearance, in the show's successor series, ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}''. Even ''that'' wasn't enough. The spinoff series of Animaniacs, ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', received a unneeded [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain revamp]] after its third season, where the duo have become Elmyra's pets. Retrospective reactions toward her were vocal enough that she is AdaptedOut of the ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' reboot, and she is not seen or even mentioned in the 2020 reboot of Animaniacs.

** Feedback is introduced as being Ben's favorite alien form back when he was 11, despite the original series clearly establishing Fourarms as Ben's favorite in the original series' era. Few reasons about why Ben likes him so much are given, with him simply saying he is "[[CharacterShilling cool and awesome]]" or mentioning "he felt like he was a part of me" (It was hinted in "Showdown Part 2" that [[spoiler:the form had an addictive effect on him]], but [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot this was never explored further]]). He also tends to be conveniently [[ManOfKryptonite effective against a lot of specific powerful opponents]], to the point of almost becoming a DeusExMachina (such as when he turns out to be the ideal alien to defeat [[spoiler:Argost]], or when he manages to defeat Ultimate Humongousaur easily, [[FridgeLogic even though Ultimate Humongousaur's abilities aren't energy-related]]). One of the most infamous examples is the series' finale, where [[spoiler:he somehow proves a more effective form to contain Maltruant's DoomsdayDevice than ''[[CrystalDragonJesus Chromastone]]''.]] To some fans, it just feels like the writers were trying ''way'' too hard to turn him into an EnsembleDarkhorse.

* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': Somebody at Warner Bros. really liked the character Elmyra Duff since she [[SpotlightStealingSquad took up a lot of screentime]], to the point they tried to get a spinoff series off the ground with two pilot episodes about her and her family. That wasn't enough, though. She went on to make cameo appearances, as well as a guest-star appearance, in the show's successor series, ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}''. Even ''that'' wasn't enough. The spinoff series of Animaniacs, ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', received a unneeded [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain revamp]] after its third season, where the duo have become Elmyra's pets. Retrospective reactions toward her were vocal enough that she is AdaptedOut of the ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' reboot.