History ExecutiveMeddling / WesternAnimation

*** There's a joke about "making it a [[IncrediblyLamePun Blood Lite]]" in there somewhere...

** Though according to WordOfGod, executives have been mostly hands-off for the show, with their biggest alteration being having Celestia be a princess rather then a queen.
** Out-of-universe example: Lauren Faust revealed in May 2011 that she stepped down from executive producing ''My Little Pony'', and the changes will go into effect in the middle of season 2. It's become increasingly difficult for her higher-ups to agree with her vision. Uh-oh...

** Though according to WordOfGod, executives have been mostly hands-off for the show, with their biggest alteration being having Celestia be a princess rather then a queen.

** To be fair to the execs, there are laws in place demanding identifiable canadain content on television in Canada; albeit not to the extremes that the executives demanded.

* During his tenure as head writer on ''TheRealGhostbusters'', JMichaelStraczynski constantly battled with {{ABC}} execs. His tribute to HPLovecraft, ''The Collect Call of Cthulhu'', nearly ended up being unaired over fears that it glorified the occult. This '''one''' episode out of ''a horror/comedy-themed show''!

** Other additions the executives wanted were more Slimer-centric episodes, and junior Ghostbusters, a [[FiveTokenBand group of children]] that [[TheLoad followed the Ghostbusters on missions]], including a handicapped member. Both were attempts to pander to different age groups. Eventually, JMS simply quit out of frustration. After his departure, '''all''' of these changes came to pass, including altering Janine's look, personality, and voice. JMS would come back in Season 6, LampshadeHanging the changes made to Janine in the episode "Janine You've Changed". However, CreativeDifferences would soon drive him off the show for good.

* This trope was parodied in ''TheSimpsons'' when too much meddling caused Krusty to retire for the umpteenth time.

* Was parodied in the episode Homer to the Max:

** This conversation also acted as both an inside joke and a TakeThat to the FOX executives, since they often don't pay the Voice Actors enough money, with several of them threatening to quit because of the low pay, and some actually managed to succeed temporarily. To sell the joke even more, [[TheOtherDarrin Ned Flanders was voiced by Karl Wiedergott in this scene instead of his usual voice actor, Harry Shearer]]
* In "Natural Born Kissers", treasure-hunting Bart and Lisa dig up an alternate (and implausibly happy) ending for ''{{Casablanca}}''. The Old Jewish Man reveals he was one of the executives who insisted the happy ending be filmed, but he literally buried it after watching it.

** Beavis continued to hilariously lampshade this bit of ExecutiveMeddling as the show went on. Upon seeing a monk in a video, he begins excitedly shouting "friar, friar!" while Butthead nervously prods him to stop. Beavis eventually mutters "oh yeah" and settles down again. Another time, he slowly and deliberately chants "liar, liar, pants on..." and then concludes with a distracted [[CurseCutShort "whoa!"]]. Yet another time, while watching Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy", Beavis sees Robin Williams and exclaims, "Look, it's Mrs. Doubt-FIRE!!!"

** Another positive effect occurred when a mixup over villain names forced the writers to introduce the Hobgoblin in season one rather than the Green Goblin, to match the toys that had been ordered. This allowed Hobgoblin to become an engaging character in his own right and a precursor to the more dangerous Green Goblin, rather than the cheap knockoff of the character that he was in the comics.

* ''[[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]'' episode "Suited For Success" can be viewed as a subtle TakeThat at executive meddling, as Rarity's artistic vision of {{Pimped Out Dress}}es for all her friends is compromised by their [[ComplainingAboutThingsYouHaventPaidFor nitpicking]], despite the fact that [[ChekhovsSkill most of them]] don't have any clue what they're talking about. Particularly noteworthy is Applejack wanting to turn her dress into [[ProductPlacement a walking ad]][[MerchandiseDriven vertisement for apples]], and Rainbow Dash offering absolutely no advice other than "Make it cooler".

** Beavis continued to hilariously lampshade this bit of ExecutiveMeddling as the show went on. Upon seeing a monk in a video, he begins excitedly shouting "friar, friar!" while Butthead nervously prods him to stop. Beavis eventually mutters "oh yeah" and settles down again. Another time, he slowly and deliberately chants "liar, liar, pants on..." and then concludes with a distracted [[CurseCutShort "whoa!"]]

* Recent animated shows based on [[TheDCU DC superheroes]] have had a few odd cases. A peculiar case of executive meddling existed in the ''JusticeLeague'' revival ''Justice League Unlimited'', in the form of what fans called the "Bat-Embargo". The series writers were not allowed to use ''any'' sidekicks or villains from Batman's RoguesGallery on the show, in order to protect them for another animated series that was running at the same time, ''TheBatman''. A silver lining in this and other legal entanglements was that it prompted the producers to dig deeper into TheDCU and gave other interesting characters the {{Diniverse}} treatment for the first time. They still managed to slip a few past, however. Hugo Strange makes a brief appearance as a member of Cadmus and the ''Unlimited'' episode "Grudge Match" opens showing a shadow that is unmistakably Nightwing

* "Bat-Embargo" type decisions are nothing new. Back in the days of the ''{{Superfriends}}'', when they got to the "Challenge" series, they could not have, say, The Joker or Catwoman on the {{Legion of Doom}}, since those characters were seen on {{Filmation}}'s ''{{The New Adventures of Batman}}''. Likewise, Riddler (outside of the opening, in a ''pink'' outfit!) and Scarecrow would not be seen on ''[=NAoB=].'' And then there was the Black Lightning/Black Vulcan controversy.

*** In an interesting twist, the network's interference was a good thing as {{Word of God}} says that the writers didn't originally come up with the concept of Rufus the NonHumanSidekick and he only appeared because the executives suggested the idea. GoFigure.

* Parodied in ''JohnnyBravo''. ''Weird Al'', ''Don Knotts'', and ''The Blue Falcon'' team up to revise the cartoon to make it more appealing to the audience. Naturally, the kids hate it and the previously mentioned trio turn the show back to normal before the episode's end.

* ''[[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]'' episode "Suited For Success" can be viewed as a subtle TakeThat at executive meddling, as Rarity's artistic vision of {{Pimped Out Dress}}es for all her friends is compromised by their [[UngratefulBastard nitpicking]], despite the fact that [[ChekhovsSkill most of them]] don't have any clue what they're talking about. Particularly noteworthy is Applejack wanting to turn her dress into [[ProductPlacement a walking ad]][[MerchandiseDriven vertisement for apples]], and Rainbow Dash offering absolutely no advice other than "Make it cooler".

** As it turns out, they both eventually ''did'' work on such series again, as [=DiTillio=] ended up writing for ''[[HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse He Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'', and Bob Forward for the ''Hot Wheels Alien Racers'' series.

* ''[=~Avatar: The Last Airbender~=]'' creators Mike and Brian have implied this as the reason for their inability to resolve the Ursa subplot ([[AssPull among other things]]). Apparently, they had plans to give many things much more closure, but this trope, along with time constraints, forced them to the end the series the way it did.

* DisneyChannel's practice of ending production on any show that has reached 65 episodes. ''KimPossible'' was popular for three seasons and ''still'' got cancelled. This was not the first time the 65 episode "limit" for kids' shows caused consternation among the fandom. It took an outcry of fan support and letter-writing to {{CBS}} to give ''BeakmansWorld'' more episodes.

**** In all fairness, John K had a collection of ''George Liquor'' Flash movies he created for his own website back in the 90s, just before he was fired from ''Ren and Stimpy''. They were even grosser than ''Adult Cartoon Party'', as they also included scat humor, nudity, and black stereotypes that made the banned Looney Toons material look progressive. And then there were his lengthy essays defending the use of this material. So John K using that excuse doesn't fly.

**** In all fairness, John K had a collection of ''George Liquor'' Flash movies he used to promote his own website back in the 90s right after he was fired from ''Ren and Stimpy''. They were even grosser than ''Adult Cartoon Party'', as they also included scat humor, nudity, and black stereotypes that made the banned Looney Toons material look progressive. And then there are his essays defending the use of this material. So John K using that excuse doesn't fly.

** Here's another one. At the end of ''So the Drama'', Kim, without provocation, kicks Shego into an electrical tower, which then collapses. Let me just say that again: the Disney hero kills the villain in cold blood. When test audiences thought Kim did kill Shego, the scene was ordered to be changed to show that she was not only alive but reletively unhurt. This was probably for the better, as otherwise Kim would wind up looking [[CharacterDerailment too unlikeable.]]

* According to the scriptwriter Michael Edens, the DisneyDeath of [[spoiler:Alec Deleon]] in ''{{Exosquad}}'' was caused by ExecutiveMeddling. Originally, he was supposed to be {{Killed Off for Real}} as early as in the destruction of [[spoiler:Mars]], as foreshadowed in in a DreamSequence six episodes before that.

** Also, spoofed in ''{{Pinky and the Brain}}'' in the episode "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again", where the titler characters are actually ''[[AnimatedActors actors]]'' in a hit TV show about two lab mice who take over the world. After a ridiculously tiny drop in ratings, the executives of the show's network decide to alter the show beyond recognition, turning it into pretty much any other '90s sitcom. The whole thing turns out to be [[AllJustADream Brain's nightmare]], but when you consider the genuine meddling going on behind the scenes of the actual show...

* Not even ''{{Jem and the Holograms}}'' was safe from ExecutiveMeddling. The bosses asked Christy Marx, the creator and writer of most episodes of that series, to create a new Misfit for them. Christy attempted to make a black member for the Misfits, but the bosses rejected that, but offered her another idea: the new Misfit could be British -- leading to the creation of Jetta.

** Especially contentious was the ongoing debate over the Ghostbusters' secretary, Janine Melnitz. A child psychologist hired as a consultant by ABC felt the character was too cynical and abrasive. Her personality should be more supportive and [[GirlsNeedRoleModels "feminine"]], instead. The consultant also expressed concerns that her sharp, angular glasses might [[ViewersAreMorons scare children]] -- and yet, all the [[GrotesqueGallery grotesque ghosts and monsters]] running around were a-ok. JMS acquiesced to one of ABC's demands, making Janine a Ghostbuster for an episode. The execs had felt young girls needed a positive female role model and saw this an opportunity to do so.

** Another positive effect occured when a mixup over villain names forced the writers to introduce the Hobgoblin in season one rather than the Green Goblin, to match the toys that had been ordered. This allowed Hobgoblin to become an engaging character in his own right and a precursor to the more dangerous Green Goblin, rather than the cheap knockoff of the character that he was in the comics.

* After ''Devil May Hare'', the first LooneyTunes short staring the Tasmanian Devil was made, executive Eddie Selzer made it extremly clear that no more cartoons about him would be made, since Taz was, in his opinion, stupid and unfunny. However, Jack Warner himself liked the cartoon, so this was overturned.

* The first episode of ''{{Jimmy Two-Shoes}}'' was originally going to have Jimmy dying and ending up in [[AHellOfATime Miseryville]] as the result of [[CelestialBureaucracy an administrative error]], making the fact that the show took place in {{Hell}} even more clearer. Some broadcasters were [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids disturbed by this]], so in the end Jimmy's past was simply left vauge.

* Parodied in ''{{Johnny Bravo}}''. ''Weird Al'', ''Don Knotts'', and ''The Blue Falcon'' team up to revise the cartoon to make it more appealing to the audience. Naturally, the kids hate it and the previously mentioned trio turn the show back to normal before the episode's end.

* Recent animated shows based on [[TheDCU DC superheroes]] have had a few odd cases. A peculiar case of executive meddling existed in the ''JusticeLeague'' revival ''Justice League Unlimited'', in the form of what fans called the "Bat-Embargo". The series writers were not allowed to use ''any'' sidekicks or villains from Batman's RoguesGallery on the show, in order to protect them for another animated series that was running at the same time, ''TheBatman''. A silver lining in this and other legal entanglements was that it prompted the producers to dig deeper into TheDCU and gave other interesting characters the {{Diniverse}} treatment for the first time. They still managed to slip a few past, however. Hugo Strange makes a brief appearance as a member of Cadmus and the ''Unlimited'' episode "Grudge Match" opens showing a shadow that is unmistakably Nightwing.

* This is the exact reason InvaderZim was cancelled, and no movie was made. Also the reason that Bloody Gir was not permitted to be featured (but was anyway if you looked). However, due to popular demand, it was brought back.
* Also the same reason why CourageTheCowardlyDog was taken off the air for a while, eventually only being able to be shown in October, and now back to year round, again because of popular demand. *resists snarky comment about how CN's shows are now*

** Also parodied in the episode "Nerds of a Feather," when Doofenshmirtz tries to start a BuddyCop show about him and Perry. He gets [[strike:Seth MacFarlane]] a TV producer to agree, but as soon as the producer suggests giving Perry's character a girlfriend Doof flips out and storms away. WordOfGod says this is based on some [[AvertedTrope averted]] meddling from the Disney execs; the creators didn't want to go through with it because Perry's "[[MarriedToTheJob married to his work]]."

** An example of ExecutiveMeddling that had a positive effect- the studio apparently told GregWeisman that he needed to introduce a human supervillain who was capable of going hand to hand with Goliath and be a genuine threat (Xanatos, the most prominent and dangerous human villain, could only accomplish this feat with a special suit of PoweredArmor]]). The resulting character was popular {{Gargoyles}} AntiVillain Macbeth.

** One such issue of executive meddling came when the executives ordered them to kill off two Predacons, Scorponok and Waspinator, at the end of the first season to make room for the incoming characters from Season 2. DiTillio and Forward, recognizing how much of a fan favorite Waspinator had become, begged the execs at Hasbro to allow them to kill off the comparatively unpopular Terrorsaur, particularly as Tarantulas basically carried out the same function that he did only more successfully. DiTillio and Forward thankfully won this battle, and Waspinator was spared.

* ''{{Transformers}}: BeastWars'' story editors Bob Forward and Larry [=DiTillio=] stated, after the conclusion of the series, that they had no interest in working on [[MerchandiseDriven toy-based]] series ever again, due to the demands of Hasbro executives, including which characters needed to be written out or introduced. For instance, Tigerhawk was shoehorned in only a few episodes before the series end [[spoiler:and was promptly killed off in the finale]]. As it turns out, they both eventually ''did'' work on such series again, as [=DiTillio=] ended up writing for ''[[HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse He Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'', and Bob Forward for the ''Hot Wheels Alien Racers'' series.