History ExecutiveMeddling / WesternAnimation

* ''[[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". The second take on the song in the episode (to begin with based on another song about executive meddling) even contains lines that make no sense in the context of the story but work in such a satire: "Make sure that it stays within our budget." According to WordOfGod, executives have been mostly hands-off for the show, but one thing [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ mentioned]] by LaurenFaust as a "requirement" was "to incorporate fashion play", which was handled by making it a matter of Rarity being an artist. The episode can be seen as incredibly meta if you think about it like this.

* ''[[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". The second take on the song in the episode (to begin with based on another song about executive meddling) even contains lines that make no sense in the context of the story but work in such a satire: "Make sure that it stays within our budget." According to WordOfGod, executives have been mostly hands-off for the show, but one of the things [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ mentioned]] by LaurenFaust as a "requirement" was "to incorporate fashion play", which was handled by making it a matter of Rarity being an artist. The episode can be seen as incredibly meta if you think about it like this.

* ''[[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". The second take on the song in the episode (to begin with based on another song about executive meddling) even contains lines that make no sense in the context of the story but work in such a satire ("Make sure that it stays within our budget.") According to WordOfGod, executives have been mostly hands-off for the show, but one of the things [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ mentioned]] by LaurenFaust as a "requirement" was "to incorporate fashion play", which was handled by making it a matter of Rarity being an artist. The episode can be seen as incredibly meta if you think about it like this.

* ''[[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". The second take on the song in the episode (to begin with based on another song about executive meddling) even contains lines that make no sense in the context of the story but works in such a satire ("Make sure that it stays within our budget.") According to WordOfGod, executives have been mostly hands-off for the show, but one of the things [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ mentioned]] by LaurenFaust as a "requirement" was "to incorporate fashion play", which was handled by making it a matter of Rarity being an artist. The episode can be seen as incredibly meta if you think about it like this.

* ''[[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". The second take on the song in the episode (to begin with based on another song about executive meddling) even contains lines that make no sense in the context of the story but works in such a satire ("Make sure that is stays within our budget.") According to WordOfGod, executives have been mostly hands-off for the show, but one of the things [[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ mentioned]] by LaurenFaust as a "requirement" was "to incorporate fashion play", which was handled by making it a matter of Rarity being an artist. The episode can be seen as incredibly meta if you think about it like this.

* ''[[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".
** 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.
** Also Applejack's sister, Applebloom was originally just going to be trying to find her cutie mark by herself, however executives asked that she be given friends.
*** Considering the theme of the show, this is one instance where the suggestion makes a lot of sense.

** Probably the most infamous example was Dot's chest, or as the animation studio called it on their own blog, Dot's "Mono-boob". ABC would not allow Dot to show any cleavage, even in revealing costumes where it would be anatomically impossible. When ABC dropped ReBoot, the studio celebrated by stuffing Dot into an Elvira costume, and dedicating an entire episode to her new breasts ''(oh, and Evil Dead and horror movies in general also got a couple of nods)''.

** One of the few times Matt Groening exercised his executive meddling privileges was during the production of ''Homer vs. Dignity'', aka the Panda Rape Episode. The original ending had Homer on the Christmas parade float, throwing ''pigs blood'' on the audience while sobbing uncontrollably. Groening insisted on a rewrite.

* There's also a lot of rules imposed by Standards and Practices on their kid-aimed action shows. No fights in school, because school '''has''' to be a safe place. Characters '''must''' wear helmets and safety gear when engaged in any imitable dangerous act -- they even tried to force the producers to put a helmet on [[AmericanDragonJakeLong Jake Long]] whenever he ''flew''. '''In dragon form!''' (On what other planet was this executive born, where turning into a dragon and flying around is an imitable act?)
** ''AmericanDragonJakeLong'' had the episode "Homecoming" becoming a major victim. It was originally scheduled as the season finale, until it was made clear that season two would be the last. It was also originally a two part episode where Sun Kim was to be {{Killed Off for Real}} and it would reveal Chang as [[IAmYourFather Jake's maternal grandmother.]] However, it was declared "too dark," and the idea that Jake's grandfather had a child out of wedlock was considered unacceptable, so it was shortened to a single episode. Also, originally the Huntsman's plans involving the skulls would have actually started before being stopped, but this had to be written out, making the Oracle Twins' prophecy inaccurate. Finally, Rose was supposed to stay in New York [[spoiler: after losing her memory,]] but the Executives decided that this would confuse viewers who missed the episode, so she was relocated, requiring a very long-distance vacation for Jake to bump into her again in the actual finale.

** "200", the first episode of a 14th season two-parter, featured the Super Best Friends, a superhero team consisting of religious figures -- including Muhammad (who was previously uncensored with no problems in the group's first appearance in Season 5, though that was made and aired before 9/11 and {{The War on Terror}}). This time around, Muhammad was portrayed as a giant censor bar, except for the scenes where he was in a bear suit. A New York-based Muslim group practically shat bricks over the portrayal of Muhammad in a bear suit, and warned Trey and Matt that they might very well end up like Theo Van Gogh (a filmmaker who was shot and stabbed multiple times by an Islamic extremist for making a documentary about violence against women in Islamic cultures) because of it. Comedy Central, fearing the worst, waited until Trey and Matt delivered the next episode ("201"), then heavily censored it prior to air; they bleeped out all instances of the word "Muhammad" in dialogue and even bleeped out the entire "moral of the story" speech at the end, which had nothing to do with Mohammad and was actually about intimidation and fear (an irony that was not lost on many people). The scenes depicting Buddha snorting cocaine and Jesus looking at pornography went completely uncensored.

* ''{{X-Men Evolution}}'' had an example when the producers were forced to cut a scene where the character Lance Alvers saves Kitty Pryde from being crushed by a statue. Apparently, the WB execs felt this would frighten young children, not because the character was imperiled -- but because ''it wasn't that long after 9/11''. Even though this was a show where mutants with superpowers attacked each other and stuff blew up all the time. As a result of the cut, Lance is seen just holding Kitty with no explanation why, leaving viewers confused.

** Probably the most infamous was Dot's chest, or as the animation studio called it on their own blog, Dot's "Mono-boob". ABC would not allow Dot to show any cleavage, even in revealing costumes where it would be anatomically impossible. When ABC dropped ReBoot, the studio celebrated by stuffing Dot into an Elvira costume, and dedicating an entire episode to her new breasts (oh, and Evil Dead and horror movies in general also got a couple of nods).

--->'''[[TheKrusty Krusty]]:''' Folks, I've been in showbiz for sixty-one years, but now these jerks have sucked all the fun out of it. I don't need twelve suits tellin' me which way to pee!\\

** Also Applejack's sister, Applebloom was originally just going to be tring to find her cutie mark by herself, however executives asked that she be given friends.

**** In all fairness, if that's John K's excuse for why ''Adult Party Cartoon'' turned out the way it did, then the old man is full of it. Back in the mid 90s, after being fired from ''Ren and Stimpy'', John K released a collection of ''George Liquor'' Flash movies created specifically for his website. They were even grosser than ''Adult Cartoon Party'', as they also included scat humor, nudity, and black stereotypes that made the banned Looney Tunes material look progressive. And then there were his lengthy essays defending the use of this material. Oh, and let's not forget his 50s hygiene film parody. For 5 minutes, two ten year old boys with their genitals flopping about run around urinating on everything in sight. No sir, I didn't like.

**** In all fairness, John K had a collection of ''George Liquor'' Flash movies he created for his own website back in the mid 90s, 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 Tunes 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.

** 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.

* Apparently, when the idea of ''TheVentureBrothers'' was first pitched to AdultSwim, executives wanted to change the character of Doc Venture (they saw him as too mean) as well as switching the episode format to two 15-minute episodes. Even though the show wasn't changed, Adult Swim still regrets the decision.
** Actually the bump that said that showed they regretted making those suggestions in the first place, not making them change the show.

** 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 relatively unhurt. This was probably for the better, as otherwise Kim would wind up looking [[CharacterDerailment too unlikeable.]]

** Also parodied in the episode "Nerds of a Feather," when Doofenshmirtz tries to start a Buddy Cop show about him and Perry. He gets [[strike:SethMacFarlane]] 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]]."

* Speaking of which, the 2003 ''He-Man'' remake was criticized as having failed due to [[ScrewedByTheNetwork a severe lack of promotion]] for both the show and toy line, an inconsistent air time, and -- for the toys -- a gross mis-distribution of the figures and several missed shipments to retailers, among other things. While most of these accusations are debatable, one isn't: even years after both show and toy line were canceled, the toy line's designers Four Horsemen convinced Mattel to allow them to continue to make merchandise for the series ''for free'', extending it long after interest in it has died. In a bit of reverse-meddling, Mattel only agreed if the new merchandise were immobile statues instead of the action figures Four Horsemen wanted.
* When ''FamilyGuy'' first aired in 1999, it was not extremely popular. As such, its schedule got shifted on an almost weekly basis. When it weren't moved around, it was [[ScrewedByTheNetwork put on right after football]], which is considered to be the worst spot for a show since football can run on far longer than scheduled. After three seasons of this the show was canceled, only to be [[UnCancelled bought out by Cartoon Network]].
** An in-universe example when Brian Griffin has an idea for a show at CBS. Unfortunately it's altered beyond recognition by the execs. The reemergence of James Woods to twist the knife didn't help, either.
* Pretty much the exact same thing happened to ''{{Futurama}}'' -- except they came back on a different network, since CN's rights ran out.