History FranchiseKiller / WesternAnimation

*** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', though reasonably successful in America, [[AmericansHateTingle dealt the franchise a blow in Japan that it still hasn't recovered from]]. The ratings were downright abysmal, to the point that it didn't even do well when new episodes aired against reruns of other shows--it was perceived as too dark for kids and too immature for teens, and the attempts to salvage this with a GagDub left it with an UncertainAudience. The toyline fared no better, due in part to an attempted pseudo-model kit design ethos that bounced off just about everyone involved. Even older fans who'd normally be into darker storytelling were apathetic at best. It was also incredibly expensive for partial brandholders Takara-Tomy, who were left holding a big chunk of the bag for a series that they didn't want. As a result, Takara simply [[UnfinishedDub stopped airing the series after season 2]], and scraped together ''Anime/TransformersGo'' as an attempt to arrest the failing ratings. Though ''Go'' did improve things, it wasn't enough, and caused Takara to pivot to their original series, ultimately striking gold with ''Anime/ShinkansenHenkeiRoboShinkalion''. Since ''Prime'', the only ''Transformers'' series to air on Japanese television has been the dub of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', which only aired on satellite and didn't finish its run, either, and by 2018, Takara had basically given up on selling their own ''Transformers'' line at retail (barring collector-oriented lines like ''Masterpiece''), only bothering to import Hasbro's offerings.

*** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', though reasonably successful in America, [[AmericansHateTingle dealt the franchise a blow in Japan that it still hasn't recovered from]]. The ratings were downright abysmal, to the point that it didn't even do well when new episodes aired against reruns of other shows--it was perceived as too dark for kids, and the attempts to salvage this with a GagDub left it with an UncertainAudience. The toyline fared no better, due in part to an attempted pseudo-model kit design ethos that bounced off just about everyone involved. Even older fans who'd normally be into darker storytelling were apathetic at best. It was also incredibly expensive for partial brandholders Takara-Tomy, who were left holding a big chunk of the bag for a series that they didn't want. As a result, Takara simply [[UnfinishedDub stopped airing the series after season 2]], and scraped together ''Anime/TransformersGo'' as an attempt to arrest the failing ratings. Though ''Go'' did improve things, it wasn't enough, and caused Takara to pivot to their original series, ultimately striking gold with ''Anime/ShinkansenHenkeiRoboShinkalion''. Since ''Prime'', the only ''Transformers'' series to air on Japanese television has been the dub of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', which only aired on satellite and didn't finish its run, either, and by 2018, Takara had basically given up on selling their own ''Transformers'' line at retail (barring collector-oriented lines like ''Masterpiece''), only bothering to import Hasbro's offerings.

* Ever wondered why you don't hear much about ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat'' anymore outside of merchandising or that 2004 direct-to-video film? You can pin the blame on the failure of 1988's ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatTheMovie''. FillingTheSilence, poor animation and lip-syncing, a RandomEventsPlot (and a poorly executed one at that) and numerous {{plot hole}}s can make this movie painful to watch for even the most avid Felix fan. TheNineties cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TheTwistedTalesOfFelixTheCat'' attempted to revive the franchise, but poor ratings for the first season, prompting an unsuccessful {{retool}} in the second season ([[GoneHorriblyWrong which did even worse in ratings]]), quickly brought Felix to an early grave yet again. Don Oriolo, who formerly held the rights to the character and related intellectual property, then tried to bring Felix to the CGI world in the form of another cartoon, but that went nowhere and the rights to Felix and related properties were eventually passed on to Creator/DreamWorksAnimation and Creator/{{Universal}}. Neither studio has a concrete plan to resurrect Felix at the moment besides licensing merchandise, and the character's 100th anniversary in 2019 went by without even so much as a Google Doodle.

** The franchise in Japan as a whole experienced multiple franchise killers over the years before 2007:

* Season 8 of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' ended up killing the original continuity. It was meant to be a ReTool that appealed to a younger audience. However, it instead ended up alienating both new and long time fans. In response, Creator/RainbowSrl has been confirmed that the show will undergo a full on ContinuityReboot.

* The critical and ratings bomb that was ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' killed off all interest in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]]'' franchise for much of the 2010's, despite the original show continuing to enjoy sporadic reruns on sister channel Creator/{{Nicktoons}} to this very day. Fans of the original series were not pleased with how the show [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome removed Jimmy entirely]] and focused entirely on his PluckyComicRelief friend Sheen Estevez, whom most people believed couldn't sustain a series on his own the same way Jimmy did. Not helping matters was the fact that one of the studios behind the show, DNA Productions, went bankrupt in 2008 due to the failure of their 2006 feature-length film ''WesternAnimation/TheAntBully''. It wouldn't be until the 2020's that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} would start to acknowledge the show more frequently again, with Jimmy's father Hugh appearing as a playable character in the fighting game ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' (even though that was mostly because fans jokingly requested for him) and Jimmy and his rival Cindy Vortex appearing as playable characters in the third ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' game, among other appearances.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs|2017}}'' animated series is what killed any future for the ''Cloudy'' franchise. What didn't help was [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of merchandise and proper marketing]]. However, the show did maintain a small (albeit mostly-[[WatchItForTheMeme ironic]) cult following years later.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs|2017}}'' animated series is what killed any future for the ''Cloudy'' franchise. What didn't help was [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of merchandise and proper marketing]]. However, the show did maintain a small cult following years later.

* The overall negative reception to ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' managed to pause the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryDirectToVideoFilmSeries'' for 5 years. While Creator/WarnerBros turned its attention to [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell producing the long-stalled]] [[Film/TomAndJerry2021 live-action/animated film]] instead. It also caused the Creator/RoaldDahl Estate to revoke Warner Bros.' film rights to ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' ([[AshCanCopy the latter having commissioned the movie just to keep the film rights)]] and instead handed it over to Creator/{{Netflix}}, along with all the other stories he created, including [[Literature/CharlieAndTheGreatGlassElevator its sequel]] in which Dahl himself wrote in his will that [[NoAdaptationsAllowed it may never be adapted in any form.]]

* After writer/story editor Michael Reaves wrapped up the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', Disney wanted more, even though the story had concluded. So a third season called ''Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles'' was created -- one that didn't involve Reaves or any of the other show's previous core writers. (Producer Creator/GregWeisman was still around, but after cashing his checks, quickly disowned his involvement.) ''Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles'' was not well-received, and pretty much sank the franchise. Weisman later wrote a comic series to replace the third season, but it didn't sell well enough to keep up once [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Disney hiked up the licensing fee]]. Greg Weisman then wrote another comic series for the franchise later, with the ''Gargoyles'' video game subsequently receiving a VideoGameRemake, showing the franchise may not entirely be done.

* After writer/story editor Michael Reaves wrapped up the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', Disney wanted more, even though the story had concluded. So a third season called ''Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles'' was created -- one that didn't involve Reaves or any of the other show's previous core writers. (Producer Creator/GregWeisman was still around, but after cashing his checks, quickly disowned his involvement.) ''Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles'' was not well-received, and pretty much sank the franchise. Weisman later wrote a comic series to replace the third season, but it didn't sell well enough to keep up once [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Disney hiked up the licensing fee]]. The franchise has been moribund since.

* The critical failure of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'' was this not just to ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', but to ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' as a whole. The show was created as a result of ExecutiveMeddling, which was even pointed out in its theme song ("''It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?''"). In 2020, Pinky and the Brain would make a triumphant return in the Creator/{{Hulu}} exclusive ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'', along with the Warner Siblings themselves, the first episode of which [[CanonDiscontinuity retconned]] ''[[CanonDiscontinuity PE&tB]]'' [[CanonDiscontinuity from existence]]. On October 28, 2020, a ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' reboot called ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' was announced for Creator/HBOMax and Creator/CartoonNetwork, and on November 1, 2020, Creator/CreeSummer stated that [[PutOnABus Elmyra would be dropped from the reboot]]. However, later released promotional artwork for the reboot revealed that Elmyra would be returning after all.

* The critical and ratings bomb that was ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' killed off all interest in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]]'' franchise for much of the 2010's, despite the original show continuing to enjoy sporadic reruns on sister channel Creator/{{Nicktoons}} to this very day. Fans of the original series were not pleased with how the show [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome removed Jimmy entirely]] and focused entirely on his PluckyComicRelief friend Sheen Estevez, whom most people believed couldn't sustain a series on his own the same way Jimmy did. Not helped by the fact that one of the studios behind the show, DNA Productions, went bankrupt in 2008 due to the failure of ''WesternAnimation/TheAntBully'' It wouldn't be until the 2020's that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} would start to acknowledge the show more frequently again, with Jimmy's father Hugh appearing as a playable character in the fighting game ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' (even though that was mostly because fans jokingly requested for him) and Jimmy and his rival Cindy Vortex appearing as playable characters in the third ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' game, among other appearances.

* The ratings bomb that was ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground'' led to [[Creator/DiCEntertainment [=DiC=]]] losing the license to produce ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' television series. The West was left without an animated ''Sonic'' series for 15 years (barring the Japanese-made anime ''Anime/SonicX'') until ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' in 2014. Unlike the previous series, however, ''Sonic Boom'' was co-produced by Sega in-house. Sadly, even this wasn’t enough, as [[VideoGame/SonicBoom the tie-in video game]] was a notorious failure that casted one of many dark clouds on the already struggling franchise, leading to Creator/CartoonNetwork and Boomerang [[ScrewedByTheNetwork neglecting it, with Sega joining the neglect later on]]. After the series [[https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/10/16/sonic-mania-adventures-animated-shorts-yukio-kusumoto-interview/ ended its run]], later Sonic animations were made in short-form, released on the Internet, silent, and largely done in-house by Sega’s artists. Sega later gave Sonic another chance with [[Recap/OKKOLetsBeHeroesS3E10LetsMeetSonic a crossover]] with Cartoon Network’s own ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'', but even then that show too was [[{{Irony}} screwed by CN,]] with the show’s creator announcing the cancellation shortly after the episode aired. While Sega's Director of Animation Yukio Kusumoto [[https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/12/25/new-sonic-tv-show-sega-possibility/ believes the world is ready for a new Sonic TV show,]] only time will tell if the Blue Blur will return to grace our television screens, seeing that Sega was more focused on [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 the film adaptation]] at the time. Eventually, a new ''Sonic'' cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/SonicPrime'', was announced for Creator/{{Netflix}}, with the involvement of Sega, Creator/WildBrain (the current owner of [=DiC=]'s back catalog that they do own), and Creator/ManOfActionStudios.

* The ratings bomb that was ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground'' led to Creator/DICEntertainment losing the license to produce ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' television series. The West was left without an animated ''Sonic'' series for 15 years (barring the Japanese-made anime ''Anime/SonicX'') until ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' in 2014. Unlike the previous series, however, ''Sonic Boom'' was co-produced by Sega in-house. Sadly, even this wasn’t enough, as [[VideoGame/SonicBoom the tie-in video game]] was a notorious failure that casted one of many dark clouds on the already struggling franchise, leading to Creator/CartoonNetwork and Boomerang [[ScrewedByTheNetwork neglecting it, with Sega joining the neglect later on]]. After the series [[https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/10/16/sonic-mania-adventures-animated-shorts-yukio-kusumoto-interview/ ended its run]], later Sonic animations were made in short-form, released on the Internet, silent, and largely done in-house by Sega’s artists. Sega later gave Sonic another chance with [[Recap/OKKOLetsBeHeroesS3E10LetsMeetSonic a crossover]] with Cartoon Network’s own ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'', but even then that show too was [[{{Irony}} screwed by CN,]] with the show’s creator announcing the cancellation shortly after the episode aired. While Sega's Director of Animation Yukio Kusumoto [[https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/12/25/new-sonic-tv-show-sega-possibility/ believes the world is ready for a new Sonic TV show,]] only time will tell if the Blue Blur will return to grace our television screens, seeing that Sega was more focused on [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 the film adaptation]] at the time. Eventually, a new ''Sonic'' cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/SonicPrime'', was announced for Creator/{{Netflix}}, with the involvement of Sega, Creator/WildBrain (the current owner of DIC's back catalog that they do own), and Creator/ManOfActionStudios.

* The overall negative reception to ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' managed to pause the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryDirectToVideoFilmSeries'' for 5 years. While Creator/WarnerBros turned its attention to [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell producing the long-stalled]] [[Film/TomAndJerry2021 live-action/animated film]] instead. It also caused the Creator/RoaldDahl Estate to revoke Warner Bros' film rights to ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' ([[AshCanCopy the latter having commissioned the movie just to keep the film rights)]] and instead handed it over to Creator/{{Netflix}}, along with all the other stories he created, including [[Literature/CharlieAndTheGreatGlassElevator its sequel]] in which Dahl himself wrote in his will that [[NoAdaptationsAllowed it may never be adapted in any form.]]

* The overall negative reception to ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' did this to the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryDirectToVideoFilmSeries'' as no new installments have been announced since then while Creator/WarnerBros turned its attention to [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell producing the long-stalled]] [[Film/TomAndJerry2021 live-action/animated film]] instead. It also caused the Creator/RoaldDahl Estate to revoke Warner Bros' film rights to ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' ([[AshCanCopy the latter having commissioned the movie just to keep the film rights)]] and instead handed it over to Creator/{{Netflix}}, along with all the other stories he created, including [[Literature/CharlieAndTheGreatGlassElevator its sequel]] in which Dahl himself wrote in his will that [[NoAdaptationsAllowed it may never be adapted in any form.]]

* The critical and ratings bomb that was ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' killed off all interest in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]]'' franchise for much of the 2010's, despite the original show continuing to enjoy sporadic reruns on sister channel Creator/{{Nicktoons}} to this very day. Fans of the original series were not pleased with how the show [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome removed Jimmy entirely]] and focused entirely on his PluckyComicRelief friend Sheen Estevez, whom most people believed couldn't sustain a series on his own the same way Jimmy did. Not helped by the fact that one of the studios behind the show, DNA Productions, went bankrupt in 2008 due to the failure of ''Film/TheAntBully'' It wouldn't be until the 2020's that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} would start to acknowledge the show more frequently again, with Jimmy's father Hugh appearing as a playable character in the fighting game ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' (even though that was mostly because fans jokingly requested for him) and Jimmy and his rival Cindy Vortex appearing as playable characters in the third ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' game, among other appearances.

* The critical and ratings bomb that was ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' killed off all interest in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]]'' franchise for much of the 2010's, despite the original show continuing to enjoy sporadic reruns on sister channel Creator/{{Nicktoons}} to this very day. Fans of the original series were not pleased with how the show [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome removed Jimmy entirely]] and focused entirely on his PluckyComicRelief friend Sheen Estevez, whom most people believed couldn't sustain a series on his own the same way Jimmy did. It wouldn't be until the 2020's that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} would start to acknowledge the show more frequently again, with Jimmy's father Hugh appearing as a playable character in the fighting game ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' (even though that was mostly because fans jokingly requested for him) and Jimmy and his rival Cindy Vortex appearing as playable characters in the third ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' game, among other appearances.

* The failure of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' (not helped by [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of advertising]] and [[ScrewedByTheNetwork few reruns]]), along with the success of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', led to the death of ''WesternAnimation/DCNation'' as well as action-adventure series on Cartoon Network (at least, those without heavy comedy elements) in general for the next three years. Regarding family friendly DC animated shows, the creators and producers started relying more on DVD and digital services, along with sites like Website/YouTube, hence the longevity of shows like ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls''. As a result, there barely were any other new family-friendly DC cartoons other than ''TTG'' on TV for a few years, aside from ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'', which was [[InvisibleAdvertising barely advertised]] and [[ScrewedByTheNetwork ended up being screwed]], and a cartoon adaptation of DC Super Hero Girls helmed by Lauren Faust and closer to her earlier DC Super Best Friends Forever shorts which aired on DC Nation. Even then, the latter show was also [[InvisibleAdvertising barely advertised]], [[ScrewedByTheNetwork is only reran on]] Creator/{{Boomerang}} (which has less coverage than Cartoon Network) and has new episodes shoved into [[FridayNightDeathSlot awkward Sunday afternoon slots]] (which, granted, is better than what JLA got with its Saturday Morning death slot). Creator/DCUniverse, meanwhile, leaned in the other direction for darker animated series, giving the UnCancelled treatment to ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' as being a bit more violent than originally, as well as including ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn'' as an adult cartoon.

* The critical and ratings bomb that was ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' killed off all interest in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]]'' franchise for much of the 2010's, despite the original show continuing to enjoy sporadic reruns on sister channel Creator/{{Nicktoons}} to this very day. Fans of the original series were not pleased with how the show [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome removed Jimmy entirely]] and focused entirely on his PluckyComicRelief friend Sheen Estevez, whom most people believed couldn't sustain a series on his own the same way Jimmy did. It wouldn't be until the 2020's that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} would start to acknowledge the show more frequently again, with Jimmy's father Hugh appearing as a playable character in the fighting game ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' and Jimmy and his rival Cindy Vortex appearing as playable characters in the third ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' game, among other appearances.

* The ratings failure of ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'', along with the cancellation of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' and the closure of NBC's Saturday morning cartoon block, killed off any further attempts to keep the Franchise/SuperMarioBros on television. Most of this is due to the budget cuts NBC made which resulted in the animation quality being worse than that of the previous two ''Mario'' cartoons, Toad being written out completely and [[ReplacementScrappy being replaced with the less memorable Oogtar]], and the plots being weaker and running more on nonsensical logic than those of the previous two ''Mario'' cartoons. The only subsequent ''Super Mario Bros''.-related television series made since then was ''The Super Mario Challenge'', a live-action game show from the United Kingdom that aired and ended around the same time as ''World'' (although one could also count the ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' CGI cartoon, if they considered the ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'' franchise to be part of the ''Mario'' franchise). However, ''Super Mario World'' may be one of the rarest examples of a cartoon being [[VindicatedByHistory Vindicated by]] WebAnimation/YouTubePoop, having been a staple of said videos for years.

** While ''The Jungle Movie'' was critically acclaimed, it floundered in the ratings against ''Trolls Holiday''. This not only meant that a revival was out of the question, but it also led to the cancellation of the ''entire'' Nicktoon reboot plans (by this point there were rumors about a "mega-crossover" movie and even a shared universe), with only the ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' and ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' specials being produced (both of which were eventually released on {{Creator/Netflix}} instead of airing on Nick proper) and ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' getting a CG/live action film and [[WesternAnimation/Rugrats2021 a revival]], although the former was later axed after being removed from Creator/{{Paramount}}'s schedule.

* ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' suffered from two major moments that are considered to have killed the show. The first was Steve Burns leaving in 2002. Both parents and kids found themselves less invested in new host Donovan Patton (AKA Joe), who would admit years later that Steve was clearly the superior host. However, the show managed to pull on for another two years with Patton as host. The second, much clearer one, was the SpinOff, ''Series/BluesRoom'', in 2004. Many inexplicable changes were made for the spin-off: specifically, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome the non-appearance of many characters from the main show]], [[SuddenlySpeaking Blue now being able to speak]], the [[ArtShift change to puppetry]] as well as the revamp of the notebook[[note]]instead of items being drawn into it, items now magically appear in the notebook, were sentient, and ''sang a little ditty'' - which many fans found to be boring dry, but also annoying[[/note]]. This was because it was likely made as an attempt to compete with ''Series/SesameStreet'' and its ''Series/ElmosWorld'' segments.[[note]]The popularity of the latter with kids and the former's presence on the popular Creator/{{Noggin}} channel and Creator/PBSKids led to a boost in ratings for new episodes.[[/note]] It didn’t help that, just like ''Elmo's World'', episodes of ''Clues'' [[EveryEpisodeEnding now ended with a Room segment]], which likely caused even more people to tune out. Production of both shows ceased in 2006 and 2007, respectively. However, the show still remained a staple of the Nick Jr. brand over the next ten years thanks to on-demand and streaming services in the US and Europe, and DVD sales remained strong in all markets, paving the way for [[WesternAnimation/BluesCluesAndYou a reboot]] which premiered in late 2019.

** Even before those was the failure of the early 30's sound cartoons; Pat Sullivan made little effort to upgrade the Felix cartoons to sound (not helped by his private life being in shambles due to his wife's alleged suicide and his heavy alcoholism) and when he did, they were rushed, sloppy, and far behind the times, resulting in the Felix cartoon series getting forgotten by the far more popular MickeyMouse shorts--Sullivan's subsequent death put the final nail in the coffin for his animation studio. An attempt to revive the cartoons was done in the mid-1930s by Creator/VanBeurenStudios; while the cartoons were seemingly well received despite having little in common with the character's previous appearances, when RKO negated Van Beuren's contract in favor of distributing Disney, it caused Van Beuren to go belly-up, thus sending Felix to an early grave yet again, [[StillbornFranchise after only three color shorts]]. What caused the franchise to not fully die out, is that despite the cartoons being put on ice, Felix still ran in newspaper and magazine comics for quite a long time.

* The failure of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' (not helped by [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of advertising]] and [[ScrewedByTheNetwork few reruns]]), along with the success of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', led to the death of ''WesternAnimation/DCNation'' as well as action-adventure series on Cartoon Network (at least, those without heavy comedy elements) in general for the next three years. Regarding family friendly DC animated shows, the creators and producers started relying more on DVD and digital services, along with sites like Website/YouTube, hence the longevity of shows like ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls''. As a result, there barely were any other new family-friendly DC cartoons other than ''TTG'' on TV for a few years, aside from ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'', which was [[InvisibleAdvertising barely advertised]] and [[ScrewedByTheNetwork ended up being screwed]], and a cartoon adaptation of DC Super Hero Girls helmed by Lauren Faust and closer to her earlier DC Super Best Friends Forever shorts which aired on DC Nation. Even then, the latter show was also [[InvisibleAdvertising barely advertised]], [[ScrewedByTheNetwork is only reran on]] Creator/{{Boomerang}} (which has less coverage than Cartoon Network) and has new episodes shoved into [[FridayNightDeathSlot awkward Sunday afternoon slots]] (which, granted, is better than what JLA got with its Saturday Morning death slot). Creator/DCUniverse, meanwhile, leaned in the other direction for darker animated series, giving the UnCancelled treatment to ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as being a bit more violent than originally, as well as including ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn'' as an adult cartoon.

* [[AdoredByTheNetwork After being loved by Nick Jr. for fourteen years]], ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'''s third spin-off, ''WesternAnimation/DoraAndFriendsIntoTheCity'' was considered as a failure by fans (especially those who grew up watching the show), which caused the whole show to suddenly get overpassed by it's new flagship franchise, ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'', due to high ratings and toy sales. It didn't help that by this point, Dora's ratings were being surpassed by [[WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins most]] [[WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst of]] [[WesternAnimation/JakeAndTheNeverlandPirates the]] [[Creator/DisneyChannel Disney Junior]] lineup. Nick decided to hide anything Dora-related into early morning time slots, in shame of killing one of their most lucrative franchises. However, it was still popular enough on streaming services to get a [[Film/DoraAndTheLostCityOfGold live-action film]] and a reboot series for Creator/ParamountPlus.

* The end of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' cartoon franchise tends to be blamed by fans on the 2002 feature-length TV movie, ''My Fair Madeline'', with its [[TooBleakStoppedCaring upsetting plot]]. Here, Madeline [[AdaptationalWimp loses some of her badassery]] and is [[{{Flanderisation}} turned into a]] ButtMonkey: she is unfairly blamed for causing chaos at the Louvre (She was trying to stop an art theft, but [[YouHaveToBelieveMe no one believes her]].). This causes [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Miss Clavel]] and Lord Cucuface [[AdaptationalJerkass of all people]] to send her away from her beloved boarding school and friends to a London finishing school as a result, and later has her WronglyAccused of trying to steal the Crown Jewels of England and sent to jail when the [[TheDragon secondary villain, Dumbella]] pulls a TakingYouWithMe by distorting the story. A final feature-length production, ''Madeline in Tahiti'', was made in 2005, but was never released on DVD in the US, only finally getting a digital release in 2017, and with that the franchise ended.

* ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' suffered from two major moments that are considered to have killed the show. The first was Steve Burns leaving in 2002. Both parents and kids found themselves less invested in new host Donovan Patton (AKA Joe), who would admit years later that Steve was clearly the superior host. However, the show managed to pull on for another two years with Patton as host. The second, much clearer one, was the SpinOff, ''Series/BluesRoom'', in 2004. Many inexplicable changes were made for the spin-off: specifically, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome the non-appearance of many characters from the main show]], [[SuddenlySpeaking Blue now being able to speak]], the [[ArtShift change to puppetry]] as well as the revamp of the notebook[[note]]instead of items being drawn into it, items now magically appear in the notebook, were sentient, and ''sang a little ditty'' - which many fans found to be boring dry, but also annoying[[/note]]. This was because it was likely made as an attempt to compete with ''Series/SesameStreet'' and its ''Series/ElmosWorld'' segments.[[note]]The popularity of the latter with kids and the former's presence on the popular Creator/{{Noggin}} channel and Creator/PBSKids led to a boost in ratings for new episodes.[[/note]] It didn’t help that, just like ''Elmo's World'', episodes of ''Clues'' [[EveryEpisodeEnding now ended with a Room segment]], which likely caused even more people to tune out. Production of both shows ceased in 2006 and 2007, respectively. However, the show still remained a staple of the Nick Jr. brand over the next ten years thanks to on-demand and streaming services in the US and Europe, and DVD sales remained strong in all markets, paving the way for [[WesternAnimation/BluesCluesAndYou a reboot]] which premiered late-2019.