History GenreSavvy / WesternAnimation

* In ''BatmanBeyond'', the RedShirt cops and [[{{Mook}} villianous mooks]] have all learned some GenreSavvy. In ''Betrayal'' one of the guards driving the truck at the start is particurally skilled at it. The truck skidded to a halt to avoid a seemingly wrecked truck that was blocking the road. But this guard is from ''Gotham'' and knows what a setup looks like.

** Further done in another episode where the villain, a DarthVaderClone, is DangerouslyGenreSavvy. Almost every trick Johnny and his friends use to try to stop him, he's prepared a counter-move. He even has the foresight to disable the ship's [[SelfDestructMechanism self destruct button]] to prevent his [[RebelliousPrincess daughter]]'s attempt to help Johnny.

:: On the whole, David [[XanatosGambit Xanatos]] is clearly aware of what is expected from a cartoon villain, and sometimes comments on the cliches he's performing or avoiding. He still rarely achieves DangerouslyGenreSavvy levels, since the methods by which he's foiled are usually relatively standard fare, [[XanatosGambit even if he never admits defeat]]. That's because his plans usually gain ''more'' for him if he is ''apparently'' defeated. Only against Thailog has he ''ever'' truly admitted defeat and come out on the losing side of the exchange.

* Used and then subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''. Finn and Jake immediately realize that an invitation from a creepy skeleton king is a trap and walk away listing all of the cliche things that would have happened if they'd gone into his arena--the exits would all seal themselves and they'd have to fight gladiator ghosts. Immediately subverted when they decide it sounds awesome and run right back into the trap...which plays out exactly the way they expected.

** Savor your beauty, because [[Disney/SnowWhite wicked queens]], [[Disney/{{Cinderella}} wicked stepsisters]], and [[SleepingBeauty evil witches]] will try to steal it every time.

** [[DealWithTheDevil Never sell your voice to a]] [[TheLittleMermaid giant sea witch]] [[LoveMakesYouDumb just because you have a crush on some guy]].

* In Disney's ''SleepingBeauty'', Maleficent is remarkably genre savvy when she tells Philip about how she plans to imprison him until he is an extremely old man, ''then'' allow him to go kiss Aurora awake. She is actually plotting to destroy the story itself.

** In "Stanley's Cup" the characters correctly realize that they are in a typical sports movie and thus are bound to win against all odds. They also understand that to achieve that, they need to invite a really good player to their team for their final match, which they also do. This is brutally subverted when they turn out to be WrongGenreSavvy and are beaten brutally: the opposing team were the real protagonists. Similarly, in "The Losing Edge" the team remarks that at this point of the movie, they should include a new, special player in the team to achieve their goals. Only their goal in to ''lose'' and the player is absolutely terrible.

* Used and then subverted in AdventureTime. Finn and Jake immediately realize that an invitation from a creepy skeleton king is a trap and walk away listing all of the cliche things that would have happened if they'd gone into his arena--the exits would all seal themselves and they'd have to fight gladiator ghosts. Immediately subverted when they decide it sounds awesome and run right back into the trap...which plays out exactly the way they expected.

* Pepper Potts invokes this trope in ''IronManArmoredAdventures'' when Gene's stepfather, whilst wearing the Mandarin armor, threatens her life if Gene and Tony do not find the fifth Makluan Ring. ("Very original," to quote Pepper.)

* In Disney's ''SleepingBeauty'', Maleficent is remarkably genre savvy when she tells Philip about how she plans to imprison him until he is an extremely old man, ''then'' allow him to go kiss Aurora awake. She is actually plotting to destroy the story itself.

* In one episode of ''{{Chowder}}'', the titular character and Mung [[NoFourthWall go over the formula of the series]], Chowder causes a disaster by messing with the shows weird foods, and then ''proceed to go along with it anyway''.

-->'''Tenzin:''' You must promise me your teenage years won't be like this!
-->'''Jinora:''' ''(deadpan)'' I will make no such promises.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''

* In ''{{Gargoyles}}'', Xanatos manages to restrain several of the gargoyle heroes, and sets up a deathtrap-like situation where a vat of acid will pour down upon them.

-->'''Kuzco:''' ...[[BringIt Bring it on.]] ''(they go down the fall)'' BOOYAAAAHAHAHAHA!

* In one episode of ''{{Chowder}}'', the titular character and Mung [[NoFourthWall go over the formula of the series]], Chowder causes a disaster by messing with the shows weird foods, and then ''proceed to go along with it anyway''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}''. Bouncing Boy is the 21st Century horror movie aficionado, so he warns them of the rules. And then, the disappearing of teammates begins, and:

* The title character from ''{{Freakazoid}}'' was pretty GenreSavvy himself. Lampshaded quite often, given the series.

* ''KimPossible''

* ''JusticeLeague''

** Batman, knowing he was in a parallel dimension where the man who put him into captivity is also the same man ''he'' is in his own reality, deduces that the password to his cell is one that he himself would employ. [[spoiler:It is.]]

* ''TheIncredibles''. A [[AscendedFanboy former fan]] who was rejected as a sidekick by Mr. Incredible, Syndrome, used his GenreSavvy to master exotic new technologies with which he [[CutLexLuthorACheck built a fortune as a weapon designer]]... and then decimated the ranks of the surviving superheroes. He even cuts himself off in the middle of [[JustBetweenYouAndMe "monologuing"]] when Mr. Incredible nearly gets the drop on him. His one moment of GenreBlindness is when he fails to realize [[spoiler:the ultra-sophisticated robot he built ''is'' smart enough to wonder why it has to take orders.]] Also, at the very end, [[spoiler: his non-breakaway cape.]] Seeing how many in-universe examples Edna could reel off, Syndrome should have known better. This may less an example of {{genre blindness}} than an example of {{death by genre savviness}}, considering that [[spoiler:supers rarely die by jet-intake in their comics or television series.]] Mainly because [[spoiler:capes are usually very detachable and get torn, ripped off, etc.]] He also falls prey to {{Bond Villain Stupidity}} when he [[spoiler:traps the family in the same escape-proof room so they can experience his moment of triumph via satellite TV after they've been captured. He even leaves a fully-fuelled rocket in his base so they can follow him in it]]. He seems to lose his {{Genre Savvy}}ness as the movie progresses.

* ''Series/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}''. Bouncing Boy is the 21st Century horror movie aficionado, so he warns them of the rules. And then, the disappearing of teammates begins, and:

* ''{{Futurama}}''

* ''TheVentureBrothers''
** # 21 and # 24 . In "The Lepidopterists", they are well aware that they posses the perfect combination of "expendable and invulnerable". Upon being sent off on a mission with # 1, they remark that his cool professionalism marks him for death, while their bumbling incompetence will see them through to the end. Later, when they point out that # 1's lack of a name makes him a RedShirt, he reveals his name, only to have it dismissed as a device to make his impending death more emotional. Ultimately, he meets his fate when his impressive escape techniques draw the attention of Brock Sampson. # 21 and # 24 were pretending to be wax sculptures at the time. [[spoiler: Ironically, or at least in a cruel twist of fate, in the season 3 finale, 24 stands near the Monarch's car when it suddenly explodes. He's killed in the blast as 21 unintentionally catches his burning head.]]

* ''TheSimpsons''

* ''SouthPark'' makes regular use of this trope, most recently in "Pandemic", in which minor character Craig spends the whole episode complaining about how genre blind the main characters are. "Stanley's Cup" uses this trope heavily. Partially subverted in "Butt Out" in which smart-guy Kyle attempts, and fails, to convince the other major characters to not follow the show's formula for once.

* On ''TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy,'' Mandy has this as part of the show's [[NoFourthWall lack of a Fourth Wall]]. For example in "Wishbones," a magical talking skull plays JerkassGenie to practically the whole cast, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor twisting their wishes]] in numerous ridiculous (and [[NightmareFuel horrific]]) ways. When Mandy gets the last wish, she wisely decides [[spoiler:to auction it off to the highest bidder]].

** Kim, Ron, Shego, and Senor Senior Jr. are of the most GenreSavvy . This however doesn't prevent them from falling victim to GenreTropes (or that they fall into the tropes as part of a fourth wall bending realisation that they have to do so to have a story), but does make for some great LampshadeHanging afterwards.

-->'''Jinora:''' ''(calmly)'' I will make no such promises.

* Kim, Ron, Shego, and Senor Senior Jr. are of the most GenreSavvy on ''KimPossible''. This however doesn't prevent them from falling victim to GenreTropes (or that they fall into the tropes as part of a fourth wall bending realisation that they have to do so to have a story), but does make for some great LampshadeHanging afterwards.
** [[AlphaBitch Bonnie]] was also Genre Savvy when she ends up on missions, asking why Dementor hasn't simply set off his plan instead of [[EvilGloating gloating]], and about how complicated that plan is as well. Both Kim and Dementor tell her to shut up, because, as an outsider to the action-hero/supervillain game, she "doesn't get it."

** Sokka, TheSmartGuy, is the first to spot CharactersAsDevice like the WellIntentionedExtremist Jet and the StepfordSmiler Joo Dee. In one episode, after being suddenly awoken, he groggily mutters "Huh? Uh? What's going on? Did we get captured again?" and sure enough, Aang is captured and imprisoned within an impenetrable fortress in the very next episode. He is also aware that the team is a WeirdnessMagnet, of the team's [[FanNickname Fan Nicknames]], of his status as BadAssNormal, and even of his own character ("Sokka, the Meat and Sarcasm Guy -- it's pretty much my whole identity."). He also has a good grasp of Murphy's Law, "I've never not slept before! What if I fall asleep and something happens? And something ''always'' happens!"

* Flash from ''JusticeLeague'' occasionally shows traits of this, as this quote from "The Brave and the Bold" demonstrates:

* The smooth, fast-talking Hades in Disney's ''Hercules'', especially apparent within the syndicated series. Unfortunately, he is surrounded by [[GenreBlindness Genre Blind]], [[SurroundedByIdiots idiotic minions]].
** After Hercules makes a deal that only appears to benefit Hades, Hades briefly stops to think that it could be too good to be true. Unfortunately for him, greed and impatience win out over intelligence.

* Played straight and surprisingly seriously in ''TheIncredibles''. A [[AscendedFanboy former fan]] who was rejected as a sidekick by Mr. Incredible, Syndrome, used his GenreSavvy to master exotic new technologies with which he [[CutLexLuthorACheck built a fortune as a weapon designer]]... and then decimated the ranks of the surviving superheroes. He even cuts himself off in the middle of [[JustBetweenYouAndMe "monologuing"]] when Mr. Incredible nearly gets the drop on him. His one moment of GenreBlindness is when he fails to realize [[spoiler:the ultra-sophisticated robot he built ''is'' smart enough to wonder why it has to take orders.]] Also, at the very end, [[spoiler: his non-breakaway cape.]] Seeing how many in-universe examples Edna could reel off, Syndrome should have known better. This may less an example of {{genre blindness}} than an example of {{death by genre savviness}}, considering that [[spoiler:supers rarely die by jet-intake in their comics or television series.]] Mainly because [[spoiler:capes are usually very detachable and get torn, ripped off, etc.]]
** He also falls prey to {{Bond Villain Stupidity}} when he [[spoiler:traps the entire family in the same escape-proof room so they can experience his moment of triumph via satellite TV after they've been captured. He even leaves a fully-fuelled rocket in his base so they can follow him in it]]. He seems to lose his {{Genre Savvy}}ness as the movie progresses.
* In an episode of ''TheBoondocks'', where Robert is telling his grandchildren an obviously fake story of his ancestor Catcher Freeman, Riley's Genre Savviness ruins the story by pointing out all the bad action movie clichés and even predicting how the climax is going to be.
** Even earlier than that, ''in the pilot episode'', Robert recounts how he wasn't personally attacked by dogs and firehoses during the Civil Rights Movement because he went back to his apartment to get a raincoat and hat. Because, "the police have been doing this firehose thing all week."
* Also happened in an episode of ''Series/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}''. Bouncing Boy is the 21st Century horror movie aficionado, so he warns them of the rules. And then, the disappearing of teammates begins, and:

* Surprisingly, the otherwise extremely dimwitted Fry from ''{{Futurama}}'', to the point where tropes seem to be all he ''does'' understand. It's very heavily implied that this is from his near-constant intake of television, movies, etc.
** Fry also eventually turns out to know every single campfire story ever told.

* # 21 and # 24 from ''TheVentureBrothers''. In "The Lepidopterists", they are well aware that they posses the perfect combination of "expendable and invulnerable". Upon being sent off on a mission with # 1, they remark that his cool professionalism marks him for death, while their bumbling incompetence will see them through to the end. Later, when they point out that # 1's lack of a name makes him a RedShirt, he reveals his name, only to have it dismissed as a device to make his impending death more emotional. Ultimately, he meets his fate when his impressive escape techniques draw the attention of Brock Sampson. # 21 and # 24 were pretending to be wax sculptures at the time. [[spoiler: Ironically, or at least in a cruel twist of fate, in the season 3 finale, 24 stands near the Monarch's car when it suddenly explodes. He's killed in the blast as 21 unintentionally catches his burning head.]]
** If you're gonna mention ''TheVentureBrothers'' you ''can't'' forget Dr. Venture, who spends half the time making sarcastic genre savvy comments. Brock does it a lot too, especially when they're in danger. Come to think of it, a great deal of the cast are.

** Hank and Dean notably ''aren't''. [[WrongGenreSavvy They think they are, though]], with all their presumed ''{{Hardy Boys}}'' style mysteries. This occasionally works out for them, one example is in the episode "Fallen Arches" when Triana Orpheus is kidnapped by the super villain Torrid and Dean thinks to run the hot water in the shower so the steam will reveal a message on the mirror.
* Discussed in this exchange from ''TheSimpsons'':

** Also, Lisa manages to apply it to real life in a somewhat rational fashion, as she plans to be a jazz musician who is unappreciated in her time but discovered as a genius decades later. "And I may or may not die young, I haven't decided yet."
** Also in a halloween special, Bart and Lisa are trapped in Itchy & Scratcy's universe and are inside a car about to be murdered. Bart uses his cartoon knowledge to draw an eject button, press it and escape.

** In the episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson," the Mafia and the Yazuka are fighting on the lawn. Marge thinks that they should go inside.

** Or the episode "Canceled" when the boys realize they're in a rerun of the very first episode.

** On the whole, David [[XanatosGambit Xanatos]] is clearly aware of what is expected from a cartoon villain, and sometimes comments on the cliches he's performing or avoiding. He still rarely achieves DangerouslyGenreSavvy levels, since the methods by which he's foiled are usually relatively standard fare, [[XanatosGambit even if he never admits defeat]].
*** That's because his plans usually gain ''more'' for him if he is ''apparently'' defeated. Only against Thailog has he ''ever'' truly admitted defeat and come out on the losing side of the exchange.

* An episode of ''TheFairlyOddparents'' had Timmy wishes the world was like an action movie. [[OnlySaneMan Wanda]] correctly predicts that everything would go from bad to worse. Come to think of it, Wanda's awareness that everything will go wrong on every wish probably qualifies her for this trope.
** Not just Wanda, Timmy can be quite GenreSavvy, knowing just how flexible and specific his wishes can be. For example, when he [[ItMakesSenseInContext ends up in an alternate timeline where only turnip-related wishes can be made]], he wishes for a turnip TimeMachine.

* On ''PhineasAndFerb'' Doofenshmirtz shows a general knowledge of all the mad scientist/spy clichés he and Perry deal in, while Candace is shown to have basically mastered an understanding of what will happen when she tries to bust her brothers. This rarely helps either of them, however: Doofenshmirtz will go along with formula by choice and usually fail, while Candace is simply too neurotic to break her usual habits.

* Valmont from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' was smart enough to poison Jackie Chan and keep the antidote hidden so that it couldn't be stolen.
** Shendu also showed this when he refrained (twice) from revealing his name to Jackie and the others. If it weren't for Tohru's HeelFaceTurn the heroes would never have known how to stop him.
** Jade as well, although sometimes [[WrongGenreSavvy wrongly]].

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE3v-forFo8&feature=related In the Box Office Bunny short, Daffy shows a remarkable amount of Genre Savvy compared to some of his other feuds with Bugs.]]

*** This being Gotham and them being mooks, however, means that not even the GenreSavvy can help becuase the second guard gets too scared/squicked by Big Time to shoot him depsite having plenty of time. And Big Time can get into a locked truck cab.

* In one episode of ''{{Chowder}}'', the titular character and Mung [[NoFourthWall go over the entire formula of the series]], Chowder causes a disaster by messing with the shows weird foods, and then ''proceed to go along with it anyway''.

** [[CuteBookworm Jinora]] seems to have inherited this role in the new series, ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'', citing the inevitibility of her future [[TeensAreMonsters teenage rebellion]].

* On ''TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy,'' Mandy has this as part of the show's [[NoFourthWall lack of a Fourth Wall]]. For example in "Wishbones," a magical talking skull plays JerkassGenie to practically the whole cast, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor twisting their wishes]] in numerous ridiculous (and [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel horrific]]) ways. When Mandy gets the last wish, she wisely decides [[spoiler:to auction it off to the highest bidder]].

** [[CuteBookworm Jinora]] seems to have inherited this role in the new series, ''LegendOfKorra'', citing the inevitibility of her future [[TeensAreMonsters teenage rebellion]].

* Due to being TV-holics, multiple characters on ''FamilyGuy'' are GenreSavvy.

* [[{{Badass}} Pharoh Man]] in the ''Mega Man'' cartoon is pretty Savvy. At least savvy enough to realize that he can just punch Mega Man in the face whenever Mega Man tries to steal his power.

* King K Rool is pretty Genre Savvy at times in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' cartoon. In one episode Kludge and Krusha are given the [[{{Macguffin}} Crystal Cocanut]] by Donkey Kong. When they give to Krool he's naturally overjoyed... until he learns about the fact that DK just handed it over to them for no reason. When he learns this he instantly realizes that this means that it's not the real Crystal Cocanut and that DK must be pulling a trap on him. Unfortunatly for Krool, his savviness just backfired on him: it really ''was'' the Cocanut, DK was giving it to Krool as part of what he mistakenly believed to be a test of his character.

** Played straight when there's an episode where Homer becomes an opera star and someone is trying to murder him ([[ItMakesSenseInContext long story]]). To protect him during an opera, Chief Wiggum orders the chandelier to be pre-crashed.

-->'''Roger:''' Oh, it's like a sitcom come true! I'm part of a workplace ensemble! He must be the sarcastic guy. And ''he's'' the dumb guy. Oh! ''He'' must be the black guy who doesn't talk! *said guy glares at him* Yessss!!

*** [[CuteBookworm Jinora]] seems to have inherited this role in the new series, citing the inevitibility of her future [[TeensAreMonsters teenage rebellion]].
--->Tenzin: You must promise me your teenage years won't be like this!

--->Jinora: (calmly) I will make no such promises.

* Played straight and surprisingly seriously in ''TheIncredibles''. A [[AscendedFanboy former fan]] who was rejected as a sidekick by Mr. Incredible, Syndrome, used his GenreSavvy to master exotic new technologies with which he [[CutLexLuthorACheck built a fortune as a weapon designer]]... and then decimated the ranks of the surviving superheroes. He even cuts himself off in the middle of [[JustBetweenYouAndMe "monologuing"]] when Mr. Incredible nearly gets the drop on him.
** Syndrome's one moment of GenreBlindness is when he fails to realize [[spoiler:the ultra-sophisticated robot he built ''is'' smart enough to wonder why it has to take orders.]] Also, at the very end, [[spoiler: his non-breakaway cape.]] Seeing how many in-universe examples Edna could reel off, Syndrome should have known better. This may less an example of {{genre blindness}} than an example of {{death by genre savviness}}, considering that [[spoiler:supers rarely die by jet-intake in their comics or television series.]] Mainly because [[spoiler:capes are usually very detachable and get torn, ripped off, etc.]]

-->'''Bouncing Boy:''' Here, Kitty, Kitty... Oh, no... ''[[{{Aliens}} I went back for the cat]].''

-->[Homer, holding a script, stands next to Apu's car where Apu and Manjula sit in high school uniforms]

-->'''Apu''': [reading] Uh, gee Betsy, it's such a nice night. Why don't we go all the way?
-->'''Manjula''': [reading] But Greg, my dad will kill me! And you have that scholarship to Ivy League State.
-->'''Apu''': Loosen up, baby. Tomorrow I'm shipping off to Vietnam. I-- [breaking character] I thought I was going to Ivy League State.

* Gwen from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' tries to educate the other campers about the rules of horror movies only to be blatantly ignored... except by fellow horror-buff Duncan, who successfully becomes the [[FinalGirl Final Guy]] because of it.
** It is then subverted into WrongGenreSavvy when Gwen confronts a real psychotic killer, [[AndYouThoughtItWasAGame whom she thinks is an actor pretending to be a psycho killer.]]

** To be fair she ''didn't'' catch on right away. It was asking her "[[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay Do you trust me]]?" and the way he gave her an apple that clinched her seeing through it.
*** To be fairer, she was suspicious from the beginning. She played along with it when he wouldn't admit it, and consequently tricked the truth out of him by asking about Abu.

* In BatmanBeyond, the RedShirt cops and [[{{Mook}} villianous mooks]] have all learned some GenreSavvy. In ''Betrayal'' one of the guards driving the truck at the start is particurally skilled at it. The truck skidded to a halt to avoid a seemingly wrecked truck that was blocking the road. But this guard is from ''Gotham'' and knows what a setup looks like.
---> Guard 1: I've seen month old fish that have smelled better than this.
---> Guard 2: Are you for real? Somebody might be hurt.
---> Guard 1: All right. Go check. *tosses large gun to other guard* Here. In case it's a fish.
---> Guard 2: *humoring him* Right. *decding to be a little savvy himself* Lock up after me.
---> Guard 1: You don't have to remind me. *locks cab*

Tenzin: You must promise me your teenage years won't be like this!
Jinora: (calmly) I will make no such promises.

** Savor your beauty, because [[SnowWhite wicked queens]], [[{{Cinderella}} wicked stepsisters]], and [[SleepingBeauty evil witches]] will try to steal it every time.
** [[SnowWhite Don't eat apples]], unless you know where they came from.

** [[{{Cinderella}} When selecting footwear for the big dance, go ahead and write your name in the shoes]].

* Ren from ''TheRenAndStimpyShow'' has shades of this, particularly in the episode "A Yard Too Far". The titular duo is starving as they suddenly sense a delicious smell from someone's backyard.