History Main / AdaptationalComicRelief

** All the villains from seasons 2-5, barring the {{Big Bad}}s like Death Phantom, Nehellenia, and Sailor Galaxia. By contrast, the Dark Kingdom was PlayedForDrama, though there were still silly moments, particularly Zoisite in [[{{Filler}} the Rainbow Crystals mini-arc]].

* The [[Film/StreetFighter film adaptation]] of VideoGame/StreetFighter has Ryu and Ken portrayed as this.
** It get's even worse in the [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter Animated Adaptation]].

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** In Peter Jackson's ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', Merry and Pippin are given funnier moments than the books, particularly in Pippin's case, such as getting into Gandalf's fireworks. After the Fellowship splits up, one character breaks out into comic relief for each group. For instance, Gimli provides physical comedy and gruff one-liners in contrast to [[StraightMan Straight Man and Elf]] Aragorn and Legolas. Some of his funny moments in the films did come from the books, such as his Orc-slaying competition with Legolas. WordOfGod confirms that they heightened this role for Gimli, a Dwarf (stereotyped as being crude), to accommodate Merry and Pippin's ComingOfAge.

[[caption-width-right:250:Fred in the comic and in [[Disney/BigHero6 the movie]].]]

* ''Disney/TheJungleBook'' is intentionally LighterAndSofter than the book it was based on, so this happens to a number of characters who are as much InNameOnly similar to the book's as the script is.

* ''Disney/BigHero6'' has three examples:

* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpider-Man'':

* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'':

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

[[folder: Fanworks]]

%%* ''WesternAnimation/AlbertTheFifthMusketeer'' inflicts this on the original four Musketeers.

* Oobleck, while goofy and eccentric in canon, still had many serious moments in canon. Not so much in ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'', where he is pure comic relief with zero serious scenes.

* In the original ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'', there was nothing remotely interesting about [[TheGenericGuy Fred]] [[TheLeader Jones]]. Various derivative works remedy this in various ways, where he is generally less intelligent and more of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. Some give him more specific quirks; in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' he's obsessed with traps, and in ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' he's quick to blame the latest mystery either on RedHerring or something ridiculous he read in the ''[[LuridTalesOfDoom National Exaggerator]]''. Often zigzagged since these variations of Fred also tend to be more proactive to the story.

[[caption-width-right:250:Fred in the [[NoPunIntended comic]] and in [[Disney/BigHero6 the movie]].]]

[[caption-width-right:250:Fred in the comic and in [[Disney/BigHero6 the movie]].]]

* While Knuckles the Echidna often tends to drift into comedic territory in the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series, he is often first and foremost the powerful guardian of the Master Emerald and a competent ally of Sonic. ''SonicBoom'' turns Knuckles into a completely buffoonish DumbMuscle as pivotal to the show's humour than it's action scenes.

* In the ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' manga, although Shigure was often a comic relief character in the beginning, he has a dark side that's evident even in the first volume, and eventually he becomes pretty menacing. In the anime, he's pure comic relief.

** Minako/Sailor Venus. Like Chibi-Usa, she has her fair share of funny moments in the manga universe, but after the first anime season, she got flanderized into a goofy, boy-crazy, malapropism-spouting ditz to distinguish her from Usagi.
** Usagi's entire character was PlayedForLaughs when it wasn't a serious moment. Her flaws were greatly exaggerated for comedy and she gained a couple of new ones just so the writers could also play them for laughs, which is odd when you consider, as stated above, that Minako was made more comedic to distinguish her from Usagi. In the third season, the writers deliberately made them mirror images of each other to [[UpToEleven up the comedy angle even further]].
** Mamoru suffered a similar fate to his daughter. He was a useful main character with his own powerful attacks in the manga, but was turned into a useless side character only good for providing comic relief in the anime. The only difference is he wasn't a main character in any arc.
** All the villains from seasons 2-5, barring the {{Big Bad}}s like Death Phantom, Nehellenia, and Sailor Galaxia. Pharaoh 90 and Chaos escaped this treatment mostly because they were barely characters to begin with in the anime. By contrast, the Dark Kingdom was PlayedForDrama, though there were still silly moments, particularly Zoisite in [[{{Filler}} the Rainbow Crystals mini-arc]].
* Rhi'a becomes incredibly childish and silly in the manga adaptation of ''Manga/SandsOfDestruction''. In the game and anime, she was more serious. While she did show a sense of humor in the game at times, it wasn't a constant thing and she never seemed particularly naive. The anime just made her TriggerHappy and dispensed with any joking aside from the occasional snide remark or quip.

See also AdaptationalHeroism. Contrast AdaptationalAngstUpgrade.

* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
** In the manga, while Chibi-Usa/Sailor Chibimoon does become a source of a few humorous moments, she is a legitimate semi-powerful Guardian, with an attack capable of destroying low-level enemies, which can also be combined with Sailor Moon's or Tuxedo Mask's powers for more damage. In the first anime, and specially in the third season, she is turned into a borderline JokeCharacter, with powers that are only strong enough to annoy monsters and are prone to failing altogether. Part of the reason for that was the anime deliberately sticking to a certain episode structure, so Chibimoon's antics quickly became a regular occurrence. (This led to her ongoing CharacterDevelopment from the manga barely happening in that version, so when the next season abruptly promoted her to the protagonist status due to her being a KidAppealCharacter, the results were ''not pretty''.)
** Minako/Sailor Venus too. Like Chibi-Usa, she has her fair share of funny moments in the manga universe, but after the first anime season, she got flanderized into a goofy, boy-crazy, malapropism-spouting ditz to distinguish her from Usagi, who had undergone a lot of character development by then. Unlike Chibi-Usa, though, Minako was still as powerful and competent a fighter as in the manga. Ironically, [[Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon the next adaptation]] took her character in the opposite direction.
** Eudial from the Witches 5 group is an AdaptationalBadass and AscendedExtra in the third season... but on the other hand, she is more prone to comedic moments when off-battle (and sometimes ''during'' it) and being the ButtMonkey of many situations.

* Grelle Sutcliffe of ''Manga/BlackButler'' is a truly menacing villain in the manga, and also has only appeared twice over the course of eighty chapters. In the anime, her [[TermsOfEndangerment flirtation]] and [[DepravedBisexual flamboyance]] are PlayedForLaughs and she's a much more major character, resulting in both an AscendedExtra ''and'' severe VillainDecay.

* Rhi'a becomes incredibly childish and silly in the manga adaptation of ''Manga/SandsOfDestruction''. In the game and anime, she was more serious. While she did show a sense of humor in the game at times, it wasn't a constant thing, and she never seemed particularly naive; the anime just made her TriggerHappy and dispensed with any joking aside from the occasional snide remark or quip.

* Inverted in ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}''. Aiko "Anko" Tokosumi is significantly more ditzy in the manga than in the anime, although she is capable of being serious and even angsting at times. In the anime, most of Anko's comedic moments, such as losing her temper when Koyemshi vaguely alludes that she'd been having ADateWithRosiePalms before being teleported to Zearth, are cut (in the anime, she's in the middle of drying her hair), and she's shown to be somewhat more emotionally vulnerable.

* ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i2qquegdB4 Abriged]]'' by the Schmuck Squad turns the eponymous character from a normally [[TheStoic stoic]] man of [[TheQuietOne few words]] into a [[AxCrazy borderline psychotic]] and [[NoIndoorVoice obnoxious]] MotorMouth. He goes from brooding AntiHero to a HeroicComedicSociopath. Both are {{Blood Knight}}s, but Abridged!Slayer is more [[LargeHam hammy]] about it.

* ''VisualNovel/GoblinSlayer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i2qquegdB4 Abriged]]'' by the Schmuck Squad turns the eponymous character from a normally [[TheStoic stoic]] man of [[TheQuietOne few words]] into a [[AxCrazy borderline psychotic]] and [[NoIndoorVoice obnoxious]] MotorMouth. He goes from brooding AntiHero to a HeroicComedicSociopath. Both are {{Blood Knight}}s, but Abridged!Slayer is more [[LargeHam hammy]] about it.

* In the ''Film/HarryPotter'' films, Ron suffered some CharacterExaggeration into outright comic relief. While Ron is a big source of comic relief in the books, it's usually thanks to his [[DeadpanSnarker snarky one-liners]]. The movies tended to make Ron the butt of jokes, specifically his incompetence and Rupert Grint's astonishing array of terrified faces.

** Zigzagged with Shere Khan, who becomes [[AdaptationalBadass much more menacing]] than his book counterpart, but also gains some FauxAffablyEvil mannerism.

!!Examples

* ''Anime/SailorMoon''
** In the manga, while Chibi-Usa/Sailor Chibimoon does become a source of a few humorous moments, she is a legitimate semi-powerful Guardian, with an attack capable of destroying low-level enemies, which can also be combined with Sailor Moon's or Tuxedo Mask's powers for more damage. In the first anime, and specially in the third season, she is turned into a borderline JokeCharacter, with powers that are only strong enough to annoy monsters and are prone to failing altogether. Part of the reason for that was the anime deliberately sticking to a certain episode structure, so Chibimoon's antics quickly became a regular occurence. (This led to her ongoing CharacterDevelopment from the manga barely happening in that version, so when the next season abruptly promoted her to the protagonist status due to her being a KidAppealCharacter, the results were ''not pretty''.)

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'', Jeremy was a comical, clumsy character while his counterpart in the [[Literature/MrsFrisbyAndTheRatsOfNIMH original book]] had more of a 'young and inexperienced' role. The film made several characters darker, which may have influenced this change. Jeremy is also an example of RetCanon since his more whimsical characterization was adapted into the book's sequels.

** Baymax in the comics was built by Hiro to act as his bodyguard. Movie!Baymax is a gentle and naive {{acrofatic}} healthcare robot who was built by Hiro's CanonForeigner brother, Tadashi.

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

** In Peter Jackson's ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', Merry and Pippin are given funnier moments than the books, particularly in Pippin's case, such as getting into Gandalf's fireworks. After the Fellowship splits up, one character breaks out into comic relief for each group. For instance, Gimli provides physical comedy and gruff one-liners in contrast to [[StraightMan Straight Man and Elf]] Aragorn and Legolas. Some of his funny moments in the films did come from the books, such as his Orc-slaying competition with Legolas. WordOfGod confirms that they heightened this role for Gimli, a Dwarf (stereotyped as being crude), to accomodate Merry and Pippin's ComingOfAge.

* Whatney Smith in ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S05E19Outlaw Outlaw of Gor]]'' is roughly equivalent to Harrison Smith in the book of the same name, but Harrison doesn't go to Gor and isn't a comic relief character. Whatney is ''supposed'' to be funny - opinion varies as to whether he is or not.

[[folder:Theatre]]

* InUniverse example in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', where the ''Heterodyne Boys'' books portray Punch as TheKlutz and DumbMuscle and Klaus Wulfenbach as a CowardlySidekick and TheComicallySerious ("Klaus keeps his dignity, or tries to. ''That's'' what makes him funny!"). The real GeniusBruiser Punch doesn't like the stories much; the real AntiVillain Baron Wulfenbach sometimes seems to feel the same way, although he's also been known to say they're ActuallyPrettyFunny. (The general public don't really seem to make much of a connection between the comedy character they laugh at in the stories and the Baron who rules the continent with an iron fist.)

** Peter Parker/Spider-Man is usually funny to begin with as a DeadpanSnarker, but the cartoon makes him a ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}'' style fourth wall breaker and foregoes some darker elements, like how he is usually constantly haunted by the death of his uncle, as well as his massive guilt complex/martyr syndrome, in favor of jokes.

* In the original ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'', there was nothing remotely interesting about [[TheGenericGuy Fred]] [[TheLeader Jones]]. Various derivative works remedy this in various ways, where he is generally less intelligent and more of a CloudCuckoolander. Some give him more specific quirks; in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' he's obsessed with traps, and in ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' he's quick to blame the latest mystery either on [[TheBully Red]] [[RedHerring Herring]] or something ridiculous he read in [[LuridTalesOfDoom the National Exaggerator]]. Often zigzagged since these variations of Fred also tend to be more proactive to the story.

* ''WesternAnimation/AlbertTheFifthMusketeer'' inflicted this on the original four.