History Main / UnnecessaryMakeover

* Allison Reynolds, Creator/AllySheedy's character in ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' has this happen to her. Many people just find her cuter as the "[[CloudCuckooLander Basket Case]]", with her post-makeover look being intensely awkward and dated-looking, frequently compared to ''Film/TheStepfordWives''. It's one of the most famous examples in movies, [[MisaimedFandom but it's also a rather misunderstood element]] -- in the film, Allison is a closet AttentionWhore, whose behaviors and manner of dress is meant to draw attention to herself without having to ask for it or acknowledge that she's lonely. She's a loner with no friends, not a {{Goth}} or {{Emo}} kid who dresses as a way of self-expression or identifying with people like her. Her makeover is partially about accepting affection and kindness from another person (the AlphaBitch Claire, in this case), and partially about openly acknowledging that she wants attention and human interaction by tucking back her hair and changing her concealing make-up and clothing. A lot of fans also miss that the pink clothes post-makeover was something Alison already owned and had on underneath (which was confirmed by the film's costume designer). That said, it probably isn't great when even Ally Sheedy reportedly found the entire thing "uncomfortable."

* It's become a cliché that in any visual adaptation of ''Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast'', fans will generally prefer the Prince's "cursed" beastly appearance over his "real" human one. This may be the result of the story's very conceit: the Beauty (and therefore the audience) must fall in love with the Beast ''despite'' his hideous appearance, and therefore the "reward" of him becoming handsome once this happens is seen as unnecessary (though no longer being [[BalefulPolymorph trapped in the form of a giant beast]] is obviously supposed to be a reward for ''him'', too).

* ''Film/FreakyFriday2003'': While in her mother's body, Anna gets a very short, spiked pixie haircut, which makes her mother look older.

* Otacon switched his glasses for contacts in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' because it made him look "more handsome". The general consensus was relief when he put his glasses back on and started looking [[NerdsAreSexy sexy and sophisticated]] again instead of mildly dorky.

* It's become a cliché that in any visual adaptation of ''Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast'', fans will generally prefer the Prince's "cursed" beastly appearance over his "real" human one. This may be the result of the story's very conceit: the Beauty (and therefore the audience) must fall in love with the Beast ''despite'' his hideous appearance, and therefore the "reward" of him becoming handsome once this happens is seen as unnecessary (though no longer being trapped in the form of a giant beast is obviously supposed to be a reward for ''him'', too).

* It's become a cliché that in any visual adaptation of ''Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast'', fans will generally prefer the Prince's "cursed" beastly appearance over his "real" human one. This may be the result of the story's very conceit: the Beauty (and therefore the audience) must fall in love with the Beast ''despite'' his hideous appearance, and therefore the "reward" of him becoming handsome once this happens is seen as unnecessary.

** After [[spoiler:the five-year TimeSkip]], [[ComicBook/CarolDanvers Captain Marvel]] reappears with a [[BoyishShortHair much shorter]] hairstyle and bleached-blonde tips with dark roots. While it ''is'' [[MythologyGag accurate to the current comics run]], that hairstyle in the comics is itself [[BrokenBase fairly controversial]] among comic book fans, and as pretty an actress as Creator/BrieLarson is, the short hair does her jawline no favors. More than one person online has compared it to the infamous "[[MemeticMutation can I speak to your manager]]" [[MemeticHair hairstyle]]. [[spoiler: As of TheStinger of ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'', Carol is back to her original hairstyle.]]

* Sandy from ''Film/{{Grease}}''. The new "improved" version makes her look like a streetwalker. Danny also shows his buddies his newly acquired varsity letter in track, though his makeover is less emphasized (and quickly discarded when Sandy's new "bad girl" look is revealed).

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Shadybug's [[spoiler:GoodMakeover]] is often seen as a downgrade from her original design, which had a cuter hairstyle and more design elements that contrasted her from Ladybug. Her makeover is essentially a less cohesive version of Ladybug's design, making it stand out less.

* Both Bright Eyes and Lancer get one in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'' episode "Roll Around The Clock". They are also told to act like pompous jerks, which causes both to get angry at the other.
* Franchise/{{Barbie}} movies have a tendency to fall under this, due to the films frequently portraying Barbie and her friends in colorful {{Pimped Out Dress}}es, even when [[InformedPoverty her character is supposed to be poor.]] As a result, the difference between [[WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper Erika]]'s princess dress and her pauper dress is barely visible, [[WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle Liana and Alexa's]] peasant dresses are nearly as fancy as the princesses ones, and [[WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessCharmSchool Blair's]] waitress attire and princess-in-training attire look ''almost identical''.
** In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel'', Rapunzel needs a dress for a ball. While it makes sense for her to need something other than her servant clothes, she rejects the first dress she makes for being too simple. A lot of viewers thought it was fine, if not more flattering than the PimpedOutDress she ends up settling on.
* A late episode of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' has Creator/DonKnotts, Music/WeirdAlYankovic and [[WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder Blue Falcon]] give Johnny a makeover to appeal to changing tastes in kids. After the new Johnny is presented, the kids hate it.

** Rachel's makeover is acknowledged as this in-show when Finn eventually tells her: "I'm gonna say this as nice as I can, but you look like a... sad clown hooker".

** In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel'', Barbie needs a dress for a ball. While it makes sense for Barbie to need something other than her servant clothes, she rejects the first dress she makes as being too simple. A lot of viewers thought it was fine if not more flattering than the PimpedOutDress she ends up settling on.

* ''Film/AFairlyOddMovieGrowUpTimmyTurner'': One of Tootie's most notable characteristics in her original ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddparents'' is her UglyCute appearance in that despite having girlish pigtails, glasses, and teeth bracers, she nevertheless has a lot of fans. Tootie's adult appearance in the live-action film, on the other hand, is widely considered to be unnecessary with virtually all aspects of her UglyCute appearance (including her glasses) dissapear making her look as if she's just another NiceGirl LoveInterest. It got to the point that a flashback to a live-action young Tootie is certainly a lot more recognizable than her adult appearance.

* In ''Series/That70sShow'', Donna gets one of these when she dyes her hair blonde for... Really no good reason at all other than the fact that Jackie thinks that her red hair looks ugly. In fairness, this was only because of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as Laura Prepon had dyed her hair blonde for the film ''Karla'' and the show decided to write it in.

* A good majority of fans see Lisa Zeemo's makover in the last season of ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' as being this. Her appearances lessened and her personality took a major dive once she came back, plus fans liked her dorkiness.

* Mr. Persnickety /Pernickety in ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow'' was redesigned from the charatcer Mr. Fussy, but by the time the second season happened, he was given a drastic change in terms of looks. He was repainted dark green and renamed like his book counterpart due to Chorion wanting the show b more like the books. Some fans that grew up watching the show since the first season thought the makeover was uneeded for a few reasons. For one, his original name from the first season made him more high class sounding as compare to "Fussy" which sounds more childish. While fans like his skin color to be more darker compare to the other brightly colored green characters, some thought he should've kept the green hair color like in the first season. The last major complaint from fans was him being more one noted. While Mr. Fussy had his moments in the first season being a neat freak, he does try to be friendly with the other characters. But the second season makes him more meaner as the show focuses more on him being uptight (worse in the comics by Viz where he is strict about the rules) compare to him being fleshed out from the first season.

* In one of the final episodes of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', Kanan Jarrus went clean-shaven, cutting not only his padawan braid but also his beard (even past the goatee he had in the first two seasons). And ''man'' does he look terrible with it. Fangirls and fanboys alike reacted with almost unanimous dismay, and fanart of him is practically guaranteed to feature his original hairstyle. Although it's done for [[ImportantHaircut important in-story reasons]] and represents a significant milestone for his character, he's barely recognizable and looks about twelve years old without the beard. Some people even joked that it's the kind of haircut you'd expect [[spoiler: a blind man]] to end up with when cutting his own hair.

* Cole [=MacGrath=] in ''Videogame/{{inFamous}}'' had a buzz cut and PermaStubble, but in early pre-release footage of ''Videogame/{{inFamous 2}}'' he was redesigned with thicker hair and a full beard, which made him look too much like [[Videogame/{{Uncharted}} Nathan Drake]]. ''inFamous'' fans hated the new Cole so much that Sucker Punch [[AuthorsSavingThrow changed him back to his old look]] before it was too late.
* Fans are very divided on [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts Riku's]] redesign as of ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D'', which gave him shorter hair. Half of the fandom is grateful for the change, while the other half laments the loss of Riku's [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth-esque]] LongHairedPrettyboy appeal. When his hair was shortened further in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', the debate only intensified.