History Main / VanillaProtagonist

** ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'': The creators of the film weren't all that interested in the beauty herself, hence why the movie spends so much time with the magical and bickering trio of fairies.

** ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': While Belle is ostensibly the film's protagonist, she doesn't have a lot in terms of strong personality traits or a character arc. She mainly serves as a means through which the Beast can learn to be a better person and a progressive contrast to Gaston and the ignorant townspeople.

%%Administrivia/PartialContextExample* Troy and Gabriella from ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' are contrasted to Sharpay and Ryan whose goal was to snag the coveted play role.

* The protagonists of ''Anime/PrettyCure'' fall into this but not fully. It happens a lot where the other Cures, or even some of the villains, are more colorful and get more screen time than them. There are some notable exceptions, like [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure Nagisa]], [[Anime/HeartCatchPrettyCure Tsubomi]] and [[Anime/TropicalRougePrettyCure Manatsu]] and all of the others do have some notable personality traits and flaws that make them unique but at their core they fall into this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Charlie is sweet and good natured but can come across as dull and one-note compared to the other characters, particularly compared to Angel Dust’s self-destructive spiraling or Alastor’s status as a HiddenAgendaVillain.

* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': Many fans and readers view [[{{Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen}} Barry Allen]] as this. Despite being one of the signature DC Heroes from [[{{UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks}} The Silver Age]], Barry simply could not stack up as well as the other members of the [[Characters/TheFlashTheFlashes Flash]] [[Characters/TheFlashTheFlashFamily Family]].

* ''Film/FourWedingsAndAFuneral'': Charles and Carrie, the main couple, have a FourthDateMarriage and limited CharacterDevelopment outside of their relationship, and are surrounded by an intriguing supporting cast, such as DisabledSnarker David, the bumbling but gentle Tom, former punk girl Scarlet, Fiona (with her DefrostingTheIceQueen moments and unrequited feelings for Charles), Henrietta (given her on-off relationship with Charles), Bernard and Lydia with their FriendshipAsCourtship relationship, and LifeOfTheParty gay man Gareth.

* The protagonists of ''Anime/PrettyCure'' easily fall into this. It happens a lot where the other Cures, or even some of the villains, are more colorful and get more screen time than them. There are some notable exceptions, like [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure Nagisa]], [[Anime/HeartCatchPrettyCure Tsubomi]] and [[Anime/TropicalRougePrettyCure Manatsu]], but most of them are this.

%%Administrivia.PartialContextExample* ''Film/FourWedingsAndAFuneral'': Charles and Carrie, the main couple, next to a lot of the supporting cast, such as DisabledSnarker David, the bumbling but gentle Tom, former punk girl Scarlet, Fiona (with her DefrostingTheIceQueen moments and unrequited feelings for Charles), Henrietta (given her on-off relationship with Charles), Bernard and Lydia with their FriendshipAsCourtship relationship, and LifeOfTheParty gay man Gareth.

Not to be confused with DesignatedHero, which is a character who the story plays up as being heroic, but comes off as being distinctly unheroic. Contrast EnsembleDarkhorse, who is a colorful but minor character. Not to be confused with VillainProtagonist. Also [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant not a descriptor for]] protagonists of [[SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} vanilla]] {{hentai}}... though they tend to be this [[AudienceSurrogate for a reason]]. Also not to be confused with VanillaUnit, which focuses on gameplay (though a Vanilla Protagonist can be a Vanilla Unit).

* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': Mario was designed to be an extremely accessible character who can fit any role. He himself does not have too much personality other than cheerfulness, but it's the colorful world and challenges he inhabits that provides the true meat of the series.

Not to be confused with DesignatedHero, which is a character who the story plays up as being heroic, but comes off as being distinctly unheroic. Contrast EnsembleDarkhorse, who is a colorful but minor character. Not to be confused with VillainProtagonist. Also [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant not a descriptor for]] protagonists of [[SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} vanilla]] {{hentai}}...though they tend to be this [[AudienceSurrogate for a reason]]. Also not to be confused with VanillaUnit, which focuses on gameplay (though a Vanilla Protagonist can be a Vanilla Unit).

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': Hank Hill is a straight-laced, hardworking, upstanding Texan suburbanite with strong morals and a comically mundane work life ([[CatchPhrase "I sell propane and propane accessories!"]]). Practically all of the show's comedy comes from his failure to relate to his wacky neighbors and family. When the supporting cast includes a ConspiracyTheorist exterminator, a sad sack Army barber, a mush-mouthed womanizing [[spoiler: Texas Ranger]], a pudgy aspiring comedian, and a ditzy former trailer trash girl, the mild-mannered family man underscores the insanity.

* ''Film/MidnightMadness:'' The Yellow Team does have some good emotional depth and nuances (such as Michael forgetting his brother's birthday). Still, they come across as slightly less colorful than the four less-prominent teams (the respect-craving sorority, the hilariously stupid JerkJock crew, Harold's ButtMonkey group, and the nerd team). It doesn't help that the Yellow Team is just participating for fun, while several of the other teams have more interesting motives (the Red Team and the White Team want to show up the Green Team to get revenge for years of bullying and humiliation, while the Blue Team is ordered to participate by Harold's demanding father).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': While Lincoln Loud certainly is not a one-note character, much of the show's content comes from his reactions to being surrounded by and living with a large cast of varying female characters with such stark personalities. As a result, he comes across as the average and rather generic preteen protagonist through which the audience lives through the adventures.