History ReplacementGoldfish / WesternAnimation

* Played for slightly-creepy laughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''‎, when Darwin is mistaken for a genius and taken away for study. His parents take in Rocky, dress him up as Darwin, call him 'Rockwin' and tell him to call them Mom and Dad. Darwin is a goldfish, making this is literal example as well. Back when he was still a pet, Darwin himself was also a literal example for the first two Darwins. "The Origins" reveals that [[spoiler:there were a lot more than two Darwins before him. The Wattersons' negligence, stupidity, and bad luck killed many a goldfish.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', [[spoiler: the accident-prone [[CloudCuckoolander titular brothers]] have killed themselves numerous times, only to be replaced by [[CloningBlues identical clones]] (with their memories implanted) every time]], a major plot point at the beginning of the second season. Sociopath Dr. Venture seems to think this is no big deal.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Beast Boy's love interest, Terra, is [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]]. Then, in the GrandFinale several seasons later, he suddenly sees a girl who looks just like her and is convinced she's the real Terra (whose petrified body has vanished), even though she at least claims to not know him or remember anything about being a superhero. They do ''not'' wind up getting together in the end, and whether the girl really ''was'' Terra or just a lookalike is left ambiguous. WordOfGod says she is, and an issue of the show's official spin-off comic eventually confirms it. It's a throwback to the comics; however, in that continuity, the second Terra was a clone and the first really was dead.

* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', StrawNihilist Rick isn't above doing this to entire ''[[UpToEleven realities]]'', relocating to better [[AlternateUniverse parallel worlds]] as a last resort for when their own becomes a lost cause in his eyes. His alternate universe equivalents regularly do so with their Mortys as well [[ExaggeratedTrope to the point that they don't even see them as people anymore]], [[spoiler: and it's revealed in Season 5 that the previous flashback with his wife and daughter Beth being murdered by another Rick [[UnreliableNarrator wasn't a lie like he claimed]], meaning every single timeline with the full Smith family existing together was this trope]].

* Danielle in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' was created as an imperfect clone of the main character (not only physically younger and [[OppositeSexClone female]], but with an unstable body). She was a stepping stone on the way to creating a perfected clone and, when she found out, turned into a {{Tykebomb}}.
* Odd spin: In ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}: WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Megatron had a habit of making replacement Dinobots. An organic one was made after he defected to the good guys and the transmetal Dinobot II after [[spoiler: his HeroicSacrifice.]] Megatron seemed pleased with these clones (Dinobot II was basically his second in command), except when they followed their template's footsteps a little ''too'' closely.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', [[spoiler: the accident-prone [[CloudCuckoolander titular brothers]] have killed themselves numerous times, only to be replaced by [[CloningBlues identical clones]] (with their memories implanted) every time]], a major plot point at the beginning of the second season. Sociopath Dr. Venture seems to think this is no big deal.
* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', StrawNihilist Rick isn't above doing this to entire ''[[UpToEleven realities]]'', relocating to better [[AlternateUniverse parallel worlds]] as a last resort for when their own becomes a lost cause in his eyes. His alternate universe equivalents regularly do so with their Mortys as well [[ExaggeratedTrope to the point that they don't even see them as people anymore]], [[spoiler: and it's revealed in Season 5 that the previous flashback with his wife and daughter Beth being murdered by another Rick [[UnreliableNarrator wasn't a lie like he claimed]], meaning every single timeline with the full Smith family existing together was this trope]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** When Kenny was KilledOffForReal, the boys tried to make Butters dress in Kenny's coat and even called him Kenny until he stopped cooperating. Another episode implied there were different Kennys and their parents named each new kid "Kenny" to replace the last one. Then in the "Coon and Friends" trilogy it's subverted when it turns out [[spoiler:that every child they have after Kenny dies '''IS''' Kenny being literally being reborn as a HandWave to him being killed and being back next episode. It's also gotten to the point where Kenny will shoot himself in the head when tired since he'll wake up the next day in his bed]].
** After Kyle is taken away by Apple to become part of the first [[Film/TheHumanCentipede HUMANCENTiPAD]], Gerald and the boys go to the Geniuses for help. The Genuises offer them a replacement friend.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In the WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror segment "B.I.: Bartifical Intelligence," Bart, the ''original'' goldfish, wakes from his coma, builds himself a robotic shell, and comes back for revenge.
** It turns out that the country singer Lurleen Lumpkin, who did have a crush on Homer in her debut episode in season three, has since then had a string of husbands who all look like Homer, except for being of different ethnicities.
** Subverted with Rachel Jordan. Early she appear as a possibly new love interest for Ned after Maude's death. But she leaves briefly after Ned attempted to mold her in the image of his deceased wife Maude by cutting her hair to look like that of Maude's.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'', refusing to accept the fact that his friend Mole died, Badger mistakes his son Mossy for him because he looked just like him, [[spoiler: he eventually dies without learning the truth that Mole had long since died and that he'd been talking to his son the whole time]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "You Debt Your Life" features Roger moving out of the Smith's house, so Stan finds a replacement Roger in the form of Andy Dick. They also had a very literal example in "Finances with Wolves", when Klaus gets his brain put into a black man and he flushes his goldfish body, but by the end, he winds up back in a completely new but identical goldfish body.
* Unintentionally (and rather subtly) done in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''. When Hamato Yoshi loses his wife and baby daughter to an attack by Oroku Saki, he moves to New York and buys four baby turtles for company. One encounter with the Kraang and some Mutagen later, and Hamato suddenly has four new sons to take care of.
* Played for slightly-creepy laughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''‎, when Darwin is mistaken for a genius and taken away for study. His parents take in Rocky, dress him up as Darwin, call him 'Rockwin' and tell him to call them Mom and Dad. Darwin is a goldfish, making this is literal example as well. Back when he was still a pet, Darwin himself was also a literal example for the first two Darwins. "The Origins" reveals that [[spoiler:there were a lot more than two Darwins before him. The Wattersons' negligence, stupidity, and bad luck killed many a goldfish.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/Phantom2040'', we eventually learn that Doctor Jack designed Pavlova as a replacement for his deceased wife of the same name. He is not pleased when the robot inevitably develops into her own [[WhatMeasureIsANonhuman person]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', Grunkle Stan treats the wax dummy of himself like [[spoiler:[[TearJerker his long-lost brother]]]], [[CerebusRetcon which seems at that time a joke about his ego]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In Episode 100, [[spoiler: Kaeloo, after undergoing SanitySlippage and not having seen her friends for about a year, selects three flowers, gives them similar names to her friends, and treats the flowers the same way she would normally treat her friends.]]
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', Mac and Bloo look through the house's annual family photos and find one where everyone but Madame Foster and Frankie is strangely absent. Bloo's first theory: a GalacticConqueror came and abducted everyone. When Mac asks him how everyone came back the next year, Bloo reasons that they never came back and Madame Foster built robot replacements for all of them.

* Esther in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse''. It's rather obvious she was intended from the start to replace Ben's girlfriend Julie, who the writers made break up with him in the same series.
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo''. He wakes up in the hospital to find a nurse that looks identical to the girl in his dream... [[DreamWithinADream then he wakes up again]].
* Rudy Mookich from ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'' is a [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Nelson Muntz]] {{Expy}} who replaced [[RichBitch Montana Max]] as [[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures Elmyra Duff]]'s love interest. That whole show seemed determined to prove that ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' never existed.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Beast Boy's love interest, Terra, is [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]]. Then, in the GrandFinale several seasons later, he suddenly sees a girl who looks just like her and is convinced she's the real Terra (whose petrified body has vanished), even though she at least claims to not know him or remember anything about being a superhero. They do ''not'' wind up getting together in the end, and whether the girl really ''was'' Terra or just a lookalike is left ambiguous. WordOfGod says she is, and an issue of the show's official spin-off comic eventually confirms it. It's a throwback to the comics; however, in that continuity, the second Terra was a clone and the first really was dead.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''
** A variation; "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E6LastOneOutOfBeachCity Last One Out of Beach City]]", Pearl falls head over heels for a human woman who looks almost identical to the deceased [[TheLostLenore Rose Quartz]], save for a very different taste in fashion. She manages to get the woman's number at the end of the episode after talking to her. With that said, Pearl doesn't treat her like she's Rose, and a FreezeFrameBonus reveals Pearl got a ''lot'' of other phone numbers, which means she isn't seeking a replacement.
** Subverted when Steven uses the Room to talk to his mom. While he has fun with Cloud!Rose, he realizes that she isn't his mother, just another figment of his desires. Cloud!Rose does reassure him when he starts questioning what Rose did and tells him he knows Rose didn't create him to run away from her problems.
** It is PlayedForDrama and played straight when [[spoiler:Steven reveals to the Diamonds that he has Pink Diamond's gem, that she changed into Rose Quartz, and thus he is Pink Diamond's son. Yellow and Blue Diamond doesn't understand what "moms" are and treat Steven as their long-lost sister, much to his chagrin. White Diamond ''does'' know what a mom is, but she doesn't care at first; to her, Steven is just a human vessel for Pink Diamond to inhabit. She's blindsided when Pink doesn't reform after White removes the diamond gem from Steven, and is told by Pink Steven that his mother is "''Gooooooooone!''"]]
** In [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie the movie]], [[spoiler: the BigBad, [[VillainousHarlequin Spinel]], used to be Pink Diamond's playmate and was abandoned by her, so she's seeking revenge on Steven and the Crystal Gems. At the end of the movie, Spinel does a HeelFaceTurn and is taken by the Diamonds, to whom Spinel reminds them of Pink.]]
* A downplayed but rather tragic example in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': it's all but outright confirmed that the former Darth Maul latches on to Ezra Bridger to be his replacement for his murdered brother, whom Maul misses terribly with a hefty dose of MyGreatestFailure.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex''. It turns out [[AIIsACrapshoot ZAG-RS]] was created by Rex's brother César, who modeled her after their [[MotherlyScientist mother]]. ZAG-RS's birth also predates the Event, which was when Mr. and Mrs. Salazar died, but ZAG-RS ends up on Rex's rogues gallery before he learns her backstory.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': H.A.R.D.A.C. began his plan to replace the world with robot duplicates after its creator, Karl Rossum, tried to create a new version of his daughter, who had been killed in a car accident.

* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', StrawNihilist Rick isn't above doing this to entire ''[[UpToEleven realities]]'', relocating to better [[AlternateUniverse parallel worlds]] as a last resort for when their own becomes a lost cause in his eyes. His alternate universe equivalents regularly do so with their Mortys as well [[ExaggeratedTrope to the point that they don't even see them as people anymore]], [[spoiler: and it's revealed in Season 5 that the previous flashback with his wife and daughter Beth being murdered by another Rick [[UnreliableNarrator wasn't a lie like he claimed]], meaning every single timeline with the full Smith family existing together was a result of this]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch, "The Truth Behind [[Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks Alvin]]" reveals that whenever one of the Chipmunks dies, Dave replaces them with a new chipmunk. Dave has done this so many times, he has a rodent burial ground in his backyard. In an interview, he points out that the Chipmunks have been touring since 1958, and the average lifespan of a chipmunk is three years.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Beast Boy's love interest, Terra, is turned to stone. Then, in the series finale (several seasons later), he suddenly sees a girl who looks just like her and is convinced she's the real Terra (whose petrified body has vanished), even though she at least claims to not know him or remember anything about being a superhero. They do ''not'' wind up getting together in the end, and whether the girl really ''was'' Terra or just a lookalike is left ambiguous. WordOfGod says she is, and an issue of the show's official spin-off comic eventually confirms it. It's a throwback to the comics; however, in that continuity the second Terra was a clone and the first really was dead.

* Done literally in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' OriginsEpisode. Darwin is revealed to be the last of many goldfish given to Gumball. Their parents tell Gumball it's the same fish every time.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Iroh begins treating his nephew Zuko like a son after his own child, Lu Ten, dies in battle. He seems to love Zuko for who he is, however, and doesn't project Lu Ten onto him. Since Zuko is also DESPERATELY in need of a ([[AbusiveParents good]]) father figure, it all works out. Usually. [[spoiler:In the end, it definitely does.]]

** In [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie the movie]], [[spoiler: the BigBad, [[VillainousHarlequin Spinel]], used to be Pink Diamond's playmate and was abandoned by her, so she's seeking revenge on Steven and the Crystal Gems. At the end of the movie, Spinel does a HeelFaceTurn and is taken by the Diamonds, to whom Spinel reminds them of Pink.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Princess Celestia might have regarded Twilight Sparkle as being this for Sunset Shimmer.

** A variation; "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E6LastOneOutOfBeachCity Last One Out of Beach City]]", Pearl falls head over heels for a human woman who looks almost identical to the deceased [[TheLostLenore Rose Quartz]], save for a very different taste in fashion. She manages to get the woman's number at the end of the episode after talking to her. With that said, Pearl knows that Mystery Girl isn't Rose because Mystery Girl is amused when Pearl says she helped save the Earth. Gets subverted, when we learn that Pearl doesn't know how to use her cellphone to actually make a call until Amethyst teaches her to call and text, and a FreezeFrameBonus reveals [[spoiler:Pearl has a ''lot'' of phone numbers, which means she isn't seeking a replacement]].

** It is PlayedForDrama and played straight when [[spoiler:Steven reveals to the Diamonds that he has Pink Diamond's gem, that she changed into Rose Quartz, and thus he is Pink Diamond's son. Yellow and Blue Diamond doesn't understand what "moms" are and treat Steven as their long-lost sister, much to his chagrin. White Diamond ''does'' know what a mom is, but she doesn't care at first; to her, Steven is just a human vessel for Pink Diamond to inhabit. She's blindsided when Pink doesn't reform after White removes the diamond gem from Steven, and is told by Pink Steven that his mother is "''Gooooooooone!''"]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E6LastOneOutOfBeachCity Last One Out of Beach City]]", Pearl falls head over heels for a human woman who looks almost identical to the deceased [[TheLostLenore Rose Quartz]], save for a very different taste in fashion. She manages to get the woman's number at the end of the episode.

** And then there's the time (widower) Flanders offers a bed for the night to an old flame...who wakes up to find Flanders cutting her hair to match Maude's.

* The ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch, "The Truth Behind [[Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks Alvin]]" reveals that whenever one of the Chipmunks dies, Dave replaces them with a new chipmunk. Dave has done this so many times, he has a rodent burial ground in his backyard. In an interview, he points out that the Chipmunks have been touring since 1958, and the average lifespan of a chipmunk is three years.

*** In "The Silence of the Clamps," Bender [[WitnessProtection goes into the Witness Protection Program]], prompting Fry to befriend mafia robot Francis "Clamps" Clampazzo, another foul-mouthed, aggressive robot, who has been hired by Planet Express as his replacement.
** In "The Late Philip J. Fry," Fry, Bender and Farnsworth disappear due to a time-machine accident and are thought to have been killed [[ItMakesSenseInContext in an explosion at a robot bachelor party]]. In the timeline that ensues, [[MayDecemberRomance Leela eventually marries Farnsworth's clone Cubert]] due to his [[IdenticalGrandson resemblance to Fry]]. It doesn't go well.

** In "The Late Philip J. Fry," Fry, Bender and Farnsworth disappear due to a time-machine accident and are thought to have been killed [[ItMakesSenseInContext in an explosion at a robot bachelor party]]. In the timeline that ensues, [[MayDecemberRomance Leela eventually marries Farnsworth's clone Cubert]] due to his resemblance to Fry. It doesn't go well.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', Mac and Bloo look through the house's annual family photos and find one where everyone but Madame Foster and Frankie is strangely absent. Bloo's first theory: a GalacticConqueror came and abducted everyone. When Mac asks him how everyone came back the next year, Bloo reasons that they never came back and Madame Foster built robot replacements for all of them.