History SubvertedKidsShow / WesternAnimation

** Not even the titular block that shows the cartoons is free of drama. Once Skip's aforementioned cameo causes his celebrity status to rise, his twin brother and fellow host Treybor quits S.M.A.S.H. out of jealously and disgust, which ultimately culminates in a bitter Treybor confronting Skip at the latter's movie premiere. Meanwhile, another plot reminiscent of the Creator/OJSimpson trial plays out between shows when popular sitcom actors Lottie Wolfe and Sean Benjamin suddenly vanish without a trace, with the prime suspect being Johnny Rash, [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boy popstar]] and Wolfe's boyfriend. Rash ultimately goes to trial after Benjamin's body is found, but he is acquitted due to lack of evidence; meanwhile, it's strongly implied that Wolfe is in fact alive, as a girl who looks like her in disguise appears in the audience of a new show hosted by Skip, Treybor, and [[ItMakesSenseInContext their long-lost triplet brother]]. However, the questions of why Benjamin was killed, Johnny's true involvement, and why Lottie chose to disappear, are left unanswered.

* The UrExample of western animation comes from ''WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons''. At the start of the Screwy Squirrel cartoon "WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel1944", we see a lovely forest scene and a cute squirrel picking up acorns. Then Screwy Squirrel appears and asks him what kind of picture this is going to be? The squirrel says it will be about him and his "[[WoodlandCreatures cute, furry friends in the forest]]", whereupon Screwy groans "Oh, no, not that!" and takes him behind a tree where he beats him up.

* ''[=VH1=] ILL-ustrated'' featured a spoof of the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} show ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' called ''[=SpongeBong=] [=HempPants=]'', which featured foul language and adult themes in addition to portraying [=SpongeBob=] as a green-skinned stoner.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Munro}}'' is animated and narrated like an adaptation of a children's storybook, and stars a little boy going through a harrowing situation while the adults around him just don't listen. This situation turns out to be being [[{{Conscription}} mistakenly being drafted into the military]] which grows to be increasingly stressful for him, and is supposed to double as {{satire}} of how stubborn the brass is in recognising when they've done wrong. The choice was deliberate on the part of author Jules Feiffer, whose own time serving in the military had him recognize the paternal insistence of always needing to be right from his higher-ups.

* The UrExample of western animation: ''WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons'', at the start of the Screwy Squirrel cartoon "WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel" we see a lovely forest scene and a cute squirrel picking up acorns. Then Screwy Squirrel appears and asks him what kind of picture this is going to be? The squirrel says it will be about him and his "[[WoodlandCreatures cute, furry friends in the forest]]", whereupon Screwy groans "Oh, no, not that!" and takes him behind a tree where he beats him up.

*** There is, however, an R-rated film called ''The Happy Little Elves Meet Fuzzy Snuggleduck'', as revealed in "Homer Alone".

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' has an in-universe example in the ''The Dummi Bears''.

* Many Creator/HannaBarbera cartoons turned into Creator/AdultSwim ones, such as ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2021}}''.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheItchyAndScratchyShow'' is a parody of cartoon violence, most notably from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, by making it extremely gory in a way that would never be permitted on air for actual children in our universe. The episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" has Marge and other mothers call out the show's content and demand it be overhauled into a non-violent, more kid-friendly version. The end result is so boring that it actually drives kids away from the TV to play outside. By the end of the episode, though, differences in media and art censorship lead the show to return to its gory roots.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' has an in-universe example in the ''The Dummi Bears''. In "At the Movies", ''The Dummi Bears in The Land Without Smiles'' shows the bears at work, delivering happy thoughts to children from the skies. Then, it changes its tone to a doctor bear tending to [[LittlestCancerPatient Little Shauna who is on the verge of death]]. Just before the doctor can explain Little Shauna's fate, [[TheUnreveal the film malfunctions]] thanks to the babies' antics in the projection room earlier in the episode. In "King Ten Pin", a daycare plays a ''Dummi Bears: Nightmare on Happy Street'' video, although it's not shown what dangers the bears face. In "Dummi Bear Dinner Disaster", Chas mentions an episode where Happy Bear has a close call with a taxidermist.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheItchyAndScratchyShow'' is a parody of cartoon violence, most notably from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, by making it extremely gory in a way that would never be permitted on air for actual children in our universe. An episode had Marge and other mothers call out the show's content and demanding it to be overhauled into a non-violent, more kid-friendly version. It actually drove kids away from the TV and play outside, but by the end of the episode differences in media and art censorship led the show to return to its gory roots.

* The Creator/AdultSwim pilot for the upcoming series, ''WesternAnimation/{{Pibby}}'', starts off looking like a typical saccharine preschool show, then a few seconds in is invaded by a DigitalAbomination that consumes Creator/CartoonNetwork and Creator/HannaBarbera characters and corrupts them into glitched monstrosities, whereas Pibby will learn what it means to grow up while teaming up with new friends along the way to save the world.

** The original prototype short was this. "Recap/WhoopassStew" was never meant to be a kids' show, yet is drawn in the same little girl show inspired style, with a kids show narrator, as the show proper. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen The show itself as going to be this]], but since there's no equivalent to Creator/AdultSwim at the time, it became a kids show. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids Ostensibly, what with the violence and all]].

** The original prototype short was this. "Recap/WhoopassStew" was never meant to be a kids' show, yet is drawn in the same little girl show inspired style, with a kids show narrator, as the show proper.

* The Creator/AdultSwim pilot ''WesternAnimation/{{Pibby}}'' starts off looking like a typical saccharine preschool show, then a few seconds in is invaded by a DigitalAbomination that consumes Creator/CartoonNetwork and Creator/HannaBarbera characters and corrupts them into glitched monstrosities.