Line #13 Main/DysfunctionalFamily


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6	[[quoteright:279:[[Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wilkerson_family.png]]]]
7	[[caption-width-right:279:"''This'' is why [[PrematurelyGreyHaired I'm going gray at 15!]]"]]
8
9	->''"All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."''
10	-->-- '''Leo Tolstoy''', ''Literature/AnnaKarenina''
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13	%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
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15	The entire premise for many {{Dom Com}}s is that the lead characters are a [[DysfunctionalFamilyIndex family of maladjusted people who generally don't get along]]. Usually they consist of a JadedWashout and/or BumblingDad father, a mother who is either a [[WomenAreWiser paragon of common sense]] and efficiency or a repulsive harridan (or both, a la ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''), and two-four kids who are unhappy, dislike each other, and [[HatesTheirParent resent at least one of their parents.]] Also, the father and his mother-in-law tend to hate each other. The family is generally [[LowerClassLout fairly poor]], although not always — ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' is about a large, rich dysfunctional family. And even they won't remain wealthy. (It was seized by the government.) Some shows add a crotchety grandparent or other relative for comic relief.
16
17	Don't get them wrong, though; for all the family arguments, the typical dysfunctional family never engages in actual abusive behavior — any that did would [[DudeNotFunny immediately lose all audience sympathy]]. Furthermore, when the family is facing a major problem from outside, they will generally pull together to face it. Dysfunctional Families may not get along, but they rarely actually ''loathe'' each other, and often receive AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther moments.
18
19	In American comedies, this was originally a subversion of the ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver''/''Series/TheBradyBunch'' almost-too-good-to-believe family in an idyllic {{Suburbia}}, but eventually ballooned into a genre of its own. The Dysfunctional Family has been a [[BritCom British comedy]] staple since the 1950s.
20
21	Contrast with QuirkyHousehold, where the people are merely ''weird'', but generally happy — indeed, more happy than more conventional households. If a family member makes friends who they understandably prefer to the family, they'll probably mutter that FriendsAreChosenFamilyArent.
22
23	See also BigScrewedUpFamily, who are more numerous, even more dysfunctional, and not (usually) PlayedForLaughs.
24
25	Members[[note]]This isn’t always accurate[[/note]]:
26
27	* BumblingDad
28	* WomenAreWiser
29	* BrattyTeenageDaughter
30	* DumbassTeenageSon
31	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling
32
33
34	Other members may include: BigBrotherBully
35	----
36	!!Examples:
37	[[foldercontrol]]
38
39	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
40	* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' reference: The Tohno Family who, [[spoiler:due to their non-human ancestry]], were a 'cursed' gene pool of insanity, various psychosis, and [[spoiler:sanity-decaying superhuman abilities]]; their family tree was full of suicides, early deaths, disappearances, and the like. They didn't necessarily get along with each other, although they co-existed rather well.
41	* The premise of ''The Daichi's Earth's Defense Family'' is one of these families being recruited as a pseudo-{{Sentai}} team just before the parents formally divorce each other - and the [[HilarityEnsues hilarity]] and angst that ensues.
42	* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has two of these; the Tendos and the Saotomes.
43	** The Saotomes consist of: the father, Genma Saotome; a glutton, petty thief, shiftless, irresponsible, [[SinsOfOurFathers responsibility-dodging troublemaker]] who [[{{Animorphism}} turns into a panda bear when splashed with cold water]]. The mother, Nodoka Saotome; a YamatoNadeshiko... who [[BewareTheNiceOnes carries a katana with her everywhere she goes]], in case she has to order her son to commit {{Seppuku}} for lack of manliness, as per the contract she agreed to and that Genma offered. The son, Ranma Saotome; a brash, socially inept martial artist who [[GenderBender turns into a busty girl when splashed with cold water]], who also is the center of a LoveDodecahedron, thanks in part to his father's agreeing to placing him under ''two'' separate {{Arranged Marriage}}s.
44	** The Tendos consist of: the overemotional father, Soun Tendo, who bursts into a geyser of tears at little provocation. The eldest daughter, Kasumi Tendo, who is a YamatoNadeshiko so sweet and nice she frankly comes off as deliberately oblivious at times. The middle daughter, Nabiki Tendo, a mercenary moneymaker and [[TheVamp teenage seductress]] who will happily sell skimpy photos of and paid dates with her little sister and her little sister's fiancé alike for extra pocket money. And the youngest daughter, Akane Tendo, an emotionally unstable and ''very'' {{tsundere}} {{tomboy}} martial artist.
45	*** And these two families are arranged to ''marry each other''. Specifically, Akane Tendo is supposed to marry Ranma Saotome. If they can ever sort out the LoveDodecahedron in favor of that particular pairing.
46	* In the Josei manga ''Manga/WithTheLight'', (almost) each child or parent Sachiko encounters has a dysfunctional family. One chapter had the saddest way to start: a father is stinking drunk and the son tries to run away- only to see his mother escaping asap in a taxi- leaving him alone. Another child, Eri-chan, refused to tell a teacher about Hikaru, an autistic boy, getting seriously hurt in fear that her father would [[TearJerker hit her "just like he hits mommy".]]
47	* In ''Literature/KyouranKazokuNikki'', this is subverted, as even though the household is its own DysfunctionJunction and they all have their individual issues, everyone has the other's back, leading to lots of heartwarming moments.
48	* ''Manga/GoodnightPunpun'' has a more serious version of this trope. Mom and Dad are divorced after an incident of DomesticAbuse that [[spoiler:turns out to be an AbuseMistake caused by Punpun's dad punching his wife to stop her from committing murder-suicide with Punpun]], Uncle is a serial cheater, and poor Punpun is [[spoiler:raped by his aunt]]. They do care about each other, but most of them have too many issues to express it in a healthy manner.
49	* Though certainly not a DomCom, ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has a dysfunctional family consisting of [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne reluctant]] [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]] Shinji Ikari, [[ManipulativeBastard evil]] [[AbusiveParents father]] Gendo Ikari, ambitious [[TheChessmaster mastermind]] mother [[TheLostLenore Yui Ikari]], Yui's little clones [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]] [[ReiAyanamiExpy Ayanami]] I, II, and III, and the HumongousMecha [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext that has Yui's soul inside]]. There's also Shinji's ParentalSubstitute, [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Misato]] [[EthicalSlut Katsuragi]], and Misato's other fostered child, [[FieryRedhead Asuka]] [[HotBlooded Langley]] [[LustObject Soryu]].
50	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Katsuki Bakugou's family consists of him, a mother that's just as fierce as him and a relatively mellow father. Katsuki and his mom are always at each other's throats, which embarasses the dad. In any case, Katsuki's parents love him, but acknowledge his problematic, confrontational attitude.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Comic Books]]
54	* The ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' of Creator/MarvelComics fame were designed to be a rather dysfunctional and constantly bickering, but ultimately tight-knit and loving family unit, which is part of what made the comic so popular and part of what put Creator/MarvelComics on the map; the fact that each member has superpowers only adds to the tensions and clashes between them. Although only Susan and Johnny were initially directly related to each other (sister and brother), Susan and Reed later married and started their own family.
55	** Reed and Ben are the type of best friends that are so close they each consider the other their brother, blood relations be damned, making the Four all in-laws. Which explains a lot about all their conflicts, actually...
56	** A running joke about their dynamics is the fact that their teamwork is so phenomenal and their PowerOfFriendship so strong in the face of danger that it has become legendary, yet they can barely function without constantly screaming at each other or stewing in bottled fury over personal conflicts whenever things are quiet.
57	* The [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bat-family]] has become rather dysfunctional. First you have Batman, an absentee father. His jerkass moments far outweigh his nice moments regarding his family, since he [[IWorkAlone works alone.]] This messes up the family pretty badly. There's also [[TheUnfavorite Jason Todd]], who holds a grudge against Bats for not killing his murderer, ComicBook/TheJoker, and has a one-sided rivalry with ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, akin to a little brother hating his AloofBigBrother and is a BigBrotherBully who regularly assaults his "replacement" [[ComicBook/RedRobin Tim Drake]]. Bruce's only daughter [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cass]] manages to avoid most of the family drama as the boys aren't foolish enough to pick a fight with her but she did frame Tim for her own murder once when BrainwashedAndCrazy. Finally, there's Damian Wayne, who desperately seeks Bats' approval to the point where he assaults his brothers and tries to kill Tim, and who Bats initially refused to acknowledge as his son because of how he was conceived. The only member of the family he gets along with other than Bats himself is Nightwing, who was his ParentalSubstitute for quite some time. It's quite amazing Nightwing is so well adjusted, seeing the family he comes from.
58	* Creator/GarthEnnis really seems to like these. What with the religious loonies, the cannibals and the Texans, the closest thing ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' had to a normal loving family was a bunch of swamp-dwelling hillbillies were the parents were brother and sister and the kids only had one eye. [[ComicBook/TheBoys Billy the Butcher]]'s father drank, cheated on his wife at every opportunity and sometimes beat her. And then there's [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Martin Soap]], who ends up (unknowingly) sleeping with his own mother.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Fan Works]]
62	* ''Fanfic/ADarkerPath'': As Cherie starts to heal and move past her abusive upbringing, she lets Taylor know snippets of what it was like in Heartbreaker's household. There were the little things, like constant arguments between the children, bitter competition for Heartbreaker's favour amongst his harem, and sharp criticism for everything, never praise. Then the larger things, like Cherie being rented out to Heartbreaker's friends for the night. Plus, of course, Heartbreaker using his power to load all sorts of destructive antisocial impulses into everyone's heads. She isn't sure what to think at first when she sees the very different dynamic between Taylor and Danny, but quickly becomes attached to a home that actually shows affection and has reasonable standards of behaviour.
63	--> '''Cherie:''' I thought I'd beaten him. When I ran, when I got away, I thought I was free of his influence. But I'd just been living with it for so long that it was part of me.
64	* Whereas the Loud family in ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' are typically depicted as a QuirkyHousehold, ''Fanfic/ASecondChance'' has them teeter much farther towards this trope. The story itself [[DeconstructedTrope drops all pretenses]] and shows exactly how rampant dysfunctionality within the Loud family, the sisters’ selfish, entitled, and inconsiderate behavior, and the parents' lax attitudes towards disciplining their children and asserting their authority is slowly but steadily destroying the family. And unlike many other fics, [[ButtMonkey Lincoln isn’t the one who arbitrarily suffers the brunt of the dysfunctionality]], [[HatesEveryoneEqually with the sisters treating each other just as badly]] (if not more so), and logically, the family members who are affected the most by the dysfunctionality are [[PushoverParents Lynn Sr. and Rita]], who have been burdened with the thankless job of [[SpoiledBrat taking care of]] [[TeensAreMonsters 10 misbehaved]] and [[UngratefulBastard ungrateful children]] and their lot in life is [[RageBreakingPoint slowly driving them to the brink]].
65	* ''Fanfic/BookFiveLegends'': If your Great-Aunt is [[spoiler:Azula]] it probably counts, though [[spoiler:most of the royal family are unaware of Temuji’s relation]] until later in the story.
66	* ''Fanfic/ChristianPotterChandler'': Barb is a [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative bitch]], Chris is... well, Chris, and Bob himself is a cynical old bastard that wishes at least one of the three would die.
67	* ''Fanfic/CustodyBattle'', a My Hero Academia fanfiction, explores the dysfunctional family dynamics and poor communication that led to the feud between All for One and his younger brother.
68	* In ''Fanfic/ForgivenessIsTheAttributeOfTheStrong'', a My Hero Academia fanfiction, All for One is Izuku Midoriya's father. He reacts to this reveal by kidnapping Izuku and stuffing him into a bank vault, which ought to win an award for dysfunctional parenting.
69	* ''Fanfic/UnbreakableRedSilkenThread'': Nearly every character has issues with their parents in this story.
70	** Cody's parents weren't around for most of his life due to their high-profile careers, but did try to make time for him and were there when he needed them most.
71	** Heather's parents had a relationship built around blackmail and bitter contempt, which resulted in the Queen Bee having little to no nice things to say about either of them.
72	** Gwen's mother being unable to accept Duncan resulted in a falling out between them, which culminated in Gwen being kicked out of her home.
73	** Sammy's parents were either unable or unwilling to help her against Amy.
74	** The only main character that doesn't have parental issues in the same way is Jasmine, since her family is very loving. However, the uncertainty of how they would react to knowing that their daughter is a lesbian with a girlfriend has caused some issues for her.
75	** Also, on the supporting character end, there's Cameron, whose mother was the only friend he had for many years.
76	* In [[https://www.deviantart.com/slifofinadragon SlifofinaDragon]]’s ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' fanfics, we’ve got the Date-Sanadas and the Toyotomis.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Films — Animation]]
80	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': On one hand, the Riveras are tightly knit, and genuinely love and care for one another. However, their family isn't perfect. For generations, they have collectively upheld an irrational ban against music, to the point where they can't and won't let Miguel follow his dream of being a musician, much to the boy's detriment.
81	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'': Played with by the Madrigals. It seems the family starts out as supportive and unrestricted beyond Alma's desire to use their gifts to give back to the community but over time becomes dysfunctional as Alma's desire to preserve the miracle intensifies. The first marriages (Pepa/Felix) and (Julieta/Agustin) appear to have been unguided. As grandchildren enter the household, Alma continues to guide the family toward being of service to the community. When Mirabel fails to get a gift, Alma begins to quietly fear that they've failed to be worthy of the miracle and increases the pressure to give back. [[spoiler:Bruno, at this point, is hiding behind the walls and working to repair the cracks that have started to appear.]] By the time Antonio gets his gift, Alma has become aware of the cracks in the Casita and becomes even more focused on keeping the miracle alive. She takes steps to arrange the marriage of Isabela and Mariano [[spoiler:(regardless of Isabela's feelings)]] and becomes more critical of Mirabel's actions that she feels jeopardizes the miracle. Although Mirabel reconciles with Isabela [[spoiler:and begins to strengthen the candle flame, Alma is so distraught at how changed Isabela has become that she openly accuses Mirabel and Bruno of hurting the family. Mirabel then tells her grandmother that ''Alma '' is the one truly hurting the family. This becomes the final straw that causes the miracle to collapse and Alma realizes that Mirabel was right, so she begins the process of reconciling with Mirabel and this leads to true healing.]]
82	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', the Parr family starts off like this, as a SuperFamilyTeam forced to live an average life under a SuperRegistrationAct. Violet's angst about not being normal, Dash's frustration at being forced to pretend to be, the arguments between siblings and parents at the dinner table and Helen butting heads with Bob over his late-night vigilante antics all contribute. Thankfully, the events of the movie contribute to bring them all closer by the end.
83	* The titular Mitchell family in ''WesternAnimation/TheMitchellsVsTheMachines'' may love each other but they definitely still count as this trope, especially when it comes to the strained relationship between Katie and her father Rick.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
87	%%%
88	%%% Please put your choices in alphabetical order.
89	%%%
90
91	* The Setons in ''Film/{{Holiday}}''. Linda has a warm relationship with both her siblings, but they don't much care for each other. Julia's the only one who gets along with her dad, whom [[TheAlcoholic Ned]], and [[BlackSheep Linda]] both resent for trying to run their lives. Their [[MissingMom mother]] can't have been terribly happy, either.
92	-->'''Ned:''' You see, Father wanted a large family so Mother promptly had Linda, but Linda was a girl so Mother promptly had Julia, but Julia was a girl and the whole thing seemed hopeless. Then, the following year, Mother had me. It was a boy and the fair name of Seton would flourish. Drink to Mother, Johnny. She tried to be a Seton for a while, then gave up and died.
93	* ''Film/KapoorAndSons'': The Kapoors are comprised of an ailing grandfather, a bickering middle-aged couple, and two estranged grandsons.
94	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * The EnsembleCast of ''Film/LittleMissSunshine''.
95	* The female side of the Bullock's family in ''Film/MyManGodfrey'' is made up of unnerving {{Rich Bitch}}es.
96	* ''Film/TheSquidAndTheWhale'': The Berkmans are all screwed up in some way. The parents are self-obsessed, arrogant, and unfaithful toward one another, leading to their divorce. The children consist of a judgmental, narcissistic teenager and an alcoholic, sex-crazed prepubescent.
97	* To some degree in ''Film/TakeShelter''. The protagonist's mother is in a mental hospital, his brother is estranged from him and his wife is about to leave him.
98	* The Conlons of the 2011 film ''Film/{{Warrior}}'' have shades of this. However, Brendan's family is amazingly functional.
99	* Creator/WesAnderson loves this trope in general. ''Film/TheRoyalTenenbaums'', ''Film/TheLifeAquatic'' has Dysfunctional TrueCompanions, and there are familial issues to be worked out in both ''Film/TheDarjeelingLimited'' and ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox''.
100	* In ''Film/WhatWeDidOnOurHoliday'' the dysfunction, previously lurking with divorcing parents, a self-obsessed uncle, an aunt in the midst of a breakdown and world weary kids, really becomes noticeable when the children decide to give their granddad a VikingFuneral after he dies on the beach, and all the adults are too busy arguing for the children to be able to tell them he has died.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Literature]]
104	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * The Trethowans from Robert Barnard's mystery novel ''Death by Sheer Torture''. The author bases them on the real-life family, the Mitfords.
105	* In Creator/MichaelFlynn's ''[[Literature/SpiralArm Up Jim River]]'', Zorba explains Bridget's silence by this:
106	--> "The Hounds are like brothers and sisters, but there is a certain amount of sibling rivalry."
107	* ''Literature/TheButcherBoy'', Francie's family. His mother is frequently abused both verbally and physically by her husband, a bitter alcoholic, and often considers committing suicide. Of course, Francie is oblivious to this and claims that his mother is "in the garage".
108	* In ''Literature/TheSpiritThief'', it eventually turns out that not only are Banage, a bleeding-heart extremist with the stubbornness of a mule and a head thicker than some castle walls, and Sara, a psychopath with penchant for experimenting on sentient spirits, [[spoiler:married]], but their family includes [[spoiler:Eli, a master thief]] with ComplexityAddiction.
109	* The Amatsu family in ''Literature/MyVampireOlderSisterAndZombieLittleSister''. Prior to the start of the series, Satori's father Taizou and mother Taori divorced due to frequent arguments. Taizou then married someone else, who brought the titular vampire and zombie into the family. However, Satori mostly gets along with his stepsisters--it's their parents/step-parents who are dysfunctional. [[spoiler:It turns out that the reason Taizou and Taori divorced was because the former was a member of the Bright Cross (a CreatureHunterOrganisation that targets [[OurMonstersAreWeird Archenemies]]) while the latter was a pro-Archenemy advocate. But Taori wasn't aware that Taizou was actually part of the Bright Cross's moderate faction, trying to stop the organisation's persection of Archenemies. On top of that, Taizou's second wife (the siblings' stepmother) is an Archenemy, the demon lord Lilith. Taori absolutely ''hates'' Lilith, seeing her as an usurper, and wants to kill her at all costs]].
110	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * The five Dunbar brothers from ''Literature/BridgeOfClay''. Their mother has died, their father has left them and they are left to their own devices, even though the oldest one, [[{{Narrator}} Matthew]], is barely 18 at that time.
111	* The Heffley family in ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid''. Mom Susan is a MisplacedKindergartenTeacher who [[ParentalFavoritism spoils her youngest son specifically]], Frank is a cranky BumblingDad, and their three sons are (from oldest to youngest) a really bad heavy metal musician and BigBrotherBully, a self-proclaimed "wimpy kid", and a SpoiledBrat who throws tantrums over the smallest things.
112	* ''Literature/TheWindEye'': Bertrand is a ControlFreak and his second wife Madeleine is a fiery-tempered free spirit, so they constantly argue. Madeleine's son Mike is a rebellious teenager. Bertrand's older daughter Beth, along with her own insecurities, thinks Madeleine is an attention-seeker (and Madeleine in turn mocks Beth's Christianity). Beth's little sister Sally has a hand crippled by burn scars for which Bertrand constantly blames himself. Beth and Mike, at least, [[FlirtyStepsiblings get on well together]].
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
116	* ''Series/SeventhHeaven''
117	** The parents' actions sometimes put other people('s lives) in danger - Eric insisting on detoxing his [[LadyDrunk alcoholic sister]] at his house instead of professional detox, even knowing the [[http://asp.cumc.columbia.edu/psych/asktheexperts/ask_the_experts_inquiry.asp?SI=322 potential life-threatening dangers]]; Annie refusing a medically necessary Caesarean section during the twins' birth - and they are completely blind to this and really think they're always helping people.
118	** The relationship between Matt and Mary had subtle [[BrotherSisterIncest incestuous undertones]] - or not so subtle in the pilot episode, when Mary asked her brother to give her a French kiss and his going for her mouth was only interrupted because their father walked in (who didn't really say/think anything of the situation...)
119	** Mary's character completely changes in season 4/5, ([[RealLifeWritesThePlot possibly brought on by]] the writers/producers and the [[Creator/JessicaBiel actress]] not getting along). Although she shows academic and athletic excellence in the first seasons and is the only family member who seems to have a firm head on her shoulders, around the fourth season she starts getting into trouble. This includes an arrest for vandalism, underage drinking / drinking while driving, and doing marijuana. The parents' reaction is to [[PutOnABus put her on a bus]] (or in this case, plane), after which point she becomes [[ButtMonkey the butt]] of [[TheUnfavorite the family]].
120	** The twins' always repeating each other / not speaking right was treated as being cute, but at the level they had this, they actually seemed to have a developmental disorder.
121	* ''Series/AllInTheFamily'': Probably the template for television depictions, and an almost deliberate subversion of all previous DomCom shows. But for all the bickering between Archie and the Meathead, Archie calling his wife Dingbat and belittling his Little Goil, he was also intensely loyal to his family and would stick up for them when the chips fell, and in the end it was AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther.
122	* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' provides the page image, although the level is more comparable to BigScrewedUpFamily, unsurprisingly due to the creators wanting to make the worst Dysfunctional Family possible.
123	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''
124	* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': The show was meant as a subversion of the clean-cut DomCom shows of the early '80s about loving, wholesome, upper middle-class families, instead featuring a lower-class family who seem to constantly be at each others' throats. This show and ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' are arguably the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifiers]] of the Dysfunctional Family sitcom, as they started the trend of [[DomCom Dom Coms]] featuring dysfunctional families. It is safe to say the Bundys' household income is divided as 99-1 with Peg getting the upper percentage while Bud and Kelly combined get the lower one. That leaves Al with nothing. The kids are divided on which parent is the LesserOfTwoEvils, sometimes going with mom because Al can be a bit of a ControlFreak at times especially if he demands family time, and the other times with Al himself since Peg is a lazy, negligent mother who won't feed them at all. The viewer usually only sees the kids warming up to Al, with Peg out of the picture.
125	* Reversed in ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' and ''Series/TheMunsters'', both families are wildly dysfunctional in the classical sense, but treat each other with respect and love. That it's expressed via poisoning, stabbing, and other grievous and macabre means is [[CrossesTheLineTwice just funny.]]
126	* The Russos in ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. See ''Family Game Night'' episode and you'll assist at an extreme case of [[HilarityEnsues funny dysfunctional family]]. Plus, the kids have ''to battle'' each other when they reach maturity.
127	** Harper's family has been shown to be pretty dysfunctional too, but it's PlayedForLaughs.
128	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/{{Titus}}''
129	* ''Series/{{Eastenders}}'' and ''Series/CoronationStreet'' - if there's a family these days on either of those two shows which is actually ''functional''?
130	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''
131	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/BrothersAndSisters''
132	* In ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' the aliens resemble this. In one episode, they use it as a cover for their odd behavior when they become the subject of a documentary on dysfunctional families.
133	* ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', although it focuses more on the adults than on the kids. Actually, if you think of Frank and Marie as the "parents" and their children and their girlfriends[=/=]wives as the "kids", you have two generations of this represented.
134	* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': Averted, but in the 1993 episode "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad House" saw Eddie Winslow (the teenage son of the main protagonists) claim he was a product of one after he pulled a prank at school and was threatened with suspension from the basketball team. The teacher actually falls for Eddie's story and, on Urkel's suggestion -- the description of the problem is deliberately written in such a way that the Winslows are not identified as the dysfunctional family -- the teacher goes to investigate and confront his parents. Indeed, at first, the situation seems bad as the house was in total disarray; Harriet had become so fed up with the family not wanting to do their fair share of the chores around the house that she went "on strike." But when the teacher overhears Carl complaining to Harriet that he couldn't find his old clothes (so he could go out on a drug bust) and [[ThatCameOutWrong wording his complaint poorly]] ("You know I like to wear my old plaid shirt when I go out to buy drugs!"), she bursts in to confront Carl and Harriet demand why Eddie is suffering from a bad family. Carl immediately clears up the situation, then takes Eddie aside and tells him both to man up and facing the consequences of his misbehavior at school and that he sees many abusive family situations every day [[DudeNotFunny and that dysfunction in families is nothing to joke about]].
135	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/MyFamily''
136	* [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 The Cylons]]. But given the screwed up process by which they are created, they can't help but be dysfunctional (and a bit psychotic).
137	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/MamasFamily''
138	* ''Series/TheGeorgeLopezShow'':
139	** George's dad [[DisappearedDad left him]], his mom's a [[LadyDrunk bitter drunk]], his daughter gets bullied an extreme amount and always is getting in trouble with boys, his son is [[LIsForDyslexia dyslexic]]...you get the picture.
140	** The Palmero family isn't clean either. Angie's mom cheated on Vic after years of marriage. Vic tongue-wrestled with Benny, and then tried to enter into a relationship with a woman in her twenties. Angie's sister has been very hopeless in finding a relationship, and was desperate enough to kiss George. Angie's brother grew up to be manipulative con artist. Her niece Veronica is completely spoiled. And it's implied that the reason Veronica's mother Claudia made George the trustee to Veronica's inheritance was because she found the rest of the family to be poor role models.
141	* ''Series/TheOsbournes''. It's not completely off the mark to describe their RealityTV depiction as a live-action ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' for old metallers.
142	* The Monk family in the Crime Dramedy series ''Series/{{Monk}}'' is heavily implied to be dysfunctional. The parents raised their kids, Adrian Monk and Ambrose Monk, in a very strict fashion, which evidentally contributed to their quirks (such as Adrian Monk's various phobias and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as well as Ambrose Monk's Agoraphobia), their father, Jack Monk, eventually and inexplicably [[ParentalAbandonment left the family in 1972 while going to get Chinese Food]], which also resulted in Ambrose and their mother becoming cataconic. Their Christmases were also heavily implied to be horrible experiences for Monk. Jack Monk's other family, Jack Jr. was also proven to be no different. Although Jack Monk mentioned that Jack Jr. was a heart surgeon in Baltimore, it was later revealed in the same episode that Jack Monk lied about that out of shame, and that Jack Jr. was actually a putz (actually, not even a putz, but a person who dreams of one day becoming a putz), who lives in his basement, smokes Marijuana, and steals from Jack's wallet, and also had a criminal record of selling stolen cars and intends to move to Paraguay.
143	* On the kids' sci-fi show ''Series/HalfwayAcrossTheGalaxyAndTurnLeft'' the main family consists of a gambling-addicted father, a scatterbrained mother, a dreamy CloudCuckoolander older sister, and a child genius younger brother. The family relies on its middle child, [[OnlySaneMan ten-year-old X]], to run their daily lives whilst adapting to Earth culture and keeping them safe from the wrath of the Zyrgonian Government. The strain of running her family actually makes X ''[[TheWoobie physically ill]]''.
144	* The Crane family from ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' is a mild version (seeing as they are as close-knit as they are combative), with the "children" starting as adults in their late 30s. Their dysfunction is exacerbated at the beginning by the fact that the family's late matriarch Hester Crane was the lynchpin that held her sons and her husband together, and Frasier and Niles' SiblingTeam dynamic had been put on hold during Frasier's [[Series/{{Cheers}} decade-long absence.]] One of the show's underlying story arcs, especially in the first couple of seasons, involves Frasier and Niles rebuilding a close relationship with their father in the absence of their mother to facilitate things
145	* The Paolo Family, from ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' Family Edition, spent their time on the race bickering and yelling.
146	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/GrandmasHouse''
147	* The [[Series/TheBorgias Borgia]] family consists of patriarch Rodrigo, who is [[SinisterMinister Pope Alexander VI]]; his former mistress and mother of his children, Vanozza; his current mistress [[DarkMistress Giulia]]; his son Cesare, TheSociopath, a cardinal who dreams of becoming a soldier; his incompetent younger son, Juan, who [[CainAndAbel despises Cesare and vice versa]]; and daughter Lucrezia, a FilleFatale who shares an IncestSubtext relationship with Cesare. Oh, and there's [[TokenGoodTeammate Gioffre]]. But nobody cares about him.
148	* ''Series/LifeOfRiley'': The Rileys (and in another way, the Weavers) have a complicated set of relationships. Maddy's family consists of herself, a husband, an ex, a son from her ex, a daughter from her husband, two stepchildren, a mother and eventually a stepfather. Conflicts, you bet.
149	* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes had a sibling rivalry which affected the entire family. [[spoiler: Their younger (and secret) sister Eurus didn't help matters either.]]
150	%%* The Moody family of ''Series/AMoodyChristmas'' fits this trope.
151	%%* The Cryers, the Youngs, and the Harringtons in ''Series/TheHavesAndTheHaveNots'' ''definitely'' qualify.
152	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Series/{{Transparent}}''
153	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' has its six protagonists hailing from five such families. The Gellers are almost normal, but the result was still ControlFreak Monica and incredibly awkward Ross. The Greens are two bickering parents who raised three {{Spoiled Brat}}s (though Rachel managed to evolve out of this exactly by running away). The Tribbianis are BigEater HotBlooded Italians leading to six women and [[TheCasanova Casanova]] [[TheDitz Ditz]] Joey. The Buffays have a DisappearedDad, a mom who killed herself, and bickering and not very bright twins Phoebe and [[EvilTwin Ursula]] (and to make things even weirder, there's Phoebe's half-brother [[MayDecemberRomance who married his much older teacher]]). And finally, the Bings can be summed up by this exchange:
154	-->'''Chandler''': The Bings have horrible marriages! They yell. They fight. And they use the pool boy as a pawn in their sexual games!\
155	'''Ross''': Chandler, have you ever put on a black cocktail dress and asked me up to your hotel room?\
156	'''Chandler''': No.\
157	'''Ross''': Then you are neither of your parents!
158	* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': The very premise of the show is that the dysfunctional, decadent and selfish Rose family must come together after becoming destitute and forced to live in a rural town. All the Roses eventually reveal HiddenDepths and they become a loving, if snarky, family as the series progresses, but just a few of their early dysfunctions include:
159	** Johnny is a terrible gift giver, in large part because he hardly knew his children and is bad at reading social cues.
160	** Moira is an alcoholic, pill-popping DramaQueen who doesn't even know her daughter's middle name when the series begins and much prefers her son's company.
161	** David is a snooty, NeatFreak, lonely, pansexual wannabe hipster who has never been in a real relationship despite many hookups of both genders, and he has no real friends.
162	** Alexis has seen doctors about her inability to feel ''anything'', and she's been so reckless that she's been kidnapped more than once but she's resourceful enough to have escaped each time.
163	* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime2021'':
164	** The Cauthons, and not played for laughs. Natti is a drunkard, Abell sleeps around and has no horses despite calling himself a horse merchant. The twin daughters are neglected, and Mat has been gambling and stealing to take care of them.
165	** Tam al'Thor laughingly mentions that his late wife Kari had similar drinking problems.
166	* ''Series/{{Hanna}}'':
167	** Though not full-on dysfunctional, Marissa's home situation in Season 1 is strained because her boyfriend Oliver's young son resents her presence in the household and Oliver is uncomfortable with the secrecy surrounding her job. Later it turns out she'd estranged from her birth family, having had an abusive father who she has not seen for twenty two years, and a sister she also wasn't in contact with for many years.
168	** Kat Gelder has some serious DaddyIssues arising out of her father's intelligence-community job, and her relationship with her mother is even worse.
169	* ''Series/{{Maid}}'': Alex's mother is mentally unstable and goes through a long string of boyfriends while her father is a recovered alcoholic (who also shows surprisingly little sympathy for his own daughter's plight and instead feels bad for her ''abusive ex'' given they both dealt with alcoholism; even refusing to back up Alex's rightful claims of abuse that he witnessed during her custody case-[[spoiler:this may be because he was abusive as well]]). [[spoiler: While Alex loves her parents, even trying to take her mom with her to Montana, she eventually decides that leaving them behind is for the best.]]
170	* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019'': The Hargreeves brothers ([[TheSmurfettePrinciple and sister]]) have clearly became this by the time they [[FamilyDisunion reunite at their father's funeral]]. Problems with authority, drug addiction, abuse of superpowers, gender dysphoria; all combine to the point that [[spoiler:they cause the same apocalypse they were meant to stop]].
171	* ''Series/Flowers2016'': The main group and setting of the show is a dysfunctional family who all have many different issues, and Shun, their Japanese guest who also has some himself. Most of the drama is drawn from the conflicts they have with each other.
172	* Parodied in the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit for the "Dysfunctional Family Christmas" album, a collection of holiday songs for families who hate each other. Featuring such classic hits as "Let's Pretend We Like Each Other (This Christmas)" (about group denial at family gatherings), "The Almost Perfect Christmas" (in which Christmas is ruined as soon as a guy yells at his mom), "Ballad of the Co-Dependent" (a man singing about his wife's drinking problem) and capping off with the "Carol of Intimacy":
173	-->'''Dana Carvey''' (''singing to the tune of'' Carol of the Bells): ''Leave me alone, please go away, I'm doing fine, just get away. Leave me alone, please go away, I'm doing fine, just get away.''
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Music]]
177	* No one in the Music/{{Gorillaz}} is related by blood, but they sometimes come off this way, especially with the guys' BigBrotherInstinct towards [[LittleMissBadass Noodle]]. It would be kind of cute if they weren't a schizophrenic [[BigEater overeater]], a [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} barely coherent]] painkiller addict and an alcoholic {{Jerkass}}. SocialServicesDoesNotExist in this world, obviously. A more cut-and-dried example would be Murdoc's family, who put him through a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood and are now all either incarcerated or dead. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse The story has yet to reveal what happened to his psychotic father.]].
178	* "We're A Happy Family" from ''Music/RocketToRussia'' by Music/TheRamones is a sarcastic deconstruction of the so-called ''happy family''.
179	* "The Season's Upon Us" by the Music/DropkickMurphys is an AntiChristmasSong in which the narrator sings about how massively dysfunctional his family is and how he's glad he only has to see them once a year.
180	[[/folder]]
181
182	[[folder:Theatre]]
183	* ''Theatre/KimberlyAkimbo2021'': Protagonist Kimberly (who has a genetic disease that ages her rapidly and will likely kill her in her late teens) has an alcoholic father, a neurotic and hypochondriac pregnant mother, and an unrepentant scammer of an aunt.
184	* ''Theatre/NextToNormal'': The daughter is nearly cracking under overwhelming perfectionism, the husband is expertly codependent, and the mother is "Bi-polar with delusional episodes", which includes [[spoiler:suffering hallucinations for sixteen years -- because the son is ''dead.'']]
185	--> "So my son's a little shit, my husband's boring, and my daughter, though a genius, is a freak."
186	* Joe Pitt, his wife Harper, his mother Hannah, and his [[ParentalAbandonment absent father]] in ''Theatre/AngelsInAmerica'' bring a couple more complexes to the already insane mix.
187	* ''Theatre/NatashaPierreAndTheGreatCometOf1812'': Andrey's family is introduced as "totally messed up" in the prologue, and it's completely true. Bolkonsky is senile, cruel, and abusive towards Mary, who in turn is bitter, lonely, and loves and loathes her father simeltaneously. Andrey's by far the most normal person in the family, and he's TheGhost for most of the show.
188	[[/folder]]
189
190	[[folder:Video Games]]
191	* ''VideoGame/{{Blazblue}}'' has Makoto's Joke Ending. Makoto runs a dramatic re-enactment of her family life with [[QuestionableCasting randomized casting]]. It turns out that [[TheSociopath Terumi]] has a talent for turning any family into this and when his favourite victims, like [[spoiler:Ragna]] are also casted, things quicky get out of control, not helped by the other actors not being able to stay in character, here's the cast:
192	--> Makoto's Father: [[spoiler:Noel]].
193	--> Makoto's Mother: [[spoiler:[[AbusiveParents Hazama]]]].
194	--> Makoto's Younger Sister, Mikoto: [[spoiler: Bang]].
195	--> Makoto's Older Brother, Mukoto: [[spoiler:Valkenhayn]].
196	--> Makoto's Younger Twin Siblings, Mekoto and Mokoto: [[spoiler: Carl and Ada]].
197	--> Makoto's Youngest Baby Sibling: [[spoiler:[[ButtMonkey Ragna]]]].
198	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' has the [=Townleys/de Santas=], which became quite dysfunctional in the years since they entered WitnessProtection: Michael is a former professional robber who finds himself dissatisfied with his cushy "retirement" in an upscale West Coast neighborhood, his wife Amanda spends his money with great abandon and sleeps around with several other men, his daughter Tracey is a spoiled-rotten fame-seeking brat, and his son Jimmy is a pot-smoking gaming addict [[InternetJerk with no netiquitte whatsoever]].
199	* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'': The Velvet Room siblings are a complete basket case by human standards, and it's mostly [[VideoGame/Persona3 Elizabeth]]'s fault. Having little consideration for others and only hearing what she wants to hear, Elizabeth gets her amusement by tormenting Theodore with increasingly nasty pranks like feeding him dog food or tricking him with misconceptions about the human world. Margaret, the oldest, does nothing to curb Elizabeth (it doesn't help that Elizabeth is implied to be her favorite), and often engages in bullying Theodore herself, just in a more passive way. Caroline and Justine are rightfully terrified of their older sisters, and admit to thinking of them as enemies more often than not. That said, the twins and Theo are more openly fond of each other.
200	* ''VideoGame/TangleTower'' is focused on two dysfunctional families, the Fellows and the Pointers, who are linked by marriage into one big DysfunctionalFamily.
201	* The Entrati family in ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' are some of the last surviving Orokin in the Sol system... unfortunately, they're a screwed-up mess of pity, self loathing, spite, misery, sarcasm, and Infestation. It's your job, as you level with their syndicate, to try and patch them up like some sort of quilt of neuroses.
202	[[/folder]]
203
204	[[folder:Web Animation]]
205	* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'':
206	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBnHuWN8RD8 Hiiragi's family]] is riddled with problems: drowning in debt, his parents are part of a shady cult, a shut-in older brother and an older sister who ran away to get away from these problems.
207	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl2YWIrQRTQ Karin's family]] have a lot of problems: Her father, Tachibana is an alcoholic, short-tempered DomesticAbuser. Her mother, Akane, is a hysterical woman who refuses to take care of her children and the house. Her older brother, Hiiragi, is a narcissist jobless man who often plays around with different women. Averted for her younger brother, Katsura, since he is the other OnlySaneMan in the house along with her.
208	[[/folder]]
209
210	[[folder:Webcomics]]
211	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Not only Tedd's mom is gone to Europe, but when Nanase's mom asked about her sister, [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-01-28 the answer sounds]] much like Pandora-Chaos [[BerserkButton at her worst]].
212	* ''Webcomic/EnnuiGo'': The Pritchard family perfectly represent this trope. For starters, the [[AbusiveParents mom]] was a [[AxCrazy violent]] [[AddledAddict drug addict]] with [[SplitPersonality three, different personalities]] [[OffingTheOffspring who literally tried to kill her own daughters]], main character Izzy is a [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]], drug ''and'' [[AllWomenAreLustful sex]] addicted [[EccentricMillionaire billionaire game programmer]], her twin sister Adelie is equally sarcastic and horny and is an [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] [[FunctionalAddict novelist]] and Adelie's son Max is an [[LonersAreFreaks anti-social, borderline psychopathic punk]] who is, [[ItRunsInTheFamily of course]], [[RuleOfThree prone to sarcasm]]. Even WhiteSheep [[TokenWholesome Kirsty]] has something off about her. Namely that she's a literal ''[[ArtificialHuman clone]]'' of Izzy ([[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and is kind of a]] [[TheDitz ditz]]). The only truly sane and stable member of this clan is [[StraightMan Bella]], and that could be because she's only a Pritchard by marriage.
213	* The webcomic ''Webcomic/StepMonster'' is about the Millers; dad has been in jail for at least five years and is looking at an unspecified further term, mom got put into rehab for alcohol abuse as a result, their step-mother/guardian, Matilda, is an 8ft tall, 600lbs fluffy dragon-like monster who used to live in their closet, and their prospective step-dad is Matilda's human boyfriend.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Web Original]]
217	* In [[https://youtu.be/TseT4C38UAg Siblings]], the short depicts a little girl whose parents are in a heated argument. When her little brother accidentally annoys her with his fish bowl she in a fit of anger accidentally breaks it, killing the goldfish. This reduces the little brother to tears and when the sister tries to get her parents to help they are still too busy arguing to pay attention to their crying child. When she goes to her room to distract her from her situation, only to realize how her upbringing is causing her to lash out at her younger brother and finally [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone feels guilty.]] [[spoiler: She fortunately gets better and reconciles with her younger brother and they give their pet a grave ending in a [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet note]].]]
218
219	* Zeus and Hera's family in ''Literature/ThaliasMusings'', both with their legitimate children and Zeus' bastards to whom Hera is the WickedStepmother.
220	%%** Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Eros.
221	* Apparently, [[VideoGame/LuigisMansion King Boo]] is the father of [[LetsPlay/MarioPartyTV Mr. Doom's Boo]]. Pink Boo is either his girlfriend, wife or ex-wife, and all the little mini-Boos are their kids. This doesn't stop them from giving him crap; instead, they're constantly after him to pay child support instead of spending all his coins to support his Star habit.
222	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * The Ridgways of WebVideo/McJuggerNuggets count.
223	[[/folder]]
224
225	[[folder:Western Animation]]
226	* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': The Belchers are composed of Tina, the [[NoSocialSkills socially-awkward]], [[AllWomenAreLustful boy-crazy]] teenage daughter; Gene, the [[NoIndoorVoice loud]] and [[CloudCuckoolander eccentric]] middle child; Louise, the [[TheGadfly mischievous]] and [[HeroicComedicSociopath somewhat sociopathic]] youngest daughter; Linda, the [[MyBelovedSmother doting]], [[LargeHam enthusiastic]], and [[TheAlcoholic occasionally drunk]] mother; and Bob, the family patriarch and StraightMan who's [[NotSoAboveItAll not without his own quirks and obsessions]]. They love each other, but also drive each other up the wall to various degrees.
227	* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': Bojack himself grew up in a very dysfunctional household where his parents [[NoAccountingForTaste just couldn't get along with each other]] [[AbusiveParents and often took out their frustrations on him]].
228	** Bojack's mother, Beatrice, became the bitter woman we've come to fear because of her own [[DarkAndTroubledPast troubled childhood]]. Back in the 1940's, her family seemed idyllic at first, but after the death of [[TheAce Crackerjack]] in World War II, things really fell apart, for what was left is an [[AbusiveParents emotionally distant father]], [[EmptyShell a broken mother]], and [[TheUnfavorite a neglected daughter]].
229	* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': A mild example with Dexter's family. Dad is a wannabe candidate for JockDadNerdSon despite not being all that physically accomplished himself, Mom has massive OCD and germaphobia and compulsively cleans the house constantly as well as extremely bad-tempered if anyone ever questions her decisions or requests, Dee-Dee is a [[BigBrotherBully bully]] at her worst and TheDitz at other times, and Dexter himself keeps his giant lab a secret from his parents, and is rather alienated from his family because of his intellect, which the others have difficulty comprehending. Despite this, it rarely causes friction and the family is close.
230	** Mandark's family is one as well. He's the son of two hippie parents who raised their son according to counter-culture values. Unfortunately, their son is their opposite in every way, and their attempts at quelling his darker impulses failed. It probably didn't help that they named him "Susan".
231	*** It also doesn’t help they HAD a daughter who only appeared once...
232	* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': The Gleeful family, natch. [[EnfantTerrible Gideon]] just proves to be AbusiveOffspring to both his parents, to the point where his mother is traumatized and his father [[spoiler: is implied to constantly erase his memories of Gideon's outbursts of anger]].
233	** Also, the Northwest family. Descended from a long line of {{Card Carrying Villain}}s, Pacifica is pretty much treated like a dog by her parents, her father having Pavlov-conditioned her to get back in line at the sound of a small bell. [[spoiler: It makes Pacifica's defiance of her parents to let in the commoners all the more courageous.]]
234	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': The Go siblings.
235	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The obvious exemplar, we could be here all day with examples to back up their inclusion. However, even if [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush the President]] wished Americans could be "more like ''Series/TheWaltons'' and less like ''The Simpsons''," they stay together, go to church together and eat dinner together every night, and they're ultimately closely-knit.
236	-->'''Bart''': Hey! ''We're'' like the Waltons. [[TakeThat We're prayin' for an end to the depression, too.]]
237	* This is pretty much the basis of all of Creator/SethMacFarlane's cartoons, being ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow''.
238	** The Griffins (Family Guy) are of a more traditional sitcom setup in the style of The Simpsons. Peter Griffin is a {{Manchild}} who combines low intelligence and massive emotional immaturity with a dangerous lack of common sense. Lois Griffin is a shrewish housewife who can't control her husband's behavior. Chris Griffin, like his father, is a FatIdiot who shows lack of knowledge. Meg Griffin is the ButtMonkey of the entire family, if not the whole town. It's telling that the best adjusted members of the family are the one-year-old EnfantTerrible Stewie (who's a murderer a dozen times over) and KnowNothingKnowItAll FunnyAnimal Brian, who are able to rely on each other for emotional support.
239	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' doesn't so much have dysfunctional families as it technically has a few families that might, under a generous reading, count as functional. The issues the Morgendorffers have, at least in part, derive from the somewhat messed-up nature of their parents' own families; Brittany has a stepmother who doesn't really "mother" and a father who spoils her and is dismissive of her younger brother, who's kind of a budding serial killer; Jodie's parents are extremely pushy and don't let her relax much; even relatively minor characters like Mr [=DeMartino=] have have histories involving bad parenting from screwed-up people.
240	* Possibly one of the earliest depictions of a dysfunctional family in animation is Creator/ChuckJones' "Three Bears" from ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''. This is especially prominent in ''WesternAnimation/ABearForPunishment'' where Mama and Junyer celebrate Father's Day much to the annoyance of Papa Bear.
241	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': While most of the families in South Park has some measure of problems, by far the worst are Kenny and Cartman's families. Kenny's parents are both unemployed alcoholics who constantly emotionally and physically abuse each other (though they dont generally target their kids), and their three children are forced to rely on each other for support. They've been taken by social services at least once. Cartman is the BastardBastard son of a Denver Broncos player, and lives with his enabling doormat of a mother, whose lax parenting has resulted in her son becoming a full-blown sociopath by age 10.
242	* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' lives and breathes this trope, though it's more the "Idyllic outside, dysfunctional inside" version.
243	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
244	** Seventy years later, most of the original Gaang has a more realistic, downplayed ParentsAsPeople-based version of this. Aang unknowingly favored his airbending son Tenzin over his other two kids (partly out of necessity as Tenzin would have to guide all future airbenders), Toph couldn't bring herself to discipline her kids (having been raised by overprotective parents) leading to one joining a gang and the other becoming an uptight jerk who never knew who her father was, Sokka doesn't seem to have started a family, and only Zuko's daughter seems to not be carrying any lingering luggage from her childhood. That being said, ''unlike'' the Fire Nation Royal family, it was still very clear that they all loved all of their children and all of said children grew up to be functional healthy adults who still carry fond memories of their parents as well.
245	* On ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold,'' the residents of the boarding house are presented as being dysfunctional TrueCompanions.
246	* The Petes on ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' consist of a father who [[ParentalFavoritism abuses one child while spoiling the other]] when he's not neglecting both of them (Pete), a mother who is usually yelling at her husband and daughter (Peg), a son who is emotionally damaged, disillusioned with his father, and impatient to leave home (PJ), and a BrattyHalfPint daughter who gets on everyone's nerves (Pistol). They are the {{foil}} family for the main QuirkyHousehold from whom the show takes its name, and when PJ is in focus (and occasionally when he's not), it's portrayed more as a BigScrewedUpFamily.
247	* ''WesternAnimation/WaitTillYourFatherGetsHome'' has a downplayed example. While the Boyles clearly love each other, Chet is a hippie college drop-out, Alice is a naive teenager who wants to be a sexually liberated woman, and Irma wants to expand her horizons outside of the home, so there's going to be some friction with Harry.
248	* Averted with the Tasmanian Devil's family on ''WesternAnimation/TazMania''. An early article about the show stated that the producers wanted the family to be overly functional as opposed to dysfunctional.
249	* ''WesternAnimation/ParadisePD'': The Crawford family. Kevin is a moronic, socially-inept loser. Randall is a hot-heated bigot who has no respect for his son whatsoever. Karen, despite being the most reasonable member of the household, is a CorruptPolitician who has no problem using Kevin as a guinea pig for her re-election campaigns. [[spoiler:Season 4 introduces Baby Kevin, an EnfantTerrible who is full of TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior.]]
250	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': [[MadScientist Heinz Doofenshmirtz]] lived with two generations of a dysfunctional family (the first was a severe case, the second was more mild though), which gives him a FreudianExcuse for his evil plans. He was [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood raised]] by emotionally [[AbusiveParents abusive]] and [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] parents who eventually [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned]] him to [[RaisedByWolves live with wild animals]], while having a [[SiblingRivalry bitter jealousy]] of his [[ParentalFavoritism more favored brother]] (all PlayedForLaughs). He is currently divorced from his former wife (although they [[AmicableExes don't seem to resent each other]]), and he has an [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents uneasy relationship]] with his daughter (though fortunately she gradually warms up to him).
251	* ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'': The Rivera family consist of generations of heroes and villains; father Rondolfo is the hero White Pantera, Grandpapi is the villain Puma Loco, and our titular character Manny is permanently stuck in the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, so more than a few squabbles occur. When the men are sent to family counseling, their counselor flat-out states that this is because they relate to each other as heroes and villains than as relatives. However, when the chips are down, they've always got each others backs.
252	* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': The Smith Family. There is continuing strife between the parents, Beth and Jerry, who married young after Beth became [[TeenPregnancy pregnant]] with their daughter, Summer, when they were in high school. Their relationship is further strained by Beth's relationship with her MadScientist father, Rick, and his influence over their teenage children, especially their son Morty. Despite this, the family seems to care for each other and Beth and Jerry do seem to love each other deep down.
253	* The Diamond Authority of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''. While the Diamonds do love each other, they've got serious issues and don't get along the best. White Diamond seems to never be around, Yellow Diamond seems unable to understand her sisters or take their issues seriously, Blue Diamond can be condescending to her sisters without meaning to, and Pink could annoy the others without meaning to and seemed unwilling to be open towards them. Back when Pink was around, how her sisters acted towards her ultimately alienated her and [[spoiler:she came to the conclusion they didn't give a darn about her at all]]. Despite Pink Diamond's [[spoiler:faked]] death briefly uniting the other three to use the Corruption attack, the situation doesn't seem to have changed all that much after six thousand years. As the major theme of the show is interpersonal relationships, it's understandable the main antagonists would represent a negative one.
254	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DysfunctionalFamily