Line #47 Main/MenaceDecay


1	->'''Bart''': I'm a pretty bad kid.\
2	'''Cartman''': Really? What's the worst thing you've ever done?\
3	'''Bart''': [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E8TheTelltaleHead I stole the head off a statue once.]]\
4	'''Cartman''': Wow, that's pretty hardcore. Geez. That's like [[Recap/SouthParkS5E4ScottTenormanMustDie this one time, when I didn't like a kid, so I ground his parents up into chili and fed it to him.]]
5	-->--''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', "Cartoon Wars Part II"
6
7	Times change, and the standard for what constitutes a [[YouMeddlingKids troublesome kid]] changes with them. A child character who was once considered to be quite the hellraiser can appear completely tame after a few years. Ironically, the longer the menacing kid is NotAllowedToGrowUp, the more likely he is to become his exact opposite, an impossibly idealized version of what the author thinks a child is ''supposed'' to be, due in part to authors' habit of modeling such characters after their own real-life children. The alternative is trying to preserve the character's reputation as a hellraiser through ever-escalating {{Flanderization}}. In either case, it's not going to resemble the behavior of an actual child, because, [[OmnipresentTropes of course]], MostWritersAreAdults.
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9	See also: ValuesDissonance, MotiveDecay, VillainDecay, RuleAbidingRebel, FairForItsDay, OnceOriginalNowCommon. Often occurs when the child is NotAllowedToGrowUp.
10	----
11	!!Examples
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13	[[foldercontrol]]
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15	[[folder: Comic Strips ]]
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17	* Some fans consider the British ''[[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]]'''s reboot in 2009 to be a case of this, as the Creator/{{CBBC}} TV series turned the character from a genuine menace into just an ordinary kid. Inversely, Dennis's rival Walter the Softy became more of a {{Jerkass}} over the years, making him less sympathetic and more somebody you ''want'' to see Dennis humiliate. This change was implemented to avoid accusations that the comic was endorsing homophobic bullying by making Walter more cunning and less of an effeminate "softy" who likes ballet and playing with teddy bears, thus making him more of a match for Dennis.
18	* The TropeNamer is the American ''[[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS Dennis The Menace]]'', who has gone from being a genuine terror to being a perpetrator of minor, [[OffscreenVillainy almost exclusively unseen]] mischief. Consequently, Mr. Wilson's grudge against him has gone from sympathetic to downright petty, as the only thing Dennis ever does to him anymore is barge into the Wilsons' house from time to time and ask Mrs. Wilson for cookies.
19	** Modern-day Dennis has occasionally gone even further into the realm of ''Family Circus''-esque {{Glurge}}, as seen in panels like [[http://dennisthemenace.com/comics/february-10-2010/ this]]. In an ironic twist, in that particular panel it is now this very thing that annoys Mr. Wilson so much.
20	** This trend and its causes are further discussed [[http://wondermark.com/the-comic-strip-doctor-dennis-the-menace/ here]].
21	** Observation of this phenomenon is also a running gag in the comic-commentary blog ''Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon''. It gets to the point that Josh (the creator of the blog) realizing that Dennis is no longer an actual menace, jokingly discovers ways that Dennis is passively-aggressively menacing through psychological means.
22	** Ironically, this is both a case of times changing and the writing changing. Early Dennis might still be considered a menace by today's standards: one strip from TheFifties had Dennis' dad mad at him for cutting a length of hose. Dennis replied that he was playing Cops and Robbers and needed [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique something for the interrogation]].
23	** It should be added that in some countries, the "Menace" part of the comics' name is omitted because the rhyme doesn't translate. The absence of a particularly "menacing" behaviour is less problematic when you're known merely as Dennis.
24	* This occurred with Bil Keane's ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus''. As the title suggests, the kids (who were based on his own) were originally written as wild and hard to control. These days, they don't do much more than act cute.
25	* Calvin from ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' is lazy, selfish, impulsive and belligerent to the end, but by the last few years of the strip, he was significantly less likely to intentionally cause wanton property destruction or push his parents' buttons than he was at the beginning. In the strip's first year alone, Calvin [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/01/21 tore up his floorboards to make a tunnel]], [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/12/14 snuck out of the house at 3 AM just to call his parents on a payphone]], [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/12/19 dug up the yard to make (useless) speed bumps]], [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/01/27 flooded his house]], and [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/12/27 hammered a bunch of nails into the coffee table just for the hell of it]].
26	* An anthology of famous Scottish newspaper comic ''Oor Wullie'' actually lampshaded this when they reprinted the first strip, which featured the young Scots protagonist complaining he was bored and then going out and committing several acts of serious vandalism, including at least one that actually put people's lives in danger. This also counts as EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as apparently the writers realised [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic this wasn't really endearing Wullie to contemporary audiences either]] and his subsequent characterisation was more "mischievous kid" than "future SerialKiller".
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30	[[folder: Comic Book]]
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32	* ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'': Jimmy Five used to be an absolutely terrible kid during the 60's to the 80's: regularly making sexist remarks towards Monica, playing with firecrackers, constantly drawing crude caricatures on neighborhood walls, chasing people ([[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals and dogs]]) with two-by-fours, pulling pranks that could be considered assault, and even ''[[BigBrotherBully walking his baby sister with a dog leash]]''. Even his motives for constant "foolproof" plans against Monica was to prove the "[[HeManWomanHater superiority of men over women]]". Nowadays, the worst he does is be snarky, and his motives against Monica are a bit more justifiable: he doesn't want to bend to someone who constantly uses aggression to get their way.
33	** Monica herself could also qualify. She was characterized as a quarrelsome child that was [[PerpetualFrowner always angry]] and would beat up ''anyone'' for very petty reasons, including her [[WithFriendsLikeThese best friend]] Maggy. After there was a petition to make her less aggressive, she was eventually retooled from TomboyWithAGirlyStreak to a GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak, and while she kept her habit of using petty reasoning to justify violence, she was also given a [[DesignatedHero slighty]] more heroic side by also using it on actual villains like bullies or robbers. That being said, she was [[BrattyHalfPint infamously]] very bossy during that time period and would often drag people who were just minding their own businesses (mostly Jimmy Five and Smudge) into her games, threaten them with a beating if they didn't comply, and then [[KarmaHoudini never get punished for it]]. But even these traits were phased out by the 2010's, mostly because MoralGuardians were complaining that children would imitate her behavior (and even the child fans were starting to get sick of how she treated her friends).
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37	[[folder: Film ]]
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39	* Downplayed in the ''Film/TheLittleRascals'' movie. The kids act the same way they always did, but while their antics are still notably audacious, the 70 year gap between time periods means that the Rascals' shenanigans ([[ValuesDissonance which would have been seen as far more insolent in its original time period]]) make them come off less as genuine menaces and more like kids being kids.
40	* In ''Film/MaryPoppins,'' the children [[EstablishingCharacterMoment are shown to be horribly out of control because they ran away from their nanny in the park]]. They then proceed to be perfect little angels with the sole exception of Michael losing his temper when a greedy banker snatches his money out of his hand. Compared to its SpiritualSuccessor ''Film/NannyMcPhee'', where the children tricked the nanny into believing that they had ''eaten the baby'', the Banks children practically had halos. The stage musical makes them [[AdaptationalPersonalityChange more genuinely bratty]], though they get better by the end.
41	* ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', for the same reasons as the original story (mentioned below in Literature). The kids are still annoying--some of them even more so than in the original book--but none of them really do anything to deserve getting stuck in a tube, or turning into a blueberry, or being sent down the garbage chute as a "bad egg." Unless you count "doing the thing that directly caused their fate despite having been warned not to", of course.
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45	[[folder: Literature ]]
46	* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' suffers for this now. The kids are bratty, certainly, but by today's standards they don't really deserve all the perils they're subjected to. This especially applies to Augustus, whose vice of overeating is unhealthy but doesn't harm anyone but himself, and Violet, whose "vice" of gum chewing is considered much less vulgar in modern culture than it was in Creator/RoaldDahl's generation. This trope is also probably why in more recent adaptations the kids are made much, much more intolerable. One can argue that they never really ''deserve'' [[DisproportionateRetribution what they get]], but it's a classic Creator/RoaldDahl over-the-top parody of morality tales--and it all comes from cause and effect, in the same way jumping into a lion's cage will get you mauled! On the other hand, [[SpoiledBrat Veruca Salt]] has managed to remain exactly as terrible now as she was then.
47	* By 1960 standards, Scout, narrator of ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' was a classic tomboy. Read the book from a modern point of view, and you can only tell she's not supposed to be a feminine girl because people keep saying so.
48	* A reader can see this in between the generations in the two different ''Literature/{{Petaybee}}'' trilogies--Murel and Ronan get into far more mischief than any of the "troublemakers" in the first series.
49	* Literature/TomSawyer and Literature/HuckleberryFinn were controversial heroes in their day, probably because [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids Mark Twain wrote the former book with an adult audience in mind, only marketing it as a children's book at the advice of his publisher]], and the book is thus realistic about kid behavior with no attempt made to set good examples for a young reader. By modern standards Tom comes off as a wholesomely rugged AllAmericanBoy (how many parents would love to have their kids cut class to go ''fishing?)'', while guttersnipe town delinquent Huck Finn is downright heroic in the way he learns to challenge the racism he's been indoctrinated into by society and see the humanity of his friend Jim.
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52	[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
53	* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' suffers from this within the series' run. Jess is introduced as a TroubledButCute [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boy]] with a DarkAndTroubledPast, shipped to Luke because his behavior was out of control back in New York City. Lorelai frets he'll be a bad influence on Rory when the two strike up a friendship and then a romantic relationship. Despite this, the only thing we see of his bad boy behavior is smoking, skipping school, and pulling pranks, in addition to having a general disdain for authority. He leaves in Season Three. Not two seasons later, Rory herself drops out of Yale and is arrested after ''stealing a yacht'' in an impulsive reaction to dropping out of college. She narrowly manages to avoid being charged with a felony, and still ends up doing community service. To say nothing of her boyfriend Logan, who drinks and parties all the time instead of studying, insists he can't be in a relationship (and is initially in a "no strings" one with Rory), and engages in activities that could actually kill him.
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56	[[folder: Video Games]]
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58	* In 1993, the InteractiveMovie ''VideoGame/NightTrap'' was actually [[HauledBeforeASenateSubcommittee debated in the U.S. Congress]] (most infamously by Senator Joseph Lieberman) for [[MurderSimulators its "shameful", "sick", and "disgusting" depictions of "extreme sexual violence" against women]]. The level of "mature violence" in a game "for children" shocked the nation, the controversy around the game (together with ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'', which has admittedly not lost its edge over the years) was directly responsible for the creation of the [[UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingBoard ESRB rating standards]], and Creator/{{Nintendo}} of America's then-president Howard Phillips went as far as to affirm that the game would never appear on their hardware. Almost 30 years later, in 2017, ''Night Trap'' was ported to the [=PS4=], Xbox One, and [[HilariousInHindsight Nintendo Switch]]... and rated T for Teen by the ESRB, who decided that its depiction of [[DawsonCasting twentysomething teenage girls]] in pajamas giving campy BMovie performances as they're chased around a house by vacuum-cleaner-wielding vampires wearing pantyhose on their heads was a far cry from anything worthy of an M rating.
59	* When ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' was introduced, he was intended to be a cool 1990s-era character with an attitude. Though not as TotallyRadical as his western portrayals, his original Japanese image was also that of a sassy and {{badbutt}} character that was meant to contrast with rival mascot Mario. Over the 1990s, the emphasis on Sonic being a MascotWithAttitude decreased, which is why he was given a "cool" new redesign for ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''. Looking at Sonic's Classic design, many fans don't even think of him as cool. He's soft and cute like Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny, with his Modern design being seen as the "cool" one. It doesn't help that most of his 2010s portrayals depict Classic Sonic as Sonic's younger portrayal (despite the fact Classic Sonic was a [[VagueAge 15-18 year old]] in his heyday). Even the more modern Sonic design tends to be seen as relatively straight-edge, with his only real sign of "attitude" being that he sometimes heckles Eggman; the mere fact that he himself gained a darker, edgier counterpart meant to appeal to teenagers (Shadow) shows just how much Sonic's edge had vanished over the years.
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62	[[folder: Visual Novels ]]
63	* Inverted with Dennis in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. He progresses from a nerd who tries to get girls with crude pickup artistry to a blackmailing, criminal pervert.
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66	[[folder: Western Animation ]]
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68	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Bart Simpson was a genuine target of [[MediaScaremongering moral panic]] in the early '90s for his bad attitude, his big mouth, and his lack of concern for school, with many parents and MoralGuardians fearing that he was a bad role model for children. His portrayal in those early episodes can make him seem like a RuleAbidingRebel even by the standards of the next ten years, never mind today, especially with many of his catchphrases from that time having [[MemeticMutation entered the broader '90s lexicon]]. Of course, once "Bartmania" kicked in and he became a pop culture sensation, the writers proceeded to make him a perfect example of the flip side of this trope, making his KickTheDog moments more frequent in order to keep his reputation as a hellraiser. He's not at Eric Cartman levels yet, but he's definitely pushing the envelope on the 'comedic' part of ComedicSociopathy, whether he's [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E1KampKrusty burning down a summer camp]] or [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E16BartVsAustralia almost starting a war with Australia]].
69	** Lampshaded in an episode where they go to the beach and the local [[TheSlacker slacker]] townies make fun of his iconic skateboard and sling shot, outright comparing him to [[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS Dennis the Menace]]. Also lampshaded when he met Jay North, who played Dennis in the [[Series/DennisTheMenace 1959 TV series]]. Bart wasn't impressed by "bad boy" antics such as hiding his dad's hat and trampling Mr. Wilson's flowerbed.
70	** Interestingly, in one interview, Creator/MattGroening claims that his characterization of Bart as a genuine hell-raiser was a direct response to Groening's disappointment with watching ''[[Series/DennisTheMenace Dennis the Menace]]'' as a kid because, by Groening's standards, Dennis ''wasn't'' menacing--just a little annoying. In other words, Bart was written as a reaction to Menace Decay and later became subject to it himself.
71	** In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', Eric Cartman meets a Bart Simpson [[CaptainErsatz stand-in]], and they compare their evil deeds. Bart brags that he once sawed the head off a statue (but felt bad about it afterward). Cartman, on the other hand, [[spoiler:killed Scott Tenorman's parents, [[RefugeInAudacity ground them into chili, and fed them to him]]]]. This is likely a response to a bit on ''The Simpsons'' where Bart compares his deeds to Dennis the Menace with similar results. In one episode, Bart called himself "this century's Dennis the Menace." [[RuleOfFunny And the episode aired in the 20th century.]]
72	** The crossover episode with ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' also heavily lampshades this trope, although it's not entirely devoid of affection for Bart at the same time. Stewie finds Bart's idea of mischief and pranking to be whimsical, charming and endearing, but his own efforts at being a hellion scare and appall Bart. When Stewie takes his turn at prank-phonecalling Moe, his idea of a "joke"--telling Moe that his sister is being raped and then hanging up on him--leaves Bart staring open-mouthed at him in shocked horror. Likewise, at the episode's end, when Stewie shows off how he captured, caged and tortured all of Bart's enemies to try and make Bart like him, Bart immediately sets them all free and declares he never wants to be Stewie's friend again, because [[EveryoneHasStandards Stewie is far too crazy and evil for him]]. Amazingly, this actually deeply hurts Stewie, who is shown in the episode's final shot emulating Bart's blackboard punishment gag whilst crying over being rejected by him.
73	* Speaking of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' and Eric Cartman, he is again what you get when you avert this trope. Aside from his MoralEventHorizon (the aforementioned bit with [[spoiler:the ground-up parents]]), most of his actions are either PokeThePoodle or PoliticallyIncorrectVillain moments, even moreso than Bart Simpson. But said MoralEventHorizon was ''so intense'' that no amount of MenaceDecay will ever really redeem him.
74	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAlvinShow'', Alvin was the single biggest {{Troll}} Dave had ever fell victim to, with Simon and Theodore as either accomplices or neutral parties. In ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'', Alvin largely turned to {{Zany Scheme}}s behind Dave's back and rarely gave Dave an intentionally hard time. By the time of [[Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks the movie]], Alvin's mischief is portrayed as being born out of naïvete more than malevolence.
75	* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' is a mild example. In the original 1988 special, she's a mischievous prankster, pretending to choke on her bread at dinner, scaring the other girls with [[ScaryShadowFakeout a shadow puppet "monster"]] at night, and boasting that every night she fools them with a prank. Even the narrator highlights her naughtiness compared to her schoolmates, saying "Such good little girls in two straight lines/Except the smallest, Madeline." But this side of her mostly disappears in the other five specials and in the subsequent series and movies, leaving her as simply a [[PluckyGirl Plucky]] GenkiGirl and letting [[TheOneGuy Pepito]] take over as the resident prankster.
76	* WesternAnimation/HorridHenry started out as a [[{{Jerkass}} genuinely horrid kid]], much like he was in the books. As the show went on, though, he became less of a brat and more of a scapegoat with DeadpanSnarker tendencies. To compensate, his younger brother [[BitchInSheepsClothing Perfect Peter]] TookALevelInJerkass.
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Context Main / MenaceDecay