Have a question about how the TVTropes wiki works? No one knows this community better than the people in it, so ask away! Ask the Tropers is the page you come to when you have a question burning in your brain and the support pages didn't help.
It's not for everything, though. For a list of all the resources for your questions, click here. You can also go to this Directory thread
for ongoing cleanup projects.
Ask the Tropers is for:
- General questions about the wiki, how it works, and how to do things.
- Reports of problems with wiki articles, or requests for help with wiki articles.
- Reports of misbehavior or abuse by other tropers.
Ask the Tropers is not for:
- Help identifying a trope. See TropeFinder.
- Help identifying a work. See MediaFinder.
- Asking if a trope example is valid. See the Trope Talk forum.
- Proposing new tropes. See TropeLaunchPad.
- Making bug reports. See QueryBugs.
- Asking for new wiki features. See QueryWishlist.
- Chatting with other tropers. See our forums.
- Reporting problems with advertisements. See this forum topic.
- Reporting issues on the forums. Send a Holler instead.
Ask the Tropers:
F1 the MS Office robo-assistant
openEntry removed without edit reason on Arthur recap page: okay to restore or not? Western Animation
On Arthur S1 E18 - "Arthur's Chicken Pox" / "Sick as a Dog", this entry was deleted without an edit reason
a while ago by the now perma-suspended
troper TV Lubber:
- Kick the Dog: D.W. almost literally does this when she tells Arthur "We can get a good dog now" when Pal gets sick. She may be only four years old, but that's a rather insensitive remark to make about someone's pet, especially under those circumstances.
The reason I'm asking if this is okay to add back is not only because adding it back without consensus would be an Edit War, but the entry is also negative towards D.W., a character I've been previously been suspended for writing bashy entries about, so I'm worried that re-adding it without consensus from other tropers may be seen as me relapsing in my D.W.-bashing ways and earn me a second suspension. You can see the scene for yourself in this video
starting at 0:05, so you can make an accurate judgement based on the context.
openBiting the Hand Humor split Western Animation
BitingTheHandHumor.Fox Animated Shows is split off from BitingTheHandHumor.Western Animation due to length. However, some of the shows listed, like Animaniacs and Futurama, underwent a Channel Hop and have examples pertaining to those other networks or streamers.
Would such examples be listed on the Fox page despite not being targeted towards Fox anymore, or would they be listed on the main Western Animation page? So far the Animaniacs examples have been split between the pages (I think I did that myself?) but going forward I want to double check to avoid duplication.
open New Tropes Western Animation
Can you guys add these new Tropes that I invented?
- 1: "Unnamed Short Tempered Trope" It's Like "Hair-Trigger Temper" but downplayed and "Fiery Redhead" but for all types of characters with different types of hair colors.
- 2: "Question Not Answered" I know, Pretty cool name, It's self-explanatory and Nickelodeon is notorious for using this cliché in their sitcoms.
- 3: "Doesn't Say Sorry" It's basically when a character doesn't say sorry for their Jerkass behaviour say: "Bob scolds Alice for focusing more on school than her job after a fight Alice apologizes but Bob Doesn't apologizes for not leting her do her school duty." Double Subverted In The "We Baby Bears" Episode "Triple T Tigers" Where Near The Ending TK Apologizes for his bossy nature toward his brothers but is interrupted by the bears.
- 4: "Oblivious Twist" (You can change the name, don't worry about it.) It's basically a plot twist where... let's say "Alice is jealous of Bob doing killer skateboard tricks that he learned from a book only to do one more and the skateboard snaps in half which causes Alice to laugh in his face and revales that it was all a plan to get revenge at Bob for making lasagna instead of meatloaf with him knowing that if she eats lasagna it gives her acid reflux. Example: "ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks" Episode "Simon the Superb" Simon wants Alvin to give him his book but turns out the book was part of a plan to trick Alvin.
- 5: "Big "HEY!"" And "Big "DO IT!"" Come on, Why not?
- 6: And Finally "Common Sense Isn't Allowed" It's "Forgot About His Powers" But it's not power related let me put a scenario for you: "Bob and Alice can drink water safely but Bridgette (A Fire Girl) can't so Bob and Alice accuse Bridgette of being an evil creature that is poisonous to water but they forgot and Bridgette doesn't say that she can't drink water. (because of plot reasons.)
And that's all the tropes i want you to add so please mods add them thank you and ciao for now.
Edited by BlimperBraveopenQuestion about Fic Recs Western Animation
I'm pretty sure the answer to this is no, but am I allowed to recommend a fic I myself have written? I've always thought it was no and thought it said that somewhere on the fic page, but I can't find it.
openToo Much on The Millennium Age of Animation? Western Animation
On the UsefulNotes.The Millennium Age Of Animation page, TimonAndPumbaa623
has been adding numerous series/movies/specials to the page's list of "Series/Films associated with this era", since 2021 and especially recently, treating it like an index of anything that's come out since the Turn of the Millennium. While the folder itself admits the list is incomplete, it's added a lot of bloat to an already long page, approaching 400,000 . And while "associated with the era" is a somewhat nebulous and subjective term, I'm questioning if such works as CJ the DJ or Little Angels: The Brightest Christmas are notable enough for such a list if it intends to inform people.
All that said, I'm not comfortable with just making a unilateral page change all by myself, so are there any further opinions on this?
resolved An addition that I might need help on evaluating Western Animation
MamaLadilla suddenly added
the phrase "(and confirmed biologically-female)" to this entry. Turning it from this:
- Viewer Gender Confusion The non-binary Raine Whispers is sometimes mistaken for a man due to their masculine voice and hairstyle, though a flashback episode shows their younger self with a more feminine voice and appearance.
To this:
- The non-binary (and confirmed biologically-female) Raine Whispers is sometimes mistaken for a man due to their masculine voice and hairstyle, though a flashback episode shows their younger self with a more feminine voice and appearance.
OK, first off, where was that confirmed? Second, was this really necessary to add?
Edited by AudioSpeaks2openConsensus on Handling These Gargoyles Manhattan Clan Edits? Western Animation
Steven Alex 22 made an inaccurate change to the Characters page for the Manhattan Clan in Gargoyles, removing the reference in Antiope's entry to Antiope having been nicknamed that by the Captain of the Guard's daughter Alesand. Not only do we see it happen in the recent issue #4, it was already mentioned by Alesand back in issue #1. Therefore, it is not "All There in the Manual" since it derives from published stories and not just the script. I can't change it back myself without edit warring, since I wrote that part in the first place, so Steven Alex 22 or someone else will have to revert the change.
They also made two strange changes that turned correct grammar into incorrect grammar. In Lefty's entry, they changed "the older biological brother of Demona, whom he resembles" to "Demona's biological older brother, whom he resembles". Moving "whom he resembles" away from the name of the person Lefty resembles makes the sentence lose sense and sound awkward. In Katana's entry, they changed "she and others return from patrol moments before the sun comes up, and she immediately insists to Brooklyn on checking on their egg" to "she and others return from patrol moments before the sun comes up, she immediately insists to Brooklyn on checking on their egg". Removing the "and" makes it a run-on sentence for no apparent reason.
Edited by NOYBopenListing every couch gag Western Animation
I don't really know where else to put this, but I'm wondering if CouchGag.Bobs Burgers is a proper use of the subpage. It lists every example (up to Season 10) of the show's Couch Gag (namely, the names on the store next door and the van), while most other examples of Couch Gag simply stop at a summary of the gag, and maybe give a few noteworthy (e.g. Lampshade Hanging) examples. For comparison, the reason CouchGag.The Simpsons is so lengthy is because the intro has multiple couch gags and their variants tend to be very self-referential and involved due to being an iconic Trope Namer.
So should we cut the Bob's Burgers page and just move it to a couple of examples?
resolved Start of an Edit War/Possible Sockpuppet? Western Animation
Hello! So I recently posted this in the "Is this an Example?" thread, and haven't really got replies, though they have been leaning to my side.
I found something that screams shoehorning from a biased source.
From the YMMV page of The Owl House:
- Broken Aesop: The Series Finale has two major ones;
- Earlier in the series, the show railed against the concept of a Chosen One, and said that people should carve out their own paths. Just before the climax however, it's revealed that the remnants of the dead Titan has been actively helping Luz in learning Magic and has picked her to be the one to stand up against Belos. Guess what? That makes her a fucking CHOSEN ONE!!!
- After Belos is defeated and no longer a threat, he starts begging for Luz to save him from death, saying that is she doesn't, she'll be just as "evil" as the witches, and "We're Human, we're better than this!", only for Eda and friends to push Luz aside, smugly say to Belos "Well we ain't!" and then gleefully stomp him to death and laugh, proving that despite everything the show preached, in his final moments, they proved that everything Belos said had some merit of truth to it.
Two huge problems with this. First, it's very clearly overly hostile and biased against the show judging by it's language, and attempting to whitewash Belos by suggesting he has a point. Secondly, both examples are taken completely out of context to form a rhetorical strawman. The first one isn't an example because she wasn't born with any special destiny. She only got the Titan's approval due to being her kind and loving self, especially to his son. The second is just plainly absurd. It's attempting to play moral judgement on some of the people who have suffered the most under the genocidal psychopath, when he had just made his second attempt to commit genocide against their species.
I took the liberty of removing the example from the YMMV page. Now that would be fine on it's own, even if I heavily disagree with it... If it weren't for this entry literally being a copy paste of something that was posted on the main page of the show which the troper Gamermaster removed. The weird part is that it was copy pasted onto the YMMV page by an entirely different user, and the first user has a total of two edits on their entire edit history, both of which are super hostile to modern Disney properties. Later on the person who posted it on the main Owl House page posted it right back on the YMMV page exactly as is without going to the "Is this an Example?" thread, and added further shoehorning. I removed those too... but now I am wondering if this is some sort of sockpuppeting situation due to the reasons listed above. At the very least it could warp into an Edit War.
open What constitutes an Ass Pull? Western Animation
Essentially, I was thinking of adding the trope in Hazbin Hotel in regards to the whole 'angels can only be hurt by angelic steel'.
Not in the concept itself but the fact that no demon in the 1000 years the exterminations happened had never figured it out, that no demons ever thought to try this.
And the fact that Vaggie would not know this, despite having being maimed by angelic steel.
Would this constitute an Ass Pull or is there another trope that would fit this?
openAdding Broken Base to YMMV Sonic Prime Page? Western Animation
So, since Sonic Prime had just wrapped up, is it time to make a Broken Base section for the YMMV page? Some of the suggestions for the Broken Base section are:
1) The characterization of Sonic himself has caused a split in the fanbase. Some fans find Sonic being characterized as being too immature found it to be completely alienated from his more laid back yet sensible portrayal in the games. Other fans however, think that having Sonic have more flaws in this version makes him more interesting as a character.
2) The canon of this series has also been divided in the fandom as some fans questioned about when this series exactly took place in the game canon and why does Sonic act way more differently in this series in comparison to how he was portrayed in Sonic Frontiers?
Edited by RabbitearsblogopenCut Pages (further clean-up) Western Animation
One final query about my two Disney fanfics (and the tropes pages for them which I acknowledge were purely self-promotional). Will the cut tropes pages become invisible on the search are at some point if someone were to type "Cinderella: The TRUE Sequel" or "Once Upon a Studio: Version 2.0"? I'd just like to ask just to make absolutely sure that nobody can gain access to the cut pages, because I'm well aware this time that TV Tropes advises against self-promotion.
don't worry though if you don't think there is a way to stop any cut pages from appearing in search areas
resolved How to make a redirect page. Western Animation
I want to make a Nightmare Fuel redirection for OPAL, so it redirects to the Nightmare fuel page for Jack Stauber. All the examples regarding Opal are already on the Jack Stauber page, and there's no existing page on Nightmare Fuel for Opal by itself.
openWeird Edit Removal Reason Western Animation
On YMMV.Dexters Laboratory Walt K removed this entry
- Self-Fanservice:
- Dexter and Mandark get a lot of this in fanart.
- Dee Dee gets her fair share of this, especially when most artists think she'll take after her mom. It doesn't help that Dexter once described Dee Dee as "her hips a bit meaty".
they removed it
with the edit reason "inappropriate" (presumably meaning "sexualizing characters from a children’s series is inappropriate")
Whether you agree with them or not, YMMV is just troping Audience Reactions, and we’ve had other Self-Fanservice entries from kids shows. Even if it is "inappropriate" we’re just troping what fans believe. Is this ok, or should I add it back?
resolved Cerebus Syndrome - does it require the work to be clearly nonserious? Western Animation
I looked under Cerebus Syndrome, and I see both Amphibia and The Owl House listed.
The Owl House started out semi-story-based, in that it was episodic but still told stories, and still took itself somewhat seriously (in that the stories were somewhat serious and there was clear worldbuilding) but had comedy. Then things ramped up near the end of season 1.
Amphibia, meanwhile, was more about random adventures, with more story in season 2, then it ramped up with Marcy's "death" at the end of season 2.
To me, these are very different things entirely. One was somewhat story-based but went to full continuing storylines. The other one was more random adventures but then jumped to having more lore and backstory, then suddenly turned dark all at once.
Looking through I see other examples that I feel aren't totally that trope. Like, there are shows that simply went from having no continuity to having continuity (a show called The Raccoons). That's not the same thing as "goes from silly random comedy to suddenly dark."
Does this trope need cleanup? Am I misunderstanding what it's about? Does it need a new description, or something to make it much more clear what is and isn't an example of Cerebus Syndrome?
open"Writers Cartoon". Should it have a page here? Western Animation
I've been on twitter and a couple of John Kricfalusi fanboys (spumdonor and eatmyspum) have been throwing around the expression "writer cartoon".
In a surface level, it seems to refer to animated series that let their dialogue to do all the work when it comes to the comedy whereas the animation take a back seat. These two (and supposedly Kricfalusi himself) hate these kinds of cartoons because they don't take enough advantage of things like going off model or smear frames. Instead,"writer cartoons" rely on pop culture references, puns, Catskill humor, parodies and other things that "kill" the comedy.
Writer cartoons include "Animaniacs", "Tiny Toon Adventures", and I guess everything made by Tom Ruegger.
EDIT: Accourding to "Cartoon Aesthetics" (actually spumdonor's YT account), a writer cartoon is a "cartoon not written by cartoonists".
Edited by Numbuh1507openThis "Does This Remind You of A" Entry in Smiling Friends Western Animation
So, there is an entry in the President Jimble section of the Smiling Friends: Clients that goes like this:
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: He pretty much combines the worst qualities and accusations of presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
- Like Trump, Jimble is a Fat Slob in an ill-fitting suit with ego-centered problems and selfish motivations, abused the "presidential alert" system, endorses a widely-condemned foreign dictator and is widely condemned by the international community and local media.
- Like Joe Biden, Jimble is a former Vice President coasting on his predecessor's goodwill, constantly making verbal gaffes during speeches, undermined by his health issues, under fire for supporting a foreign leader who's widely condemned by the international community while, at the other end, receiving extreme support from local media.
Should this be on the page since it sounds a little too political for the general characters' page (granted, the episode that features President Jimble is political, but the episode never made this distinction).
resolved About Mickey Mouse's non-Disney works... Western Animation
Hey! It's me again with yet another Mickey question
!
So in the franchise page for Mickey Mouse, there's a section about non-Disney works, which are about derivative works made after (the 1928 versions of) the mouse became public domain. The page itself indexes the Disney-made works over the non-Disney ones (which I completely understand and I support for them to still being the only ones indexed there), but since there are now many non-Disney Mickey works that have pages (Mickey's Mouse Trap, The Vanishing of S.S. Willie, Captain Willie, Infestation: Origins, Inverse Ninjas VS. The Public Domain, Mousetrapped and the many pre-2024 works that feature Mickey's 1928 designs, such as Suicide Mouse and Mickey Mouse in Vietnam), should we make a separate page for them to be indexed so it would be easier to search for and find them in other pages instead of going to the "Related" tab in each of the works' pages and then go to Mickey's franchise page to search for one work? Maybe something like Non-Disney Works/Mickey Mouse, or something?
Edited by UzarNaimBer15openWhere do I go for help? Western Animation
Rainbow Phoenix is certain that The Simpsons S8 E15: "Homer's Phobia" was an N-Word Privileges-focused episode, and was arguing with me and trying to instigate an edit war which I refused to take part in.
Yes, they have a point since there is a subtle difference when certain people make jokes about subject and how audiences react to it, and odds are, a writer probably had this in mind. However, this isn't enough to make a fuss about who's right when describing it on a page which is being viewed by the public.
I pointed out, since I am pan, so I would be hypothetically be able to make jokes with lesser backlash if I ever got to be a creator of any work, but fighting with people because they think they're 100% right is so not ethical. That's what this user has been trying to do to me.
Now, this episode did cause a Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales so this should speak for itself, and most of these viewers don't even know who the writer is, let alone would be aware of their sexual orientation.
Where do I discuss this problem? I hate resorting to Ask The Tropers but the cleanup thread hasn't been used in a very long time.

I’m wondering if we should rename “Disney Animated Canon” to “Disney Animated Classics”, since that’s what it’s referred to in the page image itself (and the term “canon” doesn’t appear to be universally used; Wikipedia doesn’t use it).