Cartoon Cliches You're Tired Of...

[Russkafin]

Usually what irks me is hackneyed dialogue. How many times have we heard lines like...

"I don't think so."

"Not if I can help it."

"You'll never get away with this."

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I could've handled them."

And, the aforementioned "No, not plan X! Anything but plan X! Bye the way, what's plan X?" Mad props to whoever posted that one, that one drives me nuts. All these lines make me cringe whenever I hear them.

 

[Lonestarr]

I don't think this one was ever mentioned:

When one character (usually a pet) tries to save another (usually their owner) from an evil character who looks cute and the pet ends up blamed repeatedly. I would love to never encounter this cliche again.

 

[StrangerAtaru]

Yes! The "Lassie" cliche! Boy am I tired of the Lassie cliche. (which may explain why I never really liked the Buttons/Mindy cartoons on Animaniacs)

 

[candy17]

It's All Been Done

Probably the biggest cliche I don't like is the one where a cartoon character doesn't have a certain object until he or she needs it. It worked well back when the LT cartoons were in the theaters, but now it's being picked apart as a goof on such shows as "The Simpsons" and some Cartoon Cartoons and Nicktoons.

 

[Artemis]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned the "Villain's Gloating" cliche.

The Villain finally captures the Hero and has him/her in his grasp and what does he do? Talk for a few minutes! Saying stuff like "I finally have you and you'll never get away! I will destroy you! You thought I'd never win blah blah blah..." and goes on and on until the Hero finds away out of the situation or his friends come and rescue him! How many times has that happened?! And the Villain will gloat constantly, never learning that when he finally has the Hero, to just kill him! Don't talk! Kill!

 

[LinusMines]

All the above comments seem to fall into either of two categories:

-- plot cliches (mind/body switches, time travel, life-or-death races against time, etc.).

-- animation cliches, involving character design and qualities (bulldogs, parents from the waist down, super-villain drama queens, etc.) as well as technical stuff (looping backgrounds in chase scenes).

Some classic plot cliches:

I'll Show 'Em: Minor members of a team set out to prove themselves through a reckless action. Major members go to their rescue, but fall short. Minor members realize their value comes from being part of a team. Working together, the team wins.

Nobody Loves Me: Minor members of a team feel neglected while major members are busy with Big Project, and reluctantly leave or run away. Big Project suddenly goes critical, yet major members divide forces to locate missing members. Reunited team stops disaster just in time, and a round of apologies for everyone.

Evil Twin: This variation on mind/body switches must be the godfather of them all. Hero is replaced by an evil clone (robot or surgery victim). Everyone gets fooled except for one character, whom the others either ignore or doubt. The original escapes in time to foil the doppelganger's scheme, and to do battle with their "evil" self in front of helpless, confused onlookers. Only the lone suspecting member comes up with a way to tell them apart.

(ADDED) In the most common alternate ending, the Good Twin destroys the Evil Twin, leaving the onlookers frozen in dread until the survivor either (a) gets the third-degree from the suspecting friend, or (b) lets loose with a Positively Identifying Wise-Crack.

Some classic animation cliches:

-- devious character having a perma-smirk.
-- not-so-bright character looking sleep-deprived, having dental issues, or preceding every comment with "duhhh".
-- animals wearing white gloves.
-- characters breaking the fourth wall to explain painfully obvious things to the audience.
-- "cool" character always wearing sunglasses.
-- villains revealing their evil plans to the one person who will later defeat them.
-- cracking puns during fight scenes.
-- animals in pants.
-- super-evil villains facing their own impending doom like cry-babies ("Nooooo! AIIIIEEEEE!!!").

 

[The_Bookworm]

It's a dog-eat-cat world....

Cats are actually far more brutal than dogs--my mother's cat just killed a baby rabbit yesterday...then brought it into the house like he was expecting a gold medal. Large dogs will put an entire cat's head into their mouths, but generally that's more of a playful activity (though the cats don't usually enjoy it much).
We could go the other extreme: an amorous dog (or cat) falls for a cat (or dog) of the opposite sex, who doesn't exactly reciprocate. Which is actually more realistic and could be good for a laugh.

Dead ancestors helping one conquer evil actually goes back to Greek mythology (cf. THE ODYSSEY). GET SMART used the "Plan X" gag a few times, and Dale on KING OF THE HILL did an effective "don't do what I say no matter what" bit when he was bitten by a rabid raccoon and went mad. The evil twin cliche, although well-worn, gets back to Jungian theory (archetypes of darkness and light, coupled with self-perception).

More cliches:
*Alien beings are humanoid bipeds who seem to know and speak English fluently.
*Cartoon characters can gorge on mass quantities and never gain an ounce--unles they bloat up to zeppilin proportions for comic effect.
*The upper-class not only have accents but tend to be very tempermental, demanding, and fickle (esp. the girls; cf. Veronica Lodge or Dreamchip Gemstone).
*Pirates invariably have affected sea-going dialects and pegs for feet/hooks for hands/eyepatches.
*The male hero always philanders shamelessly while his long-suffering female lead looks on, pining and sighing, knowing he'll eventually get bored of the flings and come back to her. Or, another variant: the unrequited love angle, in which one or both partners lusts secretly after the other in a "they never ask and I never say" quandry (looking all the while with a jealous eye at the lovers the desired takes in the interim).

And as I look at this list and the other lists here, I realize I've done every blasted one, just about.

 

[Anthonynotes]

Re: It's a dog-eat-cat world....

>>Evil Twin: This variation on mind/body switches must be the godfather of them all. Hero is replaced by an evil clone (robot or surgery victim). Everyone gets fooled except for one character, whom the others either ignore or doubt. The original escapes in time to foil the doppelganger's scheme, and to do battle with their "evil" self in front of helpless, confused onlookers. Only the lone suspecting member comes up with a way to tell them apart.
<<<

Variation: The Final Confrontation™ where we see both of them (after grappling each other on the ground unable to tell them apart), where they both speak in unison to the other good guys, saying that each other is the "evil twin".


A few more cartoon cliches:
- since someone mentioned a Flintstone Kids character (Dreamchip), the cliche of having cavemen and dinosaurs existing at the same time.

- I do recall a whole list once circulated on the Net about "evil villain cliches" (enough of them merited a list unto itself, though not sure if they included how they always yell like crybabies ["Noooooo!"] when defeated

- characters quivering in fear of their usual iron-fisted penny-pinching bosses (Mr. Dithers in "Blondie", Mr. Spacely in "The Jetsons", Mr. Burns in "The Simpsons"; might include Mr. Slate, though he seems more amiable than these other guys [save for when Fred did something bone-headed]).

- Villains in a fight usually get to launch the first attack against the heroes in action cartoons, even if the heroes are much more powerful/have super-speed---about the only way that the Weather Wizard/the Toyman/etc. seem to be a threat to the powerful likes of Superman and the Flash ;-)

- in time-travel stories, after someone explains the consequences/paradoxes of time-travel to another person (even if it's in the most dumbed-down, easy-to-grasp way possible), the other person always says "time travel gives me such a headache!"

-B.

 

[LinusMines]

Originally posted by Brainatra
>>Evil Twin: This variation on mind/body switches must be the godfather of them all. Hero is replaced by an evil clone (robot or surgery victim). Everyone gets fooled except for one character, whom the others either ignore or doubt. The original escapes in time to foil the doppelganger's scheme, and to do battle with their "evil" self in front of helpless, confused onlookers. Only the lone suspecting member comes up with a way to tell them apart.
<<<

Variation: The Final Confrontation™ where we see both of them (after grappling each other on the ground unable to tell them apart), where they both speak in unison to the other good guys, saying that each other is the "evil twin"

Evil Twin: Shoot him...he's the imposter!
Good Twin: No, shoot him! HE'S the imposter!
Guy With A Weapon: So confused...can't...tell them...apart...which...is...which? (thanks, Geezil)
GT: Don't take any chances...shoot us both!
ET: YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIIIIVVVE!! (runs off)
GWW: ::SHOOT::
ET: NOOOO! AIIIIIIEEEEE!!! [Ed. Note: Cry-baby!]
GWW: He may have had your face, but he couldn't copy your bravery!

END

 

[Frank White]

Actually I think the evil twin can be brilliant if done correctly, a good example being His Silicon Soul from B:TAS.

 

[Anthonynotes]

Originally posted by Frank White
Actually I think the evil twin can be brilliant if done correctly, a good example being His Silicon Soul from B:TAS.

Also saw a Buzz Lightyear episode where they did the "evil twin" thing rather amusingly...

>>If Batman keeps Anti-JLA files does his protégé write Anti-Young Justice recipes in his cookbook?<<

Doubtful--since Tim unlike his "mentor" isn't a complete <Brainatra goes rabid, using various Axel Foley-like swear words and insults heard on "Def Comedy Jam" to describe his hatred of the current-real-comics' Batman; calms down> (Panting) OK, I feel better now.

(And yes, the "something drowning out/blocking out hearing a character's swearing" is another cartoon cliche, folks

-B.

 

[The_Bookworm]

Another one has just come to mind:

Whenever someone boils a character in a pot or bakes them in an oven, they never bother to remove their heads or hides. Which allows Bugs to converse with the cook as the water heats up, open the oven door and walk out, or, in the case of an ostrich in "Plenty of Money and You", to gulp down a large amount of Roman candles that promptly ignite from the heat.

 

[Artemis]

A cartoon cliche I hate GREATLY is the stupid "Forgetting Birthday" plot. You know, when a character has a birthday, but thinks everybody forgot while they are really planning a surprise party for him. Said character goes off and...does stuff...then in the end he finds out the truth and it's all happy times. >_<

 

[Novdeloth]

I can't believe no one's mentioned the cliche where two characters are in a fight and end up drawing a white line through the middle of the room (and in recent cases, over all the objects in the room). "This is *my* half, and that's *your* half!"

And what about that one where and incident occurs and two or three character give different accounts of what happened? (And of course, the one telling his or her side of the story tries to make himself or herself look good.)

Although I will admit that the "different accounts" bit can be funny if done well. ("AAAHH! Real Monsters" and "Time Squad" did, in my opinion.)

 

[HellCat]

Originally posted by Novdeloth
I can't believe no one's mentioned the cliche where two characters are in a fight and end up drawing a white line through the middle of the room (and in recent cases, over all the objects in the room). "This is *my* half, and that's *your* half!"

And what about that one where and incident occurs and two or three character give different accounts of what happened? (And of course, the one telling his or her side of the story tries to make himself or herself look good.)

Although I will admit that the "different accounts" bit can be funny if done well. ("AAAHH! Real Monsters" and "Time Squad" did, in my opinion.)

To add to your top one, it also seems that whenever that happens one character left something on the other side and spends a good deal of time trying to get it without the other knowing.

I have two to add:

We're home alone, so let's through a wild party- it seems that whenever kids or teenagers get the house to themselves they always want to throw a great big party which gets really out of hand with just about all their school coming. They then have to find a way to sort the problems it's caused so that the parents don't find out. Just when they think they're home-free, something happens which tips the parents off.

Someone might have mentioned this next one already. Whenever a hero does a transformation, the villain just stands there and watches. I can remember an episode of Power Rangers that broke this rule. The Rangers were fighting a shark monster and combined their weapons to destroy it. As they did so, Rita made the monster grow. The Rangers fire and the blast has no effect on the now giant monster.

 

[G. Wen]

The biggest and most annoying cartoon cliche is when writters affect the whole cast of the show w/ amnesia in order to fix the plot holes. That is just lazy writting. I also hate plot gas.

 

[HellCat]

Originally posted by LinusMines
[BEvil Twin: This variation on mind/body switches must be the godfather of them all. Hero is replaced by an evil clone (robot or surgery victim). Everyone gets fooled except for one character, whom the others either ignore or doubt. The original escapes in time to foil the doppelganger's scheme, and to do battle with their "evil" self in front of helpless, confused onlookers. Only the lone suspecting member comes up with a way to tell them apart.
[/i]). [/B]

This reminds me of a Star Trek- The Next Generation ep I saw about a month ago. Data was replaced by his evil twin brother Lore. Wesley suspects something but all his comments are blown off by Picard as him being a rude trainee, even going so far as to tell him "Shut up, Wesley!". Yet 'Data' is constantly acting out of character in that episode. Was Picard blind?

 

[Anthonynotes]

Originally posted by Blight Man
This reminds me of a Star Trek- The Next Generation ep I saw about a month ago. Data was replaced by his evil twin brother Lore. Wesley suspects something but all his comments are blown off by Picard as him being a rude trainee, even going so far as to tell him "Shut up, Wesley!". Yet 'Data' is constantly acting out of character in that episode. Was Picard blind?

Think that's part of the cliche of how an evil twin posing as the "good" one always manages to fool the heroes, despite obvious discrepancies in their voices/mannerisms/etc. as a dead giveaway. Though this might also fall under the cartoon cliche:

- Heroes very often fall for a villain's cheesy/obvious disguises.

See: Rocky and Bullwinkle (Boris and Natasha always have a bogus disguise on, which the Moose and Squirrel never see through), Pokemon ("Team Rocket"'s disguises), etc...

-B.

 

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

Originally posted by Blight Man
Someone might have mentioned this next one already. Whenever a hero does a transformation, the villain just stands there and watches. I can remember an episode of Power Rangers that broke this rule. The Rangers were fighting a shark monster and combined their weapons to destroy it. As they did so, Rita made the monster grow. The Rangers fire and the blast has no effect on the now giant monster.

Magical Girl Pretty Sammy broke that rule too. Pixy Misa nails her with an attack while she's transforming/giving her speech and Sammy get's upset. "You're supposed to wait 'til I'm FINISHED!"

 

[LinusMines]

Originally posted by Novdeloth
And what about that one where and incident occurs and two or three character give different accounts of what happened? (And of course, the one telling his or her side of the story tries to make himself or herself look good.)

Although I will admit that the "different accounts" bit can be funny if done well. ("AAAHH! Real Monsters" and "Time Squad" did, in my opinion.)

Yet another thing Hollywood can thank Akira Kurosawa for.

Powerpuff Girls did a decent take on that with the episode, "The Bare Facts", in which different artwork accompanied each character's story.