Cartoon Cliches You're Tired Of...

[Anthonynotes]

Cliches, Cliches Everywhere...

Let's see...catching up:

The "I won't do it"/they do it anyway cliche is generally seen on almost every Scooby Doo episode, though there's one variation: Fred, Daphne and Velma generally bribe Scooby (and sometimes also Shaggy) with a Scooby Snack (or three)...

>>>I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but G Gundam brought it upon me. The "copycat" cliche. The one where they come across a villain that knows all their moves and can do them just as well, if not better than they can. PR did this several times, and I think several others did this as well. (personally, I like though this one Ranma ep. that uses this cliche, but the character is somewhat perfect even down to stealing panties like Happosai! Then there was the ending to that ep.....)
<<

In the JLA comics, one of their classic enemies is "Amazo", an android built by a Professor Ivo (IIRC; some mad scientist trying to become immortal or somesuch) capable of duplicating all the powers of the various JLA members... (yes, fanfic fans, that's where I got the idea for "Griffino" from).

>>>Main characters with beards in the future!
Whenever they have one of those scenes where someone thinks of what happens to themselves in the future, the person and practically all of the male characters just see themselves far off with long white beards and basically the same design with a couple of wrinkles. Why do they always do that? Not every old man even has a beard. And why do they always make them think of "the future" as meaning when they are senior citizens? (of course, when they think of other things in the future, it is basically themselves in different clothes, or so I think) <<

Basically, it's a take-off on "Rip Van Winkle", where Rip grew a long white beard after falling asleep for 20 years. "Garfield and Friends" had an amusing take on this---Garfield (in one of the show's patented "dream sequences") wakes up 20 years in the future, where Jon, Odie, and even Binky the clown are amazingly elderly, and with long beards (vs. merely being late-middle-aged or something). OF course, this only-20-years-away future also had to look like something out of "The Jetsons" to push the gag further...

-B.

 

[Jade_GL]

OK I'm trying to cover the ones I really hate a lot, and I apologize if I say something that's been talked about a lot, but I must express my hatred.... Must!

1. Talismans that only Main Character can use

2. Robots that transform into animals, whatever, and the people inside remain intact, not squashed by the crazy moving parts. (Clerks cartoon did funny spoof on this in their fourth ep)

3. Villains who only want to steal the magic weapon or object, even though they know that it responds to the Main Characters powers/mind calls, etc and will just fly back into their hand. Hey, Mummra trying to get the Sword of Omens anyone?

4. Dumb minions who appear to be so brain dead that you are surprised they can stand upright or get their clothes on, let alone do anything else required by their boss.

5. Boss who lets all of this go on without getting smarter minions. GOD MUMMRA YOU SUCK AT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6. Super chicks who must wear short skirts and/or lovely dresses and robes. Why can't they wear a turtle neck and sensible pants! Cause, Sailormoon must wear high heels and earings... right....

7. "You have not seen the last of me!!!!!"

8. Transformation sequences that take longer than the actual fight sequence. Lion-o calling "Thundercats", Sailormoon twirling, etc.

9. An artifact that fixes everything back to the way it was. Every season of Sailormoon does this, tons of people die, the world looks like a charcoal briquette, and voila! I used my crystal to bring everyone back, regrow grass and clean up all of that nasty lava. Yippee!

10. Crappy theme songs that tell you the story.

11. Dumb parents.

12. Dumb teachers. In fact, making adults semi-retarded in general.

That's all I have right now. I repeated some, but god they bother me.

 

[StrangerAtaru]

The whole beards bit may or may not relate to Rip Van Winkle, but I usually see it with many "future" tales, even those that do not involve a 20 year nap. It just irritates me about the beards.

 

[Jade_GL]

I got another one. I remembered it last night when I was watching the TMNT ep "Return of the Shredder".

WHen a group surrouds the bad guy or guys and a cloud appears to hide the action. Then, the cloud clears, the heroes step back, and the bad guy or guys is all tied up.

 

[Tobias]

Originally posted by Meow
I remembered another...I hope it hasn't already been mentioned. This one is still used a LOT, and it's never funny. It's just laziness on the writer's part. They use this "gag" to get a quick laugh (yea right) and to keep from having to explain why or how the person got talked into doing whatever it is they didn't want to do. We've all heard it a million times...

"No WAY! I'M not doing it and that's FINAL!" (or something like that)

*scene changes to show them about to do whatever it is they swore they wouldn't*

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

I am so sick of that gag. As far as I'm concerned, it's the most annoying and overused one of all. Unlike some of the other cliches, (like the characters telling different sides of the same story) it's NEVER funny because it's always the exact same "gag." There's practically no variation to it at all. It's so redundent that it's pathetic.

Family Guy actually had a funny variation on that gag when Death was trying to get Peter to take over as the Grim Reaper.

Peter: No way. I'm not doing it. There's no way you can make me.

The scene changes and Peter's still sitting there.

Peter: See? I told you I'm not doing it.

 

[Watermelon]

I think if Spongebob Squarepants did something like this it would be really funny. Can you imagine Spongebob, Squidward and Patrick blowing up the Krusty Krab and then each of them explaining to Mr. Krabs how it happened. Man, that would be so funny since each character would truly have a different perspective.

*Evil fanfic ideas swirl around in head like crazy*

Can I write something like that? I'll ask premision first.

Or, we can do it together.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Family Guy actually had a funny variation on that gag when Death was trying to get Peter to take over as the Grim Reaper.

Peter: No way. I'm not doing it. There's no way you can make me.

The scene changes and Peter's still sitting there.

Peter: See? I told you I'm not doing it.

That was done years before that on Freakazoid!:

FREAKAZOID: No way! I am never, never, ever going down in the sewer after Cobra Queen! Uh-uh! I really mean it, NO!

(Camera zip-pans to the sewer...holds on a shot of nothing happening. Freakazoid isn't there. Zip-pan to a living room where Freakazoid is watching "Animaniacs" on TV.)

FREAKAZOID (to camera): See? I said I'd never go.

Of course, after the commercial break, he does go, but it was a great cliche-buster nonetheless.

 

[Watermelon]

A few to name:

It's morning and an alarm Clock rings. The guy picks it up and throws it into a big pile.

Whenever a charchter wats to run, thier feet go around and around again until they finnaly start running.

The detectinve is always looking for something when it's right under his nose.

EVERLASTING SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!! boring.

The evil scintest is not really "Evil", but stupid.

Animal's are usaully in human clothing.

The super hero always says to the returning villan, "I thought you were dead!"

An easy question will be asked, and it will to take the thinker a long time to answer it.

Run, run, run, OPPS! There he is again! Better run, run, run, HEY! I thought you were over there! I better run, run, run...
You get the idea.

Pets are smarter then there owner.

The princepal will make a bad rule and the kids will try and change it. "Doug" did this alot.

The guy will work reallt hard,only to find he's doing the wrong thing.

 

[DarthGonzo]

regarding the Spongebob/Rashomon fan fic

Originally posted by socks
*Evil fanfic ideas swirl around in head like crazy*

Can I write something like that? I'll ask premision first.

Or, we can do it together.

Sure, I really dont see a problem if you want to write something like that. E-mail me a rough draft of it and maybe I can help you out with some good ideas.

My vision of this scenario is something in which even the visuals can be used to represent how the character's minds work, ala the PPG episode "The Bare Facts". With that in mind maybe I can try to illustrate something if we're able to finalize a working (12min standard Spongebob episode) fan-fic.

The way I see it, Spongebob's view of events would be drawn in a happy anime/Hamtaro sort of way, with the big anime eyes and everyone happy and content. Patrick's point of view would look as if a three-year-old drew it, much like the Frankendoodle episode. Squidward's point of view would be a complete downer, and he'd picture Spongebob and Patrick in his own way, as two ugly-looking braindead fools.

Let me know what you think. E-mail me (dont private messege me, I never check that) and let me know.

 

[Artemis]

Originally posted by Meow
I remembered another...I hope it hasn't already been mentioned. This one is still used a LOT, and it's never funny. It's just laziness on the writer's part. They use this "gag" to get a quick laugh (yea right) and to keep from having to explain why or how the person got talked into doing whatever it is they didn't want to do. We've all heard it a million times...

"No WAY! I'M not doing it and that's FINAL!" (or something like that)

*scene changes to show them about to do whatever it is they swore they wouldn't*

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

I am so sick of that gag. As far as I'm concerned, it's the most annoying and overused one of all. Unlike some of the other cliches, (like the characters telling different sides of the same story) it's NEVER funny because it's always the exact same "gag." There's practically no variation to it at all. It's so redundent that it's pathetic.

Actually both bits are a mixed bag. Most of the time, the whole "I'm not doing it!" cliche is very stupid but there are times it did make me chuckle a bit (like The Freakazoid bit someone mentioned).

And Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy did the funniest damn "Three people telling different side of a story cliche" I ever did see. But aside from that, it's also a cliche I'm tired of.

Another cliche I hate:

When two characters whe never fought before all of a sudden find themselves bickering in one episode with Character A constantly ragging on Character B, so "B" goes off and does suspicious stuff until in the end when "A" realizes how valuable "B" was and they make up with "B" being a hero in the end.. Mighty Ducks was guilty of this (as well of a lot of other cliches). Not to mention they had the WORST representation of it.

 

[Russkafin]

How about when a character is missing, and the other characters are looking for him.... and then the missing character shows up, and the others keep looking. "Hey guys, I'm back!" "Not now, Fred, we're looking for Fred!" (Double take) "What the... FRED!"

Or, along similar lines... a character is trying to tell another character something really important, and they can't be bothered. A space ship is landing outside. "Uh, guys, you better come look at this!" "Not now, can't you see I'm busy!" "You REALLY should come see this!!!!" You know what I'm talking about.

And, along the lines of the villain-stopping-to-explain-his-plan cliche, how about when the villain has a gun or other weapon trained on the hero, and could easily do them in, but they pause just long enough to savor the moment, and the gun is then knocked from their hand by a batarang (or whatever applies if it's not on Batman)

 

[Jade_GL]

Or, along similar lines... a character is trying to tell another character something really important, and they can't be bothered. A space ship is landing outside. "Uh, guys, you better come look at this!" "Not now, can't you see I'm busy!" "You REALLY should come see this!!!!" You know what I'm talking about.

Speaking of cliches where people say something and other characters don't acknowledge them, I got a brain storm when I read your examples.

How about when a minion gives an idea, like "Let's lure him to the secret hideout and bludgeon him" while the evil master mind ignores him. The suddenly, the master mind goes, "I know, we'll lure him to the secret hideout and bludgeon him...." as if it was his own idea. Bad cliche, and always is way to obvious when it is done. I mean, I always know it's coming the way most cartoons set it up.

 

[LinusMines]

Another massive cliche...MEN IN DRAG.

In order to pull off a scheme, one male out of a group has to disguise himself as a female, against his will. The poor guy is usually the toughest-looking, most muscular of the bunch. And the disguise is almost always an out-of-date rummage-sale dress, a pair of pumps, a wig--with a hat?!--and a purse. The guy doesn't wear pantyhose, which of course means there's nothing to hide his seriously hairy legs.

"She" gets introduced as a relative of the suspiciously missing disguised guy, as if mentioning their relationship would help the awful ruse get over. Of course, the fake name "she" gets always results from a slip of the tongue ("Guys, I'd like to you to meet Arnold...err...ahh...I mean...Arnoldine...Arnold's twin sister!").

Somehow, maybe through a huge dose of plot gas, everybody is fooled, despite "her" unusually masculine jaw, croaky voice, and two days of beard stubble. It probably helps that "she" over-exaggerates with the female mannerisms, except when she shakes (and almost breaks) someone's hand, or arm-punches someone through a wall, or secretly bashes somebody who makes a wise-crack about her looks. After which "she'll" usually say, "Sorry...I guess I don't know my own strength! Tee Hee Hee!!"

Worst of all, some other male character takes one look, falls head-over-heels in love, and spends the rest of the time chasing "her" around like Pepe Le Pew.

 

[StrangerAtaru]

Note: if you want weird gender representations (or so I think), rent the anime "Project A-ko". Unfortunately, cross-dressing has been around forever, so it is less like a cliche and more like "one of those things you have to do to be funny" ideas. Personally, I think it should stick with Milton Berle, Flip Wilson and Bugs Bunny.

 

[The_Bookworm]

Yet another from my brain-drenched mind:

This one occurred to me while watching the new FAMILY AFFAIR on KTLA last night. A character, usu. a young child, loses a beloved object, often through someone's incompetence in misplacing, selling, or giving it away, and the other characters try to replace it with a lookalike/substitute; however, they aren't fooled for a minute. Variants have been seen in the original FA with Sebastian Cabot, DIFF'RENT STROKES, THE BRADY BUNCH, and, I believe, FULL HOUSE.

 

[Anthonynotes]

Re: certain overused spatial-distortion gags

A favorite of mine, though cliched by now, would be the "two places at once" bit...where a character tries to turn to walk away from someone annoying/whatever, only to find the person they're trying to ignore is right in front of them (ocassional variation: they look back at the direction they came, only to find they're still standing there, too)..example (from a fanfic story involving the heroes being on "Saturday Night Live"):

>>
AXEL: (Running away from the Warners) (BLEEP)! Get the (bleep) away from me, ya (bleep)s! I don’t want to do some (bleep)in’ sketch with some ugly (bleep) in drag pretendin’ ta be (bleep)in’ Elizabeth Dole!

(Axel gets to the door, and opens it, only to find that the Warners are standing right in front of him...Axel tries turning around to escape, only to find they’re right behind him, too. Axel screams.)

DOT: (Moaning) Not this *AGAIN*...<<<




Another cliche (related to the above): "right behind 'em"---where a character sneaks up behind another one and startles them by yelling/going "beep beep"/saying "Hi!" Of course, that sometimes happens in real life too, and it's rather annoying---which might be why they use it in cartoons as a gag

-B.

 

[Watermelon]

Here's another:

When a guy is saying a speech, the background turnes inot an American flag.

 

[Artemis]

Originally posted by socks
Here's another:

When a guy is saying a speech, the background turnes inot an American flag.

Heh, the anime version of that is the background becomes a red sun setting with red sunbeams shooting out of it and a japanese countryside. Sometime it'd have kanji on the side too. ^_^

 

[HellCat]

Hope no one has mentioned this:

When a villain comes from a long line of bad guys. Mama Robotnik from The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog comes to mind. One of their evil relatives (usually a grandparent or their mother) comes to visit and tells them what a useless villain they are. They then decide to show the younger villain how to do things by plotting against the good guy(s) and succeeding where they always fail or fail like the regular villain always does.

 

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

Originally posted by LinusMines
Another massive cliche...MEN IN DRAG.

Actually, Slayers and Ranma 1/2 did some really good takes on the whole idea.

Ranma: Ranma has male and female forms, right? Well, his mother doesn't know about this, and it coming to visit to make sure her husband has kept his promise to turn Ranma into a real man. And she's got the seppeku swords ready just in case. To save Ranma's hide, they keep him in female form constantly and introduce him as the Tendou sisters' cousin "Ranko". In the end, Ranma's mother finds out the truth because of an accident, but because "Ranko" was a tomboy anyway, she still agrees that Ranma is becoming a real man and leaves without forcing him and his father to hold to his father's promise of committing seppeku.

Slayers: The gang has to pass through a village of Amazon-like types, in which men are forbidden. Zelgadis and Gourry are dressed in drag, and Xelloss does a little shapeshifting. ^^;;;; Xelloss and Gourry in particular ('cause Gourry has experience with this kind of thing due to the gay dragon episode of the first series) slip quite easily into feminine roles. Lina and Martina, on the other hand are considered to be males in drag because they both act so tomboyish. Zel finds a young lady, Miwan, who is the princess of the village and takes a liking to her. In order to take down the demon thingy that's been threatening the village, Zel and Gourry are revealed to be guys. But surprise, Miwan's a male too! "she" was forced to live as a girl because of a mother who despised men. And about half of the village are also very feminine-looking men who dressed in drag to keep from being executed.