Why are Dad's more often than not portrayed as incompetent morons who don't know how to tie their own shoes without reading the instructions? I mean really: Peter Griffin, Hugh Neutron, Timmy's Dad, Dexter's Dad, Jack Fenton, Stan Smith, Glenn Martin, and most infamous of all, Homer Simpson. Yeah, I get it, sometimes Dad's can be the silliest of people, but sometimes doesn't mean ALL the time. At the end of the day, they still have a duty to raise their children to be model citizens and be honorable to their wives. The men listed above don't do Dad's justice.
Jerky Best "Friend"
Even though they're portrayed as best friends, they might as well be mortal enemies. Bloo is inherently selfish, but there were times where I had to question if the reason Mac's Mom want him out was because he was a bad influence. There's also Jake from My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Gus from Robotboy, and Sam from iCarly. Even if you're a fan of these characters, you have to admit there were times where you thought "with friends like him, who needs enemies?"
Secret Identity from Parents
Don't you just hate it when a superhero has to hide their secret identity from their parents? Like sure, makes sense in Danny Phantom because his parents are ghost hunters. But why Teamo Supremo? Why Captain Flamingo? Why Ben 10? No, seriously; WHY BEN 10?! If I can go on a brief rant here, why were Ben's parents so against their son turning into 10 different aliens that they grounded him in Ben 10: Alien Force? "But he could hurt himself." Maybe you didn't hear me: <deep breath> HE CAN TURN INTO 10 DIFFERENT ALIENS!!!!! And there's plenty more where that came from. Sorry, that episode in particular annoys me now that I think about it.
Crying Wolf for Real (No one believes)
I can't stand it when the main character sees another character do something wrong and no one believes them. Kid vs Kat is the embodiment of this trope and it was annoying to say the least. Jimmy Neutron did this, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends did this, even Spongebob is guilty of this. This scenario almost never makes for an entertaining experience because we the audience ultimately end up hating every other character in the show because they're either blind, stupid or both.
Spoiled brat
Spoiled children are rarely anyone's favorite character because often they're one of two kinds of spoiled: the one that throws a tantrum or the one who undermines everyone who's not like her. Princess Morbucks, Gem Stone, Caillou, D.W. Reed, Penelope Lang, Heather; are there any fans or defenders of these characters?
Unwarranted romance
Why are characters that work well as friends written to be lovers later down the line? iCarly, Kids Next Door, Danny Phantom, heck, they even spoofed this in Spongebob. You know, the likelihood of that relationship working out in the long run is slim at best, but even then what impact does it have on the rest of the story?
Death Fake Out
Anyone else getting tired of a character being brought back from the dead because magic? Like, even if the trope is done well, you can't keep sugarcoating death as if it's something certain people can bounce back from. To paraphrase Don Bluth, kids can handle anything you throw at them as long as you give them a happy ending. SPOILERS: What if Ralph actually died in the climax of Wreck-It Ralph? Yeah, it would've been sad, but at least Turbo would be defeated and Sugar Rush would've been saved. Plus it embodies the famous quote from The Dark Knight: "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Not saying this would've made for a better film, but it is something to think about.
Underutilizing Good Concepts
There have been plenty of shows that I feel squandered their potential by not going above and beyond in the execution. Shows like Archibald's Next Big Thing, The Loud House, and Apollo Gauntlet have such interesting concepts, yet are bogged down by their lackluster executions. It's as if the creators felt the concept alone would make up for the amount of tired tropes and cliches the show uses. It doesn't.
One Dimensional Jerks
Bendy comes to mind as a one dimensional jerk. Same with Mrs. Hayfer from Drake and Josh, Wayne Collins from iCarly, Snotty Boy from Barnyard, and the citizens of Bikini Bottom in some episodes of SpongeBob. Like I get it, sometimes people can be downright jerks, but that does not equate to an interesting character.
Bad Teachers
Why is it that teachers are often portrayed as tired of their job at best or downright cruel at worst? I mean, if they hated kids and were tired of their jobs, why didn't they just quit? Mr. Muffin from Fanboy and Chum Chum, the Trunchbull from Matilda, Mr. Lancer from Danny Phantom, all of the teachers from Dan Schneider shows (except Sikowitz from Victorious and Mr. Henning from iCarly) and most egregious of all, Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter. Yeah, I get for the purposes of the story they have to be unlikable, but can we at least understand WHY they're like that? It can't just be for the money as there are plent of jobs that have bigger salaries than teachers. It also paints teachers in general in a bad light. Sure not every teach is a saint, but I NEVER had a teacher who didn't like their job or dealing with kids. Seeing tv shows and movies portray teachers so negatively is nothing shott of degrading.
Overprotective Parent(s)
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for keeping kids safe; but that doesn't mean that should spin their childhood covered from head to toe with bubble wrap. Many movies and TV shows that use this trope (even if it's accidental) make loving and caring parents the bad guys by having them attempt to stop their kids from growing up or have fun. Manny from the Ice Age franchise, Dracula from Hotel Transylvania, Michellee from Green Eggs and Ham, the list goes on. The worst offender of this trope though is Marissa Benson from iCarly. I get that was part of the joke, but as the show went on for much longer than it should, they just beat it into the ground. Finding Nemo does this trope, but it works best there because we're shown why Marlin is so protective of his son and by the end he learns how to trust that his son can protect himself.
Overprotective Parent(s)
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for keeping kids safe; but that doesn't mean that should spin their childhood covered from head to toe with bubble wrap. Many movies and TV shows that use this trope (even if it's accidental) make loving and caring parents the bad guys by having them attempt to stop their kids from growing up or have fun. Manny from the Ice Age franchise, Dracula from Hotel Transylvania, Michellee from Green Eggs and Ham, the list goes on. The worst offender of this trope though is Marissa Benson from iCarly. I get that was part of the joke, but as the show went on for much longer than it should, they just beat it into the ground. Finding Nemo does this trope, but it works best there because we're shown why Marlin is so protective of his son and by the end he learns how to trust that his son can protect himself.
Crying Babies
As cute as babies are, the most annoying thing about them is when they cry. Yes I know they can't talk, but that doesn't make their crying any more pleasant. It's especially annoying when they do it in TV shows and the characters don't know how to shut them up. Shows like Fairly Oddparents, Polly Pocket, and Hey Arnold all have at least one episode with a baby crying and the character spending the majority of the episode trying to make them stop.
Dated humor
Not every joke is going to stand the test of time and it's really cringy when shows or movies try to be "hip with the kids." Trolls, Splitting Adam, The Emoji Movie and even Ice Age 5 are all guilty of making jokes about Internet culture and they became dated very fast. Out side of that though, there are also instances in which changing times have made once funny jokes into unintentionally cringy moments. Movies that include mocking other people's sexuality (i.e. Ace Ventura, Hancock, Death at a Funeral and more) or objectifying women (i.e. The Green Hornet, a few James Bond movies, Revenge of the Nerds and so on) have not aged well due to the rise of the LGBTQ community and the #MeToo movement. While you can still make light of these topics, it'd be smarter not to if you want to appeal to a general audience.
The Arrogant Hero
I get not every superhero is a modest nobleman, but the snobby egocentric ones are really tiresome. Protagonists like Atomic Puppet, Chuck Chicken, Captain Biceps, The Green Hornet (Seth Rogan) and Captain Man are so full of themselves it comes across as groan worthy. I can forgive Iron Man, Star Lord and Captain Marvel because they change throughout the course of their respective films.
Cartoon Kids Not Growing Up With Audiences
I know they're cartoons and not every cartoon kid has to get older. That said though, sometimes I think it's better for kids in animated tv shows to get older so that the passage of time feels believable. Ash Ketchum is probably the most infamous example of this trope. The official reason why he's still 10 is because the people making Pokemon want want him to be relatable to kids. Understandable, but I strongly disagree that Ash should still be the main character after almost 20 years. This has also bothered me with shows like Liberty's Kids, Fairly Oddparents, Rugrats, Family Guy and Powerpuff Girls. I'm willing to forgive this gripe if the execution more than makes up for it (i.e. Incredibles 2, Finding Dory, Hey Arnold and The Amazing World of Gumball), but I personally prefer kids growing up with the audience like in How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story, Naruto, Dragon Ball and Steven Universe.
One sided love
I'm so tired of characters falling in love with someone based on their looks alone. Johnny Test, 6teen, iCarly, Stoked, The Green Hornet (Seth Rogan), and most recently Summer Camp Island all have the same one sided love subplot and it's so BORING! I get crushes can be cute, but when the person the character is crushing on has less personality than a piece of drift wood, I lose all interest. Take for example Trixie Tang, the popular girl Timmy has a crush on. There's only one episode that shows that she's not just a pretty face, but it's ruined by the ending returning things to the status quo.
Optional Continuity
Speaking of status quo, a lot of animated tv shows tend to see continuity as optional at best or nonexistent at worst. SpongeBob does this, Fairly Oddparents does this, Family Guy does this, Powerpuff Girls does this and so on. Understandably creators don't usually care about continuity as long as the episode is entertaining, but it's really annoying when an episode has an opportunity to develop the characters and either forgets about it in the next episode or worse completely squanders it by the end because the status quo is God.
Lying to Friends and Family
As I've grown older, I've learned the hard way time and time again that there is NEVER a good reason to lie to your friends and family. Especially when the characters are horrible at lying. Seriously, in virtually every movie, tv show, video game or web series, there's always an instance where the character couldn't tell a convincing lie to their friends and family members to save their life. They always studder and fumble their words, and it's always so annoying. I would rather they tell the truth and face the consequences than tell an inconveniencing to their friends and family.
Awkward First Date
I can't tell you how many times I've seen a character go on a date and become such a clutz because they're embarrassed by their own feelings. SpongeBob, iCarly, Drake and Josh, That's So Raven, Danny Phantom, 6teen and many more shows all have episodes that revolve around the awkward first date. Sure it can be funny when done well, but it's so frustrating when a character can't just own up to the fact that they're in love and relax.
Antagonists Getting Off Scott Free
Don't you hate it when the antagonist follows through with their evil plan and never gets their just desserts? Megan Parker, Susie (Summer Camp Island), Sarah (Ed, Edd, n Eddy), D.W. (Arthur), Mitch (Glitch Techs), and many more all do terrible things and never get punished for it. One of the most notorious examples are the Siamese cats from Lady and the Tramp, who only exist to frame Lady and they get off Scott free. With very few exceptions, such as Megamind, I'm always going to prefer stories where the bad guys lose.
Twilight Jabs
I'm so over the constant jabs creators take at Twilight every chance they get. Family Guy, We Bare Bears, Uncle Grandpa, Hotel Transylvania, and many webcartoons take the time to make constant jabs at Twilight. I get that that movie is not everyone's cup of tea, but these needless jabs are the equivalent of beating a dead horse.
Bad House Guests
This is a trope I never found particularly funny or interesting. In shows like The Looney Tunes Show, Dexter's Lab, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, iCarly, Big Time Rush and more there's always that one episode where the main characters invite an unruly guest into their house and they can't tell them to hit the rode until the end of the episode. As much as I don't like seeing people kicked out on the street, the minute a guest in my house shows any form of poor manners or lack of decency, they're gonzo.
Dumb Elders
Why are old people often portrayed as inept and clueless in shows? Particularly in Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, El Tigre, iCarly, Drake and Josh, and That's So Raven. In fact, kid shows seem to have a habit of making old people look so dumb and the excuse is they're old and don't have a strong memory. That's not always true and it's rather insulting to actual old people. Most old people are actually wise, quirky, and have a fairly good memory. Sure old people tend to have health problems, but they have means of taking care of themselves. The shows listed above just don't do old people justice.
Downplaying death
Is anyone else tired of kids shows and movies downplaying death. Often in shows such as The Amazing World of Gumball, The Fairly Oddparents, Animaniacs, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and certain English dubs of Japanese anime (between the 1980s-2000s) tended to avoid directly saying "death" or "die." This is also true for movies such as Peter Pan: Return To Neverland, The Book Of Life, George of the Jungle and Superman 4: The Quest for Peace. It can be funny when it's spoofed (such as in The LEGO Batman Movie), but generally speaking I believe kids are more than capable of handling the subject of death. It's rather insulting to think kids can't handle the subject of death and I'm glad children's shows and movies today are recognizing that fact and don't try to pretend death is easy.
Mindless Sheep
As I've grown older, I've come to really not like it when movies and TV shows make the inhabitants of its set location mindless sheep. Shows like the Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Lab, iCarly, Big Time Rush, and That's So Raven all have episodes that do this and it's just not funny to me anymore. Even movies such as Turbo, Animal Crackers, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Captain Underpants tend to use this trope. One of the worst examples of this trope is We Bare Bears. I really hope the people in San Francisco are actually decent because this show does NOT do them justice. The people in the show are arrogant, selfish, greedy, impatient and all around rude. Episodes like Tote Life and My Clique perfectly shows this and they were among the worst episodes of the show.
Grown Men Voicing Boys
I have nothing but respect for all voice actors. That said, I don't entirely agree with male actors making boys sound older than they actually are. Dick Wilson (Mother Up), Ben Higgenbottem (The Mighty B), Gus (Robotboy) and all the boys from Big Mouth sound nothing like actually boys, even if their voices were to depend due to puberty. Ted from The Lorax is possibly the most infamous example of this as hearing Zac Efron's voice coming out of a 12 year old kid really took me out of the film. I personally feel either voice actresses or actual boys should play boys in cartoons, with some exceptions such as if the boys are exaggerated caricatures of boys (a la Ed, Edd, n Eddy or Billy and Mandy) or for the sake of a joke (like muscular Timmy Turner).
Bad bosses
Why is it that bosses in alot of shows and movies are portrayed as horrible people? This is the same problem I have with bad teachers: it's like they hate their employees or their job in general. Most of the time bosses are depicted as angry and bitter. The Head Elf from Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Mr. Slate and Mr. Spacely from Flintstones and Jestons respectfully, and Mr. Smitty are all like this. I have not seen either Horrible Bosses movies, but I doubt I'd find them funny as an adult. Then there's Benson from Regular Show, whom I've come to like less now that I've had 2 great bosses. Benson is just so hot tempered and down right ungrateful when Mordecai and Rigby actually do their jobs. Yeah, they slack off often, but when they do their job without Benson having to tell them, they should still be appreciated for it. I would've straight up quitted if my boss told me to my face "I don't appreciate you." No seriously, Benson actually said that to Mordecai and Rigby's faces. Phil from Glitch Techs may not be angry and bitter but he's just so apathetic he ends up being dull and one dimensional. All I'm asking is that more bosses be portrayed like Phil Coulson from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D as not just a good leader, but also a friend.
Misunderstanding
This is yet another trope I've never particularly liked. Like, even as a kid watching Shrek, I couldn't help but feel annoyed that Shrek wouldn't let Fiona explain herself. Shrek could've been reluctant to say good bye to Fiona and leave with his head down. The whole fighting and yelling just felt forced. In facted, that's all the misunderstanding trope is: forced. It's baffling that writers still use this trope in shows like Summer Camp Island, Cobra Kai, and Green Eggs and Ham. I know this happens in real life, but just because something happens in reality that doesn't mean it should happen in entertainment.
The Obnoxious Valley Girl
I hope girls that are actually from Southern California are generally considerate and humble people because this trope doesn't do them justice. In shows like Fairly Oddparents, Jellystone, My Life As A Teenage Robot, Wander Over Yonder, The Mighty B, Adventure Time, Fish Hooks and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, there's always that one girl who has an obnoxious attitude and a stereotypical Valley Girl accent. They also speak in typical VG lingo, i.e. saying "Whatever, Shaw, Like really? OMG" and all that stuff. It's especially annoying when they're also the designated spoiled brat of the show.
