Misconceptions that you see about cartoons?

[Goldstar!]

I'm continually amazed by how many people thought that the title characters on Jim Henson's Muppet Babies were the offspring of the Muppet Show Players when the show is in fact a hypothetical flashback of the Muppets as children. I remember watching the show with my cousins and they would ask me "Who did Fozzie marry? "Who did Gonzo marry?" "Who did Rowlf marry?" and I would point out that they're not the Muppets' children, they're the Muppets as children. If the Muppet Babies were the children of the original Muppets, then that would make Baby Kermit and Baby Miss Piggy brother and sister, but when you watch the show, the 2 of them are clearly not related.

 

[Silverstar]

I don't know if there have been adults who've mistaken He-Man and She-Ra as boyfriend and girlfriend, when they are brother and sister, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I remember both a local Baltimore based sketch comedy show called Crabs and the book Saturday Morning Fever by Tim and Greg Burke making the same quip about He-Man and She-Ra getting together and producing an offspring named She-Man, and both times it rang out to me how icky that whole idea was since Adam and Adora are in fact fraternal twins.

The Burkes also seemed to believe that Nancy and Chuck, the teen protagonists from Hanna-Barbera's Shazaan!, were a couple, when again they were in fact twin sister and brother.

 

[Dantheman]

I'm continually amazed by how many people thought that the title characters on Jim Henson's Muppet Babies were the offspring of the Muppet Show Players when the show is in fact a hypothetical flashback of the Muppets as children. I remember watching the show with my cousins and they would ask me "Who did Fozzie marry? "Who did Gonzo marry?" "Who did Rowlf marry?" and I would point out that they're not the Muppets' children, they're the Muppets as children. If the Muppet Babies were the children of the original Muppets, then that would make Baby Kermit and Baby Miss Piggy brother and sister, but when you watch the show, the 2 of them are clearly not related.

Kind of reminds me of the "Jim Henson's (blank) Babies" quips Joel Hodgsen would make on MST3K. He does know the show was called that because it was based and created from Jim Henson's IP, and not that he owned the right to infanthood?

 

[Pooky]

That Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo are Jay Ward characters. Admittedly understandable as they were outsourced to the same studios, and for a time they were owned by the same company, who reportedly mixed Jay Ward and TTV cartoons in syndication/cable packages and even in merchandising including items at the Bullwinkle's restaurant chain.

Also do some people genuinely think Gene Deitch created Tom & Jerry (and maybe Popeye?) or is that just a meme? I don't really get it.

 

[Classic Speedy]

Also do some people genuinely think Gene Deitch created Tom & Jerry (and maybe Popeye?) or is that just a meme? I don't really get it.

Never heard of that one but it's almost certainly a meme. Kinda like "(western animated show) is my favorite anime of the season!" Not meant to be taken literally.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

Also, some people think that Donald and Daisy Duck are married (and to a lesser extent and another studio, Porky and Petunia Pig).

 

[Goldstar!]

Also, some people think that Donald and Daisy Duck are married (and to a lesser extent and another studio, Porky and Petunia Pig).

During the run of Disney's 2016 DuckTales reboot, I was surprised to discover that there were people who thought that Huey, Dewey and Louie were Donald's sons rather than his nephews. I've never encountered a kid who called their dad "Uncle".

 

[wiley207]

People tend to think the "TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, PLEASE STAND BY" screens on "The Simpsons" are accompanied by Herb Alpert's "Spanish Flea" song, when they were actually accompanied by an original Alf Clausen composition:

 

[Goldstar!]

Some people will categorize the original DuckTales as a 90s cartoon, despite the fact that the series premiered in the fall of 1987. To be fair, these fans may be confused because The Disney Afternoon block was launched in 1990, and DuckTales was part of the block, but it had already been in airing in syndication since 1987.

 

[Silverstar]

When the 2012 Littlest Pet Shop series first came out, some people wouldn't stop comparing it My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, with some folks accusing it of being a straight-up clone or rip-off just because both shows aired on The Hub, they were both based off Hasbro toys and both featured talking pastel-colored animals. Lauren Faust's take on DC Super Hero Girls was likewise bombarded with nonstop comparisons to MLP: FiM. It bugs me when people accuse cartoons of being clones or rip-offs of something else for purely vague superficial or cosmetic similarities.

Also, after the success of story arc-driven cartoons like Avatar: The Last Airbender and its' ilk, a lot of people took on this attitude that serialized, story-driven shows are/were the only ones worth watching and that any cartoon that didn't follow this style was somehow inferior. Just because you prefer one type of storytelling or format doesn't mean that no creator should try a different approach if they see fit or that no other formats should be allowed to exist.

 

[Classic Speedy]

When the 2012 Littlest Pet Shop series first came out, some people wouldn't stop comparing it My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, with some folks accusing it of being a straight-up clone or rip-off just because both shows aired on The Hub, they were both based off Hasbro toys and both featured talking pastel-colored animals. Lauren Faust's take on DC Super Hero Girls was likewise bombarded with nonstop comparisons to MLP: FiM. It bugs me when people accuse cartoons of being clones or rip-offs of something else for purely vague superficial or cosmetic similarities.

To be fair, there was also the similar animation styles of both shows, and that they shared many voice actors.

 

[AllenJ]

Never heard of that one but it's almost certainly a meme. Kinda like "(western animated show) is my favorite anime of the season!" Not meant to be taken literally.

IIRC, when Deitch died in 2020, many of the sites that reported on it did indeed credit him with creating those characters. There were also a number of fanart "tribute" pieces that did the same:

 

[Classic Speedy]

IIRC, when Deitch died in 2020, many of the sites that reported on it did indeed credit him with creating those characters. There were also a number of fanart "tribute" pieces that did the same:

I'm stunned that there were people that actually made that claim for reals. This is a classic example of "did not do the research".

 

[Dantheman]

With as big as Marvel has gotten, are there still people who think Marvel and DC characters are part of the same company?

 

[Pooky]

Oh absolutely, especially above a certain age.

 

[Dantheman]

I think people thinking Marvel and DC being connected has to do their shows sometimes being lumped together by programmers (one version of The Star Wars Holiday Special mentions it preempting Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk), and companies that had a licensing deal with one usually also had one with the other, because I think I read somewhere that until the early '80s they both had the same licensing agent.

Not to mention both companies own the trademark to the term Super Hero (two words, capitalized), it would conflate the two together in soem people's minds.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

I think people thinking Marvel and DC being connected has to do their shows sometimes being lumped together by programmers (one version of The Star Wars Holiday Special mentions it preempting Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk), and companies that had a licensing deal with one usually also had one with the other, because I think I read somewhere that until the early '80s they both had the same licensing agent.

Not to mention both companies own the trademark to the term Super Hero (two words, capitalized), it would conflate the two together in soem people's minds.

Yeah, Mego had DC and Marvel superhero figures in their line. I could NEVER see that happening nowadays.

 

[Dantheman]

Yeah, Mego had DC and Marvel superhero figures in their line. I could NEVER see that happening nowadays.

Well, Funko and LEGO make products for both Marvel and DC properties, but from what I've read, they can't be shown or marketed together.

Also, Mego supposedly got the license for Marvel characters in the new Mego line, but I'm sure the same restrictions mentioned above will apply.

 

[AngusTinMan16]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is NOT a Studio Ghibli film, in spite of it being directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

It was actually made by Topcraft, who was well known for provide animation work for Rankin-Bass Productions. After Nausicaa's release, much of its staff went to form Pacific Animation, and later Walt Disney Animation Japan. Miyazaki and over 20% went on to form Ghibli.

 

[AngusTinMan16]

Also, for new fans, Looney Tunes does not refer to the cartoon characters in the franchise.

The name is actually a knockoff of Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies", as much of the early cartoons emphasized the music of the animated shorts themselves.