Ruined FOREVER (Darth Wiki)/Western Animation

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The Big Bang creates the universe as we know it. The protons, neutrons, and electrons that will eventually compose Transformers are formed, ruining it forever.

  • They turned our favorite animated shows into a live-action/CGI-animated movie?!? It's now Ruined FOREVER!!!
  • Static Shock and the "Hoop Squad". Were the super-powered basketball players absurdly dumb? Yes, of course they were. Did their appearance mark the show's all time lowest point? Almost unanimously. Was it one of the worst uses of guest-stars ever? Quite easily. Did the show actually get any worse after that? Not really.
  • As soon as it was announced, The Fairly OddParents's fandom was torn over whether or not Poof's birth was yet another shark to jump. Most believed that the show was Ruined FOREVER.
    • Then there's The Movie. Which is live action, and involves a 23-year-old Timmy still in primary school with his fairy godparents with CG so bad that it will make the live action Yogi Bear movie look like something that came out of Pixar. What.
  • G.I. Joe seems to be undergoing its own version of this right now. While one of the smaller hardcore fanbases out there, the vast majority of said fanbase seems adamantly determined to apply this trope to the live-action movie. Primarily because it dares to suggest that GI Joe might not strictly be a Real American Hero.
    • More like, "The baroness was only brainwashed? DEATH OF THE LINE!" Now, this was an actual out-of-left-field plotline in the original comic run, but she found she quite enjoyed being a badgirl and was already shacking up with Destro. So the real crux of many arguments falls to by turning her into a goodie it eliminated the excuse of the nostalgia filter hot-as-all-getout leatherclad Baroness in subsequent movies due to her normal personality being a delicate wallflower. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like that particular storyline will go anywhere since the movie flopped. Also, the final climatic underwater battle actually came off as less realistic than even the cartoon, which had a no-kill policy! It was just a poorly handled movie overall.
      • The Joes also had their fair share of wackjobs in the original, but the big anger over characterization is that they had an offensive as Michael Richards Hollywood Jive Negro as the sidekick, when the original had Roadblock, who still remains among one of the most positive portrayals of a black guy ever in a children's cartoon (not an easy shoe to fill), and also put Duke back into being a new recruit, despite all other characters being already active and accounted for. Many many problems with the movie come about because the director seems to have not done the research, even though he did, he just put too much Hollywood into the franchise. The running time doesn't leave much room to flesh out anybody either. The animated movie which aired on CN got a MUCH more positive reaction. (Aside from Cobra Commander's rant, which is strangely based upon the fact he used the word crap.)
    • The G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 cartoon was under a considerable amount of flak by the fanbase as well, because of the use of a Japanese animation studio (GONZO). Comments such as "The Real American Hero shouldn't be an anime!!!" were common during its run.
      • To be honest, animation wasn't all that they used...The very worst elements of anime were in full effect. Its death was assured the moment it aired, as the target audience were NOT anime fans. (and to the anime fans it did attract, the toys were not up to snuff, as they are far more experienced with the high-quality static resin figures.)
      • Also, the 1st series was also done in Japan (by Toei Animation) as well.
    • The humorous "DETH OF TEH LINE!!1" originated from overreaction to changes in how the G.I. Joe franchise was being handled some time in 2005, is regularly used by some G.I. Joe online forums when some react negatively to new releases or change of plans. It's sort of the Joe equivalent of "RUINED FOREVER".
  • Strawberry Shortcake has been prone to this due to the uncertainty of the direction each of the master licensees want to take the franchise which has angered fans due to it's frequent changes. When the 2003 version started, some (and I stress some) of the older fans felt that the franchise was doomed. And when the 2003 version was aged-up in 2007, there was trepidation from some (particularly, fans of Honey Pie Pony, who weren't pleased that she had retired to Ice Cream Island permanently, and even then the send-off was only mentioned in a chapter book and not on the TV series officially, and after that the existing fillies, Honey Pie and Ice Cream Island was never mentioned ever again, while others who disliked the Pie-Man voiced their dislikes in the franchise bringing him back). Then there's the 2009 series, which were widely decried by the Educational TV connisseurs who're drawn to the series by the 2003 series being educationally wholesome as lacking in terms of educational content and emphasis on beauty over moral values, the transition to CGI, as well as being nothing more than a 30-minute toy commercial.
    • This, however, would be the exact And the Fandom Rejoiced opposite of Ruined FOREVER.
      • Until American Greetings' lawyers sent out that cease and desist letter. I recall there were a few people claiming that they will not buy gifts and greeting cards from that company ever again.
  • Another American Greetings franchise, The Care Bears, went through this and are going through this again. Some people decried the franchise as ruined forever when they redesigned the bears in 2005, and now they're going through another round of fire when plans leaked that they're going to revert back to the pre-2005 designs and fans aren't pleased.
  • An ironic form would be The Spectacular Spider-Man, people were angry about the style, mainly the fans of the 90s show and comics, who thought the show would be kid-oriented, but after watching a few episodes, it became very well thought of by comic book fans, but some will still try to discredit the show.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went a very specific instant of this. As soon as the 2003 animated series was released, fans of the 80's cartoon complained because it was so drastically different in tone to what they had watched 20 years prior (dark, stylish and character driven as opposed to outright cheesy, goofy and with little motive to enhance the plot beyond a single episode). Thus, complaints were made to bring back the ORIGINAL Turtles. The irony of this, is that the 2003 series was based on the original Mirage comics that started from 1984, as opposed to be much more lighthearted cartoon that first aired in 1987 and that one of the Turtles' co-creators (Peter Laird) was actually involved in the production of the 2003 series.
    • Of course, partly in response to this the series was retooled into "TMNT Fast Forward" where the Turtles are transported 150 years into the future; the series was dumbed-down and made more kid-friendly. The poor response to that change led to the following season (which turned out to be the final one) seeing the Turtles returned to the present-day, and darkened yet again.
    • Also, similar to the Disney/Marvel example above, Peter Laird selling the TMNT franchise to Nickelodeon.
    • Laird had his own "RUINED FOREVER!" moment, apparently, over the character of Venus de Milo in The Next Mutation. The moment he bought total control over the property, he ordered any and all mention of her in every other continuity of the media excised without in-story explanation, with the other characters seeming not to notice. The character was such a Berserk Button for him that anyone coming on board the creative staff was advised to never even say the name around Laird, even as a joke.
    • Micheal Bay is going to be making a TMNT movie? Well, his Transformers movies were hit or miss, but he still did an okay...the turtles are going to be aliens from space instead of normal turtles mutated by ooze? BAAAAAAAAY!!!
  • People are preaching this about Iron Man: Armored Adventures solely because Tony is a teenager in this adaption. Granted, perhaps they do remember the actual teen Tony from the comics...
  • Total Drama Island. Every single season after the first has been accused of this. To wit:
  • EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of The Simpsons has had this accusation hurled at it by one fan or another. Go back in time to the ancient days of usenet and you'll find post after post declaring each and every episode the "worst episode ever" (the phrase actually originated on a Simpsons forum) and destroyer of the franchise. This even applies to the very first episode, which some fans of the Ullman shorts hated. Today, no matter how good or bad an episode is, you can bet someone somewhere on the internet will make an overdramatic "this is the end of The Simpsons" post about it.
    • Other things which have ruined the Simpsons forever include: the movie, the butterfinger commercials, the Coca Cola super bowl commercial, the Tik Tok music video in the opening (regardless that anime productions use pop songs in there openings and endings all the time), and anytime Matt Groening says anything to the press.
    • A reviewer at The AV Club opened one review with an essay about how the Frank Grimes episode, despite being a good episode, ruined the Simpsons forever.
    • A frequent complaint is that the "panda rape" episode ruined Homer forever (Homer put on a panda costume and was accosted by a smitten male panda ... which is nasty if you really think about it, but is also what happens to EVERY character who puts on an animal costume in a Slapstick comedy and then encounters a real version of that type of animal). As if it somehow made Homer "dirty."
    • The Armin Tamzarian/Principal Skinner fiasco deserves special mention here. This is most frequently cited as the reason the "Golden Age" ended.
    • Funny enough, on the 500th episode, the crew actually appeals to the fans to, "get some fresh air before you go online and complain about how much this episode stinks", showing that they are aware of how divisive their show is.
  • Western Animation in general has always had someone declaring it Ruined FOREVER. Winsor Mc Kay declared it ruined forever when they started using cels, it was declared ruined forever when it moved from movie theaters to television (not entirely without reason though), and now with the advent of computer animation, crudely-drawn Thick Line Animation and the influence of anime, it's once again considered ruined forever by many.
  • South Park is pretty much ruined forever in the eyes of the fans thanks to the episodes "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers".
  • Vocal anti-furries sometimes complain about their entire childhood being ruined forever after seeing fan art of old cartoon characters, whether sexual or not. Sometimes non-fanart furry art still gets this reaction, possibly stemming from the idea that anthropomorphic animals should be limited to kid shows only.
  • The Looney Tunes Show recently released some artwork online, and the reception from some sites (especially Cartoon Brew) was less than positive. Also "Woah, the Looney Tunes are living in a suburb and looking like something in the vains of Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt instead of doing solo cartoons that look like a real cartoon!"
  • Similarly, Loonatics Unleashed got and continues to get this reaction from fans of the classic Looney Tunes. kind of stupid once you consider that the characters on this show are technically different from the ones in the original shorts.
  • The (definitely noticeable, but relatively minor) redesigns to a couple of characters from Shaun the Sheep ruined it forever.
  • The new pony reboot, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, had not gone beyond the first season before fans of the show (both fans of the older generations and just this one) started screaming Ruined FOREVER.
    • Haters of the show frequently have this reaction when ponies are added to things they enjoy watching or listening to (such as in the case of PMVs, or remade anime intros featuring ponies, etc.), especially on YouTube, surprise, surprise. Usually their argument for why the show is terrible and why they hate all the fans of it is that it's "ruining the Internet", or "ruining" the medium the ponies have been applied to, even though it was them who clicked the link and watched the ponified media in the first place. And yes, this does lead to many a Flame War.
    • Lauren Faust said that she's no longer working on the cartoon? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
    • Episode Examples
      • Episode 12, Call of the Cutie: What?! An episode focused on a side character?!? NOOOOOO!!!!
        • Also, sweet, kindly Chantal Strand Playing Against Type as Diamond Tiara?!? NOOOOOOO!!!!
        • (In hindsight, this episode helped set up The Cutie Mark Crusaders, who appear as the lead characters in later episodes. Ironically, these later episodes didn't meet the same large reaction as Call of the Cutie did.)
      • Episode 23, Cutie Mark Chronicles: Rainbow Dash's first "Sonic Rainboom" led to all of the 'Mane 6' earning their Cutie Marks? Thus unknowingly ensuring that the future played out the way it did (If Twilight failed her exam, which was saved by Dash's Rainboom, then she'd never have been sent to Ponyville by the Princess, for example)? What a Mary Sue! That makes her too important/powerful/special, it's like those self-inserts in the fan fictions!
        • (It is worth noting that this episode featured the Cutie Mark Crusaders as the lead characters, and nobody seemed to rage about that.)
      • Episode 26, Best Night Ever: Fluttershy, the shyest, quietest, KINDEST pony in the 'Mane Six' goes into a psychotic rampage? That's way out of character! What were they thinking?! It's ruined forever!
        • (In hindsight, it was clearly done Just for Fun, and others have pointed out that throughout the season every member of the 'Mane Six' had lost their minds once except for Fluttershy, prior to the season finale "Best Night Ever").
      • Season 2 to the Slice of Life show fans. Discord? NO! Discord not completely destroyed and did not go through a Heel Face Turn at the end of the two parter premiere? No no NO! Word of God tagged entries in WMG section mentions that the season will have recurring villains? NOOOOOOO! The lack of the E/I bug on the both of the two parter premier episodes? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!. Also, the brainwashed and broken mane 5 picking on Twilight? I Need a Freaking Drink
      • Lesson Zero. Hoo-boy, Lesson Zero. Within a half hour of the show being aired, there were people online saying the show had started "pandering" to the Brony fanbase, and that the creators were "forced" to make episodes like this, with many even flocking to Lauren Fausts Deviantart account to apologise for what the fans had done to her series.
        • To whit: Twilight slowly going crazy at the prospect of failing the princess, Rarity being a drama queen, Rainbow Dash wearing sunglasses, and Big Macintosh saying “eeyup” and “nope” a lot. Cries of Flanderization ensued.
      • And the Genre Savvy fans are already batting down the hatches for Luna's return. The literal Ensemble Darkhorse has had so much fan work and fanon built around her that the mere mention of a canon portrayal has attracted rage from fans afraid their own theories and ideas will be rendered null and void.
      • Cutie Pox got labelled Ruined Forever because it (a) had a minor shout out to the Big Lebowski (a decidedly un-kid appropriate movie), and (b) because it showed Applebloom immediately developing Aesop Amnesia. Despite this being the basic point of the CMC's for every episode.
      • Post Canterlot Wedding a portion of those whose headcannon insists on immortal god princesses with infinite power were mortified at how easy Celestia was taken down by what amounts to a fairy queen. Not to mention the very existence of Cadance the Pretty Pink Princess of Babysitting.
    • Fandom Examples:
      • Anthro fanart - despite the original characters technically being anthropomorphic, and them being in a cartoon where anthro characters belong - specifically art where a character is given more human-like characteristics than the actual show, brings about the "RUINED FOREVER!" cries. Many anti-furries in the fandom despise the mere knowledge of furry artists being fans of the show, this leads to the occasional flame war and "RUINED FOREVER" reaction.
      • The term "Bronies" and the fan name, DJ PON-3 (DJ Pon-three), being mentioned and canonised respectively in the Equestria Girls promo was met with concerns over fanservice getting out of hand.
      • The news of Derpy Hooves having planned appearances in Season Two's episodes, rather than being a randomly thrown in background character, led to some fans crying foul over the fanservice.
      • The store chain Hot Topic recently selling G4 T Shirts, due to the reputation of the store, and its average customers, current members of the fandom feel that the show and the fandom will be "RUINED FOREVER" by the publicity gained through that store.
      • And do we even need to mention Cupcakes?
      • Rule34 Art exists, but good luck finding a fan who will openly admit to enjoying them.
      • The flame war over Derpy's name being removed and her voice changed from the iTunes version of The Last Roundup is a mix of They Changed It, Now It Sucks and this trope. Even when the Studio 8 staff said explicitly that it's not the end of her character as she was previously portrayed.
  • Seth MacFarlane is rebooting The Flintstones and now it's been RUINED FOREVER!!
  • Many, many fans cried foul upon learning that the Sequel Series to Avatar: The Last Airbender would be called The Last Airbender: The Legend Of Korra. Partly because it's a mouthful, partly because it's an Artifact Title, and partly because it brings up memories of the hated Live Action Adaptation. Even among people looking forward to the series, you won't find many happy with the title.
  • Futurama has been accused of both Jumping the Shark and being ruined forever ever since the fifth "season" (the four movies are counted as this) and the revival.
  • Disney took over Doug from Nickelodeon? RUINED!
  • Ben 10 has a veritable amount of this, ranging from the Darker and Edgier sequel series, handling of certain villains (Vilgax considered possibly the worst offender), and it seems to be starting again with the announcement for Ben 10 Omniverse, which sports a new visual style and gives a brand new redesign to teenage Ben. Announcement can be seen here.
  • Several Batman fans were appalled after seeing the initial designs and more light-hearted tone of Batman the Brave And The Bold. It's even lampshaded by Bat-Mite in the series finale.
  • Family Guy. About midway through the 7th season Brian began to become more preachy and more episodes began revolving around him and his political views. Other moments have gotten flak too, but Brian's soap box speeches have been the most consistently complained about and hated part of the show for the past few years.
  • Many people were crying this when Cartoon Network and Adult Swim started putting a heavy focus on live-action shows, the justification being that as "Cartoon" Network, they should be airing cartoons. As a result, the ratings for the live-action shows were abysmal, despite being constantly advertised and receiving tons of air time. While the CN Real block has since been removed and the network has returned to showing animation again, they still heavily promote the few live-action shows they have.
  1. ↑ Now renamed Total Drama World Tour, but there was still singing.
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