Sweeten That Aesop (Sugar Wiki)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Take a work that either has no real clear Aesop or a decidedly Family-Unfriendly Aesop, and try to pretend it has a perfectly positive and wholesome moral. As in don't even mention anything unpleasant. The moral is to seem like something that even the most staunch of Moral Guardians would want to be told to children.

If you can't find a work with no positive message, just choose a work and find some positive messages the creators probably didn't intend.

But don't try to use this for stealth complaining.

Compare Accidental Aesop.

Contrast Warp That Aesop.

Examples of Sweeten That Aesop (Sugar Wiki) include:

Anime & Manga

  • Dragon Ball—Stop attacking yourself, thinking that there's something wrong with you, 'cause there's not. You have potential, so let it out!
  • Mahou Sensei Negima—You should never be so focused on the past that you can't see the people who care about you.
    • Others include: People are people whether they're "real" or not; even people who think they're beyond redemption aren't.
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion—Love is worth doing anything for.
    • Also, Drugs Are Bad, especially right before church.
    • Angelic Days—A positive attitude can make all the difference in the world.
  • Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle—Love conquers all.
  • Death Note—Normal people can change the world.
    • God is always watching you.
    • If you are given a powerful item do not try to use it to solve all your problems in life.
    • If you aspire to protect the lives of innocent people it is a big responsibility that you must fulfill even if its not convenient for your plans.
    • There's no limit to what you can accomplish through a good book.
  • La Blue Girl -- The Power of Love comes in many forms.
  • Suzumiya Haruhi—God loves you. God really loves you.
    • Alternately, your friends are closer than you think, and they're with you even if you don't know it.
  • Naruto—Relationships can be broken beyond recovery. If that happens, lean on the real friends you have and cherish what you have with them. Fixating on someone who doesn't want anything to do with you anymore will only make you look ridiculous.
    • When the people who care about you try to warn you about your desires of revenge it doesn't mean that you should let the person whom has genuinely wronged you get away with their crimes. What they mean is that you should never abandon your integrity and the people whom cared for you just for the sake of killing someone for any reason. Revenge doesn't give you the right to betray your friends and your home. While its not wrong to punish someone whom has killed those you cared for but it should be done in a just and honorable matter.
    • Basically, don't turn your back against everything you stand for.
  • Digimon -- Character Development can Save Both Worlds.
  • Bleach—In order for a society's government to function properly its legislature group and the soldier squadrons whom they order should have a proper sense of checks and balances and communication. Failure to do so can make the Soldier Squadrons easy to manipulate to do things such as execute innocent people.
  • Mobile Fighter G Gundam- If you dislike how humanity is treating the earth please keep in mind that Genocide is never the answer. So if your trying to be a Well-Intentioned Extremist never work for a Genocidal madman, it won't work well.
  • Bokurano—It's worth it to put your people's interests before your own.
  • Bible Black: Even if you struck a Deal with the Devil, there's always a way out.


Comics

  • Marvel Civil War Frontlines—It's good for the last generation to embrace modern values.
  • Watchmen—There are many different approaches to doing good. Some work well in day-to-day life, others prevail on the global scale. But everyone, regardless of their race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or social conditions, has what it takes to be a hero.
  • Jack Chick: If you don't have a good point to make, no amount of ad hominem attacks will help your case. The only way to truly win a debate is to properly research your subjects and present reasonable, well thought-out arguments.
    • There is good in everyone. Even in Satan.
  • The Punisher: In order to get justice, you need to be proactive.
    • In order to properly fight the forces of evil one must show a great amount of responsibility and good judgment, one should never take extreme action against evil lightly.
  • Empowered: If you refuse to give up and you're willing to think outside the box, you've got what it takes to be a hero. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.
  • Marvel Universe: Even if the majority of the populous refuse to except you for who you are no matter what you do you should be a good person in life anyways. You should help people in general regardless of how much they hate you cause if people in general seem to think your Exclusively Evil do you really want to prove them right?
  • Fantastic Four: If you have accidentally got your close friends into an incident that would change their bodies and lives forever you should work very hard to make sure that their lives will go well despite that.


Fairy Tales

  • "Sun Moon and Talia"—Don't give up on the one you love just because they come on a little strong at first. Every child deserves a father. Everyone has a right to be with their perfect man or woman no matter what stands in their way.


Films -- Live Action

  • No Country for Old Men—Tolerance is the key to living a long life. Do not concern yourself with those whom you dislike, and they shall grant you the same favor.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean—Friendship transcends racial and social barriers, including royalty.
  • Ferris Buellers Day Off—Schoolwork can be made up. Have fun while you still can.
  • Drop Dead Fred: Sometimes our greatest problems can be our greatest source of strength.
  • Avatar: It's best to resolve conflicts with people who are different from by trying to understand them.
    • Sometimes you can be so determined to protect the people close to you that you hurt the ones that aren't.
  • Tron: Legacy: Things change. Once they do, it's usually best not to dwell in the past.
    • A good father will always love their sons, even if the son fails to understand that.
    • In the end, turn off the computer and go watch a sunrise.
    • The Power of Friendship and The Power of Love can override just about anything.
  • There Will Be Blood: With a little luck and plenty of perseverance, anyone can strike it rich in America.
  • Gran Torino: Everyone has some sort of good in them.
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey: If you study hard and become an astronaut, you'll see things that no one else has seen before


Literature

  • 1984—Even if you disagree with others, it's best to remember you love them in the end.
    • Sometimes, you'll be better off if you listen to others.
  • All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye: You never know your own strength until it's put to the test.
  • Animal Farm—No matter how drastically things change for you and your friends/family, fear not! Everything will go back to normal eventually.
  • Black Company—Keep your friends close; with enough determination, courage, and faith in one another, you can overcome anything.
    • Alternatively: No matter how bad life may seem, it's still worth living.
  • Brideshead Revisited: When you feel like your family doesn't understand you, your friends can be the people in you life who see you for who you really are and still love you.
  • Catch-22—If you stick to your beliefs, then you'll be fine.
  • The Cthulhu Mythos - So some embarrassing things have happened to you. Well, don't worry about it too much, because in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter.
  • Nothing to Envy: Never take your freedom for granted.
    • Humans can overcome seemingly impossible odds with ingenuity and extreme fortitude.
      • Keeping an open mind can greatly improve your life.
  • The Remains of the Day: Don't be afraid to take chances in life.
  • Twilight - Love really does conquer all.
  • Z for Zachariah: Be cautious when meeting new people. They may not be all that they appear to be.


Live Action TV

  • Torchwood: Children of Earth—The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and sometimes you just need time alone to cope with your problems.
    • Make sure that the people you love know how you feel.
    • In the end, no one really gets a Karma Houdini and we all have to face up to the things that we've done.
  • Dollhouse -- Meta Example: If a couple is meant to be together, they can survive anything... even being in a Joss Whedon show.
  • Firefly—Your crew trumps everything.
  • The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister: Relationships often don't work out, so it's important to make the most of the time that you have together and not to spend it fighting.
    • A marriage of convenience is not necessarily an unhappy one.
  • Friends: Provided that you are prepared to be patient, true love will conquer all.
  • Father Ted: There's a lot of fun to be had in a bad situation. Just try and avoid being on the receiving end of it.
  • The Wire: "Ain't no shame in holdin' on to grief, as long as you make room for other things, too."
  • Oz: Drinking and driving will hurt you, others, and the people you love.
  • Doctor Who: No matter who you are, no matter where you go or how powerful you become, it's good to make friends and see new things. Especially if your new friends can come too.
  • Dexter: Everyone has at least one talent that they can use for good.
    • You can always make the best of the cards you've been dealt in life.
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000: Having a good sense of humor is a great way to have a overall happy life even if your surroundings are anything but happy.
  • Life On Mars: No matter how trapped a situation makes you feel, there's always a way out.
  • The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Love and loyalty go beyond things like conflict, time, and even the difference between organic and machine.
  • Sherlock: Feelings like fear and love might make you vulnerable, but they also make you human.


Tabletop Games

  • Warhammer 40,000—Hey, sometimes life can be pretty hard. It may seem like the world is out to get you. It may even seem as though there are no good choices. But no matter how dark the universe gets, life endures despite difficulties. So hope is always worth clinging to. Tzeentch needs his lunch, after all.
  • FATAL—Sometimes, life can be tough. Sometimes, it may feel as though it isn't worth living. But in the end, everyone can slowly learn and grow, and anyone can get laid.


Theatre

  • Cabaret: Try and enjoy life while you can - it can go very wrong very quickly.
  • Chess: Loving someone isn't going to be enough to stop the unpleasant parts of their personality from manifesting, so you shouldn't beat yourself up about it.
    • Always try your very best so that mediocrity can't get the better of you.
    • Be true to yourself - no one else can do it for you.
    • Keep a cool head, don't let emotion cloud reason
  • Wicked: Choosing your own path may cost you many things, but not choosing it would cost you everything.
    • True friends enrich our souls and shape our destiny like nothing else.
    • Just because you choose a different path than someone you love, doesn't mean that they will love you any less.
  • Spring Awakening: None of us really have it totally figured out, but the most important things in life are compassion, self-restraint, friendship, and love. Don't rush into something just because it feels good or because you're specifically told not to. Parents, love your children and don't keep them in the dark. Children, love your parents, but at the same time acknowledge they're just as in the dark as you are about the big things.
  • Little Shop of Horrors: If you have good people skills, then the world can be yours.
  • Chicago—Do you make mistakes? Do not fret. There are many people in the world who care about you, and they will do everything they can to help you work through the hard times and rebuild your life.


Video Games

  • Any game with easy revives (Call of Duty, Gears of War in particular): The Power of Friendship.
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance—It's better to face your problems than try to run away from them.
  • Eversion—If there's someone you love who needs help and you can give them that help, do it no matter the personal cost.
  • I Wanna Be the Guy—Even an obstacle that seems impossible can be overcome with perseverance.
  • Pandemic2—No matter how bad things seem, mankind will always find a way to endure.
  • Left 4 Dead -- The Power of Friendship is the most potent force in the world. Relying on friends can save you from anything.
  • F.E.A.R.—No matter what else happens, remember this: Mommy loves you.
    • Family can overcome anything to come together, be it mistrust, violence, armies, and even death.
  • Dwarf Fortress—When things get hard, stay calm and keep your head. Internal strife can destroy a community more surely than nay external threat, so sometimes it's best to just let things go.
    • If you're drunk, don't try to do anything involving fire.
  • Age of Wonders—Nations must overcome racism in order to achieve greatness.
  • Persona 4 -- Everybody has a dark side to them, but learning to embrace your flaws will help you overcome anything in your way.
  • The Sims: If you work hard at the things that truly matter, especially at having good friends, you will have a far better, more fulfilling quality of life than if you let the universe push you around or let life pass you by while living on autopilot.
  • Just about every game ever: Good triumphs over evil in the end, even if it's a bumpy ride and requires sacrifice.
    • You can overcome most problems with persistence and changing your strategy when you need to.
  • BioShock (series)—Using drugs is never a good idea. And you can't solve all your problems by trying to become stronger than everyone else—sometimes it's better to just be yourself.
  • Knights of the Old Republic : Screw Destiny. When life gives you a second chance, it's entirely yours to decide what you do with it.


Web Comics

  • Dominic Deegan—Be nice to your friends and don't cause them any undue stress. That just makes life harder for everyone.
  • Sluggy Freelance—When you find a woman bathing in an outdoors lake, the polite thing to do is averting your eyes and walking away. Do the polite thing.
  • Eight Bit Theater—Don't worry. Evil can never triumph. Ever.
  • Homestuck—When attempting to communicate, decide your message in advance and express it clearly and efficiently. Getting worked up, sending contradicting messages, or being unnecessarily vague will doom your effort.


Web Original

  • Troper Tales: Before you hit post, read over what you've written and ask yourself what kind of impression you're sending of yourself and the community you're a part of.


Western Animation

  • Code Lyoko—No matter how clever, courageous, or dedicated you are, there will always be problems that you can't solve within the course of an afternoon. Don't let that affect you negatively. Take your victories where you can, keep working, and try to relax instead.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: If someone loves you, they'll always forgive you no matter how badly you screw up. All that matters to them is that you came to that all-important realization and done what's right for yourself.
  • South Park: The person you think you hate the most is the one who makes your life worth living and can't be replaced.
  • The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan: It doesn't matter if you never solve the cases yourself, jump to all the wrong conclusions and get into trouble, your father is proud of you for having the determination to give it your all anyway and appreciates your efforts.
  • Adventure Time: The world is full of wonder, beauty and excitement, but it is also dangerous and fragile. Be prepared and exercise good judgment when exploring it.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Money isn't important. Doing something you love and bringing joy to people is all that matters.
  • Codename: Kids Next Door: Recycling is both useful and fun.
  • Garfield and Friends: A true appreciation of fine Italian food can enrich your life.
  • Family Guy: Atheists are no better or worse than people who believe other things.
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