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People Share The Darkest Facts They Know About Cartoon Shows

People Share The Darkest Facts They Know About Cartoon Shows
Photo by Justin Lim on Unsplash

Kids have dark sides too.

Not to mention, not all cartoon shows were made for kids, and all cartoon shows were made BY adults.

The following present some dark facts in the history of cartoons. Perhaps some will shock you. Perhaps you'll be expecting it.

But don't get animated either way. (Waka waka.)


u/Amateurfatgeek22 asked:

What are some dark facts about cartoon shows?

Here were some of those answers.

Toxic Workplace

Ren and Stimpy was an absolute nightmare for the people who worked on it. John K ordered them not to make the same face twice. Pretty, but it was hell for the workers because they were constantly drawing things.

John K was a nightmare boss. One of the producers had a sign on his wall labeled "John's knees" and invited people to kick it. By the time he left it was reduced to a hole.

They made several episodes that were just the animators ranting about how much of an a**hole that John K was.

CrazyCoKids

Not A Creepypasta

The pilot of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy called "Trepanation of the Skull and You" tells kids that because of a mistake in evolution our skulls are too small for our brains, and that you should drill a hole in your skull as to grant the brain more space.

Which is then followed by Billy doing exactly that.

The whole thing looks like some cursed forgotten video tape.

Lonewolf953

Elmira In Real Life

Tiny Toons (early 90s) was allegedly canceled (replaced with Animaniacs) because some creepy guy was super obsessed. The whole article is insane and worth the read.

Certain individuals were hammering the voice actors, writers and animators with unwanted attention and (even less wanted) information on the prurient nature of their fixations. In other words, enough people were mailing WB's studios wanting to see Babs Bunny naked that it started to become something of a problem.
As one of these stalker fans, [Dennis Falk] was quite interested in Tress MacNielle. A legendary voice actress, she was not only the voice of Babs Bunny but is also well-known for roles in everything from The Simpsons and The Critic to the computer game Full Throttle. Falk, along with several others, somehow got hold of her contact information and started hammering her with obscene mail containing various sex fantasies about the characters she voiced.

https://web.archive.org/web/20030514145917/www.crushyiffdestroy.com/show-article.php?file=falk

BackmarkerLife

Not Today, Satan

Not so much about the production, but there is an obscure animated movie called The Adventures of Mark Twain that is stop motion animated, and in one pretty f*ked up scene Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Becky are greeted by an angel who says his name is Satan. Except he looks nothing like a traditional angel, he holds a mask on a stick for a face which contorts into a demon and skeletal face at times.

He then has the kids sculpt a village with people and a castle out of sand, and Satan then brings them to life. The sand people get along but soon start fighting and Satan kills them by summoning lighting, causing an earthquake, etc. The kids are horrified, but Satan just nonchalantly says they can make more and waxes poetic about how life is a vision and we don't matter.

I can't really do justice describing how eerie it is, but if you look up disturbing kid's cartoons on YouTube, it'll pop up.

Lrehcsa1926

The Saddest Moment Of TV Ever

The voice actor for Uncle Iroh was struggling with Esophageal cancer and when he was singing leaves from the vine, his voice cracked and he sang with the emotion he had been carrying, making Irohs sadness all the more real. RIP Mako

vBoxxyy

One Of The Most Teachable Moments On TV

While this isn't necessarily a cartoon as it has live-action bits, but it still a tragic one. It was also a courageous move on the TV station's part. When Will Lee, who played Mr. Hopper, died, there was a dilemma for the cast of Sesame Sreet he was well-liked by both viewers and the cast. The cast knew children would notice, but it was also clear would've wanted them to move on. Despite objections, the show went on with the talk about death with Big Bird taking it hard. The adults spoke about the matter and how life has to go on, which Hooper would've loved. This was a brave move for a children's show since it was also educational... the main format.

The feedback they got was mostly positive, even earning a Daytime Emmy.

MissSara101

That's Not Very Puppy Of You

The villain in the film "Pound Puppies: The Legend of Big Paw" was voiced by George Rose, an accomplished stage actor whose roles had included the Major-General in Pirates of Penzance. Shortly after the film's release, he was beaten to death by his own adopted son.

ManCalledTrue

A Cry For Help

The studio had to get someone else to sing "Soon You'll Come Home" in All Dogs go to Heaven because the voice actor, Judith Barsi, had such a traumatic home life because of an abusive, alcoholic father that she couldn't sing the song without having a breakdown.

She and her mother were murdered by him before the movie was released in a double-murder/suicide. She was only 10.

She was also the voice of Ducky from Land Before Time. Her tombstone reads, "Yep! Yep! Yep!"

nnelson2330

What A Dark Moment Of Disney

In Disney's Gargoyles, Goliath believes his entire clan is either dead or turned permanently to stone, and he asks the Magus to turn him to stone forever as well. Yes, there were improbable terms to break the curse ... but effectively, he was committing suicide. He knew he was among the last of his kind and did not know if he would ever wake up again.

He left behind a rookery full of eggs (the next generation) when he did so.

Also, in City of Stone, Demona smashes statues that are humans turned to stone -- she kills people on screen in a Disney cartoon.

Lots more examples from Gargoyles, but those two stick out.

mynonymouse

War, War, What Is It For?

When the Wind Blows is a movie that uses a bright palette and pleasant childhood aesthetic to tell the story of nuclear attack aftermath could-bes.

It follows of an awfully gullible elderly couple with an overzealous trust in their government as they go on with their lives after the strike, which progressively gets worse as they succumb to radiation poison.

Sounds bad? The pamphlet they seem to rely on is real and it's just as out of touch and unsettling. It has been suggested that it's actual purpose is of allowing for a better clean-up after you're dead.

See also here.

SoCriedtheZither

But His Middle Name Is Entertainment!

IDK if this counts but Chuck E. Cheese is canonically an orphan who doesn't remember his own birthday but loved celebrating other orphan's birthdays. One day, when Chuck grew too old to stay at the orphanage, he moved to New York City after leaving the orphanage,.and was sad, lonely and homeless. He decided to sleep in a pizzeria because he liked the smell of pizza and the music on the radio. The pizza shop owner eventually caught him and tried to kill him and the only thing that saved him was his the pizzeria owner thought he was a good singer and gave him a job singing in his restaurant.

justiono

Die Zombie!

In one episode Spongebob and Mr. Krabs thought they killed a man went to a cemetery to bury the body got a ride from the police and put the body in the trunk then in the Krusty Krab freazer BUT turns out only knocked out THEN the police beat him becase they thought he was a zombie

wow

just wow

kooldued000

What A Weird Time For Those Commercials

When they aired daytime cartoons during the summers when I was a kid, during the commercial breaks mixed in with the ads for Polly Pocket and Transformers there would be tons of ads for antidepressants. What kid is going to ask his doctor about antidepressants?
They weren't for the kids. They were for their miserable, unfulfilled, stay-at-home parents.

Enkaybee

We Love Our Racist Past

I remember watching Tom and Jerry as a kid. And Jerry's Mexican cousin came to visit.

He was every racist stereotype. But worse, he came in singing "La Cucaracha"

"La cucaracha, la cucaracha
Ya no puede caminar
Porque no tiene, porque le falta
marijuana de fumar."

Yes, the line about marijuana to smoke was really in there.
Years later I thought maybe I had imagined it. But then I caught the episode again. By then I had a DVR and rewound and watched it many times to be sure. Yup, it's in there.

harpejjist

Kicking Butt And Taking Names

I remember reading an interview with an animator who worked on the original She-Ra back in the 80's, made by Filmation that there was some rather weird arguments from the producers over She-Ra not being lady-like enough. Like a proper lady shouldn't pick up and throw a tank, despite the fact that's the literal point of the character, the most powerful woman in the universe. And there's an actual clip of her throwing a tank in the opening credits. Of course there was a lot of push back from the artists and directors that She-Ra should be kicking all kinds of @$$, and hurling tanks around.

I noticed in the last season of the new She-ra there's a scene where she's throwing tanks around and someone admonishes her for it saying "We don't throw tanks at our friends." I can't help but wonder if that was a nod to the old She-Ra and the hard time they got for tossing tanks around.

Patches67

Yet We Never Bat An Eye

I know it's nothing to suprising and the show has a final season that is based around this but in Steven universe he is literally a young boy who has to save the universe and it seems all fun at first but he literally has his body destroyed over time and held together by his gem half and also his mom literally ruined his life and almost caused him to die on several occasions and he had to establish peace on a planet where most people wanted him dead also he literally never cared for himself through the whole thing till the point where he abandons himself for so long that he literally turns into a giant monster

stopyouveviolatedthe

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.