Cartoons are an area of fandom that can get pretty heated. Despite the perception by some that cartoons are a 'less serious' artform or fare for children, animated series have fanbases as large and as devoted as other types of fiction such as video games, television, or film.
As a result, passions can flame up in discussions about animated shows, and opinions can get polarized. There exist cartoons with devoted, fierce, loyal fanbases who love them and think they can do no wrong, and yet everyone outside that fanbase loathes the cartoon's very existence. Whether it's due to its art, its humor, or its premise, some cartoons have no middle ground when it comes to opinion.
10 Big Mouth's Very Premise Caused Polarization
Big Mouth is a Netflix animated series following a group of 12 to 13-year-olds as they first experience puberty and all the struggles that come with it. Its young characters, coupled with a focus on sometimes explicit sexual content, left many people at first wondering what audience the show was targeting, and if it was appropriate for any audience.
While Big Mouth has proven able to survive the controversy of its premise, it is still a very divisive show, especially as a result of remaining un-canceled in the face of many other popular Netflix originals. As a result, its fans are warm to it, but many others hate it.
9 Family Guy Has Never Not Been Controversial
Designed as an edgier version of The Simpsons, Family Guy's humor and politics have always been called into question. The show claims to be a satire of middle American politics and social values, and thus often includes content that, on its face, is homophobic, ableist, racist, and misogynistic.
While its fans defend it as satirizing those viewpoints, many dislike Family Guy for being viewed as poor satire, failing to do more than simply give a mouthpiece to those views. In addition, many simply dislike it due to seeing it as crude, immature, or far too self-indulgent from creator Seth MacFarlane.
8 My Little Pony Has A Very Dedicated And Controversial Fanbase
A rare case where many people despise a show primarily due to its fanbase, My Little Pony became notorious in the early 2010s for its diehard community of 'Bronies'; fans of the show who were not the intended demographic of young girls, but people in young adulthood and even older, typically men.
While many consider the show to be relatively inoffensive, there is a reflexive backlash to many outside the show's fandom due to 'Bronies', typically over concerns about the creation of easily-viewable adult content in a show for children. As a result, Bronies have made My Little Pony far more divisive than it would have been on its own merits.
7 Rick And Morty's Hype Causes Backlash
For the most part, critics agree with fans that Rick and Morty is a clever, enjoyable show with some intriguing messages and fun characters. In the wider perception, however, its fans have a reputation as being obsessive about the show's quality, causing a great deal of hype around the series.
As a result, some have been heavily disappointed when they did watch the show, and others have simply been driven to distraction by the amount of references and discussion it gets in many unrelated locations. High-profile incidents like mile-long queues for McDonald's Szechuan Sauce driven by a joke in the show have only reinforced a wider dislike of the show.
6 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Divides The Fanbase
Scooby-Doo! has been through more iterations than most cartoons, with the shows largely keeping the same premise of a group of teens solving mysteries in their van while plagued by pretend or real monsters. Nonetheless, each iteration changes themes, tone, or other areas, causing controversy.
Mystery Incorporated, an iteration of the show running from 2010-2013, proved more contentious than many for a number of reasons. It made the monsters and the supernatural real - which has never pleased everyone before - and changed the focus to the personal lives and relationships of the characters, both of which angered many long-time fans. Others, however, enjoyed its new approach, and rank it as one of the best iterations of the show.
5 Steven Universe Even Has Fans Who Hate It
For the most part, Steven Universe is a beloved science-fiction cartoon, typically receiving perfect scores on sites like Rotten Tomatoes, and acclaimed for its approach to difficult themes of prejudice, power structures, LGBTQ rights, and more, all suitable for a child audience.
Nonetheless, it is notorious for having a difficult-to-please fandom, with nearly every plot twist of the show proving controversial to some. While there is dislike from outside the fanbase for the show's progressive themes, some within the fanbase itself appear to despise the show for its art, storylines, morals, and many other things.
4 American Dad Shares The Fate Of Other MacFarlane Shows
Seth MacFarlane is something of a controversial creator, with many of his shows ending up being controversial for one reason or another. American Dad takes things to another level by being an explicitly more openly political show than his other efforts.
As a result, MacFarlane's approach to satire has come under even more scrutiny during the course of American Dad, with many still finding it to be lacking, and the show to be more appealing to those who hold the satirized beliefs. Furthermore, some who don't know much of it believe it to be a carbon copy of Family Guy and dislike it on those grounds.
3 The Legend Of Korra Has Little Middle Ground
Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the most beloved cartoons of all time, considered to be the gold standard for progressive cartoons with strong morals that nonetheless told compelling stories and did not baby their audience. The follow-up, The Legend of Korra, has not fared so well.
Many love the show for its continuation of the story of The Last Airbender, including cameos from characters from the previous series, and their descendants being characters, as well as its worldbuilding, and particularly for its same-sex relationship between Korra and Asami. Others dislike it for its perceived weaker storytelling than The Last Airbender, and for changes to the lore of the series that, according to them, make no sense in the context of the beloved former show.
2 Teen Titans Go! Appeals To Its Intended Audience And Angers Older Fans
Teen Titans was a much-beloved show of its time, considered to be the highest-quality superhero show of the 2000s, much like Batman: The Animated Series for the 90s. Its cancellation angered many.
Teen Titans Go! is not a revival of the prior show, but a new story with the same source material. Despite this, it infuriates fans of Teen Titans for its different tone, being a comedy show rather than a superhero show, its perceived lower quality, and characterization that borders on caricature. Nonetheless, Teen Titans Go! is beloved by younger audiences, and its film did well with fans and critics.
1 You Either Love South Park Or You Don't
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are no strangers to controversial humor, with their other well-known efforts including Team America: World Police and Book of Mormon. Unlike some other shows, there is no mistaking the satirical bent of South Park, with it taking real-world events to absurd levels to make its political points.
However, its humor and plotlines still generate controversy, being viewed as crude and, in many cases, offensive without good reason. Furthermore, its politics often receive criticism. The result is a show with a dedicated fanbase, but wide dislike from the outside.