Did they do away with the feature for editing comments? Damn. Well anyway, I thought of another cartoon cliche, one I hate: 

Dumping the treasure overboard.

I don't know how many times I've seen this on TV. But when I was a kid I saw it all the time and I always hated it. Characters would go on a treasure hunt, have some big adventure, and the story would end with them dumping the treasure overboard (because it was too heavy for the ship, and they realized that real "treasure" is love and friendship, or some bullshit). It made me mad. (In b4 Jew joke.) 

I recently saw a "Treasure Island" adaptation, with Eddie Izzard and Elija Wood, and guess how it ends. Yes. They fucking do that. And on the commentary, the writers apparently thought they were being *original* with that "twist" ending. 

Cutsy. Comic. Relief. Side-kick characters. who basically add nothing to the story but a couple of cheap giggles (if that). (Olaf from 'Frozen', Pascal from 'Tangled', etc.).

The "They're dangerous so they must DIE...but no, they shouldn't die because they're misunderstood" plot or sub-plot.


Those are a couple of my top cartoon pet-peeves.

- Dogs are good, cats are bad

- Dogs team up with mice, against the cats (even though dogs chase and eat rodents in real life). 

- The mom is hot and smart; the dad is fat and stupid.

- Bad guys have pale skin and black clothes

- No matter what era it is, the princess's hairstyle will match the period the movie was made in. (Notice how Tianna didn't have a bob, but Snow White did?) 

- A teenager sees ONE ZIT on her face and freaks out. Because normally, a teenager NEVER has zits. 

- No one ever gets pressured into smoking, drugs, or stealing by friends they've known for a long time. It's always some brand new gang that shows up and steers them away from their "real" friends. This kind of message is really helpful to kids in real life, since the whole point of "Peer Pressure" is that it IS friends you've known and trusted for a long time. 

I have plenty, but I can only think of two at the moment.
The "shoehorned morality lesson" episode of any given show, which doesn't really deal much with morality to begin with.
Cartoons where interesting changes happen, but the status quo is restored by the end of the episode.

gravity doesn't kick in until the character realizes they are running on air XD

Whenever I think of cartoon cliches, I always think of Daria.

The selfish sibling
The obnoxious/dysfunctional parents
The mean girls
The jock
The cheerleader
The weird/creepy/and pretty retarded teachers
The entourage (of boys or girls who always follow the selfish sibling)

hmm...
-Stereotypical characters (Bullies, dumbasses, wimps, the little brats, etc.)
-Adobe Flash animation
-"The nerd, jock, and cheerleader" cliche
-Whipping
-Rivals
-Ripping off episodes (Eg: The episode: Spongebob gets fired is a ripoff of their previous episodes: "Karate Choppers" and "Squid on Strike")
-... and fucking physics up the ass since the '40s

The group of three bullies. This is present in a few animations I watch.

One cliched plot that I can't stand is when two characters who don't get along (usually two rivals or the hero and villain) are handcuffed to each other and have to work out their differences, mostly because they're so unbelievably predictable.  Sometimes they can be a little entertaining, like the Scotsman's first appearance in Samurai Jack.

I can't be bothered to search TV tropes for the proper names of these cliches, but here we go...
- The "Lisa Simpson" cliche. The little girl who is smarter, more observant, and overall more capable than anyone else in the show.
- The "I must find my way back home" cliche. The plot arc that gets the series going but is never developed and almost never addressed ever again. Though typically the audience is constantly reminded of what it is in the opening credits.
- The "Horace and Jasper" cliche. The fat guy and skinny guy duo of bumbling henchmen.
- The "Captain Planet" cliche. The main characters could always beat the villains easily by unleashing their ultimate power thing right away, but always wait until they are out of options to use.

No-one's mentioned slipping on a banana peel yet? No anvils? no rockets blowing up in their faces?

Haha, those are so horribly dated that they aren't even relevant in even the dumbest of modern day cartoons. Some which are still present, or even new to modern shows are:

Fat stupid comic relief. Stupid characters are always a lot funnier when they're overweight and unattractive. Skinny or attractive stupid characters just aint as funny and tend to come across as more douchy than dumb, this character is almost always male, since as hypocritical as it sounds - ditzy female characters are just unbearable (try listening to Lola Bunny from The Looney Tunes show...ugh).
Classic examples: Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, Patrick Star, etc...

Nerdy/awkward teenager. This character represents what many teens wish they weren't but what many really are, so it's probably more a real life observation than a stereotype, but still an overdone one. Expect an inconsistent breaking voice, not all there mentally, bad in social situations (especially around someone they like) a face full of acne, greasy poorly-groomed hair, maybe glasses, immature even for their age, has dorky or childish hobbies, works for minimum wage at a fast food place or some other undesirable entry-level job. Frequently gets picked on by the more popular students whom they hate on one hand but want to be in with on the other.
Classic examples: Meg Griffin, Steve Smith, That teenager who has a million crappy jobs in The Simpsons etc...

The spoiled brat. Usually seen in younger "kid" characters more than anything, in older characters it usually favours females, but in kids the gender distribution seems more even. These kids are pretty much guaranteed to be white, from middle-class or wealthy families, sometimes overweight, often an only-child and naturally very distanced from any of the more realistic problems their friends or anyone else deals with. They have pushover parents and can have a tyrannical rule over their companions, very bossy and mean even, yet they're the first to throw a hissy fit when something doesn't go their way.
Classic examples: Angelica, Cartman, That rich little girl "villian" from The Powerpuff Girls, etc...

Narcissistic intellectual. I must confess if I was any cartoon cliche I'd probably be this. Often they really are smarter than other characters in the show, which isn't a bad thing, but they can be a bit high and mighty about it. They know what other characters want better than they do. Other characters see them as a killjoy, but sometimes it's warranted if this character stops the others from doing something dangerously stupid. They can easily end up being society's punching bag and frequently question why do they have to share a house/street/city/world/universe with a bunch of morons, yet feel immediately threatened when they finally encounter criticism or competition from an intellectual rival. Many are self-proclaimed artists, authors or musicians who often think they're more talented than they really are and anyone who doesn't appreciate their amazing ability is clearly just not cultured enough to "get it".
Classic examples: Lisa Simpson, Squidward, Brian Griffin, Brain from Pinky & The Brain etc...

The chosen one
Magical talking dog as a sidekick
Clueless parents
"Evil genius" kid who's constantly screwing up

Idiotic but lovable dad
Rowdy kid with a golden heart
In the middle of a serious moment, a character makes an inappropriate joke to the camera 
Someone speaks in a way that everyone understands but you
Everyone thinks a character's dead but then they suddenly pop out okay

Hahaaa I love cartoons